Each day we attempt to give truthful insight on the current housing market. If we report what is perceived as negative news, some in the real estate community come down on us hard. However, when we explain that we think now is a great time to buy, we get an avalanche of feedback from the general public attacking us for being nothing more than puppets for real estate agents across the country. Today, we don’t want you to listen to what we think about the opportunities that exist for buyers in…

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Sellers have a better chance at getting their house sold by using a REALTOR® than opting for the do-it-yourself approach, according to a survey of 1,000 home owners by HomeGain.com, an online real estate resource. Nearly 60 percent of home owners who used a REALTOR® to sell their home were successful compared to 39 percent of FSBOs, the survey found.



In the survey, 83 percent of home owners said they used a REALTOR® to… Continue

Now is a good time to buy real estate, according to data from Moody’s Analytics. Home affordability has returned to pre-housing bubble levels or even fallen below the average in many U.S. markets.



In fact, housing affordability by the end of September had returned to or fallen below the average reached between 1989-2003 in 47 of the 74 housing markets that Moody Analytics tracked.…



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The First Question You Should Ask Your Listing Agent

by The KCM Crew on February 8, 2011

What is the most important thing a seller should look for when hiring a real estate agent to sell their house? We are often asked this question. Is it the size of the company they are licensed with? Is it their marketing program? Their years experience in the business? Should you choose the agent who suggests the highest listing price?

There are many things that should be…

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Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.



Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include… Continue

Pending home sales have increased for the second consecutive month, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.



The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 4.3 percent to 82.3 based on contracts signed in August from a downwardly revised 78.9 in… Continue

Housing starts rose 10.5 percent in August to an annual rate of 598,000 homes, the most since April, the Commerce Department announced Monday.



Housing starts were up 2.2 percent in August compared to the same month last year, while permits decreased 6.7 percent.



Construction of single-family houses rose 4.3 percent to a 438,000 annual rate after declining 6.7 percent in… Continue

1. You can get a good deal. Prices are down 30 percent on average. They're at a level that makes sense for people's income.

2. Mortgages are cheap. At 4.3 percent on average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, your costs to own are down by a fifth from two years ago.

3. You can save on taxes. When you add up the deductions for mortgage interest and others, the cost of owning… Continue

Some people see a corner lot as an asset, but an equal number believe it is a liability.



Pluses of these properties include more flexible design options, shorter driveways, sunnier interiors, and more on-street parking. The negatives are a small and not-very-private backyard, more noise, more streetlights and headlights, and a greater need to look out for dogs and children.…



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The seemingly endless run of bad housing news is discouraging some potential home buyers from considering a purchase. But the truth is that the advantages of homeownership have very little to do with investment gains. The best things about owning a home have a lot more to do with personal comfort and satisfaction.



Here are five of them:



· Be… Continue

Everybody Calm Down. Armageddon Is NOT Upon Us!…

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The trend in firming home prices solidified in the second quarter with more metropolitan areas showing increases from a year ago, aided by a surge in home sales driven by the home buyer tax credit, according to the latest survey by the National Association of REALTORS®.



In the second… Continue

1. Employment growth
   
   Watch for sustainable, consistent growth in employment as a first sign the economy is on the mend. “The March employment report stated 162,000 jobs…

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Here are four things sellers should understand about today’s market to make their homes as saleable as possible:



1. Real estate pricing is very local: "When you're looking at comparables, you have to see what's sold in the past three months. Look at your competition and what's under agreement," advises Colette Casey-Brenner, sales manager at Coldwell Banker Arlington,… Continue

Buying a first home can be a daunting experience. Here are five common and costly mistakes that novice home buyers make:



1. Ignoring the costs of having a low credit score. Lower-score borrowers pay thousands of dollars in increased interest rates over the life of the loan.

2. Muddying the waters by shopping for other things before…

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Some of the nation’s top economists believe the housing market has turned and better days are on the way for the housing industry.



Increases in jobs, credit, and affordable homes will overcome impediments such as rising interest rates, and the expiration of the Federal stimulus program to push the housing market toward recovery, says Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist for Barclays Capital.…



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Investment bank Goldman Sachs recently predicted that mortgage rates won’t rise much when the Federal Reserve ends its purchases of mortgage-backed securities at the end of March.



Part of the reason is that demand for mortgages is low, says Goldman analyst Sven Jari Stehn. What would drive up mortgage rates, he says, is a decision by the Fed to sell the mortgage backs it holds, but that isn’t likely to happen anytime…

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Investors breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke told Congress that interest rates are likely to remain low for an extended period. The economy, he said, "still requires support for recovery."



Investors see these low rates as a boon to a recovery of employment and business.



Bernanke’s announcement also took the edge off the news Wednesday that… Continue

Good Housing News Predicted:All the leading indicators say housing is definitely on the mend, economists reported in advance of the official release of several pieces of good news expected this week.



Bloomberg News surveyed 53 economists and asked them where they expected the numbers to fall. Here are their predictions:



Construction starts in September are expected to hit a 610,000 annual rate, the most since last November.

Sales of existing homes likely rose… Continue

Banks are backing away from short sales, forcing sellers to pay extra at closing or demanding a promissory note for the amount due. One-third of borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, according First American CoreLogic.



When their situations were really tough, most banks preferred short sales because they were their best opportunity to get the most money back. But with an improving economy, and because the losses on many of these properties have… Continue