Archive for January, 2010
Pending Home Sales Down from Surge
Contract activity for pending home sales fell after a surge of activity in preceding months to beat the original deadline for the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, it remains comfortably above the level from a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on [...]
Buyer Tax Credit Could Be Renewed Again
Will the housing tax credit be extended again – past the current April 30 deadline?
Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican and former real estate practitioner, swore in October that there would be no more extensions, but some observers predict that the answer is yes.
Jaret Seiberg, a managing director at research firm Concept Capital, predicts that Congress will choose to phase the credit out over six to 12 months. “We believe a phase-out is most likely because it would benefit housing markets but let Democrats argue they are fiscally responsible because they have designed an exit strategy that weans consumers off the subsidy,” she says.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (12/23/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Loan Modifications Hit Credit Scores
Applying for a mortgage modification and being in a months-long trial period can devastate a home owner’s credit score.
Under the government plan, troubled borrowers can have their mortgage payments reduced to 31 percent of their pre-tax income. They are first put in a trial modification for several months to test whether they can meet the requirements of the new mortgage.
Borrowers who were previously current on their mortgages will see their FICO scores fall about 100 points while they are in the trial period, according to the Treasury Department. Borrowers who were previously late or missed payments will see their scores fall more, the government says.
The longer a borrower is in the trial period, the greater the impact on their credit scores, Once the modification is approved, the borrowers’ mortgage credit status will be listed as current and that should improve their scores, the Mortgage Bankers Association explains.
Even so, the delinquency remains on credit reports for up to seven years and can make getting credit for something else like a car difficult and expensive, borrowers report.
Source: CNNMoney.com, Tami Luhby (12/28/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Banksmill Rental!
Wonderful 2 bedroom, 2 bath home on SouthBoundary Ave. Totally updated !Has fenced yard and 2 carport, fireplace and so much more.. Call for more details at 803 644 4444.
Buyers Should Prepare for Extra Expenses
Home buyers should be prepared for a bundle of extra costs beyond the mortgage payment.
“Some people walk away from closing with a nickel and a stick of gum, and that’s probably not going to be a good idea,” says Dale Robyn Siegel, president of Circle Mortgage Group, in Harrison, N.Y.
People whose only previous experience is renting often don’t realize how costly water, heating and air conditioning, taxes, and general maintenance can be, says Allan Glass, owner of ASG Real Estate Inc. in Los Angeles.
He estimates that buyers should have at least 1 percent of the purchase price of their home set aside for improvements and other expenses.
Source: MarketWatch, Amy Hoak (12/28/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Redcliffe site brings favorites back in ’10
Beech Island’s Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site plans to bring history to life with its schedule of events coming up in 2010.
The state park will offer a special series of programs on “The African-American Experience” in the coming year, in addition to returning favorites such as “Plantation Medicine” and “Archaeology Day,” according to park interpreter Elizabeth Laney.
“Multiple generations of multiple African-American families helped to define and shape the history of Redcliffe and its fellow Hammond-owned plantations,” said Laney, referring to Redcliffe’s original owner, former South Carolina Gov. James Henry Hammond. “Many of these families are still an important part of the Central Savannah River Area today. ‘The African-American Experience’ will tell the stories of these families through four different presentations throughout the year.”
The series opens with a free screening of the DVD “Shared History,” which examines the families of William Gilmore Simms’ Woodlands Plantation. The screening will be from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 6, and will include a tour of Redcliffe’s slave quarters. A program titled “Resistance!” will be from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 20.
The series will continue with events from 10 a.m. to noon on June 12 and Nov. 13, with topics to be announced later. Admission to most “African-American Experience” events is $6 for adults, $4 for children 6 to 16 and $3 for South Carolina seniors.
The senior health science technology students of the Aiken County Career and Technology Center take center stage from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 20 for “Plantation Medicine.” The students have researched and created presentations on 19th century medical practices and remedies and how they were used at Redcliffe during its days as a working plantation. A tour of the mansion and slave quarters is included. Admission will be $4 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 16 and $2.50 for South Carolina seniors.
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
More Home Owners Walk Away
A growing number of home owners in Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada—where prices have fallen the most—are walking away from their properties.
They are leaving the deal behind not because they can’t pay but because they don’t want to. A study by researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago concludes that as many as 25 percent of defaults are driven by strategy, not necessity.
If many other people follow suit, “It’s going to be really difficult to prevent a cascade effect,” says Paola Sapienza, a professor of finance at Northwestern.
Brent White, an associate law professor at the University of Arizona, points to actions by banks themselves to avoid staying in bad business deals as an example of why homeowners should make a decision “unclouded by unnecessary guilt or shame.”
For instance, on Thursday, financial services firm Morgan Stanley announced that it is turning five San Francisco office buildings back over to its lender two years after it purchased them when the market was at its priciest. The buildings are estimated to be worth about half of what Morgan Stanley paid.
“This isn’t a default or foreclosure situation,” spokeswoman Alyson Barnes told Bloomberg News. “We are going to give them the properties to get out of the loan obligation.”
Morgan Stanley is apparently current on the loan, so this is what is known as a “strategic default.”
Some might ask: If strategic defaults are OK for banks, why aren’t they OK for ordinary homeowners?
Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty and Nick Timiraos (12/17/2009) and Bloomberg, Emily Friedlander (12/17/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Consumer Enthusiasm Up Slightly
Consumers are more optimistic about the economy than they have been in the last year, according to the monthly consumer confidence survey by research group the Conference Board.
The Conference Board’s index rose to 52.9 in December, above its level a year ago, but at a 26-year low that is far below the 1985 base level, which is 100.
“The index does not suggest that consumer confidence is high, but it’s better than it was the previous couple of months when it wasn’t very good at all,” said Thomas Lawler, an economist.
Economists tie the still shaky level of confidence to a continuation of declining housing prices. “[Consumers] are out there tentatively, and that is reflected in the housing numbers, too,” says Joel L. Naroff, an economist with Naroff Economic Advisors.
Source: The Washington Post, Dina ElBoghdady (12/30/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Dubai sheikh buys Aiken land for track.
The ruling sheikh of Dubai has purchased a large parcel of land in Aiken County with the intent of building a private Thoroughbred training facility.
Darley America, the U.S. arm of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Thoroughbred racing empire, has expanded its presence in Aiken with the purchase of 360 acres in Montmorenci. The intent is to build a training facility, but its true impact will be how the project benefits the community economically, including direct and indirect job creation.
The deal for the property closed Wednesday afternoon, and the land that was used previously for agribusiness will continue to be green space, as the new facility will feature a one-mile dirt training track, said Jimmy Bell, Darley America president. The site is approximately 6-miles away from the Aiken Training Track.
“Aiken has a history with Thoroughbred racing that doesn’t have to be researched,” said Bell. “We have a great regard for Aiken. The horses who’ve trained in Aiken have a tremendous record and have had great success. Aiken is a place that has stood the test of time and has a history of developing young horses into race horses.”
In addition to retaining the area’s green space, the training facility will provide environmentally clean jobs, said Lee Christian, South Carolina Thoroughbred Owners’ and Breeders’ Association president.
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Census: Americans Stayed Put in 2009
Fewer Americans moved in 2009 than any other year this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this month.
Population also grew less this year than any other year since the turn of the 21st Century. It reached 307 million on July 1, up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau says. About 850,000 people immigrated from other countries, down 15 percent compared to 2006.
The losers in this trend included Florida, which lost 31,000 people to other states, a first for the Sunshine State, which used to be No. 1 in attracting new residents. “The middle of the decade’s huge surge to the Sun Belt stopped on a dime,” says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution.
Demographers say real estate is one of the big reasons people are staying put. “People are trapped,” says Yi Zhao, senior forecasting coordinator for the Census Bureau in the State of Washington. “They can’t sell their house or they have a hard time getting credit for a new one.”
Source: USA Today, Dennis Cauchon and Paul Overberg (12/23/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
A Decade of Dramatic Developments
At the beginning of the 21st century, most home buyers had never viewed a home online; the three top home sale marketing methods were yard signs, newspaper ads, and open houses; and nearly nine out of 10 buyers financed their purchase with a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage. What a difference a decade makes. “The real estate [...]
Group readies for annual Civil War re-enactment
The Barnard E. Bee Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1575, has already begun preparing Confederate Park off Powell Pond Road for the Battle of Aiken.
From now until the start of the event, volunteers will be cutting grass, chopping wood and making sure all of the water and electricity lines running to the grounds are in good working order for the 16th annual re-enactment, which portrays Joe Wheeler and his Confederate troops’ historic campaign against Gen. Judson Kilpatrick and his Union men, who fought, quite literally, on Richland Avenue in Aiken.
“We try to put on an event that will appeal to people, no matter what your interest in history is,” said Edwin Mann, a member of the Barnard E. Bee Camp.
The Battle of Aiken kicks off Feb. 19 with school day. Hundreds of school children from around Aiken County converge on the grounds to visit the crafters, watch an artillery presentation and a battle skirmish on the 12-acre battleground.
On Saturday, Feb. 20 and Sunday, Feb. 21, gates open at 9 a.m. to spectators. On Sunday, the period church service begins at 11 a.m.
“There are lots of things going on and not necessarily the fighting on the battlefields,” Mann said. “This is a history lesson you can’t read out of a book.”
Events during the day include Confederate camp tours, lectures and programs, battle amputation scenarios and cannon fire demonstrations. On Saturday, part one of The Battle of Aiken begins at 2 p.m. Part two of the battle will begin at the same time Sunday.
The sutlers village will include vendors selling period art, woodcrafts, replica swords, muskets, iron working, women’s clothing, uniforms and music.
Advance admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students (ages 6 to 18); 5 and under are admitted free. At the gate, $12 for adults and $6 for students.
Advance tickets are available at the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce.
Spectators are advised to bring camping chairs or blankets or towels to sit on during the battles.
Parking is free.
For more information, visit www.battleofaiken.org.
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Misuse of Home Buyer Tax Credit Reported
A report earlier this month from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimates that 73,799 taxpayers have incorrectly claimed the first-time home buyer tax credit. The report concludes: “The IRS is unable to verify eligibility for the majority of Recovery Act benefits at the time a tax return is processed.”
The IRS didn’t dispute the claim, but said it was studying the matter further. Some have suggested that this report and others will encourage Congress to put some safeguards in place before more claims result from the extension and expansion of the tax credit.
Source: The New York Times, Lynnley Browning (12/22/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Tax Credit Gets Buyers Off the Fence
The new $6,500 move-up Homebuyer Tax Credit is apparently motivating buyers, according to a Campbell Communications survey of 1,500 real estate practitioners.
Existing home owners accounted for 41 percent of home purchases in November, up from 38 percent in October, the survey found.
“Current home owners jumped at the credit,” says survey research director Thomas Popik.
Source: Housing Wire, Austin Kilgore (12/22/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
10 Reasons to Say Goodbye to 2009
Alison Rogers, a real estate practitioner who writes the “Ask the Agent” column for MoneyWatch,says “good riddance” to 2009.
“Like many REALTORS®, my income took a dive (a shocking 40 percent off last year),” Rogers writes in her blog. She lists these top 10 stories as the most compelling of the year:
1. Foreclosures reach 3 million.
2. Mortgage modifications start slowly – thousands of applications, but only 32,000 granted.
3. Homeownership is down from more than 69 percent to 67.6 percent and many who should have been renters all along are back in the rental category.
4. It’s the jobs, stupid. The outlook for real estate is still grim as long as unemployment is high.
5. Mortgage lending is coming back, but borrowing $2 million for an upscale house is still tough.
6. First-time home buyers jumped into the pool by the millions, thanks to the first-time home buyer tax credit.
7. The Federal government auctioned off Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff’s properties, but most of his “investors’ were still in the tank.
8. No story better illustrated the banks’ casual attitude than the one about the banker who partied in a Madoff victim’s foreclosed house.
9. Interest rates stayed low, inviting the old dogs to tell stories about how bad it was in 1989.
10. Celebrities are just like us – they’re losing their homes too.
Source: MarketWatch, Alison
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
5 Home Remodeling Trends for the New Year
Remodeling and decorating trends in 2010 are likely to reflect the fact that many home owners are settling in for the long haul.
Here are some ideas for updating homes and gardens from decorators and leading real estate practitioners:
* Environmentally sensitive furniture. Natural fibers, sustainable woods, and recycled products are key to attracting environmentally concerned buyers.
* Classic neutral colors. Deep gray browns and gray blues, muted beige, and chalky white will be particularly popular shades, Pittsburgh Paints predicts.
* Backyard gardens. First Lady Michelle Obama led the way in 2009 when she installed one at the White House.
* Backyard living. Wood-deck additions offer an 80.6 percent payback, according to the annual Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling magazine and REALTOR® magazine. Simple fire pits and outdoor fireplaces also will be popular, trend-watchers say.
* Made in America. As more people feel compelled to support local employment, U.S. manufactured products and antiques will become more popular, says Patricia Shackelford, author of design blog, Mrs. Blandings.
Source: Orlando Sentinel, Jean Patteson (12/26/2009) and Kansas City Star, Stacy Downs (12/27/2009)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.