Thursday, April 11, 2013
Keller Williams Sean Lam: Depeche Mode - 25 Best Songs | Full Album
Brought to you by Sean Lam Keller Williams - Best 25 Songs Ever By DM.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Video)
Listening to this song while contemplating what to blog next.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHYOXyy1ToI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHYOXyy1ToI
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Where's the inventory? Sean Lam Keller Williams
Brought to you by Sean Lam Keller Williams:
Back in 2010, there was an average of 45 houses on the market in my community. Now the average is down to 28, a 37% drop. Some buyers are shocked by the rejections they have experienced from sellers. It is a complete different market now. The sellers are chuckling at the multiple offers they have recieved. Buyers sometimes have to offer higher than the asking prices in order to get their dream houses.
Why is the inventory so low?
Two years ago, 40% of the houses on the market in my community were short sales, or what we realtors call involuntary sales. These home owners tried to sell their houses because their homes had lost half of the market values. They saw no point in making the mortgage payments, especially when banks refused to refinance at lower interest rates. In a desperate attempt to vent their frustration, these owners opted to stop paying the mortgage and short sell their houses.
The banks have learned their lessons.
The short sale process, though not as painstakingly long as foreclosure's, is a fairly complicated process. Sometimes the mortgages have more than one lien holders. The more of them, the longer the negotiation will be dragged out and the more delay it will cause.
Instead, banks are more lenient now and will refinance home owners at lower interest rates, or sometimes reduce the principal so that the owners will resume paying their mortgages. Therefore, these owners have removed their properties from the market. As the economics theory dictates, if the supply is lower and the demand remains unchanged, the price will increase. Fueled by the price increase, other home owners have seen their houses regain some of the equity that they lost after the real estate crisis. Subsequently, more home owners have cancelled their short sale listings and chosen to refinance with their banks. This cycle repeats itself as prices keep increasing. As a result, the inventory has dropped to the level we are seeing.
Back in 2010, there was an average of 45 houses on the market in my community. Now the average is down to 28, a 37% drop. Some buyers are shocked by the rejections they have experienced from sellers. It is a complete different market now. The sellers are chuckling at the multiple offers they have recieved. Buyers sometimes have to offer higher than the asking prices in order to get their dream houses.
Why is the inventory so low?
Two years ago, 40% of the houses on the market in my community were short sales, or what we realtors call involuntary sales. These home owners tried to sell their houses because their homes had lost half of the market values. They saw no point in making the mortgage payments, especially when banks refused to refinance at lower interest rates. In a desperate attempt to vent their frustration, these owners opted to stop paying the mortgage and short sell their houses.
The banks have learned their lessons.
The short sale process, though not as painstakingly long as foreclosure's, is a fairly complicated process. Sometimes the mortgages have more than one lien holders. The more of them, the longer the negotiation will be dragged out and the more delay it will cause.
Instead, banks are more lenient now and will refinance home owners at lower interest rates, or sometimes reduce the principal so that the owners will resume paying their mortgages. Therefore, these owners have removed their properties from the market. As the economics theory dictates, if the supply is lower and the demand remains unchanged, the price will increase. Fueled by the price increase, other home owners have seen their houses regain some of the equity that they lost after the real estate crisis. Subsequently, more home owners have cancelled their short sale listings and chosen to refinance with their banks. This cycle repeats itself as prices keep increasing. As a result, the inventory has dropped to the level we are seeing.
Keller Williams Sean Lam Biggest Home Price Jump In February
Brought to you by Sean Lam Keller Williams :
U.S. home prices jumped in February by the largest amount in seven years, evidence that the housing recovery strengthened ahead of the all-important spring-buying season.
Home prices rose 10.2 percent in February compared with a year earlier, CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, said Wednesday. The annual gain was the biggest since March 2006. Prices have now increased on an annual basis for 12 straight months, underscoring the recovery’s steady momentum.
The gains were broad-based. Prices rose in 47 of 50 states and in all but four of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. Delaware, Alabama and Illinois were the only states to report price declines.
CoreLogic’s measure of national prices also rose 0.5 percent in February from January. That’s a solid increase during the winter months, when sales typically slow.
An increase in home sales has helped lift prices. In February, sales of previously owned homes reached the highest level in more than three years. Still, much of the demand has come from investors. Sales to first-time buyers remain below healthy levels.
Another reason prices are rising is the supply of available homes for sale remains extremely low. In January, it reached a 13-year low.
The supply of homes for sale did rise in February for the first time in 10 months. That suggests more people are gaining confidence in the housing recovery, which could help ease supply concerns and drive sales higher in the coming months.
The price gains were concentrated in the West, according to CoreLogic. The states with the biggest price gains were Nevada, where prices rose 19.3 percent, followed by Arizona, with 18.6 percent, and California, with 15.3 percent.
Hawaii and Idaho rose 14.6 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.
The cities with the biggest gains were Phoenix, Los Angeles, Riverside, Calif., Atlanta and New York.
Nationwide, home values were still down more than 26 percent from their peak in April 2006 through February, CoreLogic said.
Steady increases in prices help fuel the housing recovery. They encourage some homeowners to sell homes and entice some would-be buyers to purchase homes before prices rise further.
Higher prices can also make homeowners feel wealthier. That can encourage more consumer spending, which drives 70 percent of economic activity.
U.S. home prices jumped in February by the largest amount in seven years, evidence that the housing recovery strengthened ahead of the all-important spring-buying season.
Home prices rose 10.2 percent in February compared with a year earlier, CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, said Wednesday. The annual gain was the biggest since March 2006. Prices have now increased on an annual basis for 12 straight months, underscoring the recovery’s steady momentum.
The gains were broad-based. Prices rose in 47 of 50 states and in all but four of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. Delaware, Alabama and Illinois were the only states to report price declines.
CoreLogic’s measure of national prices also rose 0.5 percent in February from January. That’s a solid increase during the winter months, when sales typically slow.
An increase in home sales has helped lift prices. In February, sales of previously owned homes reached the highest level in more than three years. Still, much of the demand has come from investors. Sales to first-time buyers remain below healthy levels.
Another reason prices are rising is the supply of available homes for sale remains extremely low. In January, it reached a 13-year low.
The supply of homes for sale did rise in February for the first time in 10 months. That suggests more people are gaining confidence in the housing recovery, which could help ease supply concerns and drive sales higher in the coming months.
The price gains were concentrated in the West, according to CoreLogic. The states with the biggest price gains were Nevada, where prices rose 19.3 percent, followed by Arizona, with 18.6 percent, and California, with 15.3 percent.
Hawaii and Idaho rose 14.6 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.
The cities with the biggest gains were Phoenix, Los Angeles, Riverside, Calif., Atlanta and New York.
Nationwide, home values were still down more than 26 percent from their peak in April 2006 through February, CoreLogic said.
Steady increases in prices help fuel the housing recovery. They encourage some homeowners to sell homes and entice some would-be buyers to purchase homes before prices rise further.
Higher prices can also make homeowners feel wealthier. That can encourage more consumer spending, which drives 70 percent of economic activity.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Keller Williams - (Weston) Sean Lam - Boomers Selling, Millennials Buying
Brought to you by Sean Lam Keller Williams:
Is it the perfect real estate storm? A survey released yesterday by PulteGroup Inc. finds strong demand soon from buyers 18 to 34. Meanwhile, Arthur C. Nelson, a professor of urban planning at the University of Utah, worries that the nation’s supply for for-sale inventory will expand fast as more baby boomers turn 65 and decide to rent or downsize.
Millennials
According to the PulteGroup Home Index Survey (PGHI), 65 percent of renters age 18-34 with an income of more than $50,000 intend to buy, and that percentage grew in the past year.
Most millennials aren’t moving on their own, with 76 percent saying they’ll live with a spouse or significant other, according to the survey. Of those not moving in with a significant other, 22 percent expect to have a roommate, including a friend, parent, in-law, grandparent or sibling.
“Millennials have witnessed the housing boom and bust, but still believe homeownership is a good investment,” says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup. “Consistent with other third-party research that shows more than 90 percent of millennials plan to buy a home someday, we see a lot of young adults who are making financial sacrifices to afford a place of their own. With the combination of incredibly low mortgage rates, rising rental rates and very low inventory levels, millennials realize now is a good time to purchase a home.”
PulteGroup says 30 percent of its 2012 home sales went to first-time homebuyers, many of whom are millennials. In internal buyer surveys, more than 50 percent of millennials say a desire to own/build equity is the primary reason for purchasing a home. The second largest reason, at 12 percent, was that millennials were tired of apartment living.
“Millennials today want a lot of value in their home that makes efficient use of every space,” says Ehle. “In fact, the single most important home feature to a millennial buyer today is the floor plan layout.”
PulteGroup’s internal buyer surveys showed that millennials listed the following aspects in a new home as extremely important/very important:
• 84 percent – ample storage for daily items
• 76 percent – space for TV, movies, sports watching
• 73 percent – the entry to the home
• 69 percent – an open/layout space in kitchen and family rooms for entertaining
• 63 percent – outdoor living/deck
• 36 percent – the ability to conduct business from home
More than 90 percent of millennials research a home purchase through the Internet. The PGHI survey found that they’ll also go online to reach out to real estate professionals and even their own parents.
Baby boomers
Arthur C. Nelson, professor of urban planning at the University of Utah, predicts that roughly 1.5 to 2 million adults age 65 or older will put their home on the market in the next seven years. Nelson says he sees a growing momentum to downsize.
“This is the decade of the shakeout, where the boomers will begin turning 65 and we’ll begin to see how they influence the housing market,” Nelson told The Chicago Tribune. Nelson cites other research that shows people tend to sell at a faster rate once they hit age 60. Baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011 and the last will hit that age in 2029.
It could represent a lot of homes. About 80 percent of adults own a home when they turn 65.
The news could also benefit commercial developers. Nelson says that about 4 percent of older-adult home sellers opt for a rental once they sell the family home. He predicts a surge in construction of apartments for more affluent renters.
Is it the perfect real estate storm? A survey released yesterday by PulteGroup Inc. finds strong demand soon from buyers 18 to 34. Meanwhile, Arthur C. Nelson, a professor of urban planning at the University of Utah, worries that the nation’s supply for for-sale inventory will expand fast as more baby boomers turn 65 and decide to rent or downsize.
Millennials
According to the PulteGroup Home Index Survey (PGHI), 65 percent of renters age 18-34 with an income of more than $50,000 intend to buy, and that percentage grew in the past year.
Most millennials aren’t moving on their own, with 76 percent saying they’ll live with a spouse or significant other, according to the survey. Of those not moving in with a significant other, 22 percent expect to have a roommate, including a friend, parent, in-law, grandparent or sibling.
“Millennials have witnessed the housing boom and bust, but still believe homeownership is a good investment,” says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup. “Consistent with other third-party research that shows more than 90 percent of millennials plan to buy a home someday, we see a lot of young adults who are making financial sacrifices to afford a place of their own. With the combination of incredibly low mortgage rates, rising rental rates and very low inventory levels, millennials realize now is a good time to purchase a home.”
PulteGroup says 30 percent of its 2012 home sales went to first-time homebuyers, many of whom are millennials. In internal buyer surveys, more than 50 percent of millennials say a desire to own/build equity is the primary reason for purchasing a home. The second largest reason, at 12 percent, was that millennials were tired of apartment living.
“Millennials today want a lot of value in their home that makes efficient use of every space,” says Ehle. “In fact, the single most important home feature to a millennial buyer today is the floor plan layout.”
PulteGroup’s internal buyer surveys showed that millennials listed the following aspects in a new home as extremely important/very important:
• 84 percent – ample storage for daily items
• 76 percent – space for TV, movies, sports watching
• 73 percent – the entry to the home
• 69 percent – an open/layout space in kitchen and family rooms for entertaining
• 63 percent – outdoor living/deck
• 36 percent – the ability to conduct business from home
More than 90 percent of millennials research a home purchase through the Internet. The PGHI survey found that they’ll also go online to reach out to real estate professionals and even their own parents.
Baby boomers
Arthur C. Nelson, professor of urban planning at the University of Utah, predicts that roughly 1.5 to 2 million adults age 65 or older will put their home on the market in the next seven years. Nelson says he sees a growing momentum to downsize.
“This is the decade of the shakeout, where the boomers will begin turning 65 and we’ll begin to see how they influence the housing market,” Nelson told The Chicago Tribune. Nelson cites other research that shows people tend to sell at a faster rate once they hit age 60. Baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011 and the last will hit that age in 2029.
It could represent a lot of homes. About 80 percent of adults own a home when they turn 65.
The news could also benefit commercial developers. Nelson says that about 4 percent of older-adult home sellers opt for a rental once they sell the family home. He predicts a surge in construction of apartments for more affluent renters.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Kelller Williams - Weston (Sean Lam) -Extreme home takeover: dubious deeds used to scoop up Dade properties - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
Brought to you by Sean Lam Keller Williams
Extreme home takeover: dubious deeds used to scoop up Dade properties - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
Many of the deeds, however, lacked a key element: The signatures of the original owners giving up the property. In some cases, a company representative appeared to sign the deed on behalf of the owner, the records show. Others contained only the signature “Presscott Rosche.”
But Presscott Rosche — or Prescott Rosche — is not a person. It is a limited partnership registered with the state. The partnership’s registration papers list no person with the name “Presscott Rosche,” nor does anyone with that name appear in searches of public records or databases.
Nine homeowners told The Herald that the Presscott Rosche deeds for their houses are bogus. Some were unaware of the deeds until informed by a reporter.
“I haven’t signed anything,” said Diana Benintend of Ocala, whose Miami-Dade house was transferred to Presscott Rosche — without her knowledge, she says.
“Those signatures aren’t even close,” said attorney Timothy Kingcade, whose clients, Gustavo Graziano and Cecilia Falzone, appeared to give their house to Presscott Rosche last year. “The deed is defective in a lot of ways … My clients didn’t know anything about this, I am absolutely certain.”
Deeds and other official records are filed with Miami-Dade’s clerk of courts. But the clerk’s office does not have the authority to reject suspicious documents or investigate potential fraud, said David Rooney, head of the clerk’s recording office. If a document meets all the formal requirements, it must be recorded, he said.
“We’re just ministerial,” Rooney said. “We can’t judge whether something is fraudulent or not.”
However, Rooney conceded that some Presscott Rosche deeds should have been rejected because they didn’t have the required signatures.
Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera is also investigating the Presscott Rosche transactions, to ensure that tax bills go to the true owners................................................
Extreme home takeover: dubious deeds used to scoop up Dade properties - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
Many of the deeds, however, lacked a key element: The signatures of the original owners giving up the property. In some cases, a company representative appeared to sign the deed on behalf of the owner, the records show. Others contained only the signature “Presscott Rosche.”
But Presscott Rosche — or Prescott Rosche — is not a person. It is a limited partnership registered with the state. The partnership’s registration papers list no person with the name “Presscott Rosche,” nor does anyone with that name appear in searches of public records or databases.
Nine homeowners told The Herald that the Presscott Rosche deeds for their houses are bogus. Some were unaware of the deeds until informed by a reporter.
“I haven’t signed anything,” said Diana Benintend of Ocala, whose Miami-Dade house was transferred to Presscott Rosche — without her knowledge, she says.
“Those signatures aren’t even close,” said attorney Timothy Kingcade, whose clients, Gustavo Graziano and Cecilia Falzone, appeared to give their house to Presscott Rosche last year. “The deed is defective in a lot of ways … My clients didn’t know anything about this, I am absolutely certain.”
Deeds and other official records are filed with Miami-Dade’s clerk of courts. But the clerk’s office does not have the authority to reject suspicious documents or investigate potential fraud, said David Rooney, head of the clerk’s recording office. If a document meets all the formal requirements, it must be recorded, he said.
“We’re just ministerial,” Rooney said. “We can’t judge whether something is fraudulent or not.”
However, Rooney conceded that some Presscott Rosche deeds should have been rejected because they didn’t have the required signatures.
Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera is also investigating the Presscott Rosche transactions, to ensure that tax bills go to the true owners................................................
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Keller Williams - Weston (Sean Lam) - Don't wait. Sell now.
Brought to you by Sean Lam Keller Williams:
Some would-be move-up home sellers are eyeing home prices carefully. They’re waiting to see how much home prices appreciate more before they consider selling their home. But they may be missing their perfect opportunity, some housing experts say.
The best time to move may depend on when the homeowner purchased their current residence, says Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. Blomquist says that owners who purchased their home during the sluggish market the last two to three years may find moving up in 2013 to be their prime opportunity.
“Because they bought near the bottom, these homeowners should have built up some good equity that can go toward the purchase of a new home, and waiting longer to build more equity likely won’t provide much advantage given that other homes that they might want to move up to will also be appreciating at roughly the same pace,” Blomquist told HousingWire.
Homeowners who wait much longer to sell their home may miss out.
“If you’re selling one house just to move up to another, it does you no good to wait for prices to rise — the price of the move-up home will increase faster than the price of the place you’re leaving behind,” says Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman.
Plus, mortgage rates are expected to come off the 3.5 percent range and reach 4.4 percent in the next year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That will increase the costs of financing your next home.
Source: “The Time to Sell Is a Waiting Game for Some,” HousingWire (March 21, 2013)
Some would-be move-up home sellers are eyeing home prices carefully. They’re waiting to see how much home prices appreciate more before they consider selling their home. But they may be missing their perfect opportunity, some housing experts say.
The best time to move may depend on when the homeowner purchased their current residence, says Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. Blomquist says that owners who purchased their home during the sluggish market the last two to three years may find moving up in 2013 to be their prime opportunity.
“Because they bought near the bottom, these homeowners should have built up some good equity that can go toward the purchase of a new home, and waiting longer to build more equity likely won’t provide much advantage given that other homes that they might want to move up to will also be appreciating at roughly the same pace,” Blomquist told HousingWire.
Homeowners who wait much longer to sell their home may miss out.
“If you’re selling one house just to move up to another, it does you no good to wait for prices to rise — the price of the move-up home will increase faster than the price of the place you’re leaving behind,” says Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman.
Plus, mortgage rates are expected to come off the 3.5 percent range and reach 4.4 percent in the next year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That will increase the costs of financing your next home.
Source: “The Time to Sell Is a Waiting Game for Some,” HousingWire (March 21, 2013)
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