OK I admit it has been way too long since I have written on this blog. That's what happens when one gets busy with work and life! Time to make time to communicate my observations on the real estate market in Portland, Maine.
This has been a fabulous year for my group (http://www.wesellmaine.com/), and I attiribute that to a combination of the now defunct tax credit and hard work. Now we are heading into a new year and a new market and I ask, "Where are the buyers?"
To cut to the chase, we hear all sorts of whining about the 9 plus percentage unemployment in the US as a whole. But that is a red herring when it comes to Portland, Maine.
Recently named one of four markets in the USA where the value of real estate is rising (Today Show), one need only look at an adjusted unemployment rate of 5.5% in Cumberland County ( OCT ME DOL stats online)to realize that we are NOT in the dire straits of the rest of the country. In fact, since its high of 7.3% in February of this year, Portland, Maine has knocked off almost 2 % from its unemployment rate. My guess is that unless you have a government job, which may see some attrition this year, you are probably OK job wise.
What stirred me to write this blog today is that CNBC just noted that mortgage rates are now over 5% on 30 year conventionals. This is a jump from the 4.3% rates seen this summer. We are back to rates seen early this year and they aren't coming back down........we have seen the bottom!
What does this mean for you as a potential homebuyer? Job security is looking pretty good compared to the rest of the country, housing prices are starting to rise and rates are going up and are NOT COMING BACK DOWN!
Buy now, potential buyer! Buy now!
Showing posts with label mortgages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mortgages. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I Will Be Glad When the Election Is OVER!
I love politics, believe me! That was my major in college. But, frankly, this election season has been painful. Nothing but bad news...potshots....negativity....no leadership. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am supporting the Obama/Biden ticket because we need a change and I think change of parties and policies is helpful. I wish that all the candidates could be out there outlining specifics on what they will DO to get this country back on the right track after the debacle of the legalized gambling aka credit swaps, derivatives, and other chicanery that has been allowed to dominate the financial markets. I thought a better idea on the part of politicians would be to have given every homeowner in the country a grant on their primary residence that went directly towards their mortgage or equity line. If they didn't owe money, then put it in a CD or other vehicle that could be accessed at retirement. Something!!!
So...we wait and hope that the next President surrounds himself with smart people who are willing to do the right things to turn us around. I am banking on Obama! How about you???
So...we wait and hope that the next President surrounds himself with smart people who are willing to do the right things to turn us around. I am banking on Obama! How about you???
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Mortgage Rates are LOW!
Did you know that today's mortgage rates are the LOWEST since the Summer of 2005??!! It is a terrific time to find out what you qualify for and take advantage of today's low FIXED rates.
Don Cohen, Downeast Mortgage
207-773-6161
Don Cohen, Downeast Mortgage
207-773-6161
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
First time homebuyers take note: if you qualify for the Maine State Housing program, you could receive a rate under 5% on a 30 year fixed mortgage loan!! Even if you do not qualify for this program, FHA fixed mortgage rates are as low as 6.25%!!
Sellers take note: work with a Realtor who understands the affordable loan programs that are available in today's market, thus assuring you the expertise needed to navigate through today's market.
There are many fixed rate programs available to help buyers BUY and sellers SELL.
D. Cohen, Downeast Mortgage
Sellers take note: work with a Realtor who understands the affordable loan programs that are available in today's market, thus assuring you the expertise needed to navigate through today's market.
There are many fixed rate programs available to help buyers BUY and sellers SELL.
D. Cohen, Downeast Mortgage
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Local Paper is NUTS!!!!
I don't know about you, but I am tired of the gloom and doom surrounding stories of the economy and the housing market. I will repeat.....get out and buy!! There is great inventory and super mortgage rates! Even if you have a house to sell, if you have any equity now is the time to move up!!
Read the following story, courtesy of Inman news! Maine is definitely one market that has NOT crashed. Real estate continues to be great investment.
NAR economist underlines real estate's silver lining
Friday, December 21, 2007
By Bernice Ross Inman News
In all the years I've been writing this column, I have never received such an outpouring of response as I did from the two November articles on how media coverage of negative housing news is hurting our industry.
In spite of gloom and doom of recent news reports on the state of the nation's housing, there is plenty of good news, the most recent of which comes from the National Association of Realtors.
Laurence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, had plenty of positive news for Realtors at last month's conference. Yun attributed much of today's subprime mortgage problem to greed. Wall Street wanted the 10-12 percent return that subprime mortgages yielded as opposed to the smaller returns from more traditional mortgage products. His take on the Wall Street types: "They gambled. They lost."
Yun's outlook for 2008 sees a shift from greedy speculators to serious homeowners. 2008 will be a year of opportunity where there will be serious, healthy business. Furthermore, Yun predicted that the market returns to normal by 2009.
According to Yun, one of the biggest mistakes that reporters make is talking about national trends. Nationally, 2007 was the fifth best year ever on record. Home prices declined about 1.5 percent after a 50 percent run up in prices.
The challenge is that national numbers are pretty much irrelevant. Yun argues that talking about national averages is about as effective as having a national weather forecast. Like the weather, all real estate markets are local. In fact, you may have a buyer's market and a seller's market operating within a single market area based exclusively upon price point. Here are the other key pieces of positive news from Yun's economic report:
1. New housing starts: Even though these are dropping, there was too much building in recent years. The market is simply adjusting to normal supply-and-demand pressures. The inventory is "being controlled which makes stabilization occur more quickly."
2. Foreclosures: According to Yun, the 41 percent increase in foreclosures has resulted primarily from investor-heavy real estate purchases in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada. The majority of these individuals are flippers whose investments did not payoff. More importantly, the number of foreclosures in Utah, New Mexico, North Carolina and South Carolina is actually declining.
3. Under-priced markets and superstar cities: Although the coastal markets are still overpriced, Middle America is under priced. Nevertheless, Yun cites a new trend termed, "superstar" cities. These cities will command premium prices, regardless of what the market does. There is so much wealth concentrated in these areas, that measurements are simply not predictive. In addition to London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, Yun also identified San Francisco, Miami and Seattle as potential new superstar cities.
4. The recovery has started: Other than the three states hit heavily by job losses in the automotive industry (Indiana, Michigan and Ohio), the states that first experienced a downturn in the Northeast, are now in recovery. Specifically, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island were the first to feel the slump and are now well into a recovery. Furthermore, there appears to be a pent-up demand for first-time buyer properties due to a large number of Gen Ys (born 1977 to 1994) that are now buying their first homes. Falling interest rates will motivate many of these buyers to step into the market now.
5. New jobs and corporate profits are still strong: Corporate profits are still strong with companies as diverse as Microsoft and Jack Daniels reporting close to record profits. Furthermore, the economy has generated 4 million net new jobs and wages are rising.
6. A weak dollar may harbinger more foreign investment in U.S. real estateAlthough the decline of the U.S. dollar will end up costing us more when we go overseas or purchase imports, it has resulted in more manufacturing jobs returning to the U.S. It also may mean more foreign investment in U.S. properties as well. Just a few years ago, the Canadian dollar was only worth 70 cents in U.S. currency. Today, the Canadian dollar has been hovering at about $1.05 to $1.10 U.S. What this means is that we can expect more Canadians and Europeans to be purchasing U.S. property, because our prices are approximately 50 percent cheaper than they were just three years ago.
7. Real estate: Still the best shelter: For those agents who represent reluctant first-time buyers, Yun points to some interesting research from the Federal Reserve. Between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated $4,000 in wealth. In contrast, the average homeowner accumulated $184,400. Furthermore, the typical homeowner holds their property for six years. Within this period of time, NAR's research shows that approximately 97 percent of the homeowners will have a positive equity position after that period of time.
Bottom line: 2008 represents the best window that buyers will have to find excellent deals with excellent financing. Get the word out there. If they wait, prices and interest rates will be higher and the reluctant buyer may be forced out of the market.
Bernice Ross, national speaker and CEO of Realestatecoach.com, is the author of "Waging War on Real Estate's Discounters" and "Who's the Best Person to Sell My House?" Both are available online. She can be reached at bernice@realestatecoach.com or visit her blog at www.LuxuryClues.com.
***
What's your opinion? Send your Letter to the Editor to opinion@inman.com.
Copyright 2007 RealEstateCoach.com
Read the following story, courtesy of Inman news! Maine is definitely one market that has NOT crashed. Real estate continues to be great investment.
NAR economist underlines real estate's silver lining
Friday, December 21, 2007
By Bernice Ross Inman News
In all the years I've been writing this column, I have never received such an outpouring of response as I did from the two November articles on how media coverage of negative housing news is hurting our industry.
In spite of gloom and doom of recent news reports on the state of the nation's housing, there is plenty of good news, the most recent of which comes from the National Association of Realtors.
Laurence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, had plenty of positive news for Realtors at last month's conference. Yun attributed much of today's subprime mortgage problem to greed. Wall Street wanted the 10-12 percent return that subprime mortgages yielded as opposed to the smaller returns from more traditional mortgage products. His take on the Wall Street types: "They gambled. They lost."
Yun's outlook for 2008 sees a shift from greedy speculators to serious homeowners. 2008 will be a year of opportunity where there will be serious, healthy business. Furthermore, Yun predicted that the market returns to normal by 2009.
According to Yun, one of the biggest mistakes that reporters make is talking about national trends. Nationally, 2007 was the fifth best year ever on record. Home prices declined about 1.5 percent after a 50 percent run up in prices.
The challenge is that national numbers are pretty much irrelevant. Yun argues that talking about national averages is about as effective as having a national weather forecast. Like the weather, all real estate markets are local. In fact, you may have a buyer's market and a seller's market operating within a single market area based exclusively upon price point. Here are the other key pieces of positive news from Yun's economic report:
1. New housing starts: Even though these are dropping, there was too much building in recent years. The market is simply adjusting to normal supply-and-demand pressures. The inventory is "being controlled which makes stabilization occur more quickly."
2. Foreclosures: According to Yun, the 41 percent increase in foreclosures has resulted primarily from investor-heavy real estate purchases in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada. The majority of these individuals are flippers whose investments did not payoff. More importantly, the number of foreclosures in Utah, New Mexico, North Carolina and South Carolina is actually declining.
3. Under-priced markets and superstar cities: Although the coastal markets are still overpriced, Middle America is under priced. Nevertheless, Yun cites a new trend termed, "superstar" cities. These cities will command premium prices, regardless of what the market does. There is so much wealth concentrated in these areas, that measurements are simply not predictive. In addition to London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, Yun also identified San Francisco, Miami and Seattle as potential new superstar cities.
4. The recovery has started: Other than the three states hit heavily by job losses in the automotive industry (Indiana, Michigan and Ohio), the states that first experienced a downturn in the Northeast, are now in recovery. Specifically, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island were the first to feel the slump and are now well into a recovery. Furthermore, there appears to be a pent-up demand for first-time buyer properties due to a large number of Gen Ys (born 1977 to 1994) that are now buying their first homes. Falling interest rates will motivate many of these buyers to step into the market now.
5. New jobs and corporate profits are still strong: Corporate profits are still strong with companies as diverse as Microsoft and Jack Daniels reporting close to record profits. Furthermore, the economy has generated 4 million net new jobs and wages are rising.
6. A weak dollar may harbinger more foreign investment in U.S. real estateAlthough the decline of the U.S. dollar will end up costing us more when we go overseas or purchase imports, it has resulted in more manufacturing jobs returning to the U.S. It also may mean more foreign investment in U.S. properties as well. Just a few years ago, the Canadian dollar was only worth 70 cents in U.S. currency. Today, the Canadian dollar has been hovering at about $1.05 to $1.10 U.S. What this means is that we can expect more Canadians and Europeans to be purchasing U.S. property, because our prices are approximately 50 percent cheaper than they were just three years ago.
7. Real estate: Still the best shelter: For those agents who represent reluctant first-time buyers, Yun points to some interesting research from the Federal Reserve. Between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated $4,000 in wealth. In contrast, the average homeowner accumulated $184,400. Furthermore, the typical homeowner holds their property for six years. Within this period of time, NAR's research shows that approximately 97 percent of the homeowners will have a positive equity position after that period of time.
Bottom line: 2008 represents the best window that buyers will have to find excellent deals with excellent financing. Get the word out there. If they wait, prices and interest rates will be higher and the reluctant buyer may be forced out of the market.
Bernice Ross, national speaker and CEO of Realestatecoach.com, is the author of "Waging War on Real Estate's Discounters" and "Who's the Best Person to Sell My House?" Both are available online. She can be reached at bernice@realestatecoach.com or visit her blog at www.LuxuryClues.com.
***
What's your opinion? Send your Letter to the Editor to opinion@inman.com.
Copyright 2007 RealEstateCoach.com
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