Archive for the 'Buying a Home' Category
Permanent Mortgage Modifications Up in April 2010
May 19th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
The Obama administration recently announced that its program to prevent foreclosures has continued to make slow but steady progress, with the number of homeowners who have received permanently modified mortgages up about 13% in April 2010.The 295,348 permanent modifications amount to about a quarter of the 1.2 million trial modifications started under the program, which began last year.
During the trial, banks and mortgage servicers reduced a homeowner’s monthly payment for 90 days, with a median reduction of about $500. If the homeowner made the payments and submitted additional paperwork, the servicer made the modification permanent and became eligible for cash incentives from the government.
The Los Angeles-Orange County area now accounts for the most active trial and permanent modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program, with 57,758, or 6.2% of the total, nudging past the New York City area.
Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings
Servicers have canceled a total of 277,640 trial modifications through April, according to the Treasury Department. That was up sharply from the 155,173 modifications that had been canceled through March. In addition, 3,744 people have had their permanent modifications canceled.
The increased cancellations largely were caused by many servicers granting temporary modifications without verifying the homeowners’ income. Starting June 1, 2010, the program will require all modifications be made based on verified income statements, Treasury officials said.
The $75 billion program has been criticized for moving too slowly to modify loans to create lower payments for 3-4 million people by the end of 2012. In December, the Obama administration began pushing mortgage services to move more quickly to convert eligible trial modifications to permanent ones.
Since then, the number of permanent modifications has nearly tripled. Large servicers such as Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc., which had been lagging behind smaller firms, have improved their performance.
Those large companies account for more than half of the active trial and permanent modifications. Still, they have turned only about 25% of their temporary modifications into permanent ones, compared with 50% or higher for some other lenders, such as GMAC and U.S. Bancorp.
Many homeowners and housing advocates have complained about bureaucratic runarounds by mortgage servicers in trying to get their mortgages modified. Treasury officials said they planned to collect new data about the performance of companies and release it beginning in July.
“The number of homeowners receiving significant relief through a mortgage modification continues to rise,” said Phyllis Caldwell, head of the Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office. “Our focus now is on improving the homeowner experience and holding servicers accountable for their performance.”
The new data will focus on the eight largest mortgage servicers. It will include the average time from the start of a trial modification to a permanent modification, how long it takes servicers to answer phone calls from homeowners and the time it takes them to respond to homeowner problems that come from housing counselors, attorneys and other third parties.
(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings
| Currently No Comments »
Lenders ordering second, last-minute credit report before closing mortgages
May 18th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
Changes taking effect June 1 are part of Fannie Mae’s ‘loan quality initiative’ to cut down on slipshod underwriting and fraud by borrowers.
If you’re thinking about applying for a home mortgage this year, here’s some important news: Beginning June 1, your lender is likely to order a second full credit screening immediately before closing.
The last-minute credit report will be designed to find out whether you’ve obtained — or even shopped for — new debt between the date of your loan application and the closing. If you’ve made applications for credit of any type — for furnishings and appliances for the new house, a car, landscaping, a home equity line, a new credit card — the closing could be put on hold pending additional research by the lender.
If you’ve taken out new loans that are sizable enough to affect the debt-to-income ratio calculations used in your original mortgage approval, the deal could fall through. The added debt load could render you ineligible for the mortgage because you suddenly appear unable to handle the payments without a strain on your household budget.
The June 1 changes are part of a new effort by mortgage giant Fannie Mae to cut down on slipshod underwriting by lenders and frauds by borrowers. Fannie’s so-called “loan quality initiative” will require lenders not only to pull two credit reports for each mortgage transaction but to perform additional verifications of borrower occupancy plans for the property, Social Security numbers and Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, among other changes.
“There’s an almost irresistible urge” for many mortgage borrowers to spend, said Don Unger, chief executive of Advantage Credit Inc. of Evergreen, Colo. “The lender says, ‘OK, you’re approved for the loan,’ and you immediately think about shopping for all the things you need for the house.”
Borrowers may go to a retailer and put in a credit application. In the past, that might not have raised an eyebrow, or even been detected. But under the new double-check policy, when the application shows up as a “hard” or borrower-initiated inquiry on a credit report, Unger said, the lender is going to have to contact the merchant and determine whether credit was extended, in what amount and how this might affect the applicant’s home-financing transaction.
Marc Savitt, president of the National Assn. of Independent Housing Professionals and a mortgage broker in Martinsburg, W.Va., says it’s not an uncommon scenario. “Most often the new debt involves furniture or other goods for the house,” Savitt said. “However, we have seen debt for new cars and other major purchases.”
Terry Clemans, executive director of the National Credit Reporting Assn., recalls one case where home buyers “went out and gorged on $40,000 worth of new furniture and all types of stuff” after their loan approval — resulting in monthly payments far beyond what they could afford. Under the new policy, they’d probably be shot down before closing.
Fannie Mae spokesperson Janis Smith said lenders “will have to look for things like new credit accounts, increased credit lines, increased balances on existing accounts, undisclosed or newly recorded liens, second mortgages — anything that may have changed since initial application that might impact a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio.”
As a practical matter, some lenders are likely to ask their credit-reporting vendors to perform the investigations when new debts or inquiries pop up on borrowers’ files. Fannie Mae’s instructions say that “lenders must determine that all debts of the borrower incurred or closed up to and concurrent with the closing” are considered in the final loan analysis.
Unger, however, said all this may not be as straightforward as it sounds. For example, if the credit report is pulled immediately before closing to comply with the “up to and concurrent” requirement, there may not be sufficient time to check out inquiries — especially those where no actual drawdown of debt has been reported to the national credit bureaus. He also questioned whether entire loan packages might need to be re-underwritten — a time-consuming process — based on credit data discovered at the 11th hour.
How should home buyers and refinancers prepare for the new credit-check procedures? Lenders and credit reporting company executives say everybody needs to follow just one basic rule: abstinence. Between your application for a mortgage and the date of closing — which might be a span of 45 to 60 days or more — resist spending.
And don’t apply for new credit unless you discuss it in advance with your lender and get a green light.
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings
| Currently No Comments »
The Economy Strengthens According to Fannie Mae
May 17th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
Improving labor market conditions and a strong increase in consumer spending led to solid economic growth according to the May 2010 Economic Outlook released today by Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group. The economy is expected to grow at a 3.5 percent pace for the year but concerns over European sovereign debt and possible long-term effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill bring uncertainty to the overall 2010 forecast. A welcome surge in home sales points to the positive impact of the homebuyer tax credit, although the increase will likely be temporary as incentives wind down.“Strong momentum coming out of the first quarter puts us in the direction of a self-sustaining economic recovery,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “Consumer spending grew at the fastest pace in three years and the job market posted gains across the board. Home sales grew in March, and will likely increase further in coming months, presumably from buyers rushing to sign contracts before the tax credit deadline at the end of April. We continue to project a pullback in home sales starting in July as the tax credit will likely pull sales forward into the second quarter,” said Duncan. “The pace of employment growth and confidence in the labor market will be key factors for a pick up in home sales by the end of the year.”
The Economic Outlook includes the Economic Developments commentary, Economic Forecast, and Housing Forecast — which detail movement of interest rates, the housing market, the mortgage market, and the overall economic climate. To read the full May 2010 Economic Outlook, visit the Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis site at www.fanniemae.com.
Opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views of Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis (EMMA) group included in these materials should not be construed as indicating Fannie Mae’s business prospects or expected results, are based on a number of assumptions, and are subject to change without notice. Although the EMMA group bases its opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts, and other views on information it considers reliable, it does not guarantee that the information provided in these materials is accurate, current, or suitable for any particular purpose. Changes in the assumptions or the information underlying these views could produce materially different results. The analyses, opinions, estimates, forecasts, and other views published by the EMMA group represent the views of that group as of the date indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fannie Mae or its management.
Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America’s secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. Our job is to help those who house America.
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings
| Currently 2 Comments »
The hidden costs of homeownership
May 4th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
Many first-time buyers are unprepared for the financial burdens of homeownership.
Lenders to tell them the maximum they can afford based on their incomes with little regard for the “extras” such as utilities, upkeep and improvements.
You’re told what your monthly nut for principal, interest, taxes and insurance — the all-important PITI — will be. But likely because you won’t know exactly what the other costs will be until you actually move into your new place, they are rarely mentioned. And as a result, borrowers who mortgage themselves to the hilt often find themselves “house poor.”
They own a home, all right, but they can’t afford anything else. Sometimes not even the heat or hot water.
Rookies who are transitioning from an apartment are usually better prepared than those who are making the move from the family nest. Renters probably paid at least something for their utilities, whereas those leaving the friendly confines of Mom and Dad’s house for the first time probably have never ever had to dig into their pockets for food, let alone electricity.
As owners, though, they will be responsible for electricity and/or gas, water and sewer and trash removal. Then there’s the phone bill if you want a landline, and cable if you expect to watch television.
Utilities are a big add-on. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the typical family spends $1,900 a year — $158 a month — on home utilities.
Another frequently overlooked expense is association dues. There isn’t any hard data, but estimates are that four of five housing starts in metropolitan areas are part of “common interest” subdivisions or condominiums. That means residents not only own their homes or apartments but also a share of the community’s public areas — the streets, parking lots and walkways — with all the other owners.
Some 60 million people nationwide live in 305,000 homeowner and condo association-governed communities, all of which collect fees usually monthly or quarterly, according to the Community Associations Institute (CAI). Even if you don’t use the pool or golf course, you have to pay your share.
Whatever the amount — less than $25 monthly or more than $500 — it shouldn’t be overlooked. “I don’t think we’ve properly addressed it in terms of the real cost of housing,” said Steve Melman, director of economic services at the National Assn. of Home Builders (NAHB).
Indeed, as Melman rightly points out, the tax benefits of ownership — annual mortgage interest and property tax write-offs — are often offset, at least partially, by the cost of association dues. Not only are dues not deductible, he notes, they “add a significant amount” to the monthly outlay.
Another significant expense all buyers, not just first-timers, tend to forget is what they’ll spend for furnishings, appliances and property alterations.
A 2007 study by the Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies shows that consumers spent an average of $14,206 on home improvements during their first two years of ownership. But according to NAHB’s research, most of the extra spending — 60% — occurs within the first three months after taking occupancy.
The spending doesn’t stop there, though, especially if you’re buying a previously occupied house. There’s also the cost of upkeep.
“Whether you are moving into a new or old home,” says Dan Steward, president of Pillar to Post, a home-inspection company, you “need to be aware of the ongoing maintenance any home requires.”
Buyers should figure on spending 1% of the home’s value per year for maintenance, Steward said.
From L.A. Times
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Check out Valerie Fitzgerald Beverly Hills Real Estate Listings
| Currently No Comments »
4 Things First-Time Home Buyers Need to Know about Home Inspections
April 21st, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
A professional home inspection can not only provide a great education about the home’s systems, but also be a crucial tool in negotiating the most equitable price on the home, according to HouseMaster, one of the first and largest home inspection franchisors in North America.
“Our experience and research shows that approximately 40% of resale homes have at least one defect that can cost a home buyer a minimum of $500 to repair,” said Kathleen Kuhn, President of HouseMaster.“A home inspection by a professional and qualified home inspector is an excellent tool to encourage home sellers to make repairs or make further price adjustments as a result of conditions noted in the inspection report.”
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), in 2009, a record 47% of homes sold were purchased by first-time buyers. Tax credit incentives from the federal government of up to $8,000 and historically low mortgage rates continue to attract first-time buyers to the market. A professional home inspection not only educates buyers on the condition of the home but can minimize costly surprises down the road. HouseMaster provides the following tips to ensure that first-time buyers make an educated decision when purchasing a home and get the best price possible.
1. Inspect the Inspector. Only hire a home inspector with an excellent reputation and credentials. Ask how long the company has been in business, ask about specific formal training and ongoing education the inspector has and verify the inspector carries professional liability insurance also known as “Errors & Omissions” (E&O). If the company doesn’t carry this insurance, it could indicate a poor track record or lack of experience.
2. Ask for a sample of a report. The credentials of the inspection company and the quality of the final inspection report will be important. A poorly prepared report without pictures or clear, concise details addressing all the various systems and accessible elements of the home is less likely to be taken seriously by a home seller.
3. Inspect ancillary systems. It’s hard for first-time home buyers to know what they need, so be sure to ask what additional services the company offers. If the home you are considering has a septic system for example, a professional home inspection company may offer septic system inspections or can coordinate that service for you. Generally, the company will offer you a multiple services discount as well as the added convenience of only having to attend one inspection appointment. Other common services offered by home inspectors are termite inspections, mold screening, water testing and radon testing.
4. Go along on the inspection. Ask the inspection company if they encourage buyers to tag along on the inspection. If the inspector discourages you from going along and asking questions, find another inspector. A home inspection is not simply a laundry list of what is wrong with the home. In addition to documenting issues and needed repairs that may exist, a professional home inspector will also show the new buyer how to operate the various systems in the home and provide tips on improving energy efficiency and maintaining the home in general. And being present during the inspection will make the final written report that much more meaningful.
Copyright© 2010 RISMedia
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Check out Valerie Fitzgerald Beverly Hills Real Estate Listings
| Currently No Comments »
Southern California Home Sales Up | Beverly Hills & Westside Los Angeles Real Estate
April 14th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
Home sales and prices continued their steady but pokey climb up from the bottom in Southern California last month as buyers scrambled to take advantage of low prices and low mortgage interest rates. The market is still tilted toward low-cost distress sales, but not by as much as previously, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 20,476 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was up 33.3% from 15,359 in February, and up 5.0% from 19,506 in March 2009, according to MDA DataQuick. The San Diego firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.
Sales always go up from February to March. Last month was the 21st in a row with a year-over-year sales increase. The March sales average is 24,936 going back to 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin.
“It’s a reflection of just how grim things got, that we’ve now had almost two years of sales gains and we’re still 18% below the sales average. The market won’t rebalance until mortgage lending patterns normalize, and that’s just not happening yet. Some of the best deals out there right now are happening when the buyer comes in with cash,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.
READ THE REST OF THE STORY: http://valeriefitzgerald.com/2010/04/southern-california-home-sales-up
Copyright© 2010 RISMedia
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the Westside Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Check out Valerie Fitzgerald Beverly Hills Real Estate Listings
| Currently No Comments »
Prospective Home Buyers Learn New Mortgage Rules
April 5th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
If you’re a prospective home buyer exploring real estate this spring, there’s plenty to learn about, from bank-owned properties to the strict criteria for getting a mortgage these days. And now the federal government has added something to the mix, aimed at helping buyers shop for loans: the revamped Good Faith Estimate.
Designed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help borrowers better understand the terms of their loans, the new three-page form has been a required part of the mortgage application process since Jan. 1, 2010.
In some ways, the form is doing its job, experts say—and in other ways it’s adding confusion to a process that already besieges buyers with a mind-boggling array of details. But many in the mortgage industry—which fought against the development of the new form—say it is causing so much confusion it’s actually spawning additional, explanatory forms, causing delays in some transactions, and leaving some borrowers worried about signing papers that don’t reflect what they’ll really have to pay. “It’s not clear. It’s not simple,” said Doug Jones, a broker at Mortgage Magic in San Jose.
“There are issues with the form—in places, it is cumbersome and confusing,” said Diane Thompson, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. “But it is nonetheless a dramatic improvement over where we were.” Thompson said the good faith estimate forms that had evolved over the past 30 years “were a mess because they weren’t standardized.” Now, standardized terminology and a fuller disclosure of fees benefit borrowers, she said.
Before the form was redesigned, good faith estimates had “no teeth” to bite lenders or brokers who pumped up their fees between the time a customer applied and closed the loan, said Nina Simon, director of litigation for the Center for Responsible Lending in Washington, D.C.
But the new form stipulates that some charges—such as the loan origination fee—can’t change at all after they’ve been quoted to a customer on a good faith estimate. Other charges, such as those for some title company services, can only increase 10%. If those fees increase more than 10% after the good faith estimate is issued, the lender must pay the difference.
In addition, the good faith estimate has a section written in straightforward language that spells out each loan’s basic terms. For example, one line says “Can your interest rate rise?” Followed by check-boxes for “No” and “Yes, it can rise to a maximum of… The first change will be in…”
But mortgage brokers have developed a long list of complaints about the new form. For example, there’s nowhere to show how much the borrower will pay in pro-rated property taxes. And brokers have the incentive to inflate the estimate of their fees, because once they’ve issued the good faith estimate, they can’t boost those fees, even if subsequent changes to the loan package cut into their compensation.
But HUD, which redesigned the decades-old form in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, says that those who are complaining about the new procedure misunderstand its intent. A document on the HUD website devotes 31 pages to explaining the form. “It’s designed to be a shopping document, to allow borrowers to be able to select the very best loan available to them,” said HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan.
Still, some borrowers end up confused, expecting a document that says “total estimated settlement charges” at the bottom will, well, provide an estimate of total settlement charges.
But, because of what’s included—and omitted—from the three-page form, the amount shown on the bottom line is often significantly different from what the customer will actually have to pay to close the transaction. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the “transfer taxes” that are due when property changes hands are typically paid by sellers. But they must be reflected on the GFE form, and can amount to thousands of dollars, prompting some borrowers to assume the amount shown on the form is one they must pay.
When Warner de Gooijer applied for a loan to buy a home in San Jose recently, he was confounded by the huge dollar figure looming at the bottom of the good faith estimate, which must be provided to borrowers within three business days of when they apply for a mortgage. Then his loan officer explained that he wouldn’t actually have to pay the amount shown at the bottom of the good faith estimate. “But do I trust my loan officer or the paper I’m signing?” said de Gooijer, who nervously wondered whether he’d be liable for the large amount anyway.
“The GFE is intended to help borrowers compare loans and costs for loans,” said Tracie Southerland of Opes Advisors, a mortgage lender in Palo Alto, Calif. “What borrowers come to us to know is, ‘When I get to the closing table, what kind of check am I writing?’ The new GFE does not have any place that captures that.”
The change is prompting some lenders to develop new worksheets of their own, so they can show the customer what he or she might really have to fork over at closing.
Copyright© 2010 RISMedia
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the Westside Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Check out Valerie Fitzgerald Beverly Hills Real Estate Listings
| Currently No Comments »
Is Your Home As Affordable As You Think?
March 30th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
A new analysis by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) shows that only two in five American communities—or 39%—are affordable for typical households when their transportation costs are considered along with housing costs.
The Housing + Transportation (H+T) Affordability Index examines 337 metro areas across the country—encompassing 161,000 neighborhoods and 80% of the U.S. population—and provides the only comprehensive snapshot of neighborhood affordability by accounting for combined housing and transportation costs associated with a community. The H+T Index and its accompanying report, Penny Wise, Pound Fuelish, illustrate the direct link between household transportation costs and the location and design of neighborhoods and transit options.
Under the traditional definition of housing affordability (30% or less of household income spent on housing), seven out of ten U.S. communities are considered “affordable” to the typical household. But in almost all metro regions of the country, when the definition of affordability includes both housing and transportation costs—at 45% of income—the number of communities affordable to households earning the area median income decreases significantly. Nationally, the number of affordable communities declines to 39%, resulting in a net loss of 48,000 neighborhoods with combined housing and transportation costs that stress the average family’s budget.
“Across the nation, families are dealing with the economic crisis and looking at their bottom lines to determine how they can save money and plan for the future,” said Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). “The H+T Index provides valuable information about the two biggest household expenses, housing and transportation. This index will help policymakers level the playing field to improve location efficiency, and it will help lenders educate consumers about the trade-offs and costs associated with their housing choices.”
For most families, transportation is the second largest household expense. The new analysis shows that for many families in “drive ‘til you qualify” zones, savings realized from lower cost housing are eliminated by unexpectedly high transportation costs. Yet it is difficult for consumers and policymakers to estimate the full costs of a location, including the cost of both housing and of transportation. This lack of information can lead families to unknowingly make housing decisions that cause them to live beyond their means as gas prices rise and commutes grow longer. A community’s average transportation costs can range from 12% of household income in efficient neighborhoods with walkable streets, access to transit, and a wide variety of stores and services to 32% in locations where driving long distances is the only way to reach essential services.
“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to have funded the H+T Index as part of our initiative to promote equitable and sustainable transportation,” said Nick Turner, Managing Director at The Rockefeller Foundation. “This unique tool will give consumers the opportunity to make more informed decisions about where they can afford to live, and help provide policy makers with data to develop new policies and targeted investments that can reduce transportation costs. Transportation costs are often the second highest expense for working Americans–and the Rockefeller Foundation’s initiative is committed to helping Americans re-think our transportation future as a critical way to expand economic opportunity.”
The failure to provide Americans with affordable transportation and compact neighborhoods that support pedestrians and cyclists as well as drivers, increases the financial pressure on families, resulting in unstable household budgets, lack of savings, and even foreclosure, and places communities across the country, particularly those with inadequate transportation options, at greater risk.
“In recent years we have seen foreclosures increasing faster in outer suburbs than in central cities. When gas prices peaked in 2008, families in many regions saw their transportation costs soar by $3,000 per year or more. When communities have few transportation options and require driving long distances for basic necessities, already stressed household budgets are very vulnerable to spikes in gas prices and rising transportation costs,” said Scott Bernstein, president and founder of CNT. “The H+T Index gives a reliable estimate of each neighborhood’s average household transportation costs, a strong move toward a ‘no surprises, no sticker shock’ home buying or renting experience.”
Copyright© 2010 RISMedia.
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the Westside Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
Check out Valerie Fitzgerald Beverly Hills Real Estate Listings
| Currently 1 Comment »
Home sales, prices increase during fourth quarter
February 12th, 2010 Categories: Buying a Home
Distressed property — either bank-owned homes or those sold by homeowners who can’t make their payments — accounted for 32% of all transactions in the fourth quarter, a decline from 37% a year earlier. Sales increased from the third quarter in 48 states and the District of Columbia; 32 states saw double-digit gains. Year-over-year sales were higher in 49 states and the district. All but three states registered double-digit annual increases. “The surge in home sales was driven by buyers responding strongly to the tax credit combined with record-low mortgage interest rates,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors group. “With inventory levels trending down over the past 18 months, we expect broadly balanced housing market conditions in much of the country by late spring with more areas showing higher prices.” The national median existing single-family price was $172,900, a 2.9% increase from the third quarter and a decline of 4.1% from the fourth quarter of 2008. The median is the point at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. The median price for a condominium in 54 metro areas was $177,300 in the fourth quarter, a decline of 4.8% from the fourth quarter of 2008. Eleven metro areas showed increases in the median condo price from a year earlier and 43 areas had declines. In the third quarter only four metros experienced annual price gains. Sales of previously owned homes in the West jumped 16.2% in the fourth quarter to an annual rate of 1.38 million and are 18.2% above a year ago. The median existing single-family home price in the West was $227,200 in the fourth quarter, a decline of 8.9% from the fourth quarter of 2008.
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business. Buy it here. Subscribe to this blog: Valerie Fitzgerald Group Blog Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ValreFitzgerald Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/ValerieFitzgeraldRealEstate
Total existing-home sales, including single-family and condominium units, increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.03 million in the fourth quarter, a 27.2% increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the National Assn. of Realtors.
| Currently No Comments »
Global Rebound in Economic Growth Fuels High-End Luxury Sales
November 4th, 2009 Categories: Buying a Home, Real Estate Tools
As strong market reports on manufacturing, construction and contracts to buy new homes show renewed optimism, The Carlyle Residences, a development of The Elad Group of New York’s Plaza Hotel, sees an influx of international buyers contributing to analysts’ reports. “The building appeals to many demographics,” says Tom Elliot COO of Elad Properties West, “and a high percentage of recent sales have been with foreign buyers.” The latest figures from the National Association of Realtors show that existing home sales were strong in September, which means that conditions have improved for five of the past six months. Last month, sales were up 9.4 percent from the level recorded in August, and also 9.2 percent higher than the figures recorded in September 2008.
Read the rest at Valerie Fitzgerald Group website.
| Currently No Comments »
