Archive for the ‘Buying in a Recession’ Category
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
If you plan to buy new construction in the Denver area sometime in 2012, don’t expect today’s low prices. Like everything in housing of late, the market for newly-built homes appears to be stabilizing and, in some markets, improving.
As foreshadowed by this month’s strong Homebuilder Confidence survey, the Census Bureau reports that the number of new homes sold rose to a 6-month high in October, climbing to 307,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. A “new home” is a home that is new construction in which no one has lived. It’s the opposite of an “existing home” in which someone has lived.
Home buyers are comparing new construction to home resales and liking what they see. At the current sales pace, the nation’s complete new home inventory would now be depleted in just 6.3 months. This marks the lowest home supply since April 2010 — the last month of the last year’s federal homebuyer tax credit. By building only to meet new demand, builders are keeping home supplies in check, and home prices stable. They’ve also found a niche market – 80% of homes sold last month sold for less than $300,000.
This is a preview of New Home Supplies Fall To An 18-Month Low . Read the full post »
Tags: Margin of Error, New Home Sales, New Home Supply
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Housing Analysis, Residential Real Estate, Statistics | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Standard & Poor’s released its September 2011 Case-Shiller Index this week. The index tracks home price changes in select cities between months, quarters, and years.
The Case-Shiller Index for September showed drastic devaluations nationwide.
As compared to August, home values fell throughout 17 of the index’s 20 tracked markets, led by Atlanta’s 5.9% drop. On an annual basis, home values have now returned to early-2003 levels. As you can see, Denver remained relatively constant, dropping less than 1%, even according to Case-Shiller.
That said, home buyers and sellers in the Genesee area should be cautious when referencing the Case-Shiller Index. The index is a flawed metric and as such, can lead to improper conclusions about the housing market overall. The Case-Shiller Index’s first flaw is its most obvious — its limited sample set. According to Wikipedia, there are more than 3,100 municipalities nationwide. Yet, the Case-Shiller Index includes data from just 20 of them in its findings. These 20 cities account for fewer than 1% of all U.S. cities, and just a small percentage of the overall U.S. population. The “national figures” aren’t really national, in other words. Even on a city-by-city basis, the Case-Shiller Index gets it wrong.
This is a preview of Case-Shiller Index: 17 Of 20 U.S. Housing Markets Slipped In September . Read the full post »
Tags: Case-Shiller Index, Home Values, Standard & Poors
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Housing Analysis, Residential Real Estate, The Economy | No Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
 Homebuilder confidence continues to rise. Just two months after falling to a multi-month low, the Housing Market Index surged again in November, climbing another three points to 21. It’s the second straight month that the HMI posted a 3-point gain, catapulting the index to an 18-month high.
The Housing Market Index is a monthly report from the National Association of Homebuilders. It’s meant to measure confidence among the nation’s homebuilders, scored on a scale of 1-100. When homebuilder confidence reads 50 or better, it reflects favorable conditions for homebuilders. Readings below 50 reflect unfavorable conditions. The Housing Market Index has not read north of 50 since April 2006.
As an index, the HMI is actually a composite reading – the result of three separate surveys sent to homebuilders each month. The National Association of Homebuilders asks it members about current single-family home sales volume; projected single-family home sales volume over the next 6 months; and current “foot traffic”.
This is a preview of Homebuilders Getting Optimistic; Higher Home Prices Ahead? . Read the full post »
Tags: Buy home, Colorado Real Estate, HMI, home buyer, Housing Market Index, NAHB, real estate pricing
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Housing Analysis, Real Estate Definitions, Residential Real Estate, Statistics | No Comments »
Friday, October 28th, 2011
 Nationwide, fewer homes are going under contract to sell. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the Pending Home Sales Index fell 5 percent last month. September marks the fourth consecutive month in which the index has dropped.
The Pending Home Sales Index is a monthly index which measures the number of homes under contract to sell, but not yet closed. As such, it’s among the few “forward-looking” housing indicators; a data set meant to predict future home sales.
80% of homes under contract close within 2 months so, if the September Pending Home Sales Index is to be believed, we should expect home sales to decline through October and November. And that’s before we account for cancelled contracts.
Also from the National Association of REALTORS®, we learn that 18 percent of homes under contract failed to close in September. This is double the failure rate from September 2010 and it, too, should drag Existing Home Sales volume lower this fall.
This is a preview of Pending Home Sales Index Slips For 4th Straight Month . Read the full post »
Tags: Existing Home Sales, home buyer, NAR, Pending Home Sales
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Housing Analysis, Real Estate Definitions, Residential Real Estate, The Economy | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
This Month I will highlight the second of the five most important loan programs about which consumers need to know.
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority or CHFA was created in 1973 by the Colorado Legislature to address the shortage of affordable housing in the state. Since then, CHFA has established itself as the front-runner in the affordable housing industry by financing single family mortgages for qualifying homebuyers and supporting developments of apartments for low and moderate income residents. In 1982, whenColorado had economic difficulties, CHFA began making loans to small- and medium-sized businesses. CHFA is a responsible advocate of affordable housing and small business issues for theColorado community.
Since 1973, CHFA’s financing has served every county inColoradoby:
- Financing more than 69,000 mortgages to homebuyers
- Helping sustain and support more than 35,000 jobs
- Financing more than 54,000 residential rental units
- Allocating tax credits for 37,000 residential rental units
This is a preview of CHFA – The Second of the Five Most Important Loan Programs . Read the full post »
Tags: 30 year fixed loan, Buy home, buyer, Christian Durland, credit score, Down Payment, Getting a Mortgage don'ts, home buyer, mortgage broker, mortgages
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Mortgages, Residential Real Estate | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
In these difficult economic times, I am commonly asked whether it would be better to have a short sale or a foreclosure on ones credit report. The answer is complicated and has lot of moving parts. A short sale shows up on your credit report as a “derogatory report”; however, it will usually show up on your report as “short sale” or “settled for less then the full balance”. Of course, this will reflect negatively on your credit report. If you have not had any late pays prior to the short sale, your score will likely drop somewhere between 75 and 120 points. Each person’s credit score will vary depending on several factors, such as how much credit you have, how much of your credit facility you are currently using, and how long you have had certain types of credit. You will unlikely be able to obtain a home loan for a couple years. As a general rule, if one has a foreclosure on a credit report, then the waiting period is up to 7 years. The period may be reduced to 3 years if you fit into one of the extenuating circumstances. You should speak with a mortgage broker to see which of the extenuating circumstances may help you reduce the hold period to 3 years. In fact, my best is advice is to speak with more than one mortgage lender so that you may educate yourself about various lender requirements. Please know that different lenders may vary their interpretation of the underwriting requirements, and private lenders may adopt their own underwriting requirements.
This is a preview of Foreclosure versus Short Sale . Read the full post »
Tags: A+ Credit Consulting, Buy home, buyer, Colorado Real Estate, credit counseling, credit score, Down Payment, foreclosure, Getting a Mortgage don'ts, green real estate, home buyer, mortgage broker, mortgages, Sarah Kahley-Rufo, short sale
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Credit, Foreclosure, Mortgages, Residential Real Estate, Short Sale | No Comments »
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
Pay your bills on time- Pay your bills on time, every time! One way to make sure your payments are on time is to set up automatic payments on the creditor’s website or from your banking institution. Make sure that you have enough funds to clear the account, otherwise the account will show late. Also, don’t just pay the minimum balance if you can afford to pay more. This helps you to pay off the balance sooner, and help you credit rating along the way.
Don’t get close to your credit limit- Credit scoring models look at how close you are to being “maxed out”, because the formulas predict that people using too much of their available credit may have future troubles repaying their debt. If you use too much of your available credit, you could hurt your scores. Always make sure to have your credit cards paid down under 30% of the available credit.
This is a preview of Steps To Get and Keep a Good Credit Score . Read the full post »
Tags: A+ Credit Consulting, Buy home, credit, credit score, mortgages, Sarah Kahley-Rufo
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Credit, Mortgages | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
Your credit report shows information about how you have used credit, such as how much credit you have, how much of your available credit you are using, whether you have made your payments on time, and whether anyone has sent a loan you owe to a debt collector.A credit score is a number that is used to predict how likely you are to pay back a loan. Your credit score starts with information about you from your credit report. A mathematical prediction formula is applied to this information about you from your credit report. That prediction formula, which is called a scoring model, creates a number which is your credit score. You have numerous credit scores.
Credit scores are used by companies to make decisions such as whether to approve a mortgage at a certain rate or issue a credit card. Different lenders use different scoring formulas so your score can vary from lender to lender. A higher credit score makes it easier to qualify for a loan and means a better interest rate. Most scores range from 300-850. Anything over 720 is considered A+ credit. Do you know your score?
This is a preview of Credit Scores and Reports — Knowledge is Key! . Read the full post »
Tags: credit, credit score, knowledge is key, Sarah Kahley-Rufo, specialized knowledge, we care
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Credit, Mortgages, Selling a Home | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
I had a great discussion with a client today about folks who are waiting for the bottom of the market. It was his opinion that waiting would be very foolish. I tend to agree with him because, unfortunately, I have not found anyone who has been able to predict the future accurately. I have learned from many very savvy investors that, if you try to time the market and wait for the bottom, you will miss it every time. The “bottom of the market” is just too elusive.
This is a preview of Timing the Market . Read the full post »
Tags: Alaris Properties, Buy home, buyer, home buyer, real estate, real estate pricing, sell home, seller
Posted in Buying in a Recession, Investors, Selling a Home | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Over the last 2 years, we have seen tremendous corrections in the housing market, meaning almost across the board, the price of homes have come down. There was a time when we all took the housing market for granted. A once “no-brainer” decision to invest in real estate now requires us to evaluate whether buying a home is the right decision. In fact, the information provided on the current market has many potential home buyers confused and sitting on the sidelines, watching and waiting for things to turn around. Many are asking me if buying is the right decision. The answer is that it depends. There are no guarantees in any investment. However, history has been our clearest window into the future and my money is in real estate. The decision to invest in real estate is a personal one. If you are already in debt over your head, then biting off more than you can chew is never a good idea.
This is a preview of The “Price” of a Home vs. the “Total Cost” of a Home – By Christian Durland . Read the full post »
Tags: Buy home, buyer, Don't Move Money, mortgage broker, real estate, real estate pricing
Posted in Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession | 2 Comments »
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