Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
Great First Step Mr. President: Here’s 3 More Things You Can Do.
February 19th, 2009 Categories: Buyers, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
Yesterday, President Obama announced his first step to stop the hemorrhaging of the housing market. It’s a good first step. (For the full speech, click here) After eight years of leaders who were throwing money at a problem, by either lowering interest rates or giving cash to bankers, a plan that has some real action is welcomed. This new approach is going to take a little getting used to. But bring it on.
One thing this plan isn’t going to do it save everyone. As it should be. The public is suffering from bail-out overload. The general public doesn’t want to help someone they think caused the problem in the first place. So before you pass judgment, read the goal of President Obama’s actions.
Why This Plan Will Help
If you bought a home after 2005 & possible 2004 after this year is out, you are upside down on your mortgage- meaning that you owe more on your mortgage than you can sell your house for if you were to put it up for sale. So– if you have a 3–1, 5–1 or 7–1 ARM– it will be almost impossible for you to refinance your mortgage if your short term interest rate is getting ready to mature. This plan will help you.
It’s aimed at people who are current on their mortgage, lost value in their home & need to refinance.
There are other parts of President Obama’s plan, but guidelines will be issues in early March- so stay tuned for what happens next.
Why This Plan Won’t Solve Everyone’s Problems
The plan is not targeted to people who who invested in a risky market & lost; or, to people who have jumbo loans outside the FHA limits. Many people aren’t going to get a free ride when they find out the limits on any loan adjustments they are offered.
This is a complicated problem & everyone isn’t going to like the results. We have to focus on solutions that make sense in the long term while curbing the short term crisis.
Foreclosures & short sales aren’t going to evaporate from the market overnight. We drove up housing prices to a place where the average buyer couldn’t afford to buy their first home. We had artificial housing prices driven by artificial mortgages. We have taken the artificial mortgages off the market. We are experiencing a free market that is adjusting the artificial housing prices. I worry that in our attempt to stop the foreclosure madness, housing prices won’t fall back to an affordable level for average people. The president’s plan may get to that affordable level– but at a slower rate. This plan won’t have any impact in the market for at least another 6 months. It won’t be until next year until the real estate market gets back on its feet. Will this program be the catalyst? I hope so.
Now that President Obama has taken the first step to stabilize the housing market, there are 3 more things he can do to advance the housing market for some marginal growth during the next four years. Keep in mind– the actions that President Obama has taken over his first month in office were to stabilize an economy in a free fall; his next step is to introduce policies at advance that economy.
Three Steps President Obama Can Take To Advance The Housing Market
As someone who works in this housing market everyday– I see first hand the issues people who are trying to buy a new home face. These are not people who are trying to game the market, or expect buy a new home & have 40% equity in their home in 3 years. These are regular people who are first time buyers, people who need more space because they are recently married or have increased their family size. While the rest of the world is in crisis– there are people around us who are just trying to live their lives.
A few years ago, these same people could have gotten a mortgage with little or no money down; they have good jobs & therefore were & still are good risks; they could sell their current smaller home to buy a larger one. Now the rules of the game have changed & they need some direction on how to play it. So these are my ideas.
1. Make It Easier For People To Buy Short Sale & Foreclosed Homes
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You Can Vote However You Like
October 28th, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Around the City of Alexandria, Fairfax, Real Estate News, The Road Less Taken
Only a week to go until election day. And since this is not a poticial blogâ
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Panda Friday!
May 9th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News, The Road Less Taken
What better way to get back into my writing that starting out with something light! Itâ
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Time To Get Answers: Tuesday April 22, 2008 Buyer Seminar
April 20th, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Nauck, Neighborhoods, Real Estate News, Shirlington
Save the dateâ
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I’m HERE- and Back Online
April 20th, 2008 Categories: Blue Plate Specials, Real Estate News
A few of us real estate bloggers where cyber attacked this past week.
Fortunately for me, most of my files was still in tact when these malicious attacks where stopped. But that doesnâ
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A Big WOW For Shirlington: US Patent Office Will Be Our Neighbors
February 21st, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Real Estate News, Shirlington
The last office building planned for Shirlington is almost complete. Randolph Square will have over 200,000 square feet of office space, retail stores and a nice new parking garage to add some much needed parking.
The exciting news is that this shiny new building now has a bright new tenant: The US Patent Office.
The building is scheduled to open in April- just in time for the spring and bring with it the US Government.
Welcome to the neighborhood â
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Don’t Spend It All In One Place
February 14th, 2008 Categories: Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News
This president loves to tell Americians to go out and spend money. So now you can. Donâ
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Freddie Mac Reaches Out
December 14th, 2007 Categories: Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
Itâ
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Bush’s Rate Freeze: An Early Christmas Present or Coal in Your Stocking?
December 6th, 2007 Categories: Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
President Bush plans to announce, today, a compromise policy to freeze interest rates for some sub-prime mortgages for a period of 5 years.
Expect an afternoon joint press conference with the Treasury Department and members of the mortgage industry that negotiated this deal.
While the exact terms of the plans have not been officially announced, the Internet in buzzing with most of the planâ
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3Q07 Arlington Sales: 1,831 Reasons Why Arlington Beats the National Trend
November 20th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Ballston, Buyers, Clarendon, Columbia Pike, Courthouse, Crystal City, East Falls Church, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Nauck, Pentagon City, Real Estate News, Rossyln, Sellers, Shirlington, Virginia Square
I havenâ
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