Archive for June, 2010

From Yahoo News…

 Posted Jun 29, 2010 07:30am EDT by Aaron Task

Northern Trust economist Paul Kasriel raised some eyebrows after declaring in a recent report that “housing is about as an attractive a purchase as it has been in the past 40 years.”

Kasriel, who is no Pollyanna, based his analysis on a combination of “rock-bottom” mortgage rates, house prices relative to household incomes, and a classic comparison of ‘buying vs. renting’.

There’s no debating housing affordability has improved dramatically as mortgage rates have fallen and home prices tumbled from the 2006 highs. But Dan Alpert, managing director of Westwood Capital, says would-be buyers need not worry about the market ‘running away’ from them, as many Americans feared earlier this decade.

“The affordability is pretty much here to stay,” Alpert says. “I think we’re going to be in an era of very flat pricing and very, very cheap money for a very long time.”

If it’s not clear, that’s not a ‘good news’ outlook, he says: “In a deflationary environment, you have to scratch your head twice and say, ‘Gee, do I really want to be owning rather-than renting?’”

Overall, Alpert predicts national home prices to fall another 5% to 8% from the lows of May 2009 but expects real estate trends to become much more regional, i.e. return to more historic norms.

On that front, he sees more risks in areas that fared best during the downturn, like the New York metropolitan area. In the so-called Sand States, where housing prices fell 45-55%, “housing has reached the point where, relative to rentals, occupancy costs are about the same,” he says. “That’s not the case here in NY and elsewhere on the East Coast.”

Click “more” to hear the rest of Alpert’s analysis and get his take on homebuilders, which he says are “cheap” after getting battered in recent weeks.

As of June 22, 2010 (1% loan fee applies)

Rates shown above are based on transactions with a 20% down payment, 1% loan origination fee, 740 credit scores, impounds for property taxes and insurance and 30-day rate lock.  Contact Jeanine Roe or Brian Page of NW Mortgage Group for more information at 503.439.9191.

The real estate boom years between 2003 and 2008 created a unique phenomenon that changed the way we all classified a real estate investment.   Real Estate essentially overnight went from being a fixed asset on all of our balance sheets to about as liquid of an asset as cash.  If any of us wanted to make a real estate move, sell one piece, and buy another, it was almost as simple as trading in a car and getting a new one the same day.  Brokers had buyers waiting, money to facilitate your next purchase before selling your existing home was readily available, and presto, everyone made moves as easily as a Friday night Monopoly game. 

Fast forward to today and the landscape has changed dramatically.  We are back to normal and normal seems like the industry is moving like a tortoise.   Every move you make requires forethought, a strategy, implementing a plan, and patience.  Real Estate is once again back in the place it belongs on the balance sheet as a fixed asset.

To make real estate move today usually means you started working on this possibility 4 to 12 months earlier by studying the market, proactively maintaining your home to perfection, and carefully investing in the appropriate improvements in your home to compete in the marketplace.  You see today, there can be 100 homes for sale in a market and only 5 selling each month; meaning if you want to sell, you best be dressed for success.   What is more challenging is that the competition is stiff, bank foreclosures, short sales, distressed builders, and sellers who have been relocated, are all competing to be one of those next five sales. 

However, what is exciting is that for those who prepare, there are wonderful opportunities to capitalize upon.  While it seems ridiculous, fixed rate loans are at the record of all record lows at 4.5%.  The selection of homes to choose from is at a 10 year high, and from time to time a “great deal” may actually be a home you would live in.  But do know this, if you are interested in making a change, it requires time, effort, patience, and a plan.

From KATU News..

PORTLAND, Ore. – For about a month now it seems the only variety of weather we’ve seen is “showers to pouring rain.” Now the rain could set records for the Oregon and Southwest Washington area.

KATU Meteorologist Dave Salesky predicts Wednesday’s soggy weather will turn into a “monster of a storm” hitting the Pacific Northwest.

“We have a good chance of a 24-hour rainfall record for June,” Salesky said. The current record is 1.82 inches, set June 5 and June 6 in 1958. See the forecast for more rain and snow predictions.

Due to the rain, Portland’s Waterfront Village closed around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. KATU Reporter Margie Lynch was at the scene, saying it’s a “muddy gooey wet mess” around the mechanical rides. No injuries or larger problems have been reported.

The decision to temporarily close the Rose Festival’s Waterfront Village was announced just before noon. As of early Wednesday morning thick, ominous clouds already hung over Portland. (See photo above.)

Despite the rain storm rolling in, KATU Reporter Valerie Hurst still found people out jogging and bicycling Wednesday morning. She also found a tourist who told us she gave up hot weather in Denver to be here.

“I’m finding your city very beautiful,” said tourist Jan Hicks. “I enjoy the rain … Denver’s been having some hot weather, so this is a switch.”

The commute has been a tough one on this rainy Wednesday. Rain blurred windshields and causing big backups as people in the West Hills merged onto Highway 26.  

The Portland Office of Transportation’s Cheryl Emma Kuck said crew’s preparations for the storm appear to have worked really well. Crews worked to clear drainage areas in the hills. The areas help guard against water running down hillsides.

Crews began clearing debris out of clogged basins as a preventative measure over the weekend. Homeowners who can’t clear their street-side debris to allow the water to flow can call 503-823-1700 to get help from the city.

“The ground is saturated,” reported Kuck in a prepared statement Wednesday. “Homeowners, especially in the hills, should watch for earth movement. Pay attention to property. Any sign of a trees leaning or earth movement and really soggy spots are signs of water underground and possible earth movement.”

In Lincoln County on Oregon’s coast we also have reports of scattered trees blown down as a result of Wednesday’s winds. 

Winds are expected to pick up later in the day. Sustained winds of 25 to 45 miles per hour should top out around 50 miles per hour.

Meanwhile, May was already close to a record-setting month for Portland rain. The city received 4.75 inches of rainfall in May, reports the Steve Pierce with the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society.

“This is exactly 200 percent of normal – of average – for the month of May,” Pierce said.

He said May’s total rainfall is the third highest on record for the month of May, trailing only 1996′s 4.88 inches and 1998′s 5.55 inches of rainfall.

“May also saw 22 days with measurable precipitation of at least 0.01 inch or more,” Pierce said. “This is also the first two back-to-back wetter-than-normal months at both Portland and Vancouver since fall of 2007 – nearly three years ago.”