Category: Around the Web

1.Stocks: The sell-off saga continues
“Investors looking for a ray of hope from the banking sector will need to keep looking.”

2.Fannie Mae Selling to Investors Backpedals on Homebuyers
“Fannie Mae (FNMA) is selling more of its foreclosed properties to investors as prices rise, limiting homebuyers’ access to cheap housing.”

3.Are rising rates good for banks – and you?
“There’s a silver lining to rising mortgage rates, which have crept up over the past year. It’s now easier to get a mortgage — and it won’t likely take as long to close the loan, either.”

4.Rise in wholesale prices may signal strengthening economy
“WASHINGTON – The prices companies receive for their goods and services jumped in March led by gains for food, clothing, jewelry and chemicals. “

5.Mortgage rates fall but big banks doing less: Here’s why
“As investors flee the stock market and rush to the relative safety of bonds, consumers are seeing at least one benefit: Lower mortgage rates. The average rate on the 30-year fixed conforming loan ($417,000 or less) dropped from 4.5 percent to 4.375 percent for most borrowers and as low as 4.25 percent for those with the highest credit scores, according to Mortgage News Daily. “

6.How the economy stacks up: 2014 vs. 2007
“The number of people applying for new unemployment benefits has fallen to the lowest level since mid-2007, shortly before the Great Recession began.”

7.Why big data matters to agents and the buyers and sellers they serve
“What kind of insights can be developed by applying technology to massive amounts of data? How about an app that would let an agent see how their “social heat map” compares to other agents in their market, and recommend specific actions they can take to improve their social score? Those are the kinds of products that Software Incubator CEO Matt Kumar says his company is helping startups develop.”

8.Countertops 101: Today’s Kitchen Trends
“Granite is still the big dog in kitchen countertops, and the No. 1 most requested material when it comes to kitchen remodels.”

9.Back to the city: Re-urbanization movement brings opportunities
“Over the past few years, economic and demographic trends have led to what’s known as reurbanization—the movement of residents from the suburbs back to urban areas. Because much of this activity involves developing communities that had previously been neglected, it’s providing opportunities for commercial real estate firms. “

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Urban Real-Estate Prices Are Booming, but Most People Live in Suburbs
“Has there been a Renaissance in city living over the past year? That depends on how you look at it.”

2.Home Prices and Population Growth: Cities vs. Suburbs
“From some angles, it looks like the housing recovery has brought an urban resurgence: for instance, the most urban counties are growing faster now than during the housing bubble, and many dense cities are having a boom in apartment construction. However, the most recent data show that asking prices in urban neighborhoods are rising only slightly faster than in the suburbs, and the suburbs actually have higher population growth.”

3.Trailer Parks Lure Wall Street Investors Looking for Double-Wide Returns
“When Dan Weissman worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and, later, at a hedge fund, he didn’t have to worry about methamphetamine addicts chasing his employees with metal pipes. Or SWAT teams barging into his workplace looking for arsonists. “

4.Top secrets to sell your home this spring
“The spring real estate market is beginning to bloom. But it hasn’t quite shown its true colors yet.”

5.Average US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Down to 4.34 Pct.
“Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week, edging closer to historically low levels as the spring home-buying season begins.

6.IMF: World Economy Is Stronger but Faces Threats
“The global economy is strengthening but faces threats from super-low inflation and outflows of capital from emerging economies, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.”

7.What a $200,000 mortgage will cost you
“Mortgages aren’t one-size-fits-all products. Loan types and lenders all have different requirements, benefits and drawbacks. “

8.US foreclosures fall to lowest quarterly level since mid-2007: RealtyTrac
“The U.S. housing market is back on its feet, aided by rising home prices, steady job growth and fewer troubled loans. “

9.What does $500,000 buy you in Southern California real estate? A look at Culver City, Pasadena, and Riverside.
“We have a large readership from California but also many others that simply enjoy peeking into the mania that is SoCal real estate.  It must appear to an outsider that all Californians ever think about is buying, selling, and flipping real estate.  During certain periods of time the mania gets out of hand and the delusion runs rampant across the L.A. River”

10.No improvement for Congress’ job approval rating
“Americans’ approval of the job performances of the men and women they hire to be members of Congress is down to 13 percent in the new Gallup Inc. survey released Thursday.”

11.More homeowners are becoming first-time landlords
“The real estate market has long worked on a simple system: If you want to buy a new house, sell the old one and use the equity for a down payment.”

12.Mortgage rates decline as spring buying season begins
“Fixed mortgage rates edged down as the spring homebuying season began to kick in this week, Freddie Mac reported.”

13.Banks turning attention to homes in ‘foreclosure limbo’
“Foreclosure activity in March remained well below year-ago levels, but ticked up on a monthly basis as some states began to push properties through the foreclosure pipeline that have long languished in delinquency, RealtyTrac reported. “

14.Foreclosures have Doubled in Some States Despite Overall Decline
“RealtyTrac reported today that an uptick in foreclosure starts last month drove an overall increase in the nation’s foreclosure activity.  There was a 7 percent jump in the filings of initial public notice – Notice of Default (NOD) or Lis Pendens (LIS), part of a total of 117,485 foreclosure related filings during the month.  March filings, which also included Notice of Scheduled Auctions and Bank Repossessions (REO) were up 4 percent from February but were 23 percent lower than in March 2013.  Scheduled Auctions were also up, rising 6 percent from the previous month. “

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Jobs recovery killing entrepreneurial spirit
“As more and more Americans find jobs, it’s having a chilling effect on potential new entrepreneurs, according to a new industry report.”

2.Mortgage Purchase Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
“WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 9, 2014) — Mortgage applications decreased 1.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2014.  “

3.7 home-selling mistakes to avoid this spring
“The housing inventory is creeping up and properties are staying on the market for a longer period of time. Buyers may soon have the upper hand in this home-selling season. But that doesn’t mean your house won’t sell; it just means you’ll have to make smarter moves to land a buyer.”

4.Attract serious buyers, discourage lookie-loos
“Serious buyers want to find a home. They’ve been pre-qualified by a lender, chosen a real estate agent, and are ready to make an offer on the right home. A lookie-loo is a person who is not seriously in the market to buy a home. “Loo” could be a nosy neighbor, an open house junkie, or worst of all — someone who thinks they’re serious, but are incapable of making a realistic offer.”

5.San Diego Real Estate Regained Some Ground In March
“Real estate in San Diego regained some ground in March, with the median price of a single-family home rising 4.3 percent to $490,000, according to the San Diego Association of Realtors.”

6.Mortgage Applications Fall as Refinancing Drops
“NEW YORK — Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week as refinancing slipped, an industry group said Wednesday.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Homebuyer Traffic in March Was Down From Last Year
“What would you do if you went to a store and found bare shelves and high prices? If the answer is come back later, then you have a good idea of how home shoppers are feeling as real estate heads into the important spring selling season.”

2.Mortgage Credit Availability Increases Slightly in March
“WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 9, 2014) — Mortgage credit availability increased slightly in March according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from the AllRegs® Market Clarity® product. “

3.Sanctions On Russia Take Their Toll On US Real Estate Market
“Yahoo Finance’s The Daily Ticker produced a report today, April 7th, highlighting the fact that the high-end real estate market in several U.S. cities had been hurt by the ongoing Russia/Ukraine crisis and the sanctions that have been levied against wealthy Russians. Julie Satow, who wrote an article in The New York Times on the topic, was interviewed for the report.”

4.Sam Zell: Stock market is overvalued
“Real-estate tycoon Sam Zell thinks investors are way too optimistic and that’s pushed the stock market to overvalued levels, according to CNBC, where he sat down for an interview on Tuesday”

5.Housing pain could halt stocks’ gain
“The S&P 500’s SPX +0.46%   outsized gain of 30%-plus last year certainly can’t be repeated. And if the first quarter is any indication, not many investors will make much money by owning the benchmark index. “

6.Home buyers being pushed out of reach
“Zillow says high prices, climbing interest rates and flat incomes are pushing home-buying out of reach for more Southern Californians.”

7.Homebuying Factors that Mortgage Calculators Miss
“If you’re thinking about buying a home, you’ve probably used — or at least heard of — a mortgage calculator. These nifty tools can help you figure out the price range of homes you may be able to afford and estimate your monthly mortgage payment.”

8.The New World of Mortgage ‘Buffers’
“There’s a great curiosity in the real estate marketplace: interest rates are low while home values have yet to reach the prices seen in 2007 and yet borrowers are having trouble getting loans.”

9.The Three Biggest Turn-Ons For Buyers
“As a seller, you have a lot more control in pleasing buyers than you think. If you start the selling process by learning what buyers really want, you can prepare your home to come as close to their dreams as possible.”

10.Agents: Put Public Relations to Work For You!
“Historically, in the real estate industry, the work of public relations has mostly been pursued by the corporate offices of big brands. Agents and smaller office groups usually don’t put a strategic focus on this important facet of branding for many reasons. It could be a cost issue, a manpower issue or a lack of understanding about just why public relations efforts are important. “

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Shortage of low-income housing pushes tenants into dangerous situations
“Dozens of people shared only three showers in the building that Patricia McDowell called home for the last 2 1/2 years. Roaches skittered across the floor, she said, and lights went out and stayed out. In recent months, McDowell said she had to run an extension cord to another room to keep electricity going.”

2.Fannie and Freddie’s steep fees hurting home buyers, critics say
“WASHINGTON — When you’re raking in tens of billions of dollars in profits by helping credit-elite borrowers buy homes, couldn’t you lighten up on fees a little for everyday folks who’d also like to buy?”

3.U.S. Stocks Decline as Tech, Consumer Shares Extend Slide
“U.S. stocks fell, after the biggest drop for the Nasdaq 100 Index in two years, as technology and consumer companies extended last week’s slide before the start of corporate earnings season. “

4.The Internet is for sellers and real estate agents, not buyers
“Last week one of my clients asked to see a property she’d found on Zillow. I looked it up, and it was listed as a for-sale-by-owner. The details stated that the owner would work with real estate agents.”

5.US Tax Court ruling could save real estate trusts millions
“As we’ve discussed many times in this column, anyone who can qualify as a “real estate professional” for federal tax purposes enjoys some unique tax benefits.”

6.The Real Deal / Tough year for beach-area values
“2013 was a tough year for some beach-area properties, due to a double whammy that even the most experienced agents did not see coming.”

7.4 reasons why rising mortgage rates are good
“There’s a silver lining to rising mortgage rates, which have crept up over the past year. It’s now easier to get a mortgage — and it won’t likely take as long to close the loan, either. “

8.Housing pain could halt stocks’ gain
“The S&P 500’s SPX -1.12%   outsized gain of 30%-plus last year certainly can’t be repeated. And if the first quarter is any indication, not many investors will make much money by owning the benchmark index. “

9.US home market: Few buyers and not enough sellers
“WASHINGTON — Entering the 2014 spring buying season, the U.S. housing market faces an unusual dilemma: Too few people are selling homes. Yet too few buyers can afford the homes that are for sale.”

10.Home values hit stable patch in capital region
“Home values in Sacramento have hit a stable patch, leveling out at prices that make sense given area incomes, rents and other basic economic factors, several experts said last week”

11.Fannie Mae Releases March 2014 National Housing Survey Results
“WASHINGTON, DC – Recent month-to-month volatility in the housing market has softened the ongoing recovery. However, the majority of the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey indicators on consumer attitudes have continued to move in a positive direction during the past year, which may portend a pickup in home buying and selling activity this spring.”

12.How to List and Sell Real Estate
“It’s not too often you get to interview one of the First Ladies of Real Estate, so I was thrilled to connect with none other than industry pioneer Danielle Kennedy last week to congratulate her on the 30th Anniversary of one of the most timeless real estate books written, How to List and Sell Real Estate. As always, she’s delightful, strong, passionate and right to the point. I hope you’ll enjoy her words of wisdom! “

13.Fannie Survey Hints at Warmer Spring for Housing
“Fannie Mae sees results from its most recent National Housing Survey (NHS) as possibly portending a pickup in home buying and selling activity this spring.  Results of the survey show that despite recent month-to-month volatility in housing markets and a softening of the recovery, many consumer attitudes have continued to move in a positive direction”

14.Despite Record Low Mortgage Originations, “Significant Opportunity to Grow”
“Black Knight Financial Services said that mortgage originations at the end of February were at the lowest levels in at least 14 years, as far back as the company has kept records.  Still, the company’s Senior Vice President of Data and Analytics said real estate sales have remained relatively steady, thanks to the number of cash transactions.  “

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Mortgage rates climb to 4.41 percent
“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) publishes the results of a weekly applications survey that covers roughly 50 percent of all residential mortgage originations and tracks the average interest rate for 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgages as well as the volume of both purchase and refinance applications. “

2.U.S. economy adds a solid 192,000 jobs in March
“WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added jobs at a solid pace in March and hired more in January and February than previously thought. Friday’s government report sent a reassuring signal that the economy withstood a harsh winter that had slowed growth.”

3.U.S. Stocks Drop From Record as Tech Shares Resume Slide
“U.S. stocks fell the most in three weeks, as technology and consumer shares sank, after benchmark indexes had climbed to records on a government report showing employers added to payrolls last month. “

4.No real estate bubble here: home prices to level off
“Home prices increased 12.2% from February 2013 to February 2014, marking the 24th consecutive month of year-over-year growth, according to the most recent CoreLogic Home Price Index Report. That trend is expected to continue, with a 10.5% year-over-year increase projected for March. There was also a slight month-to-month increase of 0.8% from January to February. “

5.Spring homebuyers facing sticker shock
“More potential buyers are out trolling the nation’s neighborhoods for their dream homes. Unfortunately, they are finding little to look at and, even worse, they are finding higher prices than they expected. “

6.California gasoline prices increase for seventh straight week
“California gasoline prices have increased for the seventh week in a row in most areas but the pace has slowed for the last couple of weeks, according to price surveys Friday.”

7.Rents expected to rise for a fifth consecutive year as demand surges
“These are good times for U.S. landlords. For many tenants, not so much. “

8.Most U.S. Homes Now Affordable for Average Buyers
“The majority of homes nationwide are more affordable now than they were in the years leading up to the start of the housing bubble, with homebuyers currently spending a smaller share of their incomes on a mortgage than they have historically. Nationwide, roughly two-thirds (66.4 percent) of homes for sale on Zillow are considered affordable, and in many metro areas, the majority of homes are more affordable now than they have been historically for typical buyers making the area’s median income, according to new research from Zillow.”

9.WeChat and Weibo will help you land Chinese clients and get them to the closing table
“Linda Lee, a San Diego-based broker with Keller Williams Realty Inc., says that if you want to land Chinese clients, you’re not going to find them on YouTube and Facebook. Lee recommends using WeChat and Weibo to reach Chinese clients instead. Be ready to serve Chinese clients when they’re most likely to be in the country — Chinese New Year and summer break, for example — and be prepared to hire a translator if necessary to help close deals.”

10.Best Rental Returns Are Found In These Markets
“In many areas housing prices are rising and that has some investors thinking about if and where they should buy their next rental.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Near Record on Jobless Claims Data
“U.S. stocks fluctuated, with benchmark indexes trading near records, as data on jobless claims and services missed estimates while the European Central Bank indicated it would take action to head off deflation. “

2.Houses taking about two months to sell
“The following update on local real estate information for Fullerton is based on Multiple Listing Service data as of March 27. “

3.HOME PRICES: Inland home prices doing double-time
“Real estate in the Inland region is still having a field day when it comes to price appreciation, give the new CoreLogic chart predicting price growth.”

4.REAL ESTATE: One reason for Inland sprawl: Price
“Smart Growth America has just released a new Measuring Sprawl 2014 report and my hunch is many real estate watchers aren’t surprised to see Inland Southern California on the Top 10 list of large metro areas in the nation with urban sprawl.”

5.Money Average US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Rises to 4.41 Pct
“Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose slightly this week but remained near historically low levels.”

6.5 Things Your Real Estate Agent Won’t Tell You (VIDEO)
“Buying a home can be a wonderful investment and, not to mention, an exciting new life step. But between shopping for mortgages, scouring listing services and visiting one open house after another, it’s certainly not a simple, one-stop-shop kind of process. And (as if that wasn’t enough to deal with) there’s also the small little detail of coping with real estate agents. “

7.Investors scale back home purchases – who will fill the gap?
“Investors are scaling back home buying, according to data released Wednesday, and there’s concern that the gap in purchases won’t be filled as prospective first-time buyers struggle with a choppy jobs market and high barriers to obtaining a mortgage.”

8.Real estate investment clubs for fun and profit, with luck
“Kimberly and Edward Rushing’s fledgling real estate investment venture got off to a rocky start”

9.Inventory slowly creeps back into the California housing market: Homes for sale in Los Angeles up nearly 18 percent year-over-year and price gains stall. Cash sales still a big part of market.
“Inventory is finally starting to show up in the California housing market.  The main motivator of this growing inventory is the delusional prices being asked by sellers are no longer generating massive amounts of sales from house lusting buyers.”

10.Home Sellers: What a Great Agent Can Do For You
“You already know the smart way to sell your home is through a real estate professional, but you may not realize how much your agent really does for you.”

11.Home Prices Will Keep Rising, but Level-Off Soon
“Home prices continue to increase by double digit percentages on a year-over-year basis CoreLogic said today.  The company’s Home Price Index (HPI) for February, an index that includes distressed sales, was up 12.2 percent compared to February 2013.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.After 8 years, the real estate market is finally looking normal again
“The beginning of the last decade saw an unprecedented spike in real estate prices, which culminated in the bursting of the real estate bubble in 2006 and a financial crisis to boot. Then came the crash, and prices fell precipitously, with the Case-Shiller Housing Index losing 33% from its 2006 peak to the 2012 trough”

2.Stocks: S&P500 hits all-time high
“The S&P 500, which gained 1.5% in the first three months of the year, has just passed its all-time high of 1,883.97 by going to 1,884.64 shortly after 10am. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq were also higher in early trading Tuesday. “

3.MBA Releases 2013 Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Origination Volume Rankings
“According to a set of commercial/multifamily real estate finance league tables prepared by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Wells Fargo; J.P. Morgan Chase & Company; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Eastdil Secured; KeyBank; PNC Real Estate; HFF, L.P.; Meridian Capital Group, LLC; CBRE Capital Markets; and Prudential Mortgage Capital Company were the top commercial/multifamily mortgage originators in 2013. “

4.U.S. Stocks Rise on Economy Optimism on Factory Report
“U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising to an intraday record, as consumer and technology shares rallied and an increase in a manufacturing index boosted optimism the economy withstood severe winter weather. “

5.US Home Prices Rose in Feb. Despite Weaker Sales
“U.S. home prices rose in February from a year earlier at a solid pace, suggesting that a tight supply of available homes is boosting prices despite slowing sales.”

6.Commercial property transaction volume could hit 10-year high by 2016
“Commercial property transaction volume will reach $430 billion by 2016, exceeding the volume of 2006, according to a new U.S. real estate forecast based on a survey of 39 of the industry’s leading economists and analysts.”

7.Ten hidden costs of commercial real estate — part 1
“Although all known circumstances of a property need to be disclosed to a buyer by the seller as stated in a purchase agreement, issues creep up over the years of ownership. Laws change, improvements are made to the property, tenant’s needs change and some issues may not had been fully researched at the time of the purchase.”

8.10 hidden costs of commercial real estate — part 2
“In my previous article I discussed the first three hidden costs of commercial real estate: city business license fee, sewer fees and environmental cleanup fees. In this second article of a three-part series I’m highlighting other costs: capital expenditures, commissions and readying the space, vacancies, prepayment penalties and building code upgrades.”

9.Home Prices Rise in February Despite Weaker Sales
“WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in February from a year earlier at a solid pace, suggesting that a tight supply of available homes is boosting prices despite slowing sales.”

10.Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: Were They Ever Broken?
“The government has collected more than $20 billion in the past year from lenders who sold allegedly-subpar mortgages and related securities to Fannie  Mae and Freddie Mac, with more settlements likely to come.”

11.When It Comes To Real Estate, Whose Target Are You?
“Targets” are specific groups of consumers with key common characteristics which lead to common, and often predictable, spending potential and buying habits. “Targeting” is the main push in marketing, advertising, and promotion. Businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals are intent on spending their dollars to gain the attention of consumers who are the best match for specific products and services, and real estate is no different.”

12.Home Prices Will Keep Rising, but Level-Off Soon
“Home prices continue to increase by double digit percentages on a year-over-year basis CoreLogic said today.  The company’s Home Price Index (HPI) for February, an index that includes distressed sales, was up 12.2 percent compared to February 2013.”

TonyAlvarez.com

1.Stocks soar on last day of choppy quarter
“The Dow rose more than 120 points, while the S&P 500 is now within spitting distance of its all-time high. The Nasdaq jumped 1%. “

2.Stocks rise sharply as quarter ends
“Stocks rose broadly in late-morning trading Monday as the market headed for its fifth straight quarterly gain. Dow member Johnson & Johnson rose on news that it was selling a diagnostics business. “

3.4 reasons the Fed won’t raise interest rates anytime soon
“Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said early Monday that the economy and the job market are still ailing and that they will need “extraordinary” assistance from the central bank in the form of low interest rates “for some time.”

4.Home Sales in U.S. Poised to Surge With Spring: Mortgages
“Donna Cicerone and her husband Paul want to put their three-bedroom home in Milton, Massachusetts, on the market. First, they have to find a house to buy. “

5.10 things your real-estate agent won’t tell you; What buyers and sellers should know about that 6% commission
“U.S. home prices have rebounded to mid-2004 levels, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price survey, and though monthly gains are slowing, this spring — traditionally the prime home-buying season — looks to be a sellers’ market. “

6.Real estate’s red-hot category: Apartments
“A lull in the single-family housing recovery this winter made for a surprise comeback in a sector thought to be overbuilt and overblown: multifamily real estate investment trusts (REITs). “

7.In California buying is about timing and speculation: Since 2000 the California housing market has experienced more dramatic booms and busts courtesy of speculation, investors, and new financial products.
“California’s housing market is a boom and bust machine tuned to attract the masses.  Timing matters in a state where speculation is rampant.  Since 2005 California home owners have received over 2,000,000+ foreclosure notices.  Of course this goes into the graveyard of foreclosure information that we seem to forget each time the market booms. “

8.Housing Prices: Up Or Down? How To Understand Today’s Case-Shiller Data
“Today S&P/Case-Shiller released its monthly housing data report, the leading measure of home prices across the nation. Immediately, reporters posted dozens of stories about January’s numbers–with oddly contradictory headlines.”

9.Is American Real Estate Out Of The Woods?
“For some time virtually all markers have pointed to an improving US real estate picture and yet there remains an undercurrent of unease. So are we out of the financial woods?”

10.The Five Biggest Turn-offs For Homebuyers
“A lot of sellers don’t listen to their real estate agents, so we’ll tell you what your agent wants to say, but can’t say to you and this is it – your agent can’t get you the price you want unless your home is in pristine move-in condition.”

TonyAlvarez.com