One of the most subservient organizations to the federal government has had enough of government regulations and is fighting back. The National Association of Home Builders has gone along with the myriad of government programs that lined the pockets of the connected and delayed the recovery of the housing industry for the past 5 years.

Now they have finally seemed to recognize that the government intrusion into the housing industry has created a crisis and home construction, a vital part of our economy, will not recover until the American families see some relief from the rampant increase in government regulation.

PRESS RELEASE:

WASHINGTON, May 11 – Despite the fact that Americans overwhelmingly support homeownership, legislative and regulatory proposals now under consideration would greatly harm home owners, home buyers, the housing market and the nation’s economy. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has launched a new website, www.ProtectHomeownership.com, to bring attention to the threats to homeownership and inspire the public to take action to protect it.

“American families aspire to homeownership because they know that it promotes stability and is critical in creating wealth and providing upward mobility and financial security for families. Equally important, homeownership supports the economy by creating jobs,” said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. “Government policies that negatively impact families’ ability to own a home would be devastating for home owners, the housing market and the nation’s economy.”

Tax, legislative and regulatory policies currently under consideration would scale back or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction and make mortgages and small business loans unaffordable and even more difficult to obtain. ProtectHomesownership.com explains some of these threats and documents homeownership’s importance to individual households and to local, state and national economies through an FAQ, poll data, economic analysis and reports.

The site also provides multiple ways for the public to take positive action to protect this very important aspect of American life. These include an online petition urging policymakers to keep housing a national priority, information about how to participate in homeownership rallies that are being held in a number of communities in 2012, and links to social media communities on Facebook.com/ProtectHomeownership and Twitter.com/4Homeownership.

“New home construction spurs productivity, creates jobs for millions of Americans and generates revenues for all levels of government,” said Rutenberg. “This website will help educate the public about the imminent threats to the American Dream of homeownership and empower them to make sure their voices are heard.”

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

Related posts:

1. National Flood Insurance Rates Set To Increase If Program Is Renewed
2. Home Ownership Losing It’s Appeal?
3. Home Sales Really 20% Less – NAR Changing 5 Years of Home Sales Data

Coming from the guy who “went” by the name of the real estate blogger, I am calling this game…

Real Estate Blogging is dying, fast.

If you want to learn more, contact me on Twitter – @tomroyce or call me at 770-755-1503.

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

Related posts:

1. Real Estate Trends of the Baby Boomers
2. Real Estate Investor Conference – BiggerPockets Style

An open letter to the National Association of Realtors members from one of our readers.

Dear REALTORS,

With their latest press release, it seems that the National Association of REALTORS has completely given up being a credible source of housing data.  Therefore, I would strongly advise against using any of their data or information that they disseminate from their offices.  And I would definitely not cut and paste their propaganda into anything you send out to clients and customers via blogs, Facebook or any other social media platform.  It will almost certainly turn out to be incorrect if not completely fabricated.

The press release claims that sales have increase 4.3% in January.  This might be true but that is highly unlikely.  Why do I say that?  Because last month they reported sales increased 5% in their initial press release.  However, this was actually not the case as they readjusted the number for December during the current month to actually show a decrease in December sales of .5%.  So either they are massaging the numbers to tell the story they want to tell or they are incompetent.  I will go with the former.

So don’t be surprise in March when they report February sales and adjust January down., there is a chance the number you are quoting today will be absolutely incorrect.  And it is funny but it always seems to be adjusted down.  That is how a propaganda machine works.  One direction.  Late last year they had to adjust sales for 4 entire years worth of data.  The adjustment was 14% down.  No surprise there.  What was the reason the data was so wrong for so long?  Drift.  That is what Lawrence Yun, Chief Spin Doctor for the NAR called it.  Another WTF moment.

The NAR can no longer be trusted by us.  It is therefore our responsibility to report the correct numbers for our individual markets.  And we should do so with honesty and integrity.  No spin.  No propaganda.  No Drift.  It is well known by everyone that each real estate market has its own characteristics.  Real estate is truly local.  I am of the belief that reporting any national numbers for real estate sales is confusing at best and destructive at worst.  But until the leadership of NAR is changed and propaganda is no longer tolerated, we must fight to maintain our credibility despite the actions of NAR.

Tony Arko
President, Dulles Area Association of REALTORS
Un-Proud NAR member since 2004

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

Related posts:

1. Home Sales Really 20% Less – NAR Changing 5 Years of Home Sales Data
2. New Home Sales Remain Anemic in 2011

This is not something that will only be asked by native New Yorkers to the rubes visiting from out of town.

Instead, Empire State Realty Trust, owners of the Empire State Building have announced it will take the company public. Yes, you too can own the most iconic building in Manhattan.

Empire State Realty Trust, owners of the iconic Empire State Building, filed to sell up to $1 billion of its Class A common stock, giving ordinary investors a chance to own a piece of the building that has been fought over by billionaires.

The tower, once the tallest in the world, has seen several owners over the decades and had been at the centre of a legal battle among the Malkin family, property tycoon Donald Trump and real estate heiress Leona Helmsley.

The Malkin family bought the property in 2002 and, after much wrangling, gained total control of the 102-story building in 2010.

In November, Malkin Holdings had said it would likely file to become a publicly traded real estate investment trust within three months.

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

No related posts.

The meme has hit the real estate world, courtesy of Brian Copeland and Maura Neill the folks at RETSO.

See home many real estate memes you can find…

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

Related posts:

1. Officially Real Estate Has Double Dipped
2. Economic Turmoil Not Helping Real Estate Sales

Are you ready for a real estate investment conference that is not on big sell and spam fest? Are you tired of every speaker from the stage pitching their product instead of teaching you?

Well, your conference has arrived. Josh Dorkin and the crew over at BiggerPockets is putting on a truly amazing conference on real estate investing with the focus on giving you the tools and techniques to create a firm foundation for your business.

It really is that simple…

What you will not get is the hype of 20  products that will create miracles in your business and cure cancer at the same time.

What you will get is some of the finest minds in the real estate investment community giving you solid advice, pertinent information, and the tools for you to succeed with your long term strategies.

Now, I do not want to pressure you, but I messed up. I told Josh, who is a friend and mentor, that I would put this post up weeks ago. But, as you know life gets in the way.

However, in the mean time space is filling up and I would hate for you to miss this conference. Josh told me he is keeping the conference small so that everyone who attends can get the most value out of it.

I remember the first RETechSouth conference that was like this one. I made more connections that helped my business in 1 day than I had the first 3 years I was blogging. Flagship conferences like this one from BiggerPockets will reap benefits for years if you take the initiative to attend.

The price is reasonable, the location is in Denver, Colorado (home of inexpensive flights and lots of fun), and the date is a little over a month away (March 23rd–24^th).

So click on the link below to learn more and sign up for the conference. 

BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing Summit and Expo

Tom 

P.S.  Look for me on the floor, I am pulling strings to get out of every coaching assignment and obligation to get out there. It is so good that, even though I do not invest in real estate myself, I know I will learn a great deal and increase my knowledge of the real estate industry.

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

No related posts.

The new home sales data was released and the results are less than stellar. For 2011, there were only 302,000 new home sold nationwide. For perspective, in the South the numbers were the lowest since 1966, and that is the good news. In both the Northeast and the West, sales were the worst in recorded history.

So when you are talking with builders, be kind. They have had a very rough few years.

Purchases of single-family properties decreased 2.2 percent to a 307,000 annual pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists called for a rate of 321,000 home sales. Last year marked the worst year for the industry in records going back to 1963.

The threat of further price declines may be dissuading some Americans from buying a new home even with mortgage rates near all-time lows and more people finding work. Following a lull in 2011, a wave of foreclosures may hamper the recovery in real estate as more distressed properties are put on the market.

“Builders continue to contend with a number of existing homes that are deeply discounted,” said Anika Khan, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We’re expecting a bit of a pickup in 2012, but we won’t see a meaningful increase as long as new homes are competing with those existing homes.” via Bloomberg

New Home Sales Information From the Census Bureau

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

Related posts:

1. Home Sales Really 20% Less – NAR Changing 5 Years of Home Sales Data
2. Home Remodeling Hits All Time High

Typically when you think of a battle between a house and a Prius, you add a dose of a drunk driver and a garage and you are done… But not today.

It looks like that super efficient windows are reflecting so much energy onto a car parked in Southern California that it is melting the plastic exterior parts of a lady’s Prius parked outside of the building.

A SoCal woman says the energy efficient window installed in a neighbor’s condominium is melting the plastic components on cars parked in her carport. Heather Patron of Studio City was dealing with a mystery regarding her Toyota Prius.

“The side view mirrors were melting,” says Patron. “Anything that was plastic on the car was melting.” Patron then observed a powerful beam of light that was reflecting off the window of a next door condominium, casting a concentrated beam over her carport.

CBS2’s Randy Paige placed a thermometer in the pathway of the beam on a partially cloudy day. The temperature registered over 120 degrees in less than five minutes.

“I’m positive that this window is what is causing the damage to my car,” says Patron.

Patron is not alone. Reports across the country have alleged damages brought on by concentrated sunlight reflected off of energy efficient windows. The National Association of Home Builders is now conducting a study on the matter. via CBS LA

There is no regulations against these types of windows but it will be interesting. And it makes me wonder if we are going to see melting Prius’s around the country in the coming years.

Progress…

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

No related posts.

When buying a home, one of the key components is the down payment. Back a few years ago when the housing bubble was hitting it’s peak, there were no money down loans floated out there, but those are ancient history. Now you need hard money to make the loan.

Lending Tree commissioned a study and measured the states on what the average down payment for a home was in each state. From the low 3.5% down FHA and VA loans to the private loans that are looking for 15% to 20% or higher, the range for all the states in the country range from the high in New Jersey of 13.71% down to the low of West Virginia at 11.86%.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised the difference between the states is so little. This tells me that lending standards are tightening up, borrowers are having enough skin in the game to protect the banks from losing too much in foreclosure, and that the lending environment is becoming healthier.

This is all good news for the real estate industry.

Top 10 States With Highest Down Payment

New Jersey –  13.71%

Washington D.C. –  13.50%

New York –  13.47%

Hawaii –  13.33%

California –  13.22%

Florida –  13.16%

Alaska –  13.06%

Connecticut –  13.03%

Nevada –  12.98%

Massachusetts –  12.98%

See all 50 States here at Lending Tree

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

Related posts:

1. 20 Percent Down For Home Purchase The New Standard, Again?

As real estate professionals, your goal is a healthy and vibrant real estate marketplace. Lots of selling and buying of homes is a good thing, as is a healthy credit report and sufficient cash on hand by your buyers and large amounts of home equity with your sellers.

But if the last few years has taught us anything, that is not always the case. Heck, in some markets, that rarely is the case.

So being a real estate professional you also end up answering many questions about people having their homes underwater at this year’s Christmas Parties. 

Economic editor Megan McArdle writing in the Atlantic has a very thought provoking post out today discussing “When Should You Default on Your Mortgage?” Here is an excerpt but you should also go read the whole article. It is an issue that is on the table for many of the people in your marketplace and may help you as a trusted real estate professional giving solid and powerful advice.

As you can see, I think that people who are in financial trouble and cannot make their mortgage payment have a perfect right to walk away–and to do so as early as possible if there is no reasonable likelihood that their circumstances will change.  On the other hand, I think that if modest lifestyle changes like less steak and more hamburger, less cable and more library books, can make your mortgage payment affordable, I think you have an obligation to make those changes.  And if those changes aren’t even necessary–if the default is purely and simply because you would like the bank to eat the lost equity rather than you–I don’t think that’s right.

But for all the discussion of those people, I’m not sure how many of them there are.  Some, undoubtedly–in a country as big as the US, there is always some jerk doing almost anything you can imagine.  But given what we know about bankruptcy, I tend to think that the overwhelming majority of people walking away from their houses are doing so because they cannot support both the home, and a basic decent life for their families.  Obviously, I also tend to think that’s how it should be.

Read the whole article at “the Atlantic”.

And if you have any suggestions from the trenches on Megan’s advice, leave them in the comment section. Odds are there will also be people fighting through a rough mortgage right now reading this post and they will appreciate any and all help you can offer.

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

No related posts.