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Real Estate Prices

Home price increases may have flattened - Nov. 15, 2005 Web CNN/Money Home News Markets Technology Commentary Personal Finance Autos Real Estate Real Estate Buying & Selling SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | SUBSCRIBE TO MONEY | Outlook sours for real estate Many indicators point to a major slowdown in home prices. November 15, 2005: 5:47 PM EST By Les Christie, CNN/Money staff writer Most overvalued markets The real estate markets most vulnerable in a housing bust Metro market Median home price Percent overvalued Naples, FL $489,875 79.35% Santa Barbara, CA $609,999 73.69% Merced, CA $256,348 71.71% Salinas, CA $539,273 70.49% Stockton, CA $307,849 68.66% Medford, OR $246,245 64.78% Port St. Lucie, FL $210,727 64.17% Riverside, CA $291,170 62.92% Modesto, CA $287,030 62.77% Madera, CA $256,417 60.39% Source:National City NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Did homeowners who sold in September get out just in time? The latest report on third-quarter home prices, released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors, showed continued strength. But increasingly there are signs that prices have plateaued. Of 147 markets tracked , 69 had gains from a year ago of more than 10 percent -- only six metro areas experienced declines. But from the second quarter to the third quarter, the national median home price rose to $215,900, up just 3.8 percent. That contrasts with a 10.4 percent jump in the prior quarter. And more and more leading indicators are pointing to a slowdown. In Boston, real-estate investor Matthew Martinez reports recently having spoken to five condo converters. "They all said the party was over," Martinez said. In Florida, Elena Filipa, vice president of the Corcoron Group in West Palm, said "We've leveled off. I would say prices will go up this year, but not as fast as they have." None of this surprises the many economists who have been waiting for a downturn. Richard DeKaser, chief economist for mortgage banker National City, has been reluctant to call the top, but thinks it has finally passed. "We're coming down the other side of the mountain," said DeKaser. The signs include: Builder pessimism The builders DeKaser surveys are less optimistic than they were even a few months ago. Separately, one leading builder, Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers, announced last week that expected demand for 2006 would be down, resulting in moderating price increases and fewer sales. New-home sales declining DeKaser also notes that the number of new homes sold have fallen sharply since peaking in July at an annual rate of 1.3 million units. DeKaser calls new-home sales (rather than existing-home sales) the canary in the coal mine. "Developers tend to be more sensitive to market conditions," he said. They have cash flow issues, payrolls, and loans that put more pressure on them to sell. Ordinary home sellers are often more selective than developers, even taking properties off the market if they don't get the price they want. Developers have to drop prices to move inventory. Inventories rising Supplies of new homes are way up, to nearly 500,000 units, from 350,000 a few months ago. "That's an all-time high for new homes," says DeKaser. The higher the inventory, the more likely prices will fall. Sell times are up Houses are sitting on the market longer. New homes now take about 4.1 months to sell and existing homes 4.7; both figures are up substantially. What to expect In a recent survey, NAR members say they predict home prices to rise only 5 percent in the next 12 months. Nearly half of the realtors predict prices will rise less than five percent and 6.4 percent actually expect prices to fall. "You can't expect double-digit price increases to go on forever," said Walter Molony, spokesman for NAR. "We're seeing a market in transition in which there'll be an easing of price increases in the future." While DeKaser expects a slowdown, he predicts an "orderly transition" for the most part, with some exceptions. "There will be busts in some markets," he said. "Mostly, we'll come out of it unscathed." For the most part, DeKaser doesn't envision losses on that scale. He thinks home prices will decline 1.7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2005 and stay almost flat all the way through 2007. But history shows that some over-valued markets could fare much worse. Molony points out that the most severe drops in real-estate prices are usually triggered by an underlying economic crisis. After oil prices went into a six-year decline in the late 1970s, housing prices in oil cities experienced steep drops. In Oklahoma City, prices plummeted 26 percent in real dollars from 1983 to 1988. With inflation, the "real" loss was more than 40 percent. Houses in many oil patch cities are worth less in real dollars than they cost more than 20 years ago. How to protect yourself It may already be too late to cash out at the top, which some residents of hot markets have already done. About 500,000 California residents moved out of state since 2001, according to economy.com, many to take advantage of lower housing prices elsewhere. But houses are not really investments in the same way stocks or bonds are. As an investment, timing the market is touchy -- miscalculate and it can cost you. If, for example, you cashed out a year ago in Los Angeles, expecting to buy back in at a lower price, you'd have to spend nearly 23 percent more for a similar house this year. Add closing and moving costs and commissions and it could cost 30 percent more to get back into the market. Cashing out just doesn't make sense except for retirees or others in a position to relocate or downsize. People looking to buy right now should shop carefully. Look at a number of homes, try not to fall in love, and be realistic about prices. Don't be afraid to bid low. The days of multiple bids may be over for a while. With interest rates rising, try to get into a fixed-rate loan. Adjustable rate loans could adjust to a much higher level when they come due, making monthly bills much costlier. ARMs rates are so close to fixed at this point, it costs little extra to forego the risk of higher rates in the future. ________________________________________________________ Latest prices for 147 markets. Housing affordability is at a low point. For more, click here . Just as the good times may be ending, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is beginning to offer futures trading in home prices. For more click here . For more articles on Real Estate, subscribe to MONEY Magazine . The Hot List Most profitable renovations How risky is your 401(k)? Big new tax credits for hybrid cars More Buying & Selling Least affordable rental markets Take this home market...and love it Double jeopardy for landlords contact us | magazine customer service | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business2.0 = Money subscribers = Premium content -- * - Time reflects local markets trading time. † - Intraday data is at least 15-minutes delayed. Disclaimer © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms under which this service is provided to you. privacy policy Reprints of site stories are available. Top Stories Most overvalued housing markets Risks to the economy in 2006 Which was the worst ad of all in 2005? After the ride, a rest Hilton brands reunite after 40 years YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in. Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions. Manage alerts | What is this?

rental property software. You

Rental Property Tracker Plus Easy to use rental property management software for rental managers and landlords... Click here to get a free trial copy of this rental property software. You pay only $149 after your 10 day free trial! (Includes Customer Support) Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back! Rental Property Tracker Plus is easy-to-use , software for rental property management with which you can: • Keep track of all your rental units, tenants, rental income and expenses. • Organize all your property rental manager activities, tasks, contacts, and even appointments with this productivity software suite. • Accepts government subsidies (Section 8 certificate and voucher programs for example) as partial rent payments. • Assign multiple tenants to any unit. The number of units and tenants is only limited by memory and CPU speed. • Send form letters to any or all contacts, tenants or owners. • Prepare property manager accounting reports for printing or exporting to a spreadsheet quickly and accurately. • Make income tax preparation easier with this rental tracking software . • Receipts, Statements, Notices and Reports can be translated into any language . Free trial rental property software to download for all Windows and Macintosh computers. Data can be shared between any of these computers. Customize colors, currency symbol ($, £, ¥, €, etc.), date, time, distance and liquid measure formats, report font and size, etc. in this relational database. Guided Tour included with this rent tracking software. Get FREE Customer Support when you register! Version 1.8.5.2 has just been released. Click here to see what's new. Click here to find out about Vacation Rental Tracker Plus, the perfect lodging rental management software for single & multi-property Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Condos, etc... Rental Property Tracker Plus contains all of the following Rental Management Software: This rental expense tracking software keeps track of all your rental expenses including advertising, cleaning & maintenance, insurance, management fees, mileage, repairs, utilities, etc. You can also print checks and view balances with the Checkbook Register. Easily create reports for tax returns. Click here for more information about Rental Expense Tracker. This rent payment tracking software keeps track of all your rental income for weekly, monthly or multiple month rental periods. Easily generate rental receipts and reports for accounting or tax returns. Click here for more information about Rental Income Tracker. This component will help you keep track of deposits and payments to your Accounts, and all your miscellaneous income such as coin operated vending machines, laundry, etc. Click here for more information about Other Income Tracker. This building management software keeps track of all your rental property including past and present tenants, descriptions, condition notes, etc. Easily create reports. Click here for more information about Rental Unit Tracker. This tenant tracking software keeps track of all your tenants and their phone numbers, payment history, etc. Easily create leases, reports and notices. Click here for more information about Tenant Tracker. This electronic address book keeps track of both business and personal contacts including their name, address, phone(s), and associates as well as any notes about previous interactions. You can print or export your contact list to other programs including Palm Desktop. You can also easily print envelopes or all contact information including notes. Also includes an area code locator which will tell you what cities are in a specified area code and what area codes are in a specific city or state. Click here for more information about Contact Tracker. Keep track of all your appointments, birthdays, etc. with this versatile electronic date book. You can set an event to repeat every day, every other day, every week day, every week, every other week, every month on the same date, every month on the same day of the month, or every year for as long as you specify. You can print daily, weekly and monthly schedules too. Import or export your appointments to other programs including Palm Desktop. Click here for more information about Schedule Tracker. This To Do list generator helps you remember and prioritize all the things you think of as you are working. You can easily sort your task list by priority, date entered, deadline or task name. Then you can print or export your list to another program such as Palm Desktop. Click here for more information about Task Tracker. Here is a simple number calculator that will also: compute a date that is x number of days before or after a date you specify; let you know the day of the year of any date; tell you what time it is anywhere in the world; convert just about any US or British length, volume or weight to it's metric equivalent with the conversion calculator; figure the amount of foreign currency that a number of dollars is worth (or the other way around) given the current exchange rate with the currency calculator; and easily compute discounts and sales tax on any amount. Click here for more information about the Universal Calculator. Click here to get your copy of Rental Tracker now! ©2005 Garth Catterall-Heart SpiritWorks Software Development 503-560-1028 PO Box 685 Carlton, OR 97111 e-mail: info (at) SpiritWorks-software.com Terms of Use, Refund and Privacy Policy

Real Estate Investing Effective

5 Steps To Successful Real Estate Investing Add URL RLROUSE Directory & Informational Resources Site Map Home Add URL SEO Toolkit SEO Blog Webmaster / SEO Info Featured Stores Featured Text Listings Birdhouses Birdfeeders Great Recipes Articles -> Personal Finance -> Birding -> Crafts -> Lawn & garden -> Webmaster -> PC technology -> Steps to success -> Travel -> Your health -> The 50 US States -> Bluegrass Music -> Picture of the day -> Submit article Freebies Privacy policy Contact us Link to us Newsletter About us Recommend Advertise with us Site map 5 Steps To Successful Real Estate Investing Effective real estate investment strategies As the stock market continues having its ups and downs, more and more investors are looking for alternatives. Often they turn to real estate investing , the "safe" place to invest their money. But not so fast! Sadly, the majority of real estate investors have received little useful information and/or bad real estate investment advice. They jump right in and work extremely hard, only to lose most or all of their huge investment. "Real estate investing isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition, so it's wise to lay a good foundation before laying down your cash," explains Vena Jones-Cox, also known as the "Reliable Real Estate Expert". Over the years, she has compiled this series of steps that every real estate investor should follow: Join a Real Estate Investment Association There is no book you can read, no course you can take, and no experience you can acquire on your own that can even come close to the real estate education you'll get by spending time around people who are already buying, selling, and managing properties. The successes and failures of real-life real estate investors will teach you more (and motivate you more) than even the most complete classroom education you can find. Decide what you want in regards to your real estate investing No, that doesn't simply mean "I want to buy properties." Buying properties is simply a way to achieve your actual goals: quick cash, increased cash flow, retirement income, tax advantages, etc. Setting realistic goals for your real estate business at the outset allows you to concentrate on the properties, areas, sellers, and exit strategies that are most likely to meet those goals. Decide which real estate investment strategies will get you there most efficiently There are only five basic real estate exit strategies to choose from: retail, wholesale, lease/option, sell with owner financing, and rent. Once you have decided what you want to do (refer to step 2), your choice of exit strategies will suddenly be pretty limited. For instance, if your goal is wealth building or passive income, the retail and wholesale strategies won't work for you. If you need fast cash to pay off consumer debt or build capital for long-term investments, renting properties is the wrong way to achieve this goal. Your available real estate strategies will also be limited by your education, personality, and available assets. By the time you closely examine your goals, assets, and liabilities, you should be able to decide upon a single strategy for buying and making money from real estate properties. Determine and acquire the knowledge and skills you'll need to make your real estate investment strategies work Any basic book on a particular real estate investment strategy will show you the skill set you'll need in order to make money using that strategy. You don't need to know how tenant-landlord law works or how to manage properties if you plan to retail or wholesale, but if your strategy is to rent or lease/option, these are extremely important to know. On the other hand, some skills are vital no matter which real estate investment strategy you use. These skills include the ability to determine the value of properties, find motivated sellers, negotiate with sellers, and put your offer together. Make a list of the things you'll need to learn in order to make your strategy work, then figure out how you're going to get that information. There are endless books, workshops, home-study courses, and videotapes about virtually any real estate related topic you can imagine. Once you know what information you need, finding it will be no problem. Make lots of offers, even before you're really sure you know what you're doing Vena has taught a lot of classes to lots of new real estate investors, and she's discovered something interesting: those who haven't spent some time actually practicing looking at properties, evaluating them, and making real offers have very unrealistic ideas about what's going to happen when they do. Most beginners have preconceived ideas about the objections sellers will pose to their offers that bear no actual relationship to the objections they ultimately end up raising. They have fears about not being able to find or evaluate comparable properties. They think they'll miss the repairs the properties need when in fact they are usually fairly obvious. In a nutshell, until you've actually gotten your feet wet in the real estate market, you simply don't know what you don't know. You can't make money in real estate without making real offers, and you'll never acquire the knowledge you need to become a successful real estate investor until you get the real-life experience that only comes from making offers. The more quickly you take the steps above, even if you aren't sure you know what you're doing, the faster you'll move from a wannabe to a real-life real estate investor! About the author: Vena Jones-Cox, also known as the "Reliable Real Estate Expert," is a frequent lecturer at real estate investment groups throughout the country. She also hosts the popular weekly call-in public radio program "Real Life Real Estate Investing." Visit her at www.REGoddess.com . More Interesting Articles Elib Directory : devoted to Internet Commerce. 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Sell House

Boston.com / Real estate Buying Renting Recent sales Place an ad Luxury Living Community data Financing Commercial Moving Guides How to solve appraisal problems By Inman news MORE Having an appraisal done on your home is essential, whether or not you plan on selling. Loan calculators NEWS LINK NEWS LINK RESOURCES For Sale: Homes | Condos | Open Houses For Rent: Apartments | Houses | Roommates Vacation rentals Place an ad: On Boston.com | In the Globe Commercial: Search listings for sale or rent An appraisal is a dispassionate, third-party estimate of the value of a piece of property. It can either give you peace of mind by affirming your offering price or it can put the kibosh on a transaction entirely. As part of your loan application, you will pay for your lender (typically $200 to $400) to order an appraisal to estimate the current market value of the home you want to buy. You may also opt to hire an appraiser yourself before you make an offer to help you determine the price you bid on a house. Lenders require appraisals before they will approve and fund a loan in order to ensure that the home is worth the amount of money you are asking for. While most appraisals match up with what buyers want to borrow, some do not, which can send a lender backing out of your loan commitment. Understanding how real estate appraisals and appraisers work can help you deal with the consequences. Why do appraisals go awry? Most appraisal problems boil down to two things: incomplete information on the property or incompetence of the appraiser. Incomplete information often comes with the appraisal territory. All appraisals must conform to guidelines set by the Federal Reserve, but ultimately every appraisal is a subjective analysis of a property's current market value. To arrive at that number on your house, an appraiser will compare your house with that of three comparable homes in the area that have sold within the past six months and adjust for differences in the properties. They will photograph, measure and inspect the home (do NOT consider this your home inspection, however) to help them make their comparisons. But true market value can be difficult to ascertain in markets where prices are volatile and properties widely vary. Incompetence in the field can cause appraisal problems, too. Not all real estate appraisers are created equal in terms of licensing and education. While federal licensing requirements for everyone are being phased in, only about half the states currently require appraisers to be licensed, though most states do require appraisers to pass a written examination and have 75 hours of continuing education and 2,000 hours of direct experience. Inexperience can be a big culprit in a problem appraisal, so can downright incompetence. Boosting the appraisal A lender probably will reject your loan application if the appraisal of the property comes back lower than the asking price. But you can fight a low-ball appraisal. Here's how: Get a copy of the appraisers report. You can successfully argue to raise the estimated value if you show that the report overlooks a valuable feature of the home or failed to consider the recent sale of comparable property for a higher price. Take your case to your loan representative. The lender can override the estimate or order a new report from a different appraiser. Try to renegotiate with the seller. The seller may be willing to accept less than you originally agreed to pay in order to avoid the time and cost required to cancel the sale and put the house back on the market. Increase your down payment. The lender may be willing to overlook a low appraisal if you put more money down. Find a good appraiser Ask your lender for the names of appraisers they know, trust and have on their list of approved appraisers. You also can check with one of several national appraisal organizations for names of local appraisers who are members in good standing. Look for an appraiser who can do your appraisal in a timely manner and who has experience in the area you want to buy. This can help speed things along, and assure you of an accurate appraisal. TIP: If you do choose an appraiser from your lender's list to check out a house, and you end up making an offer, you may not have to pay again for the required loan-application appraisal. Quick Take If you have any question about the value of the house you are bidding on, add an appraisal contingency to your purchase offer. This provision stipulates that the property must appraise for at least the purchase price you're offering. If the appraisal comes in lower, you can back out of the deal or renegotiate price. feedback | help | site map | advertising | globe archives | rss © 2006 The New York Times Company Real Estate Guide - Massachusetts Home Builder - New Home Construction