July 2008
Capital Gains Exclusions : The New Housing Bill’s Hidden Tax Trap
July 31, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
Monday, President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 into law and the press jumped on the obvious storylines:
First-time home buyers get a $7,500 purchase “credit”
Conforming loan limits move to $625,000
Delinquent homeowners get a lifeline from the FHA
Local governments get federal money for buying and restoring foreclosed homes
However, tucked [...]
Does Your Hometown Rank On Money Magazine’s Top 100 Places To Live in 2008?
July 29, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
Move to Plymouth, Minnesota, says Money Magazine in its 2008 100 Best Places To Live survey.
According to the report, the Twin Cities satellite has all of the makings of a desirable home town:
Affordable homes
Excellent schools
Low crime
Lots of jobs
Abundant “outdoor life”
The top 5 cities as listed by Money Magazine are the aforementioned Plymouth, Fort Collins (CO), [...]
Why Are Buyers Coming Back To The Market Now? There’s Good Value In Real Estate.
July 25, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
Statistics won’t always tell the whole story, but they often provide good perspective.
The graph at right shows Existing Home Sales data going back three years. An “existing home” is one that can’t be called new construction; a “used home”, so to speak.
Note the steep decline from 2005 through late-2007.
Since November, however, Existing Home Sales have [...]
Fairfax Real Estate Market Statistics
July 14, 2008 by MikeRosen · 1 Comment
Average Sales Price, Average Days on Market and Total Active Listings
Click below for more detailed charts …
Loudoun Real Estate Market Statistics
July 14, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
Average Sales Price, Average Days on Market and Total Active Listings
Click below for more detailed charts …
Arlington Real Estate Market Statistics
July 14, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
Average Sales Price, Average Days on Market and Total Active Listings
Click below for more detailed charts …
Foreclosure Rates Are Falling (Despite What You See In The Headlines)
July 10, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
According to RealtyTrac, the rate of foreclosures across the U.S. is slowing. Versus May, June foreclosures fell at a 3 percent clip.
25 states showed improvement month-over-month, led by many of the same areas that had fueled foreclosure activity in 2007. Unfortunately, Virginia was not one of those states as it had a 9% increase from [...]
Why July May Be The Best Time To Write A Purchase Contract In 2008
July 8, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
It’s a terrific time to buy a home, but not because homes happen to be affordable.
It’s a terrific time to buy because the variety of mortgage products available to home buyers looks poised to shrink.
Monday, Alt-A mortgage lender IndyMac Bank stopped accepting mortgage applications and it’s likely that other Alt-A lenders will likely follow [...]
10 Cities That May Be Signaling That The Worst Of Housing May Already Be Over
July 7, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
Last week, Forbes Magazine published a Top 10 list that should grab the attention of housing market bottom-feeders.
The Top 10 list of Increasingly Affordable U.S. Housing Markets shows that falling home prices and steady mortgage rates are providing a support floor in some of the country’s most beat-up regions.
The report’s methodology is simple:
Take citywide income [...]
Are Sub-Prime Mortgage Problems Finally A Thing Of The Past?
July 2, 2008 by MikeRosen · Leave a Comment
In the summer of 2005, sub-prime mortgage lending was at its peak. Rates were relatively low and lending guidelines were relatively loose.
At the time, the “standard” sub-prime mortgage product was the 3/27 ARM.
The 3/27 had a few basic traits:
A fixed, 3-year “starter rate”
Every six months thereafter, the mortgage rate changed
The formula by which [...]
