Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Should You Be LOCKING Your Loans?
by on July 28, 2011
Should you lock in the interest rate on your mortgage? A couple of things to consider:
1. While I am confident that the Debt Ceiling Debate will be settled (whether it’s for six months or a year), my greater concern is the growing belief that the ratings agencies are looking at downgrading our government’s bonds from our AAA status. By lowering the credit rating of the bonds being presented to the market, the confidence of those who buy our bonds will be shaken. In order to overcome the risk of lower rated bonds, we will need to offer greater rates of returns on our bonds. THAT will result in a rise in mortgage rates because mortgages are what make up the bonds. This will affect virtually every conforming loan limit home buyer, whether they have conventional or government (FHA/VA) financing.
2. The pending lowering of the maximum loan amounts (slated for October 1st) that can be sold to FannieMae, FreddieMac and GinnieMae (in high cost areas from $729,250 to $625,500 for single family homes) will create more “Jumbo Loans”. Jumbo loans have historically been .25% to .375% higher than conforming loans; however, industry insiders are hinting at a much bigger spread (.75% or more). Granted, this will not impact most home buyers, but it is worth noting.
Now, it is possible that neither item becomes effective. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Yet, what is the benefit of NOT locking. Maybe rates could go down an eighth or a quarter of a percent. Is that worth the risk of a rate increase that would be quick and dramatick of a half of a percent or more?
The safe bet is to LOCK to protect yourself……my mother always said, “better safe than sorry”.
Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thank God I Didn’t Buy Gold at $400 an Ounce
by on July 27, 2011
We hope that headline grabbed you. The reason we used it was to bring some perspective to the debate as to whether or not homeownership is a wise investment in today’s troubled market. A family should never look at the purchase of a home simply as a financial investment. It is so much more than that. But, even if we look at it as only an investment, we must look at it in the long term. Let’s use gold as an example.
Gold had dropped from over $400 an ounce to $250 an ounce (a 40% decline) from February 1996 to August 1999. People were so glad they hadn’t bought at $400 an ounce.
Lord William Rees-Mogg, the current Chairman of The Zurich Club, in 1997 said:
“No investment has been so thoroughly exploded as gold; most people think that there will no more be another gold boom than there will be another boom in tulip futures in The Netherlands.”Everyone knows what happened next. The proclamation of gold’s death was rather premature. Gold rose from $250 an ounce to over $1,500 an ounce in the next twelve years.
If we look at real estate in the long term, we can see that it has been a great vehicle for building family wealth. The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted once every three years, provides a snapshot of family income and net worth. Their survey has shown every time that homeowners’ net worth far exceeds that of renters. Here is the breakdown of the last several surveys:
- 1998 – Homeowner net worth exceed renters by 31x
- 2001 – Homeowner net worth exceed renters by 36x
- 2004 – Homeowner net worth exceed renters by 41x
- 2007 – Homeowner net worth exceed renters by 46x
Harvard University just completed a study that showed:
“Even if homeowner wealth fell back to 1995 levels, it would still be 27.5 times the median for renters.”
Bottom Line
We are not predicting that real estate will see the same levels of appreciation that gold did. However, we do believe that the real estate market will rebound strongly.
Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Friday, July 22, 2011
20% Down Payment: The Impact
by on July 22, 2011
Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Why Do People Actually Buy a Home?
by on July 19, 2011
It seems that every time we talk about real estate today the conversation immediately goes to the financial aspects of buying a home. Where are prices headed? Where are interest rates headed? Should I wait to try and get a ‘better buy’? Should I wait until I can get a ‘steal’?
The odd thing about all these questions is that survey after survey keeps telling us that price is not the reason families actually buy a home. When money is considered at all, it is in light of not paying rent to a landlord. Let’s look at two recent surveys as examples:
National Housing Survey
The top five reasons given in the survey for buying a home, in order, are:- It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
- You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
- It allows you to have more space for your family
- It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)
- Paying rent is not a good investment
The Myers Research and Strategic Services Survey
The top five reasons given in the survey for buying a home, in order, are:- Home ownership provides a stable and safe environment for children and other family members
- Home ownership means the money you spend on housing goes towards building equity, rather than to a landlord
- Home ownership creates the opportunity to pay off a mortgage and own your home by the time you retire
- Home ownership creates the opportunity to live in a neighborhood that you enjoy
- Home ownership allows you the right to decorate, modify and renovate your home as you see fit
Bottom Line
Price dominates conversation when we talk about buying a home. However, when it comes down to it, we actually buy for the same reasons our parents and grandparents did – we want a better lifestyle for ourselves and our families.
Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
5101 Shadow Pond Ln ,Charlotte NC 28226 $515,000!!!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW FULL DETAILS:
Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
House Prices Through 2015
by on June 27, 2011
Everyone seems to have an opinion on where home prices are headed. Housing bulls are saying prices may start rebounding as early as later this year. Some housing bears are saying that prices may still drop another 10-15%. What actually is going to happen? No one knows for sure.
However, Macro Markets, a financial technology company, actually surveyed 108 economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists for their June 2011 Home Price Expectations Survey. They then averaged all 108 opinions. Here is what the report says about house prices over the next five years:
- 2011: prices will depreciate 3.52%
- 2012: prices will appreciate .46%
- 2013: prices will appreciate 2.18%
- 2014: prices will appreciate 2.92%
- 2015: prices will appreciate 3.47%
Bottom Line
The experts say home prices will begin to see appreciation next year and return to historic levels of annual appreciation by 2015.Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Home prices rise, snapping 8-month drop streak
June 28, 2011: 2:39 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The downward cycle in home prices broke in April after eight consecutive months of decline, according to a survey released Tuesday.
According to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city index, prices rose 0.7% compared with March, although they fell 0.1% when adjusted for the strong spring selling season. Prices were down 4% year-over-year.
"It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather," Blitzer added.
Any hint of good news in the troubled housing market will likely bring cheer to the industry, and there are some signs that market conditions are not quite as dire as some of the other statistics may indicate. Foreclosures, for example have been falling.
That has translated in a decline of 16% in the sales volume of distressed properties this year, while volume of non-distressed sales rose 11%, according to Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist for Deutsche Bank.
That's good news because much of the price drop over the past year can be blamed on severe price slashing for homes in foreclosure, as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke pointed out in a press conference last Wednesday. Prices for homes sold by regular sellers have held up much better.
Top Performer Award Recipient
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
e mail: joe.naccarato@allentate.com
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
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