real estate

Quarter of Home Borrowers Are Upside Down

Armen Hareyan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:45:42 -0600

Despite the fact that sales of existing homes surged once again during October, the number of looming foreclosures appears to be ready to increase. That’s because more than 10.7 million American homeowners are upside down in terms of their home equity. Close to 1 out of every 4 homeowners in the nation owes more than his or her home is worth.

Homeowner confidence levels remain unrealistic

Armen Hareyan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:26:49 -0600

Despite the vast amount of information available on today’s housing price trends, remarkable numbers of homeowners across the nation have no idea of the value of their homes, nor do they know whether that value is moving upward or downward.

Home Sales Run Rampant: Prices Lag Behind

Armen Hareyan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:50:16 -0600

At least for the moment, homebuyers across the country appear to be in a state (perhaps even a nation) of euphoria. Average numbers of homes sold across every region of the United States leaped by more than 20% over last year. They also moved up more than 10% over last month’s numbers of homes sold, although average sale prices of homes dropped by 7%, to a median figure of just under $174,000.

Commercial Real Estate Down, But Not Out

Armen Hareyan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:03:02 -0600

While the existing home sales numbers in October of 2009 jumped nearly 10.1 percent, which was above expectations, there is some good news in the commercial property industry as well. The number of transactions in commercial real estate are up by just under 1% for the third quarter, which is the first such rise seen in the last two years. Despite that optimistic note, commercial sales are still more than 11% off their numbers from 2008.

Florida is First in Foreclosures

Armen Hareyan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:50:52 -0600

Sometimes, being in first place is not a badge of honor. Take Florida, for example, which currently holds the dubious distinction of being first in the nation in foreclosures.

More Homebuyers Qualify for Tax Credit

Armen Hareyan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:29:07 -0600

Congress just passed an expanded version of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit that was set to expire on November 30. “The new version of the tax credit has the potential to stimulate the housing market even more than the old version due to the fact that more people will qualify under the new rules,” said Gibran Nicholas, Chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that certifies mortgage bankers and brokers.

Commercial Real Estate Healing Very Slowly

Armen Hareyan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:34:19 -0600

Even though the housing crisis has and will continue to consume the thoughts of most Amercians for the near future, there is an additional real estate problem that the nation is weathering. This is the precipitous drop in commercial property values that began in the middle of 2007.

Chinese Drywall Hurts Home Sales and Home Owners

Armen Hareyan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:38:37 -0600

While there may be ample reason to fear that the Chinese will subvert our economy by dumping U.S. dollars, there is greater reason to fear the drywall that they sent with no malice aforethought.

Homebuyer Tax Credit To Continue

Armen Hareyan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:48:19 -0500

If you are a first time home buyer who is frantically searching for that dream home in hopes of making the November 30 deadline, you can relax. It appears that the homebuyer tax credit will be extended until at least April 30, 2010.

Government Looks To $8,000 Tax Credit Extension for First Time Home Buyers

Michael Santo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:24:08 -0500

A new report today stated that the government's first-time home buyer $8,000 tax credit has spurred a significant amount of sales this year, estimated to be as many as 400,000 by the time the program ends at the end of November. At the same time, news reports this morning state that Senate negotiators have reached a tentative deal on extending and slightly expanding the tax credit.

Pushing the home buyer tax credit

Armen Hareyan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:32:16 -0500

“A billion here, a billion there, sooner or later it adds up to real money.” That famous quote, attributed to the late Senator Everett Dirksen, (R, Illinois), might well apply today to the dollars currently being expended on the very popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving: A House

Armen Hareyan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:44:37 -0500

Families can now pool their kindness together to help out a family member take advantage of a home purchase and the $8000 first time homebuyer tax incentive.