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CALMLS moving forward on acquisition plans

By Inman News, Monday, January 26, 2009.

CALMLS, a statewide multiple listing service initiative in California, got the green light -- in the form of a $3 million line of credit -- from the California Association of Realtors to pursue the acquisition of one or more MLSs.

Mike Silvas, CALMLS chairman and a broker in Napa, Calif., said Monday that CALMLS officials will continue in discussions with two MLSs, and a meeting is planned this week between a group representing one MLS and a subgroup of CALMLS.  more...

Real estate tech to-do list Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Monday, January 26, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edans/499730630/" target=blank>edans</a>.

Regardless of what type of hardware you are using, it's important to keep it running in tip-top shape. Here are four key ways to achieve maximum performance from your hardware in 2009.

1. Make sure you're using a cell phone with a full computer-style keyboard.
At Triple Play last month, I did a seminar called "Why Didn't You Just Text Me?"  more...

Median U.S. home price falls 15.3%

By Inman News, Monday, January 26, 2009.

The pace of existing-home sales rose 6.5 percent in December compared to the previous month but was down 3.5 percent compared to December 2007, the National Association of Realtors reported today, and the median price of resale homes dipped for the sixth straight month.  more...

Remodels holding more value than home prices

By Dian Hymer, Monday, January 26, 2009.

Remodeling Magazine's 2008-2009 Cost vs. Value Report, produced each year in conjunction with Realtor Magazine, contains good news about the value of remodeling projects.

The recent Cost vs. Value Report showed that renovations on a nationwide basis held their value better than home prices did in 2008. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home prices declined 7 percent in 2008, while the value of homeowners' investments in remodeling dropped only 2.8 percent in 2008.

   more...

Why banks hoard bailout money

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, January 26, 2009.

"Is it not shameful that our financial institutions receive capital infusions from the government, and instead of lending it out, they hoard it?"

I hear this complaint a lot, and the U.S. government has not done a very good job of responding to it. My view of government intent is that the capital infusions were meant to be "hoarded," defining that word to mean adding to the firm's capital rather than adding to its loans.  more...

Funding parents' reverse mortgage a win-win

By Benny Kass, Monday, January 26, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: I want to help my older parents so they can have a more stress-free and comfortable retirement, and believe I am in a position to do so. They have a home in an area where housing prices are actually still increasing, which makes the scenario even more attractive to my husband and me.

Their home is valued at about $250,000. They have an interest-only mortgage with a balance of $115,000. I would like to give them a personally financed reverse mortgage of $115,000 to pay off this first mortgage.  more...

Banks to unleash flood of REOs Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, January 26, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/2681470264/">TheTruthAbout...</a>.

Inventories of unsold homes are likely to swell in coming months as lenders begin to push a growing backlog of repossessed homes up for sale -- often in communities already awash in distressed properties.

While builders have cut back drastically on the production of new homes (see story), it's likely lenders will soon be putting pressure on inventories even if they succeed in efforts to keep more troubled borrowers in their homes rather than foreclosing on them.  more...

Online offer service targets REO market

By Inman News, Monday, January 26, 2009.

N-Play Real Estate LLC, which last year launched an online service to make nonbinding purchase offers for real estate, today rolls out a customized service targeted at foreclosed, bank-owned properties -- also known as REOs.  more...