The Things That Make Buyers Jump
The NWI Times reports from Indiana. “Single-family home sales increased 14.9 percent in July in Northwest Indiana. In perhaps an even more hopeful sign, the median selling price increased to $137,000 in July, an 11.4 percent increase as compared to the year-ago month, according to association data. ‘Interest rates are still low and prices are going to go up,’ said Minakshi Ghuman, a Realtor with Century 21 Pace Realty, in Valparaiso. ‘Those two things make buyers jump.’”
The Star Tribune in Minnesota. “John Folsom and his wife invested for retirement by socking money into safe mutual funds to build a nest egg that could support their dream of one day having a house on a lake. But at 53, Folsom looks at his retirement portfolio and sees that ‘the rules’ aren’t working. The market crash and housing collapse hammered his net worth. Now the Apple Valley man’s life savings are earning about half what he had expected, dragged down by record-low interest rates. ‘All of our calculations have been thrown asunder, and everyone has to rethink the whole deal,’ said Folsom said, who is planning to push back his retirement five years, possibly until he’s 67.”
“The Federal Reserve’s near zero interest-rate policy, aimed at stimulating the economy, has created bargains for borrowers refinancing a mortgage or buying a car. But the low rates are penalizing ’savers’ such as seniors and others on fixed incomes, forcing millions of middle-class Americans to reconsider how they will live when they retire, if they can retire at all.”
“‘We’re not really seeing the positive benefit of low rates, but we’re seeing a huge negative hit,’ said Tim Gillaspy, who recently retired. ‘It’s going to have repercussions not for one or two years, but basically for the rest of our lives.’”
Chicago Mag in Illinois. “In the past month, signs of vitality in the Chicago real-estate market have proliferated. Linda Levin, senior VP at Jameson/Sotheby’s International says that the perception of stability has brought out what she calls ‘better buyers. They’re not the bottom-feeders who are looking for a [steal]. They’re educated, and they see that it’s time to buy confidently.’”
WMBD in Illinois. “The housing market in Central Illinois is starting to look like it did before the recession hit. That might sound frustrating to those who still haven’t sold a house that’s been on the market for months. Arab Kattom said she and her husband haven’t felt the benefits of the upswing; their house has been on the market for seven months. ‘We’ve had plenty of open houses, but we don’t know what the problem is,’ Kattom said. ‘We are sad, really sad. Especially in the summer, we wish we could have sold the home in the summer, but we couldn’t.’”
“‘We are right now, we’re seeing an increase in value in the greater Peoria area,’ said Laura Martin, President of the Peoria Area Association of Realtors. Martin says price alone might not be what tips the scales, that curb appeal is also important. ‘Give it a pop of color, put some baskets of flowers or pots of flowers on your front porch,’ she said.”
The Journal Express in Iowa. “Marty Shukert, principal planner for RDG Planning and Design has noticed is a shortage of market-rate rental housing across Iowa. ‘One reason is the whole industry died off prior to 2008, and now all of a sudden it’s needed again,’ Shukert said. ‘People are viewing a home as more of an anchor … as something that keeps them from being mobile.’”
“Joan Sutterlin said as new faculty members have come to Indian Hills, they have struggled to find places to live. She has also noticed that while seniors are selling their homes, and those homes are sitting empty, others are having trouble finding housing. She said one problem could be that seniors ‘don’t realize there is a global financial meltdown’ and ‘they’re not all realists when it comes to originally pricing their homes.’”
Public News Service on Ohio. “The housing bubble may have burst several years ago, but many Ohio communities continue to suffer the effects of the foreclosure crisis. An estimated one-third of all homeowners in the state are ‘underwater’ on their mortgage. It’s a story Paul Simmons, Bedford, knows all too well. He paid $130,000 for his home 10 years ago, and now houses on his street are selling for just $75,000. He has tried working with his lender to reduce his loan principal, but has been unsuccessful.
“He says he feels trapped. ‘My home is a toxic asset because it’s not worth what I’m paying for it. It’s more advantageous to me to have the house foreclosed on and to file bankruptcy than to just throw away $40,000 or $50,000 and not be able to recoup that money.”
CBS News on Ohio. “In July, the number of building permits was up by more than 29 percent from a year before. But the housing rebound may be too late for those facing foreclosure. In Appalachia, 72-year-old Charlie Ward had no savings and lived on Social Security. But because of a special USDA program for low income families, he could buy his own home. Ward called it a day of pride for him.”
“A truck driver for more than 40 years, Ward and his wife Wilma expected to live out their lives in Nelsonville, Ohio. But last year, with Wilma dying of cancer, medical bills took a toll. Ward said his family finances ‘disappeared fast’ because of what happened to his wife. Ward fell behind on his payments. He says he was trying to work out a payment deferment plan when the USDA seized his $2,900 tax refund, and began taking $135 from his $900 monthly social security check. Ward said it really hurt because ‘I have to survive, and I can’t.’”
“Unlike private lenders, the USDA plays by a different set of rules. The government doesn’t need court permission to begin collecting on unpaid debts even before a home is in foreclosure. Although there are USDA programs to help borrowers when they first fall behind, it’s not always easy to get that help. ‘One of the things you have to understand is that you’re talking about borrowers who are not that financially sophisticated,’ said legal aid attorney Carlie Boos.”
“Boos is working to save Ward’s home, now in foreclosure. She says once a home is in foreclosure, federal statutes leave no options. ‘They’re not allowed to do anything after a foreclosure has started other than say, ‘give me everything that is owed,’ Boos said. ‘You are literally talking about squeezing blood from a turnip.’”
From St Louis Today. “The St. Louis market’s rebound over the past few months should continue this fall and lead, finally, to recovery. That’s the view of real estate experts, who say low prices and low mortgage rates appear to be taking effect. ‘We have been so busy,’ said Bob Bax, a broker-manager with Prudential Alliance Realtors, in Ladue, who tells of ringing phones and packed open houses.”
“The corridor’s median home price of $213,000 is flat from a year ago and ’still pretty pathetic’ but will likely begin to edge up, said Russ Nolting, a broker-manager at Keller Williams Realty in Kirkwood. Nolting added that many homeowners, ‘awakened to the reality of today’s market,’ realize their houses no longer fetch the bubble-fueled prices of a few years ago, when almost any buyer could get a mortgage.”
“‘People are staying put,’ he said. ‘Back in ‘03, if the bathroom was pink, people would just sell the house.’”
