The Real Story Behind National Real Estate News - Real Estate

Newspapers thrive catchy headlines that can sum up the drama of the day. But it's important to read with a critical eye, especially when you see a blanket statement at the top of the page like "National Home Sales Plummet." The headline looks good, and it's likely to turn heads, but how true is it? It may be true on average in recent years that fewer homes are being sold across the United States, and at lower prices. But many large markets across the nation are doing well, or improving. Unfortunately nothing gets in the way of a good headline like subtlety, and those inconvenient subtleties have forced the media to cast a shadow over some very bright real estate stories.

One of those bright stories is the Kansas City, Missouri real estate market. Home sales here have been espeically strong in recent years, and show no signs of slowing. The area's strong economy is attracting new residents from across the nation, and home construction has risen to meet the demand for real estate. Kansas City's central location on the U.S. map also makes it an ideal spot for corporate headquarters, with five Fortune 500 companies, and the privately owned Hallmark Cards, based here. Spread across more than 500 square miles, Kansas City offers a lot of room for expansion, and more than 150 attractive neighborhoods.

Kansas City is more than just an isolated success story - it's good example of why the national real estate market appears more stalled than it really is. Home prices here didn't skyrocket during the real estate boom of the early part of the decade, and were unaffected when the markets softened in other parts of the nation. Instead, local home prices have risen steadily through the boom and afterwards, making the area particularly attractive to investors.

While more expensive real estate markets such as Marin County California, and Montgomery County, Maryland, have slowed, many affordable markets, like Kansas City have thrived. The Kansas City example is mirrored on a larger scale in Detroit, Michigan, where home sales have risen nearly ten per cent annually in recent years. Other strong markets after the boom include Madison, Wisconsin, and Phoenix Arizona.

While it's clear some real estate markets aren't as strong as they were a few years ago, areas like Kansas City, and Detriot can show us how national average home values could fall while still being as strong as ever in many places. That's something the newspaper headlines don't always mention.

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Spring Real Estate News - Real Estate - Buying a Home

Looking back now as we approach the end of April, this was an active month for the real estate scene. Here are some of the highlights of the April housing scene some good, some not so good:

Short Term Interest Rates Exceed Long Term:

Finally for the first time in decades, it is cheaper to lock into a long term mortgage rate. Imagine that mortgage financing that helps the buyer!

According to the latest results of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) released by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate has dropped down to an average of 4.80 percent. Same time last year, the rate was 6.03 percent.

A one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage (ARMs) averaged at 4.82 percent. Same time last year, the same mortgage was 5.29 percent.

A five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM averaged at 4.85 percent, down from 5.68 percent last year, and the lowest rated since January 2005.

House Prices Rise and Fall

For the months of January and February, house prices rose consecutively. The last time this happened was in April 2007. Then March came along and the median home price declined by 12% from the previous year.

Record Price Cuts:

The famous Bailey Mansion in New York (previously owned by circus owner James Bailey), has dropped in price from $10 million to $6.5 million in less than 6 months.

Washington's most expensive home listing, Evermay, has dropped its asking price from $49 million to $39 million. This 3.58-acre, 12,000 square foot Georgian Revival estate has been on the market since September.

Probably the largest price reduction for a piece of U.S. real estate, the Greenwich, Conn. mansion formerly owned by the late Leona Helmsley can be had for only $75 million. This is a far cry from the original asking price of $125 million.

Foreclosures See Record Highs:

After seeing foreclosure rates dip in January, they shot up by 44 percent in March, increasing to record high 175,199. Apparently there is still a backlog of unprocessed claims that will be appearing in the next couple of months as lenders scramble to deal with the volume.

Freddie Mac Executive Found Dead:

David B. Kellermann, the acting CEO at Freddie Mac committed suicide, leaving behind his wife and daughter. Sadly, he was only one of the many victims resulting from this global financial crisis.

Jumbo Loans More Plentiful

It appeared jumbo loans had fallen by the wayside, but now lenders are looking at these loans as a new opportunity to make money, and they are definitely making a comeback. Among the many banks offering them, ING has a 30-year fixed rate loan running in the upper 5% range.

The Mortgage Reform Bill

This much awaited bill was introduced in early April in an effort to change the way lenders do business and encourage no frill mortgages with lengthy terms. It's a shame this bill wasn't introduced 7 years ago, much of the housing crisis may have been averted.

Incidences of Real Estate Fraud Spikes

Our vulnerable market has created a perfect climate for real estate fraud and other types of scams. Following right on the heels of Bernie Madoff, who was convicted of committing the largest investor fraud by a single person, spring has sprung with a new collection of real estate related "tom foolery".

In early April twenty-four people in San Diego were charged with racketeering in an elaborate mortgage scheme. In Dallas, the Stanford Financial Group was recently accused of selling certificates of deposit that were never invested, in addition to numerous other fraud allegations. A Twin Cities realtor was recently convicted of mortgage fraud. A Georgia attorney recently pleaded guilty to a $28 million investment fraud scheme.

The seemingly endless flow goes on, touching on every aspect of the real estate and investment industry, from appraisers, to real estate agents, attorneys, investment brokers, mortgage brokers, and bank managers.

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Minnesota Makes Real Estate News - Real Estate - Buying a Home

Real Estate market has taken a big toll, not just in the Greater Lakes area, but nationwide in general. However, there is some good news on the horizon. According to the Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS, home sales have shown some stabilization and even improvement over the past 2 years.

We are all familiar with the real estate bubble that captivated the nation few years ago, and we are also familiar with the unfortunate consequences of the bubble bursting. Although the home prices of home aren't close to what they were during the good times, the new report says that the average home price has increased from the last 2 years. The market seems to be stabilizing when it comes to home prices. This is something a lot of people have been waiting to see.

Home sales are up significantly from the previous years. In fact, the March 2010 transactions are up over 43% from 2008 and around 33% from 2009. Most the recent monthly indicators show that the housing market in the Greater Lakes area has experienced tremendous growth in certain categories and stabilized in others. For example, closed sales are up 27% in March 2010 than in previous months.

Undeniably, Minnesota is on the road to recovery and has been for a few months now. The real story will unfold after the cessation of the first time home buyer tax incentive program. The real estate market has been relatively unscathed in Minnesota when you stack it up other cities but it really depends on which area within a state you are looking at. Let's hope that this trend continues.

Jeff Torf is a licensed real estate agent for more than 2 years and has been writing articles for brainerdlistings.com. Please check out the site for more information on Brainerd homes. You can also check out some Brainerd Real Estate Listings on the website.

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The Real Story Behind National Real Estate News - Advertising

Those who wish to actually participate in discussions are welcomed to the portal and exchange ideas and suggestions to make our world a better place to live in.Newspapers thrive catchy headlines that can sum up the drama of the day. But it's important to read with a critical eye, especially when you see a blanket statement at the top of the page like "National Home Sales Plummet." The headline looks good, and it's likely to turn heads, but how true is it? It may be true on average in recent years that fewer homes are being sold across the United States, and at lower prices. But many large markets across the nation are doing well, or improving. Unfortunately nothing gets in the way of a good headline like subtlety, and those inconvenient subtleties have forced the media to cast a shadow over some very bright real estate stories.One of those bright stories is the Kansas City, Missouri real estate market. Other strong markets after the boom include Madison, Wisconsin, and Pho enix Arizona.While it's clear some real estate markets aren't as strong as they were a few years ago, areas like Kansas City, and Detroit can show us how national average home values could fall while still being as strong as ever in many places. That's something the newspaper headlines don't always mention.These days you can turn to just about any of the major news channels and get information about late breaking stories, but there is also a decidedly entertainment aspect to these news channels that is disturbing. Some of them, like "Headline News" don't even attempt to be a solid news provider anymore. They are pure tabloid and usually they only provide gossip about the latest missing child or murdered wife or whatever the latest juicy tidbit is. Others like "Fox News" are just fronts for political stances, in this case the Republican party which seems to control all of Fox's news programming in a very blatant and disturbing way. They even go out of their way to pronounce t hemselves "Fair and Balanced" but the opposite is true and it is transparent to all but the most partisan of viewers. Michael Moore claimed that Fox News helped to push the 2000 election in favor of the Republican candidate George W. Bush, but it seems far-fetched that any of the news channels could affect something as important as a national election. It is a fact, however that they called the election early in favor of Bush without any real proof that he had in fact won. Whatever the real story was we may never know.We all know that the tabloid news shows like "Entertainment Tonight" and "Extra" are all fluff and more concerned about following celebrities around town like paparazzi than covering any real news, but when Fox News and CNN, supposedly real news channels start reporting the same trivial material, it becomes a matter for concern. Many people have stopped watching these news channels altogether and instead favor the hard hitting and incisive PBS News Hour. This i s one of the few remaining news channels that take their time reporting a story and they go in-depth to cover all the different angles. They are interested in finding out the facts and this cannot be done with twenty second sound bites. This type of journalism requires investigative reporting done by real professionals.

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Free Real Estate News all over the world - Real Estate - Commercial Property

The Real Estate sector booms today with the increased transactions in the property in the day to day life. The need of the property and its increasing value has certainly created space for the new booming industry in the Indian economy today. One can find various Real Estate agents, Real Estate Brokers, Real Estate Dealers, Property Dealers, Property Brokers and various other employed in the field of Real Estate today who carefully monitor all the transactions in the field of property and if required handle these transactions, they can use their expertise and create a flawless transaction. Wile talking about the Real Estate industry; let us have a look at the Real Estate industry at glance. Bargaining the second position in the Indian Economy today, the Real Estate Sector stands at the revenue of twelve million dollars per years and with the updates in the Real Estate business it is evident that it the most promising industry and with this statement one can notice the esti mated growth rate of thirty percent per annum.

The facts above certainly give an idea about the industry and the growth rate. Now with the growth rate such wide and bright prospects of the industry, we witness many of the key players in the market of Real Estate or property like magicbricks.com, Jaaydaad.com, 99-cres.com and various sites that help in the promotion of the sector. These companies maintain various aids that help in creation of the information bank that is information center. Holding huge information that is related to the property section and Real Estate sector it includes information inform of articles, News, property information and other matters. This information can either be accessed with a minimal charges or can be availed absolutely free to use under the public domain. The most popular among all the information is the news. Commonly given free as a gusted to the market the Real Estate companies aim to distribute and store the maximum of the information that is sent in the form of News to the viewe rs and the players in the market.

The newsletter is issued in the public interest with all that is latest happening in the field of property or real estate. Certain editions of these news that come free may range from daily either circulated over the net through emails or through messages over the phone to weekly that on a specified day of a week to monthly. The basic aim of these free newsletters is to create awareness and also serve as an important bank that is the information bank or center for the investors of the fresher in the field of real Estate. The information collected helps the Real Estate sector and also the people who are looking for any kind of an investment or to develop a relation with the Real Estate sector. As always suggested that before making any of the investments one should study the market in brief and these free newsletter are an important and useful resources to accomplish the homework for the users before they can make any decisions or plan for further investment in the Real Est ate or property market

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Seattle Real Estate News 1/27/11 - Real Estate - Mortgage Financing

Bellevue / Seattle Real Estate Mortgage Rate Watch: Its all about the technical data, Gross Domestic Report tomorrow and Jobs/Unemployment Next week. Yesterday the Federal Reserve left the Fed Funds rate unchanged at no surprise. The comments from the meeting is what Wall Street listened to as they are not buying the Federal Reserve playing down the economic recovery, which brings up the debate if Quantitative Easing 2 for $600 Billion is necessary as the economy is in a gradual improvement. It may be slow going but that is ok if we do not have crazy inflation. Consumers are already feeling it in their pockets from the cost of heating fuel, gas and groceries with recent increases.

Today more AUCTIONS, $29 Billion in 7 year notes with a A- grade. This is good but not enough to make rates IMPROVE today, this is very important to watch. In order for RATES to IMPROVE much more from here we need to see a better response to auctions. If not this is as good as it is going to get!

Historically, interest rates tend to settle a bit lower after the New Year has started. This year is taking its own course of action with the real estate recovery key for this economy. Typically you will see rates trend a bit lower closer to February of each year. This trend is a not a huge drop in rates but can be around .125-.250 % reduction in rate.

Since the economy is in recovery mode, interest rates are close or at rock bottom today. As the economy continues to recovery, the market knows mortgage rates will climb as the economy strengthens. This is a key signal to refinance and secure your rate sooner than later. If you wait 30-60 days to see if rates settle a bit lower, continue to follow the daily trends at

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Local Real Estate News Impacting Seattle - Real Estate - Mortgage Financing

Seattle / Bellevue Real Estate Mortgage Rate Watch: We send our thoughts and prayers to those affected by the earthquakes and Tsunami in Japan.

The market is all over the board today. Bonds are being pressured higher. In what normally would cause investors to seek the U.S. Safe Haven during a natural disaster, we see it doing the opposite. Japan is the third largest holder of U.S. debt at the tune of $877 Billion. They have begun to sell off some of their positions to raise capital to fund the recovery from the disaster. This has applied pressure to the mortgage rates today.

Then there is the continuing crisis in the middle east which now includes Saudi Arabia. This could have a major impact on the United States because Saudi Arabia is the largest provider of OIL around the globe. Should they slow down or even shut down supplies the cost of Gas would sky rocket overnight.

China, the triple whammy of the day. The peoples bank of China announced that they may have to have yet another rate hike to control inflation and slow lending. But this will come at a cost to the U.S., if China continues to rise and the U.S. remains at current levels their markets will offer higher yields to investors. This is bad for the U.S. because. in order to attract those investors back we would too have to raise our yields. Rising Yields = Rising Rates. This is something that the Federal Reserve CANNOT control. Also if the Chinese Yuan gains to much strength against the U.S. dollar would cause the manufacturing and imports to rise. This would increase the costs of goods to US, the consumers which spikes Core Inflation Higher. Inflation is the ENEMY of RATES/Bonds.

As you can see it is not an easy world to stay on top of not only industry lending guidelines but also to understand and educate a client on the right times to strategically secure a rate. We at the Mortgage Reel provide this information to create more transparency and to most importantly earn the trust from the many home owners we assist. We are committed to work in the best interest of our valued clients.

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