Housing News
Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid
Aiming to help struggling homeowners
For homeowners that are unemployed and underwater, they don’t always qualify for traditional loan modifications or governmental assistance, so last month, the Obama administration set aside $2.1 billion in assistance for ten of the worst hit states. Each state had to submit plans that were innovative in order for their method to be approved. The plans varied from subsidizing mortgage payments for up to 2 years to paying down principle.
Today, the Treasury Department approved proposals for $1.5 billion of these federal funds in Arizona, Florida, California, Nevada and Michigan. While most of these plans are reportedly similar, some pay off second liens and others actually facilitate the short sale process in the name of avoiding foreclosures. Some states will be matching funds from loan servicers but there is no word yet on which servicers are in agreement with the agencies.
The programs will be headed up by each state’s housing finance agency and will be put into place over the coming weeks. Although these plans have seen their share of criticism, the Administration is moving forward in an effort to help homeowners, thus the residential real estate sector and the economy’s health overall.
The remaining monies will go to North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Rhode Island whose plans will be ruled on by the Treasury by August.
CC Licensed image courtesy of think panama via Flickr.com.
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Housing News
Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
Click here to continue reading this story…
Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Real Estate Feeds
June 24, 2010 at 2:06 am
Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid: Aiming to help struggling homeowners
For homeowners that are… https://bit.ly/bWyYpt
RealEstate Babble
June 24, 2010 at 2:30 am
AgentGenius: Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid https://bit.ly/aK9xN1 Full https://bit.ly/bhlcAo
Tom Lyons
June 24, 2010 at 4:43 am
Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid – Aiming to help struggling homeowners
For homeowners th… https://tinyurl.com/38lwbw9
SemperFiHomes.com
June 24, 2010 at 5:38 am
RT @RealEstateBabbl: AgentGenius: Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid https://bit.ly/aK9xN1 Full https://bit.ly/bhlcAo
Z.W. Brown
June 24, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Which 5 states are seeing billions of $$$ in homeowner aid? https://ow.ly/22G5d
Century 21
June 24, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid https://bit.ly/8XjqkW (@agentgenius)
realdiggity
June 25, 2010 at 5:29 am
Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid: comments https://bit.ly/b0Y09K
Eco St Joseph Statue
June 28, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Five states see billions of dollars in homeowner aid https://bit.ly/aBW4x4
Lon
August 12, 2010 at 9:08 pm
The Federal government is the founder of the current housing mess. Each administration since Jimmy C arm twisted the banking industry to grant mortgages to people who should never, I mean never, own property. NOW, it is prolonging the pain by providing subsidies and not allowing the market to adjust and correct. Beam up scotty, there is literally no intelligent life on the Hill.