FireDream

High Gas Prices and Their Silver Lining in Real Estate

July 17, 2008 – 8:21 am
Do high gas prices have a silver lining for folks selling their homes? They certainly can, according to a recent AP article in MSNBC's online real estate section.  Homes in urban centers and those located near commuter options such as subways and light rail systems are seeing more traffic (pardon the pun) as people evaluate the impact of fuel costs when they're looking for a new home. The story includes a survey conducted by Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC, which shows that homebuyers are becoming more interested in urban living because they want to reduce their commutes to and from work and because they are concerned about high fuel costs.  Of those surveyed, 75 percent indicated that they would also like to have the ability to walk to more places. I was pleased to see that the article mentioned some of the changes that we're seeing here in the Dallas area.  Interest and ...

Posted in Housing Options, Real Estate | 1 Comment »

The Internet: A Powerful Tool in the Real Estate Industry

July 10, 2008 – 2:12 pm
Some studies are showing that as many as 80 percent of potential homebuyers begin their search for a new property online.  In one recent survey, 500 men and women were interviewed in order to see what role gender played in the process. I was interested to learn that almost half of the women surveyed began their search for a new home by going online, compared to only one-quarter of men.  Men, it seems, preferred to contact a real estate agent directly.  Women were also a little more adventurous, being more willing than men to consider listings in both familiar and unfamiliar neighborhoods-and over 50 percent of women also searched at least 21 homes online. And here's what I found really interesting-a whopping 94 percent of all women surveyed wanted to see photos of the home and most (70 percent) wanted 360-degree property panoramas.  Price, however, was still the predominant factor in looking for ...

Posted in Housing Options, Real Estate | No Comments »

Who Should We Blame for the Mortgage Industry’s Problems?

June 27, 2008 – 12:31 pm
Don't you think it's fascinating that some members of Congress are doing their darndest to drag down the mortgage industry-when in fact, they may have benefited from some of the "wrongdoing"? Senator Dodd (D-Connecticut) is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and has been at the forefront of those calling for the government "rescue" of foreclosed properties through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and a host of government agencies.  He's been known to do some pretty heavy name calling-even going so far as to claim that the housing crisis is the major reason for the economic problems here in the U.S. But here's what's interesting: Mr. Dodd apparently took advantage of some "VIP" rates offered by one of the nation's largest lenders.  According to published reports, in 2003 he received interest rates well under 5 percent for nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in mortgage loans on two of his properties.  Rates ...

Posted in FHA, HUD, Housing Options, Mortgage Costs, Real Estate | 2 Comments »

Time is Running Out to Get the Perfect House

June 26, 2008 – 1:58 pm
Just last week in my blog I suggested that now might be the best time to take advantage of low interest rates.  While the Fed hasn't made any adjustments in the federal funds rate, and is unlikely to do so until early next year according to market experts, interest rates have already begun to edge up. An AP article references a recent Freddie Mac report that indicated interest rates have slowly moved up to the highest in nearly nine months.  Just last week, interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages climbed one tenth of one percent. Given this new report, I'm once again on the buy or refi bandwagon.  Call me crazy, but even with all of the news babble (see my April 29 blog) about recessions, foreclosures, famine, pestilence, locusts and just about everything else, I still think that for many folks out there, real estate is just about the best long-term ...

Posted in Foreclosure, Housing Options, Mortgage Costs, Real Estate | 2 Comments »

Why Aren’t You Taking Advantage of Low Interest Rates?

June 20, 2008 – 1:50 pm
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been in the news again recently warning investors about inflation fears and stirring talk that interest rates will start to climb later this year.  But according to a recent Investor's Business Daily article, some economists aren't predicting a rate hike until 2009. As those of you who have been reading my blog are aware, I'm a firm believer that the US market is currently in a correction cycle and will eventually rebound.  Part of that rebound-including the strengthening of the US dollar-will mean that interest rates will go up.  And, in my opinion, the November election will have a pretty significant impact on the market regardless of which party claims the White House. That's why, if you've been considering purchasing or refinancing a home, now may be the best time to do so.  It's a buyers market, interest rates are favorable, and there are new loan ...

Posted in Housing Options, RateWindow, Real Estate, Transparency | No Comments »

Internet Commerce Benefits Homebuyers

June 19, 2008 – 12:44 pm
With today's technologies, many of us have grown to rely on the internet to help us research or purchase everything from groceries to automobiles.  Most industries-including our own-have embraced this new frontier as a great opportunity to better market our products and services and see it as a venue by which we can actually offer lower prices to our customers. Unfortunately, there are some folks who have struggled making the transition to doing business in this type of evnironment.  And in some sectors there was, by some accounts, discrimination against those who took advantage of the internet to promote their industry and offerings. Late last month, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a proposed settlement with the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  In 2005, the Anti-Trust Division of the DOJ filed suit against the NAR relating to their policies and rules towards brokers who utilized internet-based marketing tools ...

Posted in Housing Options, Real Estate | No Comments »

There’s a Fortune to be Found in Texas

June 18, 2008 – 11:45 am
Texans have long known that life is just better when you enter into the 260,000+ square miles that is the Lone Star state.  Now the nation is also taking notice.  In fact, in the most recent list created by Fortune magazine, Texas is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state-passing former leaders New York and California. The 58 Fortune 500 companies based here include Exxon Mobile, AT&T, J.C. Penney, Burlington-Northern Santa Fe, Continental Airlines, Pilgrim's Pride, Blockbuster, and Neiman Marcus, just to name a few.  In a recent Dallas Morning News article, Dr. Albert W. Niemi, Jr. of the SMU School of Business is quoted as saying that cost is the number one factor in attracting businesses to Texas.  Low taxes, affordable land and a large labor force are also listed as contributing factors to this growth. Certainly, this is good news for the Texas housing market.  Although recent ...

Posted in Foreclosure, Housing Options, Real Estate | No Comments »

It’s a Buyers’ Market; Don’t Drive by the Perfect House

June 4, 2008 – 1:07 pm
What would you do if today, while you were out driving around town, you saw a station open for business and advertising its gas for $1.99 a gallon?  There's an open pump, and you're running low on gas.  Would you drive by thinking that you'd find a better price on the next block or would you swerve in, fill up your car and then call every friend and family member around to take advantage of the deal? If I would have posed this same question two years ago, you'd probably have taken the drive-by option.  Today, however, you're going to leap at saving $2 a gallon, knowing that it's an offer that's just not going to last. Now consider the U.S. housing market.  A couple of years ago, housing prices were constantly climbing and folks were snatching up houses as quickly as possible-whether or not they could afford them.  They were lining ...

Posted in Housing Options, Mortgage Costs | No Comments »

What’s the Government Doing for Your Mortgage?

June 3, 2008 – 12:23 pm
In a previous blog, I talked about FHA's change to a credit-score based MIP (mortgage insurance premium).  This is good news for folks who need the benefits that come with FHA loans (i.e. lower down payments and higher debt-to-income ratios) but who have exercised good sense when it comes to accruing debt and making their monthly payments. But FHA isn't just stopping there.  Earlier this year, they rolled out their short-term jumbo loan program.  This change, which was facilitated by the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, made it possible for FHA to insure up 125% of the median area price instead of 95%, which had been the former max.  The most stunning part is that the FHA will now insure single family home loan amounts as high as $729,750 in some areas.  That's right-through December of this year, and longer if many mortgage professionals are correct in their assumptions-FHA will take ...

Posted in ARM, FHA, Housing Options, Mortgage Costs, Mortgage Laws, RateWindow | 1 Comment »

How Does My Credit Score Affect My Mortgage?

June 2, 2008 – 12:13 pm
From the time that mortgage companies started using FICO scores in the mid-1990s to gauge a borrower's so-called "credit worthiness", there has been a common belief that the higher a person's income, the higher his credit score would be.  According to a recent article by Kenneth Harney, that appears to be a bit of a mortgage myth. Harney cited a recent FHA study that found that the agency's lower-income borrowers generally had higher FICO scores than their higher-income counterparts. So what does this mean to you?  Should you aim to earn less money so that your credit score can go up?  My first thought would be...um, no. Neither Harney nor FHA Commissioner Brian D. Montgomery, who is cited in the story, provides the reasons behind this apparent anomaly.  In my own mind, it may be that homeowners-or potential homeowners-with limited incomes are more accustomed to accounting for every dollar that comes in and ...

Posted in FHA, Housing Options, Mortgage Costs | 1 Comment »