An online survey of potential home buyers found that 44 percent believe the real estate market will improve once the new president takes office. In the meantime, 81 percent say they remain nervous about the current market.Respondents cite a variety of barriers to buying a home: 28 percent say they are stymied by the cost of a down payment; 20 percent are concerned about their income level, and 31 percent (39 percent in the West) say home prices are still too high.Practical reasons motivate these potential buyers. A quarter say they need more space; 17 percent have gotten married, had a baby or experienced some other life-stage change, while 9 percent want to downsize.Seventy-eight percent say they are willing to save or earn extra money for the down payment and are willing to compromise on amenities in their new home to make it more affordable.Harris Interactive conducted the survey for Move Inc., which operates Move.com and REALTOR.com.
Source: Move Inc.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Bank of America CEO: Lenders Must Step In
The CEO of Bank of America Kenneth D. Lewis called on the lending industry to avoid foreclosure and “help borrowers manage through the current crisis.”
He told 175 California business and lending professionals at a conference this week that now is the time for the lending industry to "return to a more disciplined view of risk standards that will protect everyone from a repetition of what we are going through today."
Bank of America sidestepped the mortgage market meltdown by avoiding subprime loans, but it recently acquired Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation’s largest mortgage lender and a company that was whip-lashed by its subprime lending practices.
So far this year, Lewis says Countrywide has worked to help nearly 100,000 customers remain in their homes.
"If borrowers can afford to pay market rates and want to stay in their homes, we can and do work with them to make that happen, even when it means modifying the terms of a loan they can no longer afford,” he says.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune (07/08/08)
He told 175 California business and lending professionals at a conference this week that now is the time for the lending industry to "return to a more disciplined view of risk standards that will protect everyone from a repetition of what we are going through today."
Bank of America sidestepped the mortgage market meltdown by avoiding subprime loans, but it recently acquired Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation’s largest mortgage lender and a company that was whip-lashed by its subprime lending practices.
So far this year, Lewis says Countrywide has worked to help nearly 100,000 customers remain in their homes.
"If borrowers can afford to pay market rates and want to stay in their homes, we can and do work with them to make that happen, even when it means modifying the terms of a loan they can no longer afford,” he says.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune (07/08/08)
Builders Bank on Turnaround, Buy Up Land
Builders, including Lennar Corp, KB Home, Hovnanian Enterprises Inc, Meritage Homes Corp., are back buying and developing land again.
Lennar spent $162 million on new land in the second quarter and will spend at least $200 million more by the end of the fourth quarter, JP Morgan analyst Michael Rehaut wrote in a note to clients. KB expects to spend $300 million on land and $400 million on land development this year, Rehaut said.
Hovnanian is working on a land development joint venture, company spokesman Jeffrey O'Keefe says. And Meritage is "beginning to shift from defense to offense," looking to buy land in the second half of the year, wrote Wachovia analyst Carl Reichardt after meeting with Meritage management.
In theory, buying land now is a smart move, said Todd Lowenstein of HighMark Value Momentum Fund, which owns 187,000 shares of Pulte Homes Inc.
"You have to be a predator in these down markets to position yourself for the upturn," he said.
Source: Reuters News, Helen Chernikoff (07/10/08)
Lennar spent $162 million on new land in the second quarter and will spend at least $200 million more by the end of the fourth quarter, JP Morgan analyst Michael Rehaut wrote in a note to clients. KB expects to spend $300 million on land and $400 million on land development this year, Rehaut said.
Hovnanian is working on a land development joint venture, company spokesman Jeffrey O'Keefe says. And Meritage is "beginning to shift from defense to offense," looking to buy land in the second half of the year, wrote Wachovia analyst Carl Reichardt after meeting with Meritage management.
In theory, buying land now is a smart move, said Todd Lowenstein of HighMark Value Momentum Fund, which owns 187,000 shares of Pulte Homes Inc.
"You have to be a predator in these down markets to position yourself for the upturn," he said.
Source: Reuters News, Helen Chernikoff (07/10/08)
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