I have personally seen an increase in activity in the Atlanta market in the last month and hope it is a sign of times to come. Forbes Magazine seems to believe that Atlanta is primed to start recovering in 2009. See Below:
Forbes Magazine Optimistic for Atlanta in 2009
Forbes Magazine predicts good news is around the bend for the Atlanta real estate market in 2009. Forbes expects new home starts to be up 32.5% for single family homes in the metro area, and job growth to continue at 2% for 2009. While the job growth number might seem modest, it beats most areas of the country, and has been consistent with Atlanta for a number of years.
Forbes named ten US cities expected to begin a long term recovery in 2009: Albuquerque, NM; Charlotte, NC; San Antonio, TX; Portland, ME; Austin, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; Colorado Springs, CO; Minneapolis, MN; Atlanta, GA; and Oklahoma City, OK. With good news from an established source, the continued dedication of Georgia’s real estate professionals, and a public still in need of housing things could be looking up soon.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Fannie, Freddie to suspend foreclosure sales
Fannie, Freddie to suspend foreclosure sales
Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb Staff Reporter
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they will suspend all foreclosure sales involving occupied single-family and two- to four-unit properties through March 6.
The suspension will give give loan servicers more time to help troubled borrowers find an alternative to foreclosure.
The housing giants, which were seized by the government last fall, had said they would suspend evictions and foreclosure sales between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9, a decision affecting thousands of proposed sales.
The latest suspension does not apply to vacant properties in foreclosure.
McLean-based Freddie (NYSE: FRE) and D.C.-based Fannie (NYSE: FNM) own or guarantee almost half of the country's mortgages.
Freddie Mac said it gives lenders servicing its mortgages broad authority to provide forbearance to borrowers who are not yet delinquent. In addition, lenders can provide permanent rate reductions, mortgage term extensions, forbearance of principal or other modifications to borrowers who are already delinquent.
Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb Staff Reporter
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they will suspend all foreclosure sales involving occupied single-family and two- to four-unit properties through March 6.
The suspension will give give loan servicers more time to help troubled borrowers find an alternative to foreclosure.
The housing giants, which were seized by the government last fall, had said they would suspend evictions and foreclosure sales between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9, a decision affecting thousands of proposed sales.
The latest suspension does not apply to vacant properties in foreclosure.
McLean-based Freddie (NYSE: FRE) and D.C.-based Fannie (NYSE: FNM) own or guarantee almost half of the country's mortgages.
Freddie Mac said it gives lenders servicing its mortgages broad authority to provide forbearance to borrowers who are not yet delinquent. In addition, lenders can provide permanent rate reductions, mortgage term extensions, forbearance of principal or other modifications to borrowers who are already delinquent.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Foreclosure Rates Fall in January 2009
U.S. January foreclosures fall: RealtyTrac
Thu Feb 12, 6:32 am ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home foreclosure filings in January decreased from December, an indication that an array of efforts to curb the process may be making an impact, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
Foreclosure activity was still 18 percent higher than a year earlier, the 37th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase. Nevertheless, the fall in foreclosure filings last month provides a glimmer of hope for the hard-hit U.S. housing market.
Home foreclosure filings in January totaled 274,399, down 10 percent from December, RealtyTrac, an online market of foreclosure properties, said in its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The figure is a total of default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, California, said the national foreclosure rate in January was one foreclosure filing for every 466 U.S. households.
"The extensive foreclosure efforts on the part of lenders and government agencies appear to have impacted the January numbers - particularly the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on all foreclosure sales that was extended through the end of January along with Florida's voluntary 45-day freeze on all new foreclosure actions and scheduling of foreclosure sales that was announced at the beginning of December," James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.
January foreclosure activity showed a sharp improvement versus the previous month. In December, foreclosure filings were up 17 percent from the previous month and up nearly 41 percent from December 2007.
Foreclosures have largely been result of an increasing number of homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments amid the worst U.S. housing market downturn since the Great Depression.
"January REOs, which represent completed foreclosure sales to the foreclosing lender, were down 15 percent nationwide from the previous month," Saccacio said.
"And in Florida overall foreclosure activity was down 20 percent from the previous month," he said.
Real Estate Owned, or REO, are properties that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank. But fewer foreclosures help assuage one of the housing market's biggest banes, which is a huge supply of unsold homes.
"Any inventory off the market at this point is a good thing, but the problem is that many homes that have been taken back by banks have not yet been included in the data," Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, said on Wednesday.
There is more inventory in the pipeline and that will probably show up in the months ahead, he said.
"As for the January data, I would not read too much into it and it is doubtful that we are about to hit a bottom," he said.
Nevada's foreclosure activity decreased from the previous month but continued to register the highest rate in the country, with one foreclosure filing for every 76 households, followed by California and Arizona.
All three states had been among the hottest U.S. housing markets during the boom years.
Nevada had 14,444 foreclosure filings in January, down nearly 4 percent from the previous month and a 137 percent increase from January 2008.
California foreclosure activity in January decreased 14 percent from the previous month, but the state continued to register the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate. One in every 173 California households received a foreclosure filing during the month.
California, the most populous U.S. state, reported 76,761 foreclosure filings, the most of any state and up 34 percent from January 2008.
Arizona ranked third highest in the nation with one foreclosure filing for every 182 households in January, with 14,674 filings, down 8 percent from December and nearly 62 percent higher than a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.
Florida ranked fourth highest in the nation with one foreclosure filing for every 214 households in January, with 40,770 filings, down nearly 20 percent from December and 35 percent higher than a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.
Thu Feb 12, 6:32 am ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home foreclosure filings in January decreased from December, an indication that an array of efforts to curb the process may be making an impact, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
Foreclosure activity was still 18 percent higher than a year earlier, the 37th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase. Nevertheless, the fall in foreclosure filings last month provides a glimmer of hope for the hard-hit U.S. housing market.
Home foreclosure filings in January totaled 274,399, down 10 percent from December, RealtyTrac, an online market of foreclosure properties, said in its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The figure is a total of default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, California, said the national foreclosure rate in January was one foreclosure filing for every 466 U.S. households.
"The extensive foreclosure efforts on the part of lenders and government agencies appear to have impacted the January numbers - particularly the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on all foreclosure sales that was extended through the end of January along with Florida's voluntary 45-day freeze on all new foreclosure actions and scheduling of foreclosure sales that was announced at the beginning of December," James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.
January foreclosure activity showed a sharp improvement versus the previous month. In December, foreclosure filings were up 17 percent from the previous month and up nearly 41 percent from December 2007.
Foreclosures have largely been result of an increasing number of homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments amid the worst U.S. housing market downturn since the Great Depression.
"January REOs, which represent completed foreclosure sales to the foreclosing lender, were down 15 percent nationwide from the previous month," Saccacio said.
"And in Florida overall foreclosure activity was down 20 percent from the previous month," he said.
Real Estate Owned, or REO, are properties that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank. But fewer foreclosures help assuage one of the housing market's biggest banes, which is a huge supply of unsold homes.
"Any inventory off the market at this point is a good thing, but the problem is that many homes that have been taken back by banks have not yet been included in the data," Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, said on Wednesday.
There is more inventory in the pipeline and that will probably show up in the months ahead, he said.
"As for the January data, I would not read too much into it and it is doubtful that we are about to hit a bottom," he said.
Nevada's foreclosure activity decreased from the previous month but continued to register the highest rate in the country, with one foreclosure filing for every 76 households, followed by California and Arizona.
All three states had been among the hottest U.S. housing markets during the boom years.
Nevada had 14,444 foreclosure filings in January, down nearly 4 percent from the previous month and a 137 percent increase from January 2008.
California foreclosure activity in January decreased 14 percent from the previous month, but the state continued to register the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate. One in every 173 California households received a foreclosure filing during the month.
California, the most populous U.S. state, reported 76,761 foreclosure filings, the most of any state and up 34 percent from January 2008.
Arizona ranked third highest in the nation with one foreclosure filing for every 182 households in January, with 14,674 filings, down 8 percent from December and nearly 62 percent higher than a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.
Florida ranked fourth highest in the nation with one foreclosure filing for every 214 households in January, with 40,770 filings, down nearly 20 percent from December and 35 percent higher than a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
February Newsletter
If you have not had an opportunity to read my February newletter, it has been uploaded to my website (http://www.karenanderson.info/) and can be found at the following link:
http://karen.anderson.harrynorman.com/Content/Content.aspx?ContentID=511861
If you have not had an opportunity to read my February newletter, it has been uploaded to my website (http://www.karenanderson.info/) and can be found at the following link:
http://karen.anderson.harrynorman.com/Content/Content.aspx?ContentID=511861
Ron Peltier, the chairman of Home Services (Warren Buffett's real estate company and my ultimate boss) came out with an interesting article on the current state of the real estate market that I wanted to share. To those of you on the fence about purchasing a home - there is no time like the present and you never realize you are at the "bottom" until after you are already heading back up...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Israel Kreps
Kreps DeMaria PR
305.663.3543
ikreps@krepspr.com
UPTURN IN DECEMBER HOME SALES A HOPEFUL SIGN THAT
U.S. RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET MAY BE BOTTOMING-OUT
IN TERMS OF TRANSACTION VOLUME,
SAYS CHAIRMAN OF HOMESERVICES OF AMERICA
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (February __, 2009) – Analysts predict that many challenges will continue to face the U.S. residential real estate market before a full recovery is achieved, but an unexpected upturn in December home sales could signal that one of those crucial benchmarks -- transaction volume -- is on the brink of bottoming out.
“There are many issues that have to be resolved before we can say that the real estate market is truly in recovery, but transaction volume is one of the lynchpins of the process,” says Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO, HomeServices of America, Inc., the second largest, full service independent residential real estate brokerage firm and the second largest brokerage-owned settlement services provider (mortgage, title, escrow and insurance) in the United States.
“To see residential sales activity increase despite the nation’s economic challenges suggests that we have hit a point where consumers are beginning to feel confident about the value of their purchase,” continues Peltier. “Recovery cannot reach fruition unless the consumer feels secure in the long-term value of owning a home, and it seems that we are entering the ‘tipping point’ of that process.”
Peltier notes that housing affordability has reached a 20-year-high. Also, the impact of distressed properties, which HomeServices companies now account for 35% of aggregate sales, has spurred activity.
While sales activity rose at year end, home prices fell about 16 percent in 2008 and are now down about 25 percent from the recent market peak.
“There has been tremendous erosion in values – largely because of the high number of distressed sales and foreclosures,” he said. “The foreclosures have created a bifurcated market, where unfortunately, the sheer volume of distressed properties is dragging down
the entire marketplace. We anticipate this phenomenon will begin to dissipate towards the end of 2009, as consumers absorb these properties, and ongoing government stimulus programs continue to push the economy -- and specifically the financial markets -- in a positive direction.”
Recently, the National Association of Realtors® reported that existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent in December, while housing inventory fell 11.7 percent at year-end.
For the entire year, the U.S. posted 4.9 million existing-home sales, a 13.1 percent drop from 5.6 million transactions in 2007. Peltier noted that overall volume in the five million existing-home sales is the sustainable level, a 25 percent decrease from the recent market peak of 7.2 million, a volume chiefly fueled by speculators.
“It’s no coincidence that the 25 percent decrease in volume mirrors the departure of speculators from the market,” continues Peltier. “We believe five million existing home sales is the appropriate floor to regain stability in the market.”
“Buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines now have a compelling reason to move forward with a purchase in the months ahead,” he said. “Housing is an extremely good value these days.”
Peltier added that if mortgage rates remain low, as expected, median sales prices are likely to stabilize by the end of 2009, despite the nation’s overall economic weakness.
“We do not expect a ‘U-shaped’ recovery curve it will be a slow and steady growth line that will start in 2010,” concludes Peltier, “values in some areas, particularly the hardest hit markets, may slide more, but we are hopeful that wholesale drop in values may be nearly over, and that is good news for the health of our overall housing market.”
About HomeServices of America
HomeServices of America, Inc. based in Minneapolis, Minn., is the second-largest homeownership service provider in the United States. Owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., HomeServices’ operating companies offer integrated real estate services, including brokerage services, mortgage originations, title and closing services, property and casualty insurance, home warranties and other homeownership services. HomeServices Relocation, LLC is the full-service relocation arm of HomeServices of America which provides every aspect of domestic and international relocation to corporations around the world. HomeServices operates in 19 states under the following residential real estate brand names: Carol Jones REALTORS; CBSHOME Real Estate; Champion Realty Inc.; Edina Realty; EWM REALTORS; Harry Norman, REALTORS; HOME Real Estate; Huff Realty; Iowa Realty; Jenny Pruitt and Associates, REALTORS; Long Companies; Prudential California Realty; Prudential Carolinas Realty; Prudential First Realty; Prudential York Simpson Underwood Realty; RealtySouth; Rector-Hayden REALTORS; Reece & Nichols; Roberts Brothers Inc.; Semonin REALTORS and Woods Bros. Realty. Information about HomeServices and the locations of its subsidiary companies is available at http://www.homeservices.com/.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Israel Kreps
Kreps DeMaria PR
305.663.3543
ikreps@krepspr.com
UPTURN IN DECEMBER HOME SALES A HOPEFUL SIGN THAT
U.S. RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET MAY BE BOTTOMING-OUT
IN TERMS OF TRANSACTION VOLUME,
SAYS CHAIRMAN OF HOMESERVICES OF AMERICA
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (February __, 2009) – Analysts predict that many challenges will continue to face the U.S. residential real estate market before a full recovery is achieved, but an unexpected upturn in December home sales could signal that one of those crucial benchmarks -- transaction volume -- is on the brink of bottoming out.
“There are many issues that have to be resolved before we can say that the real estate market is truly in recovery, but transaction volume is one of the lynchpins of the process,” says Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO, HomeServices of America, Inc., the second largest, full service independent residential real estate brokerage firm and the second largest brokerage-owned settlement services provider (mortgage, title, escrow and insurance) in the United States.
“To see residential sales activity increase despite the nation’s economic challenges suggests that we have hit a point where consumers are beginning to feel confident about the value of their purchase,” continues Peltier. “Recovery cannot reach fruition unless the consumer feels secure in the long-term value of owning a home, and it seems that we are entering the ‘tipping point’ of that process.”
Peltier notes that housing affordability has reached a 20-year-high. Also, the impact of distressed properties, which HomeServices companies now account for 35% of aggregate sales, has spurred activity.
While sales activity rose at year end, home prices fell about 16 percent in 2008 and are now down about 25 percent from the recent market peak.
“There has been tremendous erosion in values – largely because of the high number of distressed sales and foreclosures,” he said. “The foreclosures have created a bifurcated market, where unfortunately, the sheer volume of distressed properties is dragging down
the entire marketplace. We anticipate this phenomenon will begin to dissipate towards the end of 2009, as consumers absorb these properties, and ongoing government stimulus programs continue to push the economy -- and specifically the financial markets -- in a positive direction.”
Recently, the National Association of Realtors® reported that existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent in December, while housing inventory fell 11.7 percent at year-end.
For the entire year, the U.S. posted 4.9 million existing-home sales, a 13.1 percent drop from 5.6 million transactions in 2007. Peltier noted that overall volume in the five million existing-home sales is the sustainable level, a 25 percent decrease from the recent market peak of 7.2 million, a volume chiefly fueled by speculators.
“It’s no coincidence that the 25 percent decrease in volume mirrors the departure of speculators from the market,” continues Peltier. “We believe five million existing home sales is the appropriate floor to regain stability in the market.”
“Buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines now have a compelling reason to move forward with a purchase in the months ahead,” he said. “Housing is an extremely good value these days.”
Peltier added that if mortgage rates remain low, as expected, median sales prices are likely to stabilize by the end of 2009, despite the nation’s overall economic weakness.
“We do not expect a ‘U-shaped’ recovery curve it will be a slow and steady growth line that will start in 2010,” concludes Peltier, “values in some areas, particularly the hardest hit markets, may slide more, but we are hopeful that wholesale drop in values may be nearly over, and that is good news for the health of our overall housing market.”
About HomeServices of America
HomeServices of America, Inc. based in Minneapolis, Minn., is the second-largest homeownership service provider in the United States. Owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., HomeServices’ operating companies offer integrated real estate services, including brokerage services, mortgage originations, title and closing services, property and casualty insurance, home warranties and other homeownership services. HomeServices Relocation, LLC is the full-service relocation arm of HomeServices of America which provides every aspect of domestic and international relocation to corporations around the world. HomeServices operates in 19 states under the following residential real estate brand names: Carol Jones REALTORS; CBSHOME Real Estate; Champion Realty Inc.; Edina Realty; EWM REALTORS; Harry Norman, REALTORS; HOME Real Estate; Huff Realty; Iowa Realty; Jenny Pruitt and Associates, REALTORS; Long Companies; Prudential California Realty; Prudential Carolinas Realty; Prudential First Realty; Prudential York Simpson Underwood Realty; RealtySouth; Rector-Hayden REALTORS; Reece & Nichols; Roberts Brothers Inc.; Semonin REALTORS and Woods Bros. Realty. Information about HomeServices and the locations of its subsidiary companies is available at http://www.homeservices.com/.
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