Open House from Creators Syndicate

Current Buyers Seem to Prefer Downtown Versus Suburban for 07/04/2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A spacious home in a suburban area, with a large yard where the kids can run and play — that was the dream of most families a few years ago. But that demographic trend has changed dramatically.

Increasingly, a key housing demand today has moved downtown, where homeowners can walk to their point of employment, shopping or sports-entertainment venues. Long and very expensive commutes ...

Updated: Fri Jul 04, 2008

Be Aware of the Hidden Regulations Behind Reverse Mortgages for 07/14/2008

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Reverse mortgages — a system where senior homeowners can exchange monthly mortgage payments for a lifetime flow of new tax-free income — are becoming more popular in today's market. On the surface, they seem almost irresistible, but there are downsides to the concept.

About 90 percent of reverse mortgages over the past year were insured by the Department of Housing and Urban ...

Updated: Mon Jul 14, 2008

New Bill will Allow FHA to Revise its Loan Programs for 07/21/2008

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Finally, progressive legislation is rapidly working its way through Congress, which will create a positive impact on the housing and mortgage markets.

The bill is titled "The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act." Here are key provisions of this new stimulus legislation that will most directly affect home buyers and sellers:

It authorizes the Federal Ho ...

Updated: Mon Jul 21, 2008

Home Builders Turn to Cheaper, Unique Building Materials for 07/28/2008

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The great American dream of building and owning a home is stronger today than ever before. And the vision of the ideal home should be as widely varied as the dreamers themselves.

During my many years of writing about real estate, what has fascinated me most is the intense desire of most families to own a home and the willingness to make major sacrifices to attain that goal. It's also int ...

Updated: Mon Jul 28, 2008

High-End Homeowners Desire Dream Home with Many Services for 08/04/2008

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

An increasing number of prospective home buyers are seeking a true dream luxury home — specifically, a multimillion dollar residence located on a picturesque island and loaded with amenities.

As for location, a recent survey, conducted by Coldwell Banker Previews International and the research firm ICR, revealed that 27 percent of buyers want a luxury home situated on an island, an ...

Updated: Mon Aug 04, 2008

Auctions Seem to be Desirable Choice when Selling Real Estate for 08/11/2008

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The auctioning of homes has become an increasingly popular marketing option. Instead of being considered an objectionable competitor for real estate brokers, many of those agents now offer that service to homeowners — working with auction companies gives brokers a competitive edge in obtaining listings.

It's not surprising that homeowners spark up to the auctioning concept. In toda ...

Updated: Mon Aug 11, 2008

American Home buyers Look to Hawaii and Alaska for Get-away Homes for 08/18/2008

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Despite high prices and tougher standards required by mortgage lenders, many Americans place a high priority on acquiring a second home for vacations or investments. In fact, those purchases make up about a third of all home sale transactions, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.

A recent trend is emerging in the second home market. Buyers who would normally l ...

Updated: Mon Aug 18, 2008

Area Real Estate MLS Systems will move to Nationwide Databases for 08/25/2008

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Multiple Listing Service (MLS) organizations may soon change, dramatically. These local and regional groups, where information about currently available properties are cooperatively pooled into one source, have productively served consumers and real estate professionals since the late 1800s.

Most MLS groups are owned and operated by local Boards of Realtors, affiliated with the National ...

Updated: Mon Aug 25, 2008

Home Buyers Return to Real Estate Market with Lower Prices for 09/01/2008

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Sales of existing single-family homes are on the rise in an increasingly large proportion of the country. During July, sales rose to the highest level in five months, surprising many analysts.

The primary reason for the increasing sales volume is pegged to lower prices.

This was revealed in a recent survey and report from the National Association of Realtors. Only about one-quarte ...

Updated: Mon Sep 01, 2008

Inflated Home Appraisals Add to Current Housing Market Issues for 09/08/2008

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Inflated appraisals of residential properties have contributed to our recent housing problems. Appraisers who report unlikely high home values must carry much of the blame for today's mortgage and housing woes.

Only too often, appraisers feel they must "hit a value" given to them in order to make a mortgage application approval. The targeted worth is sometimes substantially mor ...

Updated: Mon Sep 08, 2008

Tiny Condos Provide First-Time Buyers with Affordable, Downtown Residences for 09/15/2008

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Mini-condos are becoming hot properties in today's market.

Small condominium units, usually located in downtown areas, are being offered and planned at projects throughout the country. Some are as tiny as 250 square feet — that's about as small as a residence can be.

The demand for these tiny condos is tied to economics. The unit prices allow more renters to enjoy the benefi ...

Updated: Mon Sep 15, 2008

FHA Home Mortgages are making a Comeback for 09/22/2008

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

At the risk of revealing my age, I'll share that the first home my bride and I owned was purchased for $10,700. It was new and nice, but a modest two-bedroom home located in my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. We financed it with an FHA home loan.

In those days, a majority of home financing was done with mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). But later the popularity ...

Updated: Mon Sep 22, 2008

New Auction Course Helps Auctioneers and Realtors Join Forces for 09/29/2008

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Selling homes via auctions is the most rapidly growing technique for marketing residential real estate. For the first time, the nation's top real estate brokerage association is teaming with the top auctioning organization to launch a new auctioning online course for Realtors.

It wasn't too long ago when Realtors viewed auctioneers as their competitors. A broker earned his commission by ...

Updated: Mon Sep 29, 2008

Sluggish Economy May Serve as an Advantage to Some Home Buyers for 10/06/2008

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

These are uncertain times for home buyers and sellers, to say the least, but tough periods sometimes bring exceptional opportunities. That applies to today's buyers.

The economy is teetering ominously on a precipice. Home prices, sales volume and mortgage interest rates are all exhibiting volatile behavior. In recent months, existing home sales showed a healthy gain in July, but declined ...

Updated: Mon Oct 06, 2008

Senior Homeowners May Want to Reconsider Reverse Mortgages for 10/13/2008

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

More senior homeowners are becoming actively interested in reverse mortgages, especially since the maximum loan amount was recently raised to $417,000 for the most popular plan — those backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

However, there are certain downsides to signing for a reverse mortgage that seniors should consider.

Reverse mortgage loans are ...

Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008

Housing Expenses Going Through the Roof for 10/20/2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Housing costs for homeowners and renters are increasing at a rate substantially more than incomes are rising. If the current trend continues, we might revert back to cave homes as the next evolutionary step in housing.

Mortgage payments are just one element of rising costs, although they are the largest. A variety of other expenses also are rising, impacting all homeowners and renters. T ...

Updated: Mon Oct 20, 2008

Condos Still Prove to be Valuable in Sluggish Market for 10/27/2008

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Condominiums are holding their own — price wise and in sales volume — in most markets throughout the country. They are becoming the residence-of-choice for increasing numbers of buyers.

Condo values have been notably resilient, while other housing types have seen considerable drops in prices nationwide, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In ...

Updated: Mon Oct 27, 2008

Cohousing Gains More Popularity as Way to Share Ownership for 11/03/2008

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

More consumers are expressing interest in shared housing and cohousing concepts.

Considering the tightening economic squeeze affecting most families and the difficulty in qualifying for mortgage financing, the trend is not surprising. One solution: Share a housing facility with other like-minded and like-motivated people.

Shared housing is simply when two or more family groups &md ...

Updated: Mon Nov 03, 2008

Realtors Give Their Vote to High-Tech Marketing for 11/10/2008

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

A fascinating array of dynamic, high-tech graphics was piped into our televisions and personal computers on Election Day. Even if we didn't fully understand the data being displayed, many of us marveled at the complexity of the sophisticated technology.

Virtual tours of homes for sale have the same impact. In fact, virtual-tour websites were the pioneers of the expanded use of dynamic gr ...

Updated: Mon Nov 10, 2008

Government Urged to Focus Bailout on Housing Industry for 11/17/2008

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Real estate organizations are putting more pressure on federal lawmakers to take stronger and decisive action to ease problems in the housing industry soon, even during the transition period between the outgoing administration of President George W. Bush and that of president-elect Barack Obama. Several leading groups are making proposals and pressing legislators to take action, including the N ...

Updated: Mon Nov 17, 2008