The Real Estate Round-Up

Over 13,000 Realtors gathered in Washington DC on Thursday May 17th to show solidarity in the belief of the dream of home ownership. It was part of the Rally to Protect the American Dream. Throughout the week Realtors from around the country are meeting with legislators, policy makers, and other officials to discuss issues that impact the housing market.

Nationally, it looks like the housing market is improving. Housing starts are up over 30% from a year ago. Single family completions are up over 20%, Permits for new construction are up over 23%, Serious Delinquent Loans are down (slightly) and Mortgage Interest Rates are at NEW LOWS.

Now's the Time to Buy! I know it's been said before but really Now IS the Time to Be in the Market for a New Home! If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about homeownership forward them this blog post or tell them to visit www.ezhomesearch.net/save/.

Have you considered a career in real estate? We have a pre-licensing class starting soon. Visit www.ezrecareers.com and discover how EZ Home Search Real Estate is Your Gateway into the World of Real Estate.

For more about the Realtors Rally to Protect the American Dream Click Here.

Before I get into todays exciting news for Fall River Home Buyers I want to wish all the Moms out there a very Happy Mothers Day. This means you MOM! And you too honey!

All right now on with the show.

A local lender is pulling out all the stops when it comes to helping Fall River home buyers get the home of there dreams. They have a fantastic new program that could save you thousands! It's all covered in todays video!

 Spring 2012 Stats Greater Fall River Association of Realtors

Spring 2011 Stats Greater Fall River Association of Realtors

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If your meeting us for the first time you can subscribe for free below, and please forward and share this post anyone you feel would appreciate it. Thanks! Chris Terry

According to Lender Processing Services there are over 2,000,000 properties in foreclosure inventory. These are properties that have been foreclosed and not sold, either currently on the market waiting for a buyer or waiting to be put on the market. In addition, it was reported by CoreLogic that at the end of the 4th quarter 2011 there were 11.1 million homeowners underwater.

The mortgage debt relief act of 2007, which gives qualified homeowners a break from paying taxes on forgiven debt, whether it be from a short sale, a foreclosure, or a loan modification, is set to expire at the end of this year. So if you are considering a short sale, a loan modification or are starring down the barrel of a foreclosure your window of opportunity to benefit from this act is expiring soon!

Consider this, if your forgiven debt is $100,000, depending on your tax bracket you could be looking at $15,000 to $35,000 in taxes owed on that debt!

The good news, President Obama's budget does have a provision to extend the act through 2014, but Congress may not decide that it is as crucial as extending tax breaks that have already expired at the end of last year.

For FREE online help visit http://www.teamezreo.com. And for details regarding the 2007 mortgage debt relief act visit: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html

Christopher Terry, broker/owner of EZ Home Search Real Estate, has been helping home buyers and sellings in the Greater Fall River area and South Coast MA and RI for more than 20 years. Visit chris online at www.ezhomesearch.net or www.christerry.com.  

Is or was your mortgage loan with Wells Fargo, GMAC, Bank of America, Ally, Citi, or JPMorganChase then you might benefit from the recent 25 Billion dollar settlement with 49 states attorney generals. For detail watch this video or click the link below.

http://nationalmortgagesettlement.com/

Here we try to entertain you with some informative and funny videos. Plus provide you with tips and services for happy, healthy and wealthy living.

If your meeting us for the first time you can subscribe for free below, and please forward and share this post anyone you feel would appreciate it. Thanks! Chris Terry

Special thanks once again to Frank and Brian of the Real Estate Video Box for this informative video.

Here's another great video from Frank and Brian of the real estate video box. This time the discussion is about seller concessions and how it could be just want is needed to make you a homeowner.

Real Estate in the Greater Fall River area is very competitive. Homebuyers have alot of choices so if you are thinking of selling your home consider offering a sellers concession to assist potential buyers with the purchase of your home. This simple strategy can help separate your home from the crowd and make it more appealing to homebuyers.

Here we try to entertain you with some informative and funny videos. Plus provide you with some homeowner tips and services for happy, healthy and wealthy living.

If your meeting us for the first time you can subscribe for free below, and please forward and share this post anyone you feel would appreciate it. Thanks! Chris Terry

Thank you Frank and Brian of The Real Estate Video Box for sharing this video.

To learn more about the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) - Click Here. You can also find links to other helpful homeowner programs by Clicking Here.

Here we try to entertain you with some informative and funny videos. Plus provide you with some homeowner tips and services for happy, healthy and wealthy living.

If your meeting us for the first time you can subscribe for free below, and please forward and share this post anyone you feel would appreciate it. Thanks! Chris Terry

Thank you Frank and Brian of The Real Estate Video Box for sharing this video.

Investors continue to find real estate an attractive investment in spite of all the "doom and gloom" in the market. A report from Zillow looking at the rental market shows an average rent increase in 2011 of 3%, while home prices fell an average of 4.6%. See article here. And when someone like Warren Buffett says to biuy homes people start to listen! If you haven't seen my video BLOG post "Warren Buffett says buy homes now!" Check it out.

So if the market is so bad why are so many investors so interested? In 2012 cash buyers made up more than 30% of all transactions. Let's look at some trends and a little history. Maybe these investors are on to something.

The above chart essentially shows two housing bottoms. The red line represents a bottom in residential investment, the blue a bottom in home prices. We know that a bottom in prices comes sometime after a bottom in investment. The chart shows that a flatening out or a possible bottom for residential investment has occurred. If history repeats itself we should see home prices level off before starting a slow recovery. This is the time frame where investment in residential real estate is high. 

We have just experienced the greatest decline in national home values in history and guess what? We are still here! Homeownership is still the single greatest wealth builder for the average family and investors know it. They know that as people start to feel better about their situation in life more and more will look toward homeownership. And increased demand will fuel home appreciation.  

If you follow our BLOG you might have seen this graph before but it is worth repeating. 70% of our economy is the consumer. And consumers make decisions based on how they feel. And Hope is the first step to recovery.

So, with cash buyers making up more than 30% of all transactions how can you compete? The best advice is to find a real estate professional to guide you through the process. If you are in the Greater Fall River/Bristol County Ma area check out our FREE Home Buyer Consultation service at http://www.ezhomesearch.net/save. We'll help you get on track to making the best purchase decision possible.

Chris Terry is broker/owner of EZ Home Search Real Estate in Fall River MA. He can be reached at 508-646-4777 X105 or at chris@ezhomesearch.net and on the web at www.christerry.com.

If you have been paying any attention to real estate you probably have heard the realtor slogan "Now's the Time to Buy". But the question is "Is it really?" The slogan has been pushed for more than 2+ years and personally I believe that homeownership is the fastest path to wealth and prosperity for most of us. (See previous blog post of a 10 year comparison of home prices in Fall River.) But back to the BIG question: Is Now Really the Time to Buy?

Let's look at where we are in this latest real estate cycle:

Based on this graph it's possible that we could be past the point of maximum financial opportunity. This is probably why 31% of all sales nationally are buyers putting down more than 20%. Most of these buyers are investors looking to capitalize on current market conditions. (See my Blog post: Warren Buffet Says Buy Now!) Don't worry, opportunity has not passed you by, after all most homebuyers do not make large financial decisions during the "Despondency/Depression" stage of the cycle.

Inventory Chart:

Basic law of supply and demand. More Inventory/Fewer Buyers = Low Prices. Lower Inventory/More Buyers = Higher Prices. Looks like we are headed toward the reduced inventory stage of the cycle. Combine that with low interest rates and an improved economy and price appreciation should follow.

The forecast for the next 2 years indicates increase in inventory as the economy improves with more home starts, more home sales as more buyers enter the market and home price appreciation. Interest rates are expected to remain steady although raising to near 5% in 2013.

Can you guess the bottom? Probably not, neither can I. However blue chip economic indicators from January 2012 indicated that there is a 75.6% chance that property values will bottom in 2012.

So, back to the BIG question: Is now the time to buy? If you have been on the fence waiting for the bottom looks like economic indicators say YES. But only you can answer that question.

I can tell you from my point of view: "The futures so bright, I've gotta wear shades!"

Here we try to entertain you with some informative and funny videos. Plus provide you with some homeowner tips and services for happy, healthy and wealthy living.

If your meeting us for the first time you can subscribe for free below, and please forward and share this post anyone you feel would appreciate it. Thanks! Chris Terry

Thank you Frank and Brian of The Real Estate Video Box for sharing this video!

A FREE Energy Audit? I know what you're thinking, nothing is FREE. There must be a catch! I know I was sceptical. But I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to save money on my heating and electric bills. So I called and I'm glad I did! If you own property and are tired of outrageous energy bills you should call too.  

It was simple. I called, set an appointment, they came down and went through the entire home. They changed light bulbs to high efficency bulbs (free), they gave me two programable thermostats (free), then they spent time with me reviewing the programs that were available that I might qualify for. It took time but was well worth it.

Interested in know more? Not ready to pick up the phone? No problem, check out the website http://www.masssave.com/.

Want to save when buying and financing a home? If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home and likes the idea of saving thousands, even tens of thousands I'll show you how. FREE with No-obligation. 

SAVE Thousands on ANY HOME! Click Here for Details!