We finally have a reason to celebrate!!  There is an avalanche of positive news regarding an upturn in the real estate and housing market in 2012.   

1. Foreclosure activity in 2011 is down more than 50% lower in several states, including New Jersey, Maryland and Florida.  Realty Trac
2. The much feared “shadow inventory” of foreclosures declined dramatically in 2011.  In December 2012, 2.2 million properties were in some stage of foreclosure.  In September 2011, that number dropped to 1.5 million units…or a whopping 32% in nine months.  Realtytrac
3. Realtors in some hard hit area’s, such as Michigan and southern California, are reporting a shortage of housing inventory and a return to bidding wars in tight markets.  
4. Wall Street thinks the worst is over.  Stocks of the nation’s five largest, publicly traded, home builders are at 52 week highs, signaling an upswing in home construction in 2012.  In addition, the home builders have been snapping up deals on land and abandoned subdivisions, in anticipation of increased buyer demand.  CNBC
5. Home sellers, Realtors and home builders are getting help from rising rents, as Americans realize that owning a home is often less expensive than renting one.   And, while future rent increases have no ceiling on how high they can go, ownership locks in housing expenses and equity is created as the loan balance decreases each month.
6. Legal issues, property maintenance and other issues complicating the foreclosure process will push banks and lenders to approve more short sales in 2012, further reducing housing inventory.
7. Interest rates will remain at historical lows in 2012, which allows more people to qualify for a home and cheap money buys more house for the same monthly payment. 
8. Overall, foreclosure activity was dropped more than 30 percent in 2011.   Fewer than 2 million properties foreclosure notices were filed in 2011, down from 2.9 million property filings in 2010.  Realty Trac

If you need to sell your home, things haven’t looked this favorable in years.      Arm yourself with an MLS listing and exposure on Realtor.com and all the major search engines for real estate.   Millions of home buyers search these websites, daily.  If your home isn’t there, they will buy the one that is. 

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home sellers and we can help you, too.

   The idea of Bulldozing houses is nothing new.  Although the banks are not blowing up homes for alturistic reasons…I think we can all agree that removing home inventory is good for all of us.  In 2010, Warren Buffet advised that ”blow up a lot of houses” was a viable option and similar to ‘cash for clunkers’ auto program.  I always thought bulldozing abandoned homes and returning the land to a raw state was a smarter solution than handing out money in the form of a homebuyer tax credit.   The tax credit cost billions of dollars, put money into the hands of a few people blessed with good timing and did little to reduce inventory.  

Bankers, why not take the “TNT” strategy one step further.   Donate unwanted houses to local non-profits vs blowing them up?  Make a call to Habitat for Humanity, for example?   I can’t understand why Habitat is still building new homes, when we can’t get rid of the ones that are causing problems in our neighborhoods.   Habitat needs to change their business model with the times and so do our lenders.  Families, who are in dire need now, wait up to 6+ months for a new home to be built and the cost of building from scratch far exceeds the costs of rehabbing properties, in most cases.    

Just my two cents….

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We offer a low, flat fee MLS program for owners, builders and for people who need to hold onto as much of their money as possible.  If you aren’t familiar with advertising your home  on the MLS or Realtor.com, please visit our website and review the FAQ.   Our marketing packages reach millions of home buyers each day.

 InfoTube.net is FREE home selling website.  Visit our site for free legal forms, home searches, home listings, marketing tools, advise and support!   We are a 100% Made in the USA company.

The lack of first-time buyers is hurting the housing market and their absense is hampering the recovery.

In normal markets, first time buyers make up 40%-45% of all home purchasers.  Since January of 2011, purchases made by first time buyers averages only 32%

Why is this important for existing home sales? 

First time buyers are crucial to the market because they buy starter homes so those owners can step up to a more expensive property.   Despite low mortgage rates and deeply discounted prices, they are remaining on the sidelines…at least for now.

What may be keeping first time buyers out of the housing market?

Some experts point to a hangover from the  Expired Tax Credit of 2009 and 201o, which may have lured buyers into a home sooner than later.   Some point to tighter lending standards and increased down payment requirements.  The best loan terms now kick in with a down payment of 20% or more, which may be very difficult for a first time homeowner.

The Silver Lining — The National Association of Realtors reported that a record 33% of all existing home sales in Febuary were to Cash Buyers.  In some parts of the country, cash buyers accounted for more than half of all the existing homes sold.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We have helped thousands of home sellers and builders market their homes and save money.  We can help you, too!  Visit our website for facts and details.

Home Sellers should check out  InfoTube.NET a FREE homes for sale and rent website.  Visit the site to  place a free ad on your property, view listings or to purchase a Made in America InfoTube or InfoBoxe to help you market your home on the street.

We can also arrange for your property to be shown on your local MLS and/or Realtor.com and all major real estate websites.  CLICK HERE for details.

The moratorium on foreclosures effectively removes ONE THIRD of all the homes For Sale from the market!!   33 Percent of the competition is GONE!!!   For how long, we don’t know…but, we do know that this is a RARE opportunity and all property seller’s should take full advantage of it.

What can home seller’s and builder”s do to take advantage of the Bank Error?

• Realize that Time is of the Essense!  The banks will work hard and fast to get their inventory back on the market.  And, when they do, they will no doubt offer special incentives that individual seller’s can not compete against.  The clock is ticking…….
• Price Right and Show Well!   If your home is priced right against its remaining competition, and it is staged, depersonalized and shows well, Your House Will Sell.
• Marketing to the Masses is Key!    The MLS sells over 90% of all the homes in the United States.   If your home is not on the MLS, your chances of selling are less than 10%.   If money is tight, know that you don’t have to pay 6% for an MLS listing.  You can purchase an MLS listing for your Home for only $399.

Why6Percent.com believes that “a bank moratorium on foreclosure competition” is a very unique opportunity and the window is open for a short period of time, only.   We are here to help you . “The clock is ticking”.  Don’t let this unbelievable opportunity pass you by!!

The lenders are Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and GMAC Mortgage Co. owned by Ally Financial Inc.  They are temporarily halting foreclosure actions in 23 states.

They are Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

For the homeowners, the action by the banks gives them a little more time to catch up on their delinquent mortgage payments.

For the residential real estate market, the action means fewer houses will be dumped in the for-sale arena, giving falling prices a chance to stabilize.

For the real estate market as a whole, the banks’ actions give the industry another black eye at a time when it is struggling to regain the public’s confidence.
(This article posted by Alex Finklestein

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.    We are always available to assist you with your home sale.  Visit our website for an overview of available options.

Florida  implented the act on July 1st and the result has been overwhelmingly successful, so far.   Wall Street firms are lining up to compete for Florida Condo’s. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

Why6Percent.com is thrilled for Florida homeowners, builders and developers.    If you are selling a home or condo, please check out our affordable Realtor.com and local MLS listing packages.  You will be glad you did!!!

2 Ways to Pay for PMI. 

Buyers can negotiate with the seller to pay a single premium upfront or buyers can roll the premium into their loan.  The downside of rolling it into the loan is that interest will be charged on loan for the premium.   The upside is the interest paid is deductible and the buyer will pay less money out of pocket at closing.

The only way to eliminate PMI is to put 20 percent down and apply for 80 percent financing.   Waiting is the only other way to get rid of the expense.  PMI cancels as you pay down your loan and equity reaches 22 percent of the homes value.

Thank you for visiting Why 6 Percent.  Interest Rates remain unchanged today.  Good news for home sellers and buyers, alike.   Learn more about our flat fee MLS and Realtor.com program for homeowners.  Market your home like the pro’s and save thousands in commissions!

The  program, which takes effect April 5, 2010,  pays lenders and borrowers to complete a short sale.   Key points of the program are as follows.

• 1.  The program compels lenders to accept a short sale offer and forgive the difference they are owed between the market value and the outstanding mortgage balance. 
• 2.  The lender will receive $1000 for every short sale they participate in.
• 3.  The program encourages millions of borrowers to get serious about getting rid of their homes.  It  pays homeowners $1500 in walking away cash for finding buyer for their property and closing the sale.
• 4.  The lender will utilize real estate agents to determine the present market value for a home.  That value will set the minimum acceptable price.   The estimated value will not be shared with the homeowner.  If an offer is submitted that is equal to or higher than the estimated value, the lender MUST take it.

Pro’s and Con’s

• 1.  For the investment pools which own most of the home loans, there is the hope of getting more money from a short sale than a foreclosure proceeding.
• 2.  For the lender, $1000 will help offset the labor intensive short sale process.
• 3.  For the borrower, their credit will suffer less damage.  They have the lenders assurance that they won’t be sued down the line for their unpaid balance.  And, they get $15oo to assist with their relocation.
• 4.  For the community, short sales mean fewer empty houses sitting around waiting for the bank sale.  It is estimated as many as half of all vacant properties are ransacked, neglected, vandalized and depress the value of neighboring homes.
• The downside is that short sales are “tailor made” for fraud.  House values are inherently subjective, which providing a wide latitude of potential conflicts.
• Another problem is that bankers hate the very idea of accepting an offer short of what they are owed.  By nature, they don’t want to sell anything at a discount.  If they loan $200,000 …they expect to be repaid $200,000, not $150,000.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com   We have helped thousands of people sell their homes and save a ton of money in fee’s and commissions.  We can Help You, too!!

Why?  Interest rates are rising.  Job losses have slowed to a trickle.  Factory and Industrial output is up for the first time in years.   And, we feel that the Fed is holding back information, for now, on the job creation that is happening as we speak.

So, where are the best real estate deals in the country??  We have identified 10 cities that are offering up Trump-type deals of a lifetime.   CLICK HERE to see where the action will start first.

If you haven’t placed your property listing on the MLS, Realtor.com, Zillow, Google, MSN, Military.com and all the other major real estate websites…you are missing buyers.  Go to the Why6Percent.com website and sign up NOW!!Don’t wait a minute longer.  Tax Credits, Rising Rates and Gutted Home Prices are creating a stir among buyers early this spring.  You snooze…you lose…  And, we certainly don’t want that.

Depending on where you live, you may have never experienced a winter like this one.  I know I haven’t.  Week after week, snow, rain, mudslides and/or freezing temperatures have pounded the country.  With only 1 state out of 50 snowless, it’s easy to see why no one is attending Open Houses… Fortunately,  with February nearly over,  the crocus will soon appear and we predict that homebuyers will hit the streets enmass.  

Home Sellers Get Ready.  The nasty, record setting winter certainly put a halt to home sales, but the upside is the pent up demand it created.  People who expected some typical, nice days to tour homes after the holidays, have  found themselves stuck inside with nothing to do but watch HGTV and dream about buying a home.  We predict these stir crazy buyers will hit the streets at the first opportunity. 

$8000 Reasons to Motivate this Spring.   The $8000 tax credit for homebuyers expires in 43 Days.   To cash in on the lucrative tax credit, buyers must be under contract for a home before April 1st or they forfeit $8000 grand!!  That’s a lot of motivation to get serious in a hurry.

Cheap Money.   The Fed and Mortgage Bankers all acknowledge that interest rates will increase this spring and continue moving upward through 2010.   Buyers know that if they snooze they lose the chance to lock in a cheap, fixed rate loan and risk pricing themselves out of their dream home, entirely.

Get Ready. Get Set.  Sell.  Home sellers should prepare for a surge in buying activity this spring that has not been seen in several years.   Make every second count now by deciding on your selling strategy.  Agent? FSBO? FSBO, combined with the power of the MLS?  Whichever you chose or want to pay for,  make sure you use the internet for all it’s worth.  And, get to  know your local home market like the back of your hand.   

Why6Percent.com will make sure you are ready when the buyers show up.   Place your property on InfoTube.net for FREE exposure to thousands of buyers each week.  Advertise your home listing to every buyers agent and on every real estate website with our cheap, flat fee MLS listing, and keep the commission.  Either way you chose, act now.  You can’t afford to wait until the buyers are looking.   This is what you’ve been waiting for.