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• A Time to Sell, a Time to Buy – Opportunities Abound for All in 2010

  MSC Marketing 1:05 pm on April 1, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: Consumer news and advice (162), First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), real estate (165), reluctant buyers (13), sellers (35)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, Seller Info, The Housing Market

  By Industry Advisor by Jose Perez

  RISMEDIA, April 1, 2010—The real estate brokerage industry is in the process of coming out of a significant storm that has wreaked havoc on a large percentage of firms. Some have failed, some are hanging on, and yet others are reinventing themselves for the future. Regardless of your company’s situation, it’s time to assess where you want to be in the next few years and what it’s going to take to get there. Doing nothing is simply not an option.

  For three years, innovation has been stifled due to the fact brokerages have been in “survival mode” and investments in the future, by necessity, have been largely ignored. Unfortunately, the expectation of agents and consumers has never been higher, thus forcing the industry to now start playing catch-up as the market begins to show signs of life. (More …)

  
   
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• Home Prices Increase Slightly in January 2010

  MSC Marketing 12:55 pm on April 1, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: Consumer news and advice (162), First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), housing market (54), median home prices (11), real estate (165)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, Statistics, The Economy, The Housing Market

  By Alejandro Lazo

  RISMEDIA, April 1, 2010—(MCT)—A national index of home prices rose unexpectedly in January 2010, with California cities posting strong gains, but some experts warned that the nation’s struggling housing market could be headed for another dip.

  The closely watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.3% from December on a seasonally adjusted basis. That marked eight consecutive months of home values improving or at least holding steady. (More …)

  
   
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• Fixer-Upper Financing: 203k Program Provides Buyers with Renovation Funds

  MSC Marketing 10:44 am on March 30, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: Consumer news and advice (162), First Time Home Buyers, housing affordability (45), real estate (165)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice

  By Eve Mitchell

  RISMEDIA, March 27, 2010—(MCT)—The word “as-is” can indeed be one scary phrase. Especially when buying a home in today’s market where foreclosures and short sales that need fix-up work are plentiful.

  But a little-known Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan program that’s been around since 1978 can help take the sting out of “as-is.” Only 219 borrowers took advantage of the FHA’s 203k program in 2009. Not that many lending and real estate professionals are aware of the program, say observers.

  Last year, Tom Meyer found a classic Oakland, Calif., home built in 1925 near Mills College he liked a lot. As a short sale it was priced right and about half the original asking price. Trouble was, the place needed some fix-up work—foundation improvements, dry rot work, a new roof over the garage and other improvements. (More …)

  
   
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• Mortgage Rates Could Spike as Federal Reserve Program Expires

  MSC Marketing 11:48 am on March 23, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: Consumer news and advice (162), economy (72), First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), Interest Rates (39)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Interest Rates, The Economy

  By Alan J. Heavens

  RISMEDIA, March 20, 2010—(MCT)—As the spring real estate season kicks in and the tax credit deadline for sale agreements approaches, the government is ending a program that has kept interest rates low and housing-affordability levels high for months.

  On March 31, the Federal Reserve will stop buying mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, returning control of interest rates to private investors.

  For months, industry observers have predicted that once government supports are removed, interest rates will rise quickly, pushing many of the first-time buyers critical to housing’s recovery out of the market. (More …)

  
   
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• Nab a real estate deal - while you still can

  MSC Marketing 9:13 am on March 3, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: best opportunities (7), Consumer news and advice (162), First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), housing affordability (45), real estate (165)   Filed under: Buyer Info, Consumer news and advice, economy, The Economy, The Housing Market

  By Beth Braverman, staff reporter, March 2, 2010

  (Money Magazine) — If you’ve been holding off on a real estate purchase, glimmers of a turnaround in the housing market may have you wondering if it’s finally time to make your move.

  While home prices remain low, they’re no longer free-falling in most markets. Mortgages are historically cheap. And the sweet tax credit that was offered to new buyers last year has been extended to April 30 and expanded to include current homeowners too. (More …)

  
   
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• A Golden Opportunity: 203k Program Helps First-Time Buyers Turn Dreams into Reality

  MSC Marketing 10:52 am on February 22, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), mortgage (62), real estate (165)   Filed under: Sarasota

  

  By Stephanie Andre

  RISMEDIA, February 22, 2010—As a first-time home buyer, Jessica Garcia was excited last April to officially begin her home search. She found a home within her price range, completed the lengthy paperwork and paid for the appraisals, only to later be told after four months that the deal would not close.

  Out of luck and out of money, Garcia was frustrated, but not defeated. She went back to her Realtor to start the search again. It was then that she found the home she would later purchase. Upon first glance, Garcia liked the home and saw its potential, but didn’t have the upfront money it would take to rehab the home the way it needed to be done.

  After some discussion, Garcia’s lender, Kevin Roy with Wells Fargo, realized that she might be able to take advantage of HUD’s 203k program, specifically designed to rehabilitate and repair single-family homes. The 203k is a single mortgage loan that provides funds to purchase a home and make repairs and improvements.

  “The home needed a lot of work,” explains Garcia, of North Port, Florida. “The previous owners had pets that had really torn up the carpeting and destroyed the blinds.”

  Indeed, the home needed new flooring, carpets and, most importantly, a water softener for its wellwater system. So, when the opportunity arose to take advantage of the 203k program, Garcia was game.

  (More …)

  
   
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• Condo Groups In Financial Pain

  MSC Marketing 2:32 pm on January 5, 2010 | Comments:0
  Tags: Bradenton (10), economy (72), First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), long-term investment (18), market emotion (30), mortgage (62), Sarasota (63), Today's Marketplace (34)   Filed under: Bradenton, Buyer Info, Condominiums, Sarasota, Seller Info, The Housing Market

  By MICHAEL BRAGA, The Herald Tribune – January 3, 2010

  The continuing foreclosure flood is creating severe financial problems for condominium associations across Florida, and members are complaining that banks and mortgage companies are doing nothing to help.

  

  Rich DiBello is the sales and rental director for Villagio Condominiums in Sarasota. Condo associations are facing financial difficulties, and many say lenders aren't doing enough to help.

  In fact, condo owners say that many lenders are delaying foreclosures to avoid paying association dues. That is requiring associations to slash costs and cut amenities, and forcing owners to fork over more cash to keep complexes humming.

  In something of a Catch-22, the financial problems at condo complexes also are prompting banks to tighten restrictions on lending.

  Banks will not lend in complexes that have not set aside 10 percent of their budgets for reserves. They will not lend when more than 50 percent of the units are rented. They also will not lend where a few owners control too many of the units or where too many owners are in default on their mortgages and dues.

  Those restrictions only make the crisis worse by driving condo values down and prompting more people to bail on their units, said Perry Corneau, a Sarasota real estate agent who specializes in condos. (More …)

  
   
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• As Buyers Respond to Tax Credit, U.S. Existing Home Sales Jump 7.4% in November 2009

  MSC Marketing 11:38 am on December 23, 2009 | Comments:0
  Tags: First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), median home prices (11), NAR (40), real estate (165), Today's Marketplace (34)   Filed under: Buyer Info, The Housing Market

  RISMEDIA, December 23, 2009—Existing home sales rose again in November 2009 as first-time buyers rushed to close sales before the original November 30 deadline for the recently extended and expanded tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

  Existing home sales–including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops– rose 7.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million units in November from 6.09 million in October, and are 44.1% higher (More …)

  
   
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• November 2009 Sales Up 86 Percent

  MSC Marketing 2:41 pm on December 15, 2009 | Comments:0
  Tags: competitive information (50), consumer confidence (53), First Time Home Buyers, market share (36), real estate (165), residential (65), Sarasota (63)   Filed under: Sarasota

  
  
  The Sarasota real estate market remained hot in November 2009 with overall sales nearly 86 percent higher than November 2008. Total sales stood at 578 in November, mirroring last month’s total of 574 and much higher than the 311 sales reported in November 2008. The breakdown was 417 single family homes and 161 condos sold last month.

  The fall has proven to be a busy one for many local Realtors®, and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Pending sales stood at 793 in November, just below last month’s total of 839, and far higher than last November, when only 504 pendings were reported. (More …)

  
   
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• BusinessWeek – Roth on Real Estate

  MSC Marketing 4:18 pm on December 10, 2009 | Comments:0
  Tags: First Time Home Buyers, home buyers (115), housing affordability (45), investment comparison (14), real estate (165), residential (65)   Filed under: Buyer Info, The Economy, The Housing Market

  If You Don’t Buy a House Now, You’re Stupid or Broke
  Interest rates are at historic lows but cyclical trends suggest they will soon rise. Home buyers may never see such a chance again, writes Marc Roth.

  Well, you may not be stupid or broke. Maybe you already have a house and you don’t want to move. Or maybe you’re a Trappist monk and have forsworn all earthly possessions. Or whatever. But if you want to buy a house, now is the time, and if you don’t act soon, you will regret it. Here’s why: historically low interest rates.

  As of today, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan with no points or fees is around 5%. That, as the graph above—which you can find on Mortgage-X.com—shows, is the lowest the rate has been in nearly 40 years.

  In fact, rates are so well below historic averages that it should make all current and prospective homeowners take notice of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

  And it is exactly that, based on what the graph shows us. Let’s look at the point on the far left.

  In 1970 the rate was approximately 7.25%. After hovering there for a couple of years, it began a trend upward, landing near 10% in late 1973. It settled at 8.5% to 9% from 1974 to the end of 1976. After the rise to 10%, that probably seemed O.K. to most home buyers.

  But they weren’t happy soon thereafter. From 1977 to 1981, a period of only 60 months, the 30-year fixed rate climbed to 18%. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, my dad was one of those unluckily stuck needing a loan at that time. (More …)