WINDWALKER REAL ESTATE » National Real Estate News

Wall Street Bonuses Predicted to Decline

jennifer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:02:33 +0000

As if the current real estate market needed more headwinds, the WSJ is reporting that Wall Street bonuses are expected to decline 20-30 percent from 2010, on track to be the lowest levels since 2008. Bond traders are expected to be the hardest hit with bonuses predicted to shrink an estimated 45 percent. On the bright side, small bonus increases are predicted for employees in the commercial and retail banking sectors. Pay trends could improve in 2012, as further job cuts mean there will be a smaller employee pool to which funds will be distributed.

Will Higher Loan Limits Be Restored?

judy — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:41:25 +0000

Less than a month after allowing them to expire, the Senate voted to attach a proposal to a spending bill that could restore higher conforming loan limits. The bill will go before the House later in 2011. Conforming loans are loans that can be purchased and/or insured by the federal government.

At the end of September, maximum mortgage amounts insurable by the government dropped from $729,750 to $625,500 in high cost areas. Many economic experts viewed the expiration as a hardship to the already weakened housing market. The limits had been raised in 2008 by the Bush administration in an effort to make housing more affordable and accessible. The Obama administration allowed the higher limits to expire as part of a “short term plan to shrink the government’s role in the mortgage market,” but many senators argued against it. The move just made “a weak housing market even weaker,” according to New Jersey democrat Robert Menendez, who introduced the bill amendment. The National Association of Realtors®, along with other housing groups have been urging Congress to renew a new two-year extension that would maintain the GSE maximum loan limit at $729,750.

WSJ Article Calls for Action on Housing

jennifer — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:52:58 +0000

A recent Wall Street Journal article suggests that the US government cannot afford to ignore the numerous issues still facing the housing sector. Traditionally, one of the areas to recover first after a recession, it’s clear strong headwinds persist for the housing market three years after the financial crisis began. If housing is to recover any time soon, the administration should strongly consider implementing some of the many current proposals on the table (mortgage modifications, qualifications, refinancing etc). See the full article below:

We Can’t Ignore Housing Anymore

In the end, we can’t dodge housing.

The U.S. recession and financial crisis of the late aughts began with housing and the scourge of subprime mortgages, which were so messily dispensed. It spread to Europe and its banks.

For a few years we tried to work around the paralyzed housing sector – the drip, drip of steadily lower home prices, the unresolved status of the wounded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — and it seemed to be working.

With the help of a super-easy Federal Reserve, fiscal stimulus and much else an admittedly weakish recovery took hold.

Now that worries mount about an ever more likely return to recession amid a significant equities markets decline, we are hearing again about housing.

There’s the foreclosure mess, the underwater mortgage mess, the tight mortgage lending standards and all the rest. There’s displaced construction workers. There’s consumers unwilling to spend as their perceived real estate wealth evaporates.

There’s housing, traditionally the leader out of recession, still generally in decline, and harder to ignore.

Just today, two well-known commentators on the U.S. economic scene weighed in on housing, and it wasn’t encouraging.

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., was generally upbeat about the economy. He cited record carloads at the company’s railroad, Burlington Northern, and same-store sales increases at Berkshire’s retail outlets.

But he was downbeat on housing. The company’s housing units are “as bad as they’ve ever been during this period.” The usually sunny Buffett said he likely would have to amend his view that housing would recover by year-end.

On Capitol Hill, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke talked about housing as he urged Congress and the administration to in effect join the Fed in attempting to spur the economy.

He said Congress should develop a “future path” for housing, Dow Jones reported.

Given political realities, it’s hard to imagine much of a fiscal push, in housing or elsewhere.

But there are reasonable proposals offered from many corners that don’t spell stimulus in capital letters but would do some good.

As has been widely pointed out, the “Operation Twist’ effort by the Fed to drop long-term interest rates even below their historically meager levels won’t do much for housing if too many people won’t qualify for mortgages or can’t refinance because the value of their home has declined or they don’t have much equity.

That has to change. By regulatory fiat, where possible, more people who are current on their mortgage payments have to be able to refinance their mortgages to take advantage of rates near 4%.

That savings for many would go into additional spending, a stimulative measure, and would boost their economic psychology, which is important. Even if they used the savings to pay down their own debt it would do long-term good.

Someone also has to take a hard look at standards for initial mortgage qualification. Obviously, things became absurdly easy as the housing bubble inflated. But pendulums swing too far and experts should determine if there’s a middle ground that would allow more to qualify without excessive risk to lenders.

It’s time to stop trying to work around housing, and take it on.

Sellers: Reconsider Listing Your Nantucket Property Too High

jennifer — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:57:34 +0000

In today’s real estate market, with historically high levels of inventory and still-declining property values, it’s ever so important to price a property competitively. While sellers may be tempted to not leave any money on the table, overpricing a property may actually do just that. According to Trulia.com, here’s why overpricing real estate can create problems for a seller:

“Most experts would advise that the best way to increase your odds of a successful sale is to price your home at fair market value. But, as logical as this advice sounds, for many sellers it is still tempting to tack a few percentage points onto the price to “leave room to negotiate”. ”To avoid this temptation, let’s take a look at the seven deadly sins of overpricing”:

1. Appraisal Problems
Even if you do find a buyer willing to pay an inflated price, the fact is that over 90% of buyers use some kind of financing to pay for their home purchase. If your home doesn’t appraise for the purchase price the sale will likely fail.

2. No Showings
Today’s sophisticated home buyers are well educated about the real estate market. If your home is overpriced they won’t bother looking at it, let alone make you an offer.

3. Branding Problems
When a new listing hits the market, every agent quickly checks the property out to see if it’s a good fit for their clients. If your home is branded as “overpriced”, reigniting interest may take drastic measures.

4. Selling the Competition

Overpricing helps your competition. How? You make their lower prices seem like bargains. Nothing is worse than watching your neighbors put up a sold sign.

5. Stagnation
The longer your home sits on the market, the more likely it is to become stigmatized or stale. Have you ever seen a property that seems to be perpetually for sale? Do you ever wonder – What’s wrong with that house?

6. Tougher Negotiations
Buyers who do view your home may negotiate harder because the home has been on the market for a longer period of time and because it is overpriced compared to the competition.

7. Lost Opportunities
You will lose a percentage of buyers who are outside of your price point. These are buyers who are looking in the price range that the home will eventually sell for but don’t see the home because the price is above their pre-set budget.

Most buyers look at 10-15 homes before making a buying decision. Because of this, setting a competitive price relative to the competition is an essential component to a successful marketing strategy.”

Declaration of Homestead Act- Amendments Adopted 3/16/11

judy — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:33:06 +0000

MA Association of Realtors recently reported :

“A bill containing a series of important amendments to the Homestead Act (Mass. General Laws, Ch. 188), was signed into law in December 2010 and went into effect on March 16, 2011.

Upon filing a Declaration of Homestead, a legal document filed at the registry of deeds upon sale of a primary residence, the residence is protected against subsequent attachment, suit, or bankruptcy to the extent of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of equity per residence, per family. While a Homestead can protect the equity in many situations, such as debts relating to the purchase of the home (purchase money mortgages), tax obligations, and child/spousal support obligations are not covered.

A significant change to the Act now allows homeowners to sell their primary residence, yet maintain the same Homestead protection on the proceeds of the sale. This protection is available for one year from the time of the sale or when a new primary residence is purchased, whichever is sooner. This provision allows flexibility for a homeowner who, for example, needs to relocate for a new job or downsize from their current home or may allow a homeowner with debt-related issues to still purchase another home.Additionally, when these changes become effective, there will be automatic coverage in the amount of $125,000 without any filing. Yet, in order to obtain the maximum coverage of $500,000, the homeowner must still take the time to file the Declaration at the registry. This automatic coverage will protect homeowners who may not have heard of the Homestead Act.

Other key points to the new law include a section that now allows, in certain situations, Homestead protection for homes held by a trust; that the homeowner does not need to record a new Declaration after refinancing and prohibits lenders from requiring a waiver or release of the Homestead; and finally, the law will permit Homestead protection for up to four-family homes and will require closing attorneys to inform buyers of their right to file the Declaration for Homestead Protection.”

As with many issues, homeowners should consult their personal attorneys regarding specific legal questions about the Homestead Act and how they may or may not be impacted by the new changes.”

Nantucket Shadow Inventory Sees Busy First Qtr.

judy — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:18:14 +0000

With mortgage delinquencies at an all time high, an interesting statistic is emerging. The National Association of Realtors reports that all-cash sales were a record 33 percent of all transactions in February 2011. By comparison, they were 27 percent in February 2010, according to NAR’s historical data. The Housing Pulse Report from Campbell Surveys points out that the rise in cash transactions paralleled a rise in purchases by investors who have their focus on distressed properties that can be purchased at a discount.

Shifting focus to our local Nantucket market, a quick search of the LINK Nantucket Listing Service reveals that 17 properties listed between $300,000 and $700,000 have gone under contract and 21 properties in that same price range have sold since January 1, 2011. The average sale price for both statistics is just north of $500,000 and 6 of the 21 sold transactions ( 28 %) were distressed properties. This certainly indicates that there are some wonderful opportunities in the low end of the Nantucket market but that there is also strong interest in the low end and particularly our shadow inventory .

Nantucket Real Estate – Is Demand Finally Matching Supply?

jennifer — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:09:25 +0000

One of the biggest culprits to wreak havoc in the most recent real estate downturn has been the sizable imbalance between the supply of homes and the demand (or lack thereof) from buyers. In recent weeks, the Nantucket real estate market has begun to show signs that this gap may finally be narrowing, at least in terms of demand. Lured by attractive price reductions, buyers are stepping up to the home-buying plate — and oftentimes, it is more than one buyer making an offer on the same property. This type of activity suggests that demand appears to be making a comeback in 2011. But demand is only one side of the imbalance picture…

Curious to know how the supply side of the picture is looking in 2011, we measured new inventory from January 1 – March 15th for both 2010 and 2011. You might be surprised to know that during this time period in 2010, 176 Nantucket properties came to market totaling $324 million. From January 1 to March 15, 2011, 154 properties totaling $283 million have been added to available inventory, meaning that 2011 year-to-date inventory additions are trailing 2010 volumes by approximately 12.5 percent. Supply does appear to be abating, albeit minimally. This is good news for the 2011 real estate market, especially if the momentum in buyer demand remains strong. Overall, however, demand still has a ways to climb to catch up to the current supply on the market.

Below is a snapshot of year-over-year 2010 to 2011 Nantucket real estate inventory:

January 2010: 535 properties listed for sale (439 Residential Properties; 68 Vacant Land Listings; 25 Commercial Properties)
July 2010: 748 properties listed for sale (630 Residential Properties; 89 Vacant Lots; 29 Commercial Properties)
March 15, 2011: 494 properties (386 Residential Properties; 75 Vacant Lots; 33 Commercial Properties).

Windwalker Week in Review – Nantucket Real Estate 3/5-3/11

jennifer — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:10:16 +0000

Look what happened in Nantucket real estate this week!

4 Nantucket Properties Transferred:

Sales Totaled $8.7 million
Highest Sale: 28 Gardner Road for $5.6 million
Lowest Sale: 62 Orange Street for $575,000
28 Gardner Road - Highest Sale of the Week

5 Offers Were Accepted (Prices reflect most recent asking price):

22 Capaum Pond Road ($6.395 million); 4 Reacher Lane ($539,000); 95 Hinsdale ($449,000); 64 Arkansas #458 ($449,999); 15 Chuck Hollow Road ($1,200,000)

3 Purchase & Sale Agreements Were Executed (Prices reflect most recent asking price):

67 Orange Street ($1.195 million); 5 Autopscot Circle ($699,000); 132R Main Street ($695,000)

16 New Nantucket Properties Came to Market:

Total Dollar Value: $15.4 million

Highest Value: 56 Main Street $2.3 million

Lowest Value: 23A Pine Crest Drive $219,000

3 Nantucket Properties Returned to Market:

Total Dollar Value: $2.7 million

Highest Value: 5 Sleepy Hollow Unit 1 $999,500

Lowest Value: 73 Baxter Road for $795,000

3 Price Reductions:

12 Meadow Lane price decrease of 15% to $2,095,000
15 Chuck Hollow Road decrease of 20% to $1,200,000 ( OTP 3/11/11)
37 Goldfinch Drive decrease of 6% to $749,000

15 Chuck Hollow Reduced to $1,200,000 Significant Price Reduction Encourages Multiple Offers!

The 2010 Windwalker Annual Report is Here!

jennifer — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:46:12 +0000

To View The Report Click Here

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Fannie and Freddie in the Spotlight

judy — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:47:50 +0000

Later this week, the Treasury Department will be issuing a report with recommended changes to the structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is the culmination of a long debate over what the government’s role in housing should be. According to statistics from the National Association of Realtors the following facts are relevant to this discussion:

For every additional 1,000 home sales, about 500 jobs are added to the economy. Those are real jobs that give our families, friends and neighbors a chance to work.
Every home purchase pumps $60,000 into the economy.
Housing accounts for more than 15 percent of the national gross domestic product.
Home owners pay 80 to 90 percent of ALL federal income taxes.

The National Association of Realtors will be asking lawmakers to :

Preserve the mortgage interest deduction at current levels.
Move the credit pendulum to equilibrium, defined by a median credit score of 720.
Maintain government backing in the mortgage market as part of GSE Reform.

Food for thought in a time when the economy desperately needs to give housing a jump start!