Dear Editor:

I’m a Realtor in Northern California who has sold homes for 40 years — 28 of those years representing lenders in the sale of their REO (bank-owned) assets. What we see is a process that encourages default, makes it socially acceptable to default on your mortgage, and is counterproductive to the economy.

Government and bank actions of postponing foreclosures have created a shortage of inventory — intended to keep values as high as possible. While commendable, the fact remains that there are countless qualified buyers unable to purchase a home because they constantly lose out in multiple-bid situations. (more…)

By Les Christie, staff writer, February 8, 2010: 1:59 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Dusan Tatomirovic found a steal when he bought a foreclosed condo just north of Monterey, Calif., last April for $130,000.

The locale is incredible, just 10 minutes from his office and close to his daughter. The weather is perpetual spring, and the California coast there is gorgeous. Plus, the three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath had once sold for $380,000.

But Tatomirovic, like many buyers, found that while a foreclosed home can be an excellent bargain rife with possibilities — there are also unforeseen costs and consequences.

The Serbian native, who works as a translator for the defense department, shopped for many months before finding this property, located in the town of Marina. He started dickering to buy it in June 2008, when the condo listed for $200,000. (more…)

Weekly Market Activity Report

As winter continues its streak of cold and snow, sales activity in the Twin Cities housing market is moving along at a pace you’d expect for the season and at about the same pace as a year ago. Pending sales for the week ending January 30 came in at 650, down very slightly from the mark of 673 seen during the same week last year. Over the last three months, there have been 7,038 signed purchase agreements, up a sliver-sized 0.7 percent from a year ago. (more…)

Posted at 11:00 AM on February 3, 2010 by Paul Tosto (0 Comments)
Filed under: Housing & mortgages

There’s a healthy debate right now about how many foreclosures there really are in the Twin Cities and the best way to count them.

Lisa Proechel, though, left us with a sobering message recently that no matter how we look at the current data, we should expect to see the number of foreclosures start to rise again.

“I am a real estate agent who works primarily with foreclosed properties and I can tell you there are a lot of properties out there that banks have not yet foreclosed on,” said Proechel, a source in MPR’s Public Insight Network.

In many ways, the housing recovery of 2009 was somewhat artificial. Yes, you had low interest rates and good prices and 1st time homebuyer credit. However, you also had low inventory. (more…)

Since the first caveman decided to trade up for a new hole in the ground, it’s been easy to figure out how much real estate is worth.

Just offer the property for sale and see what someone is willing to pay.

Alas, that method doesn’t always work anymore.

Even if a willing seller and a buyer agree on a deal, it’s up to the appraiser to give it a thumbs up.

More than a third of homebuilders say they’ve recently lost or had to scramble to complete sales because the appraiser said nope, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders. The problem is probably just as bad for residential agents.

“Even if the seller can get his price, he has to get an appraisal before the buyer can get a loan,” said Mary Frances Burleson, president of Dallas’ biggest residential sales firm, Ebby Halliday Realtors. “It doesn’t make any difference how much you want.”

As you might imagine, real estate folks are in a lather over this.

At the recent International Builders Show, I heard a lot of caterwauling about homes sales getting killed by picky appraisers. (more…)

Imagine what’s in store for the brokerage industry

BY INMAN NEWS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010.

Inman News

Agent Beverly Jetson hops into her BeeBee electro-pod and synchs the vehicle’s navigation system and her mobile computer’s appointment book and transaction manager.

A soothing, telephone-operator voice methodically recites, “Meeting with Roger Byers at the 5th Street Metro Station, estimated time of arrival …” (more…)

The kitchen is still king.

LAS VEGAS — Americans want smaller houses and they are willing to strip some of yesterday’s most popular rooms — such as home theaters — from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles, consumer experts told audiences at the International Builders Show here this week. “This is a traumatic time in this country and the future isn’t something we’re 100% sure about now either. What’s left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity,” said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill. (more…)

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center, and it’s network of Foreclosure Prevention Counselors, hears from clients on a daily basis about the difficulties they are facing when working with their bank… that many times a loan modification doesn’t ‘modify’ the loan enough to be affordable in the long term.   (more…)

Minnesota Appraisers doing Minneapolis, St. Paul Appraisals covering counties such as, Hennepin, Dakota, Ramsey, Wright, Sherburne, Anoka, Isanti, Scott, Washington and more. Welcome to the home page of Peak Appraisals Services. We are a leading provider of real estate valuations for the mortgage lending marketplace in Minnesota.  With over 5 years in the business, we have a proven track record of reducing lenders’ time, efforts and costs in managing the appraisal process.  Peak Appraisal,s St. Michael, MN 55376 (612) 240-5116 voice (763) 374-3770 fax

Guest post by Carol Rockman, VP and Founder of http://www.nvs.coop/

2010 and a new decade is about to begin. Upon being asked to write the first Niche Appraiser column I was delighted to learn that this venue would become a regular part of the magazine’s monthly features.  Yet I felt challenged with presenting a singular topic of interest that has not been belabored, agonized over, hashed and rehashed ad infinitum. (more…)