BusinessWeekOnline has an interesting article on which areas of the country have historically recovered quickly from a housing boom and which have had more difficulty in pulling themselves out of a slump. Additionally, the article takes a look at just how common the boom-bust-boom pattern has been throughout the last thirty years. According to BusinessWeek, [...]
It’s a guessing game when it comes to the current real estate market, but new data suggests it the market can drop lower. Now, experts are warning that prices will probably continue to decline through most of 2007. Since 1968, the NAR has bee compiling price data. Yesterday, they noted the biggest drop in home [...]
Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors is reporting that in September home sales tumbled more than 31% across California and in Los Angeles County where prices continued to weaken. However, a report by DataQuick Information Systems has some more heartening news. In 227 out of 381 California cities, 59.6% showed an increase in their respective [...]
Both Equifax Inc. and Moddy’s Economy.com have reported that the number of past-due mortgages continued to rise in the three months ended Sept. 30. Approximately 2.33% of mortgages were delinquent at the end of the third quarter. This is the highest level since 2003. Historically, bad loans have climbed when the economy has weakened and [...]
Real estate firms “vary widely in size and specialize in a variety of business activities, fueling competition that benefit consumers.” Those are the recent findings of the survey, 2006 National Association of Realtors Profile of Real Estate Firms: An Industry Overview. Other interesting findings include: 81% of real estate firms offer residential brokerage and 36% [...]
More than 2.6 million Americans have real estate licenses. While the current real estate market may have many of those agents rethinking their career choices, others will tell you that the perks still make it a great job. Flexible hours, commission-based income and the opportunity to be your own boss remain attractive to many. Unfortunately, [...]
You may think the U.S. real estate market may be overpriced in some areas, and even going to “H-E-double hockey sticks” in a hand basket, but its not THAT bad. Sure, there may be a few places like Miami where they are experiencing a five-year supply of homes priced at above $3 million, with over [...]
It’s not that bad….really. That’s the basic message that NAR chief econmist David Lereah recently delivered regarding the state of the housing market to a Rotary Club in Birmingham, AL. His overall point was that the media has insisted upon lumping the performance of the U.S. housing market together, which is unfair to certain areas [...]
A conference sponsored by the Appraisal Foundation identified the lack of enforcement on a state level as a major reason appraisals remain at the root of mortgage fraud. A lack of money and resources is hindering their ability to handle the large volume of mortgage fraud cases currently out there. Case and point, during 2001-2002, [...]
Its a well-established fact by this time that Boomers are going to have a tremendous impact on our economy in the next 10 to 20 years. Housing will be no exception. Boomers are, and continue to be, a signficant driving force in the housing market. For example, a report released by the NAR found that [...]