Real Estate Market Conditions – Video Update – 01/16/2012

See the 10 tips for sellers in the Mortgage Advice section.  

Real Estate Market Conditions Video Update 01/16/2012

NATIONAL NEWS
     Real Estate Outlook:  More Markets Show Measurable Improvement
     City Report:  Forbearance
     Green Living:  Tips for the New Year
     Real Estate Outlook:  Mortgage Applications Down
     City Report:  Remodeling Pays
MORTGAGE ADVICE
    Mortgage Moment
    10 Tips for Sellers
Q&A
     Home Inspections
     Buyers: Making the Right Choice
     Ready to Buy?
     How to Sidestep the Spread of Mortgage Fraud
     The Joys of Home Ownership
GET YOUR HOME SOLD!
     Why Show / Why Buy Webcast

Real Estate Market Conditions – Video Update – 11/07/2011

 Here is the current real estate market conditions video update:   Katy Real Estate and Events Blog.

 

NATIONAL NEWS:  Real Estate Outlook: Pending Sales Decline; Mortgage Moment; City Report: Types of Buyers; 5 Great Things about Home Ownership;  Bankruptcy – a Financial Bailout?

MORTGAGE ADVICE

Q&A:   Ready to Buy?  How to Buystep the Spread of Mortgage Fraud; The Joys of Ownership; Choosing a Condo; Tips for Saving

GET YOUR HOME SOLD!  Why Show / Why Buy Webcast

      via Katy Real Estate and Events Blog.

Freddie Mac calls for 100 billion in annual multifamily investment

Freddie Mac calls for 100 billion in annual multifamily investment

“The head of Freddie Macs multifamily division projects that the asset class needs 1 trillion in capital over the next decade. That is 100 billion every year earmarked to build 10 million additional apartment units over the next 10 years. David Brickman, senior vice president of the government-sponsored enterprises multifamily division, said financially stressed households will be forced into rental markets, only to compete with new households who are unwilling to buy.”In fact, the decline in the homeownership rate has been sharpest for those household heads under 30 years of age,” writes Brickman in a Freddie Mac blog post. “For every 1% that the current homeownership level of 66% decreases, 1 million individuals become renters.””

via HOUSTON – KATY AREA REAL ESTATE BLOG.

Renters Spending 5% More Than Home Owners Realtor Magazine

According to the Daily Real Estate News recently, renters are outspending home owners on housing costs.

“In the last 26 years, home owners have increased the amount they spend on household expenses by 12 percent while renters have increased it by 22 percent, according to the study.”

Read more:  via Katy Real Estate and Events Blog.

Housing Market Predictions 2011: Home Prices May Still Be Too High

Housing Market Predictions 2011: Home Prices May Still Be Too High “by Ilyce R. Glink

What’s the forecast for the housing market for the rest of 2011? My prediction is that the market will continue to suffer for the balance of this year and well into next year. Why aren’t home buyers buying? Maybe they’ve heard the recent spate of bad housing news:”

Why it’s Time to Buy

By RUTH SIMON and JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG

Back in June 2006, when the housing market peaked, the prospect of a five-year national housing bust seemed unimaginable to most people. And yet here we are, with the latest Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index showing that prices hit new bear-market lows, falling back to 2002 levels nationally and to 1990s levels in some battered regions.

via KATY – HOUSTON AREA REAL ESTATE: Why It’s Time to Buy: http://t.co/H7icZyR

Real Estate Market Conditions – Video Update 05/30/11

Besides the real estate outlook, check out this week’s updates about tornado relief, top towns for single moms and creative ways to curb spending – and the Q&A section.

Real Estate Market Conditions – Video Update 05/30/11

National News
– Real Estate Outlook – Existing Home Sales Fall
– Mortgage Moment
– City Report: Tornado Relief
– Top Towns for Single Moms
– Creative Ways to Curb Spending
Mortgage Advice
Q&A
– Are you Ready to Buy?
– Kitchen Trends for 2011
– Home Inspections 101
– Popular Landscaping Trends
– Modern vs. Contemporary
Get Your Home Sold!

Affordability Reaches Highest Level in 20 Years

Affordability Reaches Highest Level in 20 Years

Homes are more affordable to more families, according to the latest index for the first quarter of 2011 that shows affordability reaching its highest level in more than 20 years.

Nearly 75 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2011 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. The previous high was set in the fourth quarter of 2010 with 73.9 percent.

“With interest rates remaining at historically low levels, today’s report indicates that home ownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades,” says Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.

9 Reasons To Buy A House Now

9 Reasons To Buy A House Now

by Marc Davis

“If you’re planning to buy a house right now, the next few months may be the best time to buy. Waiting for both housing prices and interest rates to fall may not be a good strategy for potential homebuyers since analysts don’t expect any significant declines in these two most important home-buying factors. Here’s nine real estate trends that suggest you should get into the housing market sooner than later. (To learn more, check out 5 Tips For Recession House Hunters)

 TUTORIAL: Buying a Home

 1. Lowest Housing Prices in YearsNobody knows when the housing market will hit bottom, but prices are at their lowest in several years and may soon start inching back up again. So buying now or in the near future may be the right time. An abundance of bargain-priced housing is now available because of foreclosures and falling prices.

2. Interest Rates at a 50-Year LowInterest rates are near a 50-year low, according to housing analysts. By the second week of May, 2011, 30-year fixed mortgage rates had fallen to their lowest rates of the year at 4.63%. Although mortgage rates vary from day to day, the 30-year rate at this level is an attractive inducement to first-time buyers, or buyers who want to either move up to larger residences, or others, including many empty-nesters wanting to sell and move to smaller houses or condos.”

Get the other 7 reasons via Katy and Houston Area News and Events.

Real Estate Market Conditions Video Update – May 16, 2011

Here is this week’s market conditions update:
Real Estate Market Conditions Video Update

– Real Estate Outlook: New Legislation
– Mortgage Moment
– City Report: Move-In Ready
– Tornado Insurance
– Green Living: Summer Energy Savings
– A Message from Career Builder
– Why Buy this House?