Foreclosure Prices Rise, Highest Increase Since 2006

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, August 31, 2012

Foreclosure sales prices rose 6 percent in the second quarter and were up 7 percent year-over-year, RealtyTrac reported this week. This marks the largest annual increase in foreclosure-related sales prices since 2006.
During the second quarter, the average foreclosure-related sales price was $170,040.
Still, foreclosure and bank-owned homes sold at an average price that was 32 percent lower than the average price of a non-foreclosure home, RealtyTrac reports.
Meanwhile, the gap between REO sales and short sales continued to narrow during the second quarter. REO sales outnumbered pre-foreclosure sales by 9,833 — the smallest difference since the third quarter of 2007.
The number of short-sale transactions rose 18 percent year-over-year, accounting for 14 percent of all sales during January through May time period, RealtyTrac reports.
“The second-quarter sales numbers provide solid statistical evidence of what we’ve been hearing anecdotally from real estate agents, buyers, and investors over the past few months: There is a limited supply of available foreclosure inventory to choose from in many markets,” says Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president. “Given this shortage of supply and the seasonally strong buyer demand in the second quarter, it’s no surprise that the average foreclosure-related sales price increased both on a quarterly and annual basis.”
Source: RealtyTrac

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What Can Hurt a Home’s Appraisal

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, August 27, 2012

Owners can take steps to avoid having their home appraised at a lower value than the asking price.
“Taking the time to understand the areas that can positively influence your appraisal can help ward off the chances that your home will be appraised at a lower value than the asking price,” according to a recent article at Realty Times, which highlights ways sellers can prepare for an appraisal.
Here are a few ways that home owners can hurt their appraisal, according to the piece.

• Leaving the home untidy. Having an unkept exterior or interior can cause an appraiser to decrease the value somewhat. Remind your sellers that curb appeal is also important for an appraisal. Overgrown bushes or an unkept home exterior could prompt an appraiser to take as much as 3 percent off the value, according to a CNNMoney article.
• Having incomplete remodeling projects. Don’t let home owners keep a remodeling project unfinished prior to an appraisal. If they must, make sure they include details of the complete project and when it is to be finished to the appraiser.
• Failing to list improvements or upgrades made to the home. Compile a list of upgrades and home improvements made to the home and provide it to the appraiser. While some items, like a new roof, may not help raise the appraised value, other items might.

Source: “Five Areas That Can Hurt Your Appraisal,” Realty Times (Aug. 24, 2012)
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/08/27/what-can-hurt-home-s-appraisal?om_rid=AAD9MF&om_mid=_BQO6eSB8tq56QQ&om_ntype=RMODaily

Fire Safety Experts Call for Sprinklers in New Homes

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, August 22, 2012

New homes have been found to burn much faster than older homes due to a change in building materials the last decade. The increased use of prefabricated, lightweight construction materials in new-homes today has caused homes to burn and collapse faster than homes that use traditional solid-wood frame construction, firefighters and fire safety groups say.
Yet, California and Maryland remain the only two states that require sprinklers to be installed in new homes. On the other hand, several state governments have enacted legislation in recent months forbidding cities from requiring sprinklers to be added to new homes.
Several state governments have become outspoken critics against sprinkler systems added to new homes despite the move by the International Code Council, which develops national building codes, in 2009 voting in favor of fire sprinklers being added to all new one- and two-family homes.
When the housing market started to soften, however, many lawmakers, lobbyists, and the building industry started to speak out against the installation of sprinklers in new homes.
"When you start mandating a fire sprinkler system, you are going to price a lot of people out of these new homes," Ned Munoz, vice president of regulatory affairs for the Texas Association of Home Builders, told Reuters.
The Fire Protection Research Foundation found in 2008 that adding a sprinkler system to a new home would add about $3,864 onto a 2,400-square-foot home. However, Reuters reports that some insurance companies offer up to 10 percent discounts to policies when homes have fire sprinklers.
With the increase in lightweight construction materials, fire experts say the sprinklers could save lives. But others argue that the decision to install fire sprinklers should be left with home owners, not a mandate among city or state governments.
"There's nothing to stop somebody from having a fire sprinkler system installed in their house," Jack Glenn, technical director for the Florida Home Builders Association, told Reuters. "But to mandate it for the entire population is a very expensive proposition."
Source: “New Homes Burn Faster, but States Resist Sprinklers,” Reuters (Aug. 10, 2012)
Taken  from : http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/08/22/fire-safety-experts-call-for-sprinklers-in-new-homes?om_rid=AAD9MF&om_mid=_BQNQelB8tnQ2Iy&om_ntype=RMODaily

Owning a Home Matters to Americans

Home Ownership's Defenders

REALTORS® rallied for the American dream of home ownership. But the nation’s voters are just as committed to the cause, according to a national survey released in May by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

July 2012

Visitors to the nation’s capital saw a sea of blue gathered near the Washington Monument May 17 for the Rally to Protect the American Dream. Some 13,800 Realtors® from 50 states, three territories, and Canada joined the rally, and more than 15,000 have signed on virtually. The goal: Remind lawmakers that Realtors® are prepared to go to the mat to ensure home ownership remains central to the American dream. “You’re going to be the most effective advocates your industry can have,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the minority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, told the crowd. Register your support: www.realtorrally.org.

Home Ownership Matters to Americans

At the May 17 rally, REALTORS® showed their support for the American dream of home ownership. But the nation’s voters are just as committed to the cause, according to a national survey released in May by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

• 62 percent of voters rated the importance of home ownership as a 10 on a scale of 0 to 10. Among all respondents, home ownership received a mean score of 8.6.
• 91 percent said “home ownership is part of the American dream.”

Respondents to the Wilson Center survey were split on what involvement the federal government should have in assisting home ownership and mortgage finance—with just under half saying the government was too involved and just over half saying the government was either not involved enough or involved just enough.
But when respondents had more information, some opinions changed. Asked whether they would favor the government removing itself from mortgage finance, for example, 49 percent initially said yes. However, when told that “the federal government is the only entity with the resources to be able to insure or guarantee loans for 30-year mortgages,” just 29 percent said the government should remove itself from mortgage finance.
Other findings from the Wilson Center survey:

• Family (19 percent) and security (17 percent) were the most common reasons cited for the importance of home ownership.
• Importance of home ownership increases with age. The survey showed that 53 percent of voters between 18 and 44 rated it as extremely important, in comparison to 64 percent of those 45 to 64, and 72 percent of those over 65.
• One-third of voters feel home ownership is more important than five years ago. Only 12 percent say it is less important than five years ago.
• The majority of voters (54 percent) believe that “increasing home ownership should be a national priority.”

Source: www.wilsoncenter.org
Article taken directly from http://realtormag.realtor.org/news-and-commentary/real-life/article/2012/07/home-ownerships-defenders?om_rid=AAD9MF&om_mid=_BQM-NOB8tkUm-V&om_ntype=BTNMonthly

Are Mortgage Lenders More Willing to Lend?

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, August 13, 2012

Mortgage originations soared more than 48 percent in the second quarter compared to a year ago, Mortgage Daily reports. Mortgage originations were up 4.6 percent in the second quarter over the first quarter.
More than half of all mortgage origination volume in the second quarter was done by the four largest lenders, with Wells Fargo continuing to dominate. Wells Fargo has about 32.5 percent of the market share in the mortgage market.
The four largest mortgage lenders in the second quarter are:

1. Wells Fargo: 32.5% mortgage market share
2. Chase: 11%
3. USBank: 5.4%
4. Bank of America: 4.7%

Source: “Biggest U.S. Mortgage Lenders,” MarketWatch (Aug. 13, 2012)
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/08/13/are-lenders-more-willing-lend?om_rid=AAD9MF&om_mid=_BQKqYQB8tetPxz&om_ntype=RMODaily

Are These Home Projects Really Worth It?

Are These Home Projects Really Worth It?

On August 13, 2012, in Remodeling Adviser, by Melissa Tracey

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A recent article at The Street lists 10 common home projects that drain home owners’ budgets and offer little return on investment, in citing findings from Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value survey. Do you agree with some of the projects that showed up on its list? Are these home projects a waste of money for home owners to tackle when it comes to boosting their resale value?
1. Pools: A $25,000-$50,000 investment and that doesn’t include the yearly maintenance costs and repairs that will undoubtedly be needed down the road.
2. Outdoor kitchens: Steel grills and gourmet pizza ovens outside can be nice in year-round warm climates but in cooler weather climates, many people would prefer the warmth of an indoor kitchen.
3. Garage addition: The cost of adding a garage spot could be about $58,000, but it only adds about $33,000 extra to your home’s value. You’d be better off replacing the garage door–which offers up to a 70 percent return on your investment at resale.
4. Backup power generator: A $15,000 expense can be extreme for the main reason to “prevent $30 in groceries from spoiling the next time a transformer blows,” The Street notes.

5. Sunroom addition: This could cost home owners about $74,000 and only offer about $34,000 at resale — and “that’s assuming you built a sunroom in a climate that actually gets sun every so often,” the article notes.
6. Home office remodel: This could cost you around $28,000 but is considered one of the least valuable home improvement projects a home owner can tackle, according to the Cost vs. Value survey. While home owners like the organization home offices offer, let’s face it, many are mobile and prefer the couch or to take the laptop and work elsewhere.

http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2012/08/13/are-these-home-projects-really-worth-it/?om_rid=AAD9MF&om_mid=_BQK8ZVB8tffdK1&om_ntype=RMODaily

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Squatters Refuse to Leave Couple’s Home

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, August 08, 2012

A pair of squatters are refusing to leave a Littleton, Colo., home in which they’ve taken up residence, despite a judge’s order to leave. Following an eight-month legal battle, a judge has ordered the squatting couple to vacate the home within two days, but now two weeks later, the couple is still there.
The rightful home owners -- Troy and Dayna Donovan -- say they were away from their home for six months and returned last year to find another couple living there. The couple had claimed they had purchased the home from a man who offered them a deed of adverse possession, allowing them to take over the abandoned home for $5,000. (In Colorado, a property has to be vacant for 18 years to make an adverse possession claim.)
The squatting couple -- Veronica Fernandez-Beleta and husband Jose Rafael Levya-Caraveo -- continue to file legal paperwork, claiming they have a right to remain in the home.
The squatters were recently granted a restraining order against the Donovans, after the Donovans came through an unlocked door into the home. The Donovans are now no longer to get near their home and are living in a relative’s basement as they fight for rights back to their home.
Also delaying the Donovans from taking ownership once again, the squatting couple recently filed for bankruptcy, which can delay an eviction. An eviction cannot proceed when a bankruptcy is in question since the Federal Bankruptcy Court will now have to decide the ownership of the home, the local sheriff’s office told reporters.
Source: “Squatters in Littleton, Colo., Couple’s Home Refuse to Vacate Despite Judge’s Ruling,”