J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Despite “Buyers’ Market” Conditions, Real Estate Company Satisfaction Improves among Sellers,
But Declines among Buyers RE/MAX Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Both Home Buyers and Home Sellers
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 27 July 2011 — Although conditions in the real estate market point to the continued existence of a buyers’ market, home buyers indicate they are less satisfied with real estate company services, compared with 2010, while home-seller satisfaction has improved during the same time period, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM released today.
The study, now in its fourth year, measures customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers with the largest national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining three factors of the home-buying experience: agent/salesperson; office; and variety of additional services. Four factors are examined for the homeselling experience: agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services.
Home-Buyer Satisfaction Overall satisfaction among home buyers averages 797 on a 1,000-point scale in 2011—a decrease of six points from 2010. The decrease is primarily due to lower satisfaction with the agent/salesperson, which is the most influential aspect of buyer satisfaction with the real estate company. Agent/salesperson satisfaction averages 814
in 2011, compared with 828 in 2010.
“Although the current real estate market—with the confluence of low home prices and historically low interest rates—creates the perception of a buyers’ market, there are still traditional barriers to purchase in place, which could be negatively affecting buyer satisfaction with their agent,” said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “Agents who properly manage client expectations around the home buying process and communicate with clients about potential challenges—such as higher requirements for down payments, tighter loan standards and additional costs on top of the monthly mortgage—
may be better able to keep clients satisfied.”
In the home-buyer segment, RE/MAX ranks highest with a score of 805. Following RE/MAX in the rankings are Coldwell Banker (802) and Better Homes & Gardens (801). Coldwell Banker performs particularly well in the agent/salesperson factor while Better Homes & Gardens performs well in the variety of additional services factor.
Home-Seller Segment
Among home sellers, satisfaction with real estate companies has improved substantially to an average of 779 in 2011 from 742 in 2010. While satisfaction with each of the factors has improved from 2010, the greatest gain has occurred in the marketing factor, which has increased by 62 points in 2011.
In 2011, the variety of additional services and office factors have increased in importance to overall satisfaction, while the importance of the agent/salesperson and marketing factors have declined. According to Howland, many real estate companies have made cutbacks in additional services and offices during recent years, and the increasing importance of these areas reflects that sellers may be missing these amenities, which provides an opportunity for companies to improve satisfaction. Among home sellers, RE/MAX ranks highest with a score of 791 and performs particularly well in the agent/salesperson and office factors. Following RE/MAX in the rankings are Prudential (786) and Century 21 (785). Century 21 performs particularly well in the variety of additional services factor. The 2011 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes more than 4,200 evaluations from more than 3,680 respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2010 and April 2011. The study was fielded between March and May 2011.
Additional Industry Findings
The study findings include the following key trends:
Recommendations and referrals play a key role for both buyers and sellers in choosing an agent and real estate company. In 2011, six in 10 buyers and sellers say their agent asked for a referral or recommendation—up from 47 percent in 2010.
The average number of homes that buyers were shown prior to making a purchase is 9.0 in 2011, down notably from 17.5 in 2010.
The average number of home showings in 2011 is 8.6, on average, prior to sale, down considerably from an average of 12.1 showings in 2010.
In 2011, just 58 percent of sellers indicate using a website listing to market their home, compared with 82 percent in 2010.
About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. For more information on home building and home improvement, car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com.
J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy. With leading brands including Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2010 were $6.2 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts:
John Tews; Troy, Mich.; (248) 312-4119; media.relations@jdpa.com
Syvetril Perryman; Westlake Village, Calif.; (805) 418-8103; media.relations@jdpa.com
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com/corporate
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
No article this morning
Sorry folks, but no article this morning. The RE/MAX All Star team is attending 'Technology Tools For Success' hosted by the RE/MAX International Technology Team. Prepare for plenty of tekkie articles soon ;)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Law firm's strategies in mortgage holders' struggles provoke ethics issues
By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer
A law firm's practices in the arena mortgage holders' rights draw ethics questions.
David E. Ramba is a Tallahassee lobbyist and lawyer who has prospered representing well-heeled clients such as AT&T, the Seminole Tribe and the Florida Chiropractic Association. But these days, he flies his six-seat Piper Malibu around Florida championing the cause of the little guy.
His target: the big, bad banks.
Ramba, 40, has joined forces with a California attorney and opened offices in Pinellas Park and Boca Raton where employees ask struggling homeowners to join an innovative legal action against their lenders.
Prospective plaintiffs are told that nearly 6,000 people have joined the effort and six lawsuits have been filed so far.
But there are several hitches.
It costs $5,000 to join. Winning a quick settlement is a long shot. Efforts to solicit plaintiffs through cold calls, unapproved mail pieces and commissioned workers also may violate Florida Bar rules, according to experts in legal ethics.
Regulators in California and Washington state warn that legal actions like Ramba's are just the latest twist on mortgage relief schemes that charged up-front fees for loan modifications that didn't happen. Federal and many state laws now ban such fees in most cases.
In March, the California Department of Real Estate warned about mortgage relief lawsuits.
"Those who continue to prey on and victimize vulnerable homeowners have not given up," it said. "They just change their tactics and modify their sales pitches to keep taking advantage of those who are desperate to save their homes."
. . .
Ramba's West Coast colleague, lawyer Philip A. Kramer, has already been criticized for promising to negotiate loan modifications that never materialized. The Los Angeles Better Business Bureau gave him an "F" based on 45 consumer complaints.
A lawyer in Kramer's firm said it was the banks' fault, not the firm's, that modification efforts failed. Neither Kramer nor Ramba has any record of disciplinary actions.
Ground zero in Florida for the new legal assault on the banks is a mostly vacant office complex connected to a Winn-Dixie shopping plaza off 66th Street N.
The gold lettering on the door says Ramba Law Group and Kramer & Kaslow. But instead of starched-shirt lawyers in plush offices inside, there are rows of cubicles. Casually dressed workers are hunched over phones. Their goal: tap into homeowners' anger at the banks and get them to part with some cash.
Ramba makes no apologies for requiring a retainer to put someone's name on a lawsuit.
"The legal system is available to folks, but it's not free," he said in a recent phone interview. "By coming together, homeowners will receive the same benefit someone with a lot of means could do on their own."
Davin Spring, who has a wife, three kids and a barely profitable business in Baton Rouge, La., was sold on the concept. Spring is current on his mortgage, but owes more than his home is worth. When Spring tried to get some relief from his lender, he only got a runaround.
So when he got a direct-mail advertisement about a big lawsuit that could force banks to lower homeowners' interest, reduce their debt or maybe even wipe out their mortgages, it caught Spring's attention. He called and reached a representative of Ramba's in Pinellas Park.
"They told me they only had two more spaces," Spring said. "They got me hook, line and sinker."
. . .
It is Kramer, of Calabasas, Calif., who claims credit for the idea of suing the banks after efforts at loan modifications failed. The only way to approach uncooperative lenders, Kramer decided, was to file "mass joinder" lawsuits in the names of thousands of people facing the same obstacles.
"We go in with a club and make demands on the bank," Kramer said in a video on the site of Consolidated Litigation Group, an affiliated company.
"We're tired of answering questions and resubmitting pay stubs. It's time for the banks to begin answering our questions."
Since December, Kramer has filed lawsuits in California courts against Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, One West and Ally Bank. The complaints have different plaintiffs, but are nearly identical in the allegations, charging lenders with "massive fraud" that "devastated the values of their residences, in most cases resulting in the plaintiffs' loss of all or substantially all of their net worth."
None of the complaints has yet gone to trial or been settled, and neither Kramer nor Ramba could cite mass joinder cases that have been successful against banks.
While Kramer's mass joinder strategy is similar to class-action lawsuits, there are a few differences. In class-action cases, the plaintiffs are treated as a single entity and get an equal share of any settlement. Lawyers usually forego an up-front retainer in return for a contingency fee that can range from 30 to 50 percent.
In mass joinder lawsuits, the cases are combined for discovery purposes. But individual plaintiff's circumstances are unique and any settlement is divvied up based on the facts of each case.
Plaintiffs' lawyers get a share of the proceeds; Kramer and Ramba's contracts call for a 30 percent contingency in addition to the retainer of up to $5,000 per client.
Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University College of Law, said he doesn't doubt borrowers could have valid claims against banks. But he questions whether a lawyer can appropriately represent the conflicting interests of thousands of plaintiffs. And he suspects banks will put up a strong defense.
"I would be surprised if the banks roll over on these cases," Rose said. "Because once they settle, it opens the floodgates to other cases. "
Kramer, named a "Southern California Super Lawyer" by his peers, said banks will want to avoid a trial and might agree to a settlement as early as next year. Ramba, who said he intends to file additional cases in Florida by October, agreed that a 2012 settlement is possible.
"If you determine there's a pattern and practice of loan origination that violates federal law and they profited by that, they're required to disgorge those profits," Ramba said. "All we need is a fact-finding mission determining who was practicing adverse banking laws."
. . .
Such tough talk has resonated with clients. Philip Warmanen of Jacksonville is a plaintiff in the California complaint against the Bank of America. Warmanen, a 71-year-old travel agent, responded to a direct-mail piece from Kramer's firm this year and signed on when the retainer was $4,000. He said he's current with his first and second mortgages, but his home is worth half of what it was when he bought it in 2006. Warmanen thinks his lender, Bank of America, should share in the loss.
While Warmanen was told by Kramer's office that his mortgage might be eliminated as a result of the lawsuit, he would be happy with a cash settlement that could reduce his debt.
"I may have gambled $4,000 for nothing," Warmanen said of Kramer's retainer. "But Bank of America is a giant without a heart."
A spokeswoman for Bank of America, Christina Beyer, said the mass joinder lawsuit is "without merit."
In response to Warmanen's complaints, she said, "The bank is committed to helping borrowers in distress with loan modifications and other loss mitigation alternatives."
Even without a settlement or court victory, Kramer has collected a substantial amount in retainer fees so far from the 2,500 plaintiffs named in the California lawsuits. If each paid $4,000 as Warmanen did, it would total $10 million.
Colin Sandland of Bradenton talked with a representative of Ramba's Pinellas Park office in June after getting an ad in the mail. While Sandland, who is current on his mortgage, was intrigued at the thought of holding banks accountable, he didn't like the demand for cash up front.
Sandland, 65, said he asked Ramba's representative what happened to the retainer. "He said, 'We're on commission,' " Sandland said. "Why would I pay $5,000 to a lawyer who's going to get 30 percent of any settlement? That turned me off."
. . .
Experts on legal ethics say the way Ramba's office solicits plaintiffs could be problematic. Cold calls are banned by Florida Bar rules, whether they're made by lawyers or someone working on their behalf. This is the case even if the solicitation is made using information from public records, as Ramba said his office does.
"It's the oldest problem in the book ethically," said Amy Mashburn, a law professor at the University of Florida. "The idea is how do you protect people from in-person pressure from people skilled in the art of persuasion. A letter will not put people under the same kind of pressure as a lawyer or their representative at the foot of a hospital bed."
Likewise, any direct-mail piece sent by a lawyer must be reviewed by the Florida Bar. Though Ramba said his mailer conforms with the group's advertising guidelines, a spokeswoman for the Bar said she does not have any record that he submitted it for review.
On Friday, Ramba said in an e-mail that no mailers have yet been sent by the Pinellas Park office. "The office manager down in your area informed me that they HAD NOT sent anything out with my information on it," he said.
He did not respond to an e-mail asking how Spring and Sandland would have known to call that office if they had not received mailers with the phone number on it.
Florida Bar rules also say it's unethical for lawyers to split fees with nonlawyers by paying commissions tied to retainers. A recent "help wanted" ad for Ramba's Pinellas Park office promised "$1,000 to $5,000/wk Potential."
Rose, the Stetson professor, said if nonlawyers are paid a commission based on how many clients sign up, "they may have a vested interest in skirting the boundaries of ethical rules."
"That's giving nonlawyers an interest in the outcome of litigation and that's not allowed," he said.
Ramba declined to disclose exactly how his call center workers are paid, but said, "It's not fee-splitting."
. . .
Spring, the small business owner from Baton Rouge, La., gave Ramba's group $2,500 before having second thoughts and stopping payment on the rest of his retainer. Now, he's kicking himself for falling for a pitch that seemed to offer a way out of his mortgage mess.
"When I needed help, I reached out," said Spring, who has been unable to get a refund. "Unfortunately, I got the wrong hand."
Times researcher Natalie Watson contributed to this report. Kris Hundley can be reached at khundley@sptimes.com or (727)892-2996.
A law firm's practices in the arena mortgage holders' rights draw ethics questions.
David E. Ramba is a Tallahassee lobbyist and lawyer who has prospered representing well-heeled clients such as AT&T, the Seminole Tribe and the Florida Chiropractic Association. But these days, he flies his six-seat Piper Malibu around Florida championing the cause of the little guy.
His target: the big, bad banks.
Ramba, 40, has joined forces with a California attorney and opened offices in Pinellas Park and Boca Raton where employees ask struggling homeowners to join an innovative legal action against their lenders.
Prospective plaintiffs are told that nearly 6,000 people have joined the effort and six lawsuits have been filed so far.
But there are several hitches.
It costs $5,000 to join. Winning a quick settlement is a long shot. Efforts to solicit plaintiffs through cold calls, unapproved mail pieces and commissioned workers also may violate Florida Bar rules, according to experts in legal ethics.
Regulators in California and Washington state warn that legal actions like Ramba's are just the latest twist on mortgage relief schemes that charged up-front fees for loan modifications that didn't happen. Federal and many state laws now ban such fees in most cases.
In March, the California Department of Real Estate warned about mortgage relief lawsuits.
"Those who continue to prey on and victimize vulnerable homeowners have not given up," it said. "They just change their tactics and modify their sales pitches to keep taking advantage of those who are desperate to save their homes."
. . .
Ramba's West Coast colleague, lawyer Philip A. Kramer, has already been criticized for promising to negotiate loan modifications that never materialized. The Los Angeles Better Business Bureau gave him an "F" based on 45 consumer complaints.
A lawyer in Kramer's firm said it was the banks' fault, not the firm's, that modification efforts failed. Neither Kramer nor Ramba has any record of disciplinary actions.
Ground zero in Florida for the new legal assault on the banks is a mostly vacant office complex connected to a Winn-Dixie shopping plaza off 66th Street N.
The gold lettering on the door says Ramba Law Group and Kramer & Kaslow. But instead of starched-shirt lawyers in plush offices inside, there are rows of cubicles. Casually dressed workers are hunched over phones. Their goal: tap into homeowners' anger at the banks and get them to part with some cash.
Ramba makes no apologies for requiring a retainer to put someone's name on a lawsuit.
"The legal system is available to folks, but it's not free," he said in a recent phone interview. "By coming together, homeowners will receive the same benefit someone with a lot of means could do on their own."
Davin Spring, who has a wife, three kids and a barely profitable business in Baton Rouge, La., was sold on the concept. Spring is current on his mortgage, but owes more than his home is worth. When Spring tried to get some relief from his lender, he only got a runaround.
So when he got a direct-mail advertisement about a big lawsuit that could force banks to lower homeowners' interest, reduce their debt or maybe even wipe out their mortgages, it caught Spring's attention. He called and reached a representative of Ramba's in Pinellas Park.
"They told me they only had two more spaces," Spring said. "They got me hook, line and sinker."
. . .
It is Kramer, of Calabasas, Calif., who claims credit for the idea of suing the banks after efforts at loan modifications failed. The only way to approach uncooperative lenders, Kramer decided, was to file "mass joinder" lawsuits in the names of thousands of people facing the same obstacles.
"We go in with a club and make demands on the bank," Kramer said in a video on the site of Consolidated Litigation Group, an affiliated company.
"We're tired of answering questions and resubmitting pay stubs. It's time for the banks to begin answering our questions."
Since December, Kramer has filed lawsuits in California courts against Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, One West and Ally Bank. The complaints have different plaintiffs, but are nearly identical in the allegations, charging lenders with "massive fraud" that "devastated the values of their residences, in most cases resulting in the plaintiffs' loss of all or substantially all of their net worth."
None of the complaints has yet gone to trial or been settled, and neither Kramer nor Ramba could cite mass joinder cases that have been successful against banks.
While Kramer's mass joinder strategy is similar to class-action lawsuits, there are a few differences. In class-action cases, the plaintiffs are treated as a single entity and get an equal share of any settlement. Lawyers usually forego an up-front retainer in return for a contingency fee that can range from 30 to 50 percent.
In mass joinder lawsuits, the cases are combined for discovery purposes. But individual plaintiff's circumstances are unique and any settlement is divvied up based on the facts of each case.
Plaintiffs' lawyers get a share of the proceeds; Kramer and Ramba's contracts call for a 30 percent contingency in addition to the retainer of up to $5,000 per client.
Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University College of Law, said he doesn't doubt borrowers could have valid claims against banks. But he questions whether a lawyer can appropriately represent the conflicting interests of thousands of plaintiffs. And he suspects banks will put up a strong defense.
"I would be surprised if the banks roll over on these cases," Rose said. "Because once they settle, it opens the floodgates to other cases. "
Kramer, named a "Southern California Super Lawyer" by his peers, said banks will want to avoid a trial and might agree to a settlement as early as next year. Ramba, who said he intends to file additional cases in Florida by October, agreed that a 2012 settlement is possible.
"If you determine there's a pattern and practice of loan origination that violates federal law and they profited by that, they're required to disgorge those profits," Ramba said. "All we need is a fact-finding mission determining who was practicing adverse banking laws."
. . .
Such tough talk has resonated with clients. Philip Warmanen of Jacksonville is a plaintiff in the California complaint against the Bank of America. Warmanen, a 71-year-old travel agent, responded to a direct-mail piece from Kramer's firm this year and signed on when the retainer was $4,000. He said he's current with his first and second mortgages, but his home is worth half of what it was when he bought it in 2006. Warmanen thinks his lender, Bank of America, should share in the loss.
While Warmanen was told by Kramer's office that his mortgage might be eliminated as a result of the lawsuit, he would be happy with a cash settlement that could reduce his debt.
"I may have gambled $4,000 for nothing," Warmanen said of Kramer's retainer. "But Bank of America is a giant without a heart."
A spokeswoman for Bank of America, Christina Beyer, said the mass joinder lawsuit is "without merit."
In response to Warmanen's complaints, she said, "The bank is committed to helping borrowers in distress with loan modifications and other loss mitigation alternatives."
Even without a settlement or court victory, Kramer has collected a substantial amount in retainer fees so far from the 2,500 plaintiffs named in the California lawsuits. If each paid $4,000 as Warmanen did, it would total $10 million.
Colin Sandland of Bradenton talked with a representative of Ramba's Pinellas Park office in June after getting an ad in the mail. While Sandland, who is current on his mortgage, was intrigued at the thought of holding banks accountable, he didn't like the demand for cash up front.
Sandland, 65, said he asked Ramba's representative what happened to the retainer. "He said, 'We're on commission,' " Sandland said. "Why would I pay $5,000 to a lawyer who's going to get 30 percent of any settlement? That turned me off."
. . .
Experts on legal ethics say the way Ramba's office solicits plaintiffs could be problematic. Cold calls are banned by Florida Bar rules, whether they're made by lawyers or someone working on their behalf. This is the case even if the solicitation is made using information from public records, as Ramba said his office does.
"It's the oldest problem in the book ethically," said Amy Mashburn, a law professor at the University of Florida. "The idea is how do you protect people from in-person pressure from people skilled in the art of persuasion. A letter will not put people under the same kind of pressure as a lawyer or their representative at the foot of a hospital bed."
Likewise, any direct-mail piece sent by a lawyer must be reviewed by the Florida Bar. Though Ramba said his mailer conforms with the group's advertising guidelines, a spokeswoman for the Bar said she does not have any record that he submitted it for review.
On Friday, Ramba said in an e-mail that no mailers have yet been sent by the Pinellas Park office. "The office manager down in your area informed me that they HAD NOT sent anything out with my information on it," he said.
He did not respond to an e-mail asking how Spring and Sandland would have known to call that office if they had not received mailers with the phone number on it.
Florida Bar rules also say it's unethical for lawyers to split fees with nonlawyers by paying commissions tied to retainers. A recent "help wanted" ad for Ramba's Pinellas Park office promised "$1,000 to $5,000/wk Potential."
Rose, the Stetson professor, said if nonlawyers are paid a commission based on how many clients sign up, "they may have a vested interest in skirting the boundaries of ethical rules."
"That's giving nonlawyers an interest in the outcome of litigation and that's not allowed," he said.
Ramba declined to disclose exactly how his call center workers are paid, but said, "It's not fee-splitting."
. . .
Spring, the small business owner from Baton Rouge, La., gave Ramba's group $2,500 before having second thoughts and stopping payment on the rest of his retainer. Now, he's kicking himself for falling for a pitch that seemed to offer a way out of his mortgage mess.
"When I needed help, I reached out," said Spring, who has been unable to get a refund. "Unfortunately, I got the wrong hand."
Times researcher Natalie Watson contributed to this report. Kris Hundley can be reached at khundley@sptimes.com or (727)892-2996.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Google+ off to a strong start
SEATTLE – July 18, 2011 – Google+ is the topic du jour of the Internet savvy pondering the rise of the latest social network.
Now, at least one expert pegs Google’s social-networking members at north of 3 million. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry reported Tuesday that Google+ has as many as 3.5 million sign-ups and is off to a “very strong start.”
Google spokeswoman Katie Watson declined to confirm the numbers, adding that as part of the limited test period it may open and close Google+ to new members at any time. That’s helped feed the frenzy, according to one longtime Google follower.
“They’ve created an artificial scarcity, and that’s generated demand,” says Danny Sullivan, editor of Searchengineland.com. “It’s a hot ticket; you want to get in. You want to check it out.”
Google needs to build a social presence fast if it’s to catch Facebook’s 750 million members. That’s because the social giant represents an advertising bonanza. Facebook is expected to bag 17.7 percent of the online display advertising market for 2011, according to researcher eMarketer, compared with estimates for Yahoo at 13.1 percent and Google at 9.3 percent.
What remains to be seen is whether Google+ growth is outpacing Facebook. Yet user engagement, rather than numbers, is the real benchmark, according to Sullivan.
“I think it will be a challenge to reach the kind of usage and market share that Facebook has when it comes to social networking,” Sullivan says.
While Sullivan says he’s “cautiously optimistic,” Global Equities Research’s Chowdhry is more go-go in estimates. The financial analyst notes Google+ “may leapfrog Facebook.” Chowdhry says that Google Voice sign-ups have also increased significantly over the past week, indicating a “move from FB to Google+” is starting. He’s not alone in rosy estimates.
Bill Gross, CEO of technology incubator Idealab, has predicted – on his Google+ page, no less – that Google will go from 1 to 100 million users “faster than any other service in history.” His reasoning: “The service is great. It is timely. People are engaging with it like crazy,” he posted last Monday at Google+. “The product is extremely well executed, and a lot of people are smitten.”
Last year, Facebook had 116.8 million active users, defined as those who log in at least once per month, according eMarketer. Gmail has 170 million active users worldwide, according to Chowdhry. This familiarity with Google’s products could be an advantage in picking up users of its social site.
“I’ve seen a lot of people express that they feel like they trust Google better,” Sullivan says.
© Copyright 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Rachel Roubein, USA TODAY
Now, at least one expert pegs Google’s social-networking members at north of 3 million. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry reported Tuesday that Google+ has as many as 3.5 million sign-ups and is off to a “very strong start.”
Google spokeswoman Katie Watson declined to confirm the numbers, adding that as part of the limited test period it may open and close Google+ to new members at any time. That’s helped feed the frenzy, according to one longtime Google follower.
“They’ve created an artificial scarcity, and that’s generated demand,” says Danny Sullivan, editor of Searchengineland.com. “It’s a hot ticket; you want to get in. You want to check it out.”
Google needs to build a social presence fast if it’s to catch Facebook’s 750 million members. That’s because the social giant represents an advertising bonanza. Facebook is expected to bag 17.7 percent of the online display advertising market for 2011, according to researcher eMarketer, compared with estimates for Yahoo at 13.1 percent and Google at 9.3 percent.
What remains to be seen is whether Google+ growth is outpacing Facebook. Yet user engagement, rather than numbers, is the real benchmark, according to Sullivan.
“I think it will be a challenge to reach the kind of usage and market share that Facebook has when it comes to social networking,” Sullivan says.
While Sullivan says he’s “cautiously optimistic,” Global Equities Research’s Chowdhry is more go-go in estimates. The financial analyst notes Google+ “may leapfrog Facebook.” Chowdhry says that Google Voice sign-ups have also increased significantly over the past week, indicating a “move from FB to Google+” is starting. He’s not alone in rosy estimates.
Bill Gross, CEO of technology incubator Idealab, has predicted – on his Google+ page, no less – that Google will go from 1 to 100 million users “faster than any other service in history.” His reasoning: “The service is great. It is timely. People are engaging with it like crazy,” he posted last Monday at Google+. “The product is extremely well executed, and a lot of people are smitten.”
Last year, Facebook had 116.8 million active users, defined as those who log in at least once per month, according eMarketer. Gmail has 170 million active users worldwide, according to Chowdhry. This familiarity with Google’s products could be an advantage in picking up users of its social site.
“I’ve seen a lot of people express that they feel like they trust Google better,” Sullivan says.
© Copyright 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Rachel Roubein, USA TODAY
Friday, July 15, 2011
Foreclosure activity slowed in first half of 2011 Number dropped 30% compared to first half of 2010, but decline caused by lender delays rather than fewer defaults.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – July 14, 2011 – The number of homes taken back by lenders in the first half of this year fell 30 percent compared with the same 2010 period, the result of delays in foreclosure processing that threatens to stall a U.S. housing recovery.
Banks seized 421,212 homes in the first six months of the year, down from 529,633 between January and June last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The decline reflects lenders taking longer to move against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. The banks are working through foreclosure documentation problems that first surfaced last fall and an ensuing logjam in some state courts. Lenders also have put off on taking action against delinquent borrowers as U.S. home sales have slowed this year.
As the processing delays mount, however, so has the backlog of potential foreclosures – homes that otherwise would have been repossessed by lenders this year.
RealtyTrac estimates that 1 million foreclosure-related notices that should have been filed by banks this year will be pushed to next year. The filings include notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions – warnings that can lead to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.
The delayed filings buy more time for many borrowers behind in payments to remain in their homes, perhaps giving them time to catch up or simply to stall their inevitable eviction. But it also means any eventual foreclosures will happen next year, extending the shadow of distressed properties that hovers over the market.
“The best-case scenario is we don’t get back to normal levels of foreclosure activity until 2015, which means the housing market recovery gets delayed by at least a year,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.
And given delays in the time it’s taking lenders to move a home from default to foreclosure and then sell the property, the housing turnaround could conceivably be pushed out to as late as 2016, Sharga said.
“It could be the new reality is we’re going to have to accept the fact that home prices in most markets aren’t going to budge much for the next several years while this overhang gradually, painfully makes its way into the market and gets purchased,” he said.
In all, some 1.2 million U.S. homes received a foreclosure-related notice in the first six months of this year, RealtyTrac said.
That’s down 29 percent from the same period last year and down 25 percent versus the second half of 2010.
Put another way, one in every 111 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing between January and June.
In addition to repossessing fewer homes, banks also fired off 36 percent fewer initial notices of default in the first half of this year than in the same period last year. The notices are the first step in the foreclosure process.
Foreclosure activity did pick up slightly between May and June, although lenders repossessed fewer homes than they did in June last year.
At the current pace, banks are on track to take back between 800,000 and 900,000 homes this year, down from a record of 1 million lost to foreclosures last year, Sharga said.
The firm had originally anticipated some 1.2 million homes would be repossessed by lenders this year.
Foreclosures typically sell at a discount to other types of homes, weighing down home values. As a result, housing experts say U.S. home prices are unlikely to recover until the glut of foreclosed homes on the market is cleared out.
Lenders have been careful not to unload all of their foreclosures on the market at once, and have financial incentives to continue doing so. But the prospect of more foreclosures hitting the market for years to come makes it difficult to predict when home values will stabilize. And that keeps many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines.
Between April and June, it took an average of 318 days for a home to go from the first stage of foreclosure to the point where it was sold at auction or taken back by the lender, RealtyTrac said. That’s up from 298 days in the first three months of the year and up from 277 days in the second quarter of last year.
The foreclosure process took longest to play out in New York at an average of 966 days, or 2.6 years, during the second quarter. New Jersey was second-slowest at an average of 944 days, RealtyTrac said.
Homes were on a relative foreclosure fast-track in Texas, taking an average of 92 days to go through the process, the fastest turnaround time in the nation.
Despite slowdown in foreclosure activity, several states continue to have outsized foreclosure rates. Nevada continued to lead the nation, with one in every 21 households receiving a foreclosure notice in the first half of this year.
Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in the first half of this year are Arizona, California, Utah, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Colorado and Illinois.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press, Alex Veiga, AP real estate writer.
Banks seized 421,212 homes in the first six months of the year, down from 529,633 between January and June last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The decline reflects lenders taking longer to move against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. The banks are working through foreclosure documentation problems that first surfaced last fall and an ensuing logjam in some state courts. Lenders also have put off on taking action against delinquent borrowers as U.S. home sales have slowed this year.
As the processing delays mount, however, so has the backlog of potential foreclosures – homes that otherwise would have been repossessed by lenders this year.
RealtyTrac estimates that 1 million foreclosure-related notices that should have been filed by banks this year will be pushed to next year. The filings include notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions – warnings that can lead to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.
The delayed filings buy more time for many borrowers behind in payments to remain in their homes, perhaps giving them time to catch up or simply to stall their inevitable eviction. But it also means any eventual foreclosures will happen next year, extending the shadow of distressed properties that hovers over the market.
“The best-case scenario is we don’t get back to normal levels of foreclosure activity until 2015, which means the housing market recovery gets delayed by at least a year,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.
And given delays in the time it’s taking lenders to move a home from default to foreclosure and then sell the property, the housing turnaround could conceivably be pushed out to as late as 2016, Sharga said.
“It could be the new reality is we’re going to have to accept the fact that home prices in most markets aren’t going to budge much for the next several years while this overhang gradually, painfully makes its way into the market and gets purchased,” he said.
In all, some 1.2 million U.S. homes received a foreclosure-related notice in the first six months of this year, RealtyTrac said.
That’s down 29 percent from the same period last year and down 25 percent versus the second half of 2010.
Put another way, one in every 111 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing between January and June.
In addition to repossessing fewer homes, banks also fired off 36 percent fewer initial notices of default in the first half of this year than in the same period last year. The notices are the first step in the foreclosure process.
Foreclosure activity did pick up slightly between May and June, although lenders repossessed fewer homes than they did in June last year.
At the current pace, banks are on track to take back between 800,000 and 900,000 homes this year, down from a record of 1 million lost to foreclosures last year, Sharga said.
The firm had originally anticipated some 1.2 million homes would be repossessed by lenders this year.
Foreclosures typically sell at a discount to other types of homes, weighing down home values. As a result, housing experts say U.S. home prices are unlikely to recover until the glut of foreclosed homes on the market is cleared out.
Lenders have been careful not to unload all of their foreclosures on the market at once, and have financial incentives to continue doing so. But the prospect of more foreclosures hitting the market for years to come makes it difficult to predict when home values will stabilize. And that keeps many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines.
Between April and June, it took an average of 318 days for a home to go from the first stage of foreclosure to the point where it was sold at auction or taken back by the lender, RealtyTrac said. That’s up from 298 days in the first three months of the year and up from 277 days in the second quarter of last year.
The foreclosure process took longest to play out in New York at an average of 966 days, or 2.6 years, during the second quarter. New Jersey was second-slowest at an average of 944 days, RealtyTrac said.
Homes were on a relative foreclosure fast-track in Texas, taking an average of 92 days to go through the process, the fastest turnaround time in the nation.
Despite slowdown in foreclosure activity, several states continue to have outsized foreclosure rates. Nevada continued to lead the nation, with one in every 21 households receiving a foreclosure notice in the first half of this year.
Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in the first half of this year are Arizona, California, Utah, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Colorado and Illinois.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press, Alex Veiga, AP real estate writer.Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Credit unions get busy with commercial lending
WASHINGTON – July 12, 2011 – Muhammad Abdullah needed a line of credit to fill large orders from customers of his safety and medical-supplies business, but he couldn’t get help from a bank. So he turned to a credit union.
He got the line of credit, and now he’s taking orders he wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
“It’s not the normal way, but I guess I’ve been doing business with credit unions personally for a good while,” said Abdullah, who owns Legacy Business Group in Des Moines.
Credit unions are expanding to fill a void in business lending left by banks since the financial crisis. As banks have been slow to start lending again, credit unions have gotten a head start.
Banks still carry about 12 times as much in loans as credit unions in America, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. statistics. But over the past two years, those numbers have trended in opposite directions, and officials at major credit unions say they are more interested than ever in commercial lending, not traditionally the core function of a credit union.
From March 2009 to March 2011, total loans by banks declined by more than $500 billion, according to FDIC data. Over the past year, credit union business lending is up 5 percent, while bank business lending is down 3 percent a decline of about $95 billion, according to the Credit Union National Association. Pat Keefe, a spokesman for the association, said credit unions are pushing into business lending in part because of slow demand for consumer credit auto and home loans, for instance.
“Businesses are looking for new sources of credit; credit unions are looking for new sources of borrowers,” he said. “They’re improvising strategies to do business lending.”
In January, Abdullah’s company took a $60,000 order for fire extinguishers, fire extinguisher cabinets, white boards, bike racks and other things needed for an Armed Forces Readiness Center in Middletown, Iowa. Legacy Business Group suffered in 2009 and 2010, and Abdullah couldn’t get a bank to extend him a line of credit, he said. Then he saw an article about Veridian Credit Union.
“They said they want to work with small business, and so we called them,” he said.
Veridian offered him a $25,000 line of credit, and he said it has helped him deliver on the big jobs that pay the bills.
Competing with the big boys
In Iowa, Veridian is now a larger financial institution by assets than all but three of Iowa’s banks. John Poley, who was a banker for 20 years, has been head of commercial lending for Veridian since 2008. He said the credit union’s business lending was up 80 percent from 2009 to 2010, with most of the growth coming in metro Des Moines.
“We do everything. We’ll do your little mom-and-pop start-ups, manufacturing, industrial,” he said. “If we had to pick the one that we have the most exposure in, it would be real estate, I suppose.”
Poley said credit unions avoided the bad loans in commercial real estate that have plagued many banks since the financial crisis, and credit unions have been freer to lend.
“We’re still doing everything we’ve ever done. We just so happen to be able to now step into a void in that lending space that they’ve created,” he said.
Credit unions are pushing federal legislation that would lift a regulatory cap on their business lending. They are allowed to make loans equaling up to 12.25 percent of their total assets. Bills in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would raise the cap to 27.5 percent. Both bills have been referred to committee.
The American Bankers Association opposes the legislation. Chairman Stephen Wilson testified at a Senate hearing in June that the bill is “nothing less than legislation that would allow a credit union to look and act just like a bank, without the obligation to pay taxes or have bank-like regulatory requirements applied to them.”
Banking executives believe credit unions’ non-profit status and exemption from federal income tax is already an unfair advantage, and they argue the increased emphasis on commercial lending calls the advantage further into question.
Copyright © 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Adam Belz, USA TODAY. Belz also reports for the Des Moines Register.
He got the line of credit, and now he’s taking orders he wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
“It’s not the normal way, but I guess I’ve been doing business with credit unions personally for a good while,” said Abdullah, who owns Legacy Business Group in Des Moines.
Credit unions are expanding to fill a void in business lending left by banks since the financial crisis. As banks have been slow to start lending again, credit unions have gotten a head start.
Banks still carry about 12 times as much in loans as credit unions in America, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. statistics. But over the past two years, those numbers have trended in opposite directions, and officials at major credit unions say they are more interested than ever in commercial lending, not traditionally the core function of a credit union.
From March 2009 to March 2011, total loans by banks declined by more than $500 billion, according to FDIC data. Over the past year, credit union business lending is up 5 percent, while bank business lending is down 3 percent a decline of about $95 billion, according to the Credit Union National Association. Pat Keefe, a spokesman for the association, said credit unions are pushing into business lending in part because of slow demand for consumer credit auto and home loans, for instance.
“Businesses are looking for new sources of credit; credit unions are looking for new sources of borrowers,” he said. “They’re improvising strategies to do business lending.”
In January, Abdullah’s company took a $60,000 order for fire extinguishers, fire extinguisher cabinets, white boards, bike racks and other things needed for an Armed Forces Readiness Center in Middletown, Iowa. Legacy Business Group suffered in 2009 and 2010, and Abdullah couldn’t get a bank to extend him a line of credit, he said. Then he saw an article about Veridian Credit Union.
“They said they want to work with small business, and so we called them,” he said.
Veridian offered him a $25,000 line of credit, and he said it has helped him deliver on the big jobs that pay the bills.
Competing with the big boys
In Iowa, Veridian is now a larger financial institution by assets than all but three of Iowa’s banks. John Poley, who was a banker for 20 years, has been head of commercial lending for Veridian since 2008. He said the credit union’s business lending was up 80 percent from 2009 to 2010, with most of the growth coming in metro Des Moines.
“We do everything. We’ll do your little mom-and-pop start-ups, manufacturing, industrial,” he said. “If we had to pick the one that we have the most exposure in, it would be real estate, I suppose.”
Poley said credit unions avoided the bad loans in commercial real estate that have plagued many banks since the financial crisis, and credit unions have been freer to lend.
“We’re still doing everything we’ve ever done. We just so happen to be able to now step into a void in that lending space that they’ve created,” he said.
Credit unions are pushing federal legislation that would lift a regulatory cap on their business lending. They are allowed to make loans equaling up to 12.25 percent of their total assets. Bills in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would raise the cap to 27.5 percent. Both bills have been referred to committee.
The American Bankers Association opposes the legislation. Chairman Stephen Wilson testified at a Senate hearing in June that the bill is “nothing less than legislation that would allow a credit union to look and act just like a bank, without the obligation to pay taxes or have bank-like regulatory requirements applied to them.”
Banking executives believe credit unions’ non-profit status and exemption from federal income tax is already an unfair advantage, and they argue the increased emphasis on commercial lending calls the advantage further into question.
Copyright © 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Adam Belz, USA TODAY. Belz also reports for the Des Moines Register.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Prices for Tampa Bay homes continue to rise By Mark Puente, Times Staff Writer
Though not a full-fledged recovery, it marks a solid industry trend.
The median price of a single-family home in the Tampa Bay area has risen or remained flat every month since January, the longest stretch without a monthly decline since 2006.
In those six months, the median selling price of single-family homes - including conventional, foreclosure and short sales - rose 18 percent from $107,500 in January to $127,000 in June in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, according to Multiple Listing Service data.
Further analysis shows the median price of just conventional home sales rose 8.5 percent - $156,000 to $169,400 - from May to June in the five counties, the highest price since hitting $169,900 in October.
Peter Murphy, president of Tampa's Home Encounter, a full-service real estate firm, said the monthly increases are a relief for homeowners who had endured bad news for five years.
"It's the first real glimmer of housing market recovery that we've seen in Tampa Bay in quite some time," he said.
Murphy, however, stopped short of calling it a full-blown recovery. The number of sales continue to ricochet like a pinball. The 2,573 sales in June - up 2.6 percent from May - remain low for this traditionally busy buying season.
If sales were in the 3,500 range, Murphy said, a recovery could be on the horizon.
"That would be the truest indicator of recovery in the housing market," Murphy said, "and since we don't have that, I'd have to say that we're not in recovery just yet."
Leslie Griffin, managing broker at Prudential Tropical Realty in South Tampa, pointed out that median prices are still falling slightly in pockets of the region with more expensive houses.
"I think it is starting to bottom out," she said. "The lower end is stabilizing more and then it will trickle upward."
Foreclosure sales are no longer driving the market like earlier this year. They peaked at 1,096 sales in March but plummeted to 689 in June, a 37 percent drop. The median price of a foreclosure remained flat at about $75,000.
The drop in foreclosure sales is attributable to lenders putting fewer bank-owned homes on the market and foreclosure cases stalled in courts over fraudulent paperwork issues. With fewer bank-owned houses selling, experts predict that prices of conventional sales should rise.
Lenders aren't foreclosing on as many homeowners, either. Initial foreclosure filings fell 22 percent in May in the bay area, the sixth drop in seven months. New foreclosure numbers will be released Thursday.
Although the price bumps are good, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said, a prolonged period of increases is needed before declaring a full recovery.
"This thing is still oscillating fairly wildly," Snaith said. "There's no guarantee that this would be a smooth ride. I'm still hesitant to say the worst is over."
Experts still fear that homes in foreclosure and those in the shadow inventory - mortgages 90 days late and nearing foreclosure or homes already seized by a lender but not listed for sale - could flood the market later this year.
Scott Samuels of Re/Max Metro in St. Petersburg, who deals with bank-owned properties, doesn't know if a glut of bank-owned homes will flood the market. He has seen the supply of bank-owned homes dwindle in recent months.
"There is no big inventory for people wanting to buy foreclosures," he said. "The banks say they are not holding back properties."
Mark Puente can be reached at mpuente@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8459. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/markapuente.
Prices keep rising
Median prices of single-family homes in Tampa Bay this year. Figures include conventional, foreclosure and short sales.
In those six months, the median selling price of single-family homes - including conventional, foreclosure and short sales - rose 18 percent from $107,500 in January to $127,000 in June in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, according to Multiple Listing Service data.
Further analysis shows the median price of just conventional home sales rose 8.5 percent - $156,000 to $169,400 - from May to June in the five counties, the highest price since hitting $169,900 in October.
Peter Murphy, president of Tampa's Home Encounter, a full-service real estate firm, said the monthly increases are a relief for homeowners who had endured bad news for five years.
"It's the first real glimmer of housing market recovery that we've seen in Tampa Bay in quite some time," he said.
Murphy, however, stopped short of calling it a full-blown recovery. The number of sales continue to ricochet like a pinball. The 2,573 sales in June - up 2.6 percent from May - remain low for this traditionally busy buying season.
If sales were in the 3,500 range, Murphy said, a recovery could be on the horizon.
"That would be the truest indicator of recovery in the housing market," Murphy said, "and since we don't have that, I'd have to say that we're not in recovery just yet."
Leslie Griffin, managing broker at Prudential Tropical Realty in South Tampa, pointed out that median prices are still falling slightly in pockets of the region with more expensive houses.
"I think it is starting to bottom out," she said. "The lower end is stabilizing more and then it will trickle upward."
Foreclosure sales are no longer driving the market like earlier this year. They peaked at 1,096 sales in March but plummeted to 689 in June, a 37 percent drop. The median price of a foreclosure remained flat at about $75,000.
The drop in foreclosure sales is attributable to lenders putting fewer bank-owned homes on the market and foreclosure cases stalled in courts over fraudulent paperwork issues. With fewer bank-owned houses selling, experts predict that prices of conventional sales should rise.
Lenders aren't foreclosing on as many homeowners, either. Initial foreclosure filings fell 22 percent in May in the bay area, the sixth drop in seven months. New foreclosure numbers will be released Thursday.
Although the price bumps are good, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said, a prolonged period of increases is needed before declaring a full recovery.
"This thing is still oscillating fairly wildly," Snaith said. "There's no guarantee that this would be a smooth ride. I'm still hesitant to say the worst is over."
Experts still fear that homes in foreclosure and those in the shadow inventory - mortgages 90 days late and nearing foreclosure or homes already seized by a lender but not listed for sale - could flood the market later this year.
Scott Samuels of Re/Max Metro in St. Petersburg, who deals with bank-owned properties, doesn't know if a glut of bank-owned homes will flood the market. He has seen the supply of bank-owned homes dwindle in recent months.
"There is no big inventory for people wanting to buy foreclosures," he said. "The banks say they are not holding back properties."
Mark Puente can be reached at mpuente@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8459. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/markapuente.
Prices keep rising
Median prices of single-family homes in Tampa Bay this year. Figures include conventional, foreclosure and short sales.
| January | $107,500 |
| February | $112,000 |
| March | $115,000 |
| April | $120,000 |
| May | $120,000 |
| June | $127,000 |
Friday, July 8, 2011
7 of 10 renters say owning home a top priority
WASHINGTON – July 7, 2011 – According to the 2011 National Housing Pulse Survey released yesterday by the National Association of Realtors®, 72 percent of renters surveyed said owning a home is a top priority for their future, up from 63 percent in 2010.
Seven in 10 Americans also agreed that buying a home is a good financial decision, while almost two-thirds said now is a good time to purchase a home. The annual survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found that 77 percent said they would be less likely to buy a home if they were required to put down a 20 percent downpayment on the home, and 71 percent believe a 20 percent downpayment requirement could have a negative impact on the housing market.
More than half – 51 percent – of self-described “working class” homeowners as well as younger non-college graduates (51 percent), African Americans (57 percent), and Hispanic Americans (50 percent) who currently own their homes reported that a 20 percent downpayment would have prevented them from becoming homeowners.
Pulse surveys for the past eight years have consistently identified a downpayment and closing costs as homebuyers’ top obstacles that make housing unaffordable. This year, 82 percent of respondents cited these, followed by confidence in one’s job security.
The survey also found that two-thirds of Americans oppose eliminating the mortgage interest tax deduction (MID), while 73 percent believe eliminating the MID will have a negative impact on the housing market as well as the overall economy.
“The MID facilitates homeownership by reducing the carrying costs of owning a home, and it makes a real difference to hard-working American families,” NAR President Ron Phipps said. “Homeownership offers not only social benefits, but also long-term value for families, communities and the nation’s economy. We need to make sure that any changes to current programs or incentives don’t jeopardize our collective futures.”
When asked why homeownership matters to them, respondents cited stability and safety as the top reason. Long-term economic reasons such as building equity followed closely behind. On a local level, respondents said neighbors falling behind on their mortgages and the drop in home values were top concerns. Foreclosures also continue to remain a large concern, with almost half of those surveyed citing the issue as a problem in their area.
© 2011 Florida Realtors®
Seven in 10 Americans also agreed that buying a home is a good financial decision, while almost two-thirds said now is a good time to purchase a home. The annual survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found that 77 percent said they would be less likely to buy a home if they were required to put down a 20 percent downpayment on the home, and 71 percent believe a 20 percent downpayment requirement could have a negative impact on the housing market.
More than half – 51 percent – of self-described “working class” homeowners as well as younger non-college graduates (51 percent), African Americans (57 percent), and Hispanic Americans (50 percent) who currently own their homes reported that a 20 percent downpayment would have prevented them from becoming homeowners.
Pulse surveys for the past eight years have consistently identified a downpayment and closing costs as homebuyers’ top obstacles that make housing unaffordable. This year, 82 percent of respondents cited these, followed by confidence in one’s job security.
The survey also found that two-thirds of Americans oppose eliminating the mortgage interest tax deduction (MID), while 73 percent believe eliminating the MID will have a negative impact on the housing market as well as the overall economy.
“The MID facilitates homeownership by reducing the carrying costs of owning a home, and it makes a real difference to hard-working American families,” NAR President Ron Phipps said. “Homeownership offers not only social benefits, but also long-term value for families, communities and the nation’s economy. We need to make sure that any changes to current programs or incentives don’t jeopardize our collective futures.”
When asked why homeownership matters to them, respondents cited stability and safety as the top reason. Long-term economic reasons such as building equity followed closely behind. On a local level, respondents said neighbors falling behind on their mortgages and the drop in home values were top concerns. Foreclosures also continue to remain a large concern, with almost half of those surveyed citing the issue as a problem in their area.
© 2011 Florida Realtors®
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Foreign buyers help housing market
MIAMI – July 6, 2011 – Foreign buyers are helping to stoke home sales in U.S. vacation hot spots decimated by the real estate crash, especially in southern Florida.
For the 12 months ending in March, 31 percent of Florida’s home sales were to foreign buyers, up from 10 percent in 2007, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors.
In Arizona, 6 percent of sales in the same period were to foreigners. That was down from 11 percent last year but still up from 5 percent in 2007, the data show.
Foreign buyers are being enticed by low U.S. home prices, down 30 percent nationwide since peaking in 2006, and the weakened dollar, which makes their money go further. Since the start of 2006, the Canadian dollar has soared 18 percent against the U.S. dollar, while the euro has gained 22 percent, says data tracker Oanda.
U.S. home prices, meanwhile, have fallen far more than the national average in some places, down 55 percent from their peaks in Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix, and 36 percent in Los Angeles, says Zillow.com. Those are three of the most popular areas for foreigners searching for real estate on Trulia’s website, that company says.
Sales are so brisk in the Miami region now that more houses and condominiums could sell this year than in 2005, the peak year, says Ronald Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors in Coral Gables, Fla.
“International buyers have been the fuel for the Miami recovery,” Shuffield says.
About 40 percent of buyers are international vs. less than 35 percent before the bust, he estimates. Many buyers are South American investors snapping up condominiums to rent out, says Peter Zalewski of market researcher Condo Vultures.
In the Phoenix region, there are at least 20 percent more foreigners in the market now than usual, says Don Hammer, manager of Realty Executives in Paradise Valley, Ariz.
One of those shoppers is retired hedge fund manager Peter Duerr of Austria. He’s planning to buy a home in Scottsdale, having sold one there in 2005. “The U.S. is a great buy right now,” Duerr says.
The largest share of foreign buyers, 23 percent, come from Canada, the Realtors’ survey found. China followed at 9 percent. The survey includes foreigners living abroad, those in the U.S. with long-term visas and new immigrants.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-07-05-forign-buyers-real-estate_n.htm
© Copyright 2011 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Julie Schmit.
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