Resources to Track Your Real Estate Market’s Change in Value

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Kurt Wells

One of the keys to being known as a go to person in your real estate market is knowing what is happening to the property values at the moment. The way to do this quickly and painlessly is by using a property value index. Housing statistics are sifted, crunched, and compiled into databases that can give you a quick and easy snapshot of the trend of a real estate market. You should be able to know what is happening in the nation as a whole, but more importantly, what is going on where you invest. These market analysis tools allow you to determine where the market is now, which way it is going, and how fast it is headed in that direction.

Here are three index resources to track changes, direction, and speed of market values in any area you are investing in or interested in investing in:

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-case-shiller-home-price-indices/en/us/?indexId=spusa-cashpidff–p-us—-

CoreLogic Home Price Index http://www.corelogic.com/about-us/researchtrends/home-price-index.aspx

Federal Housing Finance Agency http://www.fhfa.gov/Default.aspx?Page=87

Which is the best? That is up to you and how you want to analyze your market. Using all three to compare and then draw your own conclusion about what you see in the data will make you a valuable asset to anyone in your investing arena. People can get numbers. What they really want to know is what you think about the numbers. Let them know and they will be more receptive to doing business with you.

Posted in Real Estate Markets | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Pulse of the Real Estate Market

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Kurt Wells

Wondering where the real estate market is going; or when? Everyone involved in real estate investing wants to know. Since real estate markets are local, you need to know what the trend is where you are investing or planning to make a purchase. Here’s some help. CoreLogic, one of the country’s leading real estate information research companies, published their  report on home price values indicating a four month consecutive decline nationally in home values. There is a link in that report to get their detailed report of more specific data so you can check your area.

The most recent report shows a 4.3 per cent decrease in prices year over year basis through November 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Two of the Highlights mentioned in CoreLogic’s report are:

Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, 77 are showing year-over-year declines in November, three fewer than in October.

Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to November 2011) was -32.8 percent.  Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -23.1 percent.

 

Another report  available on CoreLogic’s site mentions the fact that the number of properties still in the shadow market continues to be a drag on home sales. “For Every Two Homes Available for Sale, There Is One in the “Shadows” CoreLogic quotes. 

Are we at the bottom and headed up yet? Not quite, but close to it from all the indications. Bargain properties are there now for the picking. Don’t miss the harvest of the best values. Real estate investment properties are selling at Black Friday prices. Get some for yourself.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

FHA Blinks on Seasoning Rule

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Kurt Wells

Here’s some great news for real estate investors a to start the new year: the FHA has relaxed it’s restriction on allowing financing to buyers purchasing a home that has not be owned at least 90 days by the seller they are purchasing from. That is great news for all involved in real estate investing because it no allows a real estate investor to purchase a distressed property, fix it quickly and sell it to a first time home owner with out waiting 90 days for the title to season. First time home owners are often drawn to FHA financing because of the lower down payment feature of those type of loans. Read the HUD press release.  The Waiver was set to expire on December 31, 2011 but was extended through 2012.

The FHA put the rule in to effect to try to discourage “flipping” where one person purchases a home and then re-sells it immediately for an inflated price with no improvement to justify the increase in value.  That rule was first enacted back in 2003 but a more recent analysis of the situation lead them to see that the problems causing the real estate melt down were more strongly related to stated income type loans that did not look at all at whether the borrower had the income to actually pay back the loan.

This new relaxing of the 90 day seasoning rule means real estate investors and rehabbers can purchase the most distressed of the properties that are clogging the sales, fix them and sell them to first time home buyers who must still meet the income requirements. Other restrictions of the new rule are that if the new sales price is more than 20 per cent of what the previous short time owner paid, there must be supporting documentation that justifies the exception, such as improvements to the property.They are not eliminating a profit on the transaction, just requiring a reasoned look at what the justification for that profit is. That makes good sense and solves the original problem in a much more intelligent way.

All in all, this is a very good thing for every one involved: real estate investors, contractors, banks with stock piles of distressed properties that have been clogging the real estate markets, real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, and especially the first time home buyers that really need some good news. This is an example of what the government should be doing to cut some of the red tape restrictions that have been causing the economic slow downs. Thanks!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Do Your Real Estate Investing Home Work

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Kurt Wells

Do your home work! Heard that before? It applies to real estate investing today more than ever. You do need to keep up with what is going on around you. Ask anyone that bought investment property at the top of the market. Knowing that real estate goes in cycles is key to making good investment decisions. Knowing what or when not to buy can save you a lot of headaches and money. There is a treasure chest of research and information available to you on the web and in printed publications. One of my favorite sources is the sun Sentinel news paper. Writers like Paul Owers, Donna Gherke-White and Julie Patel provide news as well as their observations about the new they report on. Here’s one example: Paul Owers wrote a recent article on which areas of the country were best for investors to buy houses for rentals. In that article he mentions the Local Market Monitor, a service that provides research about what is going on in specific real estate markets. That is another treasure chest tool to keep you out of the ditch and profitable in your real estate investing efforts. Another resource Paul Owers used was McCabe Research. They offer a free monthly e-newsletter about rends in real estatate investing.

Spend some time looking in to the valuable resources that you have available to you. Stay tuned here for more great real estate investing information and real estate education.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Are Banks Recovering?

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Kurt Wells

Banks are making a recovery from the precarious situation referred to as the “Banking Crisis”. Banks under go a check up of their financial strength and health . They were in bad shape two years ago, but are making good progress since then banking analysts say. Florida banks have improved, but are still trailing the national average according to a report by Bauer Financial cited a Sun Sentinel  article written by Doreen Hemlock. The Bauer report indicates the number of Florida banks moving to the “Recommended” list increased from 17 per cent to 25 percent. That is a 47 per cent increase in the number of banks moving to the “Recommended” list.

Nationally, bank closings fell from 157 last year to just 92. that translates to a 41 per cent decrease in bank closings across the nation.

Bauer Financial publishes regular reports on the banking industry that are useful to real estate investors, those interested in real estate markets, real estate investing, and everyone that wants to know how their bank is doing. You can receive free quarterly updates from them by e-mail.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment