GLOZAL's Blog – April 2011 Archive (31)

CHICAGO ( MarketWatch ) — In a world in which debt is a four-letter word, paying off the home mortgage could be a wise move for many people, providing they take the time to do the math or find a financial adviser who can help.

It's not for everyone, however, and is a step that should not be taken without a lot thought about what your priorities and goals are and what…

AP

More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, but…

A survey showing one in four renters, low and middle income, are spending more than half their income on rent and…

Falling home prices should give aspiring homeowners the upper hand this spring, but in a growing number of locations, it doesn't feel like a buyer's market.



Blame the nearly five-year slide of home prices. Those declines, which accelerated over the past two quarters, have left many sellers unable or unwilling to lower their prices. Meanwhile, buyers remain gun shy about agreeing to any purchase without getting a deep discount. 

That dynamic has fueled buyers' appetites for…

No doubt, some housing markets were hit harder than others during the recession. As a result, the markets less banged up are poised to be the first to bounce back when the housing recovery takes off.

“You have some markets where so many things have gone wrong; it’s very difficult for those markets to make a recovery,” said Cameron Findlay, the chief economist at LendingTree. “Then, there are other markets, where only a couple things have gone wrong. For those markets, there’s still…

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Been dreaming of a vacation home? Somewhere warm to get away? Or maybe a cabin in the woods? Prices are right if you can afford it.

The median price of a vacation home was $150,000 in 2010, down 11.2% from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. In contrast, the national median for primary residences fell only 4.5% in 2010, according to NAR.

"The fall in prices has opened opportunities for more families to enter the…

a)  Encourage past clients and new clients to ‘friend’ you or ‘add’ you to their networks. Include links to your profile in your marketing materials, business cards etc. Build out a brand new online “sphere”.

b)  Creating Groups – This is the most obvious way to use the site. Create a “Portland Homebuyers” group for example and help first time buyers with their questions. Leverage your expertise to become the expert in the group.

c) Creating a unique Group is also a great way…

The answer is:  YES.

Did you know that over 50% of Americans get a divorce each year!

If you want to increase your business look no further than these groups. When people get divorced they must sell their home and in most cases buy or rent two new homes. This is a great networking opportunity for all our members.…

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose more than expected in March, a trade group said on Wednesday, raising cautious optimism a recovery may be in sight for the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 3.7 percent month over month to an annual rate of 5.10 million units after an upwardly revised 4.92…

Real-estate information company Zillow Inc. filed for an initial public offering Monday, putting it on track to become a publicly traded stock in the months ahead.

The company carries strong top-line growth and is positioned as the most popular mobile real estate applications across iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry. But Zillow's dependence on real-estate shopping patterns carries some risk, given the overall health of the real estate market in the U.S.

Zillow, headquartered…

The United States has long had a sterling credit report from ratings agencies because of the global preference for the dollar. But the latest deficit gridlock in Washington may have taken some of the luster off the reputation of the world’s largest economy and its currency.

On Monday, the ratings…

President Obama established the Hardest Hit Fund in February 2010 to provide targeted aid to families in states hit hard by the economic and housing market downturn. Each state housing agency gathered public input to implement programs designed to meet the distinct challenges struggling homeowners in their state are facing. States were chosen either because they are struggling with unemployment rates at or above the national average or steep home price declines greater than 20 percent since…

A sluggish real estate market hasn’t shaken the confidence of the public in how it views homeownership, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. Eight in 10 adults (or 81 percent) say owning a home is the best long-term investment a person can make, according to the Pew study of about 2,000 adults conducted in March.



“Homeowners are not blind to what has happened to home prices, nor are they expecting a speedy recovery,” the Pew study finds. In fact, of the homeowners…

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Friday muscled through a budget plan that pares federal spending by an estimated $5.8 trillion over the next decade while reshaping Medicare in a proposal that immediately touched off a fierce clash with Democrats.