Via Inman news

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will raise their loan limits starting Jan. 1, 2006, with single-family mortgage loan limits rising to $417,000, the government-sponsored enterprises announced today.

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Bob Bruss reports

Between now and New Year’s Day, or even Super Bowl Sunday in many communities, you will have little or no competition from other home buyers. Sellers who have their houses and condos listed for sale during this season are usually highly motivated to sell and are willing to make good deals because most buyers are tied up with holiday events.

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When there’s a hot business opportunity or a smoking real estate deal in Southwest Florida, local bankers and brokers grab their BlackBerrys to speed-dial a short-list of hometown movers and shakers: the ones with the inclination, credibility and wherewithal to jump on a deal.

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Via Al Heavens Inquirer Columnist

By exotic mortgages, Lereah means interest-only and option adjustable-rate products, which are being used by many first-time buyers, among others, to purchase houses in high-priced markets.

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JEREMIAH MCWILLIAMS from the Virginian-Pilot reports

The South Hampton Roads real estate market has enjoyed several years of muscular growth, with sellers reaping huge returns and buyers snapping up available properties. But the most recent region-wide data reveal signs of a slowdown.

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JEREMIAH MCWILLIAMS from the Virginian-Pilot reports

The South Hampton Roads real estate market has enjoyed several years of muscular growth, with sellers reaping huge returns and buyers snapping up available properties. But the most recent region-wide data reveal signs of a slowdown.

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Ken Go reports

Everytime a first time home-buyer comes to us to have them prequalified, here are the following factors that we consider to determine how much the price range they should look into when house-hunting.

We ask about how much monthly mortgage payment will be comfortable for them. Normally, it would be slightly higher than the current rent they are paying.

We ask about what kind of work the buyers do? The financial and income situation is very important for us to be able to find the best suitable loan program for you.

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Reported by CARLA BOUCHARD

More often than not, selling your home can have some real emotional implications. Remember that TV commercial where the mother lovingly looks at the doorjamb that had their kids’ heights marked on it and gets all wistful about selling?

And how her husband surprises her with the same doorjamb, markings and all, installed in their new home?

You’d be surprised how something like a simple doorjamb could hold up, or even cancel a deal.

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Alan Winger writes

THE HOUSING MARKET IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

The housing market has, of course, exploded recently with the sharp increase in the level of single-family home activity both in the new and existing unit markets. While more than a few have expressed concern about a price bubble in these markets, that possibility is not my concern. Rather, my concern is with certain facts that hint at some early housing market impacts of the recent advances in our digital technologies

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Across Florida, 64,978 homes changed hands during the three-month period for a seven percent increase over the 60,462 homes sold in third quarter 2004, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

The statewide median sales price for third quarter 2005 rose 31 percent to $248,600; a year ago, it was $189,900. For third quarter 2000, the statewide median sales price of existing single-family homes was $119,700, which translates as an increase of about 107.6 percent over the five-year period. The median is a typical market price where half of the units sold for more and half sold for less.

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Holden Lewis from bankrate.com reports

Some activities invite heartbreak and loss: driving without a seat belt, marrying someone after one date, experimenting with heroin. Add another to the list: getting a home loan with a prepayment penalty or balloon payment.

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Via Inman news

One risk of pricing too high for the market is that you won’t receive offers. Sellers often find this hard to believe. Why won’t buyers just make an offer if they think a listing is priced too high?

The answer is two-fold. First of all, if a listing is priced too high in a market where well-priced listings are selling, this may indicate that the seller has unrealistic expectations. Making an offer involves a big emotional commitment and it takes a lot of time. Most buyers don’t want to waste their time offering on a listing that’s over-priced for the market, particularly when there are other listings to choose from.

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Kenneth R. Harney reports

Pretty much everybody in real estate knows what’s up: The hot air is hissing out of what David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, once enthusiastically called the “Great Real Estate Boom of the 21st Century.” Now even Lereah agrees the boom is well past its peak. It’s now “winding down into an expansion,” he says.

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Via Business Journal of Milwaukee

Enterprise Mortgage is a major provider of permanent mortgage financing for affordable housing development. It offers new construction, rehabilitation and preservation mortgages among other financial services

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Newest news from MarketWatch

Uncle Sam has made homeownership a great deal. Not only does the tax code allow you to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage when you itemize your return but also it lets couples reap $500,000 in capital gains from a home sale ($250,000 for single filers) every two years without owing any tax.

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Many homeowners, who make (or expect) big profits when they sell, are just now catching on to the rules for reporting taxable gains. Some are amazed to learn that their gains come tax-free. Others find themselves taxed by surprise.

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Via Inman news

Reviewing “How to Make Money on Foreclosures” by attorney Denise L. Evans is a book reviewer’s nightmare because portions are brilliant, but other sections are downright wrong or at least misleading. In other words, the book is “uneven.”

For example, although I’ve been investing in real estate many years, I learned neighborhood convenience stores such as 7-Eleven or Circle K can be depreciated over just 15 years rather than 27.5 years for residence rentals and 39 years for commercial properties. That’s a big advantage. However, the book also says a residence appraisal might take two months and cost $1,000.

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By Motley Fool Staff

If you’re in the market for a new home, you probably know that some fees await you in the home-buying process. But you may not realize just what an understatement that is. Take a deep breath and read on. Here’s a little list for you:

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MSNBC reports

LOS ANGELES – Real estate bubble or not, more and more Californians are betting on a future in selling homes.

Realtor hopefuls are arriving every day – a troubling trend for veterans, say economists who note that there soon will not be enough homes for sale to support all the newcomers.

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Article brought to you by Janet Kidd Stewart

Investors may believe they control their behavior with a rational set of principles, but often they are dead wrong about what those beliefs really are, said Richard Peterson, a San Francisco psychiatrist and managing partner of a consulting firm specializing in market psychology.

Peterson recently posted a Financial Values self-test on his firm’s Web site (www.marketpsych.com) that asks more than 50 questions designed to better understand a client’s money motives. The test is in a free trial now, but it will cost $100 next year.

The questions look at a person’s earliest financial memories and family influences on money behavior. They also probe investment styles and risk tolerance, as well as general life goals.

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