Real Estate News Daily

Freddie Mac has forged an agreement with three major mortgage lenders which would enable funding for large home loans or those that reach almost half a million dollars. Freddie and Fannie Mae are two of the government-backed lenders who have been doing damage control after billions of dollars of losses in the sub-prime lending financial crisis they have been forced to deal with. The deal seems to be forged with Mac and those big-time lenders with no news yet from the avenue of Mae whether they would be following suit. This paves the way for large homes that would otherwise have to be foreclosed allowing more funding to alleviate and even prevent it from happening. This is one more event in the long period of recovery that would be needed to amend the broken housing market which is hoped to start rebounding this 2009.

Money may be harder to come by but these people who can afford to spend are indeed spending. The rock-bottom prices, even of the most affluent homes are getting the wealthy excited for they even get properties with everything inside as part of the deal having them get second, third and so on and so forth number of homes. These assets can be sold in the future as the market rebounds or kept to add to their ever growing empires in the arena of real estates. Before we forget, the wealthy represents around less than 10% of all Americans, the rest fall in the lower 90%.

All’s well for America’s wealthy for they see the current housing crunch as opportunity. That opportunity comes in the form of properties they either acquire for themselves as vacation homes or as investments in expectation of the expected recovery of the market. The rich and wealthy of the country are buying up properties like hotcakes and many areas such as Florida are getting big purchases. Even in the crowded city center’s, properties are exchanging hands (with some discounts and negotiations of course) but they are still selling. Families who earn in excess of half a million a year are the prime movers with those in the lower brackets (affluent, upper middle class) voicing interests of their own.

Of the many problems that may exist in the home should it have been left empty for quite sometime. Most foreclosed properties are sold in a as is condition and any problems that surfaces after you sign the deal is now totally yours and solely yours to deal with. Foreclosed properties can take a long time to dispose of especially if the lender has a ton of foreclosed properties to dispose of, experts advise buyers to hire good appraisers to check on the properties they are interested in so they can get a fair price. (more…)

Life in major cities like New York, London or Paris are glamorous and fast-paced, it can also cost you a bundle. According an article in the Global Property Guide: Most Expensive Cities In 2008, these cities have some of the most expensive apartments & condos. London & New York are the top two placers in the race for the most expensive property values, with Moscow coming in a close third. These highly urbanized cities are usually the centers of government, fashion, culture, politics and business. Space is also a premium in these locations, making apartments and condos the dwelling of choice for its lucky inhabitants.

If you’re lucky enough to already own a property in one of these areas, hold on to it. You can even make pretty good money renting it out. If you’re planning to invest in real estate in any of these cities,
it may cost more at the start, but since these cities’ property values are relatively stable, you’ll get a relatively good return on your investment.

Image Source: www.rwsbroker.com

In the financial crisis of today, to use a popular maxim of Donald Rumsfeld’s invention, “there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns.” Some major unknowns have surfaced to become economic hurricanes reeking havoc on financial markets worldwide, such as the failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. But what unknown unknowns are still lurking under the surface, waiting to be discovered, buried in the media headlines, that could have an equally devastating effect on the economy and real estate markets across the country? One such potential dangerous unknown unknown that hasn’t received very much press attention recently is the current lack of financial stability in the municipal bond market.

Municipal bonds are sold by cities and municipalities across the nation to fund large real estate and infrastructure construction projects. They offer investors a tax free stream of income and offered by brokers around the nation as a low risk way to receive income without increasing the investor’s tax burden. Well, it turns out that the municipal bond markets now are starting to sound like a familiar story. Municipalities across the nation have taken advantage of low interest rates over the past two years to fund construction projects. However, about a one third of these funds were borrowed using a variable rate of interest. Now the municipalities are having trouble paying back their investors.

The innovations just keep coming on people who are betting on technology which is the Internet in helping ease the crisis in the housing market. The site is said to be one of the best place to buy, sell or just look around for properties that are for sale and so much more information. Want to rent, they also have options when you begin your search to select either for sale, for rent and comparison statistics whether to buy or rent. The best thing about the site is that it does not only give you addresses with names on them, it gives you a map with all the addresses superimposed on them so you get the best view say of how convenient it would be to get to the grocery or pharmacist. The maps are a true innovation for it gives you a virtual view of the property and the general area. Check out Hotpads.com for more information on the site.

In Montana that is, where a realtor group has asked the state board to review the actions of a listing broker who has violated the rules of engagement so to speak in the real estate business of the practice which was approved by the state, that all agents are to submit their listings to a broker who then consults the group which places the property in listings. The listing broker in question broke the rule by taking his listings and submitting offers to buyers without consulting the local industry thus bypassing their value in the whole deal. The norm for such transactions would have a seller hire an agent, who submits their listing to the listing agency who then is contacted by the agent of the buyers all while they are under the eyes of the realtor group and state officials. There was a circumvention of the process when the listing company got seller agents directly in contact with buyers with evidence to support it having taken place. The Montana Realty Board is reviewing the case and is set to release a statement soon.

Bad Idea, many financial analysts and politicians say. Why, the crisis in the housing market happened because they let it and we should help pay for it. I don’t think so, is the stand of GOD candidate McCain. Why should the rest of America pay for the mistakes of people, some of whom are almost considered to own the housing business? They’ve been earning big for a long long time and it’s about time they shell out some money from their own pockets. This should be a lesson for people who seek to earn money and not abide by the rules of the game. Let them figure it out by themselves; they’re old enough to stand up for the messes they’ve made.

Thanks for the insight!

The movements seen in housing markets are found to be coming more from foreigners buying homes for their vacation purposes globally. The problems in the US housing market have effects that have traveled around the world many times over and economies are paying the price. The financial market has been so shaken up that businesses are reeling in the after effects. Fewer houses sold – fewer jobs to build them, more jobless people – less home buyers and the effects just keep piling up. Good thing the European and Asian Markets are faring better that their American counterparts. The Euro has been climbing steadily against the dollar which has dipped time and time again as the government tries to get a handle on the problem. The US government has its hands full with internal and external issues they have to deal with and it may be too much even for them.