My goal this year is to Keep The American Dream Alive!

The survey found that despite the recent housing crisis, most Americans continue to believe that owning a home is preferable to renting. These findings came from people across all education levels and demographic groups. 

It appears that people are beginning to act on those beliefs and get off the fence: ERA Real Estate’s Spring Selling Season Survey, which asked for local market insights from ERA^® brokers and agents, revealed that there is a growing confidence in the housing market, evidenced by an increase in homes going on the market:

• 52.6% of survey respondents saw a year-over-year increase in the number of listings on the market in their area

• 33.3% attributed the increase in listings to low interest rates; 32.6% to an improving economy getting people off the fence; and, 23% to this year’s mild winter

Consumers are also recognizing the tremendous pricing opportunities today’s market offers. Trulia’s recent Rent vs. Buy index reported that owning a home is more affordable than renting in 98 out of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas – including New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

Ken H. Johnson, a professor of real estate at Florida International who has studied the buy vs. rent question, and was recently quoted in a CNNMoney article, agrees that home prices nationally have bottomed. “The ship has turned. Markets should slowly start to recover. Housing will return to its traditional role of a safety investment,” he says, adding another incentive to buy.

If you have been thinking of selling now is the time, low inventory = less competition.

Where are all the home Sellers?  (source: Wall Street Journal)

By Nick Timiraos

Click for interactive

Inventories of homes listed for sale in January dropped by 6.6% from December to 1.77 million, the eighth straight month that listings have declined. For-sale listings are 23.2% below year-earlier levels and at the lowest point since the housing bust accelerated five years ago, according to data from Realtor.com.

All but one of the 146 markets tracked by Realtor.com had fewer homes listed than one year earlier, with Springfield, Ill., as the outlier.

Compared with one year earlier, listings were down by a whopping 55% in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and by nearly half in Miami, Phoenix, and Bakersfield, Calif. Markets with the smallest declines included New York (-1.7%) and Philadelphia (-3%).

Housing inventories typically rise heading into the spring selling season, but only four markets saw inventories increase from December, all of them in Florida. San Francisco and Boston, reported some of the largest monthly inventory declines, of 16% and 10%, respectively.

The Realtor.com figures include sale listings from more than 900 multiple-listing services across the country. They don’t cover all homes for sale, including those that are “for sale by owner” and newly constructed homes that aren’t always listed by the services.

The National Association of Realtors estimated on Wednesday that there were nearly 2.31 million homes for sale at the end of January, a 21% decline from one year earlier. The NAR estimates that at the current pace of sales, it would take 6.1 months to clear that inventory, the lowest level since April 2006, before home prices began falling.

Low inventories are a prerequisite for any housing recovery because a glut of unsold homes has been one factor pulling down prices. But it’s an open question whether these inventory declines are the sign of health that they would appear to be.

If homeowners are giving up on selling their homes because of low prices, or if inventories are declining because banks are still facing complications trying to process foreclosures, the declines could be artificial.

Economists at Goldman Sachs said the declines are a “modest positive” for the housing market, but said they also “exaggerate the improvement” in correcting supply-demand imbalances because they have stemmed primarily from a decline in new listings, and not a major pickup in sales.

Inventories typically jump in January after a seasonally slow home-shopping period during the December holidays. Zelman & Associates, a research firm, says that nationwide listings increased an average of 8.7% from December to January between 1982 and 2008.

The Realtor.com figures show that median asking prices fell by 1.3% in January but were still 3.7% higher than one year earlier. Median asking prices were at least 1% higher than they were one year earlier in 107 of the 146 markets.

Compared with one year ago, median asking prices were nearly 33% higher in Miami, 21% higher in Fort Myers, Fla., and 17% higher in Phoenix. But they were down by 11% in Chicago, by 8% in Detroit, and by 6% in Las Vegas.

Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Credit Standards

Housing Crisis to End in 2012

Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.

The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago.

Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.

However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability.

Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.

Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes “the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions.”

In contrast to a low of 74 percent reached in mid-2010, banks are now lending at 82 percent LTV.

While credit conditions may have loosened slightly, some potential homebuyers are still struggling with credit requirements. In fact, Capital Economics points out that in November 8 percent of contract cancellations were the result of a potential buyer not qualifying for a loan.

Additionally, Capital Economics says “any improvement in credit conditions won’t be significant enough to generation actual house price gains,” and potential ramifications from the euro-zone pose a threat to future credit availability.

Home buying could soon beat renting – on Bottom Line

vickie@vickiekeller.com shared this with you from Bottom Line:

Note: “Renting vs. Buying”

Home buying could soon beat renting
By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer   Falling home prices have sent many would-be buyers to the sidelines.

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Good info to know-

The Truth About the New Light Bulb Law

By Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger | Financially Fit – Fri, Dec 16, 2011 9:22 PM EST

On January 1, 2012 a law phasing out standard 100-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect. However, it won’t be the bulb apocalypse that some detractors have been warning of. In short: the notion that incandescent bulbs will no longer be available is a myth. Nor will you be forced to buy Compact Fluroescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). "You will still be able to buy incandescents," Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told Yahoo! Shine. "The only difference being that the new and improved ones are more efficient."

Related: Samsung Introduces Advanced LED Light Bulbs to Brighten U.S. Households with Energy Efficient, Natural-looking Light

The new incandescent bulbs operate and look just like the old-fashioned bulbs that you are used to-they have the same shape and base design. And, according to Horowitz, most people won’t notice any difference in the color or quality of light. What is different is that they have an improved filament design, which makes them 28% more efficient as the law requires. So, when you are bulb shopping for replacements for your old 100-watt incandescents, look for new ones labeled "72-watt soft white." Sylvania, Philips, and GE all make similar versions.

The Federal Trade Commission has revised its labeling requirements for most light bulb packages, which might initially cause some confusion. All new bulbs will be labeled prominently with lumens in addition to watts. Watts measure power used, lumens measure the amount of light emitted. Since CFLs, LEDs and other types of bulbs vary in wattage, the most accurate way to look for new efficient bulbs that give off the same amount of light you are used to and prefer is by lumens. The approximate equivalents for old standard incandescents are:

• 40 watts=450 lumens
• 60 watts = 800 lumens
• 75 watts = 1100 lumens
• 100 watts= 1600 lumens

The new light bulbs do cost more, but will save you money over their lifetime. On average, a new incandescent bulb will cost $1 to $2 compared to 25 cents. That may seem like a big jump, but the NRDC estimates that you will actually save $3 to $3.50 over the life of each bulb–which means they pay for themselves. The average homeowner using all efficient lighting will save $100 to 200 per year on energy costs. That adds up to a savings of $13 billion per year in the United States. New bulbs also reduce pollution. Upgrading our nation’s lighting will cut the need for 30 large power plants and reduce carbon pollution by the same amount as taking 17 million cars off the road.

New incandescent bulbs aren’t your only option. All major retailers, such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Target, sell a range of bulbs that meet the new energy standards including the improved incandescents, CFLs, and LEDs. Compact fluorescent bulbs are the cheapest, while LEDs are the most expensive but last for as long as 25 years.

Here are some more shopping tips from Horowitz:

1. Look for "warm white" CFLs and LEDs. Most people prefer "warm white" over those marketed as "cool white" or "day light."

The Environmental Protection Agency offers detailed information on buying the right CFLs for your needs

2. Not all new bulbs are dimmable. If you are replacing a bulb that was in a dimming circuit, make sure to buy a new incandescent or a CFL bulb specifically labeled dimmable.

3. Not all new bulbs are created equal. To ensure you are getting the highest quality product, choose bulbs with the Energy Star label, which meet strict performance requirements.

4. Dispose of bulbs properly. You can throw incandescents and LEDs in the trash. To dispose of CFLs, which contain a very small amount of mercury (less than what’s in a can of tuna), place them in a plastic ziploc bag and bring to a Lowes’s, Home Depot, or IKEA for free recycling.

The NRDC has a simple light bulb buying guide you can print and bring to the store.

Old incandescents will not be taken off store shelves on January 1, but phased out as they are sold off. The old 75-watt incandescent bulbs will be phased out in 2013 and the 60 and 40-watt bulbs in 2014. Horowitz points out that that new law has spurred innovation: "Without the law, we’d still be stuck with the 125-year-old technology that was so inefficient 90% of the electricity used was wasted as heat."

Photo courtesy of Anthony Clark (NRDC)

Vickie Keller

Realty Times – Five Great Things about Homeownership

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20111102_great.htm#.TrqyizRHQ50.email

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Home Loans for the Self Employed

When income is freelance
After the financial market downturn in 2008, getting approved for a mortgage loan became even more difficult.  Combine that with the fledgling economy, which left many people turning to freelance work, and the challenges involved in qualifying for a home mortgage increase exponentially.  However, with a little extra work, home buyers using freelance work as proof of income still can qualify for a new loan.

Making sense of the story

• Borrowers who earn most of their income on 1099s should be prepared for extra preparation, paperwork, and discussion of their financial standing when applying for a mortgage.
• It’s important that independent contractors show that their income is stable and increasing. For some, that may mean declaring all their income on their tax returns, and not, say, carrying anything over to the next year, even if it means paying more taxes.
• Consistency in income is key, so those applying for a mortgage this fall or winter should be prepared to provide proof for year-to-date income. 
• To increase the chances of getting a mortgage approval, borrowers should pay off other debts, including balances on credit cards.
• Pinpointing the source of the down payment also is helpful.  If the down payment will be a gift from a relative, borrowers are advised to submit an account statement showing the funds are available and awaiting the home purchase.  Same goes for borrowing from a 401(k).
• Freelancers also should be prepared for a more in-depth analysis of their ability to repay the debt.  Submitting tax returns from the last three years and explaining any significant differences in income is advised.

Forget the Market. Buy a House

*This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser.
http://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2011/08/18/forget-the-market-buy-a-house/?…

Mortgage interest rates lowest ever!

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen to it’s lowest level ever, based on records dating to 1971. The rate on the most popular mortgage dipped to 4.15% from 4.32% a week ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Its previous low of 4.17% was reached in November. The last time long-term rates were lower was in the 1950s, when 30-year loans weren’t widely available.

The time to buy is now if you don’t own a home, especially if you are young.  This long term investment will pay off for you, and you don’t have to rent anymore.  If you do own a home buy another one and/or refinance to a lower rate. 

Please be careful on which lender to go to, don’t get dupped into the bait and switch advertising.  Ask a reputable real estate agent like myself for a referral.