Existing-Home Sales up Again in January

Reprinted with permission from REALTOR®Magazine:

The uptrend in existing-home sales continues, with January sales rising for the third consecutive month with a pace that is now above levels a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. 

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in January from a downwardly revised 5.22 million in December, and are 5.3 percent above the 5.09 million level in January 2010. This is the first time in seven months that sales activity was higher than a year earlier.

Real Estate Outlook: Home Sales Rebounded 4th Quarter

The latest news from the National Association of Realtors is good. According to their latest survey, home sales rebounded in 49 states during the fourth quarter with 78 markets – just over half of the available metropolitan areas – experiencing price gains from a year ago, while most of the rest saw price weakness.


Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, had positive things to say about this gain. "Home sales clearly recovered in the latter part of 2010 and are helping to absorb the inventory, including many distressed properties. Even with foreclosures continuing to enter the inventory pipeline, they’ve been selling well and housing supplies have trended down," he said. "A recovery to normalcy requires steady trimming of the inventories."

Facing Foreclosure: What to Do Right Now

Foreclosure process takes time

The entire foreclosure process can take anywhere from two to 12 months, depending on how fast your lender acts and where you live. Some states allow a nonjudicial process that’s speedier, while others require time-consuming judicial proceedings.

Once you miss at least one mortgage payment, the steps leading up to an actual foreclosure sale can include demand letters, notices of default, a recorded notice of foreclosure, publication of the debt, and the scheduling of a foreclosure auction. Even when an auction is scheduled, however, it may never occur, or it may occur but a qualified buyer doesn’t materialize.

Bottom line: Foreclosure can be a long slog, which gives you enough time to come up with an alternative. Meantime, if your goal is to salvage your home, think about keeping up with payments for homeowners insurance and property taxes. Otherwise, you could compound your problems by getting hit with an uncovered casualty loss or liability suit, or tax liens.

Have existing-home sales hit bottom?

By Inman News, Thursday, September 16, 2010.

Two leading indicators -- applications for purchase mortgages and the number of homebuyers entering into contracts to purchase homes -- suggest sales of resale homes hit bottom in July and will rebound this fall, economists at mortgage insurer The PMI Group Inc. conclude.

In their latest monthly Housing and Mortgage Market Review, PMI Chief Economist David Berson and analyst Brett Soares make a case that existing-home sales will show "some modest gains" in August, September and even October.

Tax Credits for Adding or REPLACING Insulation

A federal tax credit makes adding insulation an even cheaper way to improve your home's energy efficiency and cut your heating and cooling bills.

DO YOU QUALIFY?

• Your home's R-value is below recommended levels.
• You install qualifying insulation in 2009 or 2010.
• You haven't already maxed out the energy tax credit on other upgrades.

If putting a dent in your home’s heating and cooling bills is a priority, then adding insulation needs to be at the top of your to-do list. It’s a relatively affordable home-improvement project, and the savings can be felt almost immediately. Some DIYers can even tackle the project themselves over a weekend.

Mortgage rates down again???

There's great news for home buyers and for homeowners who want to refinance their existing mortgages.

Rates on fixed-rate mortgages tracked by Freddie Mac hit new lows this week, with 30-year fixed-rate loans averaging 4.42 percent with an average of 0.7 point.
That's down from 4.44 percent last week and 5.12 percent at the same time a year ago, and is a new low in records dating to 1971.

It was the ninth straight week that 30-year-fixed mortgage rates met or set a new record low in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Having Trouble with the Neighbors?

It may be difficult to reach amicable decisions when it comes to neighborly disagreements, where relationships can be stretched and boundaries pushed if issues are not worked out carefully.

When you share a property line with someone, there will come a time when you will be involved in joint decisions. Should your fence be replaced? Who is responsible for the cracking sidewalk? And can you cut down that overgrown bushes or trees obstructing your view?

Here are some of the most common causes of neighbor disputes, and how to handle them in a "neighborly" way.