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NWI Bloggers - Meet up
2008-07-22 22:38:00
NW Indiana Bloggers Meet ing I know many of you have already put this meeting on your schedules for tomorrow:6 p.m. at On Site Computers in Crown PointNorthwest Indiana BloggersFirst time, that I know of at least, that bloggers from multiple niches are getting together to discuss ways to work together. The owners of 219.com will also be there to propose that we write on their site too, to increase traffic and conversations about our Region.If you can make it, it would be great to meet in person.

Is it time to phase out Fannie Mae?
2008-07-14 17:59:00
My first gut reaction is NO!But, I have to balance my 20 years in the home building and real estate industries with my highly cognizant political philosophy of smaller government and free enterprise.While reading The Foundry today I was struck by the message, namely that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have outlived their life expectancies. Would a free market entity be able to borrow at lower than market rates? NO Has this benefit to housing outlived its usefulness?I know, I know, we want to increase liquidity of the mortgage securitization markets, that's been the mantra for years. But did liquidity and securitization obscure the true cost of big government keeping it's fingers in home ownership?Update: Great post on Calculated Risk on FNMA and who's fault it is. I may disagree a bit with the author, who tends to level a lot of blame, but agree actually with the original article he calls out by Paul Krugman. Read up and let me know where you land?The Left's Crony Capit...
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IndyMac seized by FDIC
2008-07-12 16:40:00
AsAs much as I abhor negative news being kicked around the blogs, I find myself having to comment on the IndyMac news yesterday. First the press release from the FDIC" ... Based on preliminary analysis, the estimated cost of the resolution to the Deposit Insurance Fund is between $4 and $8 billion. IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. is the fifth FDIC-insured failure of the year."So, the cost of the recovery of the bank to the government fund will be quite expensive, but will work, and that is the reason for the FDIC fund in the first place. It is my strong opinion that this is a delayed reaction to 2007 problems, that IndyMac was working to rectify and eventually ran out of options. I have reported here and on multiple other sites that I believe the market has already turned around .... this may mark the low water mark for news.Watch for rates to slide a bit next week, a great chance to buy if you're still waiting around trying to time the market.

Olympics would be huge for NW Indiana
2008-06-05 14:37:00
As we watch this summer's Olympics keep in mind that Chicago has now made the finals for the selection in 2016 for the Olympics. This would be gigantic for NW Indiana !Indiana Counties Could Benefit From Chicago Olympicsfrom Headlines - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry DickThe head of the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau thinks Northwest Indiana has "never imagined" the kind of positive economic impact that would take place if Chicago lands the 2016 Olympics. Bureau Chief Executive Officer Speros Batistatos says he will continue to discuss the possible need to construct event venues. He says the Indiana counties near Chicago are "ready to take advantage" of the city's successes.Let's just say, Northwest Indiana endorses Chicago!
More About: Huge

Libertarian VP Candidate on small business
2008-05-27 16:26:00
The Libertarian Party chose its ticket for the November elections: Bob Barr and Wayne Root. Although I will be supporting John McCain in the election, I was happy to see the following quote from VP candidate Root at the convention:Root, a colorful media personality with a dynamic and enthusiastic speakingstyle, brings several large voting blocs to the Barr/Root Libertarian ticket. Asa small businessman, I will aim my campaign at 27 million American smallbusiness owners and millions of independent contractors such as real estatebrokers, stockbrokers, insurance brokers and mortgage brokers. They are theeconomic engine of the U.S. economy. Small business now creates a majority ofnon-government jobs. I believe small businessmen and women across America willappreciate the fact that someone who understands their unique issues andconcerns will be part of a Presidential ticket for the first time in modernpolitical history."From The Aftermath: Wayne Root on the Barr/Root ticket for President...
More About: Business , Small Business , Candidate

What exactly is the state of home building?
2008-05-26 06:27:00
I was asked straight up Friday - "what exactly is happening in home building?"Here's what I know right now. 2007 was horrible because costs went up, margins plummeted and the mortgage industry self destructed. For our own company last year this meant that multiple buyers were told at the last minute that they couldn't buy a house because the mortgage company was gone!Multiply this across hundreds of builders in NW Indiana, and you have quite a bit of inventory sitting through the winter that should have been sold and lived in last year.Now, what's happening today? The market is actually stabilizing. Mortgage Companies, like our favorite First Financial Trust Mortgage Company, are continuing to rebuild and retool for an era that will feature a lot more FHA loans than the last ten years.You can still buy a house, with no money down as long as you have decent credit. If you don't have decent credit, there are reputable consultants that can help you rebuild your credit. It may...
More About: Building , Home , State , The State

Nationwide Home Building begins to pick up
2008-05-18 05:12:00
US Housing starts boom in Aprilfrom ActiveRain Blogs by Simon Conway (Pick et Fence Realty)US Housing starts posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April.According to the Associated Press, the Commerce Department reported Friday thathousing construction rose by 8.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjustedannual rate of 1.03 million units. Most of the growth came from a big jumpin apartment construction (apartment building is defined as two or more units),which rose by 36 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 340,000units.Applications for building permits, considered a good sign of futureactivity, also recorded an increase in April, rising by 4.9 percent to 978,000units. It was the first gain in permits in five months.By region of the U.S., construction posted the largest gain in the Midwest, an increase of 24.4 percent when compared to March. Construction rose 18.5 percent in the West and was up 3.6 percent in the South. However, construction fell by 12.7 pe...
More About: Building , Home

Market Update on Indianapolis
2008-05-16 14:21:00
Looks like time to buy to me:From Bankrate.com "Foreclosures are up, and sale prices are down. Indianapolis is No. 18 in RealtyTrac?s list of the metro areas with the largest numbers of foreclosures, with filings last year representing 2 percent of households. It?s an undervalued market, according to Local Market Monitor, whose data shows housing prices 22 percent below equilibrium. The NAR says condo prices are affordable, too, at $116,700 in fourth quarter 2007."Change in foreclosures was up 7.9% but that's a little misleading since the foreclosures only increased 1,000 from 2006 to 2007. Here's the truth, a couple major builders beat up the market in 2004 and 2005 and the market had already tanked. 2006 and 2007 were level off years. Look for better than expected gains in second half of 2008 on property values.This is the bottom of the cycle in Indianapolis: BUY
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Google Maps adds Real Estate Layer
2008-05-14 15:17:00
More searching capability, more reasons that a real estate professional better stay current on technology or they really aren't all that much help.Ionut Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:Google Maps Adds Real Estate Search ? As a Google employee recently said, ?Google Maps is evolving from a driving directions and business search tool, to a comprehensive representation of all the world's information, on a map.? That's why Google Maps started to integrate different layers ? (read entire article at link)
More About: Real Estate

Sick of bad spin on news
2008-05-13 22:04:00
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the housing market isn't nearly as bad as some people seem to want it to be.This one got me: Home Builder Toll CEO on Traffic: "Worst we've ever seen"from Calculated Risk by CalculatedRiskLet's be honest, Toll Brothers builds high end homes. The market is already rebounding on the lower price levels for normal people in middle income families. It may take another 6 months for higher end homes to rebound.
More About: News , Spin , Sick

LinkedIn Question raises attention on rents
2008-05-13 21:51:00
I have been saying for months that the cutback by major mortgage companies on lending to "sub prime" borrowers should cause rents to increase pretty substantially. I know that there are investor buyers operating under this same assumption.A LinkedIn question though suggests just the opposite: Do you anticipate seeing rents dramatically DECREASE due to the glut of vacant housing?from LinkedIn Answers: Personal Real EstateOne of the most often overlooked stats - the Price/Rent ratio - is still pretty close to its all time high (see link to graph). And typically what this means is that either prices need to decrease further OR rental rates need to increase substantially, to be closer to equilibrium. Which do you think will happen? Graph: http://tinyurl.com/5am9fbWhat do you think? I still stand by my thought that at least here in NW Indiana we will see rents begin to creep up and make the purchase of multi-family a great buy.
More About: Question , Attention , Linkedin

National Association of Realtors
2008-05-07 16:01:00
Released data today suggesting that the mortgage market is still holding home sales back, with drops year over year still very signifigant.They also projected a 2.4% drop in real estate prices nationally.Remember that this is a national statistic, and that Northwest Indiana has not seen price reductions, merely a reduction in volume of sales.
More About: Realtors , National , Association , National Association of Realtors

Controversy: Did teachers cause the bubble?
2008-04-30 13:10:00
I read the Foundry every day, and find the strongly conservative view to be educational and even challenging. In most cases I grab those articles or quotes and post to my Porter County Politics site or Hoosiers for McCain site ... sometimes even my International Affairs site ... this would be the first time that the strongly conserevative writings hit home in something related to Northwest Indiana Real Estate. From the Foundry:"CATO?s Timothy Lee makes a great connection between the absence of school choice in our current education system and the recent housing bubble burst. First he quotes economist Robert Frank in Sunday?s Washington Post:In a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided move to help more families enter the housing market, borrowing restrictions were relaxed during the intervening decades. Down payment requirements fell steadily, and in recent years, many houses were bought with no money down.?The result was a painful dilemma for any family determined not to borrow ...
More About: Controversy , Bubble , Teachers

Real Estate News that I saw today
2008-04-27 03:21:00
30-Year Rates Rise Back Above 6%from washingtonpost.com - Real Estate by PostRates on 30-year mortgages topped 6 percent for the first time in six weeks as financial markets grew more worried about rising inflation pressures."So, you just discovered a rockin? new real estate blog and want to know more about the author. What about adding the author to your contact manager? If you are a MyBlogLog member, you are in luck! MyBlogLog recently added a new feature that allows you to easily add your favorite bloggers contact information to your address book via vCard and hCard. " Go to New Feature from MyBlogLog Builds Your Contact Manager for the rest of this article.HELOC activity may affect FICO scorefrom Bankrate.com: Today 's new storiesMaxing out a home equity line of credit may impact your FICO score, says Dr. Don Taylor.Sorry for the Feed based quotes today, Ive been following so many great writers on my RSS Feed Subscriptions and want to alert people to the ones that I've shared. ...
More About: News , Real Estate

More good news in real estate Part 5
2008-04-24 05:04:00
I can't wait to go on Active Rain each week when I write my more good news post. There's always a terrific agent out there, like Theresa Boardman, singing the praises of the market. Keep the stories coming. clipped from www.stpaulrealestateblog.comIt feels like 2005The last several weeks have been very busy.  I am seeing a lot more activity in the real estate market when it comes to buying houses than I  did last year.  It does remind me of the spring of 2005 when there was no time to eat or sleep, everyone wanted to buy a house. 
More About: News , Estate , Real Estate , Good News , Real

Home Builders Defying the Negative News
2008-04-22 13:39:00
My heart is soaring, finally a home builders association saying something positive. I can't tell you how frustrated I've become with builders and their associations over the last two years. Oh well, I'lll subdue my strong opinions about my experiences and send shout outs to http://www.defythetrends.com/ ..... Woooo Hoooo!From builder online: The anchor of this campaign, in its first phase this month, is a Web site,http://www.defythetrends.com/, which includes video clips that feature several local builders and HBA members, each touching on different reasons why it?s a good time for buyers to purchase a house. ?What we?re doing is re-educating the public about the market,? says Jeff Click, the owner of Jeff Click Home s, who will serve as the association?s president in 2009 and has spearheaded the marketing campaign.The promotion?s tagline pretty much says it all: ?Don?t let the national media scare you out of the smartest move you can make.? The HBA?s contention is that the media ...
More About: News , Builders , Negative

Sub-Prime City set up in Minnesota Capital
2008-04-21 14:32:00
ST. PAUL - In response to Governor Tim Pawlenty?s (Vice President potential) threats to veto the Minnesota Subprime Foreclosure Deferment Act, families facing foreclosure brought the crisis to the governor?s mansion on Summit Ave in Saint Paul.On Saturday, members of the housing-focused community organization ACORN and other groups constructed ?Subprime City ? the fastest-growing city in the nation? ? made of tents, cardboard boxes, and sleeping bags. Families facing foreclosure held signs saying, ?Governor Pawlenty, I?m losing my home. Can I stay here?? At a press conference on Monday, Pawlenty unveiled new foreclosure prevention initiatives that called only for voluntary participation from lenders and servicers. ACORN member Al Ynigues compared the plan to President Bush?s notorious ?Hope Now? plan ? which received great national attention and delivered little substantive results for most homeowners.So ... even though I am in real estate, and would love to see a ton of homes taken...
More About: Capital , Prime

Homeownership solid
2008-04-14 05:44:00
In another set of statistics to show that much of this "housing recession" is manufactured by biased news reports, come reports that homeownership rates are still strongH/T to How Can It Be?from Christopher HedgesDespite the constant drumbeat about an ever worsening economy that will send all of us to the breadlines of the Great Depression because we?re all going to lose our homes, comes news that homeownership rates are still higher now ? even in the midst of the ?subprime crisis? ? than they were during the Clinton years.
More About: Solid , Homeownership

Northwest Indiana Real Estate - Privacy Policy
2008-04-10 15:03:00
Privacy Policy for synergyhomes.blogspot.com If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at stevesynergy@gmail.com At synergyhomes.blogspot.com, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by synergyhomes.blogspot.com and how it is used. Log FilesLike many other Web sites, synergyhomes.blogspot.com makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user?s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable. Cookies and Web Beacons synergyhomes.blogspot.com does not u...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Indiana , Privacy

Trulia growing rapidly
2008-04-10 14:09:00
Even with housing market soft, online real estate search company Trulia is growing rapidly clipped from venturebeat.comThe real estate market is in serious turmoil and has likely thrown the entire economy into a recession, so you?d think a real estate search startup might not be a hot item. But you?d be wrong. One such real estate search startup, href="http://www.trulia.com">Trulia, is not only doing fine, but usage of the site is accelerating as a result of the housing downturn, co-founder and chief executive Pete Flint tells us. Users are flocking to sites such as Trulia, because they are independent and give people more control to find exactly what they are looking for, at the right price, in troubled times. Today, Trulia is launching a new feature to to make the service even more useful: Integration with href="http://maps.google.com/help/maps/st reetview/index.html">Google Street View. The service, which you might have heard of because of the controversy that surrounds it amid p...
More About: Growing

Costas to run for attorney general
2008-04-09 14:33:00
Another step in the NW Indiana's move to renew, led by Jon Costas clipped from www.thetimesonline.comCostas enters GOP attorney general field Mayor Jon Costas hopes to appear on the Republican ticket in November as the party's nominee for Indiana attorney general, the two-term city leader announced Tuesday.Costas said he began considering the statewide post three weeks ago, after Republican Attorney General Steve Carter announced he would forgo a third termFour other prominent Republican lawyers have expressed interest in the nomination. But one of them, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, on Tuesday said he'd step aside for Costas 
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Northwest Indiana Housing Summit
2008-04-07 23:06:00
First, as a matter of full disclosure, I have not attended this event before ... so I cannot vouch for it's success or impact. But it sure seems like a good idea.Register here for the event 4th Annual Northwest Indiana Housing Summit Conference"Keepers of the Dream: Building Communities through Progressive Partnerships "Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza800 East 81st AvenueMerrillville, Indiana 46410Contact Them for More Information

Blogging a work hazard?
2008-04-06 14:42:00
Death by bloggingfrom TRANSPARENT REAL ESTATE (www.TransparentRE.com) by Pat KitanoReal estate blogging tends to be a low key part time endeavor. On the other hand, professional blogging has become an obsessive pursuit for media fame. Bloggers realize they can essentially replace traditional online media sources by demonstrating their first to press advantage, and by doing so can reap the rewards of building an online media property (or empire). The New York Times reports on this obsessiveness to 24-by-7 reporting today by citing the deaths of two well known tech bloggers and the heart attack of a third over the past four months.It seems this is the news of the day, so ... are you killing yourself by blogging every day?
More About: Blogging , Work , Hazard

Las Vegas Real Estate Improvements
2008-04-02 13:52:00
The author calls it March Madness, to jump on current euphoria, and indicates that two out of three major statistics groups are improving in the February data."A bottom is like a three-point play. It occurs when there is: (1) a reduction in inventory; (2) price stabilization; (3) and sales increases. Team Las Vegas has tenuously placed two of those three elements ?in play? in February"Available resale listings fell nearly 1,000 units to 22,837. It has been nearly a year since the market was on that level (April 2007). More importantly, current supply represents about 20 months of inventory. ?Normal? Las Vegas markets generally hover between 7-11 months of inventory.New home prices increased slightly in February. The median price of a traditional new home (single family and condominium) increased for the first time since May 2007. Granted, the price increase to $271,600 was minimal. But, it was an increaseWe can?t drive down the court and score the winning bucket without bette...
More About: Estate , Las Vegas Real Estate , Real Estate , Real

The 'Recession' Is a Media Myth
2008-04-02 13:14:00
From Fox News:During the 2000 election, with Bill Clinton as president, the economy was viewed through rose-colored glasses. According to polls, voters didn?t realize that the country was in a recession. Although the economy started shrinking in July 2000, most Americans through the entire year thought that the economy was fine.But over the last half-year, the media and politicians have said we were in a recession even while the economy was still growing.Gas prices are going up. The economy is slowing. Talk of recession is seemingly everywhere. While the majority of people rate their personal finances positively, consumer confidence in the economy has plunged to a 16-year low, well below what it was during the last year of the Clinton administration when we were in a recession.A Nexis search on news stories during the three-month period from July 2000 through September 2000 using the keywords ?economy recession US? produces 1,388. By contrast, the same search over just the last mont...
More About: Media , Recession , Myth

Looking in Michigan City Indiana
2008-04-01 06:46:00
I came across this site today Michigan City Homes for Sale and Real Estate Info and liked it enough to offer a post tonite, I promise my last post for the nite. "Your one-stop source for real estate services covering the Michigan City, LaPorte, and Long Beach areas. With a focus on exceptional service, you'll find everything you'll need from complete MLS listings, valuable home value calculation tools, and comprehensive area information!"
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Good news in Chicago Real Estate
2008-04-01 05:59:00
While hopping around Active Rain, actually a democrat blogger's site, I came across this bunch of terrific news from Chicago :Chicago IL Market Statistics Update - March 31, 2008 (click for full story and statistics)Here's the latest Stat Summary on the Chicago Real Estate Market, based on data pulled yesterday evening, March 30, 2008 -We are very encouraged by improving figures for Properties Pending Sale, Sold Units, and Expired Listings last week. Average Sale Price gave back last week's nearly 15% gain, while Sales Volume, of properties that went under contract several weeks ago, nearly doubled! Average Days on Market gave back most of last week's 10% gain.All the while, Active Listings remained fairly steady this could indicate both fewer units are coming on new to market now, but also that the inventory of Active Listings is being reduced by properties going under contract, or closing. Lower inventory, with declining Average Sales Prices, could be the needed mechanism...
More About: News , Real Estate , Good News

HUD Secretary to Resign
2008-03-31 13:36:00
Once again we see government getting in the way of the challenges, namely helping people gain homeownership. HUD Secretary Expected to QuitJackson's Departure Would Hurt Efforts To Fix Housing Mess (Not sure I agree with this assertion)By DAMIAN PALETTA and MICHAEL M. PHILLIPSHousing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is expected to announce his resignation Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, a decision that will deal a blow to the Bush administration's efforts to tackle the housing crisis. The exact reasons for Mr. Jackson's decision couldn't be learned. Earlier this month, two Democratic senators, Patty Murray of Washington and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, sent a letter to President Bush urging him to request Mr. Jackson's resignation, arguing that accusations of wrongdoing had made him ineffective.The department has scheduled an announcement for 10 a.m. Asked if Mr. Jackson was planning to resign, HUD spokeswoman DJ Nordquist said she wa...
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More good news in home building
2008-03-30 05:29:00
Maybe at least. I don't normally print stuff from this blogger, all they do is talk negative, but they've let good news slip through because it sounded negative to them.Land at 15 cents on the Dollarfrom Calculated Risk by CalculatedRiskLast night I spoke with a land developer. He just purchased improved land in SoCal (update: Inland Empire) for $0.15 on the dollar from a homebuilder (builder's total cost). The deal closed Friday. The purchase price was less than half the cost of just the improvements (grading, streets, etc)! The deal has no leverage, and the buyers are hoping to sell in 3 to 5 years to another homebuilder. They can wait much longer if necessary. The other details (like buyer and seller) are confidential.This is an important step. The homebuilders are finally starting to liquidate surplus land at prices that are attractive to "vulture funds", and this potential inventory is also being removed from the market. I expect to see many similar deals this year as the h...
More About: News , Building , Home , Good News , Good

Texas leading the way to recovery
2008-03-29 01:16:00
The author, a favorite of mine, is Mark Perry of Carpe Diem with a post he entitled Recession Watch: Not In Texas , Jobless Rate Hits Record Low, Even Construction Sector is Boomingfrom CARPE DIEM by Mark J. PerryBut although he suggests that Texas is the lone hold-out on a potential national housing recession, I think perhaps it's really that Texas is the first bright start in a major recovery.Yep, you heard me or read me right, I think January 22nd marked the beginning of that recovery. Hold on tight.
More About: Recovery , Leading