The first week of each month always brings the most news, the most important news and the newest news. The net result of this week’s load: a brief pause in the next leg up in long-term rates. For 40 years, one of the most reliable economic indicators has been the monthly survey of manufacturing purchasing…Read More »
Archive for the ‘Foreclosures’ Category
Rise in interest rates could be overdone, or just starting
Saturday, September 7th, 2013
Home prices across the US defy gravity
Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
Home prices are going up, up, up, but it’s not a bubble just yet. The surge in home prices over the past year may have some home buyers wondering if the market has gotten ahead of itself. Rising interest rates aside, housing prices in most parts of the country appear to have plenty of room…Read More »
Home prices are going up, up, up, but it’s not a bubble just yet. The surge in home prices over the past year may have some home buyers wondering if the market has gotten ahead of itself. Rising interest rates aside, housing prices in most parts of the country appear to have plenty of room…Read More »
Don’t forget sales taxes on vacation-home rentals
Monday, August 26th, 2013
Now is the time of year when many people rent out their vacation homes. If you rent out your vacation home (or main home) for 14 days or less during the year, the rental income you receive is income tax-free. However, this doesn’t mean no taxes are ever involved when you rent out your vacation home….Read More »
Now is the time of year when many people rent out their vacation homes. If you rent out your vacation home (or main home) for 14 days or less during the year, the rental income you receive is income tax-free. However, this doesn’t mean no taxes are ever involved when you rent out your vacation home….Read More »
Industry push to raise visibility of home energy efficiency improvements
Wednesday, August 14th, 2013
Everybody in real estate knows the rap against “green” and energy efficiency improvements to existing homes: Owners can invest a lot of money and save on utility bills, but then when they go to sell they often find it’s tough to get paybacks through higher prices on their homes. Complicating the situation is the fact…Read More »
Everybody in real estate knows the rap against “green” and energy efficiency improvements to existing homes: Owners can invest a lot of money and save on utility bills, but then when they go to sell they often find it’s tough to get paybacks through higher prices on their homes. Complicating the situation is the fact…Read More »
Rate paralysis creates illusion of stability
Saturday, August 10th, 2013
Long-term rates have been unchanged for a month and a half, the 10-year T-note between 2.5 and 2.7 percent, mortgages near 4.5 percent. That stability is an illusion. Trading desks now labor in deafening toe-tapping, pencil-drumming, fidgeting and superstitious desk-rearranging (and sock selection) as everyone waits for the economy to declare itself. Will the…Read More »
Long-term rates have been unchanged for a month and a half, the 10-year T-note between 2.5 and 2.7 percent, mortgages near 4.5 percent. That stability is an illusion. Trading desks now labor in deafening toe-tapping, pencil-drumming, fidgeting and superstitious desk-rearranging (and sock selection) as everyone waits for the economy to declare itself. Will the…Read More »
Taking care of the buyer’s inspection is a questionable business practice
Saturday, August 3rd, 2013
Some agents think they are providing customer service when they choose an inspector and set up the buyer’s inspection. The practice is so common that when I work with other agents, they ask me who my inspector is, or they tell me who theirs is. I don’t have an inspector. Real estate agents who take…Read More »
Some agents think they are providing customer service when they choose an inspector and set up the buyer’s inspection. The practice is so common that when I work with other agents, they ask me who my inspector is, or they tell me who theirs is. I don’t have an inspector. Real estate agents who take…Read More »
‘Missing households’ represent big source of pent-up demand
Wednesday, July 24th, 2013
Household formation, especially among young adults between 18 and 34 years old, lags far behind historical norms but will bounce back slowly in the years ahead, according to a recent analysis by Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko. Before the housing bust, an average of 1.1 million households — defined as one or more people who live…Read More »
Household formation, especially among young adults between 18 and 34 years old, lags far behind historical norms but will bounce back slowly in the years ahead, according to a recent analysis by Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko. Before the housing bust, an average of 1.1 million households — defined as one or more people who live…Read More »
Distressed properties: still bountiful and ripe for the pickin’
Friday, July 12th, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO — A dwindling supply of foreclosures may be prompting some brokers and agents to turn away from distressed properties. But real estate pros shouldn’t pivot too abruptly, according to a panel of experts who discussed the future of the distressed inventory at Real Estate Connect. The supply of distressed loans and foreclosures will remain…Read More »
SAN FRANCISCO — A dwindling supply of foreclosures may be prompting some brokers and agents to turn away from distressed properties. But real estate pros shouldn’t pivot too abruptly, according to a panel of experts who discussed the future of the distressed inventory at Real Estate Connect. The supply of distressed loans and foreclosures will remain…Read More »
Nobody knows how healthy housing really is
Saturday, July 6th, 2013
Today’s sleepy, semiholiday dawn was interrupted by news of a surge in new jobs, up 195,000 in June plus 70,000 in upward revisions of prior months. Every bond big shot is at the beach, heard the news through hangover fog, and then barked or texted “sell,” and went back to sleep. The 10-year T-note…Read More »
Today’s sleepy, semiholiday dawn was interrupted by news of a surge in new jobs, up 195,000 in June plus 70,000 in upward revisions of prior months. Every bond big shot is at the beach, heard the news through hangover fog, and then barked or texted “sell,” and went back to sleep. The 10-year T-note…Read More »
International buyers scale back purchases of US homes
Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013
Foreign buyers purchased a smaller share of U.S. homes sold in the year through March 2013 compared to the year before, according to an annual report from the National Association of Realtors. An 11.5 percent drop in average sales price, to $354,193, coupled with fewer sales, resulted in a 17.4 percent drop in total sales…Read More »
Foreign buyers purchased a smaller share of U.S. homes sold in the year through March 2013 compared to the year before, according to an annual report from the National Association of Realtors. An 11.5 percent drop in average sales price, to $354,193, coupled with fewer sales, resulted in a 17.4 percent drop in total sales…Read More »
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