After a few weeks hiatus here is another blog.

Foreclosures are at the lowest rate in three years. 
"Servicers have modified 2,878,228 mortgages since the beginning of 2008 through the end of the third quarter of 2012," the OCC said. "At the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, 47.7% of these modifications were current or paid off. Another 7.1% were 30 to 59 days delinquent, and 14.2% were seriously delinquent. There were 7.7% in the process of foreclosure, and 7.3% had completed the foreclosure process." Keri Anne Panchuck @ HousingWire.com
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Mortgage applications rebounded, rising 7.7% for the week ending March 22, the first recorded increase in two weeks.
The refinance share of overall mortgage activity remained unchanged at 75%, breaking 10 consecutive weeks of straight declines.
Meanwhile, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance fell to 3.79%.
The average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance sunk back to 3.90%, a position it held two weeks ago.  -BrenaSwanson@BrenaSwansonHW
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TBWSDailyShow:
The average person stays in their home 5-7 years.  Where will interest rates be then?  Probably higher.  FHA loans are assumable, so down the road when your clients put an offer down on an FHA home, they can assume the loan and get today's great rates.  Think 3.5% compared to 7% interest rate.
Remember that when taking out a loan, you are required to have home insurance.  If you let it lapse, the bank will get it for you and you will pay much higher rates.  The banks pay kick backs to the insurance companies who write the forced insurance policies.  FHFA, however, is planning to do away with the higher insurance payment requirements.  This cuts out personal responsibility and will have unintended consequences raising the difficulty of home ownership sometime in the future. 
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I had to include this: 
"According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, monthly crude oil production in the United States is expected to exceed the amount of U.S. crude oil imports later this year for the first time since February 1995."-- From WT100 which got it from EIA Today in Energy.
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From Uncommon Wisdom:  The housing market continues to pick up steam. Single-family home prices, as measured by the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index, saw their largest annual increase in more than six years.
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There is a sign that the investors are starting to pull back from buying.  More investors are buying directly from the builders.  The number of foreclosures on the market is dropping. 

Despite this note of caution, the Wells Fargo Securities economists are still expecting a rise in sales and prices as well as new home construction.-David Collins and Mark Fogerty @ Orgination News
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Federal Reserve stimulus and government borrowing to meet its obligations are driving stocks to record highs on a daily basis, according to RC Peck, chief investment strategist and CEO of Fearless Wealth.
Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Peck-Fed-Money-Printing-stock/2013/03/10/id/494003?s=al&promo_code=12BE5-1#ixzz2OqEUdX6K
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In the hottest markets around the nation, “for sale by owner” signs are popping up in yards as penurious owners try their hands at selling their own homes. It’s another sign of recovery that’s raising echoes of the real estate boom seven years ago.--Steve Cook for Real Estate Economy Watch

This reminds me of a guy who was practicing mortgage fraud.  He was able to sucker many people before being caught.  You might remind the FSBO's that they may not be equipped to protect themselves and could end up in court paying big bucks. 
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TBWSDailyShow:
People should be allowed to make bad decisions and reap the consequences.  However, the gov't has decided we are too stupid to make good decisions and so is making possible bad decisions illegal.  This is making the possible options for small investors more and more limited.  This is like outlawing the Big Gulp.  If someone wants to make bad decisions, fine!  Just make sure they, themselves, pay the consequences, not the rest of us
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Investors and banks are taking on more multifamily dwelling debt.  I personally know that there are a number of investors who are my contacts and are actively looking for properties in the millions of dollars.  If you know of any multifamily dwellings that might be for sale, contact  your investors. 
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Minnesota's Home Owner's Bill of Rights is all but dead.

A Homeowners' Bill of Rights — similar to one that was adopted by California last year — would require automatic mediation between banks and homeowners facing foreclosure and prohibit the practice of 'dual-tracking,' in which banks negotiate with homeowners while simultaneously moving them towards foreclosure, often without their knowledge. Activists have been hoping that the Legislature will adopt such protections to help end the foreclosure crisis but got a cold dose of political reality: Without banking industry approval, some Democrats in the Senate appear unwilling to support a Homeowners’ Bill of Rights.--from the Twin Cities Daily Planet
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Home prices are up 15.5% in Minneapolis.  Sales are up 2%.  Traditional closed sales jumped 21.5% year-over-year, while foreclosures and short sales dropped 23.5% and 28.5%, respectively.--from HousingWire
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TBWSDaily Show:
Is HUD taking the wrong homes off the market?  The Neighborhood Stabilization Program money is being used in perfectly good neighborhoods instead of blighted neighborhoods.  Non-profits are using the money to buy up the HUD homes for pennies on the dollar in good neighborhoods when investors would buy the homes for full price.  So instead of using the gov't funds to lower the mortgage interest rates, the gov't is using the funds to practically give away property.  This is $4 billion dollars of assistance given where it isn't needed in NSP 1 and $2 billion in NSP 2, NSP technical assistance is $3.92 billion, NSP 3 is $5 billion per state.

FHA is raising the down payment from 3.5% to 5% on loans over $625,500.  HUD wants 90 days to implement this new rule.
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Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae refinanced nearly 1.1 million mortgages last year through HARP and 2.2 million since 2009. --kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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The average contract interest rate for the 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA increased to 3.53% from 3.47%.
Meanwhile, the 15-year, FRM increased to 3.01% from 2.96%, and the 5/1 ARM rose to 2.62% from 2.55%.
bswanson@housingwire.com
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Home builders are building in active markets including Georgia.
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TBWSDailyShow:
600,000 seniors are in foreclosure or are delinquent.  If a senior is 62 yrs old, they would need a 62% LTV to get a reverse mortgage.  The LTV depends on the senior's age.  HECM, home equity conversion mortgage, loans are ALL adjustable starting April 1.  Seniors can be behind on their loans or facing foreclosure and still get the HECM loan.  Then the foreclosure or delinquency would go away-there would be no payments to the bank!  The bank would be paying them from an equity line of credit.  If the value of the home goes up, the senior can refinance into another HECM.  Let your seniors know.
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Four Senators are crossing party lines to propose a GSE reform bill that would prevent the government from using guarantee-fee hikes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to cover other spending initiatives.
The bill, titled ‘Jumpstart GSE Reform Act,' pulled in four well-known sponsors: CFPB architect and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Republican Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and David Vitter, R-La.; as well as Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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Home listing inventory increased 1.15% from February.  The average time a house sits on the market now is 98 days down 9.26% from January. 

Berkowitz added, "Looking ahead, we can expect the amount of inventory to increase this spring along with higher list prices as sellers become more comfortable with the market conditions."  The Ticker at HousingWire
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The home mortgage sector in the world’s largest economy has been “effectively nationalized,” says George Melloan, former deputy editor of the editorial page for The Wall Street Journal.


Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/FinanceNews/Melloan-Fannie-Freddie-banks/2013/03/14/id/494678?s=al&promo_code=12CDB-1#ixzz2OrD5rNY1
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
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Real Estate

JPMorgan raises home price forecast, sees long road to recovery

By Christina Mlynski

• March 15, 2013 • 7:34am

JPMorgan Chase expects home prices to rise 7% in 2013 as investors continue to take interest in nonperforming loans and distressed properties. The forecast for 2013 is more optimistic than initially expected.

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The fastest growing cities are the ones which the recession hit the hardest.  That is because they have the most affordable housing and good weather. --The Ticker for HousingWire
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TBWSDailyShow:
87% want to own a home, 66% say owning a home is a good idea and 75% say owning a home is essential to raising a family.  These numbers are twice as high as a year ago.  Inventory is down, but our collective national equity is up $500 billion in the last quarter and up $1.7 trillion since spring 2011.  Currently we have a collective national equity of  $8.5 trillion.  Short sales and foreclosures are less probable due to the rise in home equity.  So, Realtors, call your data base and find those who are ready and able to sell now.  This includes the loan officers who have clients, too.  Interest rates are still low to attract new and move up buyers.  Interest rates are up slightly.  They will continue to rise when the stock market starts to pull back.

Thomas Jefferson, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."
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There are fewer home builders in the market now than there were in 2007.  Therefore, those who are left are starting to make money again.  Lennar Corp has revenue from home sales up 40% from the first quarter of last year.  Their backlog of homes incomplete or in the process of completion is up 82%.  --Megan Hopkins with HousingWire.
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Congressman Elijah Cummings, D-MD, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, published the report on his website, saying "mortgage companies that service loans backed by Freddie Mac have largely failed to implement requirements to resolve escalated cases of serious homeowner complaints alleging abuses such as improper foreclosures and fraudulent servicing practices."

kpanchuk@housingwire.com

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Sales of previously owned homes rose 0.8% in February from the prior month as single-family sales were flat and condominium sales jumped 9%.  --Brian Collins for Origination News
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Average home prices are up over 10% from a year ago.  The demand for materials to build home is also up.  (Finally!)

The median home price rose to $173,600.  Home supply is 4.7 months, which is well below the accepted healthy balance of 6.00 for supply and demand.  --Brad Hoppman of Uncommon Wisdom Daily.
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Available home inventory is down 19.2% from last year which is a bad thing.
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TBWSDailyShow:
Freddie Mac suing many banks for the Libor scandal among which are Bank of America, Citi, UBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Credit Suisse, RBS, Chase and more.  Today banks are about twice as big as they were a year ago.  US bank earning jumped 37% from Oct to Dec.  The problem is that the federal gov't tells the banks to do something and then sues them for doing that thing.  Remember the scripture "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."  That is the federal gov't.  The federal gov't and the banks may be joined at the hip, but the gov't keeps punishing the banks for doing exactly what they are  told to do.  This is insane.  The federal gov't will sink our economy for sure.  (My opinion).
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If you are a move up buyer, the time to sell your present home is now.  The reason is because the price on the home you want to move into will increase faster than the price of your home.  Also, the interest rates are very low right now.  It is spring, put your house on the market and sell.  --Megan Hopkins for HousingWire
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The housing rebound is creating a shortage of vacant lots in Seattle.  How is the market in your city?
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The Census Bureau reported this week that single-family housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000 in February, the highest level since June 2008, months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers turned a recession into a global credit crisis.

The last time housing construction contributed so little to the economy was during World War II.
Floyd Norris comments on finance and the economy at nytimes.com/economix.
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NASA Federal Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union are offering members mortgages that do not require a down payment or mortgage insurance.  (Here we go again.)
brenaswanson@brenaswansonhw
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Karl Smith in Forbes says the housing bubble is back.  It is only a matter of time before the credit standards for homebuyers will fall. This will allow homebuyers to make larger offers and it will allow young people to buy a home even when they lack a down payment.  (Here we go again.)
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Because FHA is raising the mortgage insurance premium this spring and interest rates are low, first time home buyers are trying to get in on home buying.  However, repeat home buyers are buying less.
http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/03/fear-motivates-first-time-homebuyers/
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1.5 million properties in the US are in the foreclosure process or are bank owned as of the first quarter of 2013. --RealtyTrac--mhopkins@housingwire.com
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TBWSDailyShow:
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In January, five states – Florida, California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey – held 44% of all distressed properties in the U.S.

Florida alone houses 16% of the shadow inventory.

kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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Zillow introduced Spanish-language support for its Zillow Rentals Android App. --The Ticker by HousingWire
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CORDRAY NOMINATION COULD BE CONTENTIOUS
The more heated portion of the hearing could be focused on Cordray, who has been leading the CFPB under a recess appointment that serves as a bypass to Senate confirmation.
Republicans have continued to fiercely oppose his nomination to the CFPB amid disagreements over how the new bureau is structured.
The CFPB is a new regulator created through Dodd-Frank that is tasked with protecting consumers from potentially predatory lending products, such as mortgages, credit cards and paydayloans.
Republican senators have blocked confirmation of a director since the bureau opened in July 2011, saying it should be led by a bipartisan board similar to the way the SEC is run, rather than by a single director.
Obama's recess appointment of Cordray made business groups and Republicans irate. They have argued that the move was illegal because Congress was not technically in recess at the time. A court ruling that struck down a similar recess appointment has cast further legal doubt over Cordray's leadership.
With Cordray's temporary term due to expire at the end of 2013, Obama earlier this year renominated him for a longer-term directorship.--Sarah Lynch @ Reuters
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The new regulations now under (CFPB) consideration include a provision that would require borrowers to come up with down payments totaling as much as 20 percent of home prices. The provision would deliver a blow to the lending industry and would-be buyers, especially the working class and people hoping to buy their first house, according to the Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy.
In a letter sent to financial and housing regulators, the group argued that the forthcoming rules should hew closely to a set oflending standards laid out in January by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The CFPB measure, known as QM, set guidelines for qualified mortgages that, if adhered to, would give banks “safe harbor” protection from lawsuits.

 To qualify for “safe harbor” protections, banks would have to restrict certain points and fees on loans and limit other risky features such as terms that exceed 30 years, interest-only payments and negative-amortization, where a borrower’s principal actually increases with each payment.--Ben Goad @ The Hill.
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QE~ (Infinity)

The first part of QE~ is the purchase of $45 billion of treasuries each month. To put this in perspective, the sequester in the news is $85 billion for this year and $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The sequester is less than what Bernanke finances in 2 months. Why worry about the sequester? Bernanke can just add $7 billion a month to the $45 billion and the debt would be covered.

The second part of QE~ is the purchase of $40 billion of agency MBS. The entire mortgage market is originating approximately $1.5 trillion loans per year, out of which about 70% are refinances, or $450 billion of new loan originations. Let us assume 90% of all originations are agency loans, then Bernanke is purchasing 100% of all agency originations and still has $75 billion left over, per year. Maybe he can just use that to offset the sequester.

The Fed already bought $1.2 trillion of agency MBS before QE~. The underlying mortgages are constantly prepaid via foreclosures, sales or refinances. Bernanke is replacing these prepayments with new purchases. Combined with the $40b per month under QE~, the Fed is purchasing at the rate of $16.8 billion per WEEK or $873 billion per year. Does that seem like a pretty large number to you?
--Ramsey Su in HousingWire.
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TBWSDailyShow:
OCWN stands up to CFPB.  CFPB told OCWN to pay into the consumer relief fund and OCWN told them NO.  This may result in a $135 million dollar fine.  But the CFPB is acting like a bully telling companies to pay up or else.  Last week we heard the Federal Reserve misallocated $1.5 billion of $8.5 billion to consultants instead of to home owners that the money was intended for.  It wasn't investigated, it was swept under the rug.
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Foreclosure activity is down 17.8% from last year according to CoreLogic.  The five states with the most completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending January 2013 included California with 96,000 foreclosures; Michigan (74,000); Texas (59,000); and Georgia (50,000). All of these states made up nearly half of all completed foreclosures.--Kerri Anne Panchuck @ HousingWire
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Post-college life struggles delay housing recovery.  While the newly graduated want to buy a home of their own, the burden of college debt inhibits the purchase.  Until we have a jobs recovery, we won't have a true housing recovery.  We continue to depend on the investors to buy homes, but when they stop buying, who will take their places?
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TBWSDailyShow:
Tax time helpful hints:
 Deduct property taxes for the year you live there (i.e. 2012).
If you bought a house deduct the points you paid in full for the year.
If you refinanced you home, deduct points over the life of the loan (i.e. $100/yr)
If you took the tax credit back in 2008, you must repay the tx credit over 15 yrs, so repay1/15 of the loan.  If you sold you home, you must pay back the whole tax credit.
If you bought an energy saving appliance, save your manufacturer's certification in case the IRS asks questions.
Capital Gains-you can exclude the first $250k for an individual or $500k for a couple
If you are buying and selling homes there is a time limit you must hold the home in order to take advantage of the capital gains.
Deduct your mortgage interest for the first million.
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Fannie and Freddie are joining forces to form a new company.  Will this shrink gov't role in mortgages?  Will we, the taxpayers, be repaid for all the money we gave these monoliths? 
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Residential Finance Corp is offering a loan program to foreign born buyers.
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Those in the know are expecting mortgage rates to rise soon, as well as house prices.
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An unlooked for consequence in Hugo Chavez's death is that rich Venezuelans have been buying property in Miami with 69% paying in cash.  On his death bed Chavez devalued the currency which balances the books, but hurts those leaving the country with cash.  Will more people who made deals with Chavez leave the country or will the number of Venezuelans buying in America decrease?
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While housing prices are expected to grow 3.3% in the next 5 yrs, many places in TX, FL and even Phoenix, AZ are expected to have almost 0 growth.  Perhaps that is because these places have had record growth in the last year.  Maybe this prediction is totally wrong.  Because there was little information to back up the claim, we will wait and see.
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FHA and VA loans can be assumable.  But you need to ask for that when taking out the loan.  If a buyer is assuming a loan, but there is a difference between the selling price and the amount owed, the buyer can take out a 2nd mortgage to finance the difference or the owner can provide owner financing.
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There may be fewer homes for sale this spring, but the builders are crazy busy getting ready to and building.
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TBWSDailyShow:
Fair Housing Laws-A realtor (and his broker and the home owners' association) who as an IDX feed on his blog and is being sued (a federal lawsuit) for importing the posting because it says "no one under the age of  16 need apply".  However the agent who posted it is not being sued.  The person who is suing is a paid independent fair housing tester (investigator) for this kind of thing and is including in the suit "humiliation, emotional distress and embarrassment" caused by the defendant's discriminatory actions and loss of equal housing rights.  But a 16 year old can't sign contracts!  The suit wants compensatory damages for the drain on the investigator's limited time and resources.  So the one person who put the ad  on the internet is not being sued, but everyone else is.  This is a mess.  It will cost the innocent time and money and the culprit gets off scott free.  Besides, the investigator is being paid to investigate, so how do the humiliation and emotional distress and embarrassment have anything to do with the investigators suit seeing that she gets paid to bring lawsuits against violators.  Another thing, why is the law written such that the 16 year old comment is a violation when 16 year olds can't sign contracts?      And we citizens are paying for this lawsuit!                                             http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/2013/03/08/malicious-fair-housing-lawsuits-really/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNationalRealEstatePost+%28The+National+Real+Estate+Post%29
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I just heard Rhonda Duffy say that here in GA property disclosures are not mandatory, but may be requested.  I had been told disclosures were mandatory no matter what.  News to me.
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TBWSDailyShow:
Let's stop  over thinking the housing industry.  The bottom line is rates.  Scream it to all your clients- RATES are low.
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Fannie and Freddie are still giving subsidies to mortgage investors, laying the ground work for the next housing bubble.

"Policymakers know eliminating Fannie and Freddie would go a long way in preventing another housing bust, and a new report by a commission of several former government housing officials, including two former secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Mel Martinez and Henry Cisneros, and former Sen. George Mitchell calls for phasing them out over five to 10 years.
The Bipartisan Policy Center's commission proposed reducing the size of loans that Fannie and Freddie can purchase from private lenders until they can't buy anything at all. This would mean no more transferring of mortgage default risk from investors to the taxpayers.
This approach is a compromise between keeping Fannie and Freddie propped up in perpetuity and shutting them down tomorrow. It allows the market time to adjust as the mortgage giants are phased out....................

The government needs to rid itself of the belief that everyone should own a home. From federal tax breaks to state and local programs designed to encourage home ownership, government at every turn urges people to buy homes.
Home ownership is not for everyone. In many parts of Southern California, for example, it is cheaper to rent than buy. Renting also offers greater flexibility and mobility."---Anthony Randazzo at the Orange County Register.
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The Housing Price Index is up 9.7% from last January.  This means for 11 months home prices as an average across the US have risen.  This is the best since 2006, but we all remember what happened in 2007.
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Housing keeps improving

"Home prices in the U.S. edged up 5.8% year-over-year in December as the average home price rose to $207,000, Lender Processing Services said in its latest Home Price Index."
-kpanchuch@housingwire.com.  Arizona is still leading in housing price rises.  Home prices rose 16.5% in 2012.  California, Nevada, Texas and Florida are all rising at slower paces.
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TBWSDailyShow:
According to Barry Habib, stocks will continue to move higher and bonds lower. 
There is a new move for investors to give higher commissions than contracted to their agents who close the deal for them.  The investors close the deals with cash and immediately turn around and list the property at a higher price.  Is this ethical?  Follow this link to see the whole story-  http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/2013/02/25/pocket-investors-giving-commission-bonuses/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNationalRealEstatePost+%28The+National+Real+Estate+Post%29
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"Hmmm. Washington's dysfunction is indisputable. But it is not America's first, second, or third biggest problem. Those are (1) the lingering effects of the housing bust are still impoverishing families and economic growth; (2) globalization pushing down wages for work that lives along a worldwide supply chain; and (3) essentials like health care, education, energy, and housing getting more expensive while families have to work longer hours just to keep up with microscopic inflation.

(David) Brooks' diagnosis for America isn't just statistically questionable. It's dangerous. There is a fixation in Washington to pass any sort of deficit deal to cure the the uncertainty crisis in American business. But there no measurable uncertainty crisis. And there is a measurable household earnings and debt crisis."--Derek Thompson senior editor at The Atlantic
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QEIII will continue into the third quarter in the form of the Feds buying mortgage backed securities.  The problem our economy is having right now is due to tight credit regulations.  This inhibits individual people buying homes even with the low mortgage rates.  Housing has provided the "tailwind" for the economy in the past. However, unless the number of purchases increase and the prices rise, housing will not help the economy this time around.
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TBWSDailyShow:
The end of the world happens Friday.  Sequestration.  The loony thing is that these people who are being laid off will just go on unemployment.  So, the people who can fix the things we need fixed are going to draw unemployment and in the long run cost us more.  However, while  on unemployment, they do not qualify for home loans.  But neither can they afford their mortgages.  However, if they go into foreclosure inventory of homes for sale will rise.  All this will keep rates low for a long time. 
A number of lenders have been busted for discriminating against women who are going out on maternity leave.  The federal gov't says, "Don't do that".  But, does not a lender have the responsibility and obligation to take into consideration the possibility that the mother may continue to stay home to care for her child.  Given the federal government's predilection for prosecuting mortgage lenders at some time in the future for doing what the feds tell them to do now, what do you think?
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The number of home sales rose in January, but the prices dropped.  As I have said before, investors who are buying the largest share of the properties will keep the prices down.
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Massive mortgage debt is continuing to bog down homeowners.  This is contributing to a lack of inventory. The problem is that the total mortgage debt exceeds the total value of homes with a mortgage.
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This is an unprecedented time in history to buy homes.  The investors are keeping the prices low, the Feds are keeping the mortgage rates artificially low.  Supply is low, so there is more competition for available properties which are not foreclosures or short sales.
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RedState is looking for young,conservative journalists to hire.  There are other organizations who are interested as well.  Must be pro-life.  Contact RedState, Eric Erickson.
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Housing starts were up year-over-year 24%.  Housing starts were at their second-highest level since July 2008.  Existing home sales were up year-over-year 9%.  Sales shifting from distressed foreclosure and short sales to conventional sales.  Delinquency+foreclosure rate fell to 10.44% from January's 10.61%.  -- Jed Kolko, Chief economist for Trulia
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Check out your regional dead celebrity architects.  Clients are now asking for their properties by name and willing to pay premium prices for the buildings.  --Nancy Keats, Wall Street Journal
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Top 5 cities to sell homes:  5) Iowa City, Iowa; 4) Seattle; 3) Washington D.C.; 2) Phoenix; 1) San Francisco.--Aol Real Estate
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It would appear that a real estate salesperson selling a home to a buyer that refers the buyer to a particular loan originator or creditor (lender) or a loan originator that works for the lender and expects compensation becomes a loan originator and thereby gets into trouble if reported to CFPB. Do you have an opinion? This is how I read the new regulation that goes into effect on Jan. 10, 2014.--Herman Thordsen OrginationNews.
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Rick Floyd summarizes If It Doesn't Work/Fix It by Stephan Schiffman:  Many of us have a feeling that something is broken in our lives and/or work place, but don't take the time to define the problem and just continue along in our lives allowing the problem to continue to hinder us.  We do this over and over.  It doesn't need to be this way.  We can find the time to find a quiet place to shut off the phone and sit down and go through our habits and processes step by step to find what is broken.  We can find the steps to find what is broken and how to fix it.  Not only can we, but we must do it if we want to be a highly successful salesperson.  Weekly, evaluate your prospecting habits, workflow and systems, find what is broken and fix it.  By doing this you will find levels of success that you have yet to achieve. 
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Metro Atlanta saw the third-highest rebound in new housing starts in 2012, according to Metrostudy.
The area saw a 91.2 percent jump in starts of single-family detached houses last year, bested only by Las Vegas (up 96.1 percent) and Naples/Ft. Myers, Fla. (up 91.6 percent). These markets were among the hardest hit when the housing bubble burst.

“[National] Starts of detached homes rose by an impressive 46.9 percent from year-end 2011 to year-end 2012, and the rebound is starting a virtuous cycle, providing a much-needed boost to personal incomes, which in turn translate into still-higher demand for homes,” Metrostudy noted.

The organization credited the rebound to pent-up demand finally asserting itself, higher consumer confidence, rising home prices making buyers feel a sense of urgency and affordability.
But although the entire year was up, there was pullback in the fourth quarter in most markets, Metrostudy said.

But although the entire year was up, there was pullback in the fourth quarter in most markets, Metrostudy said.--Jacques Couret, Atlanta Business Chronicle
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TBWSDailyShow:
Innerthinx says mortgage fraud is on the rise.  Really?  Interthinx also owns FraudGuard, so are they just trying to drum up business?  Foreclosures are down, 30 day lates are down, 60 day lates are down, 90 day lates are virtually non existent.  Frank-Dodd is in place. CFPB is ruling with an iron fist.  So with all the new rules in place, if fraud is really up, we can conclude that the new rules are encouraging fraud and we need to go back to a time when there was less fraud.
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Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported net income of $11 billion for 2012, compared to a net loss of $5.3 billion a year earlier, as a result of the housing market turning a corner and the firm working to minimize legacy losses.

In 2012, Freddie Mac helped 2.5 million families to buy, refinance or rent a home and another 170,000 families avoided foreclosure, bringing the total to nearly 10 million since the start of the housing crisis.

During 2012, the GSE purchased 434,000 HARP loans totaling $86.9 billion, more than double the amount purchased last year, according to the report. --cmlynski@housingwire.com
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Pending home sales rose in January and continued a 21-month trend of growing from year ago levels, the National Association of Realtors said.

"Favorable affordability conditions and job growth have unleashed a pent-up demand. Most areas are drawing down housing inventory, which has shifted the supply and demand balance to sellers in much of the country," LawrenceYun said. --cmlynski@housingwire.com
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“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” - Aristotle
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Looking for a home or investment property?  Contact me at jpierce@realestateauctions.com.  If we aren't there already, we will be in yours state this year. 

Throw misery under the bus.

I knew someone, once, who was so good at manipulating her coworkers that few realized she was always blaming everyone else, requiring her coworkers to feel sorry for her.  It took a very close relationship with her before I realized I was being played.  She had all of us repeating her sad story.  She was very funny and couched many of the episodes in humor, but when I personally saw how she treated those who supposedly were treating her badly, I became disgusted.  My sympathies then went to her family which was on the receiving end of her emotions.  I was a follower of her brainwashing until the light of truth shone on her manipulation.  She isn’t the only one.  I have fallen into many friendships which by reason of deception snookered me.  Those people are no longer part of my life.  I have learned to trust but verify.

These people who are full of sad stories and misery make excuses for their own failings.  They want to drag you into the lies they are telling themselves.  Those who take responsibility for their own lives and mistakes and fight their way out of the slime pit of self-deceit will succeed.  It takes turning your back on procrastination and doing what is unpleasant.  These pity-party people refuse to GET OVER IT!  Personal responsibility brings success.  Pity parties waste everyone’s time and patience.

The next time you are invited to a pity party, refuse to go.  Parties are meant to be fun and there is no fun in misery. 

How many of you have been in a conference or church or training session where you have been told “repeat after me…”  This is brainwashing.  You were the follower of whoever was on stage.  Stop repeating what you are told and find out for yourselves.

In whatever industry you are in, find out for yourself what the real numbers are.  Most of us don’t have the time or resources to read the white papers or pick through the statistics or company financial reports to glean necessary information.  Subscribe to newsletters and blogs which give you the information you need.  You will need to trust, but verify until you weed out the undependable informants.  This is personal responsibility.  Take this proven route and succeed.

Frank-Dodd will kill the housing market

New HUD regulations say:

'in a nutshell, HUD said a lending practice that has an “unjustified discriminatory effect” can alone constitute discriminatory lending...'

More laws, more regulations, more rules, more confusion.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) says
"For example, lenders could relax their loan approval standards to ensure there's no disparate impact violation. This would revive the economic insanity of providing loans to those that have no ability to pay."  -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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"Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what  you could.  Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget about them as soon as you can.  Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin is serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Ralph Waldo Emerson
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We lost 11,630 farms last year.  If you want to be the one driving an expensive sports car in the future, go into farm science and become a farmer.  We all need to eat and who will feed us?
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TBWSDailyShow:
FHA is officially on the 2013 high risk list of government programs along with the Management of Federal Oil and Gas Fields, Strategic Human Capital Management, Weapons Systems Acquisition.  This means the Government Accountablility's Office has deemed them overspent.  They are all in the red.  The former FHA's commissioner, Dave Stevens, said that if FHA's role got too big it could be bad for the housing market.   FHA can draw from the Treasury, but the negative numbers are all just bad accounting which I have explained in past blogs.   Much of FHA's problems came from allowing loans which were bad from the moment they were funded.  As the loans failed, the fund was dragged down with the falling home values.   And the CFPB has only implemented 48% of the 248 new rules in the Frank-Dodd bill. This is scaring the lenders who don't know how to or if they will be able to implement the whole Frank-Dodd bill.  If FHA must make a draw from the Treasury, loans from there will slow to a crawl.  Those loans cover most of the low to moderate income purchases.  Until stocks take a breather, bonds and mortgage backed securities will suffer.  (I know this is a lot of choppy info, but there was much info in a short amt of time. Take it up with the guys, Frank and Brian).
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Herman Thordsen wrote a white paper on the Frank-Dodd and the CFPB issues concerning mortgages and how we all will be affected.  It is a difficult read, but complete if you want to try it.  Look for "Get Ready for Disparate Impact" by this guy if you want some heavier reading.
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According to GoldmanSachs:

"Our forecast points to steady increases in home sales going forward. We expect total existing home sales to increase to 5.2 million in 2013 and 5.7 million in 2016," said analysts Hui Shan and Jari Stehn. "We also project new single-family home sales to reach 750,000 in 2016."
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TBWSDailyShow:
Zombie Foreclosures- when the owners hand over the keys to the lender and walk away.  But are still on the hook for taxes, hoa fees, etc.  If the bank doens't actually (legally) foreclose for a couple of years, the home owner still can't buy another house for 3 yrs after the actual foreclosure.  Foreclosures also ruin your credit for 3 yrs or more.
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The percent of underwater mortgages dropped from 31.1 to 27.5.  However, 13.8 million are still underwater...according to Zillow.
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Developing and keeping clients.

What creates loyalty? Why are people loyal to one person and not another or loyal to one group and not another?  At the root is a desire to feel safe.  How do you convince clients to come back to you?  Answer:  you provide services that will help them meet their needs.  This is a safety issue.    If people feel safe with you, they will be loyal.  This is basically no different from a gang mentality or a click at school.  Others need to know you will keep your word.  If you don’t, you have betrayed them.  Children betray each other all the time.  Children’s loyalties change with the wind because of trust.  People need to know that you, as an adult, are emotionally safe.  Entrusting their finances or hopes and dreams to you is an emotional trust.  They are entrusting you with their personal security.

To be able to deserve trust means you must be enough of an adult yourself to be able to be dependable.  If you know yourself, you will be able to inspire trust in others.  This means you must be an adult in a world of children.  Too many people don’t have the power of freedom, responsibility or work to pull this off.

Now, what do I mean by those three words?  Let’s take freedom first.  Freedom  means  the moral strength to rule yourself instead of letting others manipulate your ideas, opinions and actions.  Responsibility takes credit for both successes and failures.  Work is creating value in society. 

Sometimes this means telling someone “No”.  While you may occasionally loose a client or friend, those who stay will feel more secure than if you acquiesced to unreasonable demands.   Word gets around if you can or cannot be trusted.

To quote an email friend of mine, Ah’Nay Satori:

‘No’

It's very easy to say yes, but being able to say 'no' requires a person to know their worth. We integrate with people every day who live to appease others by agreeing.

 

This is not honorable; in fact, it’s denying oneself the right to live authentically. And when we are living superficially how then can we expect others to respect and value our worth.

Know your worth by having the courage to, sometimes, say no; it can be the difference between your joy, happiness and misery, pain.

Learn to say no when necessary; you’ll find that it feels good living authentically.

 

This will require you having the strength to look yourself in the face and ask, “Who am I”.  This takes introspection, time and courage to see yourself for who you really are.  Others know consciously or unconsciously who you are.  Be brave enough to know yourself and in so doing strengthen yourself, your family, your community and your nation.

Housing market improving...due to investors.

TBWSDailyShow:
Barry Habib (along with many other money experts) says the stock market is due for a major correction.   We had major corrections in 2000 and 2008.  We are due for another humdinger some where around 10% drop.  (Buy real estate and protect your wealth!)  This also means interest rates will rise.
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Politicians in 13 states, including South Carolina, Washington, Minnesota, Iowa, Georgia, Idaho are proposing bills that would allow gold and silver coins to be accepted as legal to be used by citizens of their states. 

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.moneynews.com/Economy/states-gold-silver-coin/2013/02/07/id/489288?s=al&promo_code=125EA-1#ixzz2KbkxxnXg
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President Obama is planning to force private mortgage holders to allow mortgage holders who have kept up with their payments to refinance.  The unplanned consequence is that there will be fewer mortgages available in the future, which would hurt the housing recovery.  Congress is not on board.
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Six tips for buyers:

1. When viewing multiple offers, sellers most often accept the offer which most likely will close and meets their requirements, not necessarily the highest offer. 

2.  Buyers should have a folder, constantly updated, with the most recent pay stubs, bank statements and any other documents the lender might need to make a quick loan possible.  Keep the lender on speed dial.

3.  Buyers need to work with the seller instead of demand everything.  This will make the seller more agreeable to the buyer when there are multiple offers.  Sellers will be more likely to accept an offer from a buyer who will work with them.

4.  Keep your home inspector on speed dial.  If  other buyers are waiving the inspection, you need to be able to schedule your inspection as quickly as possible to reduce uncertainty for the seller.

5.  Eliminate or reduce your contingencies.  If the appraisal comes in below your offer, be sure you have the cash to cover the difference.  But leave your financing contingency in place to cover yourself.

6.  Consider an escalation clause which will allow your agent to offer a specific amount above the best offer the sellers have received.  This works well if the property is priced well under the market value.
--Donna Fuscaldo of BankRate.com
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TBWSDailyShow:

FHA mortgage premiums are going up for case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2013, unless the loan term is less than 15 yrs, and has a loan to value of less than 78%.  You can check this out at HUD.gov Mortgagee Letter 2013-04. 

All FHA loans on or after June3, 2013 will have their mortgage insurance collected for the life of the loan.  Therefore, if you or your clients refinance after June 3, your interest rate will need to be significantly lower than present to off set the increased mortgage insurance payments.  Be sure to tell your clients about the higher rates coming down the road and that they need to lock in before June 3.

Senate Bill 16 is to shorten foreclosures to 90 days instead  of the present 680 days.

Monte Die Paschi Di Siena, the world's oldest bank is closing due to fraud.  Opened in 1472, they proceeded Leonardo Di Vinci, Christopher Colombus, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, WWI, WWII, the Iron Curtain, the first man on the moon and telemarketers.
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I just heard of a restaurant which gives a 4% discount to families which have well behaved children.  Now that's a terrific idea.
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Right now FHA represents half of all mortgage originations.  However, under the Dodd-Frank rules coming at us, half of all present mortgage originations would not qualify.  The debt-to-income ratio will be 43% max.  -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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TBWSDailyShow:
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From HousingWire we learn, "
In an effort to prevent foreclosures and help stabilize communities, Fannie Mae introduced its HomePath for Short Sales tool to help assist common short sale challenges.

The escalation tool is available to any real estate professional working on a short sale that involves a Fannie Mae-owned loan. Once the short sale case is escalated, Fannie Mae will directly work with the agent or mortgage servicer to assist challenges such as valuation disputes, delays by servicers or uncooperative subordinate lien holders."
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Agents, you need to talk to more than just clients and customers about their credit scores.  This will impact your sales.  Talk to anyone who is even mildly interested in possibly, someday in the future buying.  Find someone who you trust to help people with improving their credit score. 
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"I cannot remember when there was such a chorus in the investment landscape calling for higher interest rates."  Marilyn Cohen founder of Envision Capital Management Inc.
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“There is no doubt that when the Fed pulls back you will see a big shoot upward in Treasury yields,” said Karl Haeling, head of strategic-debt distribution in New York at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, one of Germany’s largest banks. “There are a lot of people who think the only reason rates are here is because the Fed put them here. Nobody wants to be the last man standing.”

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/fed-escape-easing-bond-buying/2013/02/11/id/489768?s=al&promo_code=12664-1#ixzz2KnU9mq9E
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
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Is Atlanta Running Out of Houses?

Home inventory in Atlanta is getting depleted quickly. Based on recently released statistics, some people might come to the conclusion that the Atlanta real estate market is running out of homes for sale. On the surface this appears true.

The number of resale homes, townhomes and condominiums for sale based on the First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) database shows that at present there is only a three-month supply of homes available. This is the lowest amount of inventory on record. Historically, Atlanta has had a six to seven month supply of homes, and that is what is considered “normal.” Home inventory surged to almost 14 months during the peak of the real estate bust in mid 2008. The current number indicates that Atlanta is in a seller’s market for properly priced, good condition homes in desirable locations.

This decrease in supply led to a rise in overall resale prices (including foreclosures) of 6.5 percent during 2012. Local Realtors also report multiple offers and the occasional bidding war on the best-priced and most desirable homes.

Completed unsold new construction by homebuilders has also decreased, and at the end of 2012 had reached what market observers consider a historical equilibrium of 3.6 months supply. This number is expected to drop further. This is versus an almost one year supply of vacant new homes available in 2007.

All of these statistics are encouraging for the overall housing market in Atlanta. While short and possibly midterm inventory availability is definitely tightening, with the resultant price rise, we will more than likely see a continued stream of homes coming to the market. Homeowners that had previously been unable to sell their homes due to owing more on them than their current value, or being “underwater,” will start putting their homes on the market. In addition, homebuilders will continue to ramp up production as demand increases.

Stay tuned; it looks like 2013 will be good for the housing market in Atlanta.

Statistics courtesy of - 4Q12 Metrostudy Reports.

Brian Walther
SouthCrest Mortgage
678-483-8064
brian.walther@southcrestmortgage.com
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"Despite all the noise about a court ruling invalidating recess appointments and legitimacy of the CFPB’s actions, bureau officials are still working on regulations, including a new servicing rule."  ByBrian Collins and Mark Fogarty

I don't know if it is legal for the CFPB to make regulations and rules without an appointed head.  Need to find out.
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Non-irrigated farmland is skyrocketing in price.  That is because the average age of farmers in the US is 58.  To make a mint, become a farmer and in a few years  you will be driving a Mercedes.
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Congress is working to overturn the rules and regulations the illegally appointed head of CFPB, Richard Cordray, put in place. 
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TBWSDailyShow:
FHA is crying for $16.3 billion in bailout money.  If congress agrees, MIP-mortgage insurance premium will rise.  If FHA says they will have deficits in the future, HUD takes funds out of the MMI fund and puts it in the general fund.  But if the actual losses do not exceed their anticipated losses, those funds stay in the general fund and the MMI fund stays in the red.  So, Carol Galante say the MMI fund is short $16.3 billion and needs the MIP to rise in order to replenish the fund.  Why not just move the excess from the general fund back to the MMI fund?  That would allow the MIP to stay where it is for the average person just trying to buy a house.  FHA has had the money, still has the money, so why punish the US citizen trying to buy a home?  Truth in accounting is missing.  Instead the FHA is pushing a home buyer tax.
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Freddie Mac says housing activity remains near historic lows despite the present increase in activity.  Residential fixed investment activity added 0.4% to the 4th quarter last year.  Housing starts are expected to increase 22% from last year.  mhopkins@housingwire.com
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If  you are looking for a vacation home or rental in beautiful N. Georgia, check out my listing FMLS#5092284.  2/2, 1377sqft, gated, golf, winter lake view, tennis, swimming pool, RV parking, stables, $170000, AU4056.  jpierce@RealEstateAuctions.com