Among the respondents who have invested in real estate, 81.6% say they have made money and 82% expect real estate values to “definitely” appreciate over the next ten years. (53.5% believe property values will definitely increase over the next five years.)

“The most significant outcome of this survey is the overwhelming confidence in a long-term recovery. People understand now, more than ever, that building wealth in real estate takes time.” says OwnAmerica CEO Gregory Rand.

Investors cited Florida (15.4%), California (11%) and Virginia (8.8%) as the states in which they are most interested in investing. Others to make the list include: Colorado, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona.

“The unique nature of this market today has created a perfect scenario for investors — dropping prices and rising rents,” notes Rand. “As a result, there are hundreds of cities and towns across the U.S. that have become positive cash flow markets, meaning the rents exceed the costs to own. Investors can buy, earn double digit returns just on the rent and gain the appreciation when it comes.”

About:

OwnAmerica.com is the leading provider of investor education, technology and marketing services to the residential real estate industry. CEO, Greg Rand, is the host of Rand on Real Estate on WABC Radio in New York, Where to Invest Now on the FOX Business Network, Dialogue on the Street of Wall Street Multimedia in China, author of Crash Boom! and 20-year residential real estate industry veteran.

For more information, visit www.OwnAmerica.com .

SOURCE: OwnAmerica

Over 300,000 foreclosures have been filed against American families each month for the past 20 months. In the past year, nearly 28,000 Oregon families have been served with foreclosure filings. To learn more about Senator Merkley’s plan to address the housing crisis, go here:http://merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=B46BF5B9-64E4-4A53-9BDD-…

“Historically, a percentage of the real estate market has consistently been in distress,” said Lupus.  “With the recent challenges in the subprime lending market, this percentage has grown exponentially. I felt it was important to acquire the specialized knowledge needed to assist home owners in need.”

With such rapid growth in what once was considered a niche market requires agents to gain specialized knowledge and learn new processes that will allow them to successfully assist homeowners in need. The Charfen Institute provides the tools and information REALTORS^® need to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure and move forward with there lives.

To further enhance the ability to provide homeowners with every option available to find the best solution for their individual situations, Lupus has established a new division to handle short sales and foreclosure properties in addition to his company’s Residential Real Estate services. He and his team have the expertise necessary to guide homeowners step by step through the options available to avoid foreclosure and alternatives to help preserve their credit.  In addition, they are prepared to help buyers trying to maximize their home buying dollars through the often-complex process of locating, evaluating and purchasing a foreclosure or short sale property.

About Peter Lupus
Peter has been helping individuals and families find a place to call home in all price ranges for over 6 years., Peter also holds the designations of SRF, E-PRO, BPOR, Associate Broker, with this real estate knowledge Peter and his team look forward to continuing the help people across the Arizona Valley.  Whether you are looking for your first home or your dream home, planning to relocate, or need to sell for the highest value, the Peter Lupus Real Estate Group is here to help.  For more information, please call 480-788-7785 or visit www.PeterLupus.com.
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Gathering intelligence on Short Sales and Foreclosures is now easier with the Distressed Property Report. This report contains three interactive maps: short sales, foreclosures and a map of all distressed properties. Each map is a snapshot of the active distressed property aggregated by ZIP Code. The December 2011 Distressed Property Report can be found here.

There are no “from” and “to” dates on the Distressed Property Report because the data is Active properties in the system on the day the report is published. The “Percentage of Actives” shows what percentage of Active listings are distressed in each ZIP Code. Each map is displayed below:

 Click link to view Arizona, Maricopa County Distressed Property Map in a new window

NEW YORK — When the real estate market improves has a lot to do with your perspective on the market, said Alex Perriello, president and CEO for Realogy Franchise Group, during a panel presentation Thursday at theReal Estate Connect conference.
“Oftentimes I’m asked, ‘When’s the market going to get better?’ It all depends on how you define the word ‘better,’ ” Perriello said during a panel presentation titled “The State of Real Estate: The Year Ahead.”
“If you define ‘better’ as ‘When will I not have to deal with foreclosures, short sales, underwater homes, people with damaged credit, (problems with appraisals), tough lending standards?’ the answer to that is ‘No time soon’ — at least for the next two or three years, and in some places, depending on where you live, it could be much longer than that.”
He added, “If you define ‘better’ as ‘When am I going to make more money in this business?’ he noted that even if real estate sales fall to 4 million this year — less than the 4.2 million in 2011, $35 billion in sales commissions are going to be earned by someone in this industry over the next 12 months.” Realogy operates company-owned offices and franchise networks under the Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s International Realty, and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brands, among others.
Diana Olick, real estate correspondent for CNBC and author of the “Realty Check” blog at CNBC.com, who also participated in the panel session, said she doesn’t expect a sharp rebound once the real estate recovery takes hold.
She said she expects that at some point in the middle of 2012 “we are going to see the price stabilization we need, then people are going to start to buy,” adding, “I don’t think we’re going to see a great surge up … we’re going to see pockets of strength in certain markets.”
The factors that she expects will keep the real estate market subdued: deflated consumer confidence, and the need to work through the stream of distressed properties.
Olick and Perriello agreed that reduction of principal for distressed homeowners has proven one of the most effective deterrents to foreclosure, and panelists generally agreed that the foreclosure process is taking far too long to run its course in many areas.
Olick said that the problem is that many homeowners appear to be “staying in their houses and gaming the system,” living in their homes without paying the mortgage for several years, in some cases. “That’s a big problem right now,” Olick said.
She also said she believes that investors will be at the forefront of the real estate recovery.
While investors — namely house-flipping speculators — have been vilified for their role in driving up prices during the boom years, Olick said that “it is the private equity, the institutional markets, coming in and taking the distress out of the markets that we need right now. That’s going to be the strength in the market this year, and that’s a good thing.”
Margaret Kelly, CEO for Re/Max LLC and a fellow panelist, said that real estate professionals “have to embrace investors,” agreeing that investors have an important role to play in working through excess inventory. Many investor-bought properties are converted to rental housing, she noted.
Kelly said she believes the short-sale process must be improved and expedited, and appraisal reform is also needed. “Appraisals have been a nightmare,” she said.
Perriello’s primary hope for the housing market: “If I could fix one thing, it would be a clear, concise national housing policy from Washington, D.C.
“If you think about the last three or four years, it’s been a mixed bag,” he said. “On the good side we’ve had government agencies buying up mortgage-backed securities, which has provided capital to the market, which has been a good thing — it’s kept interest rates low.”
The series of federal homebuyer tax credit programs have also provided some welcome relief, he said.
“On the negative side, you’ve got legislation that’s been passed — like Dodd-Frank would be a perfect example — that’s now in the hands of the regulators. And if the regulators have their way it’s going to be, I believe, very damaging for housing and it’s going to make mortgage lending even more difficult for the homebuyer to get a loan and it’s going to be more expensive.”
There have also been mixed messages over the mortgage interest tax deduction, and policy reversals over loan limits, he said.
“People are concerned, there’s doubt in the market, and whenever there’s uncertainty and doubt in the market people sit back and say, ‘I think I’ll wait,’ ” he said.

By Glenn Roberts Jr.
Inman News®

Contact:
Peter Lupus
Peter Lupus Real Estate Group with ProSmart Realty
480-788-7785
peter@plreg.com

PETER LUPUS HELPS ATTRACT MORE BUYERS BY USING REALTOR.com®, THE MOST VISITED REAL ESTATE SITE¹

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, 1/12/2012 — According to recent research by the National Association of REALTORS®, 99% percent of home buyers say photos and detailed property descriptions are the most useful features when searching for homes online.2 Peter Lupus of Peter Lupus Real Estate Group is taking advantage of this trend for his clients with a commitment to enhance all properties he markets with multiple photos and customized property descriptions on the most visited real estate site,1 REALTOR.com®. With the changing real estate market conditions, Peter Lupus is giving consumers what they want most online and providing another reason why home sellers and buyers must insist on using the powerful marketing he provides to his clients.

Peter enhances all of his clients’ properties on REALTOR.com® with multiple photos and detailed property descriptions. These properties receive high-impact, helping reach the largest audience of home buyers for his clients.

Peter also understands that its vital to reach the millions of consumers each month who spend more time on REALTOR.com® than other real estate websites.1 With almost 90% of all home buyers using the internet at some point in their search for homes,² Peter working to make sure that all of his clients’ homes are promoted where more consumers are searching online to help receive the highest dollar amount for his clients when selling

Visit Peter Lupus’ at website at www.PLREG.com or call 480-788-7785 or email Peter@PLREG.com to see what he is doing to help homeowners in the Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe Arizona areas to sell their homes for more.

1 comScore Media Metrix, Key Measures Report, September 2011
2 2010 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

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Important Information: The above information is believed reliable but is not warranted or guaranteed, and before any reliance or use must be independently considered and verified. Any instructions, advice, suggestions, conclusions and other like content appearing above were not developed for, nor based on particular knowledge of, your specific purposes or circumstances; therefore, in lieu of reliance or use for particular transactions, communications or business decisions you should apply independent consideration, verification and business judgment, and consult your tax, accounting, legal, financial, licensing and other professional advisors as needed.

REALTOR.com® is a registered trademark of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is used with permission. 
All trademarks used above are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2011 Move, Inc. All rights reserved.

More information can be found online at http://www.PLREG.com

The white paper, The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations,calls for increased lending to creditworthy home buyers and more loan modifications, mortgage refinancings, and short sales to reduce the rising inventory of foreclosed homes and help stabilize and revitalize the housing industry; an approach long recommended by NAR to help spur the housing market recovery.

“As the nation’s leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, NAR knows that a strong housing market recovery is key to the nation’s future economic strength,” said NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami. “Improving access to affordable mortgage financing for qualified home buyers and investors and aggressively pursuing more loan modifications and short sales is necessary to help reenergize the housing market and spur an economic recovery.”

The pendulum on mortgage credit has swung too far following the housing downturn. According to the 2011 NAR Member Profile, 34 percent of Realtors® reported that the most important factor in limiting their clients’ ability to buy a home was difficulty in obtaining a mortgage. While NAR supports responsible and strong underwriting standards, unnecessarily tight credit restrictions are keeping many qualified home buyers from purchasing homes, which could help absorb excess inventories of homes in foreclosure.

“Creditworthy consumers continue to have difficulties securing affordable financing despite their proven ability to afford the monthly payments,” said Veissi. “Expanding financing opportunities to qualified buyers could help reduce distressed property inventories, minimize the negative impact those homes have on local markets and restore vibrant housing markets and neighborhoods.”

To prevent further foreclosure inventory increases, NAR also urges lenders to take more aggressive steps to modify loans and keep struggling families in their homes. Significantly reducing monthly mortgage payments will help more families remain current on their mortgage and allow them to remain in their home, reducing the impact of foreclosures on local home prices.

For homeowners who are unable to meet their mortgage obligations, NAR has urged lenders and servicers to quickly approve reasonable short sale offers so these people can avoid foreclosure. The short sale process can be time-consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from the transaction.

“Loan modifications and short sales help stabilize home values and neighborhoods, and limit the losses incurred by lenders, the federal government and taxpayers, which is good for everyone,” said Veissi.

The Fed paper also addresses converting foreclosed properties into affordable rentals. NAR supports reducing the barriers that prevent owner-occupants and small investors from accessing financing, such as opening the Federal Housing Administration 203(k) program to investors. NAR also believes these efforts are best made by local entities that understand the challenges of the local community and will respond to renters’ needs.

In addition, NAR is concerned about proposed bulk sales of distressed properties and believes that every effort should be made increase liquidity for consumers and small investors since bulk sales will likely result in greater losses for taxpayers and have a more negative impact on housing values.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 7.3 percent to 100.1 in November from an upwardly revised 93.3 in October and is 5.9 percent above November 2010 when it stood at 94.5. The October upward revision resulted in a 10.4 percent monthly gain.

The last time the index was higher was in April 2010 when it reached 111.5 as buyers rushed to beat the deadline for the home buyer tax credit. The data reflects contracts but not closings.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the gains may result partially from delayed transactions. “Housing affordability conditions are at a record high and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines, but contract failures have been running unusually high. Some of the increase in pending home sales appears to be from buyers recommitting after an initial contract ran into problems, often with the mortgage,” he said.

“November is doing reasonably well in comparison with the past year. The sustained rise in contract activity suggests that closed existing-home sales, which are the important final economic impact figures, should continue to improve in the months ahead,” Yun added.

Pending home sales are not affected by the recently published rebenchmarking of existing-home sales because the index uses a different methodology based directly on contract signings, and is adjusted for seasonality.

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 8.1 percent to 77.1 in November but is 0.3 percent below November 2010. In the Midwest the index increased 3.3 percent to 91.6 in November and is 9.5 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South rose 4.3 percent in November to an index of 103.8 and remain 8.7 percent above November 2010. In the West the index surged 14.9 percent to 121.2 in November and is 2.9 percent higher than a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Top 3 Most Ridiculously Expensive Home Sales of 2011 (and Honorable Mentions)

1. The year’s most expensive single home purchase was that of Palo Alto, CA mansion “Loire Chateau.” This 25,000 square foot beauty sold for a staggering $100 million in March of 2011, when Russian billionaire Yuri Millner bought it– reportedly not for primary residence, but rather for use when he’s visiting the Silicon Valley. A swell crash pad, indeed.

2. In Manhattan, the year’s 2^nd most expensive transaction made history when a 22-year old Russian heiress purchased a penthouse condo at 115 Central Park West.  Ekaterina Rybolovleva paid full asking for this 6,744-square-foot apartment, $88 million: this price works out to about $13,000 per square foot, the highest ever recorded– for any home– in the Big Apple’s pricey history. More eye popping still, the seller’s profit: Forbes.com reports the condo previously belonged to “former Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill, who purchased it with his wife in 2007 for $43.7 million”…less than half what it sold for.  And if your eyes are still in your head at this point, hold on to them, because the new owner only plans to stay in the place while she’s “in school”- basically then this is the world’s most overpriced dorm room.

3. And finally, coming in 3^rd is the sale of the The Spelling Manor a home that made history when it listed at $150 million – the most expensive single-family home ever on the American MLS. To our eyes, the mansion was a bit over the top, with its redundancy of riches and questionable design esthetic (Candy Spelling herself takes credit for the  56,500-square foot Neo/French/Italianate/Edwardian behemoth and all its pricey, pink interiors). Still, someone ended up wanting it enough to buy it, this time another 22-year old heiress, this time from the UK.  In the end, Petra Ecclestone paid $85 million, which while pricey indeed, is still a 43% discount. Not that she needed it, really: This place,  like our most expensive purchase, will not even be the primary home of its new owner, since Petra spends much of her time in London. No word if she will be redecorating.

Additional wildly expensive honorable mentions for 2011:

The Levi Strauss estate in Atherton, over 11,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living, sold  for $59.5 million.

The Farralone property, former playground of the Rat Pack and reportedly where John F. Kennedy rendezvoused with Marilyn Monroe, went on the market for $12.5 million.

The most expensive Miami Beach, FL condo sale, reportedly of all time,  took place in 2011 too: Here one very lucky buyer dropped $21.5 million for this gorgeous Asiatic penthouse,  formerly owned by Netscape founder, Jim Clark.

How Can 2012 Top all This!?

With all these record-setting purchases, 2012 has some big, expensive shoes to fill….

Waiver for 90-day resales extended through 2012

For the second year in a row, the Federal Housing Administration is extending a temporary waiver of its “anti-flipping” rule, meaning homebuyers relying on FHA-insured financing will continue to be able to buy homes that have changed hands in the last 90 days.

The waiver is a boon for investors seeking to rehab and flip properties, because it expands the pool of eligible borrowers to include those relying on FHA-backed loans, popular with first-time homebuyers and others who lack the cash to make large down payments.

In extending the waiver through 2012, FHA said all transactions must continue to be arms-length. In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the waiver will apply only if the lender can document the justification for the increase in value, FHA said.

FHA instituted the anti-flipping rule in 2003 to protect its mutual mortgage insurance program from losses on homes that were merely flipped, rather than rehabbed. Homes repossessed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and state- and federally chartered financial institutions were exempt from the rule.

In February 2010, the Obama administration waived the waiting period for resales — including homes purchased and rehabbed by private investors — in the hopes of stabilizing home prices and revitalizing communities hit by foreclosures.

It often takes less than 90 days to acquire, rehabilitate and sell properties, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said at the time. Some sellers of rehabbed properties had been reluctant to enter into contracts with FHA buyers because of the cost of holding a property for 90 days, HUD said.

In extending the waiver through 2011, FHA said it insured 21,000 90-day property flip loans worth more than $3.6 billion in 2010 that would otherwise not have qualified for financing.

The Distressed Property Report contains three interactive maps; one short sales, foreclosures and a map of all distressed properties. Each map is a snapshot of the active distressed property aggregated by ZIP Code. Click any of the thumbnails below is see interactive maps. Once on an interactive map, clicking a dot will display more information.

All Distressed Properties