Foreclosed Home Owners Seek Second Chance

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, February 25, 2013

Former home owners who once walked away from their homes in a move called “strategic default” are back on the market, eager to buy a home again.
Nearly 80 percent of strategic defaulters say they want to buy a home again within the next 12 months, according to a survey by YouWalkAway.com, a web site that helps borrowers in the legal pitfalls of strategic default.
The market potential for these comeback home owners could be huge: The number of eligible home buyers who have a foreclosure on their record will reach 1.5 million by the first quarter of 2014, according to data by Moody’s analytics.
Borrowers who defaulted on their mortgage during the recent recession may fare better at qualifying for a loan again than those who defaulted on multiple credit accounts and auto loans too, according to a study by TransUnion conducted in 2011.
"There appears to be a pocket of opportunity among mortgage-only defaulters that is not the result of excess liquidity, but rather the unique circumstances of the recent recession," says Steve Chaouki, group vice president in TransUnion's financial services business unit. "This new market segment that the recession created is an important one for lenders to understand. They have the potential, today, to be stronger and more reliable customers."
Still, some comeback home owners will have to wait. For example, the Federal Housing Administration requires home owners who faced a foreclosure to wait three years before they can buy again while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require up to seven years for a strategic defaulter to wait to apply for a mortgage again.
Source: “They Bailed on Mortgage, but Now Wa

OMG!!   This country is good to adopt second chance, that make people strong and keep going.

5 Best Markets for Home Sellers

Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Spring buying season is just around the corner, and sellers have gained an advantage in more markets across the country this year. With less competition from falling inventories, list prices have risen in many areas. Realtor.com recently identified the five best places to sell in 2013:

1. Sacramento, Calif.: Inventories have declined here by 67.20 percent in January year-over-year while median prices have increased 40.2 percent. 
2. San Jose, Calif.: Median prices have risen nearly 25 percent year-over-year, and it ranks fourth in the inventory for tightest inventory. A strong economy is giving a boost to rents and home prices. 
3. San Francisco: Inventory shortages have created a seller’s market here with list prices rising more than 20 percent in the last year. 
4. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: List prices have risen 23.59 percent year-over-year, while inventories have fallen nearly 16 percent. 
5. Washington, D.C.: List prices have increased about 16 percent in the past year, while inventories have fallen 30.77 percent. Washington, D.C. is one of the country’s priciest markets with a median price of $429,000. 

Source: “Asheville, NC Tops Best Places To Buy In 2013,” Realtor.com (Feb. 14, 2013)

For-Sale Home Inventories Remain Tight

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, February 18, 2013

Inventory levels in 2012 reached an 11-year low and fell yet again last month, further limiting the number of homes for sale nationwide. Inventories of for-sale homes were down by 16.5 percent in January year-over-year, and fell 5.6 percent from December, according to the latest data compiled from Realtor.com.
Inventories typically fall in December and January in preparation of the spring buying season.
“But the shortage of homes for sale in a growing number of U.S. markets is maddening for would-be buyers who frequently complain that there aren’t enough good choices,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “Bidding wars are becoming more common.”
At a time when buyer demand is strong, inventories remain constrained as banks slow their pace of foreclosures and home owners delay selling until they regain more equity in their homes.
Metro areas posting some of the largest monthly declines in inventory levels are San Francisco (where inventory levels are down by 21 percent in January compared to December and down 47 percent year-over-year) as well as Seattle (where levels dropped 9 percent from December). The two have also seen some of the largest price increases in the nation. Median asking prices have risen by 16.4 percent and 23.7 percent in those places, respectively.
Source: “Housing Inventory, Already Low, Dropped Further in January,” The Wall Street Journal (Feb. 14, 2013)

10 Best Markets for Home Sellers

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, February 15, 2013

ZipRealty, a real estate brokerage company, is finding more housing markets starting to tilt in sellers’ favors.
For the average home in the U.S., the gap between the listing price and closing price is narrowing with sellers able to get more than 98 percent of their home’s listing price back. Also, the median days a home is spending on the market also is falling, dropping to 44 days nationwide in 2012 — a 23 percent decline from 2011, according to ZipRealty’s report.
“A limited inventory of homes on the market, combined with the extremely low cost of mortgage financing, has resulted in homes selling above asking price in many western markets, boosting the average listing to closing price ratio,” says Lanny Baker, ZipRealty’s CEO and president.
ZipRealty has identified the following 10 best housing markets for sellers, based on the list-to-close price ratios:

1. San Francisco (102.5)
2. San Diego (101.3)
3. Sacramento, Calif. (100.9)
4. Las Vegas (100.7)
5. Los Angeles (100)
6. Orange County, Calif. (100)
7. Denver (99.8)
8. Tucscon, Ariz. (99.3)
9. Portland (98.9)
10. Seattle (98.3)

Source: ZipRealty

10 Metros That Attract the Wealthy

Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The suburbs have the highest concentration of wealthy people, more so than cities, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.
The wealthy tend to stay near major population centers, according to the study. For example, the region with the highest concentration of wealthy households in the nation is Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., which is just north of New York City. Nearly 18 percent of residents there make more than $191,469 per year. In the nation, only 5 percent make that income.
The following are the 10 metros with the highest concentration of high-income households, as well as the percentage in each area where households are among the top 5 percent of U.S. incomes. (The study did not take into account the cost of living in these areas.)

1. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.: 17.9%
2. San Jose-Sunnyvalle-Santa Clara, Calif.: 15.9%
3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.: 14.1%
4. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.: 13%
5. Trenton-Ewing, N.J.: 11.6%
6. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.: 10%
7. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.: 9.7%
8. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H.: 9.7%
9. Boulder, Colo.: 9.4%
10. Napa, Calif.: 9.3%

Source: “Where the Rich People Live,” CNNMoney (Feb. 12, 2013)

8 Metros With Big Foreclosure Deals

8 Metros With Big Foreclosure Deals

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, February 08, 2013

Foreclosures tend to sell at big discounts compared to other properties. Business Insider culled RealtyTrac data to find metros offering some of the biggest foreclosure deals.
The following eight metros are offering foreclosure savings higher than 45 percent:
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
Foreclosure savings: 45.64 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $113,385

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H.
Foreclosure savings: 45.76 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $231,388

 Toledo, Ohio
Foreclosure savings: 45.91 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $64,072

Springfield, Mass.
Foreclosure savings: 45.99 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $115,409

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.
Foreclosure savings: 46.09 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $350,160
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.
Foreclosure savings: 46.55 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $111,225
Columbus, Ohio
Foreclosure savings: 46.79 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $99,846
Memphis, Tenn.
Foreclosure savings: 47.82 percent
Average foreclosure sales price: $82,186
Source: “12 Cities Where You Can Buy a Foreclosed Home for Half Price,” Business Insider (February 2013)

Is a 'Mini' Foreclosure Wave Coming?

The housing market has made big gains in recent months with sales and prices, but a surge in foreclosures may soon strike again.
Foreclosures are down 18 percent year-over-year, and the threat has lessened in recent months. But the latest agreement between the Federal Reserve/Comptroller of the Currency and the 10 largest mortgage servicers is expected to create a “mini-wave” of foreclosures soon, RISMedia reports.
In the latest agreement, mortgage servicers will be ending reviews of loans that were foreclosed in 2009 and 2010. But, in exchange, they must pay $8.5 billion to eligible home owners in loan assistance. The latest agreement also provides incentives so servicers will favor loan modifications and principal pay-downs over foreclosing on home owners.
“The settlement will likely increase the pace of foreclosures that have been caught up due to a lengthy review process over the next 12 months,” RISMedia reports. Foreclosures often create downward pressure on overall home values.
Source: “Housing Recovery Is Real but Risks Remain,” RISMedia (Feb. 5, 2013)

List of Improving Housing Markets Expands

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, February 07, 2013

The list of improving housing markets grew to 259 in February with all 50 states represented, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index.
The index identifies metro areas that have shown improvement in housing permits, employment, and home prices for at least six consecutive months. More than 70 percent of the 361 metros covered by the index are now on the list, according to David Crowe, NAHB’s chief economist.
Twenty metros were added to the latest list, including places like Rome, Ga.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Racine, Wis.
"The fact that all 50 states now have at least one metro on the improving list shows that the housing recovery has substantial momentum and continues to expand from one market to the next," says Rick Judson, 2013 NAHB chairman. "Of course, there is still much room for improvement in metros that have not yet been listed as well as those that have, and we know that a key factor slowing this progress is today's overly stringent mortgage standards that are keeping qualified buyers on the sidelines." 

The Best Industry to Work in? Real Estate

The Best Industry to Work in? Real Estate

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, February 01, 2013

Real estate is the best industry to work in nationwide, according to the 2013 Top National Workplaces rankings by WorkplaceDynamics.
Despite real estate professionals facing a “down market for the past five years, they continue to love their jobs and the companies they work for,” according to a press release announcing the results. “REALTORS® and others working in the real estate industry appreciate that they have a great deal of control over their own destiny, a strong connection to their work, and a sense of personal accomplishment each and every day. All of which led them to highly rank their workplaces.”
The survey was conducted with 30 major newspapers across the country. It polled 1 million employees from 872 companies in generating a list of top workplaces in America. Rankings are based on employee responses to survey questions.
The survey of companies also revealed the top 150 companies to work for in America. Quicken Loans was at the top, but several real estate companies made the list, including the following:

• Keller Williams Realty, based in Austin, Texas – (Ranking: #9)
• William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance, based in Shelton, Conn. – (#32)
• Shorewest REALTORS®, based in Brookfield, Wis. – (#35)
• Baird & Warner Inc., based in Chicago, IL – (#43)
• Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS®, based in Devon, Pa. (#57)