Real Estate Investment
By Carrie Bay | 01/30/2012
The analysts at Capital Economics are holding fast to their forecast that the downturn in the housing market is drawing to a close. As a result, they say housing should soon start to boost economic growth, but as it now makes up only a small share of the economy, the sector is unlikely to add much more than 0.2 percentage points to annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year. In the fourth quarter of 2011, residential investment accounted for just 2.5 percent of overall GDP. That's down from the 2005 peak of 6.3 percent and the 1946 to 2008 average of 4.8 percent.
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By Kelli Snowgren | 01/30/2012
Field Asset Services (FAS), a provider of pre-foreclosure, REO, and renovation field services, has released its top 10 property preservation predictions for 2012, which focus on providing superior customer service, the need to take initiative to pre-empt future problems, and a demand for knowledge that will open communication and deliver results. Among the company's forecasts, institutional investors will begin to emerge as their interest in purchasing single-family residence REO properties increases, and innovation in the area of mobile technology will be necessary for vendors and contractors to work more efficiently from the field.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/23/2012
Homebuyers with enough cash in hand to cover their offer price in full are able to bid significantly lower on properties and according to a new industry report released Monday, because they offer a shorter and more reliable closing timeline without the impediments of a mortgage, they often win out with that lower bid. The study found that this low-bid-winning dynamic is particularly true for distressed properties because mortgage servicers selling foreclosed or REO homes generally prefer transactions that can settle within 30 days.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/05/2012
The Federal Reserve is throwing its support behind a large-scale REO-to-rental program to address the oversupply of vacant homes and prevent property values from falling further. The Fed notes that in contrast to the market for owner-occupied homes, rental housing is strengthening. Officials say a government-facilitated program has the potential to help the housing market and improve loss recoveries. They've identified specific markets with large concentrations of vacant REOs, where bulk sales to investors make sense.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/03/2012
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is extending the temporary waiver of its property anti-flipping rule. FHA rules typically prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. In 2010, however, the agency waived this regulation, and later extended the waiver through 2011. This latest extension permits the use of FHA-insured financing for HUD-owned and bank-owned properties, no matter how long the homeowner has held the title, through December 31, 2012.
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By Carrie Bay | 12/23/2011
Despite record low mortgage rates, 2011 has seen a surprisingly high level of cash home purchases, according to the real estate research firm Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. Analysts with the company say between tight lending standards and a desperate search for yield by investors, cash purchases of homes - particularly for distressed properties - are becoming more common. The company's study found 38 percent of homes purchased in 2011 were bought with all cash.
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By Krista Franks | 12/14/2011
Citing data from Lender Processing Services estimating more than 2 million properties in some state of foreclosure, Fitch Ratings says REO sales - both single-property and bulk sales - will be an integral component of the housing market over the next two years. However, the timing and method of disposition will have significant implications for home prices, according to Fitch. The agency notes that distressed properties generally sell at a substantial discount, further exacerbated by the presence of excess inventory.
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By Carrie Bay | 12/13/2011
With the holiday season approaching, the tracking firm ForeclosureRadar is seeing declines in the number of completed foreclosures in four of the five states it monitors along the country's West Coast - California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Only Arizona saw foreclosure sales rise in November, up 25 percent from October. Even with the recent increase, Arizona's numbers remain well below the state's monthly average for the year. Sales of foreclosures to third-party investors have risen sharply when compared to year-ago levels.
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By Carrie Bay | 12/12/2011
There's been much debate over the root causes of the housing meltdown that catapulted the nation into the worst financial crisis in 80 years. A new report from the Federal Reserve focuses on the sharp run-up and subsequent collapse in housing prices during the 2000s. It concludes that real estate investors who used mortgage credit to purchase multiple properties played a larger role in fueling the housing bubble than previously recognized, pushing prices up during the boom and then defaulting in large numbers when prices began to head south.
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By Carrie Bay | 12/02/2011
Looking for an REO buyer? It's becoming harder to find owner-occupants to fit that bill. New Vista Asset Management has published the results of a three-year study on buyers of foreclosed homes, covering 18 counties hit hardest by the mortgage crisis. The company says the percentage of REO homes sold to owner-occupants has decreased in almost every market. In Los Angeles, for example, the share of owner-occupant REO buyers dropped from 80 percent in 2009 to 60 percent by the third quarter of 2011.
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