Daily Real Estate News | January 28, 2011

Mortgage Rates Continue to Climb 

Mortgage rates are continuing their gradual climb upwards after reaching record lows. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 4.8 percent from 4.74 percent the previous week, Freddie Mac reports. The average on 15-year mortgage rates also rose slightly from 4.05 percent to 4.09 percent for the week.

In November, 30-year loans had reached a 40-year low at 4.17 percent and the 15-year mortgage rate was at 3.57 percent.

The average on the five-year adjustable-rate mortgages this week increased to 3.7 percent from 3.69 percent the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association says it expects mortgage lending to drop considerably in 2011, due to high unemployment, borrowers’ diminished credit coming out of the recession, and more lenders not willing to take on a high risk.

MBA says it expects new loans this year to decrease by 36 percent to its lowest level in more than a decade, falling to $966 billion in 2011 from $1.5 trillion this year.

Earlier in the week, MBA reported a drop in mortgage applications to the slowest refinancing activity in more than a year. Mortgage applications dropped 12.9 percent in the week ended Jan. 21, according to MBA’s seasonally adjusted index.

The index dropped 15.3 percent, which is the lowest level since January 2010. Refinancing activity has continued to decline since October from rising interest rates and tighter underwriting standards.

Source: “Bond Yields Rise and So Do Mortgage Rates,” Freddie Mac (Jan. 27, 2011); “U.S. Mortgage Applications Declined Last Week,” Reuters News (Jan. 26, 2011); and “Mortgage Lending Projected to Fall 36%,” Dow Jones Business News (Jan. 26, 2011)

Google to Drop Real Estate Listings

Daily Real Estate News | January 27, 2011

Google to Drop Real Estate Listings 

Google announced that it will drop real estate listings that real estate professionals upload to its classified site Google Base, as well as any for-sale, foreclosure, or rental properties through its search function on Google Maps.

The real estate listings at the site will discontinue by Feb. 10, 2011.

Google officials say they decided to stop featuring the real estate listings because of low usage and the popularity of other property-search tools on real estate Web sites. Google Base also is being replaced by Google Shopping APIs, which will not support real estate listings.

Google says visitors still will be able to be use Google to find real estate information and Web sites and explore neighborhoods through Google Street View.

"This does not come as a surprise to me,” Pete Flint, CEO of property search site Trulia, told Inman News. “Even with Google's huge audience, it shows having listing data is clearly not enough to deliver a good real estate search experience and build audience."

Source: “Google Drops Real Estate Listings,” Inman News (Jan. 26, 2011)

Daily Real Estate News | January 27, 2011

Foreclosures Jump in Unexpected Cities 

The foreclosure crisis is now spreading to cities that were once relatively unscathed from the crisis. Seattle, Houston, and Chicago have joined the list of other cities in the United States plagued by a growing number of foreclosures and home owners unable to make their mortgage payments.

Foreclosure activity increased in 149 of the country’s 206 largest metro areas last year, reported RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing firm.

In the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro area, the foreclosure rate jumped 26 percent from 2009 — the largest increase in foreclosures among the top 20 metro areas, according to RealtyTrac.

In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, the foreclosure rate increased nearly 23 percent — ranking second in areas with the largest increases. In Georgia, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metro area was third with a 21 percent spike.

In the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area, foreclosure activity rose 16 percent and home repossessions climbed nearly 20 percent, making it the second-highest city with the largest number of bank repossessions. (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale in Arizona had the highest number of bank repossessions overall.)

Bad mortgages are no longer taking most of the blame for the spike in foreclosures either.

"We've actually had a sea change in what's causing foreclosures, from the overheated home prices and bad loans to a second wave of foreclosures actually caused by unemployment and economic displacement," Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac, told MSNBC.

As unemployment and the economy improve, Sharga expects metro areas like Houston, Seattle, and Chicago to bounce back quickly. However, he expects the traditional foreclosure hotbeds — California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona — to take longer to recover. Those states account for 19 of the top 20 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates in 2010.

The highest overall foreclosure rate in the nation? Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.: One out of every nine households received a foreclosure-related notice in 2010, which is nearly five times the national average, RealtyTrac reports.

Source: “Foreclosures Spread Into Previously Safe Areas,” MSNBC (Jan. 27, 2011)

Recipe of the Month: January 2011

Fried Pickles

Seasoned Egg Wash:
1 Egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 teaspoon Tabasco

Seasoned Flour:
2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons black pepper

Oil for frying
Klauson Whole Pickles

Whip together all ingredients for seasoned egg wash, set aside. Mix ingredients for flour mixture in shallow dish. Slice pickles 1/8" thick. Dip into flour mixture, then egg wash, then flour mix again. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels. Serve with dipping sauce of ranch dressing, ketchup or horseradish sauce.

I did not buy Klauson brand like the recipe says because I couldn't find it. I just bought regular whole pickles that I sliced. Your hands get really gunked up with the flour and egg when you are dipping the pickle slices. I do not have a fryer so I used a deep pot with like an inch or two of vegetable oil, just enough to fry. They are super easy to make and I used a spoon ladle with holes to drain to remove the pickles from the fryer and set them on paper towels. My friends were eating them right off the paper towels before I could even serve them! LOL! We loved them. Let me know if you make them and what you think! Good luck!

- Ashley

Try My New FREE App!!!

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It's super convenient and easy to use. Best of all, it's completely FREE! Yay! Please test it out for me and let me know what you think of it!

Click here to enter your phone number: http://mobile.smarteragent.com/c21/ashleywydra/

- Ashley

Man Faces Charges After Trying to Raffle Home

Daily Real Estate News | January 19, 2011

Man Faces Charges After Trying to Raffle Home

A Long Island, N.Y., man is accused of collecting more than $100,000 in raffle tickets he sold to raffle off a million-dollar house he once owned. But no raffle took place, ticket holders say, and authorities are accusing the man of pocketing the cash and using it for luxury vacations.

Scott Cicerone, who has plead not guilty to the charges, faces 21 counts of petit larceny and one count of scheme to defraud.

Prosecutors say Cicerone sold $50 raffle tickets to thousands of people for a waterfront property he owned in Massapequa, N.Y. The property, however, had fallen into foreclosure.

After several postponements for the raffle drawing, ticket holders say Cicerone stopped replying to them and the raffle never happened.

Source: “NY Man Accused in $100k House Raffle Scam,” Associated Press (Jan. 13, 2011)

I think this is crazy! What do you think?

- Ashley

Buyers Try to Clear Out Bad Vibes

Daily Real Estate News | January 14, 2011

Buyers Try to Clear Out Bad Vibes 

Foreclosed homes may have a lot of negative energy lurking, from missing appliances, dirty carpets, cracked walls, and any number of other problems from not being cared for properly from the previous home owner.

The foreclosure crisis has sparked an increase in an unusual business: More buyers are asking for ritual house cleansings before they move in to rid the home of it’s bad auras.

Witches, psychics, priests, and feng shui consultants are being asked to come in to homes to bless or exorcise the homes of their bad spirits. Sellers are joining in too, in the hopes of trying to sell their home faster.

One buyer in Salem, Mass., two weeks before closing had a witch and warlock visit his three-story home to clang bells and spray holy water to cleanse the bad aura and break up the negative energy in the home. They poured kosher salt on doorways and raised iron swords at windows to keep evil spirits away.

"It's not entities or ghosts that we're dealing with anymore," Julie Belmont, who refers to herself as an intuitive, told The Wall Street Journal. "With foreclosures, a lot of it is energy imprints from past discussions, arguments, money problems. All of that is absorbed by the house."

Real estate pro Tamara Dorris in Sacramento, Calif., is a believer in feng shui for speeding up the sale of a property. For example, she placed a jade plant, which is believed to bring financial luck, in a designated “prosperity corner” in one home.

"Within two weeks, I had two offers," she says. "Most homes have at least one or two prosperity flaws. Foreclosed homes have five or six flaws."

Source: “The Housing Slump Has Salem on a Witch Hunt Again -- Buyers Worried About Bad Vibes From Foreclosed Homes Seek a Cleansing,” The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 13, 2011)

Although I've never experienced anything like this personally, I wanted to share it because I found it very interesting. What are your thoughts on these "cleansing" rituals? Would you have one done to your new home?

- Ashley

Top 10 Most Searched Markets at Realtor.com

Daily Real Estate News | January 12, 2011

Top 10 Most Searched Markets at Realtor.com 

When Web visitors come to Realtor.com, they most often are looking in the sunshine states for real estate, according to a list of the most searched real estate markets at Realtor.com for 2010.

Realtor.com, operated by Move Inc. and an official Web site of the National Association of REALTORS®, based its list on the number of visitors at Realtor.com that viewed properties in each metro area in the United States from January 2010 to December 2010.

Here are the top 10 most searched for cities at Realtor.com for 2010:

1. Las Vegas

2. Los Angeles

3. Orlando

4. San Antonio

5. Miami

6. Phoenix

7. San Diego

8. Austin, Texas

9. Tampa

10. Chicago

"Online search is a critical measure of interest in real estate, especially now that more than 90 percent of buyers search for their homes online," says Realtor.com President Errol Samuelson. "Changing conditions throughout 2010 in the sunshine states resulting from foreclosures, the tax credit, interest rates, and other factors created more interest in real estate compared to other states that we hope leads to increased activity and sales in 2011."

Source: “2010 Top Ten Most Searched Real Estate Markets Released by Realtor.com,” Move Inc. (Jan. 11, 2011)

This is the reason I pay to be a member of Realtor.com! My sellers can rest assured that their property listing will show up on Realtor.com and they almost always get the most hits there! Call me if you would like more information regarding listing your home. NOW is the time...don't wait until spring because that's what everyone else is thinking!!! Hope to hear from you soon : )

- Ashley

Lenders May Be Not-So-Fast to Foreclosure

Daily Real Estate News | January 11, 2011

Lenders May Be Not-So-Fast to Foreclosure 

After a pivotal court ruling last Friday in Massachusetts, lenders are likely to be more willing to help home owners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.

Last Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that two foreclosures in the case were invalid because the banks didn’t follow proper steps to show they had the authority to foreclose on the homes.

The case likely has set a precedent for the rest of the nation’s lenders to follow: Before you foreclose on a home owner, make sure you have authority to do it.

“What banks are going to have to do is make sure they’ve dotted their I’s and crossed their T’s before going through with a foreclosure,” says Stuart Rossman, director of litigation at the National Consumer Law Center.

This could mean an even slower pace for foreclosures as banks take extra caution on their paperwork, says Roy D. Oppenheim, senior partner at Oppenheim Law in Weston, Fla.

Experts say the court ruling was a positive for home owners who are in the middle of the foreclosure process, those trying to work out modifications, refinance, or do a short sale. They say that reaching a deal with lenders may become easier.

“I am expecting the banks to do fewer foreclosures and to engage in serious conversation in pre-foreclosure with borrowers,” Oppenheim says. “We’re already seeing [some] modifications that included for the first time principal reduction.”

Source: “Foreclosure Ruling May Be Good News for Homeowners,” MarketWatch (Jan. 11, 2011)

I think it will be interesting to see what this year brings with short sales and foreclosures. I know that I personally deal with a lot of short sales and it seems like they really dominate the market. I feel that buyers are starting to shy away from these types of sales because of the length of some of the processes. Anyways, only time will tell what happens with these properties and the market we're in now!

- Ashley

Couple Found Squatting in Upscale Foreclosure

Daily Real Estate News | January 7, 2011

Couple Found Squatting in Upscale Foreclosure 

An Orange County, Calif., couple has been arrested on charges stemming from squatting in a foreclosed home in a luxurious Newport Beach neighborhood, city prosecutors say. The couple squatted for more than three months before they were discovered, authorities say.

Chis Wayne Duncan, 42, and Robin Ann Duncan, 36, face charges of second-degree burglary, among other charges.

Prosecutors say the couple hired a private investigator to locate foreclosed and vacant homes in Orange County. They then had fake leases drafted so utility companies would change utility bills to put it under their name as renters, authorities say. After an appraiser tried to enter the home, prosecutors say the couple had the locks changed.

Source: “DA: Couple Squatted in Ritzy Newport Beach Foreclosure, Put Utilities in Their Name,” Associated Press (Jan. 6, 2011) 

I think it's crazy that they got away with it for so long! I just had to share this story with you!

- Ashley

Does it make more sense to rent or own in 2011?

Daily Real Estate News | January 6, 2011

Tables Turn in 2011 on Rent vs. Own 

Rents have surged as home prices have dropped, which have prompted some to ponder whether homeownership is really worth it. Moody’s Analytics data has suggested that it makes more financial sense to rent than buy in many U.S. cities, but Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi now says that is about to change.

"By mid 2011 and certainly by end of 2011, buying will be superior to renting in most parts of the country," Zandi says.

Home prices are expected to fall further, making more homes affordable, whereas rent prices are expected to continue to rise this year.

The following are a few of the top cities where it makes more sense to buy than rent, according to Moody data. (Experts often recommend buying when the price-rent ratio is below 15 and rent when it’s above 20.)

▪ Cleveland: 11.43
▪ Pittsburgh, Pa.: 11.71
▪ Detroit: 12.32
▪ Phoenix: 12.35
▪ Atlanta: 12.82
▪ Tampa, Fla.: 13.08
▪ Orlando, Fla.: 13.1
▪ Cincinnati: 13.74
▪ Las Vegas: 13.89

Source: “Rent vs. Own Ratio to Flip in 2011?” Fortune (Jan. 4, 2011)

I definitely agree that rent prices will continue to rise because of the high demand of renting nowadays. Sellers who took a hit to their credit by short-selling or being foreclosed upon are now forced to rent since they cannot get a mortgage. Rentals do not last very long on the market and we often get several applications the first day being on the market! There are still amazing deals on homes out there that we may never see again. Especially for first time homebuyers, who have nothing to sell, the savings over their 30-year mortgage would be incredible right now! Call me if you are looking to buy! 708-307-9616

- Ashley