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Residential Real Estate in Northern Virginia

10 Cities Leading the Market Recovery

August 18th, 2009 1:59 PM

Here’s more evidence that housing is turning around. Forbes magazine identified 161 of the country’s largest metro areas where sales activity has increased compared to 2008, and where foreclosure sales as a percentage of total sales, are low.

The magazine considers these markets as on the road to recovery.

1. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

2. Lincoln, Neb.

3. Colorado Springs, Colo.

4. Salem, Ore.

5. San Luis Obispo, Calif.

6. Bremerton, Wash.

7. Denver, Colo.

8. Redding, Calif.

9. Santa Barbara, Calif.

10. San Jose, Calif.

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (08/13/2009)

Notice that the Washington, DC, area, including Northern Virginia is not on this list. The number of short sales, foreclosures and investment activity is continuing to put downward pressure on prices, even though individual properties are being "bid up."

At this point in time, the bidding process is really about keeping the option to negotiate a sales price, because, almost without fail, appraisals to not match up to contract prices.

At the lower end of the market, many banks are putting conditions on sales that virtually preclude private buyers in favor of investors. Things such as short settlement time frames, or refusal to agree to any time of home inspection are all intended to require a "cash" sale, with requiring a cash sale.

Lots of first time buyers are unable to win the bidding on any home.

Posted by David & Linda Himes on August 18th, 2009 1:59 PMPost a Comment (0)

Home Buyer Tax Credit Could Expand

June 26th, 2009 2:00 PM

A first-time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 has helped to move housing inventory during an otherwise sluggish real estate cycle. Now both legislators and the business community are hoping to build on the incentive's success by expanding it.

A number of bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate that lobby for an expansion of the measure. Among the proposed changes:

Setting a new cap of $15,000.

Extending the tax break into mid-2010.

Making the benefit available to all home buyers, not just first-timers.

Offering a separate tax credit to $3,000 for borrowers who refinance.

USA Today, Stephanie Armour (06/22/09)

© Copyright 2009 Information Inc.

Posted by David & Linda Himes on June 26th, 2009 2:00 PMPost a Comment (0)

10 Cities Most Likely to Bounce Back Quickly

June 23rd, 2009 8:51 AM

Some cities are likely to recover more quickly from the housing downturn than others. Forbes magazine has identified the top 10 cities that it believes are poised for recovery by examining unemployment figures, projected gross domestic product from Moody’s Economy.com, and housing affordability data from the National Association of Home Builders.

Overall, cities most likely to recover first are those with strong technology capabilities.

Here is Forbes’ top 10:

Austin-Roundrock, Texas
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.
Boulder, Colo.
Huntsville, Ala.
San Antonio, Texas
Mobile, Ala.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

Source: Forbes, Joshua Zumbrun (6/10/09)

Posted by David & Linda Himes on June 23rd, 2009 8:51 AMPost a Comment (0)

Foreclosure Relief Still Iffy

June 18th, 2009 10:42 AM

Here’s a link to a report from Today’s Real Estate Advisor.

The full story makes the point that the federal governments plan to help people avoid foreclosure is abysmal. Which is really no surprise. Designed to help up to 5,000,000 homeowners, only 55,000 have signed up and the potential benefit is unclear.

To make it worse, Treasury Secretary Geithner says their program will turn things around beginning this fall. Wishful thinking.

Based upon the record of adjustable rate mortgages, we may be looking for at least two more years of increasing foreclosures and five-year-adjustable-rate-mortgages make their first adjustments. And the problem is exacerbated because of the huge backlog of families who are already behind in their mortgages.

There are anecdotal reports of families who stopped paying their mortgage months ago, and still have not received foreclosure notices from their lenders, due to this huge backlog. And the backlog grew, while banks did nothing, waiting to see what kind of relief program the feds would put in place.

Banks made bad loans; people bought homes that they could not afford — both are guilty and both should suffer the consequences. The sooner they do the sooner the market gets over this.

Federal foreclosure relief is the wrong solution.

Posted by David & Linda Himes on June 18th, 2009 10:42 AMPost a Comment (0)

Rising Interest Rates Dampen Housing Recovery

June 12th, 2009 2:26 PM

This headline is taken from the Wall Street Journal, as quoted at Realtor.com. Click here to read the story.

This is the impact of the impending increase in the money supply -- inflation will rise, as will interest rates. And rates have been so low recently, that even a modest rise, cause buyers and refinancers to pause before moving forward.

In the Northern Virginia area, rates are rapidly approaching 6%. Which is not really too high, but it is high compared to the 4.25% and 4.5% rates we saw only a month or so ago.

Don't be discouraged by the rate increase. Overall, home prices are still low. June is the peak buying month of the year. So, we will likely see slight declines in the volume of transactions from July 1 thru the end of the year.