Home

Tankless water heaters perform, but at a cost

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

It seems we struck a nerve with a couple of recent columns about on-demand water heaters. Also known as tankless water heaters, on-demand heaters deliver an almost-never-ending supply of hot water if properly sized and installed.

Our first column on the subject responded to a reader who wondered whether replacing a conventional water heater with a tankless model was a smart move. We said that conceptually that was a reasonable way to go. Heat only the water you use, rather than heating, storing and then reheating when needed. It makes perfect sense -- we thought.  more...

Broker size: A small issue Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamchenkov/2954374325/" target=blank>Leonid Mamchenkov</a>.

So many agents -- hungry agents -- and so few transactions to go around: It's a three-ring circus out there.

As established agents, a large portion of our business comes from past clients and from their referrals. But some portion of the business of all agents will always be of the "new business" variety. In other words, we all find ourselves competing at some point. And none of us will win them all.  more...

Seniors look to life insurance for fast cash

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

More and more senior citizens are seeking ways to make their leisure years more comfortable -- or simply to make ends meet. Many are looking to liquidate or tap at least a portion of an asset that historically has gone untouched.

For example, two seniors asked recently if it were preferable to take a life settlement on their life insurance policy or to pursue a reverse mortgage. The answer depends on a variety of individual preferences, plus a person's age, health, policy value, estate needs, home value and future housing needs.  more...

New-home sales climb from record low

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

Sales of new single-family homes jumped 4.7 percent from January to February, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000, the Commerce Department reported today.

While the unexpected increase was welcomed by financial markets, sales of new homes were down 41 percent from a year ago. February's numbers were the second worst on record, surpassed only by January's annual sales rate of 322,000 homes.  more...

Applications for refis rise 41.5%

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

Applications for refinance loans jumped 41.5 percent last week, after the Federal Reserve announced expanded purchases of mortgage-backed securities that pushed interest rates to lows not seen in six decades, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

Applications for purchase mortgages for the week ending March 20 were up a more modest 4.2 percent, the MBA said, with requests for refinance loans accounting for 78.5 percent of all mortgage applications.  more...

Serving up renters through social networks

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

RentMineOnline.com, a San Francisco-based company, is tapping into the power of social networking in an effort to bring more referrals to apartment communities.

Property managers work with the site to offer "referral bonuses" ranging from $200 to $1,000 to existing renters who draw in new renters using social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, among others, and e-mail messages, according to a site description.  more...

UCLA forecast: 'Tepid recovery' in 2010 Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

This recession will be the longest and most damaging of the postwar era, according to the latest forecast report from University of California, Los Angeles, spanning an estimated 19-24 months and building to a U.S. unemployment rate of 10.5 percent in mid-2010.

In "The Global Slump," one of the economic reports featured in the UCLA Anderson Forecast, senior economist David Shulman states that most of the "contractionary forces" on the economy "will have been spent" by the close of 2009. But the employment recovery from this recession "will be long and arduous," he notes, with the unemployment rate sticking above 9 percent through the end of 2011.  more...

FHFA: First home-price increase in a year

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

U.S. home prices rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent from December to January, driven by a disproportionate number of sales in strong markets, according to a home-price index that tracks repeat sales of homes purchased with mortgages purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly House Price Index showed U.S. home prices down 6.3 percent from a year ago and 9.6 percent below their April 2007 peak.  more...