Archive for Tom Royce

Cash-In Refinancing Gaining in Popularity

Do my eyes deceive me? Is America slowly climbing out of the debt cycle that has come close to choking it in recent years. (ed. For everyone but the government it has…) The American consumer is shying away from home equity loans and cash out refinancing on their mortgages and are now bringing money to [...]

4Mar2010 | Tom Royce | 3 comments | Continued

Does Residential Real Estate Market Face a Double Dip?

There is concern that the residential real estate market could be facing the dreaded double dip. To those who are not stock market mavens this essentially means that the short recovery we have seen will be followed by another downturn.
The idea was brought up by Brian Taylor of the hedge fund Pine River. And [...]

3Mar2010 | Tom Royce | 9 comments | Continued

Warren Buffet Predicts Real Estate Rebound — In 2011

If the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, is correct the residential real estate market will rebound in 2011. Buffet, in his letter to Berkshire Hathaway stockholders, thinks that the demand curve will turn at that state and the residential markets will start to improve.
I am sure this news is not what real estate agents [...]

1Mar2010 | Tom Royce | 8 comments | Continued

Obama Looks To Stop ALL Foreclosures Without Government Review

Do these people have a clue?
Are they trying to destroy the market?
Is there nothing that the government thinks that they can not fix?
(No, this is not an old Batman sitcom introduction, I am being dead serious.)
The Obama administration is looking to stop all foreclosures until they go through a review by the Home Affordable Modification [...]

25Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 9 comments | Continued

New Home Sales Drop 11.2 Percent In January

I guess the stimulus extension is not doing it’s job…
Ugh.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales dropped 11.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 309,000 units, the lowest level on records going back nearly a half century. The big drop was a surprise to economists who had expected sales [...]

24Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Demand Hits 13 Year Low For Mortgage Applications

A combination of weather and low demand has led to a 13 year low in demand for mortgage applications according to The Mortgage Bankers Association. Demand for mortgages has not been this low since 1997.
Hopefully the market slowdown is a statistical blip due to the harsh winter that so much of the country has been [...]

24Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Large Increase in Short Sales For January 2010

Short sales of residential real estate, homes typically worth less than the bank is owned, are rising dramatically as a percentage of all real estate transactions. The Federal tax incentive had kept the numbers lower through November but it seems those buyers are now out of the marketplace.
With the overhang of mortgages not being paid [...]

23Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Buyers Looking To Buys Houses To Fit More Than One Generation

If you are looking for a new home there is a very good chance you are thinking of more than your immediate family. A report from Coldwell Banker shows that 37 percent of new home buyers are looking for a larger home to support multiple generations.
With the economy in rough patch and families not [...]

22Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Man Bulldozes Home Before Foreclosure Sale

A Moscow, Ohio man, Terry Hoskins, was losing his $350,000 home to foreclosure over a $160,000 debt. After a long fight with the bank, including the bank rejecting a $170,000 sale, he had enough.
So he bulldozed the home. Crushed it. Destroyed it.

Hoskins said he’d gotten a $170,000 offer from someone to pay off [...]

20Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 10 comments | Continued

Relief or Pandering – Obama Comes To Vegas To Help With Housing Crisis

Now it is no surprise where my politics lean if you read this site regularly, but I promise you I would cast just as much skepticism if a Republican President acted the same way.
President Obama is coming to Las Vegas for the day and is going to fix the housing crisis. With his sycophantic [...]

19Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued