Archive for December, 2005

Mortgage Contract Loopholes

Friday, December 30th, 2005

Source: Realty Times Contract “Loopholes”: Mortgage Approval Dec 30, 2005, 12:00 am PST Here’s a new twist on an old story: Home buyer agrees to use Home Builder’s mortgage company and the Builder agrees to “pay” for the title insurance policy. But that’s not the twist, that’s an everyday occurrence, is it not? Depending upon [...]

Most overvalued housing markets

Thursday, December 29th, 2005

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Sixty-five of the nation’s 299 biggest real estate markets are severely overpriced and subject to possible price corrections. That’s according to the latest (third quarter) Housing Market Analysis conducted by National City Corp, a financial holding company, in conjunction with Global Insight, a financial information provider. The report named Naples, Florida [...]

The shrinking easy: how big will New Orleans be?

Wednesday, December 28th, 2005

NEW ORLEANS.– Signs are everywhere in New Orleans that the Big Easy won’t be so big anymore. It starts with talk of Hurricane Katrina – simply called “the storm” by locals. Katrina is on the lips of everyone nearly every waking minute, from shop managers now relying on Internet trade for business, to pub owners [...]

5 negotiation tactics for real estate deals

Tuesday, December 27th, 2005

As the home sales market adjusts to slightly higher mortgage interest rates, a home buyers negotiation skills will become more important than during the recent “bull market” for home sales. In this article, Bob Bruss of the Real Estate Center shares a few of his useful negotiation tactics such as: (1) Watching out for the [...]

New home sales tumble 11 percent

Friday, December 23rd, 2005

Source: CNNMoney.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Sales of new homes tumbled 11 percent in November, the biggest drop in more than a decade, in another sign pointing to a slowdown in the nation’s real estate market. The decline, which was larger than forecasts from Wall Street economists, was from record sales in October. The last [...]

Lehigh Valley, PA Housing Market Ranked Among Hottest in the Country

Thursday, December 22nd, 2005

Fortune magazine’s December 26 issue ranks the top 100 largest U.S. metro areas as predicted by increases in median home sales. Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania is at the top of the list and is expected to be among the top housing markets in the country in 2006. Local home prices are expected to rise 6.9% [...]

Wealthy Americans Confident Home Values Will Increase

Wednesday, December 21st, 2005

A survey released by The PNC Financial Services Group found that 65% of wealthy Americans surveyed regarding the real estate market said they expect to see double-digit increases in the value of their primary homes over the next five years. Almost 31% anticipate an increase of 20% or more. Highlights of the real estate survey [...]

Technology Impacts the Face of Real Estate

Tuesday, December 20th, 2005

Technology has had an undisputable impact on the buying and selling of real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, almost 75% of all home buyers start their search on the Internet. On average, it is estimated that consumers will spend 17 months looking for a home. By the time they contact a realtor, [...]

Chesapeake, VA Housing Market Slows Down

Monday, December 19th, 2005

Buyers are slamming the brakes on the housing market in one local city, slowing the growth of home values during the last six months and ending the breakneck competition to tear down “for sale” signs. Home values in Chesapeake increased 20 percent from the beginning of the year to July 1. But from July 1 [...]

Decorating Do’s and Don’ts for Home Sellers

Friday, December 16th, 2005

From the article, 2006 Decorating Do’s and Don’ts for Home Sellers by Mark Nash, here are a few “home runs and strike-outsâ€? for those looking to sell their home in the next year. Do’s (1) Purchase the best quality carpet pad which can make any new carpeting “cushy”, and home buyers love cushy. Stay away [...]