Housing News
HUD and Treasury Vow to Help Stabilize Real Estate Market
HUD & Treasury to help foreclosure market?
In 2009, foreclosure rates shattered records a the number of homes that received foreclosure notices hit 2.8 million, up 21% from 2008 and up 120% from 2007 according to RealtyTrac‘s recent foreclosure data. Foreclosures are clearly on the rise and various signs point to this trend continuing.
In response to what some call a foreclosure crisis, HUD (the Housing and Urban Development Department) vows to take action to speed up the resale of foreclosures by waiving a major FHA rule (that prohibits insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days) from February 1, 2010 to February 1, 2011. HUD noted that they will keep a strict supervisory role in this process to avoid predatory practices.
“FHA borrowers, because of the restrictions we are now lifting, have often been shut out from buying affordable properties,” said FHA Commissioner David Stevens said in a Reuters report.
The Treasury Department pledged to step up efforts on their end as well to improve HAMP (the Home Affordable Modification Program) which analysts note is not working. Only 25% of those eligible for a modification have been helped, up 1% from November which some read as a move in the right direction while the Treasury realized it’s a tiny step that could be much greater.
“It’s marginal progress,” Washington, D.C.-based mortgage industry consultant Howard Glaser told Reuters. “It’s helping the borrowers who have received the modifications, but systemically, the program is insignificant,” added Glaser. “With the wave of foreclosures ahead, it’s kind of like fighting a forest fire with a squirt gun.”
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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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realdiggity
January 19, 2010 at 7:35 am
HUD and Treasury Vow to Help Stabilize Real Estate Market: comments https://bit.ly/7dnsvP
Patrick Hake
January 19, 2010 at 3:42 pm
This is great news regarding the moratorium on the anti-flipping rule.
Hopefully this will incentivise even more investors to purchase these homes at auction and then resell them at a market rate to a financed buyers.
Before this change in our area, many of the flipped homes were going to buy and hold investors at a discount and most of the REO homes were going to cash and high down conventional buyers, at the exclusion of FHA buyers.
The banks seem more motivated by expediance and moving a file off their desk, than they are by the bottom line. I suspect that investors who purchase homes at trustee sales to flip will be more motivated by the bottom line and will therefore consider a higher offer from a pre-approved FHA buyer over a lower offer from a cash or conventional investor.
BHG Real Estate
January 19, 2010 at 3:45 pm
HUD and Treasury Vow to Help Stabilize Real Estate Market https://ow.ly/YaFS
Mike Jenkins
January 19, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Lani, interesting blog post at
frontporchrepublic.com/2010/01/the-politics-of-ingratitude/
by John Médaille, a Catholic theology instructor and real estate agent.
Excerpt:
“This attitude of “socialism for me and capitalism for thee” is widespread. I am a member of the Real Estate profession, and I reckon that 99.79% of my colleagues are ardent believers in the “free market.” They also demand that the government support the housing market. Indeed, few markets are as government-dependent as is the housing market, and Realtors divide their free time into complaining about government interference and demanding more government support”
This is exactly the thing that drives me crazy about AgentGenius and the real estate profession in general.
Budi Waluyo
January 20, 2010 at 2:10 am
Surprising news. Fantastic data. In my region, property sales even has stuck for two years.
Portland Condo Auctions
January 20, 2010 at 6:40 pm
The biggest problem is the fact that we think the banks are too big to fail, yet it was their poor screening that allowed so many homes to be sold to people who cannot afford them.
-Tyler
Angry Customer
February 28, 2010 at 10:25 pm
RT @agentgenius: Earlier this month, the Housing and Urban Development Dept which oversees the Federal Housing Ad… https://bit.ly/7x8ROg