Housing News
Uncle Ben (Bernanke) Says Our Economy is Going to Be Okay!
Bernanke expresses confidence
In a speech this morning to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed with the crowd the “the most serious financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression,” he ended his speech with a message of hope, noting that “we have come a long way from the darkest period of the crisis, but we have some distance yet to go. In the midst of some of the toughest days, in October 2008, I said in a speech that I was confident that the American economy, with its great intrinsic vitality, would emerge from that period with renewed vigor. I remain equally confident today.”
What was most interesting to me was Bernanke’s assertion that “financial firms must do a better job of managing the risks of their business, regulators–the Federal Reserve included–must complete a thoroughgoing overhaul of their approach to supervision, and the Congress should move forward in making needed changes to our system of financial regulation to avoid a similar crisis in the future. In particular, we must solve the problem of ‘too big to fail.'”
Wall Street’s response
In response, news outlets this afternoon buzzed about a Wall Street rally but it was short lived and the DOW closed at almost exactly what it opened with, and the DJUSRE (Down Jones U.S. Real Estate Index) dropped 2% (which is the equivalent of remaining stable). It was just another day on Wall Street despite Bernanke’s vote of confidence.
Texas State Network political reporter, Robert Wood told us, “what Bernanke is saying tracks with what our Texas officials have been saying too. The Comptroller’s office expects growth to pick up in the middle of next year and with the last couple of job reports showing some slow job growth in Texas with only a small increase in the number of unemployed it appears that’s the direction we are heading.”
Some will jeer at the lack of a rally on Wall Street while others will exhale as there was not a drop or a jump in the market, rather a stabilized response. Times are bad and Bernanke is blunt about that, but times will “moderately” improve over the coming year.
Bernanke’s speech is harsh as he points the finger back at the government while it is hopeful as he maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook. His speech can be found in full on the Federal Reserve website.
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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.
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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
December 8, 2009 at 5:22 am
Uncle Ben (Bernanke) Says Our Economy is Going to Be Okay!: Bernanke expresses confidence
In a speech this morning … https://bit.ly/4EnIbu
Hodgkins and O'Hara
December 8, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Uncle Ben (Bernanke) Says Our Economy is Going to Be Okay! https://bit.ly/7MggjE
BHG Real Estate
December 8, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Uncle Ben (Bernanke) Says Our Economy is Going to Be Okay! https://ow.ly/JRsu
Realzi
December 8, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Reading @agentgenius' Uncle Ben (Bernanke) Says Our Economy is Going to Be Okay! https://is.gd/5g6Cr