Approximately 25 percent of real estate practitioners say low appraisals have broken up deals, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
While foreclosed properties typically are not included in a comparable sales analysis, they account for about 40 percent of home sales -- more than 50 percent in some markets -- making it difficult for appraisers to value properties not in the foreclosure process.
Additionally, new industry rules that require mortgage lenders to order appraisals through in-house staff or appraisal management companies means more appraisers without knowledge of the local market are making valuations.
While Zillow.com says non-foreclosures are selling for upwards of 30 percent more than foreclosures, a study of 20 years of home sales in Massachusetts by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies indicates that dwellings closer than 100 yards to a foreclosure lose about 1 percent in value.
Source: USA Today (01/04/10)
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Monday, January 4, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Census: Americans Stayed Put in 2009
Fewer Americans moved in 2009 than any other year this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this month.
Population also grew less this year than any other year since the turn of the 21st Century. It reached 307 million on July 1, up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau says. About 850,000 people immigrated from other countries, down 15 percent compared to 2006.
The losers in this trend included Florida, which lost 31,000 people to other states, a first for the Sunshine State, which used to be No. 1 in attracting new residents. "The middle of the decade's huge surge to the Sun Belt stopped on a dime," says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution.
Demographers say real estate is one of the big reasons people are staying put. "People are trapped," says Yi Zhao, senior forecasting coordinator for the Census Bureau in the State of Washington. "They can't sell their house or they have a hard time getting credit for a new one."
Source: USA Today
Population also grew less this year than any other year since the turn of the 21st Century. It reached 307 million on July 1, up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau says. About 850,000 people immigrated from other countries, down 15 percent compared to 2006.
The losers in this trend included Florida, which lost 31,000 people to other states, a first for the Sunshine State, which used to be No. 1 in attracting new residents. "The middle of the decade's huge surge to the Sun Belt stopped on a dime," says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution.
Demographers say real estate is one of the big reasons people are staying put. "People are trapped," says Yi Zhao, senior forecasting coordinator for the Census Bureau in the State of Washington. "They can't sell their house or they have a hard time getting credit for a new one."
Source: USA Today
Friday, January 1, 2010
5 Home Remodeling Trends for the New Year
Happy New Year!
Remodeling and decorating trends in 2010 are likely to reflect the fact that many home owners are settling in for the long haul.
Here are some ideas for updating homes and gardens from decorators and leading real estate practitioners:
Environmentally sensitive furniture. Natural fibers, sustainable woods, and recycled products are key to attracting environmentally concerned buyers.
Classic neutral colors. Deep gray browns and gray blues, muted beige, and chalky white will be particularly popular shades, Pittsburgh Paints predicts.
Backyard gardens. First Lady Michelle Obama led the way in 2009 when she installed one at the White House.
Backyard living. Wood-deck additions offer an 80.6 percent payback, according to the annual Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling magazine and REALTOR® magazine. Simple fire pits and outdoor fireplaces also will be popular, trend-watchers say.
Made in America. As more people feel compelled to support local employment, U.S. manufactured products and antiques will become more popular, says Patricia Shackelford, author of design blog, Mrs. Blandings.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
15 year, Fixed Rate Mortgages Gaining Popularity
Home buyers and home owners who are refinancing are increasingly enthusiastic about 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages.
Originations of 15-year mortgages at Wells Fargo & Co. are up 55 percent through November compared to a year ago. At J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 20 percent of refinances are 15-year loans, up 10 percent in 2008.
One reason is that rates on 15-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages averaged 4.46 percent in early December, according to HSH Associates in Pompton Plains, N.J.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (12/09/2009)
Originations of 15-year mortgages at Wells Fargo & Co. are up 55 percent through November compared to a year ago. At J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 20 percent of refinances are 15-year loans, up 10 percent in 2008.
One reason is that rates on 15-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages averaged 4.46 percent in early December, according to HSH Associates in Pompton Plains, N.J.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (12/09/2009)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Foreclosures Decline for Fourth-Straight Month
Foreclosures declined 8 percent in November compared with October, but were still up 18 percent from November 2008.
This was the fourth-straight month that U.S. foreclosures have declined since hitting an all-time high in July, according to online foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac.
Default notices, an indicator of coming foreclosures, also were down 8 percent from October, but up 22 percent from November 2008. Bank repossessions were flat from the previous month and down 2 percent from November 2008.
"We don't really believe the underlying problems have been resolved," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president for RealtyTrac. Many borrowers, he told the Associated Press, "simply aren't going to qualify" for government and mortgage servicer help.
States with the highest foreclosure rates are:
Nevada
Florida
California
Arizona
Idaho
Michigan
Illinois
Utah
Maryland
New Jersey
Four states account for more than 50 percent of actual foreclosures: California, Florida, Illinois, and Michigan.
Source: RealtyTrac, (12/10/2009)
This was the fourth-straight month that U.S. foreclosures have declined since hitting an all-time high in July, according to online foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac.
Default notices, an indicator of coming foreclosures, also were down 8 percent from October, but up 22 percent from November 2008. Bank repossessions were flat from the previous month and down 2 percent from November 2008.
"We don't really believe the underlying problems have been resolved," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president for RealtyTrac. Many borrowers, he told the Associated Press, "simply aren't going to qualify" for government and mortgage servicer help.
States with the highest foreclosure rates are:
Nevada
Florida
California
Arizona
Idaho
Michigan
Illinois
Utah
Maryland
New Jersey
Four states account for more than 50 percent of actual foreclosures: California, Florida, Illinois, and Michigan.
Source: RealtyTrac, (12/10/2009)
Friday, December 4, 2009
Banks Start to Embrace Short Sales
Daily Real Estate News
December 4, 2009
Banks Start to Embrace Short Sales
Even before the government put pressure on them to embrace short sales, more banks were starting to take their lumps, do the short-sale deals and move on.
Three years into the housing meltdown, short sales have tripled to 40,000 in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same time period a year ago, according to data from the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corp., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. this year have hired and trained more staff to handle short sales and also developed software for expediting them.
“It’s really finally dawning on banks that they’re better off with a short sale,” said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “I think banks were in denial.”
Source: Bloomberg, John Gittelsohn and Margaret Collins (12/4/2009)
December 4, 2009
Banks Start to Embrace Short Sales
Even before the government put pressure on them to embrace short sales, more banks were starting to take their lumps, do the short-sale deals and move on.
Three years into the housing meltdown, short sales have tripled to 40,000 in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same time period a year ago, according to data from the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corp., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. this year have hired and trained more staff to handle short sales and also developed software for expediting them.
“It’s really finally dawning on banks that they’re better off with a short sale,” said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “I think banks were in denial.”
Source: Bloomberg, John Gittelsohn and Margaret Collins (12/4/2009)
Monday, November 30, 2009
New Home Sales Rise in October
Daily Real Estate News
November 30, 2009
Share
New Home Sales Rise in October
New home sales rose 6.2 percent in October compared to September, according to a report released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This increase was 5.1 percent above the October 2008 level.
"New-home sales are what I am focusing on because they are the ones that are going to drive" gross domestic product, said Cameron Findlay, chief economist at LendingTree.com.
The median sale price of new homes was $212,200 in October with an estimated 239,000 units available at the end of that month, a 6.7-month inventory, according to the government.
Source: The Los Angeles Times, Alejandro Lazo (11/26/2009)
November 30, 2009
Share
New Home Sales Rise in October
New home sales rose 6.2 percent in October compared to September, according to a report released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This increase was 5.1 percent above the October 2008 level.
"New-home sales are what I am focusing on because they are the ones that are going to drive" gross domestic product, said Cameron Findlay, chief economist at LendingTree.com.
The median sale price of new homes was $212,200 in October with an estimated 239,000 units available at the end of that month, a 6.7-month inventory, according to the government.
Source: The Los Angeles Times, Alejandro Lazo (11/26/2009)
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- PropBob
- Metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Realtor and Real Estate Investor - Revitalizing metro Atlanta, One Property at a Time. www.dovcar.com