Reverse mortgage dangers debunked

As pointed out last week, the growth of reverse mortgages has no resemblance to the growth of subprime mortgages, and there is no financial fiasco looming. This week I want to deal with three other arguments against reverse mortgages that keep popping up in the media.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) Are Too Expensive: This argument is ubiquitous, yet it makes no sense. Too expensive relative to what? Right now, there are no private programs to compare HECMs with, but when such programs existed their costs were much the same. The instrument that most resembles the HECM is the forward home mortgage -- while they meet different needs, the delivery systems are very similar, the cost items are much the same, and therefore the total costs ought to be similar. And so they are, absent the mortgage insurance premium on HECMs.

http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/jackguttentag/reverse-mortgage-dangers-debunked

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Housing market: a new normal

A new normal will prevail when the housing market recovers, according to a report released by the Urban Land Institute.

"As the economy recovers, markets will stabilize but the old 'normal' will not return. Once nascent trends will emerge as major drivers, creating new markets in new places. Those who fail to understand these new trends will miss opportunities or find themselves building what is no longer in demand," said John K. McIlwain, a senior resident fellow at the institute, in his new research paper, "Housing in America: The Next Decade." 

http://www.inman.com/news/2010/02/1/housing-market-a-new-normal

Possible Funding for Colfax Streetcar?

The Denver Post reports today that State Senator Chris Romer plans to introduce a bill in the Colorado legislature that would provide significant funding for a streetcar line along Colfax Avenue. Senator Romer suggests the streetcar line should run from the Auraria Campus in Downtown Denver to the Anschutz Medical Campus at Fitzsimons in Aurora. For the details, click here for a PDF of the Denver Post article.

http://denverinfill.com/blog/2010/02/possible-funding-for-colfax-streetcar.html

How's the housing market in your neighborhood?

10 Home Features Buyers Want
Home designers and builders speaking at the recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas say that buyers are seeking cost-effective features and rejecting things that don’t have lasting value.

“It's all about family togetherness – casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces," says Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio.

Paul Cardis, CEO of Avid Ratings, which conducts an annual survey of buyer preferences, identified these must-haves in new homes:

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010020101?OpenDocument

How's the housing market in your neighborhood?

Fannie to Offer Closing Cost Aid on Foreclosures - Fannie Mae announced Friday that it would pay the closing costs on purchases of foreclosed homes in its inventory.  The government-controlled company said buyers of qualified properties will get up to 3.5% in closing costs, or an equivalent amount for the purchase of new appliances.
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010012902

How's the housing market in your neighborhood?

Homes held back? The shadow market knows - Denver-area residential real estate brokers fear a flood of foreclosed homes still held by lenders — the “shadow market” — will be put up for sale in 2010.  One national report put metro Denver’s shadow market at nearly 14,000 homes, relatively low compared to cities that have been harder hit by the recession.  Some Denver-area residential brokers aren’t even sure there is a shadow market.  And some lenders with Denver-area operations, in their defense, contend they put foreclosure homes on the market for sale as fast as they can, largely because of federal regulatory pressure to sell those homes, as well as the cost of holding and maintaining the properties.  There are Denver-area real estate brokers that believe the increase they’ve seen this year in broker price opinions (BPOs) signals more bank-owned homes will be listed for sale in the next few quarters.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/02/01/story6.html?b=1265000400^2805471&s=industry&i=resi_real_estate

How's the housing market in your neighborhood?