Housing is showing signs of having FINALLY bottomed! Here are the facts: Distressed sales are now 32% of the market. ALL cash buyer are 31%. Home sales INCREASED in December. I think this is not a small point. When was the last time that housing sales INCREASED in December? (never) The overall supply of homes […]
| Lenders are insisting on higher credit scores and more documents than required by the Federal Housing Administration and government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Quicken Loans Inc. and Vision Mortgage Capital are among firms saying they are increasing scrutiny of would-be borrowers in response to pressure to cover losses incurred on U.S.-backed housing debt. “You’ve got to take measures now to protect yourself,” John B. Johnson, chief executive officer of Birmingham, Alabama- based MortgageAmerica Inc., said during a panel discussion this month. Demands that lenders repurchase bad mortgages from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are “casting a pall over the market. I fear that it will face a much longer recovery because of this.” |
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| Part of the optimism shared by those in real estate is the relative steadiness of the local economy and the area’s low unemployment rate compared with the rest of the nation. “We don’t see the boom and we don’t see the bust,” said Valenti. “We always fall somewhere in between.” |
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| Sales of existing-home sales rose in March 2011, continuing an uneven recovery that began after sales bottomed last July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.10 million in March from an upwardly revised 4.92 million in February, but are 6.3% below the 5.44 million pace in March 2010. Sales were at elevated levels from March through June of 2010 in response to the home buyer tax credit. |
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| An unexpected 81% of U.S. adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center say buying a home is the best long-term investment. “Owning a home is really a part of the American dream, and that is just part of the American psyche and something that people aspire to,” said Kim Parker, associate director for the center and one of the study’s authors. |
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| As the cold temperatures become a distant memory, and the spring selling season gains momentum, consumers have come to agree on one thing—now’s a good time to get off the fence and into the real estate market. This is the overall theme in the latest American Express Spending and Saving Tracker survey, a monthly survey that tracks the spending and saving habits of consumers in order to get an indication of what’s happening in the market. “This month’s Spending and Saving Tracker provided an up-to-date look at various consumer trends and gave us the opportunity to assess how consumers are feeling about the current market in addition to gauging homeowner confidence,” says Leah Gerstner, vice president of public affairs at American Express. |
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| In the 41 cities Metrostudy covers, 78,000 houses are either vacant and for sale, or under construction — that is less than a quarter of the new homes that fell in that category during the housing boom in 2006 and way below the level of a decade ago. “If we had anything like normal levels of buying, those houses would sell in 2½ months,” says Castleman. “We’d see an incredible shortage. And that’s where we’re heading.” |
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1) Decide what you can afford. Generally, you can afford a home equal in value to between two and three times your gross income. 2) Develop your home wish list. Then, prioritize the features on your list. |
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| If you bought a home last year, you may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000 when you file your 2010 tax return. But before you start shopping for hardwood floors, make sure you qualify. And even if you’re eligible, you’ll need to take extra steps to prove that your claim is legitimate. |
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| According to a NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® survey of 3,793 adults conducted by Harris Interactive and released in January 2011, home owners and renters agree that home ownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our communities, and is integral to our nation’s economy. |
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