Real Estate News

The Uncertain Housing Outlook
By CalculatedRisk LA Times
October 15, 2009

The housing outlook has probably never been more uncertain ... and the details are masked by many distortions.

So, as confusing as it is, here is a rough overview ...

Supply: the supply of distressed homes has been severely restricted by a combination of foreclosure delays and trial modifications.

Demand: demand has been distorted by the first-time homebuyer tax credit, by extraordinary levels of lending using government-insured FHA loans, and the Fed buying GSE MBS pushing down mortgage rates.

U.S. to Press China on Drywall
By Melanie Trottman
The Wall Street Journal
October 16, 2009

The new chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said she would ask China to help pay for the billions of dollars in damage to U.S. homes blamed on Chinese-made drywall.

"I will find out if any discussions are going on in China about the costs, are they prepared to participate in providing funds, and what would it take for that to occur," CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said in an interview ahead of a trip to China next week for a biennial U.S.-China consumer product safety summit.

Reality bites back in Condoshark listings
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
The Chicago Tribune
October 16, 2009

If you're selling a home in certain Chicago neighborhoods, you can take the listing of your property on Condoshark.com one of two ways: Either it's great visibility as you try to sell your home, or it's confirmation that you so inaccurately priced your property when it was first listed for sale.

Plan Coming on Commercial Loans
By Damian Paletta
The Wall Street Journal
October 15, 2009

Federal bank regulators are close to issuing guidelines that would encourage lenders to rework troubled commercial real-estate loans, a sector of the economy they expect to topple scores of additional financial institutions.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair told a Senate subcommittee that reworking the terms of these loans could help banks avoid larger losses. She likened it to the push regulators made last year for banks to rework troubled residential mortgages.

Builders Grounded by Land Prices
By John Jannarone
The Wall Street Journal
October 14, 2009

Glimmers of a home-price recovery mean that some home builders may soon return to the black. But, with prime land plots tough to find, investors shouldn't set their sights on healthy profit margins.

10 Secrets of Off-Season Home Buying
As the housing market heads into its sluggish months, savvy buyers can squeeze out some nice deals
By Luke Mullins
US News & World Report
October 14, 2009

Hawaii Hotels Face Fewer Visitors, More Debt
By Kris Hudson
The Wall Street Journal
October 13, 2009

For the hotel industry in the continental U.S., this downturn is the worst since the Great Depression. But the Hawaiian resort industry is taking a beating that's even more severe.

House Votes to Extend First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit for Service Members
By Luke Mullins
US News & World Report
October 8, 2009

New Order: No Money, No Problem
By Maura Webber Sadovi
The Wall Street Journal
October 7, 2009

A Birmingham, Ala., office building has sold for about $147 million, in what is being billed as the largest office-building deal in the Southeast this year. But what is particularly notable about the transaction is how little cash the buyer had to put into it: $1.3 million.

In the Eye of the Commercial Real-Estate Hurricane
By Michael Corkery
The Wall Street Journal
October 7, 2009

The Federal Reserve is worried that banks are slow to recognize commercial real-estate losses and is warning that the financial system may be headed for a new wave of painful write downs.