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Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Now's the Time to Buy in Real Estate
Investors are returning as the real estate market recovers. BusinessWeek’s real estate guru Marc Roth points out these opportunities, which he says make sense if investors are willing to look over the property carefully and ask tough questions. Options they should consider include:
-Buying a single-family house. This could be a first home or a dream home or a home to rent out.
-Buying a multi-family investment property.
-Snapping up a vacation property. There are deep discounts to be found in high-end resort areas.
-Investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust. REITs were hit hard in the downturn, but many are on their way back.
Source: BusinessWeek, Marc Roth (08/26/2009)
-Buying a single-family house. This could be a first home or a dream home or a home to rent out.
-Buying a multi-family investment property.
-Snapping up a vacation property. There are deep discounts to be found in high-end resort areas.
-Investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust. REITs were hit hard in the downturn, but many are on their way back.
Source: BusinessWeek, Marc Roth (08/26/2009)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Existing Home Sales Up in California
By WSJ Staff
Jim Carlton reports from San Francisco:
Sales of existing single-family homes in California increased 12% in July from the same time a year ago, as the state’s median price rose for the fifth straight month.
Sales increased to 553,910 on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis from a revised sales pace of 494,390 in July 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by the California Association of Realtors. The inventory of unsold houses continued to drop, to 3.9 months supply in July from 6.9 months at the same time a year ago.
Median prices were off 19.6% from July 2008 to $285,480, but were up 3.9% from June—continuing a string of back-to-back sequential price increases that began in March. Officials with the Realtors’ group credited first-time buyers for much of the buying volume, helping the under-$500,000 segment of the market to jump to include 74% of statewide sales from 43% when the California housing market went into a slump two years ago.
Few experts say California’s housing market is out of the woods, though. One threat is the prospect of more foreclosures flooding the market, as the state struggles with an unemployment rate of 11.9% as of July.
And Realtors’ officials say they are concerned sales have become overly tied to first-time buyers and a federal tax credit they have used for their purchases. Indeed, James Liptak, president of the association, said nearly 40% of first-time buyers said they would not have purchased a home without the tax credit, and called for Congress to extend it beyond a Dec. 1 deadline as well as open it up to all buyers, not just first-timers.
Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist of the association, said the high end of the California market remains soft with weak sales and prices as credit remains tight for jumbo loans.
Jim Carlton reports from San Francisco:
Sales of existing single-family homes in California increased 12% in July from the same time a year ago, as the state’s median price rose for the fifth straight month.
Sales increased to 553,910 on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis from a revised sales pace of 494,390 in July 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by the California Association of Realtors. The inventory of unsold houses continued to drop, to 3.9 months supply in July from 6.9 months at the same time a year ago.
Median prices were off 19.6% from July 2008 to $285,480, but were up 3.9% from June—continuing a string of back-to-back sequential price increases that began in March. Officials with the Realtors’ group credited first-time buyers for much of the buying volume, helping the under-$500,000 segment of the market to jump to include 74% of statewide sales from 43% when the California housing market went into a slump two years ago.
Few experts say California’s housing market is out of the woods, though. One threat is the prospect of more foreclosures flooding the market, as the state struggles with an unemployment rate of 11.9% as of July.
And Realtors’ officials say they are concerned sales have become overly tied to first-time buyers and a federal tax credit they have used for their purchases. Indeed, James Liptak, president of the association, said nearly 40% of first-time buyers said they would not have purchased a home without the tax credit, and called for Congress to extend it beyond a Dec. 1 deadline as well as open it up to all buyers, not just first-timers.
Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist of the association, said the high end of the California market remains soft with weak sales and prices as credit remains tight for jumbo loans.
Monday, August 24, 2009
First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible
Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000.Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada favors an extension of the current credit. He was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun saying, "It's something we can get done."Odds are that the credit will be extended and broadened to cover all buyers next year, but the chances of the amount increasing aren’t as good, observers say.
Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/22/2009)
Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/22/2009)
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