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• 5 Real Estate Trends to Look For in 2012

  MSC Marketing 2:10 pm on January 5, 2012 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, housing market (46), outlook 2012, prediction, seller info (63)   Filed under: Agent advice, Agent information, Buyer Info, Seller Info

  by The KCM Crew on January 3, 2012

  Predicting trends during the most volatile housing market in American real estate history is no easy task. We strongly believe these are the five real estate items we should keep an eye on in 2012:

  1. Buyers Will Return

  In 2011, a lack of consumer confidence in the overall economy dramatically impacted the housing market. Buyers were afraid to make a purchasing decision on any big ticket item. By the end of 2011, consumer confidence began to return and sales increased. Economic conditions will continue to improve throughout 2012 and consumer sentiment will solidify. Once that happens, home buyers will realize that now is the time to buy.

   

  2. Foreclosures Will Increase

  The ‘shadow inventory’ of foreclosures which has been growing since the robo-signing challenges of late 2010 will finally be introduced to the market. Distressed properties sell at discounted prices. They will impact the housing values of the non-distressed homes in the area.

  3. Prices Will Soften

  As more and more foreclosures come to market, there will be greater downward pressure on the values of houses in the region. Foreclosures impact values of non-distressed properties in two ways:

  • They will eat up some of the buyer demand in the market.
  • They will impact the appraisal on ALL transactions in the area.

  An increase in foreclosures will have a negative impact on values. This will cause more homes to be underwater.

  4. Short Sales Will Increase

  As mentioned above, we strongly believe that home prices will soften through at least the first half of 2012. Falling prices will force more homeowners into a position of negative equity. Negative equity is one of the triggers that cause people to strategically default on their mortgage obligations. If this happens, there could be an increase in the number of foreclosures. However, we predict that banks will take preventative measures which will help many of these homes avoid foreclosure by easing the requirements in the short sale process for both homeowners and real estate professionals.

  5. Great Agents Will Be VERY Successful

  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.

  Those who take that next step of learning how to simply and effectively communicate the market to their clients will be seen as industry leaders. These experts will dominate their markets.

  This blog will help you with the what and the why. If you are looking for help with how to communicate this information to clients and customers, go here.

  http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/01/03/9880-5-real-estate-trends-to-look-for-in-2012/

  
   
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• Home Sales Increase Across the Country

  Beth Ward 2:32 pm on December 1, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, housing market (46), NAR (34), seller info (63), Statistics (62), stats (21)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, NAR, National Association of Realtors, Seller Info, The Housing Market

  Posted By The KCM Crew On November 29, 2011

  The National Association of Realtors recently released their 2011 3rd Quarter Housing Report. In the report, they showed that combined sales of single family homes, condos and co-ops increased in EVERY state as compared to the 3rd quarter of last year. Here are the state-by-state numbers.  

  The next time someone says houses aren’t selling, ask them which state they live in and show them the chart.

  http://www.kcmblog.com/2011/11/29/home-sales-increase-across-the-country/print/

   

   

   

  
   
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• Does Your Lender WANT To Say “Yes!”?

  MSC Marketing 12:08 pm on June 9, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: appraisal (3), Buyer info, Credit (21), Interest Rates (37), Mortgage rates (6)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Credit, Interest Rates, mortgage, Property Appraisal

  by Dean Hartman on June 9, 2011

  As people go through the mortgage process today, I believe that they wonder if their lender has gone insane. Lenders ask for documentation repeatedly, constantly updating, asking for further clarification and explanation for everything. Income, credit, assets and appraisals are scrutinized at a level unseen in my 25+ years. It almost seems like they are trying to find reasons NOT to lend.

  But, I assure you, that is not the case. The only way lenders can stay in business is to lend money. It is what funds the operation and pays for salaries, rent and paper clips. Lending is what creates the value of the company. No closings, no revenue, no company.

  So why the perception of over-documentation and over analysis when we know the lenders have to make loans? This is the reality of a post-subprime world. Lenders got too liberal and under-documented files and forgot the primary role of underwriting (judging a borrower’s ABILITY and WILLINGNESS to repay the loan) as they approved files. And now, the pendulum has swung back to a very conservative stance. Common sense seems to have been replaced by a “Cover Your Butt Mentality”.

  No one is immune. Appraisers error on the side of lower valuations and heightened criticism of a home’s condition.  Underwriters labor over pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements and credit information. Closing agents meticulously examine title and closing documents. Each of them has learned that their mistakes, miscalculations, or errors in judgment (no matter how minor) can result in a loss of their job, a bad loan, and/or monetary damages to their companies.

  So, today I just wanted to counsel home buyers. Your lender WANTS to make your loan. However, understand that they have been burned by borrowers, burned by their bad judgment, burned by moronic industry trends of the past. Lenders are going to be a little gun shy. If you can prove that you are willing and able to repay the loan, lenders have lots of money available at incredible (once-in-a-lifetime) rates. When you think your lender is asking for too much, know it’s because they want to say “yes” AND know that their decision is both a good and defendable one.

  http://kcmblog.com/2011/06/09/does-your-lender-want-to-say-%e2%80%9cyes%e2%80%9d/#more-8191

  
   
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• Spring Warms Luxury Demand

  MSC Marketing 8:48 am on May 5, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, Luxury (28), pricing (37), seller info (63), The Housing Market (27), wealth (3)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, Luxury, pricing, Seller Info, The Housing Market, Wealth

  By Steve Cook

  RISMEDIA, May 5, 2011—It’s still very much a “cold” buyer’s market according to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s April 24 Luxury Housing Report, but early numbers from the spring home buying season suggest that demand is warming up.

  Inventories of homes over $1 million built up over the winter, but even with more properties coming on market with warmer weather, increasing the national inventory from 27,500 to 32,500 since January, days on market have dropped markedly in recent weeks. (More …)

  
   
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• Michael Saunders & Company Introduces New Mobile Website

  Beth Ward 9:27 am on May 3, 2011 | Comments:1
  Tags: Buyer info, mobile, Seller information (37), Technology (11), web (10)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, Mobile, Seller Info, Technology, Web

  Click on below image for printable format.

  

  
   
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• We Think We’re Going to Believe Grandpa

  MSC Marketing 3:58 pm on March 24, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, buyers (15), home ownership   Filed under: Buyer Info, Home owner information

  by The KCM Crew on March 22, 2011

  There are those currently debating the financial advantages of owning a home. Some are looking at studies and reporting that homeownership has never really been a great investment.

  One of these people is Jack C. Francis, a former Federal Reserve economist and professor at Baruch College. He said in a recent CNBC article:

  “For generations, parents and grandparents have been telling us that the way to get ahead was to buy a house and keep making payments with a fixed interest rate and after 20 or 30 years it would be way up in value and that was your nest egg in old age. You could either live in it rent free or sell it and use the proceeds to rent an apartment.”

  The article goes on to explain the rest of Mr. Francis’ comment:  

  That was good advice until 2006 when home prices collapsed, he says, and it “may become good advice 10 years from now, but right now it’s not.”

  Mr. Francis bases his conclusions on a study he completed which covered the years 1978 through 2008. In his study it showed that home prices increased annually by 5.7% and that the S&P 500 increased by 10.8%. Based on this information, Mr. Francis gives the following advice: (More …)

  
   
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• If Prices Are Falling, Why Are the Rich Buying?

  MSC Marketing 4:33 pm on March 15, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, Luxury (28), Seller information (37), upper end housing market   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, Credit, economy, Federal Goverment, Home owner information, Luxury, People, Seller Info, The Housing Market

  by The KCM Crew on March 14, 2011

  There is an interesting phenomenon taking place in the real estate market. While house prices are falling, the rich are starting to purchase. DataQuick Information Systems reported last week that sales on homes $1 million or more rose 18.6% last year after four consecutive years of decline. This is at the same time that sales outside of this price point actually fell 2.8%.

  And even more amazing is that homes over $5 million have also increased substantially. Housing Wire reported that:

  In 2010, 975 homes sold in this bracket, up nearly 14% from the year prior.

  Why would the wealthy be starting to purchase especially when everyone is predicting that prices will soften? The people of wealth understand finances. They realize that the COST of real estate is a much more important than its PRICE. With the government attempting to make massive changes to the residential lending business, the wealthy know financing  a home may never be better. They realize it is time to buy. They can purchase a million dollar+ home for a rate lower than at almost any time in history.

  Rates are at historic lows and the spread for jumbo loans has shrunk dramatically. As CNN Money explained: (More …)

  
   
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• Economy Embarking on Period of Expansion, According to Fannie Mae’s Economic & Mortgage Market Analysis Group

  MSC Marketing 8:39 am on March 1, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, Consumer news and advice (159), housing (3), inventory (3), seller info (63), the economy (18), The Housing Market (27)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, economy, Seller Info, The Economy, The Housing Market

  RISMEDIA, February 28, 2011—Continued improvements in economic activity driven by strong growth in consumer spending are moving the economy beyond the recovery phase and into a period of expansion, according to the February 2011 Economic Outlook released by Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group. For 2011, economic growth is projected to accelerate to 3.7%, up from 2.8% economic growth in 2010.

  Housing has yet to see robust movement and continues to lag the rest of the economy, according to the group. On the upside, the excess supply of housing appears to have peaked. In addition, the rental vacancy rate fell, indicating the excess supply of housing is being worked off slowly—a trend necessary for housing to return to stability. The downward trend in the rental vacancy rate is consistent with the downward trend in the homeownership rate, which implies a rising share of households have chosen renting over owning. The homeownership rate fell to 66.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, down from a peak of 69.2% in late 2004.

  “We have confidence that the economy is on stronger legs with a sustainable growth path. Our projected annual growth rate for 2011 is nearly a full percent higher than the annual growth rate for 2010, which is a significant event,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “Economic cross currents such as the lack of sustained strong job growth, state and local fiscal issues and geo-political uncertainty in the Middle East present downside risks. Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives.”

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

  http://rismedia.com/2011-02-27/economy-embarking-on-period-of-expansion-according-to-fannie-maes-economic-mortgage-market-analysis-group/

  
   
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• Get in while the Getting’s Good – Why Buyers and Sellers Should Take Advantage of Today’s Real Estate Market

  MSC Marketing 8:18 am on February 16, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, Case-Shiller, Consumer news and advice (159), housing market (46), seller info (63)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, Seller Info

  By Dan Steward

  RISMEDIA, February 16, 2011—The Case-Shiller Index is one of the country’s most popular ways of measuring the movement of home prices. And in its latest rating, which went out in late December, the verdict was: Prices are down. The Case-Shiller report’s 20-City Composite rating was 0.8% lower than it was one year previously; the first year-on-year decrease since October 2009.

  In some markets, sales were the worst ever—as the report noted: “While the composite housing prices are still above their spring 2009 lows, six markets—Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Portland (OR), Seattle and Tampa—hit their lowest levels since home prices started to fall in 2006 and 2007, meaning that average home prices in those markets have fallen beyond the recent lows seen in most other markets in the spring of 2009.” This may make buyers complacent, expecting prices to go down further. And if you’re a seller, your immediate reaction might be to hide under the covers. (More …)

  
   
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• Government Support of Housing Finance to be Gradually Eliminated Over Next Five to Seven Years

  MSC Marketing 8:29 am on February 15, 2011 | Comments:0
  Tags: Buyer info, Federal Goverment (4), mortgage (54)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Federal Goverment, mortgage

  By Alan J. Heavens

  RISMEDIA, February 15, 2011—(MCT)—In a move that had been widely anticipated, the Obama administration said last week that it wants to get the government out of the mortgage business by winding down operations at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next five to seven years.

  “Fundamental reform” is the aim, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in announcing the plan to not only “shrink the government footprint in housing,” but also “strengthen consumer protection and preserve access to affordable housing for people who need it.”

  The plan calls for:

  -Withdrawing government support of housing finance by gradually eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which would bring private capital back into the market. The government now guarantees nine of every 10 home loans, which Geithner says has discouraged private capital’s return. (More …)