quote:

from the Wall Street Journal:

The ability of America's lenders to manage this fire sale will be crucial to determining how long the housing market stays in the dumps -- and how quickly blighted neighborhoods can heal. The oversupply is severe: In some major markets, including Las Vegas and San Diego, foreclosure-related sales have accounted for more than 40% of all sales in recent months.

quote:

Of Markets and Mortgages By ETHAN PENNER:

Like many, I've wondered how our home mortgage finance system will rebuild itself, and how we will be able to contain problems in the financial system so they don't infect corporate America, lower profits, and lead to massive layoffs. The answer to these questions became much clearer to me on a recent Sunday when I drove to downtown Los Angeles and joined approximately 2,000 others in the Convention Center. They had come to participate in an open auction of 120 foreclosed homes from Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. What I saw there reinforced to me that the only resolution to the crisis is to let the free market repair itself.

(snip)

Auctions such as the one I observed allow true prices to be discovered and honest valuations for lender portfolios.

quote:

By ADRIAN SAINZ AP Business Writer:
...a six-hour expedition to show Orlando-area homes and educate potential buyers on the vagaries of snatching foreclosures in a state where the housing market has struggled over the past two years. Real estate agents have also organized tours in California, where the idea seems to have originated, and cities such as Phoenix, Detroit, Kansas City and Jacksonville.

The Orlando prospects included working-class people looking for a family home, speculators seeking a bargain investment and even a Brit trying to take advantage of the weak dollar. To avoid embarrassing owners, the bus stops only at empty homes.

quote:

:
Get a steal of a deal at real estate auctions. Before you bid, find out what you need to purchase a good property

. . .

The Bidder’s Broker connects buyers to real estate auctions

. . .

5 Business Decisions You Will Be Proud Of

. . .

5 Business Decisions You Will Absolutely Regret

quote:

Sun Apr 20, 2008 :: By Jim Loney:

Auctioneers sold "north of 20" of the 50-plus properties on sale at the Fort Lauderdale auction, said SKY Sotheby's president, Chad Roffers. The event offered up an estimated $300 million in properties ranging from a $2.45 million, one-bedroom on ritzy Fisher Island, to mansions in the $15 million range.

"The high end is resilient," Roffers said. "Certainly the market has corrected since the peak of 2005. What we are seeing is that quality waterfront inventory is holding value."

But many properties were quickly pulled from the auction when no one bid. And bargain hunters had an open field.

One man, in short order, snapped up two bayfront houses in Miami Beach's pricey Venetian Islands, one for $500,000 and the other for $1 million. The homes sold for $2.75 million and $2 million respectively in mid-2005, according to county records.

Guido Teichner, a would-be buyer who said he attended the auction looking to make a killing, put in a $500,000 bid on a two-story, 4,000 square foot (370 square meter) penthouse condo in downtown Fort Lauderdale that had previously been listed at $3 million.

quote:

by Bob Tedeschi, New York Times; Sunday, May 18, 2008:

As if home buyers do not have it good enough already, finding a house for sale on the Web is becoming easier.

The triple threat of a weak market, legal pressure and increasing competition has compelled real estate professionals to offer their information more freely online, putting cracks in a walled garden of data that stood strong while the industry enjoyed its breakaway growth. It also presages an end to the days when sellers must list their homes with a broker so buyers can see them.

...Full Text...

quote:

from FoxBusiness.com, Friday, May 16, 2008;

RETS, an industry effort initiated by NAR and maintained by RESO, is an open data standard for exchanging real estate transaction information between authorized parties. RESO currently supports a RETS listing standard and a syndication standard; while the two share a common XML-based data layout, they are different.

...Full Text...

quote:

by Mary Umberger; Chicago Tribune; May 18, 2008:

Internet-search gurus said they're under the gun to put more real estate data into more hands, the sooner the better.

That means, besides listings of properties for sale, consumers have an insatiable appetite for data on neighborhoods, schools, crime and anything else that might affect their buying decisions, according to a panel of thinkers representing Realtor.com, Google and Zillow.com.

...Full Text...

quote:

From the Los Angeles Times Blogs (6/1/2008):

In Escondido (CA): Buy one (house), get one free.

In a sign of how difficult it is to sell new homes in Southern California right now, a San Diego developer is offering a "buy one, get one free" deal, pairing million-dollar homes with less expensive homes.

"We thought, 'Why does it just have to be on Pop Tarts and restaurants? Why not buy one home, get one free,'" Dawn Berry of Michael Crews Development...

quote:

Pop Quiz:


I wonder what Richard would say about a market where the Parody has almost become the actual headline?

Very :: Interesting

quote:

Forbes on Real Estate by Matt Woolsey 07.10.08:

Encouraged by a weak dollar and a belief in the resiliency of the U.S. economy, individuals like Reddy, along with institutional investors such as pension funds and private equity groups, are seeking investment properties and development opportunities in the United States.

Their markets of choice include New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle and San Francisco.

quote:

Donald Trump says:

дело сделано.

quote:

Originally posted by jenraleeamiable:
Team Trademark in the News...

Reality TV show personality Richard C. Davis of Trademark Properties, a friend and supporter of the chief, said Thomas' retirement won't diminish his standing in the community. In fact, Davis plans to offer Thomas a job.

"He is a community leader," Davis said. "No matter what his title is, he is still Rusty Thomas and a vital part of this community. And he always will be."


....and in other news....

Real estate listings settling into Web

quote:

by Bob Tedeschi, New York Times; Sunday, May 18, 2008:

As if home buyers do not have it good enough already, finding a house for sale on the Web is becoming easier.

The triple threat of a weak market, legal pressure and increasing competition has compelled real estate professionals to offer their information more freely online, putting cracks in a walled garden of data that stood strong while the industry enjoyed its breakaway growth. It also presages an end to the days when sellers must list their homes with a broker so buyers can see them.

...Full Text...

Realtors Envision the Future of Real Estate in Real Time

quote:

from FoxBusiness.com, Friday, May 16, 2008;

RETS, an industry effort initiated by NAR and maintained by RESO, is an open data standard for exchanging real estate transaction information between authorized parties. RESO currently supports a RETS listing standard and a syndication standard; while the two share a common XML-based data layout, they are different.

...Full Text...

Market analysis, Texas-style

quote:

by Mary Umberger; Chicago Tribune; May 18, 2008:

Internet-search gurus said they're under the gun to put more real estate data into more hands, the sooner the better.

That means, besides listings of properties for sale, consumers have an insatiable appetite for data on neighborhoods, schools, crime and anything else that might affect their buying decisions, according to a panel of thinkers representing Realtor.com, Google and Zillow.com.

...Full Text...

quote:

by Joshua Zumbrun (08.05.08) Forbes.com:

Where's it worst? Ohio, according to our analysis, which racked up four of the 10 cities on our list: Youngstown, Canton, Dayton and Cleveland. The runner-up is Michigan, with two cities--Detroit and Flint--making the ranking

quote:

by Ron French (Wednesday, August 13, 2008) The Detroit News:

Foreclosure fallout: Houses go for a $1

The fact that a home on the city's east side was listed for $1 recently shows how depressed the real estate market has become in one of America's poorest big cities.

And it still took 19 days to find a buyer.

quote:

Loving your house again...
By Chris Ayres LA Times.com Op-Ed from August 17, 2008:

...yeah, I have regrets. Like wishing I'd borrowed more money and bought a bigger house.

quote:

by Brian Boero (8.11.2008) www.1000wattblog.com:

Why are (national web) sites with something less than what consumers really want ... kicking your butt?

quote:

The Dog Days of Real Estate:

Upcoming Data Could Stun The Street

What Will Mac ’n’ Mae Cost You and Me?

Imminent Bank Failures- Credit Crisis Worst is Yet to Come

Columbian Bank and Trust of Kansas Closed by U.S. Regulators

About Appraisers

About Loans

quote:

:
I reluctantly share the link as the video is politically one sided ignoring the more bone headed maneuvers of Republicans who clearly contributed to the mortgage meltdown. Still, if you're trying to sort out where the whip cream ends and the onion begins for the foreclosure crisis, The MouthPeace presents a very reasonable case.

quote:

Check Out (or into!) the Bad Credit Hotel today:

....Shine a light on the murkier areas of...credit know-how.

quote:

Mike Folkerth - King of Simple - Western Colorado’s own Humorist/Economist:
Is it time to buy real estate.

"Home prices have now been driven well below replacement cost by market forces. The price of homes today has nothing to do with replacement costs and all to do with a dandy recession of enduring quality. [...] This phase will last right up until the inventory of financially distressed homes is depleted. Remember, that there is near zero building occurring at the present time. At the point when it becomes necessary to build a new home, the price must return to the actual development and building costs."

quote:

:

The amount of inventory being kept off the public view is simply enormous.

...full text...

quote:

Originally posted by jenraleeamiable:
As bad as the housing market in the US may seem, obviously things could be worse.

In an effort to assist, I'd like to invite fans of Richard, Ginger and Team Trademark to print as many posts from mBrown and IPpro as you can and mail them to The Cuban Embassy. They seem to be in urgent need of toilet paper down there.

quote:

from today's GMA on ABC:

"For people who are financially qualified, it never has been a better time in nearly 40 years," said Lawrence Yun, of the National Association of Realtors. "I think this is good long-term investment opportunity to get into the market now."

quote:

from doctorhousingbubble dot com:

This is the kind of insanity that is going to implode the mid to upper priced market. Keep in mind, this home isn’t listed on the MLS and is part of that hidden inventory. Seriously, from $655,000 to over a million in loans on a 2 bedrooms 2 bath home (initially) in Pasadena.

quote:

Rick Sharga, the vice president of the Irvine, Calif., firm RealtyTrac:

"...there aren't any loan modification programs for someone who does not have income."

quote:

By LINGLING WEI and PETER GRANT:


"... In a study for The Wall Street Journal, Realpoint found that 281 CMBS loans valued at $6.3 billion weren't able to refinance when they matured in the past three month, even though 173 such loans worth $5.1 billion were throwing off more than enough cash to service their debt."

quote:

Rick Sharga, the vice president of the Irvine, Calif., firm RealtyTrac:

"...there aren't any loan modification programs for someone who does not have income."