July 27, 2009
Everyone and their brother has an opinion or theory on how the country got into this economic situation. Some people blame Wall Street, the financial institutions and banks; other people take direct aim at REALTORS®, builders and mortgage companies; still others impugn the American consumer and their fixation with obtaining easy money with no strings attached.
I found this short video enlightening, insightful and explains the economic predicament about as well as any that I have read, heard or seen.
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Financing, Legislation, Market Conditions | Tagged: Bailout, Financial institution, Foreclosures, Media, Obama, Property Values, Regulators, Statistics, Stimulus Package, Stocks, U.S. Housing Market, Video, Wall Street | 
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Posted by tblefko
July 18, 2009
Image courtesy of Flickr
After months of continually taking it on the chin, construction of new homes nationwide is showing signs of landing a couple of jabs of their own. On Friday, the Commerce Department released new home and multi-family construction numbers for June which showed an increase of 3.6%. This number is particularly impressive because the construction of multi-family units actually fell over 26% for this period which means that the single family homes‘ component had to carry the load. Another positive sign is that applications for building permits, usually seen as a barometer of future activity, rose nearly 9%.
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Leave a Comment » | Buyers, Development, Market Conditions | Tagged: Builders, David Crowe, National Association of Home Builders, Predictions, Reports, Single-family detached home, Stimulus Package, Tax credit, United States Department of Commerce | Permalink
Posted by tblefko
February 27, 2009
Image Courtesy of Flickr
As a first-time homebuyer, you can take advantage of some pretty amazing incentives offered by the government if you know what you’re doing. Don’t know where to start? Don’t be disheartened. Follow along with this short Q&A to figure out if you qualify.
How much is this first-time homebuyer tax credit that President Obama approved just recently?
The amount is $8,000 or 10% of the sales price whichever is less.
What type of home qualifies?
Virtually any home that will be used as your primary residence. This means single-family homes, condominiums or townhouses. Sorry – you’re vacation home at the beach won’t qualify.
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Leave a Comment » | Buyers | Tagged: Buyers, Obama, Stimulus Package | Permalink
Posted by tblefko
February 19, 2009
Image Courtesy of Flickr
If you’re like me, you’ve had it up to here (place hand over head exactly 1′7″) with all the talk about the “stimulus package.” There was a House version, a Senate version, a Republican version, a Democratic version, the Auto manufacturers’ version, the State Governor’s version, the Sesame Street version, etc. etc. If you want to read the entire piece of legislation that finally got signed by President Obama known as “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″more power to you. Most people though just want to know how it impacts them in their personal and professional lives. Because you are reading a real estate related blog, I will assume that you have interest in just the portions of this legislation dealing with real estate so I will limit my review to those provisions. Grab a cup of coffee – - – here we go!
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Leave a Comment » | Legislation, Market Conditions | Tagged: Fannie Mae, Financing, Foreclosures, Freddie Mac, Investment Properties, Mortgage Interest Deductability, Obama, Real Estate Taxes, Stimulus Package, Taxes, Web Sites | Permalink
Posted by tblefko
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