Archive for July, 2009

Obstacles of Homeownership

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Most Americans thinking of buying a home still consider having enough money for down-payment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home. That’s according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released today by the National Association of Realtors®.

The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found job security concerns to be the highest in seven years of sampling. Two-thirds of Americans think job layoffs and unemployment are a big problem; eight in 10 cite these issues as a barrier to homeownership. Wyoming real estate is showing signs of these concerns more than usual.

“Homeownership is an investment in your future; however, saving for a downpayment and closing costs is still too great of an obstacle for 82% of house hunters looking to take advantage of the current market,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Monetizing the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit for downpayment or closing costs on FHA-insured mortgages is a positive first step. Our hope is that the tax credit will be extended and expanded to all home buyers and will help bring stability to the housing market and enable more Americans to achieve the dream of homeownership.” Wyoming real estate is utilizing the $8,000 tax credit, but also wishes it would be available to all buyers.

Despite the challenges with the economy and housing market, 83% of Americans still believe buying a home is a good financial decision. Three-fourths of those surveyed also believe now is a good time to buy a home, a number that has increased steadily the past two years. In fact, one-third of renters are thinking more about buying a home than they were a year ago. homes for sale in star valley wyoming are reaching prices close to rent for some people.

While Americans are seeing more stability in the real estate market, uncertainty persists. The number of those who feel buying and selling activity has stabilized or stayed nearly the same has grown significantly, from 18% last year to 26% this year. Wyoming real estate has been fairly stable through out the market changes.

However the majority (58%) report that activity in their market has slowed.
Regarding home sales, nearly eight in 10 say it’s harder to sell a home in their area today than it was a year ago, despite the fact that nearly three-fourths of respondents say home prices are less expensive. Large home inventories could be to blame; 44% cite concerns about the high number of homes and condos for sale in their area.

While nearly three-fourths of Americans are concerned about the local drop in home values, respondents expect to see more stability in the near future. Nearly seven in 10 expect local home prices to remain about the same in the next three months; only 18% expect prices to further decrease. The drop in prices has improved affordability, and consequently, concerns about the lack of affordable housing are the lowest they’ve been in seven years of polling – 34% say it’s one of their biggest worries, down from 41% two years ago.

Foreclosures remain a real concern among survey respondents. Slightly more than half (51%) say foreclosures are a big to moderate problem in their area. However, the rate of foreclosures is generally seen as stabilizing; 41% say the rate of foreclosures in their area is about the same as last year.

Ninety-two percent of respondents said neither they nor members of their immediate family have experienced a foreclosure in the past year, yet it is still a personal concern for many. One in five respondents said they are very or fairly worried that they will have difficulty making their mortgage payments over the next year. Thirty-two percent say it’s a big or moderate worry that they, or a member of their family, may have their home repossessed or foreclosed because they are unable to pay rising monthly mortgage payments.

In 2008, more than half of respondents (54%) were open to the federal government taking a more active role in overseeing mortgage and lending practices – the number dropped this year to 47%. This could be because 42% of Americans believe the country is back on the right track, more than double the number last year (16%).

Regarding financing, seven in 10 Americans cite a lack of confidence in their ability to be approved for a home loan as an obstacle to homeownership. The same number also say that banks are making it too hard to qualify for a loan (71%) and that fewer mortgage options offered by banks have made it harder for them to buy a home (71%). The perception of qualifying for a loan as a huge obstacle is especially high among minorities. We are having trouble getting our buyer qualified in star valley wyoming too!

“Home buyers need protection from risky lending products but also need access to mortgages at a reasonable cost. While there has been some easing of credit in the mortgage market, the availability of credit continues to be an issue for many qualified home buyers,” said McMillan.

The 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey is conducted by American Strategies and Myers Research & Strategic Services for NAR’s Housing Opportunity Program. The telephone survey was among 1,250 adults living in the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
NAR’s Housing Opportunity Program, www.realtor.org/housingopportunity, was created in 2002 to encourage local Realtor® associations to create initiatives aimed directly at increasing housing opportunities available to consumers and making affordable housing more readily available in their communities.

“Val D. Pendleton is the premier real estate broker in Star Valley Wyoming. Val’s family has a deep and respected heritage going back several generations in the Star Valley area. Specializing in Thayne, Afton, Bedford, Alpine and surrounding communities please visit the Coldwell Banker Country Estates website at  http://www.cbcountry.comfor a complete list of inventory offered by Coldwell Banker Country Estates or email us at val@cbcountry.com If we can assist you in any way, feel free to contact us directly 307-883-7000″

Posted in Economy, Mortgages, Real Estate | Comments Off

Foreclosure Fundamentals – Going with the Pitch

Friday, July 10th, 2009

I found this article interesting and relative to real estate in Star Valley. Also, not just in a buyers market for properties, but any market, staying with what is not working will only bring less results. Real estate for sale in wyoming continues to be strong and is recognized as an incredible value in location and amenities in the state.

Baseball can be a humbling game. Few other occupations reward failure so handsomely. The best hitters-those who fail 70% of the time-earn millions of dollars a year.  I was fascinated watching my son’s Little League coach try to explain a basic hitting concept to a group of 12-year-olds: “going with the pitch.” I think this is a valuable lesson-selling real estate for sale in wyoming-is just as challenging as in any other area, but you have to learn the lessons to keep up your average.

In simple terms, it means a pitch on the outside part of home plate should be hit to right field; a pitch over the center of the plate back up the middle; and a pitch on the inside corner should be pulled down the third base line.

The swing, in all cases, is exactly the same. What’s different is where the bat meets the ball. Generally speaking, “going with the pitch” increases the rate of success, while “going against the pitch” generally results in a weakly hit ground ball, a pop up or a strikeout.

I was reminded of this at the annual REOMAC (www.reomac.com) conference in Palm Desert, California, recently, where 3,000 agents and brokers swarmed around a relatively small number of asset managers, lenders and loan servicers in a desperate attempt to get REO listings. And it’s no wonder: according to a recent Harris survey RealtyTrac conducted with Trulia, over 55% of home buyers are actively considering the purchase of a foreclosure. In some markets, 80% of sales activity is some sort of distressed property-mostly REOs.

The problems faced by the agents at the REOMAC event are that the number of servicers has shrunk as banks have been consolidated, and that most of the remaining servicers and REO outsource companies already have networks of agents and brokers in place. In a classic “Catch-22? scenario, these companies are so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of REOs, that they don’t have the bandwidth to recruit, train or hire new agents. Faced with this reality, most agents I’ve spoken with have nevertheless continued to flail away relentlessly in futile attempts to get REO listings. Real estate for sale in wyoming, homes in star valley, and land in star valley haven’t seen much foreclosure activity as of late, resulting in sustained pricing of properties.

So what’s the best approach? Go with the pitch. Stop focusing on getting REO listings and start focusing on getting REO sales.

This is a market dominated by buyers. There are millions of potential buyers looking for REOs. Most of them are first-time home buyers who need the services of an agent to help them navigate the process. Others are investors who routinely buy and sell dozens of properties a year. There has never been a better time to promote your services as a buyer’s agent who specializes in REOs or a better time to profit from the current market dynamics. And if you’re successful at REO sales, you’ll very likely make inroads with the servicers whose properties you’re selling and maybe even get some of those elusive listings.

You can “go with the pitch” and improve your odds, or-like the agent I met at REOMAC who told me she “wasn’t interested in buyers because whoever has the listings, gets the sales”-you can keep doing what isn’t working, just like stubborn Little Leaguers everywhere, and striking out.

“Val D. Pendleton is the premier real estate broker in Star Valley Wyoming. Val’s family has a deep and respected heritage going back several generations in the Star Valley area. Specializing in Thayne, Afton, Bedford, Alpine and surrounding communities please visit the Coldwell Banker Country Estates website at  http://www.cbcountry.comfor a complete list of inventory offered by Coldwell Banker Country Estates or email us at val@cbcountry.com If we can assist you in any way, feel free to contact us directly 307-883-7000″

Rick Sharga is senior vice president at RealtyTrac.

For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.

Posted in Economy, Real Estate | Comments Off