Learning In Property

Sales and Not Prices are the Major Indicator of Housing Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:53:00 +0000

It’s the volume of houses sold and not the prices of the houses. That, according to a recent article at finance.fortune.cnn.com, is the proper metric for determining if a housing recovery is underway, as many economists in recent months have been saying.

That bodes well for the real estate sector and the agents themselves who have a real estate license or a real estate continuing education—whether that’s a Florida Real Estate License or a South Carolina real estate CE—who have been pining for a housing recovery since the sector’s death spiral in mid-2006.

Paul Dales of Capital Economics, for instance, believes that higher prices in fact will be a lagging indicator of a housing market rally, if there is one. He says a rising home sales total is the right measure to watch. And that has been what the figures reveal: home sales in 2011 climbed to 4.26 million from 4.19 million in 2010, and more telling, home sales rose by 13 percent in just the last six months.

The article also points out forecasts in a Bloomberg survey predicting that home purchases in February probably improved to their highest level in almost two years. Analysts foresee the combined sales of new and pre-owned properties to reach 4.93 million per year (from 4.89 million in January)—the most robust rate since May 2010.

Housingpredictor.com, meanwhile, has reported that 55 cities are forecast to have higher home values this year than in the last five years as communities in 15 states stabilize their housing markets with positive home sales and home values. Following last year’s debacle for the construction sector, one of its worst years on record, this year’s tough performance is understandably an exciting development for the real estate. Housingpredictor.com cites more job opportunities in these communities as the common denominator in the stabilizing housing markets, plus their business-hospitable state and local governments.

The Midwest states are high on the list with Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa communities expected to see higher homes sales and home values than last year. The snow-belt states such North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, New York, Wyoming, Vermont, and Alaska are also well represented on the list.

The South has placed cities from Florida, Texas, and Louisiana on the list of communities forecast to move toward a stable housing this year.

Learning More about Residential Types of Properties

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:33:00 +0000

Being discussed in the previous post entitled “Types of Real Estate Properties: An Overview”, it has generally defined and share what are the (3) types of real estate properties that are present in the housing market. And to further give the readers a profound discussion about realty properties, we will then discuss only the two major types of properties, which is the residential and commercial properties, which can be helpful for both California real estate license first time students, or South Carolina Real Estate CE individuals currently reviewing for their nearing license renewal exams and courses. In this post, we will first talk about the aspect of Residential Properties.

What is residential property?

If you have read the previous post on the overview of real estate properties, it has defined residential properties as the most common type of property in the realty market. This is because such type of property is mostly intended for residential housing and homage of families or individuals, either via renting or buying/ownership.

Here are some classifications of Residential Properties:

1. Single Family Detached Home – also known as a free standing residential building. The term is coined since “single family” means a type of home that is occupied and is usually occupied only by one household or family. It is then attached with the term “detached” because unlike duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes, it does not share any inside walls with another house and no other linked or connected house at all. Most single-detached residential properties are built on large lot areas, also called yards.

2. Duplex Property – is an apartment type of residential property wherein it has two units configured in a side-by-side, sharing one wall, and can be a dwelling for two families. Duplex property has different terms depending on certain cities, especially in the US. Duplex, as a term, may also mean specifically to a building with one unit built above another unit. While in some US state, the term is not mostly used, and instead uses the term “Two-Family Dwelling” and “Two-Flat”, while some do not actually define it or use the term in same concepts of residential property. Duplex properties can also be extended into three (triplexes), four (four-plexes) and more.

3. Condominiums – is a type of residential property and a form of housing tenure wherein specific parts of a certain piece of a residential realty property is individually owned by different entities, family, or individual with general access to specific facilities that is within the premises of the property and with legal rights given to the owners as part of their ownership in the piece of land/property. Condo units are same with apartment buildings. The only difference is that the legal term used in the US to describe such apartment type of residential property is the term “condominiums”.

4. Townhouse – is the term coined for a type of residential property commonly owned by families or individuals that are elite or member of an aristocratic government or residence.

5. Manufacture Homes – or commonly known also as mobile homes, is a type of residential property that is already pre-fabricated and assembled in factories before being transported and delivered to sites where it will be used for different housing purposes like relocations, etc.

6. Multi-Family Housing – is a type of residential property that consists of multiple housing units mostly used for family or individuals residence. Most type of multi-family are on large buildings having multiple complex to support housing units. Condominiums are considered as a type of multi-family housing but the most common form of it is through apartment buildings.

7. Retail Space – is a type of residential property that is rented out by actual owners for business use of those who are renting the space.

8. Office Building and Complexes – is a type of property mostly used for office space through large and small companies – and for their operational purposes. This could be a building space, or just a unit space rented or owned by several company.

There are lots of other classification of residential properties, and they all depend on the purpose of how the space or property was used for and used to.

Low Mortgage Rates Unchanged Following New Jobs Report

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:05:00 +0000

The U.S. government has supplied the latest proof that economic recovery is underway: approximately 227,000 new jobs were created in February 2012 while the unemployment rate remained steady at 8.3 percent. Reacting to the news, home mortgage purchase applications increased 4.4 percent for the first time in more than a month, revealed a Mortgage Bankers Association survey.

For the real estate sector and for the agents themselves who have a real estate license or a real estate continuing education—whether that’s a South Carolina real estate CE or a California real estate CE—that points to increasingly more opportunities as the market gradually normalizes for business.

Freerateupdate.com's survey results of wholesale and direct lenders indicate current mortgage rates holding steady even after the jobs report came out. Remaining at all-time lows, the 30-year fixed mortgage rates are unchanged at 3.50 percent, the 15-year fixed mortgage rates are intact at 2.86 percent and 5/1 adjustable mortgage rates are at 2.25 percent.

In the run-up weeks to the report, a dip in mortgage refinance activity was recorded, which observers attributed to the forthcoming Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) 2.0, due out by this March. HARP is designed to help the borrower whose loan is in trouble acquire a more affordable, more stable mortgage without the customary loan-to-value requirements and the necessity of an appraisal. Since Harp 2.0 is available through 2013, borrowers have ample time to update their mortgage payments to apply for the program.

The record-low mortgage rates—the 15-year fixed-rate slipping to its lowest in 60 years and the 30-year fixed-rate dipping to very nearly its lowest—and new jobs, according to Freddie Mac, point to a housing-sector recovery.

The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage, a favorite among homeowners planning to refinance, clocked in at 3.13 percent on the first week of March while the 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage was at 3.88 percent, a hair shy (0.01 percentage point) of its standing record low.

"With these historically low rates and declining house prices, the typical family had more than double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home in January," noted Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

Based on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 75.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold during the three months ending on Dec. 31 were well within the purchasing power of families earning the national median income of $64,200. For instance: a $200,000 home under a 15-year-fixed-rate loan of 3.13 percent needed just $1,394 a month. A year before that, borrowers were triumphant to get 4.15 percent 15-year mortgage, paying $1,494 a month.

Types of Real Estate Properties: An Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:32:00 +0000

The real estate property market is one of the biggest industries globally, branching out through different industries like insurance, construction, finance, and even in terms of securities – which are all contributing to a country’s economic health.

But before we talk deeper into the real estate market, knowing a bit of the basic types of properties involved in the market is must – which is an essential knowledge when getting a real estate license. And since it is all about “realty properties”, let us define and get a general breakdown of the major types of real estate properties and its scope.

1. Vacant Land – The perfect example for vacant land are ranches and huge farming lands. In most cases, these vacant lands are very vast, that its value and price is considerably high, with commissions high as well when agents are involved. Vacant land are not necessarily “vacant” or only pertaining to farm or ranches, but to a huge property land that is not yet fully developed for both residential or commercial property types. Though the opportunities in this type of property are quite small, the benefits are large and most agents who have focused in this kind of properties are quite successful in this area of property business. It may also include lot spaces with no current development or any building structures in the area, etc.

2. Residential Properties - are the most common type of property in the realty market. Residential property includes the following sub-types:

a.    Single Family Residence Property
b.    Duplex Property
c.    Condominiums
d.    Town Houses
e.    Manufactured Home Property
f.    Multi-Family Housing Property
g.    Retail Space
h.    Office Building and Complexes
i.    Loft Property
j.    Rooming House
k.    Mixed-Use Properties
l.    HealthCare Properties
m.    Restaurant Properties
n.    Industrial Properties

There are actually a lot of types under residential properties, and all of them have their own specific use and structures.

3. Commercial Properties – is a type of property only for commercial use. It can also be determined under residential properties but since this kind of property only focuses on commercial lots of buildings in most cases, it was then considered as a separate type of property. What makes it different with residential properties is that it requires more complex processes and evaluation of the property – from the potential of the property to drive income for what will it be used to in terms of commercial purposes, and other business related aspects that the property will contribute into for the existing or new business.

More Signs of Recovery as Housing Supply Hits Lowest in 6 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:24:00 +0000

The housing market is now slowly but surely moving toward recovery as positive signs continue to accumulate. The latest, the report from U.S. Commerce Department, says that despite a slight dip in new-homes sales in January, the supply has been the lowest in six years.

For real estate agents who hold a real estate license or a real estate continuing education—whether that’s a Texas MCE —that is definitely yet another bit of good news.

The Commerce Department reported that the January sales retreated 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted 321,000-unit annual rate. The December sales rate, meanwhile, was revised up to 324,000 units—significantly, the highest in a year. Despite the sales slippage in January, the housing market was on an upswing, with the month’s supply of homes on the market tumbling to 5.6 months, the lowest since January 2006. A 6-month supply is the gold standard, with higher readings signaling unhealthy price fall-offs. The new homes inventory on the market was the lowest on record.

Data in late February had home re-sales hitting a 1.5-year high in January. Confidence among home-builders was reported at almost a five-year high and builders were busy with more residential projects, all healthy signs of recovery. New home sales in January improved in two of the four regions, but declined badly in the Midwest and the West. The market for new homes competes with previously owned homes, which sell at substantial discounts due to foreclosures.

Also in January, a sign of market recovery that was hard to miss: signed contracts for U.S. home re-sales had climbed to almost a two-year high. According to the National Association of Realtors, an industry group, its Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts signed in January, rose 2 percent to 97.0, the highest since April 2010. The December reading, meanwhile, was corrected down to 95.1 from the 96.6 that was reported earlier.

A group of economists surveyed by Reuters, meanwhile, said that they expected signed contracts, which lead existing home sales by a month or two, to rebound 1.0 percent after a 3.5 percent fall. Contracts signed were up 8.0 percent in the 12 months to January. Industry observers confirmed that a budding recovery is already underway in the housing market, with conditions appearing to balance in recent months as the inventory of both new and previously owned homes on the market contracted and foreclosures slowed down.