MSC Resources

Predicting trends during volatile economic times in American is no easy task. However, we are going to give it our best shot. We strongly believe these are the five real estate items we should keep an eye on in 2013:

Demand for Housing Will Continue to Surge

The housing market has turned the corner and there is no reason to believe that buyer demand will not maintain momentum throughout 2013. Household formations shot up to boom-time levels in 2012 and are projected to increase at even a faster rate over the next twelve months. A lack of inventory will be more of a challenge to sales increases than will a lack of demand.

Generations X and Y Will Prove They Believe in Homeownership

Contrary to what many have hypothesized over the last few years, young adults (18-35 year olds) are just as committed to homeownership as previous generations. Recent studies have shown:

43% already own a home

72% see homeownership as part of their personal American Dream

93% of those currently renting plan to buy a home

This, along with the increase in household formations mentioned above, makes us believe that 2013 will be the year that many of these young adults will jump into homeownership.

Prices Will Continue to Increase

Pricing of any item is determined by supply and demand. Demand for housing will remain strong throughout 2013. At the same time, the supply of homes ready for is shrinking in many parts of the country. Outside of a few states that still have challenges with large inventories of distressed properties (NY, NJ, CT, IL for example), prices will appreciate nicely.

Even in the areas that are still dealing with high percentages of foreclosures and short sales, prices will not tumble dramatically. The increase in demand will absorb much of this inventory. In these areas, prices will either flatten or perhaps soften to a small degree.

Move-Up Sellers Will Return in Great Numbers

Perhaps what many will find as the biggest surprise of 2013 will be the return of the ‘move-up’ seller. Over the last several years negative equity has prevented many of these sellers from moving up to the house of their dreams. However, with prices recovering, more and more of these sellers will realize that now may be their greatest opportunity to make the move to a lifestyle they always wanted.

With home prices expected to increase and more stringent mortgage qualifications (QR and QRM) scheduled to be announced this year, we believe that the first half of the year will bring many of these sellers/buyers to the market.

The Consumer Will Demand That Their Agent Be an Expert

Real Estate professionals who have invested the money, time and energy to truly understand what is happening and why it is happening will separate themselves from their competition and do very well this year.

http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/12/27/5-real-estate-trends-to-look-for-in-2013/

Buyers Predict Home Prices Will Increase

MSC Marketing — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:38:01 +0000

Nearly three quarters of potential buyers believe home prices will increase in their neighborhood in the next twelve months, twice as many as in the first quarter.

Despite forecasts that prices will increase less in 2013 than this year, buyers are more concerned by rising prices than the overall economy. Thirty-three percent of buyers listed rising prices as a major concern in the fourth quarter, up from just 23 percent in the third quarter. Meanwhile, 22 percent said they were concerned with a weak economy, down from 27 percent in the third quarter, according to the Redfin Real-Time Homebuyer Survey. From November 30 to December 2, 2012, Redfin surveyed 1,084 active homebuyers who had toured a home with a Redfin agent since August 14.

More Than 70 percent of buyers believe prices will rise next year in their markets. The number of buyers who believe prices are rising shot up even higher in the fourth quarter, although most still expect gains to be modest. Ten percent of respondents expect home prices in their area to “rise a lot” over the next twelve months, the same as last quarter; 61 percent expect prices to “rise a little” an increase of ten percentage points over last quarter. Twenty-one percent expect prices to “stay the same,” 6 percent expect prices to “drop a little,” and less than 1 percent expect prices to “drop a lot.”

A growing number of buyers are planning to buy in order to get out in front of rising prices. Thirty-three percent of respondents indicated rising prices as a motivation for buying now, up from 29 percent in the third quarter and just 19 percent in the first quarter. Not surprisingly, a decreasing number of buyers cited “low home prices” as their reason for buying-just 28 percent in this quarter’s survey, down from 33 percent in the third quarter and 40 percent in the first quarter.

More than half (59 percent) of buyers listed low inventory as their top concern with buying now, consistent with last quarter’s rate. When we asked buyers how low inventory was affecting their home search, nearly half (46 percent) indicated that they have expanded their search to include new areas that they hadn’t previously been considering, while 38% indicated that they would be taking a break until more listings come on the market.

In the nine months between Redfin’s first quarter survey and the fourth quarter survey, the percentage of buyers who were also potential home sellers roughly doubled, from 8 percent to 16 percent; after years of rising, the percentage of first-time home-buyers actually decreased from 48 percent to 37 percent. Over that same time, buyers who believe prices will rise over the next 12 months has gone from one in three (34 percent), a minority, to an overwhelming majority, nearly 3 in 4 (71 percent); the number that considered delaying a purchase to see if prices dropped further declined from nearly 1 in 3 (29 percent) to one in 20.

For homebuyers who are not first-timers, we asked if they’re planning to buy a home that is bigger, smaller, or the same size as their current home. The most common response was “much bigger,” at 49 percent. Only 9.6 percent intend to buy a home that is much smaller, while the remaining 41 percent are planning to buy a home that’s the same size but is nicer, more affordable, or in a different location.

Most homebuyers are not very concerned about the Fiscal Cliff and possible changes to the Mortgage Interest Deduction. Although the possible consequences of some of the proposed changes may be large for certain people, only about 5 percent of buyers are seriously concerned and only 23 percent are being more cautious in their home search while they wait to see how things pan out.

For more information, visit http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com

Michael Saunders Weekly Ads – December 2012

Michelle Hague — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:44:46 +0000

Sarasota Herald Tribune
Dec 30, 2012 Download PDF Document

Boca Beacon
Dec 28, 2012 Download PDF Document

Longboat Observer
Dec 27, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota County Observer
Dec 27, 2012 Download PDF Document

East County Observer
Dec 27, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota Herald Tribune
Dec 23, 2012 Download PDF Document

Bradenton Herald
Dec 22, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sun FLAIR
Dec 22, 2012 Download PDF Document

Boca Beacon
Dec 21, 2012 Download PDF Document

Longboat Observer
Dec 20, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota County Observer
Dec 20, 2012 Download PDF Document

East County Observer
Dec 20, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota Herald Tribune
Dec 16, 2012 Download PDF Document

Bradenton Herald
Dec 15, 2012 Download PDF Document

Boca Beacon
Dec 14, 2012 Download PDF Document

Longboat Observer
Dec 13, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota County Observer
Dec 13, 2012 Download PDF Document

East County Observer
Dec 13, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota Herald Tribune
Dec 9, 2012 Download PDF Document

Bradenton Herald
Dec 8, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sun FLAIR
Dec 8, 2012 Download PDF Document

Boca Beacon
Dec 7, 2012 Download PDF Document

Longboat Observer
Dec 6, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota County Observer
Dec 6, 2012 Download PDF Document

East County Observer
Dec 6, 2012 Download PDF Document

Sarasota Herald Tribune
Dec 2, 2012 Download PDF Document

Bradenton Herald
Dec 1, 2012 Download PDF Document

FHA says flip away — within limits

MSC Marketing — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:18:10 +0000

Temporary waiver of 90-day ‘anti-flipping’ rule extended through 2014

By Ken Harney, Monday, December 3, 2012.

Inman News®

Good news for single-family home investors, rehabbers and buyers seeking to use low down payment FHA financing: The temporary waiver of FHA’s 90-day “anti-flipping” rule was extended last week through 2014.

The waiver, which facilitates purchases of homes from sellers who have held title to their properties for less than 90 days, continues a policy first adopted by the Obama administration in 2010.

Starting in 2003, FHA had imposed the 90-day standard as part of an effort to rein in rampant quick-flips of houses where investors made minimal or no improvements to rundown, foreclosed or abandoned houses, then sold them days or weeks later at high price markups with the help of inflated appraisals to purchasers using FHA loans.

Those flips frequently involved collusion and fraud by teams of mortgage loan officers, realty agents and appraisers — even straw buyers who defaulted and disappeared without making a single payment — and racked up significant losses to FHA’s insurance fund. Neighborhoods suffered because the properties remained empty and in bad physical condition, depressing values of houses in the immediate vicinity.

Since 2011, FHA has made annual extensions of its waiver. This year, an FHA official told me Friday, the agency opted for a two-year term in order “to provide greater levels of certainty” for lenders and buyers, removing questions about whether, and for how long, the waiver would be continued. Since the first waiver in 2010, according to the official, FHA has successfully insured $11 billion worth of mortgages on 65,250 homes where the seller had held title for less than 90 days.

In a Federal Register notice Nov. 29 announcing the extension, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol J. Galante said the objective is to increase “the availability of affordable homes for first-time and other purchasers, helping stabilize real estate prices as well as neighborhoods and communities where foreclosure activity has been high.”

Among the key requirements that will continue during the latest waiver:

All transactions must be arm’s-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other participants. Lenders are required to ensure that the seller actually holds title to the property. (In earlier flipping schemes, buy-sell transactions sometimes moved so fast that the seller never acquired legal title.) There should be no “pattern” of previous flips of the property during the 12 months preceding the transaction.

In cases where the sales price of the resold property is more than 20 percent more than what the seller paid for it, there must be documentation showing the renovations and repairs that justify the markedly higher resale price. A second appraisal may be used to substantiate the increase in value, but the second appraiser must be selected from FHA’s roster. When no significant renovations occur and the price is 20 percent higher than acquisition, the appraiser must provide “appropriate explanation” for the sudden increase.

Inspections are required of all the key components of the building structure and systems when price jumps exceed 20 percent. The inspection report must be provided to the purchaser before closing. If the inspection reveals structural or “health and safety” defects, repairs must be completed before the closing and a final inspection performed to ensure that the repairs have been made.

Real estate professionals and others involved in single-family investment activities welcomed the latest extension and its two-year time span. Kevin Kim, an agent with Windermere Preferred Living in Brea, Calif., said “this definitely benefits my investors, but it’s also good for communities” where high rates of foreclosure have left properties sitting around in deteriorating conditions.

Kim said most of his investor clients do not exceed the 20 percent price-increase threshold — “typically it’s more like 10 to 12 percent” — but they virtually all try to acquire, renovate and resell in less than 90 days.

Cathy Bureau, broker-owner of Green Home Realty in San Antonio, Texas, who specializes in the central areas of the city, says FHA’s two-year extension assures investors that there will be takeout financing for buyers, thereby cutting costs on the “hard money” line of credit financing they use to acquire their houses. At interest rates of 14 to 16 percent, “every day costs money,” she said, so for investors the ability to sell quickly after completing repairs is crucial.

Ken Harney writes an award-winning, nationally syndicated column, “The Nation’s Housing,” and is the author of two books on real estate and mortgage finance.

http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/kenharney/fha-says-flip-away-within-limits?goback=.gde_2224358_member_193427633

Top Shopping Destinations Worldwide

MSC Marketing — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:28:31 +0000

By Amy Bertrand

(MCT)—Our holiday season is in full swing. We are working on gift guides, toy tests, holiday cookie issues and more.

So it’s not so hard for us to believe that the holiday season is right around the corner. In fact, we feel it’s time we start shopping now! Cheapflights.com just announced a fun list of the top shopping experiences worldwide.

Here are a few:

—Bond Street, London, England — The West End of London is a pedestrian’s delight. Add in Bond Street and you’ve got a little taste of consumer heaven. The most luxurious shops in the world are slotted between Oxford Street and Piccadilly, giving visitors a chance to explore the city’s impressive history and retailers at the same time. Sotheby’s auction house, an icon for more than a hundred years, still stands today.

—Fifth Avenue, New York, USA — Is there a better time of year to visit New York City than the holiday season? (Answer: no.) The city comes alive as Rockefeller Center lights up, ice skaters get in line at Bryant Park, and New Yorkers and tourists alike scour the city — block by block — for gifts galore. The ultimate New York Shopping experience: Fifth Avenue. The most luxurious boutiques on the globe cram into a few blocks of prime real estate on this Manhattan stretch. And for those unwilling to spend a bundle, there are the holiday window displays — a destination in themselves.

—Strøget, Copenhagen, Denmark — Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping area offers a wonderful spectrum of stores (from high-end boutiques to souvenir shops) and people (from street performers to magicians to eager-to-buy tourists). Linking Town Hall Square in the west with King’s New Square in the east, the car-free streets include everything from international luxury brands – including Prada, Louis Vuitton and Hermès — to local, more affordable retailers.

—Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, France — One of the City of Light’s widest avenues, Boulevard Haussmann is home to magnificent department stores, including Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps. Decked with lights inside and out during the holiday season, the blocks-long buildings are architectural wonders — and fantastic one-stop destinations to shop for the entire family. Find everything from jewelry to men’s and women’s clothing to gourmet food at these Parisian establishments.

—Orchard Road, Singapore — The two-kilometer-long shopping hub is one of Singapore’s biggest tourist attractions. Dozens of malls line Orchard Road, offering every type of shopping option a buyer could imagine. After window browsing Gucci, Prada and Coach, consider resting your aching feet at one of the mall’s many luxurious spas or movie theaters. And, when your credit card is maxed out, head east to Bras Basah Road, where some of Singapore’s top museums — including the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum – are situated.

And, of course, Rodeo Drive, California — Immortalized by Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman,” Rodeo Drive is one of the most posh strips of boutique shopping in the world. Nestled in LA’s exclusive Beverly Hills neighborhood, the three-block-long mecca of high-end institutions (think Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Versace) is an absolute must for visitors to the West Coast.