5 MORE Foreclosure Myths – BUSTED!

Four years into the housing crisis, myths about foreclosure still litter the minds of even the smartest of real estate consumers. When it comes to matters as high stakes as your home, confusion can cost you thousands – or even your home. Whether you’re a buyer looking at foreclosures, a homeowner struggling to keep your home or a seller concerned making sure your home can compete with the foreclosed homes on your block, these foreclosure myths are prime for the busting, with no further ado. Read more…

Sellers: 5 Signs It’s Time to Cut the List Price of Your Home

Trying to sell your home? How can you tell when it’s really time for a price reduction?  Here are 5 signals that you may need to lower the list price of your home:

1. More than one listing agent told you to list it lower. Hopefully, you interviewed more than one agent to get their marketing plans and marketing analyses before you listed your property.  Their list price recommendations are just that: recommendations.  As the homeowner and seller, the ultimate list price is your decision, and many a seller lists their home at a price higher than their agent recommended. Read more…

6 reasons Buyers aren’t biting (and what Sellers can do to change that)!

Home prices are low, interest rates are even lower – and yet home sales are just gradually inching up. What’s a seller to do?! We’ve got the skinny. Get inside the mind of buyers, see what’s keeping them from buying and get some seller-side solutions to get your home SOLD. Read more…

 

Serious Delinquencies Fall For Fifth Month in a Row

Nathan Becker reports:

Fannie Mae said serious delinquencies on single-family mortgages slid in July from June, the fifth-straight month of declines, further signaling that home-loan problems were on the downswing.

A host of data have shown delinquencies easing this year as the U.S. economy heals. The number of serious delinquencies in Fannie’s portfolio—loans at least 90 days behind for single-family homes—dropped in March from February, marking the first month-over-month decline in three years. They have been sliding ever since.

The rate fell to 4.82% in July from 4.99% in June, reaching a 10-month low.

Fannie’s latest report also showed that its mortgage portfolio fell 0.3% in in August to $809.1 billion from July, shrinking at a 4.1% annual rate.

How To Buy A Home At A $100,000 Discount

The buyer’s market just got better.

 

To pare down their growing inventory of properties, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scrambling to unload nearly 150,000 foreclosed homes. And that means 2004-esque deals – like requiring as little as 3% down, offering to pay a portion of the closing costs and arranging special financing and warranties for repairs and renovations. Read more…

Multifamily Sales Defy the Slump

By DAWN WOTAPKA

Home buyers might be sitting on the sidelines, but multifamily-building sales are on the rise, reversing the slowdown that followed the financial market’s collapse two years ago.

Apartment transactions totaled $7.1 billion in the second quarter, up 32% from a year earlier, according to Marcus & Millichap Research Services. Real Capital Analytics reports that closed sales hit $2.6 billion in August, the highest month this year and the most active month since August 2008. Read more…

Reports on the state of the housing market

For months, home buyers and sellers have been stuck in a curious stalemate, with sellers reluctant to lower prices and buyers staying on the sidelines.

New data suggest the standoff eased slightly last month, as sales of existing, or previously owned, homes rose 7.6% from July’s extremely low levels, according to figures released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. Read more…

Housing Affordability: A Possible Good Omen

by Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist

Amid all the media reports on how housing is still “in the tank,” one piece of news seemed to have escaped many of the pundits. Housing affordability could possibly reach an all-time high of near 200 in the second half of this year. That is, a household making the median income would have twice the income necessary to buy a median-priced home in America. Read more…

9 Facts You Should Know about Today’s Illinois Real Estate Markets

1. Grab a low interest rate while it’s still here.

Mortgage interest rates remain at historic lows, but they are on the rise. A quarter percent change in the interest rate can mean tens of thousands of dollars in costs over a 30-year mortgage. For example, an increase from 5 to 6 percent on a 30-year $200,000 loan can change the monthly payment of principal and interest by $125, an increase of 11.6 percent.

2. Today’s market offers great opportunities for first-time and trade-up buyers.

If you’ve been thinking about buying your first home, a move-up home or second home—or find you have to relocate—current inventory levels plus historically low interest rates and affordable prices make this an excellent buying opportunity. Read more…

Economist Geoff Hewings Comments on Illinois Housing Market

IAR Market Stats | Illinois Association of REAL…, posted with vodpod