Commercial real estate vacancy rates have already peaked or will soon top out, though rents are likely to continue to fall, a realtors group said on Monday. View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

Following are real estate transactions over $5,000 as listed in records of the Niagara County clerk’s office for the week ending Oct. 22. •Lower Mountain Road, Jennifer A. Deering; Jeffrey A. Deering to Steven J. Zaharkin; Michelle L. Zaharkin, $310,000. View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

Had your fill of turkey salad sandwiches yet? Still wondering what, exactly, was in that Jell-O salad your sister-in-law brought to dinner Thursday? Then chew on these tidbits from my first-ever international edition: View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

Value priced Southwest Florida waterfront real estate for sale is now an easy search for Seattle. A new real estate search engine with the most powerful and comprehensive search abilities of any system designed to date is now available at TellMeSomethingIDontKnowRealEstate.com. Seattle, WA (Vocus) November 25, 2010 Seattle can now search Southwest Florida real estate for sale MLS listings using … View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

The Guam real estate market surged upward in the third quarter of this year, boosted by buildup-related transactions, climbing 50 percent higher than the same quarter last year, according to a recent real estate market report. View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

On this day to give thanks, we offer you some local input on the question: “What’s a trend to be thankful for in real estate?” “This will most likely go against what real estate professional want to have out there but I am thankful that the… View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

Real estate investment trusts are a great place to earn high yields, and a look across tickerspy’s eight REIT sub-sector Indexes shows the majority of them are paying out 4% or more. View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

RISMEDIA, November 24, 2010—During my years at PHH Mortgage and Realogy, I had the privilege to help build some of the most trusted brands in real estate, including Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA, Better Homes and Gardens, and Sotheby’s International Realty. My goal was

always simple—to align national franchises with the best brokers and agents who understood the value of customer relationships.

During that time, I never gave private mortgage insurance or private MI much thought. When I did, I viewed it as many of you probably do—a necessary monthly payment required on conventional, low downpayment loans. But as the chief franchise officer for private mortgage insurer Radian Guaranty Inc., I have the opportunity to view private MI from a different perspective.

Now the phrase, “If I knew then what I know now,” comes to mind. If during my days with Realogy, I could have shared that the flexible payment options of private MI can help low downpayment, creditworthy buyers lower their monthly payments or increase their purchasing power without increasing monthly payments, I could have given the agents in our franchises a tremendous competitive advantage.

Today, the majority of buyers without a 20% downpayment are getting FHA loans. For some of those buyers, FHA was the way to go, but for those buyers with FICO scores of 720 or higher and 5% to 15% to put down, there is little doubt they overpaid for their insurance and had their purchasing power significantly reduced. This is even truer with the FHA’s new pricing structure.

I realize asking buyers to come up with 5% for a downpayment rather than the FHA’s 3.5% can seem too much to ask, but when they learn a conventional loan with private MI can increase their purchasing power by 15% or save them 11% on their monthly payment (based on a $250,000 loan), it can make all the difference in putting their dream home within reach.

Consider the flexibility private MI can provide both buyers and sellers when negotiating sales price: lower private MI rates mean the buyer may now be able to afford a home they previously thought was out of their price range, and a seller may be able to accept a slightly lower offer to close the deal, since they can affordably put less than 20% down on their next home.

I’m sharing this with you, not only because I’m part of the Radian team, but because I’ve been in your role and I know this knowledge can truly benefit you as well.

If you solely follow the market’s FHA trend, you are missing out on options that could help you find more leads and sell more homes. By simply asking your mortgage loan professional (or having your buyer ask) if a conventional loan with private MI could make sense, you could better serve your buyer and make the sale.

Brien McMahon is chief franchise officer of Radian Guaranty Inc. More information may be found at www.radian.biz.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Have you heard about RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN)? RREIN is an elite network of leading real estate companies dedicated to providing consumers and their agents with leading real estate information, and committed to the belief that Information Share Equals Market Share. Having only launched this past June 2010, the RREIN network is already comprised of 40 leading brokerages, which make up 575 offices, 30,000 agents, 167,000 closings and represents over $41 billion in transactions. How can RREIN help your recruiting efforts and differentiate your company today? For more information, email rrein@rismedia.com.

Copyright© 2010 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

Don’t miss these headlines on RISMedia.com:
When Times Are Tough, Don’t Stop Giving – Corporate Responsibility and Goodwill Don’t Go Unnoticed
Op-Ed: Botox for the Mind – Now’s the Time to Reinvent Yourself from the Inside Out

View full post on RISMedia » Home Buying 101

The International Society of Primerus Law Firms has formed the Real Estate Practice Group, which will provide in-house counsel “hands-on” representation by seasoned lawyers without the large law firm price tag. Grand Rapids, MI (Vocus/PRWEB) November 22, 2010 The International Society of Primerus Law Firms (Primerus) is pleased to announce the formation of the Real Estate Practice Group . This … View full post on real estate – Yahoo! News Search Results

RISMEDIA, November 17, 2010—The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released its annual report to Congress on the financial status of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, FHA’s principal insurance account that includes all single-family and reverse mortgage activity. FHA’s study finds that since last year, the capital reserve ratio held steady, insurance claims declined significantly, and the economic value of FHA’s single-family insurance program grew by more than $1 billion—from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $4.7 billion in 2010.

Like last year’s report to Congress, this accounting shows that FHA is sustaining significant losses from loans insured prior to 2009 and its capital reserve ratio remains below the congressionally mandated threshold of 2% of all insurance-in-force. However, the report concludes that under conservative assumptions of future growth of home prices, and without any new policy actions, FHA’s capital ratio is expected to approach 2% in 2014 and exceed the statutory requirement in 2015.

“It’s clear that FHA is in a stronger position today than we were just one year ago,” said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. “While we are not yet completely out of the woods, based on the evidence we’re seeing, FHA is weathering the economic storm while helping to create a firm foundation for our nation’s recovery.”

FHA’s capital reserve ratio measures reserves in excess of those needed to cover projected losses over the next 30 years. The independent actuarial reviews of the MMI Fund estimate FHA’s capital reserve ratio to be 0.50% of total insurance-in-force this year, falling fractionally from 0.53% in 2009. The difference is primarily attributed to the use of much more conservative assumptions regarding future house price growth than were used last year, which also resulted in an $8.5 billion decrease in economic value. However, that decrease was offset by a variety of factors, including an $8.7 billion increase in value due to better credit quality, loan performance, and the premium increase implemented earlier this year.

Due in large part to the performance of recently originated loans, FHA’s total capital resources increased by $1.5 billion since last year, to $33.3 billion, and are at their highest level ever—$5.5 billion greater than predicted last year. If the economy were to suffer a further significant downturn, recovery of the capital ratio could be delayed beyond the projected timeframe. However, even in the actuaries’ worst-case stress test scenario, FHA’s capital resources remain sufficient to cover projected claim losses and FHA would not require a taxpayer subsidy, an improvement over last year’s assessment and due to new loans having higher credit quality than had been anticipated.

Loans insured before 2009 are responsible for 70% of the expected single family loan losses. Though they are now prohibited, so-called “seller-financed down payment assistance loans” produced $6.6 billion in claims to-date and may ultimately cost FHA $13.6 billion. Without these seller-financed loans, FHA’s capital ratio would be above the congressionally mandated 2% threshold. Conversely, loans insured since 2009 earned $4.8 billion in economic value to the MMI Fund and are estimated to generate $28.3 billion in economic value by 2016. Expected economic value of FY 2010 and FY 2011 loans alone are estimated to reach $11 billion.

Insurance claim expenses in FY 2010 were 21% lower than predicted last year. Even before last year’s actuarial study, FHA management began instituting sweeping reforms to strengthen the MMI Fund. These policies have improved loan quality, strengthened lender enforcement, and helped to protect future performance. As a result, the FY 2010 and future books-of-business are expected to generate significant amounts of net capital resources that will help pay losses on earlier books and rebuild the capital position of the MMI Fund.

Since July 2009, FHA implemented the most sweeping reforms to its credit policies, risk management, lender enforcement, and consumer protections in its history. FHA hired its first chief risk officer and established a permanent risk office to expand FHA’s capacity to assess financial and operational risk, perform more sophisticated data analysis, and respond to market developments. FHA also increased enforcement of its lenders, changed the approval process making lenders liable for oversight of their mortgage brokers, and strengthened FHA’s lender approval requirements.

In addition, FHA eliminated approval for loan correspondents and increased net worth requirements for lenders. FHA introduced a new premium structure that is more in line with private mortgage insurers’ pricing, and is estimated to provide approximately $300 million per month of additional capital to the MMI Fund. Furthermore, FHA has changed its credit score and down payment requirements to ensure that FHA provides access to borrowers who have historically performed well. Specifically, a minimum down payment of 10% is now required of borrowers with credit scores below 580 and applicants with credit scores below 500 are no longer eligible for FHA insurance.

Over the past year, FHA:

-Served more than 1.75 million households by insuring $319 billion in single-family mortgages. This volume was second only to FY 2009.

-Enabled 882,000 families to become homeowners for the first time. This represents one-third of all first-time buyers in the nation
-Helped more than 450,000 families avoid foreclosure through loss mitigation actions.
-Helped 556,000 families to refinance their mortgage at lower interest rates, saving households an average of more than $140 per month.
-Provided access to credit for close to 40% of purchase mortgages including 60% of all African-American and Hispanic home buyers.
-Helped more than 450,000 families avoid foreclosure through loss mitigation actions.

For more information, visit www.hud.gov.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Have you heard about RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN)? RREIN is an elite network of leading real estate companies dedicated to providing consumers and their agents with leading real estate information, and committed to the belief that Information Share Equals Market Share. Having only launched this past June 2010, the RREIN network is already comprised of 40 leading brokerages, which make up 575 offices, 30,000 agents, 167,000 closings and represents over $41 billion in transactions. How can RREIN help your recruiting efforts and differentiate your company today? For more information, email rrein@rismedia.com.

Copyright© 2010 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

For more real estate related headlines on RISMedia.com, check out:
Tips to Put a Successful Prospect Marketing Plan in Place
Real Estate Agents Turn to Social Media to Connect with Clients

View full post on RISMedia » Home Buying 101