"The Economist" has an interesting article entitled "A thoroughly modern recession," and argues that although the current recession is sure to be the longest since WWII, since high interest rates weren't the culprit it has more in common with the downturns of the early 1990s and 2001 than the one largely enabled by the Fed hiking interest rates in the early 1980s. From the article:
Though it may end up as one of the longest recessions, if not the longest, of the post-war era, the current episode still seems to have more in common with the mild downturns of 1990-91 and 2001 than the more wrenching affairs that came before.
As Robert Hall, an economist at Stanford University, notes, earlier recessions, like that of the early 1980s, were caused by the Fed raising interest rates sharply to squelch emerging inflation and holding them high even once the recession began. In the current and past two recessions, interest rates never got very high and the Fed actually began to lower them before the contraction began. In a paper written a year ago*, Mr Hall described such apparently “causeless” recessions as perplexing...
The paradoxical truth may be that the less volatile business cycle (until recently) encouraged investors to take bigger risks with borrowed money, driving asset prices too high and ending in damaging busts. Some would still blame the Fed, for not deflating asset bubbles with higher interest rates.
In a recent speech, Donald Kohn, the vice-chairman of the Fed, rejected that charge but pleaded guilty to a lesser one: by better controlling inflation, central banks helped moderate the business cycle, which bred investor complacency. They thus “may have accidentally contributed to the current crisis.” The Fed may no longer be the prime suspect for causing recessions; but it is still an accessory to the crime.
Click here for full story.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
So how does this recession compare to others?
Housing crisis increasingly moving up the food chain
As the economy continues to soften, the foreclosures that were initially focused more on homes that were entry-level, in dicey neighborhoods and/or on the suburban fringe continue to move upscale, in this case Hinsdale, IL. From a Reuters story:
With a pretty red-brick downtown lined with stores, good schools and a railway line to nearby Chicago, Hinsdale has been popular among wealthy doctors, lawyers and executives.
It has also seen a 37 percent jump in foreclosure filings this year, according to research firm RealtyTrac, and local data shows the average home sale price has fallen to $1.07 million from $1.15 million in September 2007...
Friday, December 5, 2008
Beacon Economics to present at Orange County BIA's "Outlook 2009" in January
After many years of hosting Chapman University to offer their prognosis of past and present economic and housing trends, the Orange County chapter of the BIA is handing the reins for the next two years over to L.A.-based Beacon Economics, of which MetroIntelligence is a division.
The program, scheduled for the evening of January 26, 2009 at the Irvine Marriott, will feature economists Christopher Thornberg and Brad Kemp, who have recently been on a big media roll lately due to their calling the current recession and the housing bust well before it was official.
I'm told the reason that Beacon was selected for presenting in 2009 and 2010 is their accuracy in predicting what the future looks like in terms of unemployment, housing prices and sales.
I will also be there at the event to introduce Beacon and explain why now, more than ever, the building industry should turn to them for advice on not just regional economics, but portfolio assessments, site-specific market studies and, eventually, opportunity analyses for the market rebound.
In order to avoid a repeat of this terrible housing bust, I think it's time to start listening to those who willing to tell you the truth. After all, you can't address what you don't admit!
For more information on this event, click here.
To register, click here.
See you in January!
1 in 10 homeowners with a mortgage now behind on payments
A record 10% of homeowners with mortgages are either behind on their payments or in the process of foreclosure. On the bright side, 90% are current! From an AP story via MSNBC:
A record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either at least a month behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September as the source of housing market pressure shifted from risky loans to the crumbling U.S. economy.
The percentage of loans at least a month overdue or in foreclosure was up from 9.2 percent in the April-June quarter, and up from 7.3 percent a year earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday...
With the economy worsening, the much-anticipated bottom of the housing market likely will be pushed further into the future.
"Things are going to get worse before they get better," said Northern Virginia housing economist Thomas Lawler.
Most troubling, he said, is that the mortgage bankers' report reflects conditions before October's stock market plunge and the resulting economic fallout.
"The number of homes that are in the foreclosure process is so high — right before the economy has fallen off a cliff," Lawler said...
Taxpayers growing more furious about mortgage bailouts
This has got to be a terrible time to be a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives, because no matter what you decide on bailing out the housing market, many voters are going to be upset with you. And there of course there's the issue of 'fairness.' From a CNNMoney.com story:
Ask most Americans whether they're in favor of spending taxpayer dollars to help delinquent mortgage borrowers and you're likely to get an emphatic "No!"
But the government didn't ask its citizens before it committed hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to guarantee loans through various foreclosure prevention initiatives such as FHASecure and Hope for Homeowners, which let troubled borrowers refinance expensive mortgages into more affordable loans. Nor did it take a vote before it agreed to fund the new streamlined mortgage modification programs for loans backed by Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).
And now there is the possibility that some of the hundreds of billions of dollars allocated for the Treasury's Troubled Assets Relief Program will go towards bailing out borrowers.
Taxpayers are mad - especially those who held off buying their own homes or were careful not to spend beyond their means...
The case for bailing out homeowners is that foreclosures have far-reaching effects. As delinquencies have skyrocketed, most of the country has suffered steep home-price declines which has helped cripple the economy. Helping some homeowners but not others may not be fair, but it's necessary to keep the economy from deteriorating even further...
So what does a half-million job loss mean?
As the recession begins to feed on itself, job losses are mounting -- at the rate of more than 500,000 jobs alone in November. So what exactly does that mean for the economy? First, from a story in the Wall Street Journal:
The U.S. recession deepened last month as U.S. companies shed jobs at the fastest rate since the early 1970s, pushing the unemployment rate to its highest level in 15 years.
The figures suggest the year-old recession will approach or even exceed the 1981-1982 downturn in severity and support expectations that Federal Reserve officials will soon lower interest rates to levels not seen in a half century.
Nonfarm payrolls, which are calculated by a survey of establishments, plunged a larger-than-expected 533,000 in November, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday, the 11th-straight decline and largest since December 1974...
The unemployment rate, which is calculated using a separate survey of households, rose 0.2 percentage point to 6.7%, the highest since October 1993. Economists think the jobless rate, which was just 5% as recently as April, will hit 8% or higher in coming months...
Indeed, Friday's numbers cap a series of bleak economic reports this week suggesting that after escaping a serious downturn so far, the U.S. faces the type of severe recession that occurred in the early 1980s rather than the relatively mild ones of the early 1990s and 2001. Automakers and retailers reported dismal sales in November despite efforts to lure consumers with discounts, suggesting households are putting off spending as they face an uncertain economic climate.
Next, economists react to the news.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Will lowering mortgage rates to 4.5% really work?
While it's certainly true that the offer of a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage at 4.5% seems tantalizing to many people, whether or not it would truly spark a housing sales rebound is unknown. For one thing, to get people to act now, it would have to be some type of limited offer. From a CNNMoney.com story:
Lobbyists are pushing the Treasury Department to consider a plan to purchase mortgage-backed securities in the hopes of driving mortgage rates to as low as 4.5%, an industry source said.Similar to an effort unveiled last week by the Federal Reserve, the proposal calls for Treasury to buy securities backed by 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...
The increased demand for mortgage-backed securities would prompt mortgage rates to drop. That, in turn, would enable homeowners to refinance into lower-cost loans and make it cheaper for potential homebuyers to get into the market...
Industry groups have been pressuring President-elect Barack Obama and lawmakers to lend a helping hand to the housing market. The National Association of Realtors, for instance, has called for Treasury to buy mortgage-backed securities.
Meanwhile, a coalition of industry groups have banded together under the "Fix Housing First" banner to call for measures including tax credits of up to $22,000 and the creation of a 30-year mortgage, carrying rates as low as 2.99%...
Experts, however, had mixed views on how much a new Treasury initiative would help homeowners and the economy. Some felt lower rates would help stabilize the housing market by bringing in new buyers and would give those who refinance more money to spend...
But others questioned whether rates would remain low and, even if they did, only a narrow slice of credit-worthy borrowers would benefit...
Also, the proposal would do little to help troubled borrowers who have fallen behind on their payments, have no equity in their homes or have lost their jobs. With credit standards still high, these homeowners would not be able to refinance and take advantage of the lower rates, he said.
Finally, super-low rates could keep private investors out of the mortgage-backed securities market, forcing the government to remain the primary buyer of such investments.Beware your 1031 Exchange provider
In theory, one great way to postpone paying taxes on the sale of investment property is to buy and sell through a 1031 Exchange, but there are some time restrictions and everything has to be done through a third-party intermediary. So what happens when that third-party goes bust? Clients of LandAmerica are now finding out. From a Wall Street Journal story:
The collapse of title-insurance company LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. has left hundreds of real-estate investors scrambling to recover money in what was supposed to be a short-term and low-risk arrangement.
The investors, from retirees to a public company, had $400 million on deposit with the LandAmerica subsidiary to take advantage of a real-estate strategy known as a 1031 exchange. A 1031 exchange, named for a section of the U.S. tax code, lets investors delay capital-gains taxes on the proceeds from recently sold property, as long as the investor lets a third party hold the funds. They must reinvest the money in a new property within six months...
The episode is another troubling chapter in the 1031 exchange industry. Earlier this year, a federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Edward Okun, operator of 1031 Tax Group, for allegedly plundering $132 million of client money as a "qualified intermediary," the same role played by LandAmerica. Mr. Okun pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for 2009.
Separately, DBSI Inc., a Boise, Idaho, facilitator of tenant-in-common investments that take advantage of 1031 exchanges, filed for bankruptcy in November, plunging 8,500 investors into a legal morass.
In a 1031 exchange, the seller of a property funnels proceeds into an account held by a "qualified intermediary," an entity that holds on to the money in an escrow-like account for as long as 180 days while the seller finds a new property in which to invest. If successful, the investor defers capital-gains taxes on the sale. (The Federal Trade Commission rejected a petition in August 2008 to regulate qualified intermediaries. Only two states, Nevada and California, require qualified intermediaries to meet certain standards.)
Some divorced couples still forced to live together due to housing market
I can imagine the scene now. A recently divorced woman invites a date over for movie night, only her ex-husband is cooking a home-cooked meal in the kitchen with his own date. A-w-k-w-a-r-d! According to an AP story, however, the depressed housing market is forcing more and more divorced couples to share living spaces rather to succumb to foreclosure:
With the recession and the collapse of the housing market, more and more couples who have broken up are continuing to live under the same roof, according to judges and divorce lawyers. Some are waiting for housing prices to rebound; some are trying to get back on their feet financially.
The phenomenon is being felt around the country but most keenly in areas hit harder by foreclosure, such as the Sun Belt.
When the real estate market was booming, couples would promptly sell their home, split the profit and go their separate ways.
These days, Florida Judge John C. Lenderman said, about a third of his cases involve homes that are in foreclosure or that a family is struggling to sell. Lenderman said he had never seen anything like it in 40 years as a lawyer and judge...
Sometimes the financial implications of a divorce are so grim that a couple whose marriage is on the rocks decide to give it another try.
Kent Peterson, a longtime divorce mediator in Wayzata, Minn., said a young couple from the Minneapolis area were moving toward separation until they got a look at all the costs involved in getting divorced.
"The thinking was they need to work a little harder and stay together because of the changing asset picture," he said.
Aww, that's sweet. Click here for full story.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
RIP Kimball Hill Homes
Kimball Hill Homes, which didn't build in Southern California but was a large builder in other markets in the U.S. including Central and Northern California, has decided it won't be able to emerge from bankruptcy and is shutting down completely. The news of the company's demise comes after the death of its CEO, David Hill, earlier this year. From a BuilderOnline.com story:
Kimball Hill Homes, a private builder founded in 1969, has become the latest casualty of the housing and credit crisis: the firm will close its doors after finishing the homes currently under construction, according to a company announcement made yesterday... The news indicates just how difficult conditions have become for the nation’s home builders. Kimball Hill, a BUILDER 100 builder which closed 3,246 homes as recently as 2007, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. But restructuring proved impossible given the current state of the economy and housing market, and now the company plans to either sell the business or its assets.
The past year has been difficult for the company and its employees financially and emotionally. Kimball Hill also lost its founder David K. Hill to cancer in July. He had named the company after his father, Kimball Hill.
I never knew Mr. Hill well, but I know he was a very well-liked figure in the industry, and his company had a very good reputation among the nation's larger private building companies. Its demise is certainly sad news.And for those numerous commentators on blogs who says, "Good riddance to the greedy builders, someone else will take their place!" I would urge them to reconsider the wisdom of moving their families into homes built by future amateurs filling the void. Suzuki Samarai, anyone?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
L.A. Times architecture critic calls L.A. Live a bust
Just when many Angelenos were on the verge of clinching a potential icon that would represent downtown Los Angeles in the 21st century with L.A. Live, L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne considers the second phase a bust, offering us this:
Even by the rather forgiving standards of a city whose leaders -- and whose public, for that matter -- demand little from developers when it comes to civic-minded design, the project is relentlessly focused on creating its own wholly separate commercial universe: a brighter, more strategically frenzied place than the world outside its doors...
The trouble is that the new buildings -- designed by RTKL, a Baltimore-based firm that also created the master plan for L.A. Live -- have almost nothing to say to or about downtown Los Angeles. Clad in glass and panels of metal and limestone, they are adamant in their sleek placelessness.
Their primary concern is matching, in palette and spirit, the Staples Center next door (which, not coincidentally, is also an AEG property). When you get right down to it, their architecture is fundamentally not really architecture at all but an extensive series of armatures on which the developer and its tenants can hang logos, video screens and a sophisticated range of lighting effects.
"...not really architecture at all but an extensive series of armatures?" As my 7-year-old niece would say, "How rude!" But maybe he's trying to make a larger point:
For decades, we have largely built the city with a kind of all-or-nothing zeal, pouring money and architecture into stand-alone projects of increasingly massive scale and failing to coax developers to knit them into their neighborhoods with any real care.
For cities, the benefit of a gargantuan new development is not only the boost it gives to the tax base but also, in urban terms, its spillover effect -- energy and people flowing into the surrounding area. The entirety of the AEG development downtown -- Staples plus L.A. Live -- is designed like an airtight cruise ship, turning not a welcoming face but the architectural equivalent of a massive hull to the neighbors. Its spillover effect may be measured not in gallons but in drops...
Click here for entire article.
It's official! R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N!!
Despite the denials of economists related to certain trade groups or otherwise required to offer sunny forecasts over the past year, it looks like the U.S. has been in a recession for about one year, something many of us had known but didn't necessarily have the comprehensive data to back it up. From an L.A. Times story:
The economy's yearlong downturn, officially declared a recession Monday, could last well into next year or even beyond, challenging the government to devise new responses as traditional methods show limited results.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private body charged with determining the onset of a recession as well as its endpoint, said Monday that the current downturn met its definition of a recession: "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months."
The downturn began, the bureau said, at the end of last year as businesses started slashing jobs -- which they have done every month this year...
A psychology of fear has gripped businesses and consumers and is likely to prolong the recession, said Lee Ohanian, a professor of economics at UCLA.
"This one has a potential to be longer and deeper than other postwar recessions," he said. "People are very, very scared and worried. In my opinion the government has created much more uncertainty about the economy than it should have done. So it's really hard to tell how long this recession could last."
Government officials reiterated that they would do what was required to turn the economy around.
Well, at least as long as they can continue issuing debt.
Click here for full story.
Monday, December 1, 2008
A very sad day on the passing of CR's Tanta
Very sad news yesterday on the passing of Doris "Tanta" Dungey, one of the two primary voices on the influential and comprehensive Calculated Risk blog.
I actually first started reading Calculated Risk due to Tanta's extremely funny, opinionated and razor-sharp analyses of all things related to mortgages, banking and economics. Unfortunately, I didn't start reading the blog regularly until after Tanta had fallen ill, so I never got to connect with her by email, phone or in person. I'm sure if I had I would've liked her a lot.
I did, however, connect with her partner Bill McBride, who founded the blog back in the dark days of 2005, when discussing a housing bubble was tantamount to treason in most real estate circles (and also a primary reason I wanted to work with Beacon Economics, which also forecast our current times of trouble). After he agreed to list my nascent blog on his blog roll, I introduced myself to him at the most recent Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco. Despite his huge traffic numbers and influence, I found Bill to be quite gracious, friendly and approachable, so if you do see him speak at a conference, don't hesitate to walk up and say hello.
One of the reasons I gave the #1 "Mayflower" prize in today's "Carnival of Real Estate #119" to Rain City Guide's Ardell DellaLoggia (and this was before I'd read of Tanta's death) was because her post reminded me so much of Tanta's style -- something I'd like to see much more of in the blogosphere. Given the size of the financial crisis impacting the world today, I think the time for being polite rather than digging for the truth is hopefully long gone.
May many Tantas heed her example and rise up in her place to shine expert lights on areas which desperately need the cleansing. More than anything, that would mean an important and appropriate memorial.
Welcome to the 119th Edition of CORE: the post-Thanksgiving edition
Having posted several times in the past to the Carnival of Real Estate, I decided it was finally time to step up and offer to host an edition, so here it is!
Since I knew I couldn't repeat last week's Thanksgiving-related theme, I knew I had to think of a creative theme. Something that hadn't been done before, nor likely to be attempted again in the near future.
Fortunately, the stomach illness I came down with last Thursday night after sharing a great Thanksgiving meal with my younger brother and his family outside of Philadelphia gave me a few prize ideas, including the following:
- 5th Place, The Chicken Soup Award: for serving information that I could retain and that I knew was good for me;
- 4th Place, The Pepto Bismol Award: for providing soothing advice that would help me better understand what's happening in a particular area;
- 3rd Place, The Hot Tea Award: for providing some classic, traditional counsel that wouldn't necessarily keep me up at night;
- 2nd Place, the Ibuprofen Award: for working to provide me with clear thinking when something else (in this case, aspirin), didn't suffice; and
- 1st Place, the Mayflower Award: based on the 2006 book by Nathaniel Philbrick I was reading when in recovery and on the plane back to Los Angeles, this award suggests a good story very well told. Even better, there's a definite real estate component to the tale Philbrick weaves, as both the Native Americans and the English used the local real estate market and the development of settlements to gain power and strategic land holdings. Highly recommended!
1. Did they follow the rules? One rule that was broken several times by submitters was offering up somewhat ancient postings. In some cases, had they been written within two weeks of December 1st -- as specified in the FAQ section on the carnival -- some would have been listed in the Top 5 (and to whom I will still give an honorable mention). In the future, I'd suggest at least re-publishing with a few tweaks and more recent date.
2. Was it interesting to the non-real estate civilian? Since I'm more of an economic & development consultant and not a real estate agent, mortgage broker, lender or involved in the actual selling or purchasing of real estate, sometimes blog posts can be filled with insider jargon or terms that need further clarification. Was it written in a easy-to-read, breezy format? I tend to write conversationally, so I appreciate that quality in a blog post.
3. Was it a genuine attempt to educate and/or persuade rather than an obvious commercial or a few bullet points in search of a thesis?
4. Did I come away from the post feeling as if I'd learned something? In many cases, I certainly did, so deciding on just the top five submissions was not an easy task!
So without further ado, here they are:
Fifth Place: The Chicken Soup Award
Jo
yce Zangmeister at the 805local blog provides an excellent and quick overview of why short sales can be very complicated in "The Short Sale that NEVER happened." Whether the reason a deal fell through was due to a low-ball offer, loan fraud by the original borrower or even simply a lender being overwhelmed, this post will help you avoid taking the loss of a short sale personally.Fourth Place: The Pepto Bismol Award
Ever wonder why the mortgage rates you get quoted by a lender are different than what you see in the newspapers? Check out Dan Green's post "How Newton's First Law Relates to Mortgage Rates" for a detailed explanation at TheMortgageReports.com blog. In this post, he explains the role of the federal government in today's mortgage market and the importance of working with a broker or loan officer who keeps up on the latest news -- and, in Dan's case, also allows you to sign up for regular Twitter updates.
Third Place: The Hot Tea Award
In these times of constant bad news about real estate, it's easy to forget why it was considered a good investment in the first place. Fortunately, JCL at the Real Estate Investing Journey provi
des a solid reminder in "Why Real Estate?" of why investing in real estate -- at least for the long term -- has built wealth for so many investors. After reading this post, it makes it easier to defend the decision to hold into income property that cash flows decently and slowly yet surely pay down any mortgage debt. Future equity gains? Gravy.Second Place: The Ibuprofen Award
Although I don't live in Florida, I thought Joe Manausa's post at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog entitled, "Great News for First Time Homebuyers in Florida Real Estate" and about an array of programs in that state to assist first-time homebuyers would be highly useful to renters thinking about making the move but not knowing where to start. Joe gets right to the point in this post, describing several programs for first mortgages and down payment assistance.
First Place: The Mayflower Award
This prize goes to Ardell DellaLoggia writing at Seattle's Rain City Guide, both for a great, stage-worthy name and the sort of opinionated, amusing and informative post I've also come to love from others in the blogosphere. I'll definitely be adding Ms. DellaLoggia's musings & rantings to my blog list!
In her post "Is the housing market performing as expected?" Ardell takes to task real estate agents who claim that housing prices "always go up" with complete disregard to historical market trends or economic conditions. In fact, she argues, real estate, like many other markets, tend to ebb and flow and always correct when they overshoot. Filled with several charts and great examples, I think this post should be a must-read for any newly minted agents wanting to educate their buyers as well as any veterans who sullied the industry with years of pollyannish advice and are eager to rebuild their reputations.
There were certainly similar scofflaws in the development consulting business, who thought the only way they could bring in new business was to tell builders and developers good news, no matter how disconnected their recommendations were from market realities. Those same consultants are now partially responsible for the builder foreclosures and bankruptcies you see erupting in the housing market and, in moving into 2009, also commercial real estate.
Honorable Mentions
Randy Saputra offers some time-honored advice on 6 effective ways to get ideal home loan rates at the HomeLoanRate blog.
Finally, Raymond of the MoneyBlueBook blog submitted two excellent posts on credit scores and how FICO scores, the most important of them all, are calculated. The first one is entitled "What is My Credit Score and How is My FICO Calculated?" and the second one is called "How to Get Your Free FICO Credit Score and Avoid Fake Credit Offers." Unfortunately, since these posts were originally published in July and April of 2008, they were too old to be officially considered. Nonetheless, I do recommend that you check out Raymond's blog!
This concludes the 119th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate. If you'd like to see the full list of submissions, you can find those here.
For those of you who missed the deadline, submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of real estate using our carnival submission form. However, please remember that posts are supposed to have been written during the two-week period prior to the carnival's publication!
Next week's CORE will be hosted at the Realty Thoughts blog, and thanks again to Stockton Real Estate Specialist for hosting last week's carnival.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags:Blog posts submitted to the 119th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate
Welcome to the December 1, 2008 edition (aka the post-Thanksgiving edition) of the Carnival of Real Estate.
Even though it was a week for many of travel malfunctions (including weather-related delays along the East Coast on Nov. 30th), preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, revisiting or avoiding the same ol' issues with in-laws or, if you were like me, self-medicating a holiday dose of stomach flu (and/or food poisoning, but we're not telling our hosts that!), there were still a total of 19 posts submitted to this carnival this week (winners will be announced in a post to be published later this morning). For now, here are the 19 submissions:
investing
Ro Troia presents Water, Colorado’s Liquid Gold posted at Blog the Rockies, saying, "Where do we get our water? Yes, you turn on the kitchen tap and viola, there’s water. Seriously where does our precious water originate."JCL presents Why Real Estate? posted at The Real Estate Investing Journey, saying, "A different way of looking at real estate as an investment."
Julie Broad presents Rev N You with Real Estate - The Three Most Destructive Emotions in Real Estate Investing posted at Rev N You with Real Estate, saying, "Thank you for hosting this CoRE and for considering my article!!"Chris presents How to find a great house for a good price by asking the right questions (part 2) | Home I Own, Aussie Real Estate Blog posted at Home I Own, saying, "Don't miss the first part: http://www.homeiown.com/how-to-find-a-great-house-for-a-good-price-by-asking-the-right-questions-part-1"
real estate market
Jesse Wojdylo presents Subprime Blogger » Which Home Builder Will Go Bankrupt First? posted at Subprime Blogger.Handy Saputra presents 5 Effective Ways To Get Ideal Home Loan Rates posted at Home Loan and Mortgage Info, saying, "You may be one of the fortunate people who locked in a low mortgage rate when you purchased or refinanced your home. If you are getting a mortgage, you should settle only for the best deal out there in the market. Find out how you can get a good mortgage deal through this article!"
William Doom presents Tarp Money Injected Into Consumer Confidence | Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog posted at Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog� Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog, saying, "another good post"
Joe Manausa presents Great News For First Time Homebuyers In Florida Real Estate posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, "It is interesting to note that in these times of financial hardship for everyone that there seems to be an abundance of financial assistance programs out there for eligible homebuyers purchasing new or existing homes in Florida."
Raymond presents How Credit Scores Work And How Scores Are Calculated posted at Money Blue Book, saying, "Essential element to acquiring entry into the real estate market"
Jay Friedman presents What the new Conforming Loan Limits mean to you! | 805 Local posted at 805Local, saying, "new conforming loan limits for 2009"
Dan Green presents How Newton's First Law Relates To Mortgage Rates posted at The Mortgage Reports, saying, "Mortgage markets follow the Laws of Physics."
Adam Pedley presents 6 Tips On What To Look For When Buying A House | The Property Domain posted at The Property Domain.
Jesse Wojdylo presents Vacant Homes Up 3 Million Since 2006 posted at Subprime Blogger.
Ben Roberts presents Bull Housing Market Just Around the Corner!posted at Exit Real Estate 540.
real estate professionals
William Doom presents Transparency in Lending – The Art of Lock Renegotiation | Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog posted at Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog� Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog, saying, "Good post"
Jeanean Gendron presents It Takes a Village to be a Realtor! posted at Jeanean Gendron's Redding Real Estate Ramblings, saying, "Technology overload for Realtors with blogging, podcasting, HDR photopraphy and video. Just being a great blogger can consumer ALL your time...but there's more!"
ARDELL DellaLoggia presents Is the housing market performing ?as expected?? posted at Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide; and, finally:
Joyce Zangmeister presents The Short Sale that NEVER happened posted at 805Local, saying, "Reasons why short sales are not approved"
For those of you who missed the deadline, submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of real estate using our carnival submission form. However, please remember that posts are supposed to have been written during the two-week period prior to the carnival's publication (I noticed a few submitted posts had been written anywhere from several weeks to several months ago).
Next week's CORE will be hosted at the Realty Thoughts blog, and thanks again to Stockton Real Estate Specialist for hosting last week's carnival.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags:carnival of real estate, blog carnival.
