3rd Drop in Foreclosures Hints at Recovery; State-By-State Chart
3rd Drop in Foreclosures Hints at Recovery; State-By-State Chart
November 12 2009, USA TODAY
Foreclosures fell for the third-consecutive month in October, another sign the worst of the housing crisis may be past. RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., real estate firm, reports Thursday that foreclosure filings totaled 332,292 last month, down 3% from September but up 19% from a year earlier. The figure means that one of every 385 homes received a foreclosure notice in
Existing-Home Prices Slide in Most Metropolitan Areas
November 11 2009, Los Angeles Times
Prices of existing homes fell in 80% of the nation's metropolitan markets in the third quarter as distressed sales -- foreclosures and short sales -- accounted for nearly a third of all deals, a national group said Tuesday. The U.S. median sale price for an existing single-family home was $177,900, an 11.2% drop from the same period a year earlier, according to the National Assn. of Realtors in Washington. Distressed sales continued to weigh on prices despite a popular tax credit fueling the volume of deals. Still, the median was higher than in the second quarter of this year, when it was $174,200.
The Coming Civil War in Real Estate
November 10 2009, Inman News
On Nov. 6, at roughly 3:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the National Association of Realtors declared war on the rest of the real estate industry. To be fair, NAR probably did not realize that it did so. Judging by the initial responses, it doesn't appear to me that most people see what I saw. But, probably because of my twisted nature and my penchant for focusing on the dark side of human nature, I am predicting nothing short of civil war in the real estate industry going forward unless Realtors Property Resource (or RPR) in its current form is immediately scrapped.
NAR Leaps Into the Fray — In a Big Way
November 9 2009, Inman News
The Realtors Property Resource (RPR) is likely the most important technology story of the last few years. And it will probably be the most closely watched story for the next couple of years too. What is the RPR? Brian Boero from 1000Watt Blog sums it up nicely. "The NAR has taken over certain technology assets of Cyberhomes from LPS (formerly known as FNRES) in order to bring its RPR (Realtors Property Resource) project, as well as its consumer-facing play, HouseLogic, to market. To do this, they have created Realtors Property Resource LLC — a wholly owned subsidiary of the NAR."
More Lawyers in Trouble for Foreclosure Activities
November 2009, California Bar Journal
The State Bar’s loan modification task force obtained the resignations of three more California attorneys as a result of misconduct related to their loan modification activities. It also placed another attorney on inactive status, charging his work poses a substantial threat to the public, and has undertaken similar efforts against two other lawyers
Affordable Prices Draw Investors to Real Estate
November 11, 2009, CNBC
Affordable prices and foreclosures are attracting investors to the housing markets today, and the number of consumers interested in investing in real estate has doubled since March 2009, according to the new Move.com Homeownership Survey released today. Low prices and foreclosure bargains have also become the most important reasons motivating buyers today to purchase a home. According to the Move.com survey, one out of eight (12.1%) homebuyers today plan to purchase a home as an investment property, compared to 5.6 percent seven months ago(1). Of those interested in buying a home for investment, 15.8 percent were men and 8.1 percent were women.