If there was any doubt prior to 2007 as to just how important the housing market is to the U.S. economy, there isn’t any more – not after several years of declining home values, falling existing home sales, and sluggish demand for real estate. GDP is barely keeping above water, and real estate is a [...]
Archive by Author
About John E. Miller
Location
Posts
Deciphering Real Estate Numbers
It is no surprise that many people are expanding the scope of their business as a result of the rocky economy. Many lawyers have moved to judicial foreclosure states in an effort to capitalize on the high foreclosure rate throughout the country. In addition, with the incredibly high unemployment rate, many businesses are seeking to [...]
Bank of America Listens to Debit Card Fees Outcry, but Ignores Foreclosures
It is undeniable that social media has made it much easier for people to bind together toward a common cause. Occupy Wall Street protestors have utilized social media to gather people in various cities across the country, many of which are protesting foreclosures and occupying abandoned buildings. Recently, Bank of America (which has been a [...]
What are Dual Agency Relationships and how do they Work?
When you select a real estate broker, you often want this broker/agent to be on your side regardless of whether you are buying or selling the home. If your broker only represents you in the process, then you have a single agency relationship with your broker. For example, if you are selling a home and [...]
Looking for a Real Estate Agent? Ask the Right Questions
When looking for a real estate agent there are several things you can take into consideration. What is their style? When hiring a real estate agent you are essentially hiring someone to represent you throughout the process. Therefore, you probably want someone that represents you in a positive light. What is their approach? Are you [...]
Mortgage Rates Stay At All-Time Low, Spur Interest in Refinance Proposal
Those in the real estate world have been paying attention over the past few weeks to the basement-level state of mortgage rates, which hit a historic low earlier this month. While they are currently above that mark of 3.94%, they are still not far above the previously-unheard of mark of 4%, standing firm at 4.11% [...]
Mitt Romney Says Foreclosure Market Needs to “Hit the Bottom”; Is He Right?
Presidential candidates are expected to have a detailed, informed, and up-to-date opinion on everything. Sometimes they fail spectacularly to meet this expectation, but often times they display an opinion that reveals an understanding of the concepts behind the issue – even if the opinion itself is controversial. In an interview published before the Republican presidential [...]
Foreclosure Inventory Casts Shadow Over Housing Market for Fourth Quarter And Beyond
The fourth quarter of 2011 is well underway and already a deep shadow has been cast over the housing market – a shadow comprised of millions of pending and futureforeclosures prepped to hit the market over the next 12-18 months. There are an estimated 4.5 million homes in the country today that are either scheduled [...]
Banks Demolish Unwanted Properties
What do banks do when they have an incredibly high number of foreclosure properties on their inventory that they are responsible for but at the same time are unable to find buyers for these bank foreclosures? Well, the banks demolish the properties. Although this may seem a bit extreme, let’s look at it from another [...]
Want to Make Nice Yields? Turn to Real Estate Trusts
Any prospective investor who has even so much as glanced at the stock market over the past few days/weeks/years knows that putting hard-earned money into stocks is an extremely dicey proposition for all but the most seasoned, battle-tested, and well-funded professional investors. Unless you know where to look, that is. The days of ridiculous, overnight [...]
Real Estate Investment Trusts Take Turn South – Should You Buy?
The hot thing in the news regarding real estate over the last year or so has been REITs – real estate investment trusts, tradable securities that can be bought and sold on exchanges. These assets are based off of actual properties, so they give traders an opportunity to leverage physical real estate without having to [...]
Mortgage Rates Remain Low as ARMs Rise
Mortgage rates across the country for most loan types continue to remain near historic lows as the Federal Reserve attempts to keep them low and spur the flagging housing market into action. Today, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 4.01% across the nation, the lowest mark the market has ever seen. [...]
Lower Interest Rates Equal Even Better Savings for Homebuyers, Investors
If you are an investor or potential homebuyer that has been looking for the interest rate to drop even further before making your investment, then the time has come. After the announcement from the Federal Reserve on “Operation Twist,” the mortgage rate dropped drastically. As a result, now is the perfect time to take advantage [...]
August Sees More Foreclosure Filings and Notices of Default Across the Country
For those who were hoping that the decrease in foreclosures from 2010 to 2011 was a harbinger of good news, think again. Numbers released today indicate that foreclosures are picking back up – at least for the month of August. Last month, the number of foreclosure filings in the U.S. increased by 7%. The number [...]
3 Tips to Revamp your Home Listing
With the current real estate issues, properties can sit on the market for ages and fail to receive realistic offers. As a result, sellers become jaded and continue to lower the listed price without receiving much success. If the home you are trying to sell is at a standstill, what do you do? First, it [...]
Mortgage Drama: Banks are Hit Hard
It seems like there is always some type of drama in the mortgage industry nowadays. From the Federal Housing Finance Agency suing 17 banks to high foreclosure inventories and robo-signing, drama is still definitely surrounding the real estate market. Originally, it was estimated that banks would suffer losses totaling somewhere between $54 billion and $106 [...]
Good News for the Economy: Industrial Real Estate Improves
The U.S. economy has been trudging along for most of 2011 without any real uplifting or exciting news portending a full-on recovery. Today’s news continues that trend, but there is a bit of hope in the industrial real estate figures released today. According to reports released today, domestic industrial markets – some of the hardest-hit [...]
The Hispanic Community & Real Estate Recovery
Over the last few decades, especially before the end of 2006, many people invested in real estate properties and made a fortune by either flipping the properties are renting them out. Over the last few years the real estate market has had a lasting effect on many investors leaving them weary and hesitant to purchase [...]
Short Sales Properties: The Second Best Deal
With the current status of the real estate market there are great investment opportunities that can be found across the country. However, where do short sales fall? Are there better investment opportunities out there or are short sales your best bet? According to RealtyTrac, homebuyers are definitely taking advantage of the real estate investment opportunities [...]
Non-Distressed Property Sales Are Shrinking, Say the Numbers
The real estate market has had its share of ups and downs (mostly downs for homeowners) over the last decade, but now the housing market may actually be shrinking. Numbers released yesterday reveal that nearly one-third of all home sales in the United States from April to June of this year were distressed properties, which [...]
-
Carmen Brodeur: Very interesting! I better go buy more wrinkle cre...
-
Ria Grace: What is good of having custom home is that you can...
-
Patrick: A great online property management forum is agents...
-
Kyle Pearce: Unfortunately, in every industry, there are some w...
-
-
$10000 California First Time Home Buyer and New Home Tax Credit Extended
-
Unite Against the Sarasota MLS Board
-
Short Sale Heaven Coming April 5th 2010
-
The Lones Group – Real Estate Social Media Marketing Firm – Sues Agent For Being A Zebra
-
California Senate Bill 94 (SB94): Passes; Not even Attorneys can do it!
We are not the FHA, VA, USDA, HUD or any other government organization. The content on this blog is intended for information purposes only.