FDIC Considers Principal Reduction Program
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is experimenting with a plan to help underwater home owners by reducing principal as long as they continue to pay their mortgages for an as-yet-undetermined period of time.
"We're thinking about it in terms of earned principal forgiveness. If you stay current on your mortgage, you would earn a principal reduction. It would only be for loans significantly underwater," says FDIC Chair Sheila C. Bair.
The initiative would be very limited in scope and would be launched later this year.
Lender Wells Fargo also has been carefully experimenting with principal reductions on a limited basis. "I do not believe that you can do a programmatic-wide or country-wide principal forgiveness [program]. You end up with many problems if you try to do this across the board," says Mike Heid, co-president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
Source: Washington Post, Renae Merle (02/26/2010)
Feb 25, 2010
Daily Developments: Greater Minnesota Receives Housing Grants
Greater Minnesota Receives Housing Grants
The grants, which will be distributed by DEED, will aid nine communities throughout the state.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced Tuesday that nine cities in Greater Minnesota will receive grants to aid infrastructure and housing improvements.
The funding, which totals more than $3.6 million, was provided through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Small Cities Development Program.
The program funds infrastructure, housing, and commercial rehabilitation projects that benefit people of low to moderate incomes. Cities with populations under 50,000 and counties with populations under 200,000 are eligible to apply for the grants.
“This funding will create jobs and help improve Greater Minnesota communities,” DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy said in a statement. “The Small Cities Development Program is an important part of DEED’s strategy for strengthening the Minnesota economy.”
Grants were awarded to the following communities:
• Brandon: $600,000
• Doran: $210,000
• Bertha: $600,000
• Milan: $600,000
• Riverton: $127,500
• Belgrade: $417,400
• Elk River: $350,000
• Lismore: $501,000
• Owatonna: $250,000
—Jake Anderson
The grants, which will be distributed by DEED, will aid nine communities throughout the state.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced Tuesday that nine cities in Greater Minnesota will receive grants to aid infrastructure and housing improvements.
The funding, which totals more than $3.6 million, was provided through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Small Cities Development Program.
The program funds infrastructure, housing, and commercial rehabilitation projects that benefit people of low to moderate incomes. Cities with populations under 50,000 and counties with populations under 200,000 are eligible to apply for the grants.
“This funding will create jobs and help improve Greater Minnesota communities,” DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy said in a statement. “The Small Cities Development Program is an important part of DEED’s strategy for strengthening the Minnesota economy.”
Grants were awarded to the following communities:
• Brandon: $600,000
• Doran: $210,000
• Bertha: $600,000
• Milan: $600,000
• Riverton: $127,500
• Belgrade: $417,400
• Elk River: $350,000
• Lismore: $501,000
• Owatonna: $250,000
—Jake Anderson
Feb 24, 2010
2009 Minneapolis Metro Residential Real Estate Activity Report
The MplsRealtor annual publication is bursting with research and analysis for the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area housing market—clean charts, organized tables, quick analysis and easy-to-read maps.
This online version includes "Historical Average Sales Price by Area" along with the stronger metric "Historical Median Sales Price by Area." The "Average" tables won't be in the print edition.
A BIG thank you to everyone at the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS who contributed to this incredibly informational report. I am very pleased to be a member of such great association!
To view the report, please click on this link: http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/RREAR/RREAR_2009.pdf
This online version includes "Historical Average Sales Price by Area" along with the stronger metric "Historical Median Sales Price by Area." The "Average" tables won't be in the print edition.
A BIG thank you to everyone at the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS who contributed to this incredibly informational report. I am very pleased to be a member of such great association!
To view the report, please click on this link: http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/RREAR/RREAR_2009.pdf
Feb 22, 2010
IRS Clarifies What's Needed to Claim Tax Credit
IRS Clarifies What's Needed to Claim Tax Credit
The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit.
While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties’ signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn’t common.
The IRS clarification says: "In areas where signatures are not required on the settlement document, the IRS has clarified that it will accept a settlement statement if it is completed and valid according to local law. … The IRS encourages those buyers to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return.”
For repeat buyers, the IRS is seeking documentation that home buyers have lived in the previous property for a consecutive five of the past eight years. Proof can include property tax records, home owner insurance records, or mortgage interest statements.
Source: Washington Post (02/20/2010)
The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit.
While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties’ signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn’t common.
The IRS clarification says: "In areas where signatures are not required on the settlement document, the IRS has clarified that it will accept a settlement statement if it is completed and valid according to local law. … The IRS encourages those buyers to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return.”
For repeat buyers, the IRS is seeking documentation that home buyers have lived in the previous property for a consecutive five of the past eight years. Proof can include property tax records, home owner insurance records, or mortgage interest statements.
Source: Washington Post (02/20/2010)
Feb 19, 2010
Five Areas To Scrub to Make Yours Sparkle
Clean Homes Show Better--Five Areas To Scrub to Make Yours Sparkle
by Phoebe Chongchua
So, here's a question for you. Would you rather walk into a clean home or a dirty one? No, it's not a trick question but it is an important one. You see, when it comes to selling a home, many people forget how important the answer to that question really is. Sellers get busy looking for their new home, preparing the kids for a move, packing up their belongings, getting organized for their new life and relocation so much that sometimes their home that's for sale doesn't get the TLC that's needed to push it to the top of the buyers' must-have list.
by Phoebe Chongchua
So, here's a question for you. Would you rather walk into a clean home or a dirty one? No, it's not a trick question but it is an important one. You see, when it comes to selling a home, many people forget how important the answer to that question really is. Sellers get busy looking for their new home, preparing the kids for a move, packing up their belongings, getting organized for their new life and relocation so much that sometimes their home that's for sale doesn't get the TLC that's needed to push it to the top of the buyers' must-have list.
Feb 1, 2010
4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing
4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing
A new report from the Urban Land Institute predicts two major changes in the U.S. housing market as we began a new decade.
Home appreciation will slow considerably to about 1 percent to 2 percent annually.
The current U.S. homeownership rate, now at 67 percent (which is down from a record high of 69 percent), will fall further to about 62 percent.
4 Major Demographic Trends
The report also cites four major U.S. demographic trends that will have a major impact on housing.
1. Aging baby boomers (ages 55 to 64 years old): They will keep working, and many will be forced to stay in their suburban homes until values recover. Those who are able to move will choose mixed-age living environments that cater to active lifestyles. Walkable suburban town centers also will appeal to this group.
2. Younger baby boomers (46 to 54 years old): They are now entering their prime earning years but they will lack home equity and unlike the older members of their generation, they won’t be able to purchase second homes. This will likely curb the prospects for the second-home market.
3. Generation Y: They are larger than the baby boom generation (with a population of about 86 million). As they enter the housing market, they are less interested in homeownership than their parents were when they were young adults. “They will be renters by necessity or choice for years ahead,” says John K. McIlwain, author of the report.
4. Immigrants – both legal and illegal: They are nearly 40 million strong. They often prefer multi-generational households and if they can afford them, larger homes in neighborhoods with a strong sense of community.
Source: The Urban Land Institute (01/27/2010)
REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing
A new report from the Urban Land Institute predicts two major changes in the U.S. housing market as we began a new decade.
Home appreciation will slow considerably to about 1 percent to 2 percent annually.
The current U.S. homeownership rate, now at 67 percent (which is down from a record high of 69 percent), will fall further to about 62 percent.
4 Major Demographic Trends
The report also cites four major U.S. demographic trends that will have a major impact on housing.
1. Aging baby boomers (ages 55 to 64 years old): They will keep working, and many will be forced to stay in their suburban homes until values recover. Those who are able to move will choose mixed-age living environments that cater to active lifestyles. Walkable suburban town centers also will appeal to this group.
2. Younger baby boomers (46 to 54 years old): They are now entering their prime earning years but they will lack home equity and unlike the older members of their generation, they won’t be able to purchase second homes. This will likely curb the prospects for the second-home market.
3. Generation Y: They are larger than the baby boom generation (with a population of about 86 million). As they enter the housing market, they are less interested in homeownership than their parents were when they were young adults. “They will be renters by necessity or choice for years ahead,” says John K. McIlwain, author of the report.
4. Immigrants – both legal and illegal: They are nearly 40 million strong. They often prefer multi-generational households and if they can afford them, larger homes in neighborhoods with a strong sense of community.
Source: The Urban Land Institute (01/27/2010)
REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing
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