2011’s Places of Promise in Real Estate

Currently, for many people, buying a house now in today’s economy is quite a stretch. Not only is it quite a stretch, but it’s unfortunately out of the question. With the fluctuating economy resulting in loss of jobs, salary cuts, etc., funding for a mortgage is the least of people’s worries right now.

However, if you are apart of the population that is indeed interest in looking for a home, and feel like your job and salary are stable enough for the purchase, then I have some good news. Depending on where you currently live, this may not apply to you. If you are located (or plan to be located) between the mid and east coast though, listen up. There are a few markets in the country that have promising real estate purchases.

Based on a few important factors that determine how a market presents itself, I have found some cities where it might actually be a great idea to consider buying. You may even find yourself with quite a bargain.

Affordability, unemployment rates, foreclosures, and price increases are four factors to consider when determining if a particular city is financially stable enough for smart home-investing. Affordability is especially important because it’s good to see the investment of a house in terms of how many years of salary will this house cost? This factor is relative to the median home cost based on how many years of salary. The fewer the years of salary costs, the better rank of affordability that the market receives.

Unemployment rates, for obvious reasons, are critical when examining a city’s stable living. If there is a high unemployment rate, then that area is probably dealing with some heavy financing issues that clearly take a toll on its inhabitants.

The amount of homes that are incapable of being paid for by the owners has a great effect on the overall real estate market of an area. Foreclosures closely identify the wealth and security of a real estate market because, obviously, the lower the foreclosures, the healthier the market is.

Finally, price increases also plays as a large indicator of the real estate’s health. If the value of homes are rising, then the overall wealth of the market will succeed too.

Based on these four factors, here are the best places that would be a considerable choice for investing in a home:

• Utica, N.Y
• Oklahoma City, Okla
• Rochester, N.Y
• Pittsburgh, Pa
• Tulsa, Okla
• Albany, N.Y
• Lancaster, Pa
• Madison, Wis
• Green Bay, Wis
• Lincoln, Neb

Whether any of these locations are suitable for you as a home buyer or not, I recommend looking into the four mentioned factors because they will help closely identify what real estate economies are looking sharp and secure for potential home buyers!

First Quarter Sets the Pace for 2011’s Real Estate Market

After a good year for the real estate market in 2010, this year’s results have big shoes to fill. So far, according to the first quarter numbers, 2011 is competing passively with the previous year. Depending on your area however, you could have a better chance at landing a good sale on a house. There were a few factors that went into last year’s success, including cheap supply of lumber due to the effects of weather on lumber companies in the southeast part of the U.S. Another harmful factor in the market being that the net cash required by operating activities was $1.2 million for the first quarter of 2011, which compares to net cash provided of $4.4 million a year ago.

So far, Q1 has failed to meet last year’s net sales by nearly 3 million dollars, as has the net income, falling behind 2010’s results by an incredible 2.16 million.

It shouldn’t shock anyone to know that home ownership is on the decline. With an increase in foreclosures, a tough job market and President Obama backing off from policies that encourage home ownership, it’s no wonder. Obviously, the loss of jobs in our economy and the downgrade of income has put a lot of input into the market, as has the decrease in housing supply. That’s right, I read the other day that the real estate market is actually encouraging buyers to consider building houses instead because of our dwindling number of move-in-ready homes. It makes sense, that we’d see a threat to the number of built houses available, since deforestation, clean water, and polluted air all seem to relate as a result of over-populated areas.

I’m very curious as to what will happen in the following quarters if numbers continue on this rapid decline. The current trend is a little scary for potential home owners, like myself, who would one day like to move away from renting. At the height of real estate market, the rate of home ownership nationally was 69%. In 2010, the rate dropped to 66.9%. All of those things are reflecting in the home ownership rate that is still somewhat declining, and it’s generally favoring the rental market.

I read in a recent LA Times article, that 25-to-29 year-olds are looking towards renting more than home ownership.There are several reasons for this:

-  Shrinking middle class wealth (Mom & Dad used to be able to help the kids out with home buying and that is less likely now)

-  Large student debt

-  Uncertainty in the job market makes the flexibility of renting more desirable

This information is actually pretty concerning for me personally, as I’m sure it is for many other individuals of my generation who are in the awkward in-between of renting for a few years and hoping to own one day. Hopefully, like most things in our economy, these numbers will fluncuate again and there will be a calming gap of decent home ownership!

Is 2010 the Year to Purchase a House?

Is 2010 the year to buy a house? It certainly looks that way: After a steep run-up in prices during the first half of the decade, home values have plummeted back to 2003 levels. Fixed mortgage rates are sitting near record lows. And the foreclosure epidemic—while painful for many home owners—has created some wonderful opportunities for bargain hunters. If that’s not enough, Uncle Sam is handing out thousands of dollars in tax credits to nearly all first-time buyers and the bulk of existing home owners who close a purchase by June.

But while the 2010 outlook appears inviting, there’s one key catch. You need to have a stable job. The economy is showing signs of life, but the unemployment rate is already at 10 percent and expected to go higher. And while those mortgage rates are attractive, buying a house makes sense only if you can bank on your income stream. So before you consider purchasing a home, take a hard look at your job, your company, and your industry.

After more than three years of falling, real estate values have shown signs of stabilization in recent months. At the national level, home prices slid nearly 9 percent between the third quarter of 2008 and the same period this year, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price report. That’s a notable improvement from the second quarter’s nearly 15 percent annual drop and the first quarter’s 19 percent decline. This improvement will give way to a bottom in home prices—finally!—in 2010, but not before additional declines. It’s projected that home prices will hit bottom in the third quarter of 2010 after logging a peak-to-trough decline of roughly 37 percent, based on the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index.

With prices still falling, mortgage rates remaining historically attractive, and additional homes hitting the market in the form of foreclosures, the dynamics of the real estate market will continue to favor buyers over sellers in 2010. That means those looking to buy a home next year should not feel pressured to act impulsively. You don’t need to have a sense of urgency, but understand that as time progresses the balance of power as we get into 2010 is going to slowly but surely shift away from buyers. It’s is not going to be a strong seller’s market, but it will be more evenly distributed as the year goes on. Data from the real estate firm Zillow show that home buyers are already losing the leverage they once enjoyed. While home buyers landed a median discount of 4.6 percent off listing prices in January, the size of the gap fell to 2.7 percent by October. Expect this gap to close further as 2010 marches on.

Amid falling home prices and a nasty labor market, roughly 1 in every 7 mortgages was either past due or in foreclosure by the end of the third quarter—the highest delinquency rate in the 37-year history of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey. Two factors are expected to drive delinquencies even higher next year. First, nearly 1 in 4 homeowners currently owes more on their mortgage than the property is worth, which increases their odds of default. And secondly, the national unemployment rate—which already stands at 10 percent—will peak at about 10.5 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Additional job losses mean more borrowers won’t be able to pay their mortgage bills.

Perhaps if you were thinking of purchasing a home within the next few years, you should consider taking action now. Mortgage, tax, and prices are on the rise, and you can potentially avoid all the unfortunate changes that are in the works for the real estate market.

Foreclosures

What is a foreclosure and how does it occur? When a homeowner (borrower) is unable to make his/her house payments for a certain period of time the foreclosure process kicks in. Being in this status means the borrower has now lost ownership of the property and the lending company is able to sell the property to the highest bidder at a Public auction.

With the economy the way it is, one of the devastating results has been a massive amount of foreclosures nationwide. Which if you are an investor, this can be a great thing to take advantage of.

If you live near the Seattle area, ForeclosurePlatform.com has available resources detailing every foreclosure in all of Western Washington. On a continuous basis, properties are updated with any changes that may occur from auction sale dates to opening bid amounts and even postponed properties and cancellations. If you are looking for Seattle short sales, it is the best website to keep you up to date.

Read why foreclosures are undervalued and why they create great investments to buyers. There are many reasons to purchase foreclosed properties and the greatest advantage is the price reduction! If you want to learn more about foreclosures click here.

Buying your first home

So you have finished college, met the love of your life, you are in a stable career and you are now looking into buying your first home! Ok, so the reality of life is nothing happens in that order, or exactly like that. Anyway it happened, you are now looking into buying your first home!

There are many things to consider when you are looking into buying your first home. You have to look at different areas and neighborhoods until you find the home that is right for you. You have to know your budget so that you know what price ranges you are looking at. Buying a home is not only about getting in the home but also being able to stay in the home. The costs you have to remember include paying insurance, property taxes, maintenance, or home owner dues along with your monthly mortgage payments. So make sure to do the math when you are looking into new home ownership so you do not miscalculate!

Do not be part of the crowd that got into risky mortgages and are now getting kicked out because they can not afford there bills. Be smart when looking into new homes. Do a lot of research and be educated on everything you need to know before you get into a mortgage you truly can not afford!