Filed under: Real Estate
When you eat, sleep and breathe something that has gone toxic, sometimes you just have to take a break and take a long nap. People often ask me “how’s the real estate market?” My pat answer is “do you read the paper or watch the news???!” Perhaps Polyanna would have a different answer. Sometimes I just don’t know what to say.
I finally decided I’d scout for a dose of sunshine – afterall, the government is offering either $6500 or $8000 to anyone who wants to buy a home. Interest rates remain at an all time low. Yes, the lending market has tightened a little (like a noose!), but if you have a few dollars as a downpayment, decent credit and a job….. wait a minute… you need a JOB. ‘Nough said.
The “Realtor Newswire” must have some good news – it’s their job to prop up Realtors and keep us informed. Here’s what they had to say about the national market last week:
- Residential construction has declined 21 of the last 25 months and is down 9.3 percent from last year. It is at the lowest level in 50 years according to Warren Buffett.
- Short Sales now account for 15.9% of all sales, up from 10% in 2009.
- A survey shows that 29% of homeowners would love to move but are unable to sell their current home. (Now THERE is some pent up demand that will probably implode if other factors don’t change).
- This is the worst housing decline since the Great Depression that has left 1 in 5 mortgage holders owing more than their houses are worth.
- Distressed home sales accounted for 38% of the sales last month.
- Pending home sales are down (but that’s because they had a lot of snow out East or something like that).
- Fannie Mae needs another $15.3 BILLION from the federal government to stabilize its finances. This stems from a continuing stream of bad loans with 5.38% of their loans 90-days+ delinquent. (FYI, that’s – $15,300,000,000.00).
- Barclays Capital cautions there’s still a bit more of a drop, another 4 to 5 percent before officially hitting bottom and little chance of sustained gains any time soon. They expect home prices to remain disproportionately low without any form of notable rebound for years to come.
…..COME ON….. There MUST be a gem in this update! Oh, here we are: – The FDIC (who we all know has LOTS of money) is experimenting with a plan to help homeowners who are underwater by reducing their principal as long as they remain current. This program would be limited in scope for an as-yet-to-be-determined period of time for an as-yet-to-be-determined group of homeowners and will be administered by an as-yet-to-be-determined organization. Yippee!
- The Obama Administration is floating an idea to prohibit lenders from foreclosing on a home unless the borrower has been considered for the government’s HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program). This is NOT to be confused with the government’s wildly successful HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program).
- Good news… HARP was expected to expire on June 10 and has been extended for another year. Get your applications in early folks!
So now you have a snapshot into the National Real Estate Market. The question is – what about Waukesha? Well, unless we secede from the world, we’re a part of those statistics. Generally, we are more conservative and the swings aren’t quite as wide. The reality is this – there are three things that people will always need: food, clothing and shelter. So if you have a job….. buy a burger, a blouse or a house.
