Vacation real estate appears to be what is selling. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted how vacation property and second home markets are starting to see activity. When real estate is suffering all over the nation what is making vacation real estate loosen up? Low mortgage rates and bargain prices. While volume is way up in certain sought-after areas, prices are down and that is bringing buyers in, buyers who don’t want to miss the opportunity to buy a vacation home.

The key is patience and an absence of emotion. The true deals are being bought by patient buyers who are submitting offers until they succeed in finding sellers who are willing to accept a low price. A lot of vacation properties are being bought by cash buyers who are in a position to offer a quick closing with no financing contingencies. As the economy improves so do the piggy banks of the wealthy, who are all too happy to buy a second home in a desirable location.

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal article, “Market for Vacation Homes Is on the Rise”.

If you are buying real estate and looking at financing options an FHA loan could be the answer. FHA loans are loans that are insured by the Federal Housing Authority. Many people may overlook an FHA loan because of stigmas attached to them, often thinking that FHA loans are for low-income families or subsidized housing. Reality is a different story, however.

FHA facts:

• Income Limitations. There are no income limitations for those applying for an FHA loan.
• Loan Amount. An FHA loan can be for up to $793,750.
• Home Buyers. An FHA loan is not just for first time home buyers.
• Interest Rate. An FHA loan typically is more affordable than a conventional loan. Currently the interest rate for an FHA loan is hovering at around 3.5%.
• Assumable. FHA loans are fully assumable, which means that the loan and loan terms are transferable with the sale of a home, quite an attractive quality to a home buyer.

The most important factor in securing a mortgage for your new home is affordabilty. Once you determine what you can afford, an FHA loan could be the financing option you have been looking for.

Click here to learn more about FHA loans, loan approval and more.

While the economic recovery shows ups and downs, the overall picture of the housing market shows more positive data than negative. Looking at real estate data from the second quarter it is evident that home prices are stabilizing in more areas than not and home sales volume is up. The second quarter was stimulated largely by the home buyer tax credit that was expiring and the historically low mortgage rates that continued to drop.

Home sales rose just over 9% in the second quarter of 2010, over a 15% increase in volume from the second quarter of 2009. The affordability factor is playing a large role in the purchasing of real estate, with homes considerably more affordable than they were at the peak of the market.

Home values have stabilized in roughly 2/3 of the country, where they remain flat or are rising slightly. The hardest hit areas displayed a bit of a drop in home values but the rate of decrease has slowed down. Home values appear more stable as fewer distressed properties hit the market, but it will take time for home prices to truly increase. The analysis of housing data displays that it is still a buyers market when it comes to real estate.

Click here to read a recent article from Realtor.org about real estate progress in the second quarter of 2010.

When a potential home buyer is considering purchasing real estate one of the first questions he will ask is, is this home affordable? There has been a great deal of talk about housing affordability over the past couple of years and for the most part affordability is at an all time high throughout the United States.

Affordability is a simple calculation involving income and expenses. When the expense of owning a home equals 30% or less of a household’s monthly income then it is considered affordable. Affordability levels have been high for over a year now, indicating that it is a great time to buy a home, after-all it is wiser to buy real estate when it makes financial sense.

Buying a home that exceeds a household’s budget is a tough mistake to make. Let’s face it, money matters and anyone would rather buy an affordable home than one that isn’t. Contact a local Realtor to learn more about the affordability of real estate in the area that you want to buy a home.

Click here to read an article from Realty Times regarding affordability.

 Sourced from: Kinetic Content Library

It is no secret that it is a buyer’s market out there, great news for buyers, not so great for sellers. Sellers are no longer in a position to dictate the rules of the game and have to be careful how they respond and counter to offers, due to the fact that if a buyer doesn’t get his way he might just move on to the next seller, and there are a lot of sellers out there.

There are a few difficult things about being a seller today. A seller doesn’t know how long it will take to sell his home and when he gets a contract he can’t guarantee whether another one will come or not. What this means is that if a seller has to sell his home then he has to be wary of scaring the buyer away.

The inspection is one aspect of a contract where a seller can lose his shirt. If trying to sell your home it is a wise idea to have your home inspected before listing your home. This way you can make the necessary improvements and will avoid being surprised by unexpected requests. Because sellers are not in a position to capitalize on their real estate investment it is more important than ever to be on top of things, in order to retain as much value as possible.

An experienced Realtor is incredibly helpful in maneuvering a tricky real estate market, enabling a seller to evaluate his home, price it appropriately and sell it in a reasonable amount of time.

Trying to acquire an interest only loan is about to get tougher. Fannie Mae is changing the rules to make qualifying for interest only loans a more stringent process. The biggest difference will be the percentage that a home buyer will have to put down on his real estate transaction. Under the new rules a borrower will have to put down 30% of the home’s value to qualify for a Fannie Mae-backed interest-only mortgage.

Fannie Mae does not issue mortgages but buys them from lenders who do. If Fannie Mae doesn’t like what it sees it will not purchase the mortgages. The goal behind the qualification changes is to make sure that borrowers can afford to pay their mortgages. The bursting of the housing bubble has created the need for security, to avoid any repeat performance in the future.

Click here to read an article from CNN Money regarding interest only loans.

In glomming on to positive news don’t forget to remember your basic math. Median prices have been going up in some areas, down in others. The median is the value that occurs in the middle of everything that has sold. For example, if seven apples have sold for $1, $1.25, $1.5, $1.5, $1.5, $1.75 and $2. The median price would be $1.5. The median value is the middle price, it does not represent the size, quality or type of apple.

In real estate it is important to remember that the median sales price represents the average price of what homes are selling for in a given area. It is not representing the size, condition or value of a home. The median sales price can be offset by foreclosure property that is selling in an area as well as by luxury property that is selling in an area.

The best way to determine the value of your real estate is to get it analyzed by and experienced real estate professional. There are many factors in determining real estate values today and picking an average out of the air could hinder the sale of your home. In today’s real estate market it is more important than ever to price your home appropriately.

Thats right, Cindy, Bruce, Geri, Michael and I have taken the training necessary to become CDPE’s – Certified Distressed Property Experts. This means we have become well versed in short sales – or selling a home for less than what is owed to the bank – as this has become more and more commonplace in today’s market. In fact, on a national level some 51% of all sales in September were distressed sales, and in badly hurt markets such as Florida, Nevada and Arizona its as much as 90%.  I felt we needed to become very knowledgeable about such sales and we now have the proven skillset to ensure these sales go through with the least hassles possible to all parties involved. There are very few agents in Phoenixwho have taken this voluntary extra training, and I am proud of us doing so. If you know of anyone in trouble with their house, please have them contact me. Did you know over 50% of all foreclosures have no visible means of intervention? A persons credit can be saved with a short sale vs. a foreclosure and you would be able to buy another house in as little as two years vs. five plus with a foreclosure.

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It's a great time to invest in luxury real estate

The news is more and more positive across the Country, home prices have risen for three straight months and the number of sales have increased for four straight months.  Great news?  Any positive news is great after the real estate market our Nation has been weathering.  However, real estate values are hardly skyrocketing and, while increasing, sales volume is hardly knocking homes off the shelf.

It is a buyers’ market, there is no doubt about it and the buyers getting the best deal are those buying luxury real estate.  Luxury homes have had the biggest drops in pricing and for those with deep pockets the savings can be tremendous.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal points out the significant drop in price among luxury real estate.  Data is showing that while mainstream home prices are stabilizing, luxury real estate, homes selling for $2 million or more, are dropping their asking prices an average of 14%.  The article states, “Bottom line: At the high end, it’s a good time to be shopping for that dream home.”

If you have been dreaming of luxury real estate and have the money, this could be the time to make your dream come true.
Click here to visit the Wall Street Journal article “Seeking Real Estate Bargains? Try Looking at the High End”.

If you decide to purchase a home by December 1, 2009, you will be entitled to an $8,000 tax credit. This amendment to the economic stimulus bill will be available to if you purchase your first home between 1/1/2009 and 12/1/2009. Home buyers will be entitled to claim a total tax credit of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less.  To avoid possible abuse of this credit, it is only allowed for your primary residence and will only have to be re-paid if said house is sold within two years of purchase. Keep in mind that you must close on or before December 1, 2009 to be eligible for the credit. Most closings take about sixty days, so with that in mind you must go under contract by October 2nd, 2009 – this gives you seventy-three days from today to find your first home. If you manage to meet these deadlines, all you have to do to claim your credit is fill out I.R.S. Form 5405.

For more information about this credit go to the IRS website.