Jul 23

ZipRealty’s Second Quarter Home Hunter Report

View ZipRealty’s Second Quarter Home Hunter report. Overall, ZipRealty tracked data from 5,400 cities within 33 markets to identify themost searched cities by ZipRealty.com users. View the report to find the cities that fell into the hottest and coldest ZIP codes.

http://www.ziprealty.com/whitepaper

Jul 21

U.S. home foreclosures reach record high in second quarter

Bank repossessions increased 38% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier for a record total of 269,952, according to data to be released Thursday by RealtyTrac.

Short sales are one way lenders have been striving to avert foreclosures. Above, a house in Davie, Fla., in May. (J Pat Carter, Associated PressMay 12, 2010)

The number of U.S. homes taken back by banks through foreclosure hit a record high in the second quarter, even as lenders delayed more homes from entering the process through short sales and loan modification efforts, according to data to be released Thursday. 

This growing supply of lender-owned properties could set back the nation’s housing recovery but probably won’t sink it completely if the nation’s employment situation doesn’t deteriorate further and the economy begins to pick up steam, experts said. Sales of homes have faltered nationally in recent months with the expiration of government tax incentives for buyers.

U.S. bank repossessions increased 38% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier for a record total of 269,952, according to Irvine research firm RealtyTrac. That was also a jump of 5% from the previous quarter. If that pace continues through the year, the number of homes taken by banks is likely to top 1 million by the end of 2010, said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac senior vice president.

Read full article on latimes.com
Jul 19

Does eBay Sell Real Estate?

ebay

Selling Real Estate on eBay is nothing new, or is it?

I’ve surf up and down the internet pages and could not find any indication of how much real estate eBay is selling, if at all.  (If you find such proof please send/comment).

I’d guess there is some real estate sold on eBay, probably cheap (lots?) going for up to several thousand dollars. When it comes to real estate eBay is mostly known for its bulletin board capabilities. This means that besides posting fees eBay’s income from real estate are insignificant comparing to the size of the real estate industry.

Can eBay Be A Major Player In The Real Estate World?

Absolutely. Think of a new, very powerful, real estate broker: “eBay Realty – your local online broker“. eBay is probably the first company in history that has all it takes to make a truly online real estate transaction, from A-Z:

  • Properties will be posted by sellers.
  • eBay real estate agent will make sure the transaction is in compliance.
  • Buyer will apply, get approved (or rejected) online.
  • eBay will provide the seller with a mortgage.
  • etc.

Many established brokerages will get very nervous should eBay decide to move into the real estate world!

I do wish, for the time being, eBay would offer better tools for us buyers to make the most out of listings available on its boards.

Jul 19

Bad Credit = No Loans? Think Again. The Future Of Loans

I’m no expert about lending, loans, credit scores and credit repairs. But, I have been around conducting business for years.

The fact that you have foreclosured, been late on payments, short-sale or anything similar WILL effect your credit score.  But does it mean the end of borrowing for you? Probably not.

Free Markets

Free markets change and adapt. It is most likely that in the coming years banks will see more and more applications from borrowers that have had some bad history on their credit report. Should this  be a common issue banks will have to adapt. They will probably come with new programs that will attract such borrowers. They will probably even start competing  with each other on this segment. We can only assume that such loan programs would not be as attractive as someone with no credit issues but one can only assume they would be available altogether.

Lending History

Bad credit lending had been around before the current economic time even started. Which means bad credit borrowers will be able to access such programs that had been around.

Alternatives

The US (real estate) markets are so advanced there are always options: partner-up, private money, hard money, join a group, open an entity, to name a few.

If you are an investor, you will always find a solution how to borrow and advanced your real estate portfolio, and who knows what type of ideas/programs will pop up tomorrow that will be attractive to investors.

One More

The good-old-fashioned buying in cash is still a valid option

Jul 18

10 Best Job Growth Areas in America

Despite a national economic slump, a handful of metro areas offer excellent prospects for both college grads and seasoned job seekers.

Jobs may be hard to come by in the current economy, but both recent college graduates and more seasoned job seekers can greatly improve their odds by targeting one of America’s top 10 job growth areas.

NeighborhoodScout.com recently surveyed more than 350 metro areas in the U.S. to identify the top 10 large areas with the best job growth and lowest rates of unemployment. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, NeighborhoodScout found 10 metro areas that are true bright spots for those freshly trained and seeking to start a career or for established workers interested in relocating.

Once these top 10 metros were identified, NeighborhoodScout used its patented search engine to reveal the best neighborhood in each for both young, single professionals starting a career and for families wishing (or needing) to relocate. “Both career starters and families want to go where the jobs are. Whether they are relocating out of desire or necessity, finding a good area to live is very important. This is important for recent graduates who may be leaving behind a close-knit group of friends from college, and, perhaps even more importantly, for families with school-aged children who are leaving behind a deep support network, known schools, and more,” said Andrew Schiller, the creator of NeighborhoodScout.

To identify the best neighborhoods for career starters, NeighborhoodScout searched for predominantly non-married households (singles), that had a large population of people in their 20s and 30s, with college educations or even graduate degrees, where the housing is mainly rental apartments, and where many people are in professional occupations.

Read more: walletpop.com

Jul 18

Freddie Mac to Auction REO Homes in Phoenix

by Kerry Curry 2:23 PM July 16, 2010

Freddie Mac will auction 135 REO houses in Phoenix next month — with a portion of the residences reserved for first-time homebuyers.

Nearly a third of the homes scheduled to be auctioned on Aug. 7 at the Phoenix Convention Center will be set aside for bids from first-time borrowers participating in the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), Freddie said in a news release Friday.

The homes are part of Freddie’s HomeSteps program, the GSE’s distressed real estate sales unit.

“The Aug. 7 community homebuyer auction will provide first-time buyers and other Phoenix home shoppers with an outstanding opportunity to buy affordable homes to live in at a time when mortgage rates are at a 50-year low,” said Chris Bowden, vice president of HomeSteps, in a prepared statement. “Working with New Vista underscores Freddie Mac’s commitment to manage its REO inventory in ways intended to help stabilize communities, foster homeownership opportunities, and responsibly safeguard tax dollars.”

Read full article on reo-insider.com

Jul 18

Lenders Slow Foreclosures By 5% in 2010, Boosting Shadow Inventory: RealtyTrac

 

Lenders Slow Foreclosures By 5% in 2010, Boosting Shadow Inventory: RealtyTrac
by Jon Prior 11:00 PM July 14, 2010

Foreclosure filings dropped 5% over the first half of 2010 as lenders continue to delay proceedings to focus on short sale and loan modification efforts, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.

More than 1.6m homes received at least one filing, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions over the last six months, according to the report. That translates to one in 78 homes. Foreclosure filings remain 8% above the amount issued in the first half of last year. Continue reading

Jul 17

Shadow Inventory of Homes to Take Nearly 3 Years to Clear: S&P

by JON PRIOR

The “shadow inventory” of homes includes all delinquent loans and real-estate owned (REO) property that has not reached the market. REO property are foreclosed homes taken back by the bank for liquidation. As for the total amount of homes in the shadow inventory, Amherst Securities places the total at 7mThe Royal Bank of Scotland found 2.7m, and First American CoreLogiccounted 1.7m.

S&P estimates the inventory to equal a 33-month supply of homes. Analysts added the estimate is actually conservative, as they did not assume homes not showing signs of distress would default and push the overhang of supply even further.

Furthermore, court delays, political pressure and servicing backlogs constricted the flow of foreclosures hitting the market to a trickle. These delinquent borrowers who have not received a foreclosure fuel the “rapidly” growing shadow inventory of properties, according to the report.

“Overall, it is our opinion that recent positive housing reports should not be construed as a sign that the distress in the residential housing market is abating, but rather should be attributed to the temporarily limited supply of homes on the market,” according to the report.

Another credit rating agency, Moody’s, showed that the underwhelming performance of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which the US Treasury Department launched in March 2009 to give incentives to servicers for the modification of loans on the verge of foreclosure, will drive down housing prices another 8%from Q409 to the end of 2010.

Read full article on housingwire.com

Jul 17

Real Estate Investments Buzz Words Over The Years

Real Estate investing is like fashion.

Over the years I have heard so many buzz words and phrases. I tried to dig down memory lane and pull them out.

(This post is work in progress so feel free to contribute to the list)

2005

Pre-foreclosure

Pre-constructions

2006

Model Homes

2007

Short-sale

2008

Loan Modification

2009

REOs

2010

Shadow Inventory

Strategic Defaults

2011?

Jul 16

Where is America moving? – 2009 Migration Patterns

Based on 71,474 Interstate and Cross-Border Household Goods Moves
from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
(Click on individual state/province for 10-year historical data.)
View PDF Version (1.8 MB)

2009 Migration Patterns
2009 Migration Key

Where is America moving?

As it does each January, Atlas Van Lines reviews data on the origins and destinations of interstate moves during the last 12 months. The 2009 Migration Patterns study results provide a snapshot of a nation in the wake of an economic downturn, as relocations slow and the nation migrates to areas with low unemployment.

Again this year, data showed the Midwest losing residents while the Southwest, Northeast and Southeast were popular destinations. Atlas’ total interstate and cross-border moves were down nearly 16 percent from 2008.

Other migration trends:

Southwest Fiesta

Texas, New Mexico, and for the first time in five years, Oklahoma are popular destinations. However, neighboring Colorado, which has historically been an inbound state, became balanced in its number of moves, meaning the numbers of people moving in and out were about equal.

Northeast and Southeast Lure

The South Atlantic states of Virginia, North Carolina and Washington D.C. are popular destinations, with Washington D.C. showing the nation’s highest percentage of inbound traffic for the fourth year in a row. For the first time in four years, Maryland joins the Southeast pocket of states as inbound.

In the Northeast, Vermont and New Hampshire have surfaced as popular destinations.

Rust Belt Woes

Outbound moves from the Rust Belt states continue, but for the first time in 10 years, Illinois joins neighbors Indiana, Michigan and Ohio as outbound. Indiana has been an outbound state for more than a decade while Michigan ranks in the top four outbound state