The Best Day of the Year to Buy a House

The study revealed that homes usually sell at their lowest prices in October.
 

“Of the 2.7 million sales closed in October over the last 15 years, the average sales price was 2.6 percent below the average estimated full market value at the time of sale,” RealtyTrac said.

Within the month, the magic day was Oct. 8, with the best deals of any other single day. RealtyTrac said that housing deals that closed Oct. 8 sold for an average of 10.8 percent below estimated market value. -- Krystal Steinmetz in MoneyTalksNews http://www.moneytalksnews.com/the-best-day-the-year-buy-house/

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An analysis released by Fannie Mae notes that declining economies in states that depend heavily on oil and gas production could produce a drag on home prices in those locations.

The good news: Any drag in prices is likely to be far less severe than what the country experienced during the last big oil price decline in the 1980s. And the “drag” might not cause housing prices to drop at all, but may only cause prices to rise more slowly than they would have without the downturn in the oilfield. -- Michael Lima in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/35181-declining-oil-prices-will-have-a-muted-impact-on-housing?eid=311684310&bid=1188575

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Shared by Valentina Cirosola, Vienna Opera House, Austria

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After a summer of subdued or declining activity, mortgage applications increased 25.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 2, 2015. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35281-mortgage-applications-skyrocket-more-than-25?eid=311684310&bid=1195991
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The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill that would extend and formalize the grace period for theTILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule until Feb. 1, 2016, and the White House is threatening to veto the measure if it passes Congress. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35283-white-house-threatens-to-veto-trid-grace-period-bill
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Shared by Valentina Cirosola, taken by Michelle Ursino, Alberobello, Puglia Italy

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The August 2015 international trade deficit increased 15.6 percent from July, to $48.3 billion. Exports decreased 2.0 percent to $185.1 billion and imports rose 1.2 percent to $233.4 billion. -- U.S. Department of Commerce
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Defying the threat of a White House veto, the House on Wednesday afternoon passed bipartisan legislation to help homebuyers avoid delays and disruptions when closing on their new homes by a bipartisan vote of 303-121. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35293-house-passes-bipartisan-trid-grace-period-bill
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Shared and taken by Luis Armando Oyarzun, Plaza San Martín y Edificio Cavanah . Buenos Aires . Argentina.

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Getting those last-minute applications in before the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure implementation date caused mortgage application volume to rise 25.5% on an adjusted basis in the week ending Oct. 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Application volume rose 26% on an unadjusted basis, according to the MBA's weeklyMortgage Applications Survey. --  Andy Peters in National Mortgage News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/trid-drives-25-increase-in-applications-mba-1062972-1.html

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Distressed sales down to just 9% of homes sold

REO sale share now the lowest since September 2007

Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35304-distressed-sales-down-to-just-9-of-homes-sold

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Shared and taken by M. Friedrich, Mediahafen Düsseldorf, Germany.

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Funny video from last year about celebrating Columbus Day:)
Brena Swanson in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/31671-watch-this-hilarious-columbus-day-video-all-about-bankers?eid=311684310&bid=1201521

Yipee! We're Building More Homes!

Construction spending during August 2015 came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,086.2 billion, 0.7% (±1.5%) above the revised July estimate of $1,079.1 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerceannounced. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35231-residential-construction-spending-rises-in-august?eid=311684310&bid=1191530
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The index dropped 1.4% to 109.4 in August from 110.9 in July but is still 6.1% above August 2014. The national median existing-home price is expected to increase 5.8% in 2015 to $220,300. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35167-pending-home-sales-decline-14-in-august?eid=311684310&bid=1188341
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Shared and taken by Dieter Birr, Munich City Hall, Germany

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According to one reputable online source: Commercial real estate isn’t the only type of property seeing large inflows of Chinese money. The country’s investors have also been active in residential realty. -- D. Sidney Potter at inman.com  http://www.inman.com/2015/09/23/why-chinese-investors-are-pouring-money-into-us-real-estate/
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Almost all real estate buyers under the age of 50 prefer to communicate by anything but talking.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/the-strange-communication-habits-surrounding-real-estate/?
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Shared by Juwai, Dubai at night

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Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates below 4% ten weeks straight

Rates barely move from last week -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35230-freddie-mac-mortgage-rates-below-4-ten-weeks-straight?eid=311684310&bid=1191530

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The House Financial Services Committee approved several bipartisan bills they say are designed to potentially protect consumers, reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and cut regulations. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35238-bills-to-reform-cfpb-relieve-regulations-go-to-house-floor?eid=311684310&bid=1192049
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Shared by Valentina Cirosola, taken by Michelle Be, Florence

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
CFPB reform.  Will it work? http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/cfpb-reform-might-be-on-the-way/?
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Weekly earnings actually declined from $868.46 to $865.61. Labor participation fell 2 tenths to a nearly 40-year low of 62.4%, the lowest since October 1977.
Earlier Friday the September employment situation reportfrom the Census Bureau showed new job creation cratering to a weak 142,000, well below analyst expectations. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35248-housing-experts-weigh-in-on-impact-of-septembers-hot-mess-of-a-jobs-report?eid=311684310&bid=1192662
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Shared by Juwai, China's Forise Holdings gets approval for AU$1.2BN Gold Coast apartment tower

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As prices in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. slumped 23% from last year, inventory of homes priced $1 million or more surged by 42%. Redfin saw similar double-digit growth in million-dollar homes for sale in other cities on the biggest luxury losers list including Santa Rosa, Calif. (37%), Houston (44%), Austin, Texas (27%), and Irvine, Calif. (27%). Of the 10 biggest price losers, only Los Angeles had a drop in both sale prices and inventory.

Of the more than 138 luxury markets studied, Miami Beach, Fla. was the most unequal. At nearly $6.59 million, average luxury prices were nearly 12 times greater than average prices in the other 95 percent of the market. In fact, the nine most unequal metros were all located on the southeast coast of Florida. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/35256-monday-morning-cup-of-coffee-what-are-we-going-to-do-with-fannie-and-freddie?eid=311684310&bid=1193481

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The share of the population in the work force, which includes people who have jobs or are looking for one, fell to 62.4 percent, the lowest level since 1977. -- NewsMax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/job-growth-wages-work-labor/2015/10/02/id/694423/?ns_mail_uid=55751607&ns_mail_job=1638418_10032015&s=al&dkt_nbr=s4szrbqy

Hollywood A-Listers in The Big Short - December 2015

Flashback to the 2008 timeframe where the subprime debacle was just taking hold.
Enter into that the cast of characters who bet against the big banks, and potentially, the American economy to get rich while the Empire crumbled.
Add in a couple of Hollywood A-listers and you get The Big Short movie, based on the book by Michael Lewis. -- Jacob Gaffney in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/35122-watch-hollywoods-a-list-brings-subprime-to-the-silver-screen?eid=311684310&bid=1185288
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A survey commissioned by online brokerage Redfin of 2,134 Americans finds one in five buyers made an offer on a home without having visited it in person.
In fact, some 17% of buyers bought a home without an agent’s help, a significantly higher portion than is cited in the most widely accepted report on this figure. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35091-survey-1-in-5-homebuyers-make-offer-sight-unseen?eid=311684310&bid=1180715
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Shared and taken by Xalima Miriel, Medieval town of Obidos, Spain.

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Building permits in August 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,170,000, up 3.5 percent from the revised July rate and up 12.5 percent from August 2014.

Housing starts in August 2015 were at a SAAR of 1,126,000, down 3.0 percent from July but up 16.6 percent from August 2014. -- Department of Commerce

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A total of 1,947,028 U.S. single family homes and condos sold through August in 2015, up 5.4% from the same time period a year ago to the highest total for the first eight months of the year since 2007, when there were 2,069,963 sales. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35138-half-of-major-metros-on-track-to-hit-highest-home-sales-since-2007?eid=311684310&bid=1185567
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Shared by Valentina Cirosola, taken by Semra Suvaçoğlu.

Beautiful building - Casa Galimberti Liberty Style, Milano Italy.

 
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized several changes to its mortgage rules to expand access to credit to small creditors, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
The rule was proposed in January and geared to increase the number of financial institutions able to offer certain types of mortgages in rural and underserved areas. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35109-the-cfpb-just-made-it-easier-to-get-a-mortgage-in-rural-underserved-areas?eid=311684310&bid=1182418
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
FHA now says that credit scores of 500-579 are OK!  However, the mortgage lenders aren't buying into the idea. http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/wells-snubs-new-fha-credit-scores/?
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Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong, taken by Greg Griffin .  Hong Kong Harbor

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Congressional hearing in the House Financial Services Committee reports that Dodd-Frank makes us less free. 
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/are-we-more-free-act-slams-dodd-frank/
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Sales of new single family houses in August 2015 were 552,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), up 12 percent from July’s revised rate and up 5.7 percent from August 2014.  -- Department of Commerce
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Shared and taken by Pasi Hortoma, Bridge in Finland

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Facebook out, Pintrest in for Real Estate

Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Facebook out, Pintrest in.  http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/facebook-out-pinterest-in/
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Real estate agents are an average of 56 yrs old.  We need young blood in our ranks.  Ebby Halliday Acers, founder of one of the largest residential real estate companies, passed away overnight of natural causes at 104 years old. -- Brena Swanson http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35020-dallas-real-estate-pioneer-ebby-halliday-passes-at-104?eid=311684310&bid=1172760
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Shared and taken by Pasi Hortoma, some place in Finland

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With limited numbers of existing homes coming onto the market, rising sales have led to very tight market conditions, according to a new client note fromCapital Economics. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35017-surge-in-sales-leads-to-tighter-housing-market?eid=311684310&bid=1172760
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HUD OIG: More than 25,000 households using public housing despite higher incomes

Agency now pushing housing authorities to evict “over-incomes”

Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35021-hud-oig-more-than-25000-households-using-public-housing-despite-higher-incomes?eid=311684310&bid=1173344

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Shared by Guy Kawasaki, Sandra Barns, Treehouse, Sweden http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/treehouse-treehotel-sweden

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Distressed sales—real estate-owned and short sales—accounted for 9.4% of total home sales nationally in June 2015, down 2.4 percentage points from June 2014 and down 0.9 percentage points from May 2015, according to the latest from CoreLogic.  --Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35028-distressed-sales-just-94-of-homes-sold-in-june?eid=311684310&bid=1174076
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Private investors are the best hope for affordable housing.  -- Martha Cranley, Rajesh Rajaraman and Steve Schooler in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/why-private-investors-are-the-best-hope-for-affordable-housing-1061226-1.html
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Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong, Moscow at Night

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Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is advancing a tax plan that would put a cap on the mortgage interest deduction and completely eliminate the deduction for state and local real estate taxes, effectively raising taxes on tens of millions of homeowners. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35067-jeb-bush-launches-tax-plan-that-raises-tax-burden-for-homeowners?eid=311684310&bid=1178191
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A congressional move to limit the salaries for the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moved a step closer Tuesday night when the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a version of the House’s Equity in Government Compensation Act of 2015. -- On HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35073-senate-unanimously-passes-bill-to-cap-fannie-freddie-ceo-pay?eid=311684310&bid=1179044
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Shared by James Harrison, taken by Chutikern lor, Chefchaouen,Morocco....

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Optimism among the nation's homebuilders continues to build as confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes continued its steady rise in September with a one point increase to a level of 62 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
As with last month when it hit 61, this new reading is the highest since November 2005. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35074-homebuilder-confidence-continues-to-hit-10-year-high?eid=311684310&bid=1179044
(The builders I talk to are actively looking for buildable land for sale.)

HOA Fines for Purple Swingset

Nat’l Real Estate Post:  

HOA Fines for Purple Swingset.  http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/warn-your-clients-about-the-hoa

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Nationally, home value appreciation is leveling off after its rapid pace in the early years of the recovery. Homes lost 0.1% of their value in July, falling to a Zillow Home Value Index of $179,900. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34875-home-price-growth-is-cooling-and-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing
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 Nationally, home value appreciation is leveling off after its rapid pace in the early years of the recovery. Homes lost 0.1% of their value in July, falling to a Zillow Home Value Index of $179,900. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34875-home-price-growth-is-cooling-and-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing

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Shared by Valentina Cirosola, taken by Marco Luce, Florence Italy

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Well, it only took about 8 years but... the Mortgage Bankers Association just said that total loan production expenses – commissions, compensation, occupancy, equipment, and other production expenses and corporate allocations – decreased to $6,984 per loan in the second quarter of 2015, from $7,195 in the first quarter of 2015. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34862-about-time-cost-to-originate-mortgages-finally-gets-cheaper

Nat’l Real Estate Post:

The Big Banks are loosing market share.  http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/big-banks-losing-market-share

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Shared by James Harrison, A Wat in Thailand.

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Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts indicate economic activity continued expanding across most regions and sectors during the reporting period from July to mid-August. 

Residential real estate activity improved across the 12 Districts, with home sales and home prices increasing in every District, while construction activity was more mixed. Richmond and Kansas City indicated that sales of low- and medium-priced homes continued to outpace sales of higher-priced homes. – Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34965-beige-book-real-estate-activity-up-in-all-12-districts

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For the first time in the report’s history, homebuyers from Latin America (including Mexico) were not a clear majority of international homebuyers in Texas – comprising only 41% of international buyers.

Instead, homebuyers from Asia/Oceania (including China), conversely, doubled from 18% from April 2013-March 2014 to 31% from April 2014-March 2015. – Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34962-international-buyers-pump-832b-into-texas-housing

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 Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong, taken by Eric, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan

The pace of new home construction is surpassing the number of available workers to do the job, according to areport and infographic from Coyne College. – Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34944-infographic-americas-growing-demand-for-new-home-construction

On Thursday, Fannie Mae announced that it wasincreasing its maximum number of allowable days for a foreclosure sale in 33 states. But Fannie Mae wasn’t alone.Freddie Mac has also announced that it is increasing the maximum number of allowable days for “routine” foreclosure proceedings in those same 33 states. – Ben Lane in HousingWire  http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34989-freddie-mac-joins-fannie-mae-in-extending-foreclosure-timelines

Shared and taken by Norbert Metz, someplace in Holland?

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 6.9% in July 2015 compared with July 2014, according to CoreLogic. – Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34947-corelogic-home-prices-rose-69-in-july-2015

Existing home sales rose unexpectedly in July, and are now up 16% since the start of the year. And while starts were essentially flat in July, they are up 10% over the same period, and homebuilder confidence is elevated. – Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35017-surge-in-sales-leads-to-tighter-housing-market

Kill Fannie and Freddie

Seven years later, fundamental problems with the system—especially the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—remain unreformed. If today’s presidential candidates want to engage in a policy debate that affects the lives of nearly all Americans, this is it. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34837-ed-demarco-kill-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac
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Millennials are trying to avoid debt at all costs:  http://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-avoid-debt-at-all-costs-2015-8 -- John Mauldin in Business Insider
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Shared by Mirjana Jesensek, Canterbury England

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The number of homes that have recorded yearly declines in value of at least 2% has risen sharply, according to Weiss Residential Research. -- Any Peters in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/number-of-homes-losing-value-rises-sharply-weiss-1059376-1.html
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
FHA says it is loosening the required FICO score for borrowers, but the way they plan to do it sounds like the requirements will tighten instead. http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/fha-going-for-lower-fico-scores/
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Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong, Rain in Saigon, Vietnam

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Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to today’s second estimate.  -- US Department of Commerce

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Personal income in July 2015 increased 0.4 percent. Nominal personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 0.3 percent. Real PCE increased 0.2. Nominal disposable personal income (DPI) increased 0.5 percent.  Real DPI increased 0.4 percent. The personal saving rate as a percentage of DPI was 4.9 percent in July. -- Department of Commerce

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Shared and taken by Dieter Birr, Neues Rathaus München City hall Munich

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Realtors are not making much money.  There are those few who are, but most are not. Less than 11% of women make more than $100,000 per year in real estate. But, 43% of women say they make their money in real estate.   http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/fascinating-realtor-income-stats-released-by-nar/
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Auto loans are up, foreclosures are down. -- Federal Reserve Bank of New York
http://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html#/2015/q2
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Shared by James Harrison, Morocco

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Sales of new single-family houses in July 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5.4 percent (±14.8%)* above the revised June rate of 481,000 and is 25.8 percent (±22.6%) above the July 2014 estimate of 403,000. -- Department of Commerce
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Josephine Country Cat
Chapter 8
Josephine has a Visitor

Josephine hissed and ran to the dark place under the head of Jerry’s bed. Jerry had brought a strange cat to her home! She heard the strange cat walk across the floor. She smelled his wet fur. How dare he act as if he lived in her house! As she peeked out from under the bedspread toward the living room, she saw him sniff his way into the kitchen. Sugar was large, white and long haired. He would make two of Josephine. She heard the can opener and the smell of tuna floated toward her. Her tummy rumbled. She crept toward the kitchen, crouching low to the floor. Peeking around the doorway, she hissed. He was lapping her tuna juice! She hissed again and ran back to the bedroom and hid under the bed. She absolutely refused to go into the kitchen with a strange cat.

Buy Josephine Country Cat!

https://www.createspace.com/5552704

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Blame It on the Rain!

Home construction down in the early summer? Blame it on the rain. In Texas, that is, which accounts for 15% of all new single-family construction. That’s what Wells Fargosays anyway in its July 2015 Housing Chartbook. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34755-trending-thursday-end-fannie-freddie-because-big-banks-will-fill-the-void-right
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The Mortgage Bankers Association reported today that mortgage applications for July 2015 for new home purchases decreased by 4% relative to the previous month. It’s been dry in Texas for the last month, so how that will affect August will be telling. Spoiler: in the last week, the MBA reports apps are becoming a total non-mover. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34755-trending-thursday-end-fannie-freddie-because-big-banks-will-fill-the-void-right
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Shared by Juwai, A Chinese developer has applied to build a 88-storey tower in Surfers Paradise located in the Gold Coast of Australia

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Average fixed mortgage rates reversing course and nudging higher for the first time in four weeks, according to Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.94% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 13, 2015, up from last week when it averaged 3.91%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.12%. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34754-mortgage-rates-reverse-course-moving-higher

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With the Dodd-Frank financial reform law celebrating its fifth anniversary this month, the editors at Investor's Business Daily have offered their assessment of the Obama administration centerpiece. 

The review isn't positive.

"It's a pernicious law, one that a devastating new report suggests is largely to blame for our lackluster economy," an IBD editorial states. The report was House testimony offered by American Enterprise Institute fellow Peter Wallison Tuesday. -- NewsMax Finance http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/StreetTalk/Investors-Business-Daily-Dodd-Frank-Law-Economy-Banks/2015/07/29/id/659475/
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Shared by James Harrison, Liang Old Town, China (Yunnon UNESCO Site)

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Renters can expect to pay 30.2% of their income on rent, according to a Zillow analysis of rental and mortgage affordability in the second quarter released Thursday. That is the highest percentage ever, said Zillow, which has data going back to 1979. -- Laura Kusisto in the Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/08/13/renters-spent-a-record-high-share-of-income-on-rent-this-spring/
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“The fact the builder confidence has been in the low 60s for three straight months shows that single-family housing is making slow but steady progress,” said NAHB Chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Missouri. “However, we continue to hear that builders face difficulties accessing land and labor.” -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34781-homebuilder-confidence-rises-in-august-to-highest-since-november-2005
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Shared by James Harrison, taken by A Lin, Rostov Veliky was founded in 862 on the shores of the sparkling Lake Nero. The first records of Rostov Veliky originated in the 9th century. Many prominent icon painters called this city home, and their work is reflected all over Russia. The city has a lot of amazing sites but the centerpiece of this historic town is its silver-domed Kremlin, one of the most attractive in Russia.

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First-time homebuyers between 2010 and 2013 were slightly younger than in the previous four-year period, according to Zillow. -- Andy Peters in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/first-time-homebuyers-slightly-younger-in-2010-2013-zillow-1059116-1.html
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Yesterday, Richard Bove, an equity research analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets, didn't mince words, saying his initial judgment of the Dodd-Frank Act as the worst piece of legislation in history was wrong: It’s actually worse than that. -- Jacob Gaffney in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34812-dodd-frank-is-killing-america-one-community-bank-at-a-time
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Shared by Juwai, Gold Coast, Australia

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Today, the typical first-time homebuyer purchases a home that costs 2.6 times his or her annual income. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34809-heres-the-impact-rising-home-prices-have-on-millennials
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Josephine Country Cat
Chapter 7
Josephine and the Fireflies
https://www.createspace.com/5552704

When the School Districts Matter in Real Estate

....the survey also revealed that a great school district is almost twice as important to those who search online for their dream home on a weekly or monthly basis than those who only search annually. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34750-trulia-where-schools-matter-and-where-they-dont-in-homebuying
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Just over half of Americans — 52% — say they are likely to buy a home in the next five years, according to the 2015BMO Harris Bank Homebuyers Report.

In addition, Americans surveyed are willing to pay an average of $296,000 for a home and will average a 21% down payment. -- Trey Garrision in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34749-survey-52-of-americans-likely-to-buy-a-home-in-next-five-years

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Shared by James Harrison, taken by A Lin, Kizhi, Carelia, Russia.


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Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to today’s advance (first) estimate.  This follows a revised growth rate of 0.6 percent in the first quarter.     --Department of Commerce.

 

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Friday's employment report will be a flop, based on ADP's estimate for private payrolls which it sees rising only 185,000.
This is below the lowest analyst estimate for 190,000. It is also 20% lower than the 232,000 number ADP posited a year ago, and the weakest July since 2013. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34684-julys-employment-report-looks-ugly
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Shared and taken by Haris Vithoulkas, Athens, Greece.

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Distressed sales—real estate-owned and short sales—accounted for 9.9% of total home sales nationally in May 2015, down 2.8 percentage points from May 2014 and down 1.7 percentage points from April 2015, according toCoreLogic. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34699-distressed-sales-accounted-for-10-of-homes-sold-nationally-in-may-2015 
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The percentage of consumers who believe it is a good time to buy dropped to 61%, an all-time survey low­, right as summer is about to come to a close.
And the share of consumers who believe now is a good time to sell a home didn’t fare too much better, dropping 7 percentage points to 45%. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34720-consumers-dont-think-its-the-right-time-to-buy
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Shared by Paul Richardson, taken by Henk Meijer, Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany.

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The National Association of Realtors’ pending sales index went into a skid in June, falling 1.8% — expectations were for a 0.9% gain — the biggest drop since December 2013. The pace of the drop was what alarms analysts.
But taken in the long-run, and you have to do that in housing — any slowdown in existing sales will be set against much stronger growth in new home sales. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire  http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34724-can-this-sickly-housing-recovery-survive-without-artificially-low-interest-rates
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which celebrated its fourth birthday earlier this week, won’t see its fifth birthday if Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, has his way. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34552-sen-ted-cruz-introduces-bill-to-abolish-cfpb
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Shared and taken by Selim Ates, Istanbul, Turkey

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Excerpt from Josephine Country Cat

The goat recovered from his surprise. He moseyed over by Bill and cocked his head at the small white and black spotted cat rolling around on his ground.  He lowered his horns. Josephine paused in her bathing thinking he was going to butt Bill with his horns.  Instead, the goat bent down and took the skirt of the dress in his mouth, lifting Bill and all.  He started chewing the dress slowly. Bill started yelling.  She had protested Pearl’s grandchildren playing with her like a doll, but she knew this goat did not like cats.  Bill yelled and squirmed and kicked and wriggled. 

Josephine stopped washing.  Her eyes grew very round.  She knew Bill was in trouble.  Josephine dropped down from the pony’s rump and ran up to the goat.  She stood on her hind legs and beat a rat-a-tat-tat-tat on the goat’s face with her front paws.  Shocked, the goat dropped his jaw, releasing Bill.


Buy Josephine Country Cat!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0996451307
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