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Renting vs Buying..Take a Second Look

Stuart Lewis — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:54:00 GMT

Falling home prices have sent many would-be buyers to the sidelines. If all goes well, record low interest rates and rising rents may soon prompt some of them to take a second look at buying. Unfortunately, that's a big "if," according to Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics.

Much of the decision to buy a house still depends on your personal finances and preferences, your career or family life, or level of financial security. But if you’re comparing just the cost of owning and renting, buying a house may soon be the better choice, according to Diggle. Until recently, home ownership was no bargain compared to renting, according to his analysis. A 33 percent drop fall in home prices, a plunge in mortgage rates and 15 percent rise in rents since the housing crash has evened the scales. Today, the median monthly mortgage payment of about $700 has fallen to about the level of a median monthly rent check. If mortgage rates keep falling and rents keep rising, the equation will tip even further toward o

But that analysis doesn’t include the total cost of owning versus renting. A full accounting includes closing costs, maintenance, insurance and property taxes, tax savings from mortgage deductions, gains or losses from home equity, among other factors. Renters have to think things about broker fees and future rent hikes. You also have to make some assumptions about future trends in housing prices and rents.

When you take those factors into account — which Diggle has done with a homegrown “calculator” — someone who plans on staying put for seven years would come out ahead by about $9,000 if they bought a median-priced home rather than being a tenant in a median-priced rental. Diggle’s calculation assumes that rents keep rising by about 3 percent a year and that house prices stay flat in 2012 and 2013 and then begin rising in 2014 at about 3 percent a year.

If house prices fall further, all bets are off, said Diggle. In that case, the renters come out ahead. “At the moment, (that) downside scenario is more likely to materialize than the upside one,” he said. Even if Diggle's calculator were to signal a “strong buy” for home ownership, he doesn’t expect that would spark a buyers' stampede. Most first-time buyers or households who lost a home to foreclosure don’t have the 20 percent down payment many lenders are insisting on. They may also have trouble getting a mortgage with a credit score of 700 or more — a higher bar than the 650 score that was the norm for the past two decades. “A large share of the population has dropped out of the pool of potential buyers,” he said. “Given that the choice between owning and renting a home is a luxury than many Americans simply do not have, the fact that this does appear to be the time to buy will have only a minimal effect on actual sales. Accordingly, we expect only a modest housing recovery over the next few years.

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Voters Weigh In On Housing

Stuart Lewis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Voters Issue Warnings to Politicians on Housing

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, January 12, 2012

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A majority of American voters say they value home ownership and oppose any steps by the government that make it more difficult to own a home, according to a nationwide poll of 1,500 likely voters, commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders. In fact, the poll revealed a word of caution to any politicians running for office or re-election that they better not put roadblocks in the way of home owners’ — or those aspiring to be home owner’s — if they want to win votes.

About 96 percent of home owners surveyed say they are happy with their decision to own a home, and even 84 percent of home owners who owe more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth say they are happy with home ownership. However, certain actions or threats by lawmakers lately are putting up roadblocks to home ownership, the voters say.

"The American electorate is sending a clear message that owning a home remains a cornerstone of the American dream and preserving a federal commitment to home ownership is essential to maintain a thriving middle class and get housing and the economy back on track," said Neil Newhouse, a partner of Public Opinion Strategies who conducted the survey.

2 Warnings From Voters

Here are two main messages that voters had for lawmakers, according to the survey:

1. Leave the mortgage interest deduction alone. Seventy-three percent of voters say they oppose eliminating the mortgage interest deduction or reducing it in any way across income levels. In fact, 68 percent of voters say they would be less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who proposed to end the mortgage interest deduction — which held true across party lines.

2. Do more to help home owners and those who want to be. Three out of four voters — including home owners and renters — say it’s “appropriate” and “reasonable” for the federal government to provide tax incentives to promote home ownership. Two-thirds of those surveyed say that the federal government should do more to help qualified home buyers get a long-term or 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Also, nearly seven out of 10 voters who are not currently home owners say they want to buy a home one day but too many roadblocks still remain. The biggest obstacles to home ownership reported were job uncertainty and saving for a down payment and closing costs, according to the survey.

"Even in a down housing market, home ownership remains a core American value, with the vast majority of citizens who do not currently own a home saying they want to buy a home," Bob Nielsen, president of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement. "Those running for office in November need to understand that voters will not look kindly on any candidates who seek to dismantle the nation's long-term commitment to home ownership."

Source: National Association of Home Builders

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Housing Forecast for 2012

Stuart Lewis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:31:00 GMT

Housing to Give U.S. Economy Modest Push in ’12, Fannie Mae Says

By Prashant Gopal and Jody Shenn - Jan 13, 2012 9:00 A

Housing to Give U.S. Economy Modest Push in ’12

Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

A "sold" sign stands in the front yard of a new home under construction at the Toll Brothers Inc.

A "sold" sign stands in the front yard of a new home under construction at the Toll Brothers Inc. Photographer: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

Home sales and construction will improve this year, contributing “modestly” to economic expansion after acting as a drag on growth since 2006, according to a Fannie Mae (FNMA) forecast released today.

Sales of new and existing homes are likely to increase 3.5 percent and housing starts are projected to rise 16 percent, fueled by improvement in apartment development and a rebound in single-family house construction, according to the report by Douglas Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, and Orawin Velz, a director in its Economics and Mortgage Market Analysis group.

“With an expected improvement in housing activity in 2012, residential investment should start contributing to growth, albeit only modestly initially,” Duncan and Velz wrote.

The housing market has been held back by weak demand as high unemployment and concerns about job security prevent buyers from taking advantage of falling home prices and borrowing costs, Duncan said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s New York offices.

“We see an incremental increase only in the number of residential units that get moved through sale,” Duncan said. “It’s another sort of holding pattern.”

Mortgage rates will continue to provide support for the market, rising only slightly in 2012, according to the report. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 3.89 percent in the week ended yesterday, the lowest in records dating to 1971.

Originations to Decline

Mortgage originations in 2012 are expected to decline to $1.01 trillion from an estimated $1.36 trillion last year as refinancing “declines sharply,” according to the report. The refinancing portion is likely to drop to about 53 percent from about 66 percent last year because many homeowners have already taken advantage of lower rates, Duncan said.

The expansion this year of President Barack Obama’s three- year-old Home Affordable Refinance Program for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FMCC) loans with little or no home equity will add about $200 billion to $300 billion to refinancings, Duncan said. This year’s expected decline in mortgage originations would be steeper without the expansion, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Prashant Gopal in New York at pgopal2@bloomberg.net; Jody Shenn in New York at jshenn@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Taub at dtaub@bloomberg.net

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Home Foreclosures May Be on The Rise

Stuart Lewis — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:36:00 GMT

Banks may seize more than 1 million U.S. homes this year after legal scrutiny of their foreclosure practices slowed actions against delinquent property owners in 2011, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

About 1.89 million properties received notices of default, auction or repossession last year, down 34 percent from 2010 and the lowest number since 2007, the Irvine, California-based data seller said today in a statement. One in 69 U.S. households received a filing.

While the seizure process has been “highly dysfunctional,” there were “strong signs in the second half of 2011 that lenders are finally beginning to push through some of the delayed foreclosures in select local markets,” RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer Brandon Moore said in the statement.

The number of home repossessions is likely to rise about 25 percent from the more than 804,000 properties seized last year as lenders resume foreclosure actions, Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac, said in a telephone interview. Settlement talks are continuing with state attorneys general over documentation flaws, known as “robo-signing,” that surfaced in October 2010.

About 400,000 additional homes would have been repossessed without the slowdown, Blomquist said. The ramp-up in foreclosure proceedings that began in 2011’s second half is likely to continue this year, Moore said in the statement.

Foreclosure filings totaled almost 2.7 million last year as some properties got multiple notices, RealtyTrac said.

Highest in Nevada

Nevada (STEHNV) had the nation’s highest rate of foreclosure filings per household for the fifth straight year, at one in 16, while total filings were down 31 percent from 2010. A new state law that took effect in October requires lenders to file an additional affidavit before starting the foreclosure process.

Arizona had the second highest foreclosure rate, with one in 24 households receiving a notice, and California ranked third at one in 31. Georgia was fourth, with one in 37, and Utah fifth at one in 43, according to RealtyTrac.

Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Colorado and Idaho also ranked among the states with the 10 highest rates in 2011.

Las Vegas had the highest rate among metropolitan areas with populations over 200,000, at one foreclosure filing per 14 households. Stockton, Modesto, Vallejo-Fairfield and Riverside- San Bernardino, all in California, ranked second through fifth.

Phoenix; Merced, California; Reno, Nevada; Bakersfield, California; and Sacramento, California, rounded out the top 10, said RealtyTrac, which sells default data from more than 2,200 counties representing 90 percent of the U.S. population.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Levy in San Francisco at dlevy13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Taub at dtaub@bloomberg.net

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What are Buyers and Sellers Telling Us...

Stuart Lewis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:21:00 GMT

Just an observation…

What we are seeing locally is a shift in consumer confidence as it pertains to the Real Estate market on the Cape. In looking back, we have discussed the financial impact on the local market based on the action and fallout from the financial sector. We have weathered storms, adjusted our thinking, and tried to redefine how we deal with all the changes. In moving forward, people have decided to shift the stress of this behind them rather than letting it remain as the main emphasis in our everyday thinking.

What I am hearing from both the selling and buying sides of customers is an increased confidence that the worst is behind us, and it’s time to move on with our lives. So many of my clients have commented to me they have had their lives in a holding pattern, and have decided its time to shed the pressures and stress. This stress has been significant, and people know the toll it has taken both emotionally and physically – it is time for a cleansing process to begin.

Sellers are sharing that they felt frozen in a specific state of mind, and it was blocking their ability to plan on the future. They want to move into the next journey of their life, and get on with changes they have been thinking about for the past few years. There is a realization that enough is enough, and the price reductions they are entertaining or putting into place are coming at the correct time – in 2011 the final sale price was only 10% off of the listing price as opposed to 15% in 2010, but sellers have to have their home at that right price to bring in the offers.

Buyers are now coming forward and acting with confidence… they understand prices have adjusted, especially when dealing with properties on the Outer Cape. Old school buyers who have been sitting with their watch-list properties are seeing other savvy buyers taking them right out from under their nose as they sit on the side lines with ‘analysis paralysis’. My buyers tell me they want to move on with their lives…with historically low interest rates it's not important they wait for something on their watch-list to come down $10,000. They too are tired of the holding pattern – their life balance is more important than sitting on the sidelines watching the game being enjoyed by others.

If you or a friend are ready to take those necessary next steps, I look forward to working with you!

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Who you are in the decision making process...

Stuart Lewis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:37:00 GMT

So…Who are you, and where do you fit in below? As a single or couple looking, its important to know your style in the decision making process..

Achievers 25% Looking for a high end home that reflects their success:

exercise rooms, studies, gourmet kitchens, sumptuous

baths, and au-pair rooms are priority features

Authenticks 20% A home that provides a retreat, where they can unwind,

and pursue personal interests. Open, airy floor plans and

big windows help them feel connected with nature

Heartlanders 20% Traditional American home styles that blend in with the

community such as Cape Cods in New England, or

Colonial homes in the south. They like subdivisions, open

floor plans are ok, but dislike post modern designs

Trenders 20% Hot neighborhoods and convenient urban neighborhoods

often outweigh a homes design. They do appreciate

vintage designs as well as modern ones if the location

and the price is right

Self Sufficients 15% Home design isn’t critical to this group, although

traditional styles are probably favorites. They will con-

sider fixer uppers, and proximity to recreation might

be a big plus to their style

Source. Dennis Cahill, Cleveland State University

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Pre Approval vs Pre Qualification

Stuart Lewis — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:27:00 GMT

Pre-Qualified vs. Pre-Approval

With the changes in the fundamentals of the mortgage industry since the Wall Street crisis last fall, the process of buying a home today has changed. Before the modifications in the mortgage industry, due to the changes in the financial market, home buyers bid on a home, and submitted a loan application once an agreed price was accepted between the sellers and buyers. In today’s market, the process has reversed.

In the current market, sellers and real estate agents will request that the buyer has been pre-approved by a local lender for the specific home/condo they are submitting an offer for. This shows the credibility of the buyers that they are prepared and serious, and that the buyer is fully qualified to purchase the home and received a letter from a local lender. The letter is critical showing the buyer has met the lenders basic criteria of satisfactory credit, employment verified, and assets substantiated.

Pre-qualified, on the other hand, leaves doubt in the sellers and agents mind that the buyer has not been properly screened to qualify for the purchase. The bank could be an out of town lender not familiar with the local market and property types and styles, may have not reviewed a credit report, and in most cases may not have the company authority to issue a letter supporting the buyer’s ability to qualify for the mortgage. Sellers are interested in serious, qualified buyers, who have the written confirmation from a lender before they will seriously negotiate an offer.

Do your homework before starting the process. Have a letter or the ability to obtain a letter from your loan representative within a short time period, and make the buying process less stressful. Find out what you’re qualified for before your search rather than learning of the surprises later.

Information gatherer from About.com Home buying and selling

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Incentives for New York City Renters Fade

Stuart Lewis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:13:00 GMT

Manhattan Apartment Rents Jump 9.5% as Buyers Hold Off

By Oshrat Carmiel - Jan 12, 2012 12:01 AM ETEnlarg

Manhattan Apartment Rents Jump 9.5% as Would-Be Buyers Hold

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Work starts up on a construction site on 57th street in New York City.

Work starts up on a construction site on 57th street in New York City. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Manhattan apartment rents jumped 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter as landlords emboldened by increasing demand cut concessions and pushed price increases in what’s traditionally the slowest leasing season.

The median effective rent, or what tenants pay after landlord-sponsored incentives, rose to $3,121 a month from $2,849 a year earlier, according to a report today by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The number of new leases increased 10 percent to 7,942 as competition made tenants quicker to sign deals.

Stricter mortgage-lending standards and weak consumer confidence are limiting home purchases and driving demand for rentals, said Jonathan Miller, president of New York-based Miller Samuel. Manhattan apartment sales fell 12 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as Europe’s debt crisis and sluggish U.S. job growth dimmed buyer appetites, Miller Samuel and Prudential said on Jan. 4.

“It’s somewhat unprecedented that you have this robust rental market and yet we still have this economy that is not fully recovered,” Miller said in a telephone interview. “It’s because credit remains very tight.”

Apartments were rented within 37 days on average in the fourth quarter, the second-fastest pace in 17 years of Miller Samuel data. The three months through June was the quickest period, with properties averaging 33 days on the market.

Manhattan leasing tends to slow in the colder months, when corporate hiring winds down and there are fewer new college graduates searching for housing, Miller said. Over the last 20 years, the number of fourth-quarter leases has declined an average of 18 percent from the previous three months, according to Miller. This year, the number of deals signed in the three months through Dec. 31 almost matched the third-quarter total, he said.

Fewer Sweeteners

The surge in demand meant landlords could raise prices while eliminating incentives for would-be tenants, said Gary Malin, president of New York brokerage Citi Habitats, which also released a report on the rental market today. In 2011, 10 percent of deals brokered by Citi Habitats in 2011 included sweeteners such as a month’s free rent, down from 31 percent the year before.

Landlords also could afford to be choosier in accepting tenants, according to Caroline Bass, a broker with Citi Habitats.

“People were being incredibly strict for the winter season,” she said.

Kenneth Stojak, a recent transplant from South Carolina, sought Bass’s help in overcoming two things that made landlords hesitant: he owns a 115-pound dog and he doesn’t have a job.

Dog Surcharge

Stojak, 37, who left his post as chief financial officer of the Salty Dog Cafe on Hilton Head Island, was flexible. He’d considered third-floor walk-ups, was willing to pay as much as $2,300 and didn’t insist on a particular neighborhood. He had money in the bank to pay a full year’s rent and a guarantor backing him up.

After two rejections and a search of almost two months, he found a renovated 400-square-foot (37-square-meter) studio on 95th Street between Park and Lexington avenues. He agreed to the $2,100 rent, which included a $100-a-month surcharge for his dog, a 6-year-old French mastiff named Sonoma Wesson Porterhouse.

“You can’t be too proud coming into this market,” Stojak said. “You have to eat some humble pie and like what you get.”

Manhattan’s apartment vacancy rate at the end of the year was 1.1 percent, down from 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Citi Habitats.

Nationwide, apartment vacancies dropped to a 10-year low of 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter, allowing for rent increases that are likely to continue this year, Reis Inc. (REIS) said in a Jan. 5 report.

“Because the economy was so up and down, I think certain people put off their buy-side decisions temporarily until they figure out what’s going on,” Malin said. “Maybe you feel more comfortable dating your property rather than marrying it.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Oshrat Carmiel in New York at ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net

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Surge in Consumer Confidence for December

Stuart Lewis — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:12:00 GMT

Consumer confidence hits 8-month high in December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer confidence rose more than expected in December, hitting an eight-month high, as Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market and their financial situation.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer sentiment increased to 64.5 from a downwardly revised 55.2 in November.

Economists had expected a reading of 58.3 from a previously reported 56.0 in November.

The rise in sentiment offered hope for a pick-up in consumer spending after a tepid performance in November.

Labor market conditions have improved in recent months, with the unemployment rate falling to a 2-1/2 year low in November and applications for first time jobless benefits at the lowest since April 2008.

The survey's present situation index rose to 46.7 this month --- the highest since September 2008 -- from 38.3 in November. The expectations index surged to 76.4 from 66.4 in November.

"Consumers are more optimistic that business conditions, employment prospects and their financial situations will get better," the Conference Board said in a statement.

"While consumers are ending the year in a somewhat more upbeat mood, it is too soon to tell if this is a rebound from earlier declines or a sustainable shift in attitudes."

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Boom in the Rental Market!

Stuart Lewis — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:04:00 GMT

Courtesy of MSNBC online

Brian Keith is busier than ever as the architecture firm he works for rushes to wrap up work on a 300-unit apartment complex in Dallas.

The project is one of dozens the firm, JHP Architecture, has on its hands -- a surge of business driven by a rise in demand in the United States for rental properties.

The increased demand has forced JHP to expand, and it expects to keep hiring at least through the first quarter.

"We're seeing overall work come back and there's a backlog of contracts to go through," said Keith, director of urban design and planning at JHP. "There's strong interest in multi-family units and plenty of pent-up demand."

With U.S. unemployment at a lofty 8.6 percent, home foreclosures rising and property prices under pressure, more and more Americans have given up the dream of owning, opting instead to rent, a shift that is remaking the face of the U.S. housing industry.

The percentage of Americans who own their home dropped from a peak of 69.2 percent in late 2004 to a 13-year low of 65.9 percent in the second quarter. It edged up to 66.3 percent in the third quarter of this year.

On the flip side, the percentage of rental properties that are empty fell to 9.8 percent in the third quarter from 10.3 percent a year earlier.

In a recent report, Oliver Chang, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, dubbed 2012 "The Year of the Landlord."

"Rents are rising, vacancies are falling, household formations are growing and rental supply is limited," the Morgan Stanley report stated. "We believe the demand for rental properties will continue to grow."

Groundbreaking for new housing jumped 9.3 percent in November to the highest level in 19 months, fueling optimism that the battered housing market was regaining its footing. The gains, however, were almost solely in multifamily housing. Groundbreaking for structures with five or more units shot up more than 30 percent from October to now stand at nearly double the year-ago level.

Prices reflect the shift in demand. Rental costs are up 2.4 percent over the last year, compared with an increase of just 0.6 percent in 2010.

Steve Blitz, senior economist at ITG Investment Research, says the lure of higher returns is spurring the development of apartment buildings. He argued the next "boom" in residential construction has already started.

"The reason rents were rising is that through the past 15 years there has been an under-building of rental properties because typical renters were increasingly able to garner cheap financing to buy a house," he wrote in a research note.

While the rise in demand is great news for builders and developers, it remains unclear what the pick-up in homebuilding will mean for the economy as a whole.

"Residential construction will be a plus to GDP in 2012, but house price declines will be a negative. So net, net housing will be neutral or a small drag on the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

At its peak at the end of 2005, homebuilding accounted for about 6.2 percent of overall economic activity. Now, it is only about 2.4 percent.

U.S. housing starts in April 2009 hit their lowest level on records dating to January 1959. While multifamily starts have given them a lift, 2011 may be the weakest year ever for construction of single-family homes.

"Business is slightly down from last year," said Bill Zach, a third-generation homebuilder. His family business, the Zach Building Co. in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area, is mainly focused on single-family units.

To Zach, that his firm is still in business when so many of his competitors have gone bust represents some success.

"It used to be my competition was every guy that owned a pick-up truck and called himself a builder. Hundreds of them," Zach said. "That's no longer the case, those guys are dropping by the wayside."

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But there are signs of a turn and signals that the housing market may be close to finding a bottom.

The Architecture Billings Index, a gauge of future construction, picked up last month, breaking above the 50 level to signal growth in billings.

And the stock of homebuilders, as measured by a Dow Jones index, has shot up more than 30 percent since early October.

"Residential construction is finally beginning to rise from its post-recession lows," said Joseph Lavorgna, chief U.S. economist for Deutsche Bank. "The true test for starts and (building) permits, as well as most of the sales metrics, will come during the spring buying season."

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Tips for buying in this market

Stuart Lewis — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:26:00 GMT

Negotiate Your Best House Buy

Published: June 04, 2010 By: G. M. Filiskic

Keep your emotions in check and your eyes on the goal, and you’ll pay less when purchasing a home.

Buying a home can be emotional, but negotiating the price shouldn’t be. The key to saving money when purchasing a home is sticking to a plan during the turbulence of high-stakes negotiations. A real estate agent who represents you can guide you and offer you advice, but you are the one who must make the final decision during each round of offers and counter offers.

Here are six tips for negotiating the best price on a home.

1. Get prequalified for a mortgage

Getting prequalified for a mortgage proves to sellers that you’re serious about buying and capable of affording their home. That will push you to the head of the pack when sellers choose among offers; they’ll go with buyers who are a sure financial bet, not those whose financing could flop.

2. Ask questions

Ask your agent for information to help you understand the sellers’ financial position and motivation. Are they facing foreclosure or a short sale? Have they already purchased a home or relocated, which may make them eager to accept a lower price to avoid paying two mortgages? Has the home been on the market for a long time, or was it just listed? Have there been other offers? If so, why did they fall through? The more signs that sellers are eager to sell, the lower your offer can reasonably go.

3. Work back from a final price to determine your initial offer

Know in advance the most you’re willing to pay, and with your agent work back from that number to determine your initial offer, which can set the tone for the entire negotiation. A too-low bid may offend sellers emotionally invested in the sales price; a too-high bid may lead you to spend more than necessary to close the sale.

Work with your agent to evaluate the sellers’ motivation and comparable home sales to arrive at an initial offer that engages the sellers yet keeps money in your wallet.

4. Avoid contingencies

Sellers favor offers that leave little to chance. Keep your bid free of complicated contingencies, such as making the purchase conditional on the sale of your current home. Do keep contingencies for mortgage approval, home inspection, and environmental checks typical in your area, like radon.

5. Remain unemotional

Buying a home is a business transaction, and treating it that way helps you save money. Consider any movement by the sellers, however slight, a sign of interest, and keep negotiating.

Each time you make a concession, ask for one in return. If the sellers ask you to boost your price, ask them to contribute to closing costs or pay for a home warranty. If sellers won’t budge, make it clear you’re willing to walk away; they may get nervous and accept your offer.

6. Don’t let competition change your plan

Great homes and those competitively priced can draw multiple offers in any market. Don’t let competition propel you to go beyond your predetermined price or agree to concessions—such as waiving an inspection—that aren’t in your best interest.

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Massechusetts Home Sales Continue to Rise

Stuart Lewis — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:59:00 GMT

Real estate

Massachusetts home sales up -- again

By Globe Staff

Sales of single-family homes rose 13 percent in November, the fifth straight month of year-over-year growth, according to numbers released today by The Warren Group. Separate figures from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported the same gain in single-family home and condominium sales in November over the same month last year.

“Confidence improved in November as another increase in home sales coincided with another decrease in the Massachusetts unemployment rate,” said association president Laurie Cadigan, owner of Barrett & Company in Concord, in a release.

The Warren Group reported sales of 3,253 single-family homes and 1,245 condominiums last month -- a 7.6 percent rise from November 2010 -- but noted that the market continues to struggle.

“I’m hopeful that winding down the year on a positive note will stimulate the market in 2012,” said Warren Group chief executive Timothy Warren in a release. “But a reality check of the numbers shows we may see a record low number of home sales in all of 2011, somewhere near the level in the 1990s.”

The median price of single-family homes fell in November to $271,000, down 8 percent from the previous year, according to The Warren Group, but the Mass. Association of realtors reported median prices at $284,500, down 4 percent from last year.

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Selling your home during a holiday season!

Stuart Lewis — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:21:00 GMT

By Inman News

Most real estate professionals always advise sellers to list their homes during the holiday season rather than waiting, citing more serious buyers and less competition among properties, according to a recent survey from Realtor.com.

The property search site's Holiday Home Selling Survey gathered responses from 429 real estate professionals surveyed online between Oct. 26, 2011, and Nov. 8, 2011. The "holiday season" was defined as Nov. 23, 2011 to Jan. 2, 2012.

Among respondents, 60 percent said they would always advise a seller to list a home during the holiday season and agreed that "it's a good time to sell," while 30 percent said they would sometimes advise it if the seller were motivated. Only 1 percent said they would never advise it because "selling during the holiday season is always a bad idea." #mini_module { width: 265px; height:220px; border: none; float:left; margin:10px; font-size:12px;} #mini_module img {border:none; width: 265px; height:131px; border: none; margin:0px; } #mini_module .mini_title { margin: 0px; padding:0px; width:265px; height:131px;} #mini_module .mini_main { margin: 0px; padding:0px; width:265px; height:85px; background: transparent url(http://www.aolcdn.com/travel/bg-short)} #mini_module .mini_item {padding:12px 0px; margin: 0px 20px; border-bottom:1px dotted #CCCCCC;} #mini_module a { color: #49A3CA; text-decoration:none; } #mini_module a:hover { color: #F98419; text-decoration:underline;}

The vast majority of respondents, 79 percent, said more serious buyers were one of the biggest benefits of listing during the holidays, while 61 percent said less competition among homes was a plus. Only 17 percent said cold weather making homes look cozy was an advantage.

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Indeed, 39 percent of respondents cited winter weather as one of the biggest challenges to putting a home on the market during the holidays. An equal share said buyer vacation and celebration schedules were a problem.

But the biggest challenge, noted by 63 percent of respondents, was keeping a home "open house ready," meaning clean and staged, during this time of year.

Selling a home during the holidays requires employing different strategies from selling a home during other times of the year, according to the survey.

More than eight out of 10 respondents said online listing photos were particularly crucial for homes listed during the holiday season. The main reasons cited were that buyers attend fewer open houses because of busy schedules or winter weather, while sellers also host fewer open houses during this time.

The majority of respondents, 74 percent, said pricing a home to sell was even more important during the holiday season, and 40 percent said staging a home was more important at this time of year. Nearly a third said being flexible with contract terms such as move-in dates and when closing costs were paid was more essential during the holidays.

The way a home is staged during this time of year is also significant, according to the survey. Almost all respondents said they advised sellers to put up some seasonal decorations, though there were differing opinions on the types of decorations.

A 37 percent plurality said homeowners should put up some nonreligious holiday decorations to make a home feel inviting, while 28 percent said sellers should put up all of their holiday decorations, including religious ones, to make their home feel festive, the survey said.

A similar share, 27 percent, said sellers should put up seasonal decor that is not suggestive of specific holidays, while 8 percent of respondents advised sellers to stage their home without any decorations at all.

Eighty percent of respondents said they encourage sellers to light their fireplace when staging a home during the holiday season, while 62 percent said they suggested sellers update outdoor lighting because the buyer is more likely to see the home at night due to shorter days.

Other popular staging advice for sellers included using winter-scented home fragrances before an open house, making the home feel more cozy through reading nooks and blankets on couches and beds, setting the table to showcase holiday entertaining, and playing seasonal music that is not specific to a particular holiday, the survey said.

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Adjustment in homeowners wealth....

Stuart Lewis — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:14:00 GMT

By DAVE CARPENTER, DEREK KRAVITZ

updated 24 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Americans' wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pension funds and home values lost value.

At the same time, corporations increased their cash stockpiles to record levels.

Household net worth fell 4 percent to $57.4 trillion in the July-September quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday. It was the sharpest drop since the October-December quarter of 2008 and was the second straight quarterly decline.

Household wealth, or net worth, is the value of assets like homes, bank accounts and stocks, minus debts like mortgages and credit cards.

The value of Americans' stock portfolios fell 5.2 percent last quarter. Home values dropped 0.6 percent.

Lower net worth can hurt the economy. When people feel poorer, they spend less. That slows growth. Businesses typically then cut back on hiring and expansion.

Corporations held a record $2.1 trillion in cash at the end of September.

Stock market declines have held back Americans' long, slow quest to recover losses from the 2008 financial meltdown.

The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index tumbled about 14 percent in the July-September period, ending a streak of four straight quarterly increases. The decline was driven by worries about Europe's debt crisis and the U.S. economy.

Stocks have rebounded about 10 percent since last quarter ended. But the S&P index is still down about 20 percent from its peak four years ago.

Roughly half of U.S. households own stocks or stock mutual funds. Stock portfolios make up about 15 percent of Americans' wealth. That's less than housing but ahead of bank deposits, according to the Fed's report.

Most stock wealth is owned by the richest Americans, who also account for a disproportionate amount of consumer spending. Eighty percent of stocks belong to the richest 10 percent of Americans. And the richest 20 percent represent about 40 percent of consumer spending.

The average balance in 401(k) plans managed by Fidelity Investments, the largest workplace savings plan provider, dropped nearly 12 percent in the July-September period.

Thanks largely to workers' added contributions and company matches, about 92 percent of people who have 401(k) retirement savings plans now have more money in their accounts than at the market top in October 2007, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington.

A rise in housing prices would help increase net worth by increasing home equity. But that still hasn't happened.

Home values have fallen sharply since the Great Recession began in December 2007, and people have less equity in their homes. Home values fell to $16.1 trillion in the July-September period, down from nearly $21 trillion in 2007, before the recession began.

Most economists expect prices to fall further, as banks resume foreclosing on millions of homes with past-due mortgages. Many foreclosures have been delayed because of a government investigation into mortgage lending practices.

When their declining wealth is combined with stagnant incomes, many Americans are less likely to spend. That's a drag on the economy, since consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

Average household income, adjusted for inflation, fell 6.4 percent last year from 2007, the year before the recession, according to the Census Bureau.

The report found that household debt declined at an annual rate of 1.25 percent from the previous quarter. That main factor was a decline in mortgage debt, which has fallen for 14 straight quarters.

But the drop is deceiving. Mortgage debt is declining mainly because so many Americans are defaulting on payments and losing their homes to foreclosure — not just because people are paying off loans.

The Fed's quarterly report documents wealth, debt and savings for corporations, governments and households. It covers most of the financial transactions that take place in the United States.

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Foreclosures on Hold

Stuart Lewis — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:54:00 GMT

Foreclosures plummet to 3-year low in wake of robo-signing scandal

Backlogged courts may be the main reason for a slowdown in foreclosure processing, with no shortage of distressed properties, according to RealtyTrac's latest numbers.

By Melinda Fulmer of MSN Real Estate

MSN Real Estate is social

Foreclosure filings dropped 15% in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, hitting a new three-year low as allegations of impropriety slowed the processing of loan delinquencies.

Year-over-year, filings — from notices of default to repossessions — dropped 27% in the first quarter, RealtyTrac said. That's the biggest drop since the online foreclosure marketplace began issuing reports in 2005. With 681,153 filings reported in the quarter, one in every 191 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing.

"The numbers are way off from what we think we should be seeing in the market right now," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac senior vice president. "We had anticipated that we would see 900,000 homes receiving a foreclosure filing."

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Backlogged courts
Sharga said much of the slowdown is happening in judicial-foreclosure states such as Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

In those states, he says, banks and servicers are under fire for improper review and handling of foreclosure documents. They now must comb through thousands of pages of documents and, in many cases, refile complaints, further backlogging courts.

Read: Foreclosure rates: 20 cities with highest filings and state-by-state rankings

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