Archive for the ‘real estate investment websites’ Category

Stable financial system requires transparency

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

According to a group of analysts and business executives, one of the major problems leading to the financial system meltdown was a lack of transparency. They disclosed the reason to REALTORS® during the Real Estate Summit at the 2010 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C.

Alan Boyce, CEO of Absalon said that Institutional secrecy, whether intended or not, made it difficult to get good data and understand risk. For instance, the mortgage-backed securities market was “opaque” and “idiosyncratic” prior to the housing meltdown, he said. His company, Absalon, is a joint venture between VP Securities and Soros Fund Management; its purpose is to empower countries to adopt the beneficial attributes of the Danish mortgage system.

Pending home sales on the rise

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the pending home sales increased again in March. This affirms that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1 percent above March 2009 when it was 85.0. However this has been followed by an 8.3 percent increase in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, favorable affordability conditions have been working with the tax credit. “Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales,” he said.

Purchase of troubled properties on the rise

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

An increasing number are joining together to buy up troubled properties as more neighbors face the problem of a vacant house on the block. Housing research group PolicyLink said that such purchases are happening”a fair amount” and are usually good for a community. However they couldn’t find any solid numbers.
According to Kate Wilson of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp, the cooperating neighbors can have trouble getting a mortgage because these consortiums of private investors usually don’t have enough money for a substantial down payment.

“Buyers need to be clear about what they’re committing themselves to,” says Kris Nelson, director of neighborhood programs for the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He added that it takes more than good intentions to make a cooperative purchase work. “What happens when the property needs a new roof or expensive repairs?” he asked.

Tax credit deadline hurries buyers

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Home buyers everywhere are hurrying to get in under the wire as the federal tax credits come to an end.
In California the rush has turned into something of a stampede. Some buyers were trying to qualify for both the federal credit and a $10,000 state credit that kicks in Saturday.

“I am looking at properties almost constantly, and it is just kind of a feeding frenzy right now”, says one home shopper tells the Los Angeles Times. According to Rick Hoffman, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Diego and Temecula Valley, the stimulus had worked and buyers are confident that we have seen the bottom of the real estate market and that we are on the way back up.