$8,000 Tax Credit-Downpayment Relief: Treasury Department Giveth and Taketh Away
Last week, the Treasury Dept. announced a new plan to allow first time buyers (and those who haven't owned a home in the past 3 years) the opportunity to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment for the purchase of the property. The way this would be handled would be with a bridge loan until the…
FHA Eligible Mortgage Lenders And Brokers
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans have very specific rules and regulations. Are mortgage lenders eligible to originate loans if they also have a real estate license, like from a previous career? We talked to a spokesman from the FHA and did a little digging in the FHA handbook to try to…
New Residential Construction Declines In April
The Department of Commerce announced this morning that new residential construction declined in April in terms of building permits, housing starts and housing completions.
Here are the stats:
* 494,000 building permits issued, down 3.3 percent from March, down 50.2 percent from a year earlier
…
Where Should Your Tax Dollars Go?
Real estate attorney Sam Tamkin responds to a reader who is upset by hearing about taxpayer dollars being used to help people stay in their homes.
I don't mind paying taxes for things that I can see the use for: roads, public safety, garbage collection. And I don't mind helping people who can't help…
Foreclosures Increase 24 Percent In First Quarter 2009
In the first quarter, the number of foreclosures increased 24 percent from a year earlier, reported RealtyTrac today. One in every 159 homes received a foreclosure notice in the first quarter. RealtyTrac includes bank repossessions, default notices and auction sale notices in the foreclosures it…
71 Percent Of Americans Say Now Is Time To Buy According To Gallup Poll
A majority of Americans, 71 percent, say now is a good time to buy a house, according to an April Gallup poll.
This is up 18 percentage points from a year ago and the highest level of housing-purchase optimism in four years.
However, sluggish home sales across the country mean that Americans aren't…
Foreclosure and Short Sale Discounts Weigh Down Metro Area Median Prices
First-time home buyers responding to improved affordability conditions, and lower prices of foreclosures and short sales, impacted metropolitan area median home prices in the first quarter, while existing-home sales remained sluggish in many parts of the country, according to the latest survey by…
Treasury Secretary Geithner's Statement On Bank Stress Test Results
Statement from U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:
This afternoon, the Federal Reserve and the national banking agencies released the results of the stress tests - the most comprehensive, forward looking review of our nation's largest banks ever undertaken. These tests will help ensure that…
Pending Home Sales Rise in March
Pending home sales rose 3.2 percent in March, the National Association of REALTORS announced today. NAR's Pending Home Sales Index tracks home sale contracts that buyers sign.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it should take a few months for the market to gain momentum. “This increase could be…
5 Ways to Know the Real Estate Market is Improving
My mother said something interesting to me the other day. She said, "The Realtors in my office are much busier than they were two months ago. They're doing real deals."
This would be just another one of those passing comments except that my mother works for the top Baird & Warner office in downtown…
