Posts Tagged ‘Home Buyer’
Home Builder Sentiment Posts Biggest Gain in Over Year
Despite sluggish summer sales, confidence among the nation's home builders is gaining strength, posting its largest gain since April 2010, when the now-expired home buyer tax credit brought more buyers into the market.
Credit Rules the Housing Market
Existing home sales were basically flat in April, down close to one percent month to month and down nearly 13 percent year over year, but you have to remember last year we were heavily under the influence of the home buyer tax credit. Now we are heavily under the influence of the mortgage market, or lack thereof.
Negative Home Equity Is Worse Than You Think
There was a lot of talk last week about how negative equity, now at 22.5 percent of all homes with mortgages, according to CoreLogic, will affect the housing recovery. Then mortgage rates popped up to 5 percent overnight, thanks to the 10-year Treasury, and more folks voiced concern over today's potential home buyer and his or her ability to take advantage of this low-priced housing market.
Home Price Double Dip Begins
Given the combination of the expiration of the home buyer tax credit and the increasing number of loans moving to final foreclosure, we knew that home prices overall would take a hit, but it would take a while. Well we're here.
Another Home Buyer Tax Credit?
From HUD to the hedge funds, it sounds as if a tax credit to spur home buying is gaining steam yet again.
Housing Double Dip is Not Just Tax Credit Hangover
There's no question that the home buyer tax credit, which expired at the end of April, pulled home buying demand forward and thus created an inevitable drop-off afterward. It would be wrong, however, to blame the current lull in home buying/selling entirely on the tax credit hangover.
Picking Out the Best Option From Lists of Home Foreclosures
When looking at lists of home foreclosures, a homebuyer should not only pay attention to the cheapest houses included in the list but should also consider the potential of these properties to provide future benefits. A buyer might enjoy the immediate advantage of buying a cheap dwelling, but in the long run might have to take losses due to decreasing home values and lack of equity. Location Considerations It is highly possible that the cheapest homes found in listings are those that are located in poorly developed and blighted areas. The question is; should a home buyer take advantage of these low prices and purchase a home from these locations? He probably should not. Regardless of whether he plans to use the home as a residence or as a form of future investment, the decision might not be justified. Houses located in areas suffering from blight are not highly recommended as places of residence since crime rates will likely be high. The future might not also offer too many opportunities for a sell-off since it might take these areas some years to recover and the property might already be deteriorating by then. Best Places to Buy Among the residential properties included in lists of home foreclosures, those that are located in metro areas that have the most stable economic conditions are buyers' best options. These include Texas, Indiana, South Carolina and North Carolina. These states have enjoyed a steady employment rate and economic condition and their housing markets are relatively in good conditions compared with other metro areas. These states also did not suffer from sudden upswings in home prices prior to the foreclosure crisis, so values of homes have not declined too drastically either. Such market characteristics can offer home buyers the possibility of increased property value in the not too distant future. They will be able to explore the option of selling their properties in a few years time without fear of getting a selling price that is less than the amount they paid to purchase their homes. Lists of home foreclosures should not only be evaluated through home prices but also in terms of location and potential future benefits. Home buyers would be better off buying at a slightly higher price if the future offers a surer benefit. Joseph B. Smith has been educating buyers on the finer points of Lists of home foreclosures at ForeclosureListingsNationWide.com for over five years. Contact Joseph B. Smith through ForeclosureListingsNationWide.com if you need help finding information about Lists of home foreclosures.
Home Tax Credit Closing Extension Dead
The proposal was simple and necessary: Extend the closing date for the home buyer tax credit from June 30th to September 30th — not the tax credit itself, which required buyers to sign a contract by April 30th, just the closing date.
Housing’s Double Dip: Numbers Tell How Bad It Is
We've been reporting a lot of anecdotal information about life after the home buyer tax credit, but now we're starting to get some numbers.
Home Buyer Tax Credit Snafu: No USDA Loans
In 2006, the USDA program backed about 31,000 loans or $3 billion worth. In 2009, that had grown to 133,000 loans worth $16.2 billion. The good news is the standards are tight and the default rates far better than the FHA. The bad news is the program wasn't meant to handle that many loans, and it ran out of money.
