Archive for May, 2009

Why The Chrysler and GM Deals Will Raise Mortgage Rates

Are you enjoying the historically low interest rates? Many people are and it is a saving grace in a weak housing market. All this may change in part because how the Obama administration is treating General Motors and Chrysler.
Mortgage rates will rise because of car companies? How could that be you ask? Take a look at this [...]

30May2009 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Zoning Laws Run Amok – Home Bible Study Banned Without Permit in San Diego

Where does the power from government stop and common sense start. Obviously not in San Diego.
A San Diego zoning official has served a local pastor with a cease and desist letter. Why? Because the pastor was having an illegal religious assembly in their home. The illegal act? How about a bible study and a dinner.
Now [...]

29May2009 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Poor Treasury Sales May Indicate Mortgage Rates Going Up

The poor real estate agents and mortgage brokers out there.
They have suffered for the past few years as housing prices have dropped and buyers demand has withered, now are looking at the potential for mortgage rates to start climbing.
The federal government has been pumping money into the economy at a blistering pace with the project [...]

28May2009 | Tom Royce | 3 comments | Continued

Looking For Cheap Rent – Check Out Manhattan’s Sublet Office Space

If you are looking to start a business, or have a growing business, in the New York City region, this is a great time to move up to a great office space. The prime real estate market is in turmoil as large employers are cutting back and they need less space. The excess office space is [...]

28May2009 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Zombie Subdivisions – The Living Dead of the Real Estate Market

If you live in an area that experienced high growth in 2005 and 2006 odds are you have a zombie subdivision in your community. You know what I am talking about, roads, lights, maybe even sidewalks installed around fields of weeds and brush. Perhaps there are a couple of homes built, maybe even a face [...]

27May2009 | Tom Royce | 7 comments | Continued

Case Shiller March 2009 Numbers – Las Vegas and Phoenix Down 50 Percent

Las Vegas has joined The Real Estate Bloggers 50 Percent Club. That is my informal index of real estate markets that are down in the Case Shiller Report from July 2006, my nominal top of the market.
Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa are now down over 40 percent from July, [...]

26May2009 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

1 in 3 Buyers Now Come From The Internet

Sometimes a picture tells the story:

Obviously newspapers are nearly useless to real estate agents now. The investment that was made in advertising in the papers should be moved to the internet, either through websites or tools to get maximum exposure for the agents listings.

In real estate we have already seen the value of newspapers [...]

26May2009 | Tom Royce | 25 comments | Continued

Local Municipalities Losing Millions in Property Tax Revenue

This could be your town next. The rise in foreclosures, the dropping of property values, and the slowdown in the economy are not just affecting your bottom line, they are also hitting they are also affecting your local and state governments income.
Remember when things were going gangbusters in the economy way back in 2005? [...]

26May2009 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Memorial Day is Not All About the Picnics

It about all of those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the values that we hold so dear.
Few times have I been awestruck in my life.
One of those times was while traveling in France in the Champaign region. I came around a corner near a small town on a narrow twisting [...]

25May2009 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued