Daily Archives: April 9, 2013

Don’t underestimate the impact of housing market on economy | Mt Kisco NY Homes

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When real estate is discussed, the conversation most often turns to the number of homes sold, the median price in the area, available inventory or pending sales. All of those items and the trends they represent are important, but rarely does anyone take a look at the overall impact of the real estate market on the economy.

Economic development efforts sometimes overlook the key impact of the housing market.

Let’s take a look at the economic impact of single-family homes in Greater Nashville just so far this year (not even including condominiums) using the number of closings and median prices already reported. Based on the number of homes sold in the first quarter, at the median price reported in each of the first three months of this year, there have been more than $825 million in residential real estate sales in the Greater Nashville area.

In addition to that, whenever someone purchases a home, there is a significant amount of money put into the economy through the add-on purchases such as appliances, furniture, flooring, cabinetry, lighting, window treatments, landscaping, lawn service and much more.

via tennessean.com

Cemetery Plots In Major Chinese Cities Now Cost More Than Housing | North Salem NY Homes

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Prices of cemetery plots have soared above already exorbitant housing prices in major Chinese cities, the People’s Daily reports, and they are out of reach for many ordinary families. Paradoxically, while some inexpensive plots do exist, they do not sell well because many Chinese believe that fulfilling filial duties requires purchasing expensive plots for vanity.

Recently, the Chinese celebrated Qingming, an annual occasion for honoring the dead in each family by sweeping their tombs. At the time, the soaring price of burying the dead came under increased scrutiny.

via ibtimes.com

Permit check critical when buying home | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Most houses are inspected by a home inspector before they’re sold. However, home inspectors usually don’t inspect the permit record on a house. To be sure you have the complete picture, it’s wise to go to the local planning department and check the permit history on the home you’re buying before your inspection contingency is due.

Why is this important? Some planning departments require that any open or expired permits that haven’t received final approval must be completed before a new permit on the property will be issued. In one case, a seller took out a permit to replace the roof. He never had the job done and the permit expired.

The new owners applied for a permit and were denied. They needed to pay to reopen the roof permit and complete the job before they could obtain a permit to do additional work on the house. This could add a considerable cost to your improvement budget.

You might be able to file a claim against the seller, depending on the circumstances. However, he may not have been aware of the expired permit if a previous seller took out the permit and your seller didn’t check the permit record when he purchased the property.

via inman.com

Subprime lending, 2013 edition | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Think subprime mortgages have gone away? Think again, we have one lurking within FHA, with features that are eerily similar to those of the private market that went into hyper-drive in the 2000s, and collapsed in 2007.

The central features of a subprime market are:

  • Expensive marketing directed to borrowers with very poor credentials and few options.
  • Liberal qualification requirements that allow some of these weak borrowers to be approved.
  • Overcharges, with profit margins much higher than those available on other mortgages.
  • High default rates.

Expensive marketing: The techniques used in the two recent subprime markets to target potential customers are the same. A letter I received recently described “an event sponsored by a real estate company/mortgage company to help people that have had a foreclosure or short sale get back into a house. We did a short sale on our house about two years ago. While there our qualifications were checked, and a few days later they approved us.” The approval was for an FHA. Other than that, this letter could have been written 10 years ago.

Liberal qualification requirements: The private subprime market depended on the substantial liberalization of underwriting requirements that arose out of the housing bubble during 2000-2007. The prevailing assumption was that rising house prices would convert the otherwise weak subprime loans into good loans — which they did, until the bubble burst, at which point the default rate ballooned.

via inman.com