Monday, May 12, 2008
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Labels: real estate seo, real etate internet marketing
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Regulators caution subprime lenders - Does this affect you?
So recently an article by the Associated Press entitled "Regulators call for caution on subprime loans" which can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17428186/. So exactly what does this mean for all of us home owners and what does this mean for buyers who are trying to purchase. I will give an opinion on it and would love to hear yours.
What does this mean in general?
What this means is the federal government is concerned about the lending practices that have taken place the last several years on loans that are subprime. So what is subprime? This definition varies by lender but in general this means an individual who has a credit score below 640 and who is choosing a loan product that they are stating, without proof, their assests and their income.
So individuals who cannot prove their income and may have credit troubles will now have greater difficulty in getting a loan if they are not putting 5% or 10% of the purhcase price down. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Many of our parents used to have to save 20%. Now before everyone writes how prices were cheaper back then please also note that wages were lower as well. Let's not take away from our parents and grandparents diligence.
What does this mean to home owners?
This means that your agent better review the kind of buyer you are getting offers from. It should mean checking out credit scores and hopefully getting a buyer who is putting 5% or more down on the purchase of the property. It also means that sellers may have to lower the price of their homes so that it is open to more buyers.
What does this mean for buyers?
This means that buyers will want to make sure that the lender who is saying they can get approval for a certain amount they can deliver. It also means possibly buying a smaller less expensive property and having to wait a little to trade up.
My opinion is there will be less loans issued out that don't require documentation. Those who are putting money down, those using first time home buyer products, those who are putting money down don't have much to worry about. If you were going to by my not telling the truth on what you make and your buying a home that you hope goes up 30% in one year then I am sorry to say that probably won't work for you.
As usual, you decide the truth!
You be the judge of the real estate market!
What does this mean in general?
What this means is the federal government is concerned about the lending practices that have taken place the last several years on loans that are subprime. So what is subprime? This definition varies by lender but in general this means an individual who has a credit score below 640 and who is choosing a loan product that they are stating, without proof, their assests and their income.
So individuals who cannot prove their income and may have credit troubles will now have greater difficulty in getting a loan if they are not putting 5% or 10% of the purhcase price down. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Many of our parents used to have to save 20%. Now before everyone writes how prices were cheaper back then please also note that wages were lower as well. Let's not take away from our parents and grandparents diligence.
What does this mean to home owners?
This means that your agent better review the kind of buyer you are getting offers from. It should mean checking out credit scores and hopefully getting a buyer who is putting 5% or more down on the purchase of the property. It also means that sellers may have to lower the price of their homes so that it is open to more buyers.
What does this mean for buyers?
This means that buyers will want to make sure that the lender who is saying they can get approval for a certain amount they can deliver. It also means possibly buying a smaller less expensive property and having to wait a little to trade up.
My opinion is there will be less loans issued out that don't require documentation. Those who are putting money down, those using first time home buyer products, those who are putting money down don't have much to worry about. If you were going to by my not telling the truth on what you make and your buying a home that you hope goes up 30% in one year then I am sorry to say that probably won't work for you.
As usual, you decide the truth!
You be the judge of the real estate market!
Labels: House market, house values, lending, loan rates, loans, Real Estate Fall, real estate market, real estate prices, sub prime, values of homes
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Rates at 6.18% - still a good time to buy?
You know I like it when I see a nice article that gets no press because it doesn't have a crazy enough headline for the main stream media. The article is entitled "30-year mortgage rates drop to 6.18%" by the great people at the associated press. The full article can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148582/.
So you are saying, boring, so what, don't care. Well we all should care. This is still one of the greatest times in history to buy. While all the pundits say the market is bad, don't buy, watch values fall, blah, blah, blah. Ask anyone who bought a home in 1981 or 1982 what they think of rates at 6%. Trust me they will have some great stories and we would all be wise to listen to them.
Check out the graph above for an illustration of what I am talking about. Look at the history. Rates for real estate have traditionally been over 7%. Those who bought in the early 80's at 13,14, or 18% would love to have 6% when they bought their first home.
So what's the point of all this. Still a great time to buy for buyers. The sellers also have a great time to attract buyers who can get low interest rates and afford their homes.
As usual, you decide the truth!
You be the judge of the real estate market!
Labels: buyers market, buying a home, first home, home prices, loans, mortgage rates, rates, values of homes
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Home sales, prices fall - Is this the end or beginning?
Well our friends as the associated press are at it again. The article "Home sales, prices fell again at end of 2006" by the AP which can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17173680/ paints a dismal picture of the real estate market.
So let's take a look at what is going on. Now first, the 4th quarter was not the best quarter around for real estate but it has been a tremendous last few years. So let's look at things:
So let's take a look at what is going on. Now first, the 4th quarter was not the best quarter around for real estate but it has been a tremendous last few years. So let's look at things:
- The article states that 40 states declined. When you read a little deeper the median home price fell in 49 percent of 149 metro areas. That also would mean in 51% of metro areas the price did not decline. It depends on whether you are a glass half full or glass half empty person.
- Nationaly sales decline by 10.1%. So we came off a record year of sales and the number of transactions was done. That is not scary nor impressive if you ask me.
- The median price fell 2.7% according to this article. I have read others that state it held. Let's say they are right. Those who wish their World Com, Enron, or Insert Your Bust Stock here, only fell 2.7% please raise your hand! I mean seriously let's think about this. The average homeowner who stays in their home 5-7 years has nothing to fear. Enron & World Com Stock owners cannot say the same thing.
- 73 metro areas had a decline, 71 had increases, 5 unchanged in median value. So that means there were plenty of people still going up in value. The overall market is basically unchanged.
If you really look at things real estate is still a very "able" investment to quote Gary Keller, author of Millionaire Real Estate Investor. It is liveable, stable, & rentable. So don't bail out of your real estate don't panic and know that there is some adjustment occuring.
As usual, you decide the truth!
You be the judge of the real estate market!
Labels: home prices, House market, house values, Housing Market, loans, market bust, median home value, Real Estate Fall, real estate market, real estate prices, values of homes
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Foreclosures jump 35% - Can this be true?
I would like to thank our friends at the msnbc and the msn money staff for the article entitled "Floreclosures jump 35% nationwide". This can be found at http://realestate.msn.com/buying/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=2507006. Let's take a closer look at what they mean by this.
- First of all the 35% increase is across the nation and compares to the last December. Now think about this for just a minute. Last December was still a fantastic record year for Real Estate. So a 35% increase in foreclosures is compared with a year that was one of the best years on record for all real estate transactions and foreclosures will at an all time low last year.
- The number of foreclosures top 109,000 for the month of December. Now what is conveniently left off is how many transactions went through that month. Percentages don't always tell the entire story. In fact the December number of 109,000 was a 9% decrease but that doesn't make headlines now does it.
- The foreclosure data being quoted includes all states of foreclosure. Defaults are included in this number. A default can occur as soon as a person is 1 day late on their mortgage. More than like the number is after someone is 30 days late. They do not state this nor are the numbers separated out. People can run into tough times and bring themselves current from missing 1, 2, or even 3 payments. This number is not included in their statistics.
The median value of homes finished up in 2006 once again. It is true that there are going to be foreclosures but that can happen in any market. The areas of the country like Detroit that are experiencing massive layoffs from the auto industry are going to cause foreclosures. We challenge you to look beyond percentages and study why the numbers are occuring. Foreclosures are a sign that people need help and we should make sure to find out why they need help before jumping to conclusions about the value of real estate.
As usual, you decide the truth!
You be the judge of the real estate market!
Labels: bank owned, buyers market, foreclosure, home prices, House market, house values, Housing Market, loans, median home value, mortgage rates, Real Estate Fall, real estate market, real estate prices, reo
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Has the housing market reached the bottom?
We always find it amusing when the AP reports the following title "Biggest existing home sales drop in 17 years". This is from an article on the 25th of January by the associated press. Now lets look into the article and see what we can find.
First the last 5 years of home sales has been an absolute record. The article eventually mentions this even though you won't know it from the title. So the number of homes sold is off from what has arguably been the greatest 5 years in real estate history.
December sales were down .8 percent from a year ago states the article. Ok once again down .8 of a percent from a record. All those who had Enron or World Com Stock do you wish that it went down only .8 of a percent? I thought so.
For the year the median housing price still rose 1.1%. For the average price of a home in America at $225,000 that means the average american home owner made just over $2,225.00 for doing nothing but paying the mortgage on time. You know I have to think that if that is a bad thing then what if anything does it take to be good news.
Overall the news is like this in our opinion. If you waited to buy a house there are still some nice choices out there. If you are selling and bought 2,3,4 or more years ago you will be doing just fine. Real Estate will always be a great investment unless we all decide it is more fun to live outside all the time.
As always we leave you to decide the truth about real estate!
First the last 5 years of home sales has been an absolute record. The article eventually mentions this even though you won't know it from the title. So the number of homes sold is off from what has arguably been the greatest 5 years in real estate history.
December sales were down .8 percent from a year ago states the article. Ok once again down .8 of a percent from a record. All those who had Enron or World Com Stock do you wish that it went down only .8 of a percent? I thought so.
For the year the median housing price still rose 1.1%. For the average price of a home in America at $225,000 that means the average american home owner made just over $2,225.00 for doing nothing but paying the mortgage on time. You know I have to think that if that is a bad thing then what if anything does it take to be good news.
Overall the news is like this in our opinion. If you waited to buy a house there are still some nice choices out there. If you are selling and bought 2,3,4 or more years ago you will be doing just fine. Real Estate will always be a great investment unless we all decide it is more fun to live outside all the time.
As always we leave you to decide the truth about real estate!
You be the judge of the real estate market!
Labels: buying a home, home prices, Housing Market, median home value, real estate market, real estate prices, values of homes
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The bubble didn't really burst!!
It is great to discover a report where the information is not all doom and gloom and it is a balanced view of what is occuring in the real estate market on a national level.
The artcile today that I will be discussing is from Kenneth R Harney of the Washington Post Writers Group. His article entitled "Bubble's pop was akin to a slow leak" is, in our opinion, a balanced view of what is happening in today's real estate market.
First, in December new home sales rose 3.4%. Now in some parts of the country, like Southern California, we don't have many new homes. However the strength of the real estate market is directly related to people purchsing new homes from builders. The fact that this figure is up is terrific.
The southern california market was up 7% for the year of 2006. Of course it is not a completely rosy picture. The median price of resale homes nationall fell 3.6%.
What does this mean to all buyers and sellers. I agree with Kenneth in that it means the market is more balanced. Right now the field has leveled for both buyers and sellers. We believe that with rates at near 40 year lows this is a great time for buyers to purchase the property they wanted especially if they have been waiting on the side lines.
Sellers need to understand that it is still a great time to sell their homes and that if they price their home accurately it will sell. Buyers can now negotiate with sellers. Offers 30 or 40% of asking prices are not realistic but sellers assisting with closing costs and making some repairs are!
Kenneth also points out how you can contact your local realtor who farms your area and can get some information on your particular area. That is a great way to find out exactly what is going on and if they are good they will keep you up to date on how the market is peforming so you will know when it is the right time for you.
You be the judge of the real estate market!
The artcile today that I will be discussing is from Kenneth R Harney of the Washington Post Writers Group. His article entitled "Bubble's pop was akin to a slow leak" is, in our opinion, a balanced view of what is happening in today's real estate market.
First, in December new home sales rose 3.4%. Now in some parts of the country, like Southern California, we don't have many new homes. However the strength of the real estate market is directly related to people purchsing new homes from builders. The fact that this figure is up is terrific.
The southern california market was up 7% for the year of 2006. Of course it is not a completely rosy picture. The median price of resale homes nationall fell 3.6%.
What does this mean to all buyers and sellers. I agree with Kenneth in that it means the market is more balanced. Right now the field has leveled for both buyers and sellers. We believe that with rates at near 40 year lows this is a great time for buyers to purchase the property they wanted especially if they have been waiting on the side lines.
Sellers need to understand that it is still a great time to sell their homes and that if they price their home accurately it will sell. Buyers can now negotiate with sellers. Offers 30 or 40% of asking prices are not realistic but sellers assisting with closing costs and making some repairs are!
Kenneth also points out how you can contact your local realtor who farms your area and can get some information on your particular area. That is a great way to find out exactly what is going on and if they are good they will keep you up to date on how the market is peforming so you will know when it is the right time for you.
These bloggers would like to thank Kenneth Harvey for his article and hope that others get a chance to read it.
You be the judge of the real estate market!
Labels: home prices, House market, Real Estate Fall, real estate market, real estate prices, values of homes
