real estate

The Strength In New Home Sales Shows That Banks And Builders Have Figured Out The Market

September 17, 2008

Despite turmoil on Wall Street, the housing sector continues to deliver good news. Last month, led by a 22 percent surge from the West Region, New Home Sales rose 2.7 percent over August. A “new home” is a newly-built residence, never before lived in. New homes are usually built and sold by real estate development […]

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New Mortgage Rules Put Limits On Residential Real Estate Investors

September 10, 2008

In its last act as a semi-independent company, Fannie Mae altered mortgage guidelines for real estate investors last Friday. It was Fannie’s 22nd update this year. The first part of the guideline change limits the number of properties owned by any one person. Fannie Mae will now decline any mortgage application for a second home or […]

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Simple Real Estate Definitions : Home Inspection

September 4, 2008

A home inspection is a complete, top-to-bottom, visual check-up of the structure and systems of a house. It is meant to be an objective determination of a home’s condition. A home inspection usually takes 3-6 hours to complete, depending on the size of the home. During the inspection process, the inspector will examine all of the […]

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According To The Data, Housing May Have Already Touched Its Bottom

August 27, 2008

According to the June 2008 Case-Shiller Home Price Index, home prices in 15 of the 20 largest U.S. real estate markets either improved, or showed growth from the month prior. This is the fourth straight month in which that happened which means that a national housing recovery may already be underway. Now, it’s worth stating […]

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The Worst Places To Find Local Real Estate Information

August 22, 2008

Stories on TV about the national real estate market are misleading to Americans. This is because there is no such thing as a “national real estate market”. Consider the latest American Housing Survey.  It found that there are 124,377,000 homes in America spread across: 50 states, with More than 30,000 incorporated cities, and with An […]

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Good News For Homeowners : Housing Starts Tumble In July

August 19, 2008

Housing Starts measure the number of new housing “units” on which construction has started and in July, Housing Starts fell to its lowest levels since March 1991. For homeowners, this is a welcome bit of good news because as fewer homes are built, there is less inventory from which home buyers can choose. With fewer homes […]

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The Median Home Sales Price Fell Nationally, But “National” Data Is Irrelevant

August 15, 2008

Each month, the National Association of Realtors® releases a study called the Existing Home Sales report.  It’s a detailed look at “used” home sales data from all four regions of the country. One of the key findings in each Existing Home Sales report is something called the “median sales price”, the statistical price point at which half […]

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n Pictures : Mortgage Guidelines Get Tough For All Borrower Types — Quickly

August 13, 2008

It’s not your imagination — getting approved for a home loan is becoming increasingly more difficult. Taken from the Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of 84 banks, it illustrates the changing dynamic of mortgage guidelines. Most notable is the steep curve for “prime” mortgages, a type of home loan given to applicants exhibiting: A well-documented credit […]

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How To Make Sense Of The Pending Home Sales Index

August 12, 2008

When home sellers accepts a contract on MLS-listed property, the property’s official status changes from “Active” to “Pending”. By measuring the number of “Pending” homes nationwide, the National Association of Realtors® publishes its once-monthly Pending Homes Sales Index. The real estate industry group positions the report as a predictor of future home sales activity, stating that […]

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Changing Mortgage Guidelines Impact Buyers Of Second Homes And Investment Properties

August 1, 2008

Conforming mortgage guidelines are the Home Loan Rule Book, delineating between applicants that approved for a mortgage and those that do not. Effective today, the rule book just got a little bit tougher. According to Fannie Mae, homeowners converting their primary residence into a second home or investment property will be subject to additional underwriting […]

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Why Are Home Buyers Coming Back To The Market Now? There’s Suddenly Good Value In Real Estate.

July 25, 2008

Statistics won’t always tell the whole story, but they often provide good perspective. The graph at right shows Existing Home Sales data going back three years.  An “existing home” is one that can’t be called new construction; a “used home”, so to speak. Note the steep decline from 2005 through late-2007. Since November, however, Existing […]

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Foreclosure Rates Are Falling (Despite What You See In The Headlines)

July 10, 2008

According to RealtyTrac, the rate of foreclosures across the U.S. is slowing.  Versus May, June foreclosures fell at a 3 percent clip. 25 states showed improvement month-over-month, led by many of the same areas that had fueled foreclosure activity in 2007. A sampling of RealtyTrac’s data includes: California : Foreclosures down 4.54 percent Georgia : […]

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What To Do If Your HELOC Is Reduced By The Bank

June 27, 2008

A Home Equity Line of Credit is bank product that grants homeowners access to the equity in their home at anytime, usually using checks. Often called a HELOC, these equity-based credit lines function very much like credit cards: The rate is adjustable, tied to Prime Rate There is a minimum monthly payment There is a pre-set […]

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Simple Real Estate Definitions: PITI

June 24, 2008

Most homeowners make four housing-related payments each month: Principal on a mortgage Interest on a mortgage Taxes on the real estate owned Insurance for the real estate owned Collectively, these payments are known by the acronym PITI but don’t let it fool you — a homeowner’s monthly expenses are still called PITI even if one or […]

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Why Home Values May Rise When Home Building Falls To A 17-Year Low

June 18, 2008

A “Housing Start” is a new home on which construction has commenced and in May, Housing Starts fell to a 17-year low nationally. At first glance, this may seem like a negative for the already-battered U.S. housing market. It’s not. Falling Housing Starts reflects the broader real estate market and shows us that builders are working […]

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If That Home Is A “Good Buy”, Make Your Offer Quickly

June 17, 2008

Each month, University of Michigan researcher survey the U.S. population about their thoughts on the economy — is it improving, it is worsening, is it staying the same. May’s consumer confidence survey registered it’s lowest reading since 1980. Given the recent headlines, that shouldn’t be surprising: Unemployment is spiking Gas prices are at an all-time high […]

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Guess Which 4 States Accounted For More Than 50 Percent Of May 2008 Foreclosures

June 13, 2008

RealtyTrac released its most recent foreclosure statistics and if you only read the headlines, you think the entire country was on the verge of losing its homes. The underlying data tells a different story, however. More than half of the country’s foreclosure activity in May 2008 was tied to just 4 states in the union: California (28 […]

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Why Your “Dear Seller” Letter May Be Met With A “Dear John”

June 10, 2008

Several years ago, when homes sometimes sold within hours, prospective buyers often drafted “Dear Seller” letters, an accompanying personal note to help purchase offers stand out in a multiple-bid situation. Today, some buyers are writing a different kind of letter to win a seller’s favor — a letter explaining why the buyer’s offer is so […]

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18 of 20 Real Estate Markets Show Signs Of Improvement

May 29, 2008

The monthly Case-Shiller Housing Price Index is a popular and often-quoted measurement of the housing market’s health.  The chart above is sourced from its report published yesterday. In 18 of the 20 largest metropolitan areas, home values declined at a slower pace than in the previously measured month.  The report also showed that national home prices […]

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Simple Real Estate Definitions : Loan-to-Value

May 21, 2008

Loan-to-value is a math formula that represents the relationship between how much a home is “worth” and how much money is borrowed against it. Loan-to-value is often abbreviated as “LTV” and is one of the many factors that lenders consider when underwriting a mortgage application. The math formula is straightforward: In the LTV equation, Loan […]

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