Despite the fact that Americans overwhelmingly support homeownership, legislative and regulatory proposals now under consideration would greatly harm homeowners, home buyers, the housing market, and the nation’s economy, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). To that end, NAHB has launched a new website, www.ProtectHomeownership.com, to bring attention to the threats to homeownership ... [Read More]
Despite the fact that Americans overwhelmingly support homeownership, legislative and regulatory proposals now under consideration would greatly harm homeowners, home buyers, the housing market, and the nation’s economy, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). To that end, NAHB has launched a new website, www.ProtectHomeownership.com, to bring attention to the threats to homeownership and inspire the public to take action to protect it.
Tax, legislative, and regulatory policies currently under consideration would scale back or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction and make mortgages and small business loans unaffordable and even more difficult to obtain.
ProtectHomesownership.com explains some of these threats and documents homeownership’s importance to individual households and to local, state, and national economies through an FAQ, poll data, economic analysis, and reports.
The site also provides multiple ways for the public to take positive action to protect this very important aspect of American life. These include an online petition urging policymakers to keep housing a national priority, information about how to participate in homeownership rallies that are being held in a number of communities in 2012, and links to social media communities on Facebook.com/ProtectHomeownership and Twitter.com/4Homeownership.
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=0NnYhybBaVL82sjh-4RSeA
The Wall Street Journal Former Fannie Mae CEO, speaking on a panel at a conference, says that an influx of investors into the housing market – rather than government policy – was the main cause of the housing market’s collapse. Read the full story http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/04/20/raines-dont-blame-homeowners-government-for-housing-bust/ [Read More]
The Washington Post With home prices at historic lows and rental rates on the rise, a growing number of investors with cash to spare are seeking lucrative returns by gobbling up foreclosures in distressed markets across the country and turning them into rentals. Read the full story http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/housing-downturn-spurs-a-boom-in-foreclosure-to-rental-conversions/2012/04/24/gIQAFWUZeT_story.html?hpid=z2 [Read More]
The Wall Street Journal Former Fannie Mae CEO, speaking on a panel at a conference, says that an influx of investors into the housing market – rather than government policy – was the main cause of the housing market’s collapse. Read the full story http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/04/20/raines-dont-blame-homeowners-government-for-housing-bust/ [Read More]
Mirroring the uneven economic recovery, the housing market is expected to move in a slow, gradual upward path in 2012, while encountering its share of speed bumps along the road, according to a forecast presented by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) on the housing and economic outlook. While the latest monthly housing data ... [Read More]
Mirroring the uneven economic recovery, the housing market is expected to move in a slow, gradual upward path in 2012, while encountering its share of speed bumps along the road, according to a forecast presented by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) on the housing and economic outlook.
While the latest monthly housing data have shown signs of a slight softening, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said this is more reflective of typical month-to-month volatility in the numbers and unusual seasonal factors than they are an indication of any significant downward trend in the broader housing market.
Crowe noted that numerous other fundamentals remain positive for housing at this time, including demographic factors (with pent-up household demand expected to ramp up and echo-boomers heading into their prime household formation ages), historically favorable mortgage rates that are not expected to move higher than 5 percent by the end of next year, more than 100 local markets currently listed on the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index, and the fact that house price-to-income ratio has now returned to its historical average of about three-to-one versus the nearly five-to-one to which it had previously risen during the height of the housing boom.
However, he cautioned that housing still continues to face formidable challenges of its own — such as rising foreclosures, persistently tight lending standards for home buyers and builders and difficulties in obtaining accurate appraisals. Moreover, disappointing job growth numbers in March and uncertainty in the European economy are undermining prospects for a vigorous recovery.
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=FZiEfAGjjs2QkvLzlEYLcw
Yahoo! Real Estate Signaling that housing may be in recovery mode, median list prices for resale homes jumped about 5.6 percent to $189,900 from a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Read the full story http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/report-signals-start-of-broad-based-housing-recovery.html [Read More]
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes declined to 25 in April, the first decline in seven months, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The decline brings the index back to where it was in January, which was the highest level since 2007. The NAHB/Wells Fargo ... [Read More]
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes declined to 25 in April, the first decline in seven months, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The decline brings the index back to where it was in January, which was the highest level since 2007.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair,” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average,” or “low to very low.” Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
Each of the index’s components registered declines in April. The component gauging current sales conditions and the component gauging sales expectations in the next six months each fell three points, to 26 and 32, respectively, while the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers fell four points to 18.
Regionally, the HMI results were somewhat mixed in April, with the West, which includes California, remaining steady at 32.
http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?sectionID=122&newsID=15221
The Sacramento Bee The president of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® explains why the government’s bulk sales plan for foreclosures is not the right solution for California’s housing market and economic recovery. Read the full story http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/25/4289176/bulk-sales-of-foreclosed-homes.html [Read More]
The Sacramento Bee
The president of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® explains why the government’s bulk sales plan for foreclosures is not the right solution for California’s housing market and economic recovery.
Read the full story http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/25/4289176/bulk-sales-of-foreclosed-homes.html
