Blog
N. Mark Kramoltz, JD, GRI, CIPS writes blog articles on the metro Phoenix, Arizona, national and global real estate markets. Written from his perspective as a designated broker and real estate attorney, his articles avoid the inaccuracies and vacuous industry propaganda common to most real estate writings. He also blogs about animals (mostly dogs in the military) due to his love of pets and military history.
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance
The loss of the new home buyer down payment assistance/gift program in mid-2008 couldn’t have come at a worse time. With the real estate market already slowing dramatically, the disappearance of the most valuable incentive to purchase a new home hit builders hard in...
Buyers are Increasingly avoiding Distressed Properties
Buyers have discovered that it is not necessary to purchase a distressed property to obtain a great deal these days. According to its November 2008 survey, Harris Interactive reported that the number of buyers willing to consider the purchase of a bank owned property...
Opportunities grow despite the Slowdown
Home sales in 2008 will be the worst in a decade - and that is not adjusting for the population growth during that time. Nationwide, the government figures show that home sales declined 8.9% from October to November, and November was down 17% compared to that same...
Simplified Passport Renewal for Canadians
For those Canadians living in the United States, Passport Canada has announced a Simplified Passport Renewal process. Previously the mail-in renewal process required that the application be verified by a specific type of person (such as an attorney). Called a...
Foreclosure Reporting
James B. Lockhart, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency today released the first monthly Foreclosure Prevention Report, which provides comprehensive monthly data on the loan modification efforts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae’s HomeSaver Advance...
Foreclosure Prevention Resources, Part 2.
Part 1 of this blog series detailed some of the programs and resources available to distressed home owners from the government and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those programs were insufficient to assist the increasing volume of struggling homeowners. This segment deals...
Foreclosure Prevention Resources, Part 1.
Traditionally, the help available to a distressed home owner from the government and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was limited to information and advice, such as that under the Hope Now Program. Hope Now is a free foreclosure prevention service provided by loan servicers...
Purchase by Fed should help Borrowers
The residential real estate market and the mortgage industry received some good news this week. The Fed announced that it will purchase $600 Billion worth of mortgage-backed securities (mortgage bonds) backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. This should...
Stop Overreacting and Buy.
Joel Naroff, a Philadelphia economist, was honored by Arizona State University in New York City on Thursday. An economist, he was honored for being one of the most accurate forecasters in the country. He gave his view on the housing market, its foreclosures and...