Having a home staging it will help a homeowner to sell it quickly for the most amount of money by appealing to the largest amount of prospective buyers is one of the goals. In making a home staging it will make the house have the potential by transforming it into a ‘neutral’ property because the way we live in it will change the home so completely different than the way we should sell the home.
San Francisco ranks fifth in the nation as a location for real estate development and investment, according to a national study released Thursday in San Francisco.
The City lost out to top-rated New York City, which was deemed the most desirable metropolitan area to invest in development and real estate in the nation, according to the 2008 Emerging Trends study, an annual survey of real estate industry professionals put out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the nonprofit Urban Land Institute. Seattle was the only West Coast city to rank higher than San Francisco on the annual list.
Factors in San Francisco’s attractiveness to developers include its access to airports and ports, its emphasis on transit oriented development and its status as a “24-hour, global-pathway city,” experts said at the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Conference on Thursday.
“San Francisco is a multifaceted city with many diverse attractions,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jonathan Miller, keynote speaker at the conference, hosted by the Hotel Nikko. “It’s still the dominant 24-hour city of the West Coast, and it attracts a global market that few cities in America can attain.”
Read more here…
Source: Examiner.com
Realtors forecast for year sees the outlook worsening in 2008
WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes in the U.S. are forecast to decline to a five-year low in 2007, a trade group for real estate agents said Tuesday, and the outlook for 2008 is worsening.
The ninth-straight downwardly revised monthly forecast from the National Association of Realtors calls for U.S. existing home sales to fall 12.7 percent this year to 5.66 million, down from 6.48 million last year.
Last month, the association predicted a 10.8 percent drop from a year ago.
This year’s sales would be the lowest since 2002, when sales hit 5.63 million. The Realtors group forecasts sales will rise slightly next year to 5.69 million, but that is down from last month’s prediction of 6.12 million.
The trade group’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said the housing market is likely to experience a “modest” recovery next year as mortgage markets stabilize.
“It is possible for even higher home sales activity than we’re forecasting if buyers regain their confidence,” he said in a prepared statement.
The trade group also said its index that forecasts near-term home sales inched upward in September. The trade group said its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose 0.2 percentage points from August , but was down 20.4 percent from a year ago.
September’s reading of 85.7 came after the index hit a record low in August.
The pending home sales index is designed to predict sales levels over the following two months. A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of pending sales activity in 2001, when the index began.
Source: msnbc.msn.com
Home Sales Pace Summary
Existing home sales in September dropped another 1.2% totaling a whopping 10% overall drop since end of August.
The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million homes is the lowest seen by the National Association of Realtors since they began tracking the combined sales of single-family units + condos in 1999.
So, you’ve seen on the internet or on the dailies your dream house? Well, don’t jump the gun too fast. Before you get a mortgage for that dream house of yours, you have to know first your credit score. Yes, the dreaded credit score.
The worst credit score is about 300 while the best ranges around 850 according to FICO by Fair Isaac Corporation. If you wish to obtain a mortgage for your house, and I mean a good one, you should have at least scored 600 in your score card. Now what makes your credit score low? Past loans that aren’t paid on time, existing credit card debts and the like contribute in making your credit score low.
What can you do? Obviously, pay your debts. You should pay your bills on time and by doing so, the dream house you’ve been craving for will be within reach.
Photo taken from http://www.theweslyngroup.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — During the housing boom, home sellers were in the driver’s seat with real estate agents courting them - often at bargain commission rates. But now that the bubble has burst, the tables have turned.
In 1991, the average commission rate was 6.1 percent, according Steve Murray, of Real Trends, which tracks the brokerage industry. The rate inched down to 5.4 percent by 2001 and by the end of 2005, it stood at 5.02 percent.
Industry insiders expected further declines with the competition of discount and Web-based brokerages. In early 2006, the chairman of Re/Max, Dave Linder, told Real Trends that he expected a drop into the 4 percent range within five years.
But when home sellers found themselves with houses sitting on the market, they became increasingly amenable to paying higher commissions. Real Trends reports the average commission reversed its course and climbed to 5.18 percent in 2006, and it looks like it’s going to end 2007 with another rise.
“The thing that changed,” said Murray,” is that the market flipped. There was a flood of listings on the market and suddenly they weren’t as valuable. Agents were saying, ‘I’m not going to drop my commission rate as readily.”
Learn more: money.cnn.com
Renting
Pros - When the lease is up, you can just move out. Generally, there is less work and expense in maintaining a home or apartment. A smaller amount of “up-front” cash is needed.
Cons - More fixed costs are required for the term of the lease. No matter what happens wit the value of the home, you do not gain equity at all, though you will not lose it either. Personalizing your living quarters is limited. As taxes, your landlord gets to avail of any tax breaks, you get none.
Always consult competent legal and/or accounting advice for details for your situation
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