Wednesday, August 26, 2009

NAR - "NAR Helps Realtors® Make Short Work of Short Sales" (8-26-09)

"Nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures, according to National Association of Realtors® data. To help Realtors® meet the needs of home buyers and sellers who need these services, NAR has launched a new Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification Program (SFR)."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (8-26-09)

"
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 21, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 7.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6.3 percent compared with the previous week and 34.1 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "
July new US home sales up 9.6 percent" (8-26-09)

"The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 from an upwardly revised June rate of 395,000. Sales are now up more than 30 percent from the bottom in January, but are still off nearly 70 percent from the frenzied peak four years ago."

Bloomberg - "Homebuilders Buy Land After Years of Inventory Cuts" (8-26-09)

"Signature Properties has been trying since 2005 to sell 4,000 finished lots in its Fiddyment Farm community, a former pasture and pistachio orchard northeast of Sacramento, California. The developer sold 41 sites in April to Meritage Homes Inc. for $66,000 each, and another 41 in June to Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. for $68,000 apiece. This month, they got their best offer yet -- $103,500 each for 77 sites."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Housing May Be Turning Around, Shiller Says" (8-26-09)

"
An improvement in home prices suggests the U.S. property market may be recovering, said Robert Shiller, a professor of economics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut."

Inman - "Low appraisals sabotage more deals" (8-26-09)

"Real estate brokers all over the New York City area say that more and more appraisals are coming in unexpectedly low, disrupting sales that they expected to close seamlessly. The problem has spread rapidly in recent months, due in part to new guidelines known as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which went into effect May 1. HVCC is intended to prevent appraisal fraud by requiring appraisers to be selected by third parties who have no stake in the sale, but brokers say the code has unintended side effects that make it harder to get deals done."

Orange County Register - "O.C. offices selling at 80%-90% discounts" (8-26-09)

"Office space availability increased in the second quarter of 2009, as it has for every quarter of the last two years. However, the pace of the increase declined, a modest sign of market stabilization."

Bloomberg - "Thrifts Report First Profit Since 2007 on Fees, Lower Reserves" (8-26-09)

"
U.S. savings and loans reported the first profit in six quarters as lenders set aside less money for bad loans and collected additional fees from customers, the industry’s regulator said. Profit of $4 million in the second quarter compares with a $1.62 billion loss in January through March, the first gain since the third quarter of 2007, the Office of Thrift Supervision said today in a quarterly report."

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