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Jan

12
2009

Confessions of a NAR economist

By Inman News, Monday, January 12, 2009.

A Wall Street Journal article catches up with David A. Lereah, the former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors who was known for talking up the housing market well into the downturn.

Lereah left the association to participate in a secretive project at Realtor.com-operator Move Inc. in mid-2007, and that project was canceled last year (see Inman Blog).  more...

The future of real estate video

By Joel Burslem, Monday, January 12, 2009.

At Inman News' inaugural Digital Video Summit last week in New York, we were honored to have Channing Dawson, the Emmy award winning advisor from Scripps Networks Interactive, deliver a keynote address that gave us a peek at some next generation interactive video strategies and their application to real estate.

Many attendees requested links to the videos contained within Channing's presentation which we've posted below as well as how it related to his talk, which will we have available shortly on Inman.com.  more...

TARP spending could shift to housing Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, January 12, 2009.

The focus of the Treasury Department's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) could soon shift from recapitalizing banks to helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure and stimulating demand for housing.

The Bush administration has agreed to make a formal determination that the second $350 billion in TARP money will be needed, so that President-elect Barack Obama could theoretically have the money at his disposal soon after he takes office Jan. 20.  more...

Is 80-10-10 financing dead?

By Dian Hymer, Monday, January 12, 2009.

One of the few certainties in the real estate business is that it's always changing. At this point, the financing end of the business changes daily. A lender may approve a loan one day and decide just before closing that it no longer offers that type of financing. Then, weeks later, they are back in the game.  more...

Paying points wise in today's market

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, January 12, 2009.

Current stresses in the home loan market have changed the ground rules for borrowers in many ways. A recent article focused on the confused state of affairs in the market for jumbos, which are loans larger than $417,000. Jumbos are priced higher than smaller loans even when they can be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and are priced much higher when they can't.

This article reports on the results of an online shopping exploration I did on Dec. 12. I priced conforming loans of $400,000 that can be purchased by Fannie and Freddie, and $800,000 (jumbo) loans that cannot.  more...

3 sites join real estate top-20 rankings Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, January 12, 2009.

Reply.com, Move.com and WhiteFence.com joined the top-20 list of real estate-related Web sites in December, climbing several spots from the previous month, online metrics company Hitwise reported today.  more...

Foreclosures, REOs carry risks, rewards Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, January 12, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/respres/2539334956/" target=blank>respres</a>.

NEW YORK -- Agents and brokers who want in on the action for short sales and real-estate-owned properties take heed: while that segment of the market should continue to grow this year, it's not for the faint-hearted.

To break into the business, you need connections with lenders, and succeeding requires a high level of organization, commitment, and the ability to multitask, said L.J. Jennings, broker-owner of Oakland, Calif.-based Pyramid Real Estate and Investments.  more...

Avoid tax when gifting down payment

By Benny Kass, Monday, January 12, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: Our son is looking to buy a house and we promised to help him with the down payment, or part thereof, of approximately $100,000. What is the best way to do that to avoid any gift taxes? Can we give him the money as part of his future inheritance, which won't be taxable up to a certain amount? Or can we give him the money and ask for a promissory note, and then my husband and I both can "give" him $12,000 yearly until the note is paid off?  more...

Builders get reprieve on incentives

By Matt Carter, Monday, January 12, 2009.

Federal housing regulators have agreed to delay for 90 days implementation of a rule change that would bar home builders from offering consumers incentives when they agree to use builders' affiliated mortgage and title insurance companies.

The new rule -- one of many changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) being phased in by the end of the year -- was set to take effect Jan. 16.  more...