Interest Rates

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The State of the US Economy and Housing Market and Tips for Future Real Estate Investments

by Joshua Dorkin | August 16, 2007

A Revealing Look at our “Booming Economy” So our economy is booming, Mr. Bush? I’m not sure what picture you’re looking at, but things are starting to look pretty bleak from where I’m sitting. The Sub-Prime Mortgage Mess has led to the Housing Bubble & Burst, which has led to the Credit Crunch, which looks [...]

Economy

Real Estate Dispatch – 12/10/06

by Joshua Dorkin | December 10, 2006

Sign of the Times: Wichita developer hit with foreclosure lawsuit Market Analysis: Boom bust cycles in real estate, stocks and dollar shows stocks are headed for a massive fall in 2007 Bubble Wrap: Government data show more criminals – and more consumers – lied to sell or buy expensive homes. Consumer Watch: Foreclosure ‘rescue’ scams [...]

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Real Estate Bubble Popping, Housing Starts and Building Permits Tumble

by Joshua Dorkin | November 17, 2006

CNBC is reporting this morning that US Housing Starts declined in October 14.6% to the lowest level in 6 years, while building permits were down a whopping 6.29%. Guests on the network, James Wilson and Jan Hatzius (Goldman Sachs Economist), predicted that housing will be a drag on GDP in ’07. Hatzius attributed the problem [...]

Real Estate Speedlinking

by Joshua Dorkin | November 8, 2006

Phoenix home resale market down 41% from last year, but up slightly from previous month. Home Depot is offering a 10% discount this weekend to military personnel and veterans. Low interest rates have led to a surge in mortgage refinancing applications last week. One New Foreclosure Filing for every 1,122 U.S. Households. Two of the [...]

US Metros With Highest & Lowest Rates of Price Appreciation

by Joshua Dorkin | September 6, 2006

Last night we showed other parts of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) Report. The only thing I didn’t cover that I wanted to was the report’s ranking of MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas — see Census) for home price appreciation rates. As you can see, 9 of the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas [...]

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U.S. Home Prices in Sharpest Decline on Record

by Joshua Dorkin | September 5, 2006

In the second quarter of ’06 home prices crept upward, but slowed considerably from ’05, reports Bloomberg Prices for single-family homes rose an average of 1.17 percent during the quarter, compared with 3.65 percent growth in the second quarter of 2005. The drop was the biggest since the agency began keeping records in 1975. The [...]

Are Californians Getting Poorer?

by Joshua Dorkin | September 4, 2006

A new report out of UC Berkley brings sobering news to the people of California. The Mercury News‘s report headlined, “Housing funk spreads to jobs: Low-Income Workers Fail to Keep Pace With Inflation” details how the economic recovery in California since the dot-com bubble has not truly reached either the middle class or the lowest [...]

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Toxic Mortgages, The Map of Misery, and Option ARM Hell

by Joshua Dorkin | September 3, 2006

I hate being right sometimes. BusinessWeek’s cover story this week is about Toxic Mortgages; it discusses the problems with Option ARM loans. As I’ve been saying for a few years now, too many people got sucked in by the premise of outstanding rates to help them purchase homes they simply couldn’t afford. Now, all of [...]

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Introducing the 0.25% Mortgage Loan

by Joshua Dorkin | September 1, 2006

LEI Financial, a mortgage lender in California and Arizona is launching a new mortgage program that is unlike anything I’ve heard of, offering 0.25% Interest Rates. According to LEI, “This loan gives the borrower a fixed interest rate of .25% for the first five years. The borrower pays the interest only for their monthly minimum [...]

Real Estate Speedlinking

by Joshua Dorkin | August 30, 2006

Money Magazine writes about 4 renovations that kill a home’s value, listing the Swimming Pool, the Addition, Trendy Finishes, and the Jacuzzi as part of the list London is now the priciest housing market in the world, overtaking New York City, according to Reuters Demand for home purchase loans fell to the lowest level in [...]

Sunday Real Estate Wrap Up

by Joshua Dorkin | August 27, 2006

After a long day of rest, I’ve emerged from my sports cocoon to bring you my Sunday wrap up. I’d like to first congratulate Tiger Woods for his 4th straight tournament win, and I want to wish Andre Agassi good luck in the final tournament of his career. Ok . . . back to real [...]

Foreclosures

Pro-Home Saving Homeowners from Foreclosure

by Joshua Dorkin | July 31, 2006

According to NBC’s Providence/New Bedford, affiliate station, there is a new non-profit group, Pro-Home, Inc., based in Taunton, Massachusetts, that is counseling homeowners who are facing foreclosure. While many investors salivate at the prospect of picking up foreclosed properties, it is a serious issue that many people face across the country. Experts say many homeowners [...]

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How much real estate can you get for $1

by Joshua Dorkin | February 15, 2006

Okay, we’re not going to investigate what $1 gets you, but really, how much real estate does $250k buy? Not much according to our research. There was a great post in our forums that reveals the huge discrepancies in US prices. I’ll pick out a few highlights of this thread: Atlanta: According to GARealtor “In [...]

Banks Will Suffer in Housing Decline

by Joshua Dorkin | October 2, 2005

With so much talk of a housing bubble, I thought we should talk about the effects of a possible housing crash. While there are some obvious ones – an increase in foreclosures, for one – others aren’t as clear. What is going to happen to the banks that have been one of the main reasons [...]