Daily Real Estate News
| Jan 2010 | Share
Housing Analysts Predict the Bottom Is Near
The bottom of the housing decline is near, predicted analysts and home builders attending the National Association of Home Builders’ semiannual Construction Forecast Conference last week.
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, facetiously picked a date when home prices would stop falling: Dec. 15, 2009. Other observers weren’t so precise, but they did generally agree that the federal government’s efforts to shore up the market would take effect by the end of 2009 or early in 2010.
Analysts also predicted that consumers will spend less on remodeling. Eric Belsky, executive director at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, predicted that spending on remodeling would fall 12.3 percent by the end of this year compared to last.
Analysts project that the credit crisis will loosen, although people with blemished credit records may continue to have trouble getting mortgage loans.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (04/24/2009)
Daily Real Estate News
| JAn 2010
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Good Time to Buy Vacation Property
For buyers who can afford it, right now is a great time to pick up a second home in a vacation paradise at a bargain price.
Since there are fewer people with money to spend on this kind of a luxury item, sales as well as prices are down in many prime areas. Buyers with the desire and the wherewithal can get a really good deal.
BusinessWeek and Zillow.com took a look at the second-home markets where prices dropped between the fourth quarter of 2007 and fourth quarter of 2008.
Here is a sampling of places where vacation homes are on sale:
? Scottsdale, Ariz.: 27 percent
? Mystic, Conn.: 17.2 percent
? Napa, Calif.: 21 percent
? Marco Island, Fla.: 27 percent
? Las Vegas: 26.8 percent
? Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.: 15.6 percent
? Sunriver, Ore.: 15.7 percent
? Chesapeake Beach, Md.: 2.9 percent
? Lake George, N.Y.: 4.2 percent
? Newport, R.I.: 2 percent
Source: BusinessWeek.com, Prashant Gopal (04/29/2009)
Daily Real Estate News
| Dec 2009
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U.S. to Offer Incentives to Modify Seconds
The Obama administration is announcing incentives today for mortgages servicers to modify home equity loans and other second mortgages.
Servicers must agree to modify second mortgages when the first mortgage has been modified. They must extend the term of the second mortgage and match the rate of the first mortgage. Then the government will share the cost with the servicer of cutting the rate to 1 percent for amortizing loans and 2 percent for interest-only loans.
Under the program, the government will pay mortgage servicers $500 upfront and $250 a year for three years for the modifications. Borrowers will receive payments of up to $250 a year for five years if they stay current on the modified loan.
There will also be a schedule of incentives for holders of second liens to drop their claims altogether.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and Treasury will make the announcement jointly.
Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase have already agreed to participate in the program.
A separate announcement will include changes to the Hope for Homeowners program, which helps homeowners refinance into more affordable government-backed loans. To get this program moving, the administration is announcing a $2,500 upfront payment to servicers. Lenders will receive $1,000 a year for three years if the loan stays current.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Jessica Holzer (04/28/2009)
