Blog Welcome
Category Subscription
Receive email notification when a new item is added in this category.Want to List on Bonnie Koff's Website
Housing and Economic Forecasts Points To Rising Activity
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said existing-home sales have been underperforming by historical standards and will rise gradually but unevenly. “If we just hold at the first-quarter sales pace of 5.1 million, sales this year would rise 4 percent, but the remainder of the year looks better,” Yun said. “We expect 5.3 million existing-home sales this year, up from 4.9 million in 2010, with additional gains in 2012 to about 5.6 million – that’s a sustainable level given the size of our population.”
Mortgage interest rates should rise gradually to 5.5 percent by the end of the year and average 6.0 percent in 2012 – still relatively affordable by historic standards.
“A huge volume of cash sales, supported by the recovery in the stock market, show that smart money is chasing real estate. This implies that there could be a sizeable pent-up demand if mortgages become more readily accessible for qualified buyers,” Yun said. “The problem isn’t with interest rates, but with the continuation of unnecessarily tight credit standards that are keeping many creditworthy buyers from getting a loan despite extraordinarily low default rates over the past two years.”
Existing Homes Sales Up - Jan 2011
RISMEDIA, January 21, 2011—Existing-home sales rose sharply in December 2010, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9% below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009.
Interest Rates Still Low
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Average interest rates for long-term mortgages rose slightly or held still in the past week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said mixed signals in a national employment report -- showing unemployment up to 9.6 percent, but private payrolls higher -- had "a mixed effect on mortgage rates this week."
2009 Westchester End of Year Review
After enduring three years of a declining real estate market, 2009 brought a much needed break for the hard hit real estate sector. Driven largely in part by the economic stimulus that helped the housing market emerge from the recession, it leaves many of us wondering what is next for real estate. Will housing prices rebound? Will the new extended and expanded tax credit be just what the doctor ordered? Will the luxury market recover similarly to the entry level?
How would you say the housing market faired in 2009?
Did it live up to your expectations or falter?
It's Not Just A House
It's not just a house, more importantly it's your home.
As you think about the many things that your home provides you, safety, security, equity preservation (if done right), then I want you to think of me as your home specialist. Someone who you can trust to be there for you when you have any type of home need.
Teaching Your Kids To Manage Money
Many parents have learned how to build and manage their credit and money through trial and error. As a result, in many cases, their credit has either been damaged or not optimized in the process. Parents can find a number of easy ways to get educated on more effective ways to manage their money and credit. Here are some important, age-specific tips that parents can use to help their children learn the value of money and, consequently, credit from ApprovalGuard.com.
Follow us on Twitter.
Like us on Facebook.
Connect on LinkedIn.