National home values rose to $161,100 as of the end of the second quarter – up 5.8 percent year-over-year and 2.4 percent from the first quarter. That’s the largest annual gain since August 2006 and biggest quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2005. -- Sonja Bullard in Angel Oak Weekly
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Home prices increased in June on a monthly basis for the 16th consecutive month, according to the latest figures from CoreLogic. -- Evan Nemeroff in Origination News
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
The Gary, Indiana Housing Authority is being taken over by HUD.  It is a mess and has been for 10 yrs.  It will now be run from Detroit's office.  Wonder how this will turn out!

Fannie Mae is selling $2 billion in mortgage backed securities.  (Here we go again.)

NAR says 68% of people say it is a good time to buy a house.
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Twenty cities and counties which are facing bankruptcy:
Compton, CA
East Greenbush, NY
Fresno, CA
Gulf County, FL
Harrisburg, PA
Irving, NJ
Jefferson County, AL
Menesah, WI
Newburg, NY
Oakland, CA
Philadelphia School District, PA
Pontiac, MI
Providence, RI
Riverdale, IL
Salem, NJ
Stratford County, NH
Taylor, MI
Vadnais Heights, MN
Wenatachee, WA
Woonsocket, RI
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Freddie Mac says it will sue Richmond, CA if it adopts eminent domain to take over homes where the home is underwater because this would put in more risk.  The eminent domain move is suppose to solve the foreclosure problem.  Freddie disagrees.
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https://www.helpscout.net/blog/psychology-of-color/
Shared by Guy Kawasaki
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Did you know that it only takes 20 hrs of practice to become decent at a skill?  I'm trying my hand at drawing.  I've only spent 4 hrs so far and it is working.  With this kind of success, I think I will try many other things.
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Shared by Carra Riley
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It doesn't look good for home builder share prices in the near-term. Recent action in the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (ITB) fund indicates weakness in the sector and these stocks are starting to break down.  HousingWire
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Private mortgages are back:
"Delinquencies are down, and the companies have recapitalized," said Bose George, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. "At the same time, FHA is reducing its role in the market, so this has given them significant growth opportunities. ... The companies have reversed their position and are starting to show modest profitability." - Diana Oleck for CNBC
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
FHA is becoming more expensive for first time buyers than conventional buyers.  MGIC is now requiring at least a 620 credit score for loans.  With faster turn around times.  (Nice!)
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK..."The best way out is always through."--Robert Frost, American poet
shared by Bill Bazzel
A leading provider of real estate data and analytics recorded home prices up 1.9% in June, gaining for the 16th month in a row.For the year, they had home prices increasing 11.9%, trending at the fastest upward pace since 1977. Finally, it was reported that Fannie Mae posted a $10.1 billion profit in Q2, almost double the Q2 profit of a year ago. They will now pay a $10.2 billion dividend to the Treasury, which owns $117.1 billion of the company's senior preferred stock. This is quite a turnaround for Fannie Mae from the dark days of 2008.
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Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased on a year-over-year basis by 11.6 percent in May 2013 compared to May 2012. On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 2.3 percent in May 2013 compared to April 2013. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

The CoreLogic Pending HPI indicates that June 2013 home prices, including distressed sales, are expected to rise by 13.2 percent on a year-over-year basis from June 2012 and rise by 2.9 percent on a month-over-month basis from May 2013. - Shared by Sonja Bullard in Angel Oak Weekly
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Housing has officially hit the bottom. 
AZ, CA, FL, MI and NV are no longer the top ten worst foreclosure states!
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Shared by Blake Sippert
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The efforts of the Chinese government to curb the domestic property market are causing buyers to look at real estate outside of the country, Juwai.com found.
Juwai is an internet site that links Chinese high-net worth individuals with real estate agents in foreign countries.
A recent survey of 541 Chinese citizens in the property market, found that 73% of respondents said properties in other countries provide either a better value or more affordable prices than real estate in China.
Additionally, 37% said they would buy overseas because it is a better value proposition than in China, and 37% said they would buy overseas because it is a much lower price than China.
"The latest data out of China, coupled with the consumer survey from Juwai.com, help show why wealthy Chinese are looking at property overseas. They are educated, affluent, mobile and--most of all--motivated,” Andrew Taylor, Co-CEO of Juwai.com, said. -- HousingWire
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Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose three points to an August index score of 59, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
This is the fourth consecutive monthly gain, bringing the index to its highest level in nearly eight years, the association noted. Any number over 50 suggests the majority of builders view conditions in a particular segment of the market as "good".  -- Brenda Swanson in HousingWire
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