tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60942777789613258652024-03-13T06:45:55.854-04:00Raleigh Real Estate BlogWelcome to the Raleigh Real Estate Blog featuring Marti Hampton, a leading Raleigh real estate agent. Team Marti defines the art of real estate by offering over 25 years of experience in the industry. Marti Hampton specializes in serving the Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Apex, Chapel Hill and the entire triangle real estate market.FOR HomeBUYERS Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03856586049985847796noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-40609603700046621312013-07-17T09:37:00.000-04:002013-07-17T09:37:06.644-04:00Homebuilder confidence and sales outlook soar Alex Veiga, AP Real Estate Writer 11:08 a.m. EDT July 16, 2013<i><span style="color: #999999;">Originally Appeared in USA TODAY</span></i><br />
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U.S. homebuilders are feeling more optimistic about their home sales prospects than they have in more than seven years, a trend that suggests home construction will accelerate in coming months.<br />
<br />
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday jumped to 57 this month from 51 in June. It was the third consecutive monthly gain.<br />
<br />
A reading above 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. The index hasn't been that high since January 2006, well before the housing market crashed.<br />
<br />
Measures of customer traffic, current sales conditions and builders' outlook for single-family home sales over the next six months vaulted to their highest levels in at least seven years.<br />
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"Builders are seeing more motivated buyers coming through their doors as the inventory of existing homes for sale continues to tighten," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist.<br />
<br />
The latest confidence index, based on responses from 281 builders, points to continued improvement for new home construction, which remains a key source of growth for the economy.<br />
<br />
Last month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke cited housing gains as a major reason the Fed's economic outlook has brightened.<br />
<br />
Steady hiring and low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy homes over the past year. But the inventory of previously occupied homes on the market has declined sharply in many markets. On a national level, it was down 10% in May from prior-year levels as sales rose to an annual rate of 5.18 million.<br />
<br />
With demand up, prices rising and few homes on the market, builders have grown more optimistic about their prospects, stepping up construction. In May, builders applied for permits to build single-family homes at the fastest pace in five years.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, sales of new homes climbed in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000, the fastest pace in five years. That's still below the 700,000 annual rate that's considered healthy by most economists, but the pace has increased 29% from a year ago.<br />
<br />
Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to NAHB statistics.<br />
<br />
In the latest builder survey, a gauge of current sales conditions for single-family homes jumped five points to 60, the highest level since February 2006, while a measure of traffic by prospective buyers improved five points to 45. It hasn't been that high since November 2005.<br />
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Builders' outlook for single-family home sales over the next six months increased seven points to 67, the highest reading since October 2005.<br />
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On a regional basis, confidence grew across the board, but posted the strongest among builders in the Midwest.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-86905720355448578402013-07-16T09:36:00.002-04:002013-07-16T09:36:29.460-04:00Italy to Spain Beckon as Yields Beat Germany: Real Estate<span style="color: #999999;"><i>Originally Appeared in Bloomberg News</i></span><br />
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Europe’s
biggest real estate managers are making their first investments in
southern Europe since the financial crisis as low prices and diminishing
risk make commercial properties more attractive. <br />
<br />
Axa Real
Estate Investment Managers, the largest European property fund manager,
bought Barcelona office buildings from the Catalan government for 172
million euros ($224 million) last month, only its second purchase in the
country in five years. When the unit of Europe’s second-largest insurer
considered buying the same properties two years ago, it rejected the
idea. <br />
<br />
“There was too much uncertainty in the market at the
time,” said Anne Kavanagh, the Paris-based insurer’s head of global
asset management. “There’s an indication now that we’re at or near the
bottom, even though there might be more volatility ahead.” <br />
<br />
Insurance
companies such as Germany’s Allianz SE (ALV), private-equity firms and
sovereign-wealth funds are seeking deals in Spain and Italy as the
economic prospects for the countries improve and the likelihood of a
euro-currency breakup recedes. Returns in the commercial hubs of Madrid
and Milan have become more attractive compared with other European
cities after a slide in investment in both countries last year boosted
yields. <br />
<br />
Axa Real Estate, which has 45 billion euros of assets
under management, agreed to buy an office park in Milan last month, its
first commercial property transaction in Italy since 2008. Before the
Barcelona acquisition, the French insurer’s only transaction in Spain in
the past five years was the purchase of a chain of gasoline stations
for 55 million euros in 2011. <br />
<br />
<b>Rome, Milan </b><br />
Allianz,
Europe’s largest insurer, in June bought a stake in two buildings in
Rome and Milan, its first Italian deals in five years. Georg Allendorf,
head of German property at Deutsche Bank Asset & Wealth Management,
said he’s considering buying real estate in southern Europe for the
first time since 2010. <br />
<br />
Yields for prime offices were about 6.25
percent in Madrid in the first quarter, up from 5.75 percent a year ago,
and in Milan they were unchanged at 6 percent. That compares with about
4.9 percent in Frankfurt and 4.75 percent in London, according to data
compiled by CBRE Group Inc. The yield is the annual income that a
property generates as a proportion of its purchase price. Yields tend to
rise when values fall. <br />
<br />
“There are many international investors
who are coming back, or coming into the market for the first time,” said
Mauro Montagner, head of Allianz Real Estate in Italy, which plans to
invest 500 million euros over the next several years. “They realize it’s
no longer like trying to catch a falling knife.” <br />
<br />
<b>Low Point </b><br />
The
renewed interest comes after commercial real estate investment in both
countries tumbled in 2012 to the lowest level since at least 2001,
according to research by DTZ. Investment dropped by almost 70 percent to
1.2 billion euros in Italy and by more than 50 percent to 2.3 billion
euros in Spain. <br />
<br />
Investment in both countries will begin to
recover this year and return to pre-crisis levels as early as 2014, said
Magali Marton, head of continental European research at DTZ. The money
spent on commercial properties could amount to 3.5 billion euros in
Italy and 2.5 billion euros in Spain in 2013, she said. <br />
<br />
“The
market is more dynamic than it seems from the outside,” said Allianz’s
Montagner. In one case, Allianz is competing with eight other investors
for an Italian property that probably wouldn’t have attracted any
interest a year ago, he said. <br />
<br />
<b>Euro’s Survival </b><br />
Buyers
are drawn by the prospect of an improved economic outlook in Spain and
Italy and growing confidence that the euro will survive, said Peter
Damesick, chairman of Europe, Middle East and Africa research at broker
CBRE Group Inc. in London. <br />
<br />
“It’s certainly a shift compared to
12 or 18 months ago, when concerns about the euro zone and its integrity
were running at a very high level,” he said. <br />
<br />
The Spanish
economy is set to grow by 0.9 percent in 2014 after contracting two
years in a row, according to the European Commission. Italy will expand
by about 0.7 percent after also shrinking for two years. Concern that
the euro would break up began to abate in September, when ECB President
Mario Draghi pledged unlimited bond buying to prop up the 17-nation
currency. <br />
<br />
Since then, the difference between the extra yield
investors demand to hold Italian government bonds compared with German
debt has narrowed by about 110 basis points, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. The difference, or spread, between Spanish and German debt
has narrowed by 180 basis points. That shows that investors see
diminishing risk in those countries. <br />
<br />
The ECB expects to keep
interest rates low for an “extended” period, Draghi said on July 4. The
central bank that day left its main refinancing rate at 0.5 percent. <br />
<br />
<b>Risk Appetite </b><br />
While
countries such as Germany and the U.K. attract the bulk of investments
because of their reputations as havens, buyers are increasingly willing
to take on more risk to earn higher returns. <br />
“We’re starting to see a rotation from defensive to riskier investment,” Kavanagh said. <br />
<br />
The
appeal of Italy, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, lies in robust
consumer spending and increased political stability after the
appointment of Enrico Letta as prime minister in April ended months of
political gridlock, DTZ’s Marton said. <br />
<br />
“The political class has
demonstrated its capacity to manage the country and take the right
decision to reduce public debt,” she said. <br />
<br />
Italy’s real estate
market is more promising than Spain’s because of the country’s strong
industrial sector and because it didn’t experience the construction boom
that has burdened Spain with an oversupply of buildings, she said. <br />
<br />
<b>Bad Bank </b><br />
While
the economic outlook in Spain is worse, with unemployment at 27
percent, the real estate market may benefit from discounted properties
sold by Sareb, the bank set up by the government last year to acquire 90
billion euros of soured real estate assets from rescued lenders. Sareb
is preparing to sell 1.5 billion euros of assets this year. <br />
<br />
Apollo
Global Management LLC (APO), a New York-based private-equity firm,
plans to invest 1 billion euros to buy loans from banks in Spain as well
as from Sareb, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The person
asked not to identified because the company hasn’t announced the plan to
the public. Apollo declined to comment. <br />
<br />
Spain’s bank rescue fund, known as FROB, owns about 45 percent of Sareb, while other shareholders include 14 Spanish banks. <br />
<br />
<b>Lowered Expectations </b><br />
Owners
of Spanish property are facing financial and regulatory pressure to
sell after holding assets for years to avoid realizing losses. Others
have lowered their expectations as the country’s economic woes drag on. <br />
The
International Monetary Fund yesterday called on Sareb to use more
conservative assumptions for house prices in its business plan “as these
are still falling sharply and further correction is likely.” <br />
<br />
“There
is more reality in European pricing than there was 12 months ago,” Axa
Real Estate’s Kavanagh said. “When owners start marketing an asset and
getting the bids, they realize where the market is. That process can
take a while,” he said. <br />
<br />
Axa Real Estate will achieve a gross
initial yield of about 9.5 percent with its Spanish office purchase,
according to two people with knowledge of the transaction. A year ago,
that deal would have probably yielded 8.45 percent, according to one of
the people. They asked not to be identified because the information is
private. The yield is the income return on an investment. Yields
normally fall when prices rise. <br />
<br />
Some companies are setting up
new businesses ahead of an anticipated increase in transactions. NAI
Global, a real estate adviser, added its first offices in Italy and
Spain this year. <br />
<br />
<b>‘Good Timing’ </b><br />
“It’s a very good
time to expand into those markets,” said Paul Danks, NAI Global’s
managing director for Europe. “The majority of the big-name investors
have always been in the market, but clearly over the last few years they
haven’t been active.” <br />
<br />
Some of the transactions are likely to
come from banks that took over buildings or loans from troubled
creditors and now face pressure to reduce their real estate holdings to
comply with new rules. These include Basel III, the banking regulations
that come into effect in 2019. <br />
<br />
CR Investment Management, a
Berlin-based firm that manages and restructures troubled properties and
loans, opened an office in Madrid in July. <br />
<br />
“As loans secured on
Spanish assets start to trade, many of the capital sources we work with
will require an operating partner to assist them with underwriting and
managing the loans they are looking to buy,” said Richard Fine, head of
CR’s international operations in London. <br />
<br />
<b>Different Targets </b><br />
Investors
are targeting deals for hotels, homes, offices and warehouses. Insurers
such as Axa and Allianz are focused on modern, high-occupancy office
buildings on busy streets. Private-equity firms such as Cerberus Capital
Management and Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) are targeting
distressed homes held by Spain’s Sareb, a person familiar with the
information said in February. <br />
<br />
Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund in
May agreed to buy a 40 percent stake in Milan’s newly built Porta Nuova
business district. While the purchase price wasn’t disclosed, the
project is valued at about 2 billion euros, the Qatari fund and
developer Hines Italia SGR said in a statement in May. Qatar in June
also bought the W Hotel in Barcelona for about 200 million euros,
according to Property Investor Europe. <br />
<br />
In February,
Luxembourg-based asset manager GWM Group bought Italian logistics
properties valued at about 220 million euros after the owner had trouble
repaying loans from Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and M&G Investments,
according to a February statement from GWM. <br />
<br />
In Spain, the past
year has also seen the arrival of investments from wealthy families in
Latin American countries such as Mexico, Chile and Venezuela, Damesick
said. As deals close, more investors will be comfortable entering the
markets, he said. <br />
<br />
“One of the issues that held the market back
in the past couple of years was a circular process of low liquidity
creating uncertainty about pricing in the market,” he said. “When things
go in the other direction, it gives more investors an incentive to move
in.” <br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-15384098871148683592013-07-09T15:01:00.001-04:002013-07-09T15:01:29.001-04:00 Hedge fund Perry Capital sues government over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac<i><span style="color: #999999;">Originally Appeared in The Washington Post</span></i><br />
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Investors are placing more pressure on the government to release its hold on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the mortgage finance giants return to profitability.<br />
<br />
In the latest effort, hedge fund Perry Capital filed a lawsuit in federal court late Sunday to stop the government from seizing most of the profits at the finance firms.<br />
<br />
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees the government-owned mortgage companies, violated a 2008 law that placed Fannie and Freddie into conservatorship to prevent bankruptcy.<br />
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Congress originally authorized Treasury to collect 10?percent dividend payments from Fannie and Freddie every quarter as a condition of the government’s $188?billion bailout of them. Treasury amended the terms of the agreement last year to make Fannie and Freddie give the government most of their profits, a move known as the “sweep amendment.”<br />
<br />
The lawsuit alleges that the dividend sweep was tantamount to a purchase of new securities, which Treasury did not have the authority to make. It also says the FHFA has failed to conserve the assets of Fannie and Freddie by allowing Treasury to take most of their profits. Perry Capital is not seeking damages but is asking the court to strike down the Treasury amendment, a decision that would benefit its investors.<br />
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“This lawsuit seeks to uphold the rule of law,” Theodore Olson, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which is representing Perry Capital, said in a statement. “If the government wanted to assume the powers of receivership, it could have chosen that course. Instead it chose conservatorship, and with the ‘sweep amendment,’ it overreached.”<br />
<br />
Perry Capital alleges that the new arrangement has caused irreparable harm to all private investors, who are being shortchanged as Fannie and Freddie have returned to profitability. The hedge fund says the government “maneuvered to ensure that Treasury would be the sole beneficiary of the companies’ improved financial position,” according to the lawsuit.<br />
<br />
Treasury and the FHFA declined to comment on the lawsuit.<br />
<br />
Treasury has received $132?billion in dividend payments on the government’s nearly 80?percent stake in Fannie and Freddie. Shareholders say Treasury’s new terms prevent the companies from building capital that would help them redeem any of the shares the government has taken.<br />
<br />
Perry Capital, which would not disclose its exact stake in Fannie and Freddie, began investing in the mortgage companies in 2010. It said it believed the beleaguered companies were positioned to return to profitability. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Fannie, Freddie and other government-backed agencies have insured nearly 90?percent of new mortgages.<br />
<br />
Investors, including Perry Capital and Paulson & Co., have urged Congress to quash plans to close Fannie and Freddie, which they say should be allowed to go private. But the overwhelming momentum in Washington is behind abolishing the troubled mortgage insurers.<br />
<br />
A few weeks ago, Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) introduced legislation to replace the mortgage giants with a new government agency that would shift more of the risks of lending to the private sector. The lawmakers want to make the government the last line of defense in the event of another housing crash.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-67990159195686301692013-07-01T09:00:00.003-04:002013-07-01T09:00:53.550-04:00Mortgage rates: Nowhere but up?<i><span style="color: #999999;">Originally Appeared in USA TODAY</span></i><br />
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This week's sharp increase in mortgage rates — the biggest one-week leap in 26 years — won't likely be repeated, but a long era of historically low rates may be over.<br />
<br />
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 4.46%, the highest in almost two years, and up from under 4% the week before.<br />
<br />
In the short run, this week's half a percentage point increase could push some home shoppers out of the market while spurring others to act before rates go higher, says John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting.<br />
<br />
Longer term, higher rates and more homes for sale could slow gains in home prices, whose rapid rise has spurred fears of another housing bubble.<br />
<br />
n April, home prices were up 12.1% from a year ago and more than 20% in San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Atlanta, Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller data show.<br />
<br />
Higher interest rates will have a "small impact" on sales volume as well as prices, says Cameron Findlay, economist with Discover Home Loans. Gains of 20% year-over-year "are not sustainable or healthy," he adds.<br />
<br />
Higher rates won't stop the housing market recovery, however, says Freddie Mac economist Frank Nothaft.<br />
<br />
It has "enough momentum to continue," but sales volume and home price appreciation will be "less than what would've occurred," he says.<br />
<br />
Nothaft expects rates to bounce between 4 3/8% and 4 5/8% through the end of the year. "The historic trough is history," he says.<br />
<br />
The impact of the increase is already being observed in some places.<br />
<br />
New customer volume was down 11% last weekend from the average of the previous three weekends at real estate brokerage Redfin, which tracks 19 major markets, says Glenn Kelman, Redfin CEO. Meanwhile, shoppers further along in the process rushed to close deals.<br />
<br />
"We've had people calling us in tears. There were so many buyers at the outer limit of what they could afford," Kelman says.<br />
<br />
The increases follow rising yields on the 10-year Treasury bond. They've climbed in the wake of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments last week that the Fed could start trimming its stimulus policies later this year if the economy continues to improve. Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury rate, which is at a two-year high.<br />
<br />
Paul Diggle of Capital Economics expects 30-year rates of 4½% at year end, 5% next year and 5½ in 2015.<br />
<br />
Average monthly rates have been below 4% since late 2011, Freddie Mac data show. But even at current levels, they're still low, having averaged 8.6% since 1971, Freddie Mac says.<br />
<br />
At today's house prices and income levels, mortgage rates would have to be nearly 7% before the U.S. median-priced home would be unaffordable to a family making the median income in most parts of the country, a Freddie Mac analysis shows.<br />
<br />
Higher rates will have the most impact on affordability in already high-cost areas, such as San Francisco south to San Diego and Washington, D.C., north to Boston, as well as in Seattle and Miami, Freddie Mac says.<br />
<br />
Pending home sales rose in May to the highest level since late 2006, a potential sign that some fence-sitters jumped in to get ahead of higher rates, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-26052193252189075682012-02-20T15:18:00.003-05:002012-02-20T15:18:33.102-05:00More Short Sales<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">First appeared in USA Today</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Lenders are allowing more short sales by financially
strapped homeowners and a few people are even getting cash to complete the
sale. Such is the case with <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-durham-nc-new-homes-for-sale-durham-nc.html">Durham
Short Sales</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Short sales are when lenders allow borrowers to sell homes
for less than their unpaid mortgages. They are an alternative to foreclosures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Short sales have been increasing for months, but the
financial incentives — which Realtors say are random and infrequent — are a
newer wrinkle. Those who care about <a href="http://www.ns-insurance.com/brooklyn-ny-homeowners-insurance-brooklyn-new-york-ny.htm">Brooklyn
Home Insurance</a> are paying attention.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Examples:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->JPMorgan Chase went national with short-sale
incentive offers last year, paying up to $35,000 in some cases.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Bank of America is testing incentives from
$5,000 to $25,000 in Florida to see if they should be expanded to more states.
The Florida program began last fall, spokesman Richard Simon says.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Wells Fargo's incentive offers range from less
than $3,000 to $20,000, spokesman James Hines says.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Short sales, even with incentive payments to borrowers, can
save lenders money compared with the expenses involved in completing
foreclosures. This is true of <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-triangle-nc-new-homes-for-sale-research-triangle-park-nc.html">Triangle
Homes for Sale Foreclosures</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In states such as Florida where foreclosures go through the
courts, 50% of loans in foreclosure are more than two years past due, says a
January report by mortgage tracker LPS Applied Analytics.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"It's a lot cheaper to shell out $10,000 or $20,000 to
someone than it is to go through a long foreclosure," says Jim Gillespie,
chief executive of Coldwell Banker.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Banks are more willing to do short sales now than in the
past, Gillespie says. Cash incentives appear to be "limited but
increasing" in number, he adds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"When a loan modification isn't possible, a short sale
may be a better and faster solution" than foreclosure, says JPMorgan Chase
spokesman Thomas Kelly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The lenders won't say how often they extend such incentives.
Those in <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-cary-nc-new-homes-for-sale-cary-nc.html">Cary
Short Sales</a> are curious, though.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"If you have two similar sellers, one might get it and
another may not," says Colleen Badagliacco of Altera Real Estate in San
Jose. "It's very random."<o:p></o:p></div>
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Typically, short sale incentives are more common for loans
in states where foreclosures take more time, Hines says.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In November, short sales accounted for more than 9% of
single family home sales and were up 32% from the year before, according to
CoreLogic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Market researcher Dataquick also shows short sales
increasing from January 2011 through last month throughout California and in
Phoenix, Miami and Seattle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The federal government-run foreclosure prevention program
also offers short sale incentives, at least $3,000 for sellers, but far more
short sales are being done outside the government program.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Through December, just 26,901 short sales had been completed
through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program. A <a href="http://www.primerus.com/raleigh-north-carolina-commercial-real-estate-lawyers-raleigh-north-carolina-nc.html">Raleigh
Real Estate Lawyer</a> is curious.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In contrast, BofA, the largest servicer of home loans, did
107,000 short sales last year. That was up from 92,000 in 2010, which was
double the 2009 volume, it says.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"The trend is up," says Moody's Investors Service
analyst William Fricke.<o:p></o:p></div>Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-88452401488778920502012-01-31T09:46:00.002-05:002012-02-10T11:22:08.914-05:00Is Desegregation Really Happening?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">First appeared in the Wall Street Journal</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An exodus of African-Americans from struggling industrial
cities such as Detroit and the growth of Sunbelt states have pushed racial
segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas to its lowest level in a century,
according to a new study.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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The report, released by the conservative Manhattan Institute,
said U.S. cities are more integrated now than at any time since 1910, based on
analysis of census data from neighborhoods.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Fifty years ago, nearly half the black population lived in a
ghetto, the study said, while today that proportion has shrunk to 20%.
All-white neighborhoods in U.S. cities are effectively extinct, according to
the report.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Immigration and gentrification have helped convert ghettos
into racially mixed communities and contributed to diversifying suburbia, said
economists of Harvard University and of Duke University, who co-wrote the
study. "Segregation is as low as we have ever seen it," said the
economists. "It's an unprecedented scenario."<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Some scholars said the report, titled "The End of the
Segregated Century: Racial Separation in America's neighborhoods,
1890-2010," paints too rosy a picture and argued the country is far from
being fully integrated.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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"That segregation is declining in most places is a real
plus," said a Brown University sociologist who has published research on
the topic. "But it is declining at a rate that will leave the country with
a very high level of segregation for a long time."<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From around 1910, rural blacks began moving in large numbers
to urban centers in search of work, in what became known as the Great
Migration. Government policies and discriminatory practices in areas such as
mortgage lending promoted residential segregation, which peaked in the 1960s.
The civil-rights movement then paved the way for integration, and the 1968 Fair
Housing Act specifically banned housing discrimination.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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By the 1980s, blacks were moving to suburbs, which both
altered the face of the urban areas they left behind and created racially mixed
neighborhoods where they settled.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Using the most common measure of segregation, the
"dissimilarity index," the authors found that segregation is lower
now than it was in 1970 in all but one of the 658 housing markets tracked by
the Census Bureau. Between 2000 and 2010, segregation declined in 522 out of
658 housing markets, the report said.<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The index of dissimilarity measures how evenly two groups
are distributed in a neighborhood. The score indicates what share of the
members of one group would need to move neighborhoods to enable the two groups
to be equally distributed.<o:p></o:p><br />
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In 2010, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston were the country's
least segregated large cities. Atlanta's index fell 28 points to 54.1 in 2010
from 82.1 in 1970; Dallas-Fort Worth's fell to 47.5 from 86.9 over the same
period.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Still, segregation hasn't been eliminated. The typical urban
African-American still lives in an area where more than half the black
population would need to move to achieve overall integration.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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"There are still segregated places, like the South Side
of Chicago, the East Side of Cleveland and Detroit," said a sociologist.
"But those places have fewer people."<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Many of the people leaving industrial cities moved to the Sunbelt,
which stretches from California to North Carolina and has experienced rapid
growth in recent decades. As cities such as Phoenix, Houston and Charlotte
expanded to accommodate the new population, many neighborhoods became more
racially mixed than those left behind in the Rust Belt, a sociologist said.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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The beacon of economic opportunity is luring ambitious young
African Americans such as a 28 year old, who left Cleveland for Houston a year
and a half ago for a promotion in the Veterans Administration. He now manages
outpatient care at Houston's Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"It was a good promotion, and with the economy being
the way it is, it was too good to pass up," said the young man.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A 59 year old, who moved to Phoenix from Racine, Wis., in
1987 to run a janitorial business, said: "Everybody here came from
somewhere else so they are not just living next to their own kind."<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Immigration has been a factor in desegregation. The Hispanic
population has climbed and spread across the U.S. since the 1990s, with Latin
American immigrants settling in both predominantly black and white
neighborhoods, the report says. The typical African-American now lives in a neighborhood
that is 14% Latino.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Access to credit has also fostered mobility and integration.
Minority home buyers were affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, but many
buyers were able to stay in their homes, the report said.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the decline in desegregation in residential areas hasn't
meant an end to racial inequality. Minorities at every income level tend to
reside in poorer neighborhoods than whites with comparable incomes, according
to the scholar at Brown.<o:p></o:p></div>Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-30488590258743300312012-01-12T13:43:00.000-05:002012-02-10T11:22:40.405-05:00Home Foreclosures Looking Up<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">First appeared in CNN Money</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Foreclosure filings and repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007 last year.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Total filings, including default notices and bank repossessions were down 33% for the year to 2.7 million, according to RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed properties.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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One in every 69 homes had at least one foreclosure filing during the year, while 804,000 homes were repossessed. That's a significant improvement from the peaks reached in 2010 -- when 1.05 million homes were repossessed -- and the lowest levels seen since 2007.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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More than 4 million homes have been lost to foreclosure over the past five years.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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While the declines seem like good news for the housing market, where a flood of foreclosed homes has depressed home prices, much of it is due to processing delays caused by fall-out from the "robo-signing" scandal that broke in late 2010.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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During the year, banks spent more time making sure paperwork was legal and proper, creating a backlog in the foreclosure pipeline. As a result, the average time it took to process a foreclosure climbed to 348 days during the fourth quarter, up from 305 days a year earlier.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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"Foreclosures were in full delay mode in 2011, resulting in a dramatic drop in foreclosure activity for the year," said Brandon Moore, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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However, Moore said there were "strong signs" during the second half of the year that lenders are working through foreclosure backlogs in certain markets. He expects foreclosure activity to rise above 2011's level but remain below the peak hit in 2010.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Low rates offer some help for homeowners<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Early in 2011, many forecasters were predicting a wave of foreclosures due to resetting adjustable-rate mortgages, but low mortgage rates helped many borrowers refinance into more affordable loans, said Moore.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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The government helped as well, through efforts like the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), which made refinancing easier for borrowers who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Turning foreclosures into rentals<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Government foreclosure prevention programs, including HARP and the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), have started about 5.5 million mortgage modifications since April 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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"Programs like HAMP and HARP have definitely made a dent in the foreclosure problem," said Moore "However, they are certainly not living up to their billing of preventing several million foreclosures. In addition, many [HAMP] homeowners fall back into foreclosure later on."<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Of course, there were still plenty of factors working against homeowners in 2011, including the continued erosion in home prices. Falling prices rob homeowners of home equity, which they can tap if they need emergency cash.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Foreclosure hot spots<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Hot spots for foreclosures remain mostly in "bubble states," where speculative investors helped drive up home prices beyond their fundamental values during the mid-2000s housing boom.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Nevada, where one out of every 16 households received some kind of default notice during the year, was the worst hit of all, a distinction it has held for the fifth consecutive year.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Foreclosure free ride: 3 years, no payments<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arizona had the second highest foreclosure rate and California came in third. Florida, which had been running neck-and-neck with the other "Sand States" in past years, fell to seventh, behind Georgia, Utah and Michigan.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Among metro areas, Las Vegas suffered from the highest foreclosure rate in 2011. California put seven cities in the top 10, led by Stockton in the second slot. Other cities in the top 10 included Phoenix, which finished sixth, and Reno, Nev. was eighth.<o:p></o:p></div>Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-34499236524536769562012-01-06T13:43:00.000-05:002012-02-10T11:23:13.403-05:00Rental Demands Changes Housing Outlook<span style="font-size: xx-small;">First appeared on Yahoo! News</span><br />
Brian Keith is busier than ever as the architecture firm he works for rushes to wrap up work on a 300-unit apartment complex in Dallas.<br />
<br />
The project is one of dozens the firm, JHP Architecture, has on its hands -- a surge of business driven by a rise in demand in the United States for rental properties.<br />
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The increased demand has forced JHP to expand, and it expects to keep hiring at least through the first quarter.<br />
<br />
"We're seeing overall work come back and there's a backlog of contracts to go through," said Keith, director of urban design and planning at JHP. "There's strong interest in multi-family units and plenty of pent-up demand."<br />
<br />
With U.S. unemployment at a lofty 8.6 percent, home foreclosures rising and property prices under pressure, more and more Americans have given up the dream of owning, opting instead to rent, a shift that is remaking the face of the U.S. housing industry.<br />
<br />
The percentage of Americans who own their home dropped from a peak of 69.2 percent in late 2004 to a 13-year low of 65.9 percent in the second quarter. It edged up to 66.3 percent in the third quarter of this year.<br />
<br />
On the flip side, the percentage of rental properties that are empty fell to 9.8 percent in the third quarter from 10.3 percent a year earlier.<br />
<br />
In a recent report, Oliver Chang, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, dubbed 2012 "The Year of the Landlord."<br />
"Rents are rising, vacancies are falling, household formations are growing and rental supply is limited," the Morgan Stanley report stated. "We believe the demand for rental properties will continue to grow."<br />
<br />
Groundbreaking for new housing jumped 9.3 percent in November to the highest level in 19 months, fueling optimism that the battered housing market was regaining its footing.<br />
<br />
The gains, however, were almost solely in multifamily housing. Groundbreaking for structures with five or more units shot up more than 30 percent from October to now stand at nearly double the year-ago level.<br />
Prices reflect the shift in demand. Rental costs are up 2.4 percent over the last year, compared with an increase of just 0.6 percent in 2010.<br />
<br />
Steve Blitz, senior economist at ITG Investment Research, says the lure of higher returns is spurring the development of apartment buildings. He argued the next "boom" in residential construction has already started.<br />
<br />
"The reason rents were rising is that through the past 15 years there has been an under-building of rental properties because typical renters were increasingly able to garner cheap financing to buy a house," he wrote in a research note.<br />
<br />
While the rise in demand is great news for builders and developers, it remains unclear what the pick-up in homebuilding will mean for the economy as a whole.<br />
<br />
"Residential construction will be a plus to GDP in 2012, but house price declines will be a negative. So net, net housing will be neutral or a small drag on the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.<br />
<br />
At its peak at the end of 2005, homebuilding accounted for about 6.2 percent of overall economic activity. Now, it is only about 2.4 percent.<br />
<br />
U.S. housing starts in April 2009 hit their lowest level on records dating to January 1959. While multifamily starts have given them a lift, 2011 may be the weakest year ever for construction of single-family homes.<br />
<br />
"Business is slightly down from last year," said Bill Zach, a third-generation homebuilder. His family business, the Zach Building Co. in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area, is mainly focused on single-family units.<br />
<br />
To Zach, that his firm is still in business when so many of his competitors have gone bust represents some success.<br />
<br />
"It used to be my competition was every guy that owned a pick-up truck and called himself a builder. Hundreds of them," Zach said. "That's no longer the case, those guys are dropping by the wayside."<br />
<br />
But there are signs of a turn and signals that the housing market may be close to finding a bottom.<br />
<br />
The Architecture Billings Index, a gauge of future construction, picked up last month, breaking above the 50 level to signal growth in billings.<br />
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And the stock of homebuilders, as measured by a Dow Jones index, has shot up more than 30 percent since early October.<br />
<br />
"Residential construction is finally beginning to rise from its post-recession lows," said Joseph Lavorgna, chief U.S. economist for Deutsche Bank. "The true test for starts and (building) permits, as well as most of the sales metrics, will come during the spring buying season."Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-55340414439204262192011-12-09T14:30:00.002-05:002012-02-10T11:23:21.333-05:00Massachusetts Sues Banks For Holiday ForeclosuresStory first appeared on CNNMoney.<br />
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<br />
The Massachusetts attorney general sued some of the nation's biggest banks on Thursday, accusing them of unlawful and deceptive conduct in the foreclosure process. This is currently not involving a <a href="http://www.chasnickgraff.com/birmingham-home-foreclosure-attorney-lawyer-birmingham-mi.html">Birmingham Foreclosure Lawyer</a>.<br />
<br />
The statement described the state court lawsuit as the nation's first comprehensive lawsuit against the five major national banks regarding the foreclosure crisis.<br />
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The AG's lawsuit seeks accountability for the banks' unlawful and deceptive conduct in the foreclosure process, including unlawful <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/buyers/index.cfm/page/4">foreclosures</a>, false documentation and robo-signing ... and deceptive practices related to loan modifications, the statement said.<br />
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MERS runs a database created in the 1990s to digitize and centralize the paperwork surrounding the bundling and selling of the loans.<br />
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The Massachusetts suit alleges that the database was used by the big banks to transfer ownership of mortgage debt without paying government registration fees and properly recording the transactions. The system also concealed the identities of the holders of mortgage debt from borrowers, the suit claims. It does not appear to have any relevance if owners had <a href="http://www.ns-insurance.com/homeowners-insurance.htm">Homeowners Insurance</a>.<br />
<br />
MERSCORP, parent company for Mortgage Electronic Registration System Inc., said the Massachusetts complaint hangs on ambiguous language and has no applicability to MERS' business model.<br />
Fannie Mae, banks halt foreclosures for the holidays. A <a href="http://www.chasnickgraff.com/rochester-home-foreclosure-attorney-lawyer-rochester-mi.html">Rochester Hills Foreclosure Lawyer</a> said this was a nice gesture.<br />
<br />
The banks, meanwhile, say negotiations they are conducting with a group of state attorneys general toward a settlement over their handling of foreclosures are a more promising means of resolving the issue than lawsuits.<br />
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Bank of America spokesman Lawrence Grayson said the firm believes that collaborative resolution rather than continued litigation will most quickly heal the housing market and help drive economic recovery.<br />
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Chase echoed those comments, saying it was disappointed with the suit, as did GMAC Mortgage, which said it would vigorously defend its actions in court.<br />
<br />
Citi said in a statement that it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit, but that the bank believes they have operated appropriately in compliance with existing laws. Wells Fargo also denied the allegations, adding that the suit will do little to help Massachusetts homeowners or the recovery of the housing economy in the state.<br />
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Settlement talks fraying: Coakley told reporters Thursday that the suit had come about in part because settlement talks with the banks, which have dragged on for more than a year, appear unlikely to yield a fair result.<br />
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Attorneys general from California, New York, Delaware and Nevada have also distanced themselves from the settlement talks and are pursuing their own investigations.<br />
Will FHA be the next big government bailout?<br />
<br />
The talks are stalled at present, but have focused on a settlement in the range of $20-25 billion in total from the firms involved in exchange for release from liability for all conduct related to foreclosures, according to sources familiar with the matter. Of this total, roughly $10-15 billion would come in the form of credit for loan modifications. A <a href="http://www.chasnickgraff.com/wayne-county-home-foreclosure-attorney-lawyer-wayne-county-mi.html">Wayne Foreclosure Lawyer</a> is watching the case closely.<br />
<br />
Iowa Attorney General Thomas Miller, who is coordinating talks on behalf of the states, said in a statement Thursday that Coakley had pledged to evaluate the joint state-federal settlement they are negotiating, which they hope to reach soon.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-35743175317604206012011-09-22T12:56:00.004-04:002011-10-04T17:24:38.575-04:00Help With Mortgages For JoblessStory first appeared in USA Today<br />
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A $7.6 billion federal program to help homeowners avoid foreclosures had distributed about 1% of its money to distressed owners 16 months after its creation, government reports show.<br />
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The Obama administration awarded the funds last year to 18 states most affected by unemployment and fallen home prices. The states developed their own foreclosure-prevention programs targeting assistance to lower-income jobless and underemployed homeowners.<br />
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By June 30, 17 states had used the funds to help about 7,500 homeowners, show reports states filed to the Treasury Department. New Jersey, which began its program in May, started making loans only this month.<br />
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Funds are flowing more rapidly now, state officials say. All the states have launched their programs. The last was Illinois last week.<br />
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Overall, the Hardest Hit Fund is expected to help several hundred thousand homeowners. States have until 2017 to use their allotted funds.<br />
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Its program began in January; by June 30, it had funded 1,022 homeowners. That's now up to more than 2,000, and an additional 5,000 are close to getting aid.<br />
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Since President Obama announced the program in February 2010, banks have repossessed more than 1.5 million homes, says and agent for <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-raleigh-nc-new-homes-for-sale-raleigh-nc.html">Raleigh Homes</a> and Millions more are at risk.<br />
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Officials in many states say it took longer than expected to develop systems for states to transfer funds and borrower data to mortgage servicers, who manage loans.<br />
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That was more complicated than it was thought it would be. Ohio is now adding 500 borrowers to its program monthly. Ten were added in December, its first month.<br />
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The program started with $1.5 billion for five states and was expanded to 18. Funds were most recently awarded in September 2010.<br />
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The programs generally include temporary mortgage assistance for six to 24 months.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-74732210995459577762011-06-27T15:15:00.001-04:002011-06-27T16:38:59.534-04:00HOTELS FOR SALE WITH GROWING PRICE TAGSRecord prices being paid by investors for U.S:. Hotels may be outpacing gains in room rates and stays as the slow economic recovery damps a lodging revival.<br /><br />Prices for lodging properties climbed to about $185,000 a room in the first quarter, according to a research. Values had peaked at $153,000 per room in 2006, and then plunged 37 percent to a low two years ago.<br /><br />This year's jump is the result of a surge in luxury-hotel transactions and more purchases by real estate investment trusts, particularly in large cities. While lodging occupancies and rates are climbing, the gains aren't enough to keep up with prices being paid for some full-service properties.<br /><br />Occupancies in the top 25 U.S. markets climbed to 63 percent in the first quarter from 60 percent a year earlier. At hotels with the costliest rooms, stays rose to 67 percent from 63 percent.<br /><br />The U.S. recovery is showing signs of slowing. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has tumbled 5.9 percent from an almost three- year high in April, and manufacturing, employment and housing are trailing economists’ estimates.<br /><br />In the 24 months following September 2008, when Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. failed, contributing to the U.S. recession, hotels fetched prices as much as 71 percent higher than during the lodging industry's peak.<br /><br />The JW Marriott New Orleans sold in February of this year for $94.3 million, up from the $55 million price paid in January 2008. The Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea in New York City sold in September 2010 for $68.4 million, 24 percent higher than its $55 million price in October 2007.<br /><br />Values have gained even outside major cities. The Holiday Inn in Oak Hill, West Virginia, sold for $3.5 million in July 2010, up 40 percent from when it last sold, in September 2007.<br /><br />Daily room rates averaged $94.05 last year, and revenue per available room, an industry measure of occupancy and rate, was $42.40, according to Real Capital. That's "well below" the 2008 peaks of $106.65 and $54.42.<br /><br />Hotel sales in the Americas are likely to jump as much as 25 percent this year, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s hotel investment-services unit said on Jan. 4.<br /><br />Values have been driven up chiefly by demand from REITs, which purchased $1.6 billion of hotels in the first quarter. That's 44 percent of those traded and five times the total of REIT purchases in all of 2007, the peak year for hotel sales.<br /><br />REITs are focusing on full-service properties in large cities. This week, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust agreed to buy stakes in six New York boutique hotels for $152 million, and earlier this year bought the Mondrian Los Angeles for $137 million and the W Hotel in Boston for $89.5 million. Pebblebrook planned to spend $400 million to $600 million on hotels during the balance of 2011.<br /><br />Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc., the Aliso Viejo, California- based owner of 33 lodging properties across the U.S., in March agreed to buy a majority stake in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel, valuing it at $475 million. The property, completed in December 2008, originally cost $350 million, according to its developer, Atlanta-based Portman Holdings LLC.<br /><br />Sunstone acquired the hotel at a valuation of 13.4 times 2010 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, meaningfully below their corporate EBITDA multiple.<br /><br />If people are buying at par or a slight premium, they can justify a price with future growth.<br />That reasoning has contributed to hotel capitalization rates, a measure of investment yield, falling to record lows of 4 percent last year, according to president and founder of HVS, a hospitality-consulting firm. He expects rates of 3 percent to 5 percent in the luxury tier, and 4 percent to 7 percent for upper-upscale properties, the segment one level below luxury.<br /><br />Pricing even at midscale hotels is pretty aggressive at a 6 percent cap rate. Usually it's more around 9 to 10 percent.<br /><br />In April, FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. agreed to buy the Royalton and Morgans boutique hotels in New York City from Morgans Hotel Group Co. for $140 million, or about $500,000 per room. FelCor expects a minimum cap rate of 5 percent at the hotels.<br /><br />FelCor, based in Irving, Texas, looks for acquisitions that, purchased at a substantial discount to replacement cost, will earn a 10 percent cash yield within a short time.<br /><br />Some buyers say the prices being paid for hotels are justified as long as they're below what it would cost to build the same property at the same location from the ground up.<br /><br />When you buy below physical replacement cost at a time nobody is building, it's usually a good investment.<br /><br />Pebblebrook, based in Bethesda, Maryland, seeks properties priced at 20 percent to 50 percent below the cost of building new.<br /><br />In some cases, hotel values have begun to creep ahead of even replacement costs. That may be the first step toward a resumption of hotel construction. In such cities as New York, hotels are routinely trading at $200,000 per key above what it would cost to replace them.<br /><br />Hotel demand is closely correlated with overall economic growth, so if you think you know what 2014 hotel demand is going to be, you'd have to know what 2014 GDP is going to be. One thing you can say for sure for hotels is things can change overnight.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-75969296578004836332011-06-02T16:15:00.001-04:002011-06-02T16:18:55.916-04:00Anchor of Blackbeard FoundArchaeologists recovered the first anchor from what's believed to be the wreck of the pirate Blackbeard's flagship off the North Carolina coast by <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-knightdale-nc-new-homes-for-sale-knightdale-nc.html">Knightdale Homes</a> Friday, a move that might change plans about how to save the rest of the almost 300-year-old artifacts from the central part of the ship.<br />Divers had planned to recover the second-largest artifact on what's believed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge but discovered it was too well-attached to other items in the ballast pile. Instead they pulled up another anchor that is the third-largest artifact and likely was the typical anchor for the ship.<br />Apparently, pirates had everyday anchors and special anchors just as the rest of us have everyday dishes and good china in our <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-morrisville-nc-new-homes-for-sale-morrisville-nc.html">Morrisville Homes</a>.<br />It's the first large anchor that divers have retrieved; they earlier brought up a small, grapnel anchor. The anchor is 11 feet, 4 inches long with arms that are 7 feet, 7 inches across. It was covered with a mixture of shells, sand and other debris attracted by the leaching wrought iron. Its weight was estimated at 2,500 to 3,000 pounds.<br />The anchor's size is typical for a ship the size of the Queen Anne's Revenge, while the two other anchors probably were used in emergencies, such as storms.<br />Archaeologists had planned to remove the second-largest anchor, which is 13 feet long with arms that are 8 feet across, from the top of the ballast pile. But it was too well-attached, so instead the divers went in from the side to retrieve the everyday anchor. That means that future dives may involve going in from the side of the shipwreck rather than the top.<br />State officials hope the anchor and other artifacts will attract tourists out of http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftheir <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-raleigh-nc-new-homes-for-sale-raleigh-nc.html">Raleigh Homes</a>. The largest exhibit of artifacts from the shipwreck, which was discovered in 1996, will be shown starting June 11 at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort. There are plans to recover all the artifacts by the end of 2013.<br />And the timing of the recovery of the anchor couldn't be better for North Carolina officials, trying to increase tourism interest in the shipwreck. The Disney film "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" starring Johnny Depp was released earlier this month and features both Blackbeard and the Queen Anne's Revenge.<br />In 1717, Blackbeard captured a French slave ship and renamed it Queen Anne's Revenge. Blackbeard, whose real name was widely believed to be Edward Teach or Thatch, settled in Bath and received a governor's pardon. Volunteers with the Royal navy killed him in Ocracoke Inlet in November 1718, five months after the ship thought to be Queen Anne's Revenge sank.<br />The Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, has already yielded more than 250,000 artifacts.<br />The only remaining parts of the ship are the wooden hull structure, ribs and a plank that are at the bottom of the pile, protected by ballast that kept the ship upright. Six cannon and three other anchors are also in the pile.<br />Divers went in the Atlantic to hook up the anchor for its lift to the ocean surface. One diver stated that the anchor lifted great, and was glad to see the result of the 9 year project. This is good news for those living nearby in their <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-triangle-nc-new-homes-for-sale-research-triangle-park-nc.html">Triangle Homes</a>.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-85254544916591604312011-05-13T13:27:00.001-04:002011-05-13T13:27:32.013-04:00TEXAS BOASTS 3 OF THE NATION’S CITIES WITH THE BEST JOB GROWTHJob growth is slowly on the rise according to analysts. Recently the annual list of “Best Cities for Jobs” was release with some surprising results. Last year the reports showed a gloomy outlook when only 13 of 397 metropolitan areas experienced any growth. For this year's list, which measured job growth in the period between January 2010 and January 2011, most of the best-performing areas experienced increases in employment increases.<br />Almost 400 metropolitan statistical areas are ranked based on employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported from November 1999 to January 2011. Rankings are based on recent growth trends, mid-term growth and long-term growth and momentum. The locations are also broke down by size, small, medium and large, because regional economies differ markedly due to their scale.<br />Reflecting the importance of the war effort in stimulating local economies, command of this year's best place for jobs was handed to the Army from the Marines. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas, shot up to #1 from #4, while the military-based Jacksonville, N.C., last year's first-place winner dropped to 19th place.<br />Once again the best places for jobs tended to be smaller communities where small improvements can have a relatively large impact. Eighteen of the top 20 cities were either small (under 150,000 nonfarm jobs) or mid-sized areas (less than 450,000 jobs).<br />Texas, however, dominated the three size categories, with the #1 mid-sized city, El Paso (#3 overall, up 22 places from last year) and #1 large metropolitan area Austin (#6 overall), joining Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood (the #1 small city) atop their respective lists.<br />Texas also produced three other of the top 10 smallest regions, including energy-dominated #4 Midland, which gained 41 places overall, and #10 Odessa, whose economy jumped a remarkable 57 places. It also added two other mid-size cities to the list with #2 Corpus Christi and #4 McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission. With all this moving there has also been an increase in <a href="http://www.bedrug.com/truck-bed-liners.htm">Truck Bed Liners</a>.<br />California experience a miserable year with having zero regions in the top 150. This led to a group of California officials to Texas to learn possible lessons about what drives job creation. Gov. Jerry Brown and others in California's hierarchy have a lot to learn as, the fact is, that the city Brown formerly ran, Oakland, ranked absolute last (#65), among the big metros in the report. This is two places behind perennial also-ran #63 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.<br />One lesson that green-centric California may have trouble learning is that, however attractive the long-term promise of alternative energy, fossil fuels pay the bills and create strong economies, at least for now. Even outside of Texas, oil capitals did well across the board, not surprising given the surging price of gas. The #2 small metro, Bismarck, N.D., which also is #2 overall, is the emerging capital of the expanding Dakota energy belt. Also faring well are Alaska's two oil-fire cities, Fairbanks (#10 on the small list) and Anchorage (#3 on the medium-sized list).<br />There were some great improvements as well. Most welcome are signs of revival from New Orleans-Metarie, La., which moved up a stunning 46 places to capture the #2 slot among large metros. The region lost 11% of its population and nearly 16% of its jobs during the last decade. But now the Big Easy seems to be finding its place again among America's great cities. Jobs, up 3.5% since 2006, have been created by rebuilding, a resurgence of tourism and a growing immigrant population. This region’s Hispanic population grew by 35,000 over the past decade.<br />There were other inspirational improvements this year. Sparked by a revival in manufacturing, a host of former gloomy areas in parts of the Midwest are showing signs of definite improvement. Niles-Benton Harbor, Mich., a long-time sleeper at the bottom of the list, shot up a remarkable 242 places this year to a respectable #121. Another old industrial city, Kokomo, Ind., ascended 177 places to #215, while Holland-Grand Haven, Mich., improved by 172 places to #221 and Grand Rapids, Mich., rose 167 places to #183. Milwaukee, a long-time loser among the largest metros, moved up by a healthy 163 places overall to a better-than-average #143.<br />The Northeast Corridor has also made strong progress. The stimulus has been particularly good for the vibrant economies surrounding the ever-expanding federal leviathan. Among the large metros, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, Va., did best of all the cities outside the South, repeating its #6 ranking among large metro areas. Right behind, at #7 on the large city list, sits the primarily suburban Northern Virginia metro area, while Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., ranks 12th.<br />The other big East Coast winners are the financial and university-oriented economies, which have reaped huge benefits from the TARP bailout and the Obama administration's college-centric stimulus plan. After the Texas cities and the imperial center, most of the best performing big metros are located in financial and university centers, including #9 New York City, #10 Philadelphia, #11 Pittsburgh, #13 Boston and #15 Raleigh-Cary, N.C, which is good news for <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/">Raleigh Real Estate</a>.<br />Outside of Oakland and the big Southern California metros the biggest losers including #60 Los Angeles, #59 Sacramento, #58 Riverside-San Bernardino and #50 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine. The bottom tier consisted of a motley crew of mid-South cities like Memphis (#64 on the big city list) and still-struggling, former big Sunbelt boomtowns Las Vegas (#62), West Palm Beach-Boynton Beach-Boca Raton, Fla. (#56), Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Boynton Beach, Fla. (#54), Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (#53), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (#52) and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (#51) which are leaving people asking who can <a href="http://www.unitedroad.com/ship-my-car-services.htm">Ship My Car</a>?<br />For the most part, these areas rose with the housing bubble and will not fully recover until the economy diversifies beyond real estate speculation. Already some of the bubble victims are showing signs of life, including #155 Merced, Calif., up 134 places, and #167 Orlando, Fla., which rode a revived interest in tourism to jump 89 places since last year.<br />While energy, America's three wars, the recovering financial markets and real estate problems have played the lead role in setting the stage for the best places to do business, the Intermountain West has shown resilience with Salt Lake City, at #20 among large cities; Provo-Orem, Utah, Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, and Boulder, Colo., at Nos. 10, 25 and 26, respectively, among mid-sized cities; and Logan, Utah, and Fort Collins, Colo., at Nos. 9 and 38 among small cities.<br />The weak economy continues to reek havoc on new jobs, however, small increases are a good sign. California, Florida, and Nevada have had a bleak year, but improvement can still be noted. Hope is given to all with a city like New Orleans making huge strides. The next surge is expected to be in old industrial areas with newer infrastructure and appealing climates.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-69481252273371599302011-04-22T11:31:00.001-04:002011-04-22T11:31:42.084-04:00U.S. homes trending toward wireless-only phonesWhile homeowners battle tough economic challenges, the trend of disappearing land lines is increasing in an number of U.S. household, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics.<br /><br /> As of June 2010, about 26.6% of households had only a wireless phone, up from 13.6% in 2007. And the number of wireless-only homes is increased in every state throughout the U.S.<br /><br />Stephen Blumberg, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics states that "the phrase 'home telephone number' is going the way of rotary dial phones." <br /><br />The trend of more people using their cellphones more often "poses an even greater sense of urgency to conduct studies to try to determine whether there are or there are not ill effects from the use of cellphones to the brain," says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The reality is (phones are) widely utilized, and yet we have minimal information."<br /><br />Lower economic status households are more likely to be wireless-only, according to the researchers, who used data and trends from tens of thousands of respondents to the National Health Interview Survey and the Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey.<br /><br />"States such as Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky have a higher proportion of households living with low income," Blumberg added, "and giving up a land line is one way to save money."<br /><br />Even if <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-raleigh-nc-new-homes-for-sale-raleigh-nc.html">Raleigh homes</a> have a land line, it is not necessarily used. Many are deciding to cut the cord. "All they get are solicitations, and most calls are done on a wireless phone anyway, so it represents a waste of money," says analyst Charles Golvin of Forrester Research.<br /><br />The wireless-only trend among <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-apex-nc-new-homes-for-sale-apex-nc.html">Apex homes</a> is not likely to be reversed. "Unless the carriers are able to create some new applications or services such as video calling," Golvin says.<br /><br />In North Carolina, <a href="http://www.martihampton.com/homes-cary-nc-new-homes-for-sale-cary-nc.html">Cary homes</a> that rely on wireless phones are being advised to check their local emergency preparedness department to see if its "Reverse 911" communication systems can incorporate cellphones.<br /><br />The trend toward wireless phones presents some difficulties for public safety officials, says Francisco Sanchez of the Harris County Homeland Security office. "But the benefit is that now we have a communications device that people carry all the time. So we need to know how to utilize that if we are going to be able to do our jobs effectively in the future."Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-32379284596390994932011-03-22T11:21:00.002-04:002011-03-22T11:26:54.883-04:00February Shows Weak Homes Sales<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oAzWpNo34S4/TYi_EKFXFaI/AAAAAAAAAgA/Eoi9ogNtnBI/s1600/skd284546sdc.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oAzWpNo34S4/TYi_EKFXFaI/AAAAAAAAAgA/Eoi9ogNtnBI/s200/skd284546sdc.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586925415900321186" /></a><br />In February Americans purchased less previously occupied homes. The weak sales and rise in foreclosures pushed home prices down to their lowest level in nearly nine years.<br />The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of previously occupied homes fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million. That's down 9.6 percent from 5.4 million in January. The pace is far below the 6 million homes a year that economists say represents a healthy market.<br />Nearly 40 percent of the sales last month were either foreclosures or short sales, when the seller accepts less than they owe on the mortgage.<br />One-third of all sales were purchased in cash -- twice the rate from a year ago. In troubled housing markets such as Las Vegas and Miami, cash deals represent about half of sales.<br />The median sales price fell 5.2 percent to $156,100, the lowest level since April 2002.<br />Winter storms also hampered sales in many parts of the country, including five inches of snow in Dallas-Fort Worth area just before this year's Super Bowl. That was nearly twice the metro area's annual average.<br />Still, housing has been weak for some time. Millions of foreclosures have forced down home prices and more are expected this year. Tight credit has made mortgage loans tough to come by. And some potential buyers who could qualify for loans are hesitant to enter the market, worried that prices will fall further. High unemployment is also deterring buyers. Job growth, while expected to pick up this year, will not likely raise home sales to healthier levels.<br />The median price of a new home is now 45 percent higher than the median price for a previously occupied home, the Realtors group said. A more normal difference is about 15 percent, an indication that old homes on the market are being sold at comparatively cheap, and affordable, levels.<br />The number of first-time homebuyers rose to 34 percent of the market, partly because of rising rents. A more healthy level of first-time homebuyers is about 40 percent, according to the trade group.<br />But home prices and sales are uneven across the country. In Miami, where prices have dropped 18.6 percent since last year, sales have skyrocketed 46.4 percent over the same period. In St. Louis, where prices rose 8.2 percent over the past year, sales have fallen 8.6 percent.<br />One obstacle to a housing recovery is the glut of unsold homes on the market. Those numbers rose to 3.49 million units in February. It would take 8.6 months to clear them off the market at the February sales pace. Most analysts say a six-month supply represents a healthy supply of homes.<br />Analysts said the situation is much worse when the "shadow inventory" of homes is taken into account. These are homes that are in the early stages of the foreclosure process but have not been put on the market yet for resale. For February, sales fell in all four regions of the country, by 12.2 percent in the Midwest, 10.2 percent in the South, 8 percent in the West and 7.2 percent in the Northeast.<br />Sales of single-family homes fell 9.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.25 million units. Sales of condominiums fell 10 percent to a rate of 630,000 units.Blog Depothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310878002526034822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-58701720680772674062010-10-25T16:41:00.002-04:002010-10-25T16:41:53.866-04:00What Does the 'Foreclosure Crisis' Mean for You?<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>The Wall Street Journal</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TMXrKXJgWtI/AAAAAAAAI_4/YfI8aofpBWA/s1600/foreclosure+crisis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TMXrKXJgWtI/AAAAAAAAI_4/YfI8aofpBWA/s400/foreclosure+crisis.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the vast majority of homeowners, new questions about the state of foreclosures appear to be irrelevant. Few people seem to have been wrongly thrown out of their homes, and those who have been are generally months or years behind on their mortgage payments.<br />
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But the fallout from the crisis is beginning to be felt in real-estate markets across the country, particularly in places dominated by vacation homes and investment properties. Some of the worst-hit areas could be Western ski towns, because fall is the busiest time of the year for sales.<br />
Real-estate salespeople in some of those places are worried. "September and October are usually the height of the selling-season for us," says Rich Armstrong, who owns the brokerage Rare Properties in Jackson Hole, Wyo. "Now we are seeing a number of what we call 'fence sitters,' people who would have leapt in even a month ago, but now are waiting on the sidelines."<br />
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The "foreclosure crisis" is a result of the frenzied real-estate boom and bust of the past decade. Banks made foolish loans, and borrowers signed up for them—only to default later, as the economy slumped. Banks rushed to reclaim properties, launching a record number of foreclosure proceedings.<br />
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In the past several weeks flaws have emerged in that complex process. Because of the high volume of foreclosures, the documentation supporting legal actions was prepared hastily, and some homes were seized improperly.<br />
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Yet the far bigger worry is what happens next. A frenzy of lawsuits and banks' examinations of their own practices could throw more of the millions of foreclosures of the past few years into legal jeopardy. Attorneys general in all 50 states are investigating, and plaintiffs' lawyers are working hard to perfect their legal strategies for suits on behalf of people who have been foreclosed on.<br />
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The suits might well fail. But just the threat that past foreclosure rulings might be overturned could result in collateral damage. In some places, banks are rushing foreclosed properties to market. In others, buyers are stepping back, refusing to buy foreclosed properties or "short sales"—homes sold by owners for less than the mortgage balance. In markets already beset with large inventories of foreclosed properties, the result could be a slower recovery.<br />
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Coastal markets and ski areas are feeling the most anxiety. Some already are littered with foreclosures—in part because they're dominated by second-home and investment properties. Those owners are more willing to walk away from a house that isn't their primary residence.<br />
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Foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac estimates that, nationwide, 30% to 35% of properties in foreclosure are owned by investors or were second homes. In Aspen, Colo., the figure is about 60%, says Kim McKinley, owner of McKinley Sales Real Estate in Basalt and Aspen, Colo. If foreclosure proceedings slow from here, inventory could jump, leading to price weakness later.<br />
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"We're concerned that the phantom inventory buildup will cause a more rapid and drastic drop in prices in Aspen, which is just getting started in terms of foreclosures coming to the market," says Ms. McKinley.<br />
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The timing of the foreclosure mess is especially inconvenient for ski towns, given the fall selling season.<br />
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Property owners are growing nervous. In Park City, Utah, lenders are quickly unloading foreclosed homes ahead of what could be a long, stalled foreclosure process, says Joe Trabaccone, a real-estate agent there.<br />
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On Oct. 11, for example, J.P. Morgan Chase put up for sale an 8,000-square-foot home adjacent to a private gated golf course. Mr. Trabaccone initially recommended the property be listed for $1.6 million, but Chase opted for $1.26 million. "They are offering these homes far too low just to hurry up and sell them," Mr. Trabaccone says.<br />
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Even so, it hasn't worked. A buyer made an offer and signed a contract, but then backed out.<br />
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In South Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Thursday, Freddie Mac, the big government-sponsored guarantor of mortgages, put a foreclosed home that had just been listed for sale on hold, freezing the property until paperwork could be straightened out. The foreclosure mess "seems to be filtering down and it could be an impact," says Doug Rosner, the broker who had listed the home. Three other properties in town were also frozen, another real-estate agent says.<br />
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The "sand states" of Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada are being hit as well. These areas, too, have a lot of vacation and investment properties—and a lot of foreclosures.<br />
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Robin Speronis, a real-estate broker in Cape Coral, Fla., says business had been picking up recently, with several inquiries a day—until the latest foreclosure scandal broke. Since then, she says, inquiries have shriveled to just one in the past week.<br />
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Susan Weeks, 55 years old, and her husband, Eddie, aren't optimistic. The couple had expected to retire and downsize when they bought a condo in Clermont, Fla., near Orlando, in 2007 for $192,000. Their plan was to sell their primary residence 10 minutes away and live in the condo. The trouble: They can't sell their first home.<br />
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The Weeks paid $269,000 for their three-bedroom home in 2004. The house next door, a bit larger, is listed at $185,000, Ms. Weeks says.<br />
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The couple has decided to move back to their primary home and take a renter for the condo. But while that brings in $850 a month, the Weeks take a $450-a-month hit on the condo —on top of the $2,400 a month they pay every month on their primary home.<br />
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"We're just going to wait it out," she says.<br />
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The possible foreclosure wars to come loom so largely over Florida markets that Ms. Speronis is urging condo sellers to consider any offer they get, even if it is far below asking price or what is owed on the mortgage.<br />
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Dianne Cloutier, a records supervisor in Chelmsford, Mass., had been looking for a retirement property in Cape Coral, but decided to wait because of the foreclosure mess. "It's left us on hold until we are sure the banks have legitimately foreclosed on people and that nobody can come back on us to get their property back," she says.<br />
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Foreclosures aren't the only problem. Short sales are getting more difficult to pull off, too.<br />
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In Bend, Ore., agents say buyers are avoiding short sales or even backing out of contracts because they don't want to deal with paperwork hassles or the chance of a court challenge later.<br />
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"I have some people saying 'I don't want to mess with bank-owned properties or short sales,'" says Dianne Willis, principal broker with RE/MAX Sunset Realty in Sunriver, Ore. "They're reluctant because it can be a frustrating process, especially for those who are looking to make a big move."<br />
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The short sales "can be very frustrating," adds Becky Ozrelic, of with Steve Scott Realtors in Bend. "You just have buyers waiting and waiting."<br />
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For sellers, lining up a short sale was tough even before the latest foreclosure crisis. Banks and mortgage "servicers," the outfits that process payments, already had been scrambling to handle surging workloads.<br />
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Mike and Kim Schwarz of San Jose, Calif., are coming up on the one-year mark on their short-sale saga.<br />
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The couple had acquired several investment properties over the past few years, including one in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for $751,000. After the tenants stopped paying rent, the Schwarzes couldn't cover the payments and decided to sell, Mr. Schwarz says.<br />
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They lined up a buyer in November 2009, and started working with their loan servicer on the short sale. For lenders, short sales are ugly because they guarantee a loss, but they often are preferable to a foreclosure, in which the lender is saddled with a tough-to-sell house.<br />
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The servicer, Residential Credit Solutions, took six months to process the paperwork, the Schwarzes say. Faxes and emails were sent, but nothing happened, Mr. Schwarz says.<br />
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"We typically don't hear from borrowers about long delays," says Dennis Stowe, president of Residential Credit.<br />
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The buyer walked away from the deal in June. The couple found another buyer in August, and resubmitted the short-sale paperwork. Mr. Schwarz says he has sent paperwork to Residential Credit four times since.<br />
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On Friday, Mr. Schwarz says, Residential called to tell him the short-sale paperwork looked good and the sale should close in mid-November.<br />
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Says Mr. Schwarz: "They didn't make it easy." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Other Ways the 'Foreclosure Crisis' Could Sting Homeowners</span></b><br />
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The foreclosure mess could hurt homeowners in another way: The costs of buying a home and paying off the mortgage are likely to go up, say housing experts.<br />
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The rising costs will come both during the closing and throughout the life of the loan.<br />
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At the closing, the cost of title insurance, which protects a property buyer from claims of ownership made by other people, is likely to rise, industry officials say. Title insurance is one of those annoying costs that can sneak up on a buyer during a close; premiums average around $2,000 across states, says Tim Dwyer, CEO of insurer Entitle Direct Group.<br />
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The foreclosure mess has sent insurers scrambling. One of the largest, Old Republic Title Insurance, told its agents on Oct. 1 not to issue policies on homes that have been foreclosed by GMAC Mortgage or J.P. Morgan Chase. And on Wednesday, the nation's largest title insurer, Fidelity National Financial, said lenders must vouch for the accuracy of their paperwork before it will insure properties.<br />
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Just like homeowners-insurance rates rise after a hurricane, the rates for title insurance are expected to rise, to compensate for the added risk.<br />
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The turmoil will likely lead to pricey premiums for new homeowners, says McLean, Va.-based housing economist Tom Lawler. Adds Cameron Finlay, chief economist at mortgage lender Lending-Tree.com: "Any time there is uncertainty in the market or risk implied, it follows that costs go up."<br />
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Other costs could be felt during the life of the loan. Until the current mess, servicing loans was a low-margin, high-volume business. Servicers collect mortgage payments from borrowers and send them off to mortgage holders, and if the loan gets into trouble, they manage the foreclosure. Few doubt this process will get costlier now that it is under scrutiny from regulators and the courts. That higher cost likely will show up in higher interest rates for borrowers.<br />
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Both of these higher costs also would hit homeowners who refinance their loans.<br />
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How much the costs of buying a home will rise is unknown. Mortgage industry officials say it is too soon to tell. And no one believes the costs will significantly change the price of a home. But with the housing market still weak, the uncertainty is making the prospect of buying—or selling—a home that much dicier.<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-48541823192049224092010-09-28T18:20:00.000-04:002010-09-28T18:20:00.932-04:00Raleigh, NC Refinance Mortgage Rates Around 4.25% for 30 Year Fixed Interest Loans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Examiner </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Raleigh, NC has held up well when it comes to the mortgage market collapse there are still areas that have seen home prices drop in the last several months. With three major universities in the area and many government jobs available there are many reasons to believe the housing market will improve in Raleigh, NC. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those looking to stay in the area and invest in their homes it is good to know that Raleigh, NC refinance mortgage rates are around 4.25% for a 30 year fixed interest loan at the end of September 2010. Be aware that it takes a great financial history to lock in to these low loan rates in October 2010.<br />
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Many analysts continue to make mortgage rate predictions that state that 30 year fixed home loans will stay very low as long as Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve Bank feel that the economy is still struggling. Just last week Bernanke came out and stated that interest rates were going to be held quite low for an extended period of time. This is very good news to those who have made very good financial decisions in the past.<br />
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For those who did not make good financial decisions there are many options when it comes to lower a home loan monthly payment. The Making Home Affordable government program has helped many to reduce payments as millions of Americans continue to search for Wells Fargo home loan modification. With Wells Fargo gobbling up Wachovia during the credit crisis it is the case that this major financial institution has many loans that mean the modification requirements.<br />
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In a time when mortgage interest rates are very close to all time lows it might be smart to consider refinancing. Residents of Raleigh, NC can be rest assured that jobs will remain in this area as the capital will not move and the major universities of NC State, UNC and Duke will always be within 25 miles of the state capital. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-70718952418567324642010-08-20T14:31:00.000-04:002010-08-20T14:31:45.069-04:00Local-Food Entrepreneurs bring Produce directly to Eaters<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Lexington Herald-Leader</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">RALEIGH, N.C. - "From farm to fork" has long been the rallying cry of the eat-local movement.<br />
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But getting the food from the farm has been a barrier for some consumers who don't have time to shop at farmers markets or who find community-supported agriculture programs, better known as CSAs, inconvenient.<br />
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Enter a new breed of business - a middleman between consumers and farmers - that tweaks the old model.<br />
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Traditionally, a consumer who joins a farmer's CSA pays up to $600 in the winter for a weekly share of produce from spring to fall. Though the programs are popular - there are more than 100 in North Carolina, up from 35 in 2002 - many people cannot pay for a whole season of produce in advance, volunteer on a farm or pick up the food at designated times as many programs require. Other people simply don't know what to do with an abundance of beets or kale.<br />
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That has created an opportunity for businesses such as Papa Spuds and The Produce Box, which allow customers to pay for their produce as they go - generally $20 to $30 per box. They offer customers more choice and generally stock products from several farms rather than just one. In addition, the boxes are delivered to customers' homes.<br />
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These new businesses are bringing hundreds of new customers to the table, helping to make farming financially viable for more small farmers.<br />
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In two years, The Produce Box has grown from 25 customers to nearly 3,000. At the end of last season, the Raleigh company was filling 900 boxes a week, and owner Courtney Tellefsen said demand is growing steadily this year. Some areas have a waiting list to become a Produce Box customer.<br />
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This type of system has been feasible only for a few years, said Rob Meyer, co-founder of Papa Spuds, a similar operation in Cary, N.C. He credits his partnership with Eastern Carolina Organics, a Pittsboro, N.C., group that acts as a distributor for local organic products.<br />
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Meyer's company, which offers meat and produce, also contracts directly with dozens of farms throughout the state to get the volume and variety customers demand.<br />
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"If you were going to do local organic in our size in this area, there aren't enough farms," he said.<br />
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Sandi Kronick, CEO of Eastern Carolina Organics, said the new businesses complement farmers' other efforts to reach consumers. Eastern Carolina Organics is farmer-owned and distributes organic products from farmers to restaurants, retailers and companies such as Papa Spuds.<br />
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"CSAs are overbooked by February, and there's always going to be customers who choose to go pick up off the farm," Kronick said. "The point is that the money is flowing throughout the local community, and hopefully it's resulting in more acres turning into organic in the state."<br />
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The Produce Box partners with Lee Farms in Dunn, N.C., where the sorting and packing is done on site, often within hours of the items' being picked. The company then relies on a network of women who do not work outside the home to distribute the boxes throughout the Triangle.<br />
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Papa Spuds gets bulk shipments from Eastern Carolina Organics at its Cary warehouse, where everything is packed and then distributed.<br />
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"It took us a year to turn a profit," Meyer said. "We bootstrapped the hell out of it at first. We got our feet and hands really dirty."<br />
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For customers like Jessica McRackan the new businesses make eating local feasible.<br />
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McRackan, 29, of Cary gave birth to a daughter at the end of March, an event that put an end to her regular trips to the farmers market.<br />
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"I like it better," she said of the deliveries. "I love the environment of the farmers market; it's a lot of fun. But it's often hot and it's crowded."<br />
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McRackan has become such a fan of The Produce Box service that she writes a blog dedicated to sharing what she does with the contents of each box she receives. She posts meal plans and recipes to help others figure out what to do with less familiar produce.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-22687884876217023692010-08-17T10:41:00.002-04:002010-08-17T10:41:44.220-04:00Government Starts Talks about New Mortgage System<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Associated Press</b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TGqfRV4d2mI/AAAAAAAAILY/EAzvwFgTRyY/s1600/fannie+mae+ff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TGqfRV4d2mI/AAAAAAAAILY/EAzvwFgTRyY/s400/fannie+mae+ff.jpg" width="400" /></a>Talk of shrinking the government's involvement in the mortgage market is growing. Just don't expect action any time soon.<br />
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A conference Tuesday at the Treasury Department is the first of many steps toward restructuring the nearly $11 trillion mortgage market. So far, rescuing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has cost the government more than $148 billion. That number is expected to grow.<br />
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged "fundamental change" to the structure of Fannie and Freddie, which profited tremendously during good times but burdened taxpayers with losses when the housing market went bust. He said the two companies weren't the only cause of the financial crisis, but made it worse.<br />
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Geithner, however, did not offer a specific exit strategy for Fannie and Freddie. He said only that, "it is our responsibility to make sure that we create a system that is not vulnerable to these same failures happening again."<br />
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With Republicans likely to pick up seats in Congress in November, however, the Obama administration will need support from both political parties for the changes it proposes.<br />
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Reflecting this reality, Geithner said that "the failures that produced the system we have today were bipartisan. The solution must be as well."<br />
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Executives and mortgage experts are prepared to tell Obama officials that the government must stay in the business of backing U.S. mortgages even if Fannie and Freddie disappear someday.<br />
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"At the end of the day, the government will still have a very large role to play," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics and a panelist at the event. Others include mortgage executives from Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co, plus Bill Gross, managing director of bond giant Pimco and Lewis Ranieri, one of the creators of mortgage bonds.<br />
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The Obama administration's management of Fannie and Freddie has been under fire for months from Republicans on Capitol Hill. In December, the Treasury Department eliminated a $400 billion cap on how much money it would give the mortgage giants to keep them from failing. Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., has called that a "taxpayer-backed slush fund" and called for the support to be wound down.<br />
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Many in the mortgage industry say that's not realistic.<br />
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"There has to be a game plan," said Paul Leonard, vice president of government affairs at the Housing Policy Council, a mortgage industry group. "You can't just pull the plug on them."<br />
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Fannie and Freddie buy mortgages and package them into securities with a guarantee against default. They have ensured that millions of Americans can get home loans - even after the housing market collapsed.<br />
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The two mortgage giants, the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans Administration together backed about 90 percent of loans made in the first half of the year, according to trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance.<br />
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At some point the government will have to scale back the level of support it provided the housing and mortgage markets during the recession and financial crisis.<br />
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"The government's footprint in the housing market needs to be smaller than it is today," said Shaun Donovan, President Barack Obama's housing secretary.<br />
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Most of the plans being circulated to reshape the mortgage market call for the government to guarantee that investors who buy mortgage-backed securities receive their money even if borrowers default.<br />
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Under this system, Fannie and Freddie could either be returned to private ownership or phased out completely. Fannie and Freddie, or their replacements, would pay the government to insure the loans. That money could be tapped if the housing market collapses.<br />
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"A government guarantee is both a desirable and necessary component of the country's housing finance system," wrote John Gibbons, a Wells Fargo & Co. executive vice president, in a letter last month to the Treasury Department.<br />
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Geithner said that there is a "strong case to be made" for such a government guarantee, but said the government needs to charge enough money to make sure the taxpayer does not get hit with losses in the future.<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-23888487075974868142010-08-05T16:53:00.000-04:002010-08-05T16:53:44.568-04:00Caterpillar Picks NC for Second Plant in Two Weeks<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>WRAL</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TFskzy9kuKI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/ObKQaDsZWaA/s1600/caterpillar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TFskzy9kuKI/AAAAAAAAH8Y/ObKQaDsZWaA/s320/caterpillar.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">SANFORD, N.C. — Heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. announced an expansion at its Sanford plant on Thursday afternoon, bringing more than 300 jobs back to a facility that has seen cutbacks in recent years.<br />
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Gov. Beverly Perdue and other state and local officials were at the plant to herald the $28.3 million expansion, which is expected to add 325 jobs over the next four years. An unidentified Caterpillar supplier is also expected to bring 160 jobs to North Carolina to work with the plant, officials said.<br />
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“For the second time in less than a week, Caterpillar is making a major investment in North Carolina and strengthening its ties as a corporate citizen of our state,” Perdue said in a statement. “By expanding its stake in North Carolina, Caterpillar has demonstrated that our own investments in education, worker training, transportation and infrastructure have paid off.”<br />
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Last Friday, the company said it would build a $426 million factory in Winston-Salem to produce axle units for large mining equipment. It could employ about 500 full-time and contract workers in five years.<br />
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Caterpillar will build a 270,000-square-foot addition to the Sanford plant that will house logistics and robotic welding lines to produce skid steer loaders and other equipment, officials said. About half of the new production is slated for export, they said.<br />
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Construction is expected to start in September, with production beginning by next July, officials said. The average annual wage for the new jobs will be $35,602, plus benefits, they said.<br />
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The Sanford plant and another Caterpillar facility in Clayton have experienced several rounds of layoffs since late 2008, as the company adjusted to the global economic slowdown.<br />
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Lee County's unemployment rate is more than 12 percent, and Sanford Mayor Cornelia Olive said it was difficult for her to stop smiling on Thursday with hundreds of new jobs on the horizon.<br />
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"This has been a hard couple years for Lee County," Olive said.<br />
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Charles Childress, who lost his job as a machinist five months ago, already lined up an interview for Monday for a job at Caterpillar.<br />
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"It's hard to find a job. It really is," Childress said. "I know a lot of people out there need work, and there's a lot of people out there qualified (for the Caterpillar jobs)."<br />
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Caterpillar employs 1,026 full-time workers in seven North Carolina counties, and with the economy stabilizing, the Peoria, Ill.-based company appears to be gearing up for growth again.<br />
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Lee County commissioners in June offered Caterpillar up to $900,000 in incentives to land the plant expansion.<br />
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Caterpillar also was awarded a $600,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund, which provides cash grants to attract business projects to the state. No money is paid up front, and companies must meet job creation and investment targets to obtain the funding.<br />
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Also, the state Economic Investment Committee voted Thursday to award a Job Development Investment Grant to Caterpillar. Under the terms of the JDIG, the company is eligible to receive a grant equal to 75 percent of the state withholding taxes on the new jobs for each year in which it meets annual performance targets.<br />
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If Caterpillar meets the all of the targets during an 11-year period, it could garner $3.46 million from the JDIG.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-89737216026739627592010-07-21T14:15:00.000-04:002010-07-21T14:15:51.516-04:0040% of Participants Depart Federal Mortgage Aid Program<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>USA Today</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TEc5NA8yjHI/AAAAAAAAHp0/psdkEvPiaGE/s1600/foreclosure+yard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TEc5NA8yjHI/AAAAAAAAHp0/psdkEvPiaGE/s400/foreclosure+yard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The number of homeowners dropped from the Obama administration's signature program to modify mortgages for cash-strapped homeowners is larger than the number of those receiving permanently lower monthly payments under the program.<br />
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The program puts homeowners into five-year programs with lower monthly payments on their mortgages, but first they must provide proof of income and get through a three-month trial period making all payments on time. About 530,000 homeowners, or about 40% of 1.3 million borrowers enrolled, have had their lower mortgage payments canceled, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday.<br />
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An additional 398,000 homeowners, or 30% of borrowers, have received the longer-term lower payments on their mortgages.<br />
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To qualify, homeowners must be paying about a third or more of their monthly gross income toward their mortgage. They must have a property value less than about $729,000, and they must have incurred some sort of hardship.<br />
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For qualifying homeowners, banks will extend repayment periods, drop interest rates to as low as 2% and, in some cases, reduce the outstanding loan value. Homeowners in the longer-term modifications are guaranteed lower payments for five years, then fixed terms at today's low rates for the life of the loan. The typical homeowner is receiving a reduction in the monthly payment of 36%, or more than $500 a month.<br />
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Some economists say few are benefiting from the program. "(It) is not helping a lot of people, but for those that have gotten it, it seems to be working reasonably well," says Mark Zandi at Moody's Analytics. "The problem is not a lot of people are getting it."<br />
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Others see progress. The total number of homeowners getting longer-term mortgage modifications increased nearly 15% in June. "The housing market and economy are starting to resolve the issues, thought it's going to take years," says Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors.<br />
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For the first time, the government also detailed how many borrowers with modifications are defaulting for a second time. For homeowners with permanent loan modifications for six months, fewer than 6% are 60 or more days delinquent. Fewer than 3% of such homeowners have defaulted at the nine-month mark.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-3029716620149058182010-07-14T15:05:00.000-04:002010-07-14T15:05:38.014-04:00FeatureTel Named Among Top 100 NC Small Businesses<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>TMCnet</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Business Leader magazine has recognized FeatureTel, a hosted <a href="http://www.garlic.com/business-voip-business-services.htm">business VoIP</a> telephone system solutions company in North Carolina as a Top 100 North Carolina Small Business for 2010.<br />
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Business Leader provides information, tools, and resources for business executives/owners. The magazine is found on newsstands worldwide with local editions available in certain markets.FeatureTel ( News - Alert) is a fully managed and Hosted VoIP, voice and data communications service company. The company provides businesses across the Carolinas with a cost-effective, feature-rich alternative to traditional voice communication solutions.<br />
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FeatureTel earned this recognition mainly because of its implementation of a new telephone service with upgraded functionality for the City of Durham, the establishment of its Channel Partner (News - Alert) program, and its community service. Apart from sponsoring events to benefit Hospice of Wake County, Habitat for Humanity and breast cancer research, FeatureTel provides free phone service to the Triangle Autism Society.<br />
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“We are pleased to have been recognized with this award for our business achievements,” said FeatureTel Founder and CEO Paul Levering (News - Alert), “but we are especially proud of our community involvement and what we do to give back.” Levering, a supporter of educational concerns, personally participated as a panelist at the North Carolina School of Science and Math Alumni Forum & Lecture Series last year.<br />
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The list of Top 100 North Carolina Small Businesses from Business Leader includes companies with 100 employees or less that do the majority of their business in North Carolina. During the selection process, Business Leader evaluated each company's one-year and five-year revenue growth, business achievements and community involvement. FeatureTel was honored June 24 at an awards dinner in <a href="http://www.forhomebuyers.com/">Raleigh real estate</a>, N.C.<br />
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In October 2009, the company announced that it recently completed the installation of phones and related services for 1,815 users across the City of Durham’s operations, including police and fire rescue. This is deployment is part of a $1.63 million contract that also includes network equipment upgrades and a three-year service agreement. The previous telephone system of the city required 67 different key systems.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-77035024662990358062010-07-12T13:06:00.000-04:002010-07-12T13:06:50.275-04:00Many Cities Across U.S. Issuing More Housing Permits than during Boom<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Reed Construction Data</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Des Moines, Charleston, Austin, Columbia and Houston are the strongest large metro housing markets. These are the only cities with a population over 500,000 that issued permits/1000 population at more than three times the national pace over the last year.<br />
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Twenty-four smaller cities also had intense housing development at a rate per 1000 population more than three times the national average. This set includes two cities rebuilding from hurricane destruction of homes, several college towns and military base cities, resort and retirement cities in North Carolina and the Rocky Mountains and three market center cities in the Plains states. Several of the resort/retirement cities were part of the 2004-06 housing boom but the rest of the twenty-four cities sat out the boom so they have relatively minor foreclosure and underwater mortgage problems now.<br />
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The four large Texas metro areas continue to dominate the list of the largest single family housing markets. Together, they account for nearly 37% of the permits over the last year among the twenty cities issuing the most permits. Las Vegas, Phoenix, Riverside, Tampa, Austin, San Antonio and Orlando are the only housing boom cities still left on the top twenty list. Washington has moved up to third place on the strength of tens of thousands of new federal jobs. Atlanta, the largest housing market for several years has dropped to 7th place due to a weak Georgia economy and a large surplus of unsold homes. Fifteen metro areas, all manufacturing centers without any of today’s high growth industries, have issued less than two permits a month over the last year. Sandusky Ohio has issued no permits and Wheeling West Virginia has issued only one permit.<br />
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New York City remains by far the largest multi family permit metro. The recent credit based recession caused much less damage to the New York City economy than expected. Construction activity remains relatively strong partly due to the mild recession and partly because the permitting process is so long and so expensive that developers are always in a catch up mode. Permits are up from a year ago in many college and oil patch towns that escaped both the 2005-06 housing boom and the worst of the ongoing economic recession. San Francisco has returned to the list of top multi family markets due to hiring by its growing technology industries. Other markets that have recently become significant are Salt Lake City (low cost attracts new jobs and residents) and Virginia Beach (a lower cost alternative to South Florida).<br />
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Forty-five cities issued more housing permits in the three months ending in March than they did at the peak of the housing boom in late 2005/early 2006. All of these cities are very small markets except for El Paso, Buffalo and Rochester. This should not be interpreted as a list of cities leading the housing market or the economy out of recession. These cities simply missed most of the recession as they did the previous housing boom. Many of them have a locally unique housing demand driver. In El Paso, it is immigration. In Bismarck and Grand Forks, it is a strong farm economy.<br />
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Atlanta and Phoenix continue to have the largest declines in homebuilding relative to the peak of the housing boom. The twenty cities on the list are all suffering from the surplus supply created during several years of overbuilding, as with <a href="http://www.lucktruck.com/4/Houston/70/Lake_Houston_Apartments">Houston apartments</a>. Excepting, New York City, each of them has an unusually large inventory of homes for sale and a high incidence of foreclosures and underwater mortgages that will keep inventory excessive well into next year and possibly beyond in Florida and the Rocky Mountains.<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-26899691696029820372010-07-11T18:08:00.000-04:002010-07-11T18:08:16.571-04:00IBM To Hire 600 Workers In RTP For Service Center<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Raleigh Telegram</b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TDpAaC6NZHI/AAAAAAAAHg0/7ILxk_F7d60/s1600/ibm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n3lEKqDKTSA/TDpAaC6NZHI/AAAAAAAAHg0/7ILxk_F7d60/s320/ibm.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue announced this week that a subsidiary of IBM (International Business Machines) will hire around 600 workers during the next two years in Research Triangle Park.<br />
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The governor’s office says that the company will invest $3.7 million to open a managed business process service center in Research Triangle Park. The jobs are being located here thanks in part to tax incentives being offered by state and local governments that could total as high as $7.79 million if IBM hires all of the 600 workers.<br />
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“IBM has been a major employer in North Carolina providing thousands of skilled jobs for more than 30 years. We value this company’s ongoing commitment to North Carolina and Research Triangle Park,” said Perdue.<br />
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With thousands of workers, IBM is one of the largest employers in Research Triangle Park and one of its first tenants in the facility that was created by the government decades ago to draw high-tech firms to the area.<br />
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According to the governor’s office, the salaries for the 600 new jobs will be around $50,000 a year, while the <a href="http://www.forhomebuyers.com/durham-county-real-estate-agency.htm">Durham County real estate</a> average is $57,772.<br />
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“The new services operation furthers our commitment to the state of North Carolina and our ongoing presence in Research Triangle Park,” said Bob Greenberg, senior state executive, IBM North Carolina in a released statement. <br />
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“These are exactly the sort of highly skilled jobs that North Carolina needs to be recruiting in the 21st century economy, and we’re especially pleased that IBM is expanding its presence in Research Triangle Park,” said Rep. Mickey Michaux, (D-Durham) in a released statement.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094277778961325865.post-22145506238171625972010-07-06T12:26:00.000-04:002010-07-06T12:26:11.115-04:00High Risk Insurance in NC More Affordable Under Health Care Reform<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Public News Service</b></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">RALEIGH, N.C. - Quality, affordable health care is easy to take for granted if you have access to it, but it's an enviable commodity for North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions. In the past, medical issues such as cancer or multiple sclerosis prevented people suffering from these diseases from having access to affordable insurance, or even to coverage at all.<br />
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That changed 18 months ago in North Carolina with the creation of Inclusive Health, the North Carolina Health Insurance Risk Pool. The organization offers insurance policies to high-risk individuals at only a slightly higher rate than to people without health issues.<br />
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Executive Director Michael Keough says the savings for the participants are significant.<br />
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"Our rates are capped, by law, at 150 percent of the market average for people who typically would run into rates two to five times higher."<br />
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Prior to enrollment, some people were paying premiums as high as $3000 a month for health insurance coverage, Keough says. Enrolling in the state program reduces premiums by 50 percent, on average.<br />
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The addition of the federal program, part of this spring's health care reform legislation, will reduce rates even further for people who have had no access to insurance. Out of the 3,900 people currently enrolled in Inclusive Health, roughly 20 percent will benefit from the federal program.<br />
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Their savings for <a href="http://www.thecypressofraleigh.com/">Raleigh assisted living</a> will be significant. Currently, a 50-year-old woman in the high-risk pool pays $561 a month. The federal program would reduce her rate to $347 each month, Keough explains.<br />
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"The rates for the federal pool are 100 percent - in other words the same - as they would be for a person in the individual market who has no pre-existing condition. So it's a real break and a significant improvement."<br />
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The government is banking on the fact that more people will enroll in the more affordable insurance program, making it easier to fund such a costly endeavor.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0