Real Estate – National News « HomeBuyerPower®

Why Is It So Expensive To Buy Or Sell A House In America?

The Economist had an interesting article last week on why in America it costs roughly double in brokerage commissions what it costs to sell a home in the UK. Some thoughts:

“According to Steve Murray of REAL Trends, two-thirds of clients choose an agent because of a prior personal relationship or referral. They may [...]

Buy a House!?

The Daily Reckoning had an article several days ago discussing the relative cheapness of housing now, post-bubblepop. They noted:

“US housing isn’t just cheap; it is the cheapest it has been in more than 40 years. And when one considers the possibility that inflation may rear its head soon, housing looks even cheaper still.

The [...]

How To Cripple the Real Estate Market in Five Easy Steps

Charles Hugh Smith had a good read recently concerning the current state of the crippled housing market. A few snippets about how we got there:

“… millions of properties are being held off the market. This “shadow inventory” is well-known (tens of thousands of people are living rent and mortgage-free in homes that the [...]

Boom-Era Property Speculators to Get Foreclosure Aid

It must be an election year. Bloomberg is reporting that the the HAMP loan modification program is being extended to investors who bought multiple homes. As reported:

“Landlords can qualify for up to four federally-subsidized loan workouts starting around May, as long as they rent out each house or have plans to fill them, [...]

Foreclosure Scout Shares The ‘Dirty Tricks And Blatantly Illegal Practices’ Of His Job

Business Insider had a fascinating article last week where a “Foreclosure Scout” revealed many of his “secrets” to finding and securing the best deal at public foreclosure auctions. Much of what he says is, well, ranges from border-line unethical to flat out criminal but it is an interesting read anyway. A sample of the less controversial [...]

Uncle Sam’s REO Fire Sale. Minimum Investment: $1 Billion

The Daily Reckoning had an interesting article yesterday about how ordinary investors can get in on bulk purchases of portfolios of REO Bank Owned properties sold at fire sale price.

Hint: They can’t.

As repored:

“… the federal government is about to dump millions of the foreclosed homes at fire-sale prices to hedge funds and private-equity [...]

The New American Dream: Rent, Don’t Buy?

What a way to start the New Year, but apparently it is on the minds of the Federal Reserve also. A recent recommendation floated by the Fed suggests having Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac convert more REO’s to rentals.

“The Fiscal Times had an interesting article on the subject that is worth a look:

Call [...]

NAR Revises 2007-2011 Sales Data Lower – Housing Bust to Look Worse With Sales Revised

The Wall Street Journal is reporting in 2 separate articles recently that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revised their last 5 years of sales data downward to reflect, apparently, reality.

Imagine that.

The net effect is that the housing bust we have experienced so far is much worse than the NAR had originally reported:

“A [...]

The Great $26 Billion Real Estate Tax Credit Swindle?

The Wall Street Journal had an article on Tuesday worth considering. It revisits the subject of the tax credits to home purchasers offered by the Government back in 2009 and 2010 and analyzes how that all worked out.

Apparently, for many, not too well:

“Zillow.com, the real estate information company, says the average price [...]

Major Revamp Of The Home Affordable Refinance Program Announced

This could be very big news, and probably is, and will certainly lead to a major uptick in residential mortgage refinancing. As reported everywhere yesterday:

“Seeking to breathe new life into a sagging economy, President Obama announced Monday he will attempt an executive branch rescue of homeowners trying to refinance underwater mortgages, with a [...]

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