Is the Housing Crisis Over?

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Is the housing crisis over?

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting opinion article on May 6, 2008 titled “The Housing Crisis Is Over”. Here's the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121003604494869449.html

Although our business has seen a small upward tick in sales activity over the last four weeks, it's hard to believe the crisis is over. (For those of you who don’t know, our company markets real estate investment opportunities to investors nationwide).

There are still a very large number of adjustable rate mortgages that were originated three years ago that are set to reset this year. These will likely increase the pace and number of foreclosures throughout 2008 and into early 2009, and those problems will extend into other areas of the mortgage industry. All of which will keep lending guidelines very tight this year.

It could be argued that the housing market is dragging along the bottom, but the fact of the matter is that lenders are still pulling back on their lending programs and that doesn’t help to sell houses in order to absorb existing inventory and help stimulate the housing market.

The large number of expert opinions and reports predict the national housing crisis to end somewhere between 2009 and 2011. What’s your opinion?

Making The Real Estate Recession Work For You

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We are currently experiencing the worst real estate recession this country has seen in decades. Property prices in some areas have fallen to the point where many people are paying more on a mortgage than their property is actually worth! In fact housing prices dropped at the fastest rate ever in February indicating that the housing slump is probably gaining momentum. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities fell by 12.7% in February versus last year, the largest decline since its inception in 2001. Seventeen of the 20 metro areas reported record annual declines.

Many builders and developers around the country have gone bankrupt, even the large ones that recently appeared financially solid. There are hundreds of developments scattered around the United States that have been left unfinished. And there are thousands of new construction homes that are either in the process of construction or have never been occupied. [Read more…]

America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets

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America's Worst-Selling Housing MarketsForbes recently released their list of the ten worst selling housing markets with very few surprises.  Topping the list was Miami, Florida where the glut of inventory continues to linger.

Of the 40 largest metropolitan markets analysed, not one market showed any sign of price appreciation.  With slow sales and dropping prices the aggressive investor may be able to pick off some very good deals in these markets.  Research, patience and a sharpened sense for value can land you a great real estate investment.

Here are the ten worst markets according for Forbes: [Read more…]

Short Sales Now Widespread

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Roughly 20 percent of all U.S. home sales in March were “short sales” according to a real estate industry survey conducted by Washington-based Campbell Communications. According to their research, two-thirds of short sales are initiated by homeowners and one-third are launched by mortgage lenders (as a foreclosure alternative).

In a typical home transaction the seller gets final say on which buyer gets the home, but in a short sale the lender weighs in on that decision, since it’s the lender who won’t recoup 100 percent of the seller’s mortgage balance as in a “normal” home transaction.

Buying a Short Sale Can Be A Time-Consuming Process

It is important to know where the seller is in terms of discussions with the lender. The lender can drag the short-sale process on for a very long time. An offer may take anywhere from four to six weeks to get a response. But if the buyer is in the market to purchase a short-sale, then patience is going to be vital in order to pick up that good deal.

Foreclosure Activity up 60% from Feb 07

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Foreclosure Activity up 60 Percent from Feb 07There is a lot of media attention on foreclosures these days.  It seems everywhere you turn the radio, TV and newspapers have increasingly more negative news.

Although there are many markets offering great real estate investment opportunities, it is true that there is a significant increase in foreclosures, and nationally the housing market has slowed down significantly.

February foreclosure activity was down 4 percent from the previous month but still up 57 percent from February 2007 according to the latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.  That equated to 1 out of every 557 households having a foreclosure filing of any sort.  Nevada, California, and Florida posted the top state foreclosure rates, with California and Florida metro areas accounted for nine of the top 10 metro foreclosure rates in February.

I've put together a short list of links if you are interested in more information on the current state of foreclosures: