WASHINGTON – Nov. 10, 2009 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) announced today that it acquired technology to create a database of all properties in the U.S. According to NAR, it will help Realtors better serve clients who expect immediate information.
The technology acquisition includes licensed data and secured data aggregation services from LPS Real Estate Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lender Processing Services Inc. Using that data, NAR will develop the Realtors Property Resource™ (RPR), an information database that includes all the 147 million property parcels in the country. NAR is plans to launch RPR in second quarter 2010.
“Realtors are the first, best source for real estate information, and the RPR is another emphatic feature to that resource,” says NAR President Charles McMillan. “RPR will give Realtors nationwide data on all properties at their fingertips so they can respond quickly to consumers interested in residential and commercial real estate. This is exciting news and a terrific NAR member benefit. NAR is committed to keep Realtors central to the transaction and to the buying and selling experience with their clients and customers.”
“These acquisitions will allow Realtor interests to control the program and the content,” says NAR CEO Dale Stinton. “Realtors need to respond quickly to today’s tech-savvy consumers, and the “RPR provides a means for multiple listing services (MLS), commercial information exchanges (CIEs) and real estate brokerage business models to support the Realtor community, rather than requiring Realtors to purchase data aggregated by third parties.”
According to Stinton, RPR is not a national MLS, and will carry no offers of cooperation and compensation. “It is a private, NAR members-only benefit,” he says. “The assets acquired by NAR will be directed through a wholly owned subsidiary corporation, Realtors Property Resource, LLC.”
Once operational, RPR will provide nationwide access to public records, such as tax and assessment data, liens, zoning, permits, environmental information; and information on neighborhoods, such as school district and community demographics; along with advanced search features for property searchers, as well as market-to-market comparisons and referral opportunities not currently available.
According to NAR, RPR will develop business strategies and will complement, not compete with, MLSs and CIEs. While many MLS and CIE systems provide a range of services, no two are alike. RPR is designed to support local MLS and CIE models to create a common experience for agents and brokerages.
RPR will have many partners, including the Florida Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors, offering a number of technology applications, which will be incorporated within the RPR.
“The Florida Realtors and its 122,000 members are excited about the launch of Realtors Property Resource, which we believe will be a valuable addition to the toolkit for Realtor business success,” says John Fridlington, Florida Realtors EVP. “The Florida association and its business subsidiary also look forward to discussing potential partnerships to further enhance the value of RPR to Realtors nationwide.”
The management team of RPR includes CEO Dale Ross, co-founder of the Metropolitan Regional Information System, the country’s largest regional MLS; President Marty Frame, former General Manager of Cyberhomes; Senior Vice President of Industry Relations Mona Steen, former SVP with Cyberhomes; and Jeff Young, NAR director of the Realtors Property Resource and 2008 president of the Michigan Association of Realtors.
For more information on the Realtors Property Resource, visit www.realtor.org/about_nar/realtors_property_resource.
© 2009 Florida Realtors®
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Mortgage bankers claim better FHA condo rules
WASHINGTON – Nov. 5, 2009 – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) previously announced a tightening of the rules for condo mortgage approvals, but delayed implementation and a formal announcement from Oct. 1 to Nov. 2, and then Dec. 7, 2010.
After meetings with FHA officials, however, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has said that rules governing condo mortgage approvals will be less onerous than first announced in an article published by Inman News.
According to Faramarz Moeen-Ziai, a mortgage banker at San Ramon, Calif.-based Bank of Commerce Mortgage, the most important change is the rule on recertification. As first announced, a condo currently certified for the FHA program would have to be recertified. That change could add a time-consuming burden to condo sales. Under the new rules, according to MBA, existing certifications would still be valid.
“If what the MBA says is the deal, (the new rules are) essentially a non-event,” says Moeen-Ziai. “The big deal for us wasn’t the guideline changes – guideline changes happen all the time. It was wiping the slate clean on all previously approved condo projects’ and requiring re-certification.”
The FHA, as announced by the MBA, will also insure up to 50 percent of a condo project’s loans, and up to 100 percent in “well established” condo developments. Earlier versions called for FHA to approve up to 30 percent of loans.
However, MBA says that some things will change. FHA, for example will require that owner-occupants must inhabit at least 50 percent of a condo association’s units.
The FHA has neither confirmed nor denied the MBA announcement.
Source: Inman News, Nov. 5, 2009, Matt Carter
© 2009 Florida Realtors®
After meetings with FHA officials, however, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has said that rules governing condo mortgage approvals will be less onerous than first announced in an article published by Inman News.
According to Faramarz Moeen-Ziai, a mortgage banker at San Ramon, Calif.-based Bank of Commerce Mortgage, the most important change is the rule on recertification. As first announced, a condo currently certified for the FHA program would have to be recertified. That change could add a time-consuming burden to condo sales. Under the new rules, according to MBA, existing certifications would still be valid.
“If what the MBA says is the deal, (the new rules are) essentially a non-event,” says Moeen-Ziai. “The big deal for us wasn’t the guideline changes – guideline changes happen all the time. It was wiping the slate clean on all previously approved condo projects’ and requiring re-certification.”
The FHA, as announced by the MBA, will also insure up to 50 percent of a condo project’s loans, and up to 100 percent in “well established” condo developments. Earlier versions called for FHA to approve up to 30 percent of loans.
However, MBA says that some things will change. FHA, for example will require that owner-occupants must inhabit at least 50 percent of a condo association’s units.
The FHA has neither confirmed nor denied the MBA announcement.
Source: Inman News, Nov. 5, 2009, Matt Carter
© 2009 Florida Realtors®
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension and Expansion
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted (98-0) to pass a bill which extended and expanded the federal homebuyer tax credit. Today, the U.S. House of Representatives did the same (403-12). It's now on its way to the President for his signature which is expected to happen as early as tomorrow!
To summarize:
Amount: Up to $8,000
Who: First-time homebuyers -- same definition as current law
Amount: Up to $6,500
Who: Repeat purchasers. Must have used previous home as a principal residence for 5 of the 8 previous years.
Income Limits: $125,000 for single filers/$225,000 for joint filers. Same for both first-time and repeat/move-up buyers.
Time Frame: December 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010
(also includes a 60 Day extension if binding contract is in place by April 30, 2010)
Limitation on cost purchased home: $800,000
Anti-fraud measures have been added.
DANIELLE BLAKE
Vice President of Housing and Government Affairs
(RAMB) Realtor Assoc. of Greater Miami & the Beaches
700 S. Royal Poinciana Blvd.
Miami, Florida 33166
To summarize:
Amount: Up to $8,000
Who: First-time homebuyers -- same definition as current law
Amount: Up to $6,500
Who: Repeat purchasers. Must have used previous home as a principal residence for 5 of the 8 previous years.
Income Limits: $125,000 for single filers/$225,000 for joint filers. Same for both first-time and repeat/move-up buyers.
Time Frame: December 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010
(also includes a 60 Day extension if binding contract is in place by April 30, 2010)
Limitation on cost purchased home: $800,000
Anti-fraud measures have been added.
DANIELLE BLAKE
Vice President of Housing and Government Affairs
(RAMB) Realtor Assoc. of Greater Miami & the Beaches
700 S. Royal Poinciana Blvd.
Miami, Florida 33166
IS this the light at the end of the tunnel?
Emerging Trends: "The Bottom is Near!" Predict CRE Forecasters
Most Market Forecasters See a Pricing Bottom Next Year, and at Least One Prognosticator Suggests that Transaction Pricing for Institutional Investment-Quality Real Estate May Have Already Bottomed in the Third Quarter
By Randyl Drummer
November 4, 2009
Having reviewed the next round of commercial real estate surveys, forecasts and emerging trends issued this past week for 2010, about the only good news appears to be that the market has hit bottom -- or will soon. Rents and values have continued to fall across virtually every commercial real estate sector and across almost every market.
However, forecasters see the prospect for near-term opportunity once the markets bottom out, bringing a long-expected deluge of loan workouts, write downs, defaults and foreclosures -- along with the time-tested rush by patient, cash-rich investors, who, with some fortunate timing, will be able to tap some very attractive buying opportunities at bottom-of-the-cycle prices.
Also, leasing activity is expected to increase as tenants seek to take advantage of sharply lowered rents, resulting in more potential commissions for brokers, but also likely resulting in more pressure on highly leveraged building owners.
At least five major surveys and forecasts have been released since late last week by such influential industry groups as Real Estate Roundtable, the MIT Center for Real Estate, the National Multi Housing Council and NAIOP. PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute released one of the industry's most widely watched surveys, the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate, on Thursday morning.
The surveys tend to confirm the 2010 projections made last month by CoStar and its newly acquired analytics and forecasting advisory firm, Property Portfolio and Research Inc. (PPR), which were among the first forecasts to be released. The office vacancy rate stood at 13% at the end of the third quarter, and CoStar forecasts several more quarters of negative absorption and another 300-basis-point increase in the vacancy rate to 16% as the office market trails what's shaping up to be a "jobless recovery." Strong demand for office space is not expected to return until 2011-12, but when it does recovery should be robust, with the national office vacancy rate expected to fall to 10.5% by 2014 if job numbers begin to pick up as expected, according to CoStar and PPR projections.
Looking ahead, CoStar forecasts that the national industrial vacancy rate will rise from 10.2% in the third quarter to as high at 11% next year, but the amount of negative net absorption -- which approached nearly 150 million square feet year to date through the end of the third quarter -- should taper off over the next couple of quarters. The industrial market will slowly resume leasing activity starting in mid-2010, generating reasonably strong positive quarterly absorption through 2013. Rents, however, likely will remain moribund for two or three more years.
Coming off an idle 2009, the next year will likely rank as the slowest year of the modern era for new development, according to projections covering US market conditions presented by CoStar in a series of webinars last month.
Comments by
Jose Maria Serrano
Why do I want to publish this article: Basically because it sounds like the truth, but taken in a positive way.
I certainly think that the bottom is here already and the slow recovery will start. We enter the crisis in the same order we are going to exit from it; first the housing market, all we need to wait for is the banks willing to finance new buyers and the government programs to spend the money committed and promise, and then the demand will meet the housing supply .Next we will see an demand, and since the developers are on hold waiting in the side line plus the prices of land are at the lowest in 8 years also construction material and labor remain low, then construction will revive giving the most expected push to unemployment. Therefore more demand for all real estate will push prices normally up form the year 2004 bases ( According to most analyst is where we are going to hit bottom) .
Economic principal are very simple. T he chain of events will drive the markets, unemployment, and wellbeing on one way or another.
Most Market Forecasters See a Pricing Bottom Next Year, and at Least One Prognosticator Suggests that Transaction Pricing for Institutional Investment-Quality Real Estate May Have Already Bottomed in the Third Quarter
By Randyl Drummer
November 4, 2009
Having reviewed the next round of commercial real estate surveys, forecasts and emerging trends issued this past week for 2010, about the only good news appears to be that the market has hit bottom -- or will soon. Rents and values have continued to fall across virtually every commercial real estate sector and across almost every market.
However, forecasters see the prospect for near-term opportunity once the markets bottom out, bringing a long-expected deluge of loan workouts, write downs, defaults and foreclosures -- along with the time-tested rush by patient, cash-rich investors, who, with some fortunate timing, will be able to tap some very attractive buying opportunities at bottom-of-the-cycle prices.
Also, leasing activity is expected to increase as tenants seek to take advantage of sharply lowered rents, resulting in more potential commissions for brokers, but also likely resulting in more pressure on highly leveraged building owners.
At least five major surveys and forecasts have been released since late last week by such influential industry groups as Real Estate Roundtable, the MIT Center for Real Estate, the National Multi Housing Council and NAIOP. PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute released one of the industry's most widely watched surveys, the annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate, on Thursday morning.
The surveys tend to confirm the 2010 projections made last month by CoStar and its newly acquired analytics and forecasting advisory firm, Property Portfolio and Research Inc. (PPR), which were among the first forecasts to be released. The office vacancy rate stood at 13% at the end of the third quarter, and CoStar forecasts several more quarters of negative absorption and another 300-basis-point increase in the vacancy rate to 16% as the office market trails what's shaping up to be a "jobless recovery." Strong demand for office space is not expected to return until 2011-12, but when it does recovery should be robust, with the national office vacancy rate expected to fall to 10.5% by 2014 if job numbers begin to pick up as expected, according to CoStar and PPR projections.
Looking ahead, CoStar forecasts that the national industrial vacancy rate will rise from 10.2% in the third quarter to as high at 11% next year, but the amount of negative net absorption -- which approached nearly 150 million square feet year to date through the end of the third quarter -- should taper off over the next couple of quarters. The industrial market will slowly resume leasing activity starting in mid-2010, generating reasonably strong positive quarterly absorption through 2013. Rents, however, likely will remain moribund for two or three more years.
Coming off an idle 2009, the next year will likely rank as the slowest year of the modern era for new development, according to projections covering US market conditions presented by CoStar in a series of webinars last month.
Comments by
Jose Maria Serrano
Why do I want to publish this article: Basically because it sounds like the truth, but taken in a positive way.
I certainly think that the bottom is here already and the slow recovery will start. We enter the crisis in the same order we are going to exit from it; first the housing market, all we need to wait for is the banks willing to finance new buyers and the government programs to spend the money committed and promise, and then the demand will meet the housing supply .Next we will see an demand, and since the developers are on hold waiting in the side line plus the prices of land are at the lowest in 8 years also construction material and labor remain low, then construction will revive giving the most expected push to unemployment. Therefore more demand for all real estate will push prices normally up form the year 2004 bases ( According to most analyst is where we are going to hit bottom) .
Economic principal are very simple. T he chain of events will drive the markets, unemployment, and wellbeing on one way or another.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Home Buyer Tax Credit
Who Qualifies?
First-time home buyers who purchase homes between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.
To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have owned a residence during the three years prior to the purchase.
Which Properties Are Eligible?
The 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.
How Much Will the Credit Be?
The maximum allowable credit for home buyers is $8,000. Each home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two factors:
The price of the home—the credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to $8,000.
The buyer's income—single buyers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.
If the Buyer(s)’ Income Exceeds These Limits, Can He/She Still Get a Credit?
Yes, some buyers may still be eligible for the credit.
The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $75,000 and $95,000 for single buyers and between $150,000 and $170,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Home buyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income—over $95,000 for singles and over $170,000 for couples are not eligible for the credit.
Will the Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
No. The buyer does not need to repay the tax credit, if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during the three-year period, the credit will be recouped on the sale
National Association of REALTORS®
Jose Maria Serrano
RAMB RCA Board of Governors
Multifamily specialist for the non-institutional investor
First-time home buyers who purchase homes between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.
To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have owned a residence during the three years prior to the purchase.
Which Properties Are Eligible?
The 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.
How Much Will the Credit Be?
The maximum allowable credit for home buyers is $8,000. Each home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two factors:
The price of the home—the credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to $8,000.
The buyer's income—single buyers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.
If the Buyer(s)’ Income Exceeds These Limits, Can He/She Still Get a Credit?
Yes, some buyers may still be eligible for the credit.
The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $75,000 and $95,000 for single buyers and between $150,000 and $170,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Home buyers earning more than the maximum qualifying income—over $95,000 for singles and over $170,000 for couples are not eligible for the credit.
Will the Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
No. The buyer does not need to repay the tax credit, if he/she occupies the home for three years or more. However, if the property is sold during the three-year period, the credit will be recouped on the sale
National Association of REALTORS®
Jose Maria Serrano
RAMB RCA Board of Governors
Multifamily specialist for the non-institutional investor
Feds: More than 100 arrested for mortgage fraud
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Nov. 4, 2009 – A federal prosecutor says a crackdown on organized mortgage fraud this year has yielded 105 arrests from Jacksonville to Fort Myers.
A. Brian Albritton, the U.S. attorney for Florida’s middle district, announced the results of the nine-month investigation at news conferences Tuesday in Fort Myers and Tampa.
Albritton said the fraudulent loans totaled more than $400 million and involved more than 700 properties.
Defendants include mortgage brokers, real estate agents, lenders, sellers and buyers. Albritton called the problem an “epidemic.”
Florida’s middle district includes a swath that extends from Jacksonville to Fort Myers and includes the Orlando and Tampa areas.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.
A. Brian Albritton, the U.S. attorney for Florida’s middle district, announced the results of the nine-month investigation at news conferences Tuesday in Fort Myers and Tampa.
Albritton said the fraudulent loans totaled more than $400 million and involved more than 700 properties.
Defendants include mortgage brokers, real estate agents, lenders, sellers and buyers. Albritton called the problem an “epidemic.”
Florida’s middle district includes a swath that extends from Jacksonville to Fort Myers and includes the Orlando and Tampa areas.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.
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