Great Deal for September 2010!
Author: michael | July 16, 2010
Available from September 1, 2010 two bedroom apartment on the first floor at West Roxbury- Dedham Line,
Topics: Apartments |
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Great Deal. No Fee.
Author: michael | June 21, 2010
Available now two bedroom apartment on West Roxbury- Dedham Line,
Topics: Apartments |
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Author: michael | June 17, 2010
Mortgage rates hold steady
Mortgage rates are remarkably favorable, with the 30-year fixed remaining unchanged from the previous week’s record low.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained 4.88 percent this week, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.48 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.76 percent; four weeks ago, it was 4.96 percent.
The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 1 basis point, to 4.32 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 3 basis points, to 4.19 percent.
In the nearly 25-year history of Bankrate’s weekly rate survey, the 30-year fixed has fallen below 5 percent just five times. And all five times were the last five weeks.
Refinance surge
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, refinance applications went up 21 percent last week, as homeowners recognized the rare chance to grab rates at their lowest. They created the busiest refi surge since May 2009. Three-quarters of mortgage applicants were homeowners who wanted to refinance.“My philosophy on refinancing is that anybody that could have refinanced to get a low rate, at this point, already did,” says Dale Robyn Siegel, author of the book “The New Rules for Mortgages” and owner of Circle Mortgage Group in Harrison, N.Y.
Weekly national mortgage survey
Results of Bankrate.com’s June 16, 2010 weekly national survey of large lenders and the effect on monthly payments for a $165,000 loan:
| 30-year fixed | 15-year fixed | 5-year ARM | |
| This week’s rate: | 4.88% | 4.32% | 4.19% |
| Change from last week: | N/C | -0.01 | +0.03 |
| Monthly payment: | $880.72 | $1,247.11 | $805.92 |
| Change from last week: | N/C | -$0.84 | +$2.89 |
Today’s refinancers are looking for more than just a lower rate, she says. They want to merge their first and second mortgages, or consolidate other debt, or reduce their mortgage terms from 30 years to 20 years or 15 years.
“Get something else out of your effort and time, other than just lowering the monthly payment,” Siegel says.
Lock or wait?
Inevitably, refinancers ask whether they should lock rates shortly after applying or wait until the closing date draws nigh. The answer sometimes depends on the policy of the lender and sometimes on the philosophy of the loan officer.“Some banks now require that you lock the loan in when you send the loan application in,” Siegel says. “So if you apply today, some banks will lock you in today.”
Siegel says she prefers to wait and lock customers’ rates around 15 days before the closing date. These days, it takes about 45 to 60 days for her company to close refis. So borrowers are asked to summon the courage to float their rates for a month or more.
Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans, leans more toward locking a rate earlier in the process. Either way — float or lock — Walters advises borrowers to keep emotions in check.
“It’s OK to float your loan, but understand what’s happening,” he says. “You could be refinancing and you decide, ‘Hey, I’m going to hope for a lower rate, so I’m going to float’ — and then rates go up and all of a sudden your deal doesn’t make sense. The opposite can happen, too, and you can lock your interest rate and they go down and you find yourself in a tizzy.”
Bottom line: You’re in charge of your own emotions. Only you can send yourself into a tizzy. When you decide on a rate lock strategy, don’t second-guess yourself.
Topics: Mortage Rates, National News |
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Is a housing shortage coming?
Author: michael | June 16, 2010
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As the nation struggles to shrug off the worst housing crash since the Great Depression, it may be hard to believe a housing shortage could be on its way.
The nation is simply not building enough homes to keep up with potential demand. Just 672,000 new homes were started in April, an annualized rate and less than half the long-term run rate needed to meet the nation’s natural population growth.
“It is ironic, but there is a growing consensus that there may be a new housing shortage coming,” said James Gaines, a real estate economist with Texas A&M.
So far, the shortfall has been masked by a weak economy that has put a damper on home buying. Once the job market rebounds, however, people will look to have their own homes again. This pent-up demand could get unleashed on unprepared markets, causing shortages and rising local prices.
Household formation — the technical term for people moving in together — has been on hold during the past few years as young people, especially, have been unable to find jobs. In the past, an average of more than 1.3 million households were formed each year, causing demand for 1.5 million new homes. (More homes than households are needed to replace those destroyed by fires, floods, teardowns and neglect.)
In 2009, only 398,000 new households were formed, according to the Census Bureau. That is much lower than average and a quarter of the number formed just two years earlier.
“The decline in household formation is artificial,” said Gaines. “The young are moving in with their parents. There’s even doubling up among working class people. There’s a pent-up demand coming if and when the economy recovers.”
Those doubting a new bubble is near point to a large inventory overhang. As many as 7 million homes are vacant but not for sale, according to the Census Bureau, which should provide cushion to offset increased demand.
“The housing market hasn’t been this way before,” said Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “The gravity of the problem is deeper and the challenges different. You have to get through that inventory.”
The inventory number, however, can be deceiving for two reasons: People may not want to live in hard-hit areas where the houses are (think: California exurbs and Detroit neighborhoods) or the homes may be beyond repair.
“Many of these vacant homes may not be habitable or are in locations where nobody wants to live,” Gaines said.
Building out of the lows
Ordinarily, the nation’s homebuilders can react quickly to meet surges in demand. But several factors are preventing them from being nimble. The biggest is the difficulty getting loans, according to Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
“When we came out of past recessions, there wasn’t the difficulty of obtaining financing that there is now,” he said.
Many small builders have been unable to obtain construction loans or lost their financing in mid-project. That has prodded NAHB to support federal legislation that would make $15 billion in lending guarantees available for private builders.
Hard times also persuaded builders to postpone purchases of land they could prep for future development. It will take them that much longer to gear up production once the housing market improves.
Too, many builders went out of business in the bust, so there will be fewer companies out there to do the building. The survivors will confront a transformed regulatory environment, according to Howard, that will make new homes harder to build and more expensive.
“There is an increased focus on smart growth that will create regulatory barriers to the kind of sprawling development that has characterized a lot of recent building,” said Retsinas.
The regulations come under two categories, according to Susan Asmus, NAHB’s senior vice president for advocacy, covering where new homes are built and how they’re built.
One category is storm water runoff. The Environmental Protection Agency tightened requirement governing how builders handle that. Builders will have to install controls such as catchments or retaining ponds that slow the flow of storm runoff into the local watersheds.
“It could add as much as $15,000 to $30,000 an acre in extra costs, depending on the soil,” said Asmus.
Another proposed regulation mandates sprinkler systems in each new home. This is already state law, starting January 2011, in California, Maryland and New Jersey. That adds as much as $10,000 to the cost of construction.
Where the shortages will be
Previous overbuilding one-time boom towns, such as Las Vegas and Miami, should provide enough inventory of like-new homes to counter any strong pent-up demand that breaks free.
It’s the more constrained markets, where it’s particularly hard to build — such as New York, San Francisco and Seattle — that will field the bulk of the new bubble problems, according to Retsinas. He, however, is less worried about the purchase market than about rentals, the usual entree for the young buyers expected to lead the new housing market charge.
“Nobody is building any rental inventory,” said Retsinas.
| 30 yr fixed mtg |
4.83% |
| 15 yr fixed mtg |
4.26% |
| 30 yr fixed jumbo mtg |
5.58% |
| 5/1 ARM |
3.83% |
| 5/1 jumbo ARM |
4.27% |
Topics: Mortage Rates, National News |
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Homebuilders worry about declining sales.
Author: michael | June 16, 2010
June 16, 2010
WASHINGTON — Homebuilders are feeling less confident in the recovery now that government incentives for buyers have expired.
Their pessimism could drag on the economy, which may not benefit so much from the job creation that construction typically generates throughout various sectors.
The National Association of Home Builders said yesterday its housing market index fell to 17 in June, sinking five points after two straight months of increases. It was the lowest level since March.
Builders had been more optimistic earlier in the year when buyers could take advantage of tax credits of up to $8,000. Those incentives expired April 30, although buyers with signed contracts have until June 30 to complete their purchases.
Experts anticipate home sales will slow in the second half of this year. In addition, high unemployment and tight mortgage lending continue to keep many buyers on the sidelines.
John Wieland, CEO of Atlanta-based John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, said his company has seen a decline in sales the past two months. Consumers are nervous about the economy, especially given the stock market’s downturn in recent months, he said.
“It doesn’t give you that warm feeling that makes you want to go out and spend a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Wieland said. “It’s just an unusually uncertain time in America
Topics: National News |
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Buying New or Buying Old.
Author: michael | June 15, 2010
New homes typically have a higher sales price than comparable existing homes, and buyers are usually willing to spend more on a new home because of lower maintenance costs. Builders’ warranties on new homes, when combined with a new roof, appliances, and major systems, usually make major repairs unnecessary and help to counter a slower initial rate of appreciation.
Census Bureau Housing Surveys suggests that operating costs are lowest for brand new homes and slightly higher for relatively new existing homes. Operating costs per square foot of living space are consistently higher for progressively older existing homes. Utility costs represent the largest factor in operating costs. Energy consumption per square foot depends on the size of the home, the insulation and quality of the windows, air leakage and the efficiency of the furnace.
New homes require fewer expenditures for routine maintenance. The cost of maintenance first increases with age, then declines, so you will generally spend less maintaining a home built before 1960 than for a home built between 1970 and 1975.
| 30 yr fixed mtg |
4.84% |
| 15 yr fixed mtg |
4.26% |
| 30 yr fixed jumbo mtg |
5.59% |
| 5/1 ARM |
3.85% |
| 5/1 jumbo ARM |
Topics: Marketplace, Mortage Rates |
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The Time Is Reit.
Author: michael | June 14, 2010
Real-estate investment trusts may tempt investors back into the battered property market.
By JOHN FERRY
Most property investors – unless you include the hedge fund managers that shorted the market – have had their fingers burnt in the last few years. Those who invested in real-estate investment trusts suffered more than most. These vehicles often took on large amounts of debt in the lead up to the credit crunch in an attempt to turbo-charge returns. Many have since had to carry out rights issues or to cut their dividends.
Journal Report
See the complete Wealth Adviser Europe report.
By the end of last year some Reits were trading at discounts of up to 40% of the value of their underlying property investments – which had themselves slumped 50% from their peak – because of the bear market in equities.
Now many investors have finished licking their wounds and want to make up for their losses. Surprisingly, some wealthy investors are coming to the conclusion that Reits might offer them the best way to take advantage of the recovery in the property market. Reits are listed companies that manage real estate holdings, passing the profits on to shareholders. They first appeared in the U.S. in the 1960s. Many countries have since passed legislation to create their own domestic Reits markets – France saw its first Reits in 2004, for instance, while the UK got in on the act in 2007. One of Europe’s biggest Reit companies is France’s Unibail-Rodamco, which, among other things, owns 100 shopping centres spread across 12 countries. Its property portfolio was valued at €22.3 billion at the end of last year.
A big selling point for Reits is their liquidity — they can be bought and sold just like a regular share. Another is that Reits are generally more tax efficient than other types of listed property-holding companies – with UK Reits, for instance, property income and capital gains are free from corporation tax.
From Boom to Bust
It is easy to see why investors were so attracted to Reits when economies are booming spurring demand for commercial property space and increasing property prices. But the property boom had to end at some point. And when it did, Reits markets were hit particularly hard.
Between February 2007 and February 2009 the FTSE EPRA/Nareit Europe Index, which tracks the performance of a diverse range of Reits listed across Europe, registered a decline of almost 75%. Reits were left reeling from a combination of debt exposure, an illiquid asset base in a falling market and an increasing cost of funding. The capital-intensive nature of the property investment business meant Reits required substantial levels of financing, which in turn meant they were particularly vulnerable to a dislocation in the credit markets. When that dislocation came and credit disappeared, Reits struggled. Their own portfolios contained illiquid assets but their structure provided investors with an easy escape route.
Jack Foster: Franklin Templeton
But easy go, easy come. Investors now realize that Reits allow them to quit the property market quickly when things take a turn for the worse. They are therefore one of the favored routes to participate in any potential recovery.
One thing to keep in mind when considering Reit investments is that underlying property prices are just one of many factors that drive performance. Most Reits are focused on commercial property, which means rental rates and the general state of the economy are important to their success. The cost of lending and the availability of capital are also crucial. All things considered, real estate experts say there are reasons to be cautiously bullish on Reits at the moment.
Jack Foster, New York-based managing director and head of real estate at Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors, which invests in property funds and Reits globally, says: “We’re looking through the rest of the year at a pretty strong performance from the property stock sector, and I think if you have a long term investment horizon then this is not a bad time to come into the market.”.
None
Reit companies have worked to stabilize their businesses over the last few years, which means the ones that are still around – very few actually went out of business, despite the intensity of the difficulties the sector faced – should be safer investment vehicles. “Most of the big Reits undertook rights issues to significantly bolster their balance sheets and bring in cash,” says Peter Beckett, London-based director of consultancy firm Ernst & Young’s real estate group. “They did this partly to de-leverage and to perhaps look at refinancing some of their existing borrowings. But I think they also did it as a defensive measure. It gave them a war chest in case they had to refinance even more of their existing debt.” In 2009 Reits worldwide raised tens of billions of dollars, according to Ernst & Young.
Balance Sheet
“Most of the Reits right now are pretty well structured from a balance sheet position,” says Mr. Foster, adding that over the next two years it will be the owners of securitized real estate debt that will face more pain compared to Reits, which typically hold physical real estate. He adds: “The public property companies don’t have any big problems because they know where their debt maturities are.”
Kees Hage: PricewaterhouseCoopers
So the big Reit operators should have the cash to allow their businesses to continue to function, while also being in a position to snap up real estate bargains. As and when those bargains present themselves however is another matter. “The equity for buying is there, but the question is: is there enough availability of good quality assets,” says Kees Hage, Luxembourg-based head of consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers’ real estate practice.
Many banks are not willing to realize losses on property loans that are contractually in default. Instead of seizing assets then selling them on the open market, banks are stalling. “The banks at the moment are doing what the industry calls ‘pretend and extend’,” says Mr. Foster. “They’re extending maturities on mortgages, pretending that the markets will come back enough that they won’t have to realize the losses on their balance sheets.”
Thanks to state rescue deals, cheap central bank funding and changes in accounting rules, banks have no incentive to realize those losses. “As long as borrowers can fund their interest payments from rent then the banks are happy to let sleeping dogs lie, even though the borrower might be in breach of covenant on a loan that is technically underwater,” says Mr. Beckett. “The banks don’t want to end up with a lot of product they may have to sell at a potential loss, which would also make their positions worse in terms of their own capital adequacy.”
In the U.S., for example, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility and the Public Private Investment Program were specifically put in place to prevent an expected wave of defaults. Meanwhile, accounting standards have been relaxed to let banks mark their property assets on their balance sheet at an historical cost price as opposed to an estimated current market price – which would be a lot lower.
But even with these measures in place, most market observers expect more assets to be sold under duress over the next few years. Consultancy firm Mercer, for example, believes the greatest opportunity for Reit growth might come from a “pending” meltdown in the commercial mortgage market, according to a report it recently released called Recapitalization and Recovery in the Reit Market: “With estimates projecting over $1.2 trillion in commercial real estate loans coming due in the next four years, it is expected that some properties will be brought to the market by borrowers unable to secure additional financing or loan extensions. Capital for commercial real estate will remain tight, and with many institutional investors sidelined for the time being, Reits with balance sheet strength will be in a position to take advantage of the opportunities.”
But there is no guarantee that the future will be all plain sailing for Reits. Much will depend on the economic recovery. A double-dip recession would spell another round of hard knocks for the sector, while growing inflationary fears could lead to higher interest rates and hence financing costs.
Over the longer term the outlook for the Reits sector is also uncertain. Before the credit crisis, the Reits industry fed off the securitization cycles that pushed up asset prices. Financing on that scale will almost certainly never return. At the same time, Reits managers are likely to be more risk averse, eschewing development investment opportunities in favor of passive investments in assets with established cashflows. That suggests conservative risk and return characteristics will prevail.
Reits have faced a rough ride over the last few years. But the sector continues to offer investors access to an important alternative market.
| 30 yr fixed mtg |
4.83% |
| 15 yr fixed mtg |
4.26% |
| 30 yr fixed jumbo mtg |
5.58% |
| 5/1 ARM |
3.82% |
| 5/1 jumbo ARM |
4.30% |
Topics: Mortage Rates, National News |
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Available Now!!!
Author: michael | June 9, 2010
Pond Avenue at Washington Street (google map) (yahoo map)
Topics: Apartments, Condos |
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Great Deal! Great location!
Author: michael | May 26, 2010
Available now luxury two bedroom, two full bathroom, 2-walk in modern closets, two balconies in each bedroom condominium on the second floor at Highvew Park condominiums. Two parking spaces, modern kitchen with dishwasher and disposal, large living room, apartment ready for cable TV and Internet. Great location, close to Dedham Athletic Club, Dedham Mall. Next to the building Bus Stop.
Topics: Apartments |
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Author: michael | May 25, 2010
Survey Finds that Renting is More Preferable to Owning in a Down Market
Headline News, National, News, Today’s Headlines May 25, 2010
By Erika Schnitzer, Managing Editor
Washington, D.C.—A majority of consumers, 76 percent, deem renting to be more favorable than owning a home in the current real estate market, according to an online survey commissioned by the National Apartment Association (NAA) in May. This represents a 5 percent increase from 2008.
The survey was conducted by market research firm Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Apartment Association. Respondents included 2,140 adults, including 1,443 owners and 617 renters. It is the third such survey that the NAA has completed, Douglas Culkin, president of NAA, tells MHN.
“I’m not sure that owning a home at any cost is a dream that is going to be pursued any longer, because the fallout from the subprime collapse has shown a lot of people that’s not the way to go—the real estate market is not ever-increasing in value,” Culkin asserts.
The survey also found that both renters and homeowners are not eager to make any changes in their housing status within the next year; 60 percent of renters plan to continue renting their current or new residences within the next year, while 71 percent of homeowners plan to stay in their current home over the next year.
“We’re seeing in this economy [that] renting provides consumers with more options for mobility. I think that everyone is looking at the flexibility of renting at this point in time, which goes back to labor mobility. And again, we’re seeing that confidence in the housing market remains low, and there is a lot of uncertainty about what’s going on” in the market, says Culkin.
“People aren’t looking forward to making a change. Whether you own or rent, most people are saying that they want to stay, and I think that’s a factor of uncertainty of what’s happening in the economy,” Culkin adds. “Most people feel that we have really turned the corner,” but as long as these “market blips” continue, “people will just continue to bide their time and stay with what they’re comfortable with,” he predicts.
Furthermore, the Gen Y students graduating from college and looking for a place to live are likely to rent since banks will be reverting back to traditional financing of 20 to 25 percent down, making home ownership much more difficult for younger generations, according to Culkin.
“Millenials want to be close to where they work and play and be close to mass transit,” says Culkin. “I think that’s another instance where communities, whether they are first-class or not, that [are] close to the centers where people are working, playing, where there is rapid transit, will be good opportunities for owners in the future.”
The survey also found an increase from 2008 in the number of adults noting the additional burden of major home repairs or maintenance as a primary benefit of renting a home—64 percent in 2010, compared to 57 percent in 2008.
Other reasons cited for preferring renting over ownership include financial reasons (50 percent), such as not being impacted by an unpredictable real estate market (33 percent) and not being susceptible to foreclosure (also 33 percent).
Disposing of Your Vacation Home
The economy in general and the housing marketing in particular may get you thinking about disposing of a second home. It may be too costly to keep, you may need the funds for other purposes, use of the property has diminished because of changes in your family, or the prospect of a substantial rise in property values in the near future is dim. It’s hard to find buyers because they now have to make sizable down payments (35% or more) to obtain a mortgage. Here are the tax ramifications of disposing of your vacation property.
Gain on a Sale
If you’ve owned the vacation property for years, a sale may still generate a profit, even in this still poor housing market. Any gain on the sale of a vacation home doesn’t qualify for the home sale exclusion; the exclusion of $250,000 ($500,000 on a joint return) applies only to a principal residence. Thus, gain on the sale of a vacation home is taxed at a maximum of 15% at the federal level; there may be state income tax costs as well.
If you previously used a vacation home that you now use as your principal residence, you can qualify for the exclusion if you’ve owned and lived in the home for at least 2 years during the 5 years prior to the date of sale. However, the exclusion does not apply to the portion of gain related to “nonqualified use.” Nonqualified use means using the residence as a vacation home after 2008. Thus, if you use the vacation home for all of 2009 and start using it as your principal residence on January 1, 2010, a sale after January 1, 2012 (when the 2-year rule is met) can qualify for the exclusion, but not the portion of gain related to the nonqualified use in 2009.
Tax-free exchange. If you can’t claim the exclusion for any reason (it is still your vacation property), you may be able to postpone reporting the gain by trading
the property for other vacation property. Under the like-kind exchange rules, a trade qualifies if both the property relinquished and the newly acquired property are held for investment. Thus, you’ll have to show that both the old and replacement property are being used as investment properties, which would mean that they have been rented out for a minimum period.
There is a safe harbor under which the IRS will not challenge whether a dwelling unit qualifies as investment property for purposes of the like-kind exchange rules. The properties are considered investment property if three conditions are met:
- Each property is owned for at least 24 months.
- The owner rents the property at a fair rental for 14 days or more during those 24 months before and 24 months after the trade.
- The homeowner’s personal use does not exceed 14 days or 10% of the number of rental days during a 12-month period (for each of the two 12-months prior to the trade and two 12-month periods after the trade).
Sales at a Loss
If you sell your vacation home at a loss, you cannot deduct the loss. No write-off is allowed for a loss on a personal asset. There have been proposals in Congress to allow a loss deduction for principal residences; the proposals have not yet been enacted, and even if they are, they likely won’t apply to vacation homes.
Foreclosures
Some owning vacation homes with large mortgages may simply walk away to avoid making monthly mortgage payments. If you default on the mortgage and your lender forecloses on your vacation home, forgiving any remaining mortgage balance, the debt forgiveness is taxable. It is reported to you and to the IRS on Form 1099-C. The break for 2007 through 2012 for cancellation of debt income applies only to a principal residence and not to vacation property.
What to Do When You Can’t Sell
If you’re trying to sell without any luck, consider renting the property. If you convert from a personal-use vacation home to an income-producing rental property, you’ll reap certain benefits:
- Cash flow from rents to cover some or all of the expenses of the home. Rental income is taxable, but can be offset by rental expenses.
- A tax deduction for expenses related to the rental (although various limits apply).
- A deductible loss on an eventual sale for any decline in value experienced after the conversion to rental property.
See today’s average mortgage rates across the country. Source: Bankrate.com
|
Loan Type |
Today |
Last Week |
| 30 Year Fixed | 4.87% | 4.94% |
| 15 Year Fixed | 4.20% | 4.24% |
| 1 Year ARM | 3.22% | 3.23% |
| 30 Year Fixed Jumbo | 5.59% | 5.59% |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.69% | 3.65% |
| 3/1 ARM | 4.33% | 4.30% |
Topics: Marketplace, Mortage Rates, National News |
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