Realty Associated: 2016

Friday, December 30, 2016

Real Estate: These 5 Trends Will Shape the Housing Market in 2017

If the U.S. economy is to hit escape velocity in 2017, you can expect the real estate sector to serve as its rocket fuel.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

For Sale: Prince's Minnesota Homes

The special administrator of the estate of the late music legend Prince has put several of the singer's Minnesota properties up for sale.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Developer sues California panel for $490M over coastal land

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Developers have sued the California Coastal Commission for more than $490 million in damages for failing to approve a project that would have turned a 401-acre stretch of oil field overlooking the Pacific Ocean into a housing and retail development.

Rest more... http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/5/developer-sues-california-panel-for-490m-over-coas/

Friday, November 11, 2016

Is the mortgage credit box really loosening?

The Federal Reserve sent out a survey to senior loan officers, asking about the status of mortgage credit, if it was loosening and how many consumers are applying for the products.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

DR Horton Q4 2016 earnings

(Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc, the largest U.S. homebuilder, reported an 18.7 percent rise in quarterly profit as it sold more homes at higher prices.

The company said it expects fiscal 2017 home sales to rise in a range of 8-13 percent.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Hong Kong raises stamp duty to cool feverish housing market

HONG KONG -- Wary of a looming housing bubble, the Hong Kong government introduced new measures on Friday evening in the hope of cooling the city's overheated residential market.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

US rental market analysis

Demand is drying up in the priciest markets.

On the surface, rents, when averaged out across the US, still rose in October, though way slower than during the landlord's golden days, with one-bedroom median asking rent up 1.5% year-over-year and two-bedroom rent up 2.5%, according to Zumper's Rent Report.

Monday, October 31, 2016

Buying a house in the spring? Here’s how to save your credit score through the holidays

There's not much time left before the malls are flooded with busy holiday shoppers. And for the yearlong planners, the shopping probably started a long time ago. A recent blog from VantageScore emphasizes the importance of making sure shoppers don't destroy their credit score right before the busiest home-buying season.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

What Fannie Mae’s new credit reporting means for would-be homebuyers

Fannie Mae just made some major changes to the credit reporting industry. If you're like me, and don't have much of a debt history, it can be difficult to build credit. With the use of trending credit data, that could become much easier.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

These are Tesla’s stunning new solar roof tiles for homes

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk wasn't kidding when he said that the new Tesla solar roof product was better looking than an ordinary roof: the roofing replacement with solar energy gathering powers does indeed look great. It's a far cry from the obvious and somewhat weird aftermarket panels you see applied to roofs after the fact today.

How This Election Will Impact The Housing Market

It's no secret that our country as a whole has some deep concerns about our current presidential election. It doesn't matter if you like one of the candidates or dislike them both, everyone seems to have concerns about how this election will impact the economy and the nation.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Hilton unveils sale of 25% stake to China's HNA

HNA paid $6.5bn (£5.3bn) for the stake previously owned by Hilton's biggest shareholder Blackstone.

Chinese companies have increasingly been investing in tourism-related businesses overseas as more Chinese citizens travel abroad.

Monday, October 17, 2016

South Florida is ripe for Chinese homebuyers

Wealthy Chinese buyers have been buying so many homes in the United States that they are the top foreign country purchasing property in the U.S - for the fourth year in a row. Those home sales totaled more than $27 billion.

Rest more... http://www.businessinsider.com/south-florida-is-ripe-for-chinese-homebuyers-2016-10

FRB: Speech with Slideshow--Fischer, Why Are Interest Rates So Low? Causes and Implications

I am grateful to the Economic Club of New York for inviting me to speak today. My subject is the historically low level of interest rates, a topic not far from the minds of many in this audience and of many others in the United States and all over the world.1

Warm Regards,

Lillian Wong
Sr. Loan Officer
NMLS 630337
Prospect Mortgage
14635 N. Kierland Blvd. Ste. 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Cell 480 650 5412
Fax 877 220 7982
www.lillianwong.net

Join in going green. Please do not print this email unless it is absolutely necessary.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Prefab housing turns focus on small homes

Author Sheri Koones believes that prefab houses (or "prefabulous," as she calls them) are the homes of the future. She's written five books about them.

In the new "Prefabulous Small Houses" from The Taunton Press, Koones focuses on modestly sized homes and cottages, between 350 and 2,500 square feet.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Why my Arizona property tax bill – and probably yours, too – increased this year

If you aren't too happy with what you owe, it's too late to protest.

I just saw my property tax bill, and it's up 8 percent from last year.

You'll be getting your bill again soon, too, if you haven't already. 'Tis the season for metro Phoenix homeowners to find out what we owe for schools, fire and library districts and other county and city services.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Tartesso sale: $80M Phoenix land purchase could produce 40,000 homes

A California investor has paid $80 million for more than 10,000 acres west of the White Tank Mountains in Buckeye that could sprout nearly 40,000 new homes.

60 Percent of Guests Would Pay More for a Vacation Rental With a Smart Home Feature, August Home Study Reveals

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Short-term renting is a burgeoning business and global growth is projected to hit $51 billion by 2020*. August Home Inc, the leading provider of smart locks and smart home access products and services that make life more simple and secure, today released the results of a new study, Short-term Rentals: Smarter Hosting with Smart Home Technology. The study provides new insight into the growing appeal of short-term rentals and how smart technology plays an important role in delivering an experience that rivals that of hotels.

Metro Phoenix had 4th-highest rise in rental rates in U.S., but 10K new apartments are on the way

It's getting pricier for the convenience of calling your landlord when the AC breaks, the internet is down or the swimming pools needs cleaning.

Rents are on the rise in metro Phoenix, particularly in infill hot spots in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Credit Bureaus Are Making Lenders Buy Trended Data They Don t Need

Talk about jumping the gun.

Equifax and TransUnion have stopped offering traditional credit reports, replacing them with the more expensive trended credit reports that Fannie Mae plans to start using, but that other investors don't.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Canadians, investors poised for big profits selling metro Phoenix homes

It could be sell time for two big groups of metro Phoenix homeowners.

Many Canadians and institutional investors bought bargain foreclosure homes in the Valley during the crash. Now, they are poised to make a lot of money on metro Phoenix housing.

Blackstone Tenants Get a Shot at Buying Their Rental Houses

Melissa Suniga and her mother had been renting a three-bedroom Phoenix house for less than a year when their landlord, Blackstone Group LP's Invitation Homes, gave them the chance to buy it.

Low Supply Lifts Housing Lot Prices To a Record

A house under construction in Louisville, Ky. Median single-family lot prices were $45,000 last year, surpassing the previous peak of $43,000 at the height of the housing boom in 2006.

The prices home builders pay for single-family lots hit a record high in the U.S. last year, a sign that a scarce supply of developed land is pushing up the cost of new homes.

Median single-family lot prices were $45,000 last year, surpassing the previous peak of $43,000 at the height of the housing boom in 2006, according to an analysis of the most recent census data by the National Association of Home Builders.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

When the neighborhood is owned by billion-dollar companies

APOPKA, Florida (AP) — Many of the single-family homes in the Piedmont Park neighborhood of Apopka, Florida, used to be owned by families — the Vargases and the Townes, the Pierces and the Riddles. Now, they're owned by Blackstone, American Homes 4 Rent and Colony Starwood Homes, companies associated with big real estate investment firms.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

FHFA Adjusts Multifamily Lending Caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that it has increased the 2016 multifamily lending caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) from $31 billion to $35 billion, effective immediately.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Arizona companies capitalize on low-interest-rate wave

Like homeowners seeking to refinance a mortgage, several of Arizona's largest companies have made moves lately to capitalize on attractive interest rates. And with the Brexit vote possibly ushering in a stretch of even lower rates, corporate financial officers could be staying plenty busy.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

You'll soon be able to buy a HomeKit-powered ‘Apple House'

New homebuyers today have many things to choose from: wood floors or tile, granite or stainless steel countertops, central air or window units. But later this year, you'll be able to decide if you want to make your space a fully Apple-supported smart home, built from the ground up.

China home prices rise faster in May as smaller cities join rally

HONG KONG: Sizzling home price rises in China's biggest cities showed signs of easing in May but sharp gains appeared to be spreading to smaller cities, making policymakers' job harder as they look to support the faltering economy without inflating bubbles.

5 Ways You Didn't Know You Could Save For A Down Payment

Buying your first home conjures up all kinds of warm and fuzzy emotions: pride, joy, contentment. But before you get to the good stuff, you've got to cobble together a down payment, a daunting sum if you follow the textbook advice to squirrel away 20% of a home's cost.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Mountain Hotel Resort Repurposed for Wounded Veterans

We often talk about investing with purpose, or repurposing with purpose, but how many of you know any Real Estate Developers who actually do it? Paying lip service is not the same as doing. This project takes these concepts to an entirely new level!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

How much a decent apartment costs you in every county

A decent two-bedroom rental today will cost you on average more than you could afford working full time on the local minimum wage everywhere in America — in every state, every county, every metropolitan area. No matter how you draw the geography. Whether you live in Sioux Falls or San Francisco.

Agents Say Real Estate Market Isn't as Fun as It Used to Be

Real estate agents are flummoxed by a housing market that's still trying to recover a decade after its historic collapse.

Agents are getting higher commissions as home prices rise, but have fewer houses to list because homeowners are reluctant to sell. Many owners don't want to put their homes on the market until they have more equity to use toward higher-priced properties, agents say. And the uncertain economy has left owners inclined to hold on to their homes. Meanwhile, there are more agents in the market competing for commissions than even just a few years ago.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Q1 2016 U.S. Home Flipping Report

IRVINE, Calif. – June 2, 2016 — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation's leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its Q1 2016 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows that 6.6 percent (43,740) of all single family home and condo sales in the first quarter of 2016 were flips, a 20 percent increase from the previous quarter and up 3 percent from a year ago to the highest rate of home flips since the first quarter of 2014.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Hudson Yards, America's Largest Private Real Estate Development, Opens First Building

On a sunny morning last week, a few Forbes reporters donned hard hats and neon yellow vests to tour Hudson Yards, the massive 28-acre development being constructed in one of Manhattan's last undeveloped areas, Midtown's far western edge. It's the brainchild of Related Company's billionaire developer Stephen Ross, whose firm says it's the largest private real estate project in the nation. Four years after breaking ground, the first building, 10 Hudson Yards, is set to open. Luxury handbag maker Coach, which purchased roughly a third of the building's space as the anchor tenant, officially started moving employees in this morning.

Warm Regards,

Lillian Wong
Sr. Loan Officer
NMLS 630337
Prospect Mortgage
14635 N. Kierland Blvd. Ste. 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Cell 480 650 5412
Fax 877 220 7982
www.lillianwong.net

Join in going green. Please do not print this email unless it is absolutely necessary.

To buy or not to buy a home? For many Millennials, that's the question.

WASHINGTON — Doing the math left them uneasy. The stress of it all led to a near-meltdown one day on a trip to Home Depot.

At their most optimistic, affording a house seemed just within the realm of possibility for Elizabeth and David Glidden, both 26. They had saved enough for a 10% down payment. But as they searched for a home, ownership became tenuous when the couple considered their monthly expenses.

What is middle class, anyway?

Everyone's talking about saving America's middle class. But just who exactly falls into this group?

That's actually a much more difficult question to answer than it seems. While some experts define the middle class by income, others define it by lifestyle. Still others say it's a state of mind.

Discover, other credit cards, continue to ease access to credit scores

Just a few years ago, consumers who wanted to know their credit score — a number that could mean the difference between a high or low interest rate, or whether applicants secure a loan at all — usually had to pay for it. But now, free access to credit scores is fast becoming the norm, with many card issuers providing it to at least some of their customers.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Appeals Court overturns Bank of America's $1.27 billion fine in 'Hustle' case

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit handed Bank of America a massive victory, and dealt the Department of Justice a major blow, Monday when it overturned a $1.27 billion penalty against the megabank in a fraud case over defective mortgages sold by Countrywide, as first reported by Reuters.

House passes sweeping change to loan originator licensing rules

The House of Representatives just passed a bill that could create a huge impact on the mortgage industry, as mortgage loan officers may soon be able to transition from a traditional bank to a nonbank and keep originating new mortgage loans without having to wait for a new license.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Across the world, luxury-home sales get a reality check

WASHINGTON (AP) — The global luxury housing market lost some of its sheen last year as financial markets became unsettled and many wealthy buyers began to look for less expensive homes.

"The return of realism," is how Dan Conn, chief executive of Christie's International Real Estate, described the high-end market that stretches from San Francisco to Singapore.

How your parents affect your chances of buying a a home

For many would-be home buyers, the biggest obstacle isn't the income to cover the mortgage or the credit score to qualify for one. It's the huge pile of cash you have to hand over on closing day. A first home — especially in a high-cost city — demands not just that you make enough to cover the payments, but also that you have a lot to start with.

Readmore. ..https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/04/how-your-parents-affect-your-chances-of-buying-a-home/

Friday, May 20, 2016

The hottest Zip codes for flipping homes

Tomorrow's tastemakers are often the first to flock to a new, cutting-edge community or an area on the verge of becoming the next hot part of town.

Real estate investors, ever on the hunt for an area where they can buy low and sell high, may want to study RealtyTrac's "Hipster Home Flipping Hot Spot" list to identify neighborhoods where they can buy, fix and flip a home that appeals to hipsters.

Selling your house? Two is the magic number for a big tax break

Are you a homeowner who wants to tap into the spring house buying season? Or perhaps you were a seller who benefited from the rise in home sales last year.

If so, you may have realized or will soon enjoy a sizeable financial gain. Home prices rose 6 percent last year. And according to economist Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors, they are also expected to increase 4 to 5 percent in 2016.

Housing: What we now know about strategic defaults

One of the interesting things about the housing bust of several years ago — interesting in retrospect, not so fun at the time — was the many people who walked away from their homes voluntarily.

"Strategic default" was the buzzword phrase to describe owners who simply defaulted on their mortgages based on declining values rather than an inability to pay. Their actions fostered a debate that was centered as much around ethical implications as the financial causes.

Affordable metro Phoenix areas are beginning to recover as buyers look farther out

Home prices in many metro Phoenix neighborhoods could finally fully recover from the crash this year, or at least get very close.

Last year was much better for rising home values in the Valley than 2014, according to Street Scout Home Values, an annual analysis of metro Phoenix's housing market done with The Information Market.

Millennials, Boomers, retirees, boomerang buyers all boosting metro Phoenix's housing market again

Millennials Billy Day and Jessica Simms saw their rent jump in central Scottsdale last year. The couple decided to look for a home in the area near their favorite restaurants and places to hang out that they could afford to buy.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Why are major housing markets going haywire?

Whereas some of the hottest markets would appear to be slowing down, some of the markets seem slow to recover may be heating up, according to Trulia's Fastest Moving Markets Report.

Overall, homes sales are moving faster than last year as 66.6% of homes are still on the market after 30 days, down 1.2% from last year, according to the report. More specifically, 63.4% of starter homes and 59.8% of trade-up homes are still on the market after a month, which is down 2.1% and 3.1% respectively from last year.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Fannie Mae to offer no-credit-score mortgages

There was no such animal as a credit score until about 1995. Well, it's back to the future. Good going Fannie Mae.

On June 25, Fannie Mae will be rolling out the automation of a manual process for mortgage applicants without credit scores, according to Mindy Armstrong, senior product manager at Fannie Mae.

Developer says ‘penis envy’ is fueling city’s tower obsession

It's one of the most exclusive new buildings in Manhattan and the tallest residential skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere — and its biggest critic is its own architect.

Rafael Viñoly says 432 Park Avenue — where an 88th-floor penthouse is currently on the market for $76.5 million — is flawed.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Australia blocks land sale to Chinese for second time in six months

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian government on Friday blocked the sale of S. Kidman & Co, the country's largest private land holding, to a Chinese-led consortium for the second time in six months, again saying the sale is not in the national interest.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Section 8 Housing Program Waiting List Opens after 11 Years

The city of Phoenix Housing Department will accept applications for the Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program beginning Monday, May 23 through Friday, May 27, or until 10,000 applications are received.

The city's HCV program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is available for low-income individuals and families to provide safe and decent affordable housing. Program participants pay at least 30 percent of their adjusted gross monthly income toward their rent to a private landlord of their choice and the program will pay the landlord the remaining balance of the rent.

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