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Banks may stay stingy - Home Builder Video
2008-10-01 19:41:00
Embedded video from CNN Video
More About: Banks , Home , Stay , Builder

Stock Market Expectations - Credit Intrigue
2008-10-01 13:50:00
Does anyone find it odd that each morning that an inevitable bailout bill vote is pending, the stock market futures point down?  And each morning that the bailout bill seems doomed, the stock market futures point up?   Am I crazy or is the stock market telling government to stay out of the way?   Sure, eliminate the manipulations and regulatory intrigue and then stay out of the way.  All the news stations are suggesting that a deal has been cut, and that a Senate vote will take place tonite after sunset to pass a third version of the bailout (now rescue) bill.   This bill raises the deposit insurance levels for FDIC insured accounts, and features more "rescue" language and less bailout.   Conservative writers are saying "no" to anything except letting the market work it's own way out of this jamb.   Liberal writers are hesistant to back the Bush administration, but do like the idea of a whole lot more government.On the political front, it would appear that many of the house members...
More About: Credit , Stock Market , Market , Stock , Intrigue

The real culprits - Credit Tightening
2008-09-30 21:26:00
From Carpe Diem:   (sorry Mark I used the whole post, I did add thoughts though)From Americans for Tax Reform: No matter what one thinks of the financial bailout package, we ought to at least agree how we got here. Below are the real actors behind the mortgage panic of 2008: 1. Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Fannie Mae, et al, bears a large share of the responsibility.   Thoughts:  GSE's made good sense, but there was no reason to keep them government backed forever.  They should be fully privatized. 2. Easy money from the Federal Reserve. On January 3, 2001, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by 50 basis points, to 6.00%. They continued to do so until the rate hit a bottom of 1.00% on June 25, 2003.   Thoughts:  Although a great idea to increase liquidity when economy is sluggish, I think I've begun to agree with Stephen Forbes that money supply is a better tool and rates should be set at 2 or 3% and left alone.3. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This legis...
More About: Credit , Real

Greedy congressional bailout
2008-09-29 13:13:00
In the middle of last week I was right there, lockstep with the President and Treasury Secratary, committed to the need to secure the credit markets and provide liquiditity.  But frankly the more I've researched and dug into the details of this agreement, the less I like the idea.Now comes word that Congressional Democrats are using the bill to pad liberal causes, and push agendas that got us into this problem in the first place.  Now I know that slowing the process down, thanks to John McCain, Mike Pence and other Conservative leaders was a good idea.  We need the light of day to see what they are really trying to accomplish here.From the Open Market.org:  While expanding the bailout to appease a host of special-interest groups, Congressional leaders have ignored cheaper alternatives to a bailout (see here, here, here, and here for examples), and potential reforms of burdensome regulations that would reduce the need for a bailout.  They have left intact regulations and affordable ...
More About: Bailout

JP Morgan Chase raising Billions
2008-09-27 16:09:00
While many financial institutions are having a hard time raising equity to cover mark to market shortfalls, JP Morgan and Bank of America both seem to be able to readily raise money, in the Billions! Add to this Warren Buffet's investment of up to $10 Billion in Goldman Sachs and you have at least three companies that will survive and even make tremendous money buying undervalued securities.I think the moment for $700 Billion in government money has passed. It's time to look to deregulation, added liquidity, removing barriers like mark to market, and letting the market settle down. Oh and by the way, a federal government freeze on spending would help a ton too! JP Morgan Chase raises $10bn after Washington Mutual buyout JP Morgan Chase is raising $10bn (£5.4bn) to strengthen its balance sheet after buying the banking operations of Washington Mutual, the lender seized by US regulators on Thursday night in the biggest bank failure in American history.

Current TV mashup with Twitter for Debate
2008-09-27 00:29:00
Make sure your tweets feature #current for mashup on current TV tonite during debate clipped from current.comCurrent & Twitter have teamed up for the very first time to integrate real-time Twitter messages (aka "tweets") over major portions of a live television broadcast. Hack the Debate by adding your Twitter posts to our live broadcast of the 2008 Presidential Debates.How to PARTICIPATE: 1. Tune in on September 26th at 9pm EST/ 6pm PST for the Live Presidential Debate. Find Current TV on your local cable/satellite provider or come here to watch the live stream of our broadcast. 2. Make sure you?ve registered with Twitter to participate. 3. During the debates, chime in by including "#current" in your tweet. Example:"This discussion about universal healthcare makes me want to pop some pills! #current" 4. We won't be able to air every single tweet on TV, but you can see all of the #current tweets by searching #current on Twitter search. 5. If you have...
More About: Mashup

Republicans propose alternative free market solution
2008-09-25 12:48:00
With Congress knotted over the $700 Billion plan to bailout problem bonds, based on sub-prime mortgage problems ... President Bush called John McCain and Senator Obama to the White House for a meeting with leaders on Thursday. Interestingly enough Obama agreed to this meeting, which could frame him as supportive of the President. I believe that meeting takes place late this afternoon, so the markets will probably wander around in waiting today.In the meantime Republicans have proposed an alternative plan, much more free market based, that eliminates the capital gains tax and the "mark to market" requirement that is causing healthy banks to become unhealthy in the eyes of investors. See WSJ op-ed. The RSC plan is chock-full of measures to remove barriers to economic growth and market-distorting subsidies. It would suspend capital gains taxes to put trillions of dollars of capital in the economy, and set Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which as CEI has documented were at the root ...
More About: Market , Alternative , Free , Free Market

Government - empower and get out of the way
2008-09-23 14:19:00
Mortgage Market for Conservatives Brian, sorry I didn't get anything posted until now, much crazier weekend than I expected, hope your trip is going well.As a former home builder, and current partner in a mortgage company and consultant to a few real estate related companies, I have an avid interest in what has been happening over the last 18 months in housing and especially mortgages. I have been saying over at Northwest Indiana Real Estate, for months now that the problem is too much regulation. Of course this position isn't held in very high esteem, Presidential candidates are scared to even suggest that the government is getting in the way ... and regulators would lose their jobs if we found that they actually caused the problem.But they did!I read The Foundry most every day on my reader, and regularly post from those terrific posts to my numerous sites, including my Northwest Indiana Mortgages site. (Sorry for all the self links, but I'm trying to build a case that I actu...
More About: Government

Down Payment Assistance under attack
2008-09-20 00:53:00
Those who read my posts on other sites, at this time roughly 30 places, know that I am decidedly conservative. But on this issue I will pronounce myself much more the moderate and demand that Republican Senators and House member step up ... man up!The FHA Down Payment Assistance program is not a government hand-out, no government funds are involved.The FHA Down Payment Assistance program helps buyers buy homes they otherwise couldn't buy, because they have the credit and ability to make the payment but don't have the down payment. This doesn't make them bad people, please refrain from the elitism of radical libertarian thought, this means they like many of us can cover their bills and should have the right to own a home instead of renting. Now more than ever, with rates so low and home values moderate compared with three years ago, these potential home buyers are ready to pounce. We need, they need a reinstatement of the FHA Down Payment Assistance program and guess who's ho...
More About: Attack

Need a mortgage in Northwest Indiana
2008-09-18 19:39:00
I made my first announcement a few days ago on Active Rain, and am now moving this blog toward a mortgage business and consumer information basis. If you live in Northwest Indiana and need assistance with a mortgage, I'd love to meet or talk by phone - or email even.I spent the last 10 years in investment real estate and home building, and learned a ton about helping first time buyers find affordable homes and use creative programs to buy. Don't let the media tell you that this is bad time to buy.Home prices may have dipped a bit, but not much, and they are prone to go right back up later this year.FHA mortgage programs are still aggressive, available, and healthyCredit repair may be needed, and that's fine, I'm glad to work with you to get you ready to buy or refinance your home loan
More About: Mortgage

Too much regulation hurt Fannie and Freddie
2008-09-16 02:08:00
I read perhaps 1,000 articles a day, sure I scan them quickly and sometimes don't get past the headline, but this article is good enough to read and re-read a couple times:Washington Post Blames Private Sector for Government Failures"But the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is hardly an indictment of the free market: Fannie and Freddie are ?Government-Sponsored Enterprises,? not products of the free market or the private sector."The writer goes on to tell the real story, of how government rules and pronouncements turned Fannie and Freddie into experiments in social engineering, and were not truly free market.  If liberals and conservatives alike want Fannie and Freddie to be totally privatized, I'd be happy to get on board.  But, leaving them flapping in the wind, and the hundreds of thousands of home buyers they would affect, for political gain is ridiculous when the government messed them up in the first place.  
More About: Regulation , Hurt

Social Median packed with liberals, need help
2008-09-14 05:52:00
This site, although some good ideas, is packed with liberals so sign up and help me show them the other side of the story clipped from www.socialmedian.com Hot discussions on socialmedian Huffington Post :She said "nucular." Twice. I realized three things tonight. For one, if you are a McCain/Palin/Bush voter, you and I do not have a difference of opinion. We have a difference in brain power. Two, she really is as ignorant as I feared. And, three, she really is kinda hot. Basically, I want to have sex with her on my B (Read More) 8 Clips Jasongoldberg , 8 hours ago : Brilliant political move. Dems were stupid to dismiss this one. You , 6 minutes ago : She will be your Vice President, I know it's tough to get used to but we'll have a woman VP. As for the interview, she was decent but similar to Barack she works a crowd the best  
More About: Liberals , Social , Median

Tuesday Hearing on DPA Bill
2008-09-14 03:00:00
In a last ditch effort to save the important Down Payment Assistance program within FHA, there is a hearing Tuesday in Washington. What really surprised me in this article is that NAR still hasn't signalled it's support. If you're a REALTOR call your local and your state to tell them you want them to support DPA reinstatement. The most important thing for our industry is increasing demand, why would we be against any program that would increase demand? Come on get off your duffs:Home Front: Down payment assistance rises from ashes Sacramento, CA ? September 12, 2008By: Jim Wasserman, Sacramento Bee Late in the afternoon of July 21, Scott Syphax sat in a coffee shop near the state Capitol. He said the long fight over seller-funded down payment assistance would not end if Congress killed the program. It sounded that afternoon like a wild boast from the president and chief executive officer of Sacramento's Nehemiah Corp. ofAmerica. Days later, Congress passed a housing bil...
More About: Bill , Hearing

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed a boost
2008-09-08 17:41:00
After five years of corporate scandals, from Enron to Tyco, then the foolish Sarbanes Oxley law that increased the cost of doing business and accomplished nothing ... we finally get to an important step in the housing recovery.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didn't cause the housing bubble, if there was one, or the related over-reaction of the banks and credit markets to value problems. They exist to create liquid markets for mortgage securities. The government can step in, calm the markets and restore some liquidity to credit in general, then reorganize and step back out. If the end result of all this is a profit to the Federal Government, like the Chrysler bail-out, then better yet. I posted on Active Rain with quotes from negative economic types, but it is my firm position that we are well on our way to a massive housing recovery. If you are thinking about buying, do it, because we've just dipped back below 6% on mortgages and the markets may have hit their price bottoms.
More About: Freddie Mac , Boost

Oil markets and monopolies
2008-09-05 13:52:00
The last couple weeks I've been keeping an eye on oil markets, for the most part so I can better understand our options. I am calling for oil to drop to $80 by the end of the year. Glad to have some experts set me straight, but my thoughts:First, Oil has risen in the last year from $95.00 to close to $150. Why? IMHO it was demand increases coming from the Pacific Rim and China, as well as overall health of the world economy. Sure there was some irrational exuberance that fueled speculation as well. With monies flowing out of bond markets and housing related securities, hedge funds and investors wanted a place to get some kind of return. The net effect of this huge upswing in oil prices was the obvious increase in gasoline prices to consumers, with gasoline swelling to $4.00. Finally at about $4.00 American consumers got sick of it and began cutting back on consumption. More and more car buyers went to flex fuel autos that allow ethanol blends (85% ethanol and...
More About: Markets

Porter County looks at Redevelopment
2008-09-03 14:31:00
We're beginning to see the leadership of Mike Bucko, John Evans, Jim Burge and Jim Murphy coming through in Porter County .  Do you notice that for once Bob Harper isn't in the middle of it?  I guess he's busy with the animal shelter mess.Watch these four leaders, they need to be the vision casters for Porter County in 2009 and beyond.  Think of it, real development ideas instead of "can't" and "won't" from our leaders.Group pitches county redevelopment boardStoryDiscussionFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizeBY BOB KASARDA bkasarda@nwitimes.com 219.548.434 5 | Wednesday, September 03, 2008 | No comments posted.VALPARAISO | The Porter County commissioners are looking into adopting an economic development tool already used by cities and towns.A Porter County redevelopment commission was proposed Tuesday evening by Jim Jorgensen and Mike Bucko, representing the Porter County Economic Development Alliance.The proposed commission would help come up with plans to bring new life ...
More About: Redevelopment

Did Liberal Democrats cause the housing bubble?
2008-08-31 14:10:00
From: NWI Connect Restricting Housing - Spells Liberal Democrat Domination Source: Political Calculations. We've been saying this for two years on Daltonsbriefs and Porter County Politics, if you arbitrarily restrict housing for reasons of environmentalism or "impact" politics, you run the risk of negative equity and eventually highly liberal policies that lead to urban decline and slums. In general liberal housing policies can be shown to have caused the bubble and the foreclosure crisis that we now face in some markets.The first map, showing the percentage of homeowners with negative equity in April-June 2008 for U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, was created by Hannah Fairfield of the New York Times as a reference for an article about the aftermath of the housing bust in the central valley of California: The second map, which was created by David Leip, shows the degree to which voters in the U.S. voted in favor of a particular political party, by county. Note that in...
More About: Democrats , Housing Bubble , Bubble

Will election follow real estate recovery?
2008-08-31 13:59:00
As documented on this site, the real estate market is in the beginning stages of recovery in many middle America markets. Carpe Diem, one of my favorite economic sites, suggests that the election results may just follow these "good news" reports from local real estate markets. Electoral Map Based on Home Prices? " ...On this recent CD post, I featured the top map above (click to enlarge) showing annual home prices changes from OFHEO. In the light blue states, home prices have increased over the last year year (2007:Q2 to 2008:Q2), and in the yellow and red states home prices have declined, with the largest percentage price declines (double-digit) in the red states (CA, FL and NV). Is it possible that the pattern of home prices increases/decreases will translate into a comparable voting pattern in the presidential election? "
More About: Estate , Recovery , Real Estate , Election , Real

Valparaiso Firefighter's wife tragically lost in crash
2008-08-30 22:44:00
Our prayers go out to the Birkey family and the entire Valparaiso Fire Department family on the loss on Friday.IUN administrator killed in accident BY KEN KOSKYkkosky@nwitimes.com219.548.4354 | Saturday, August 30, 2008 | NWI Photo Store NWI Photo Store NWI Photo Store VALPARAISO | A Valparaiso woman, who served as an administrator at Indiana University Northwest and whose husband is a Valparaiso fire captain, was killed in a crash at 9:40 a.m. Friday at Ind. 49 and Vale Park Road.Robin Hass Birky, 41, was killed when a semitrailer driver disregarded a red light and plowed into the driver's side of her Jeep Liberty, Valparaiso police said.Birky, an IUN associate vice chancellor and the wife of fire Capt. Mark Birky, was taken to Porter Valparaiso Hospital Campus following the crash, but died about a half hour later of multiple injuries to the chest and abdomen, Porter County Coroner Vicki Deppe said.Valparaiso police said the crash...
More About: Lost , Wife , Crash

New home inventories down, sales up
2008-08-27 16:25:00
Now some bloggers like Calculated Risk will take these positive indicators and suggest much more negative consequences, but let's be frank, inventories have peaked and are coming down and new home sales are increasing. "According to the Census Bureau report, New Home Sales in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 515 thousand (up from previous months) ... The months of supply is down from the peak of 11.2 months in March 2008." Source: Calculated Risk, go to link above for charts and graphs.In local and regional markets even better news abounds, that is unless you're selling in one of the sunbelt vacation markets. Here in Northwest Indiana we've seen inventories begin to drop, sales of both new and existing homes increase, and a gradual return to normalcy. The big need for almost all real estate professionals and new home builders in Northwest Indiana is mortgage lenders willing to do the hard work to help borrowers get approved. It just isn't as easy and as pro...

NW Indiana home builders waiting for activity to pick up
2008-08-20 14:25:00
By ANDY GRIMM Post-Tribune staff writerwith comments in red A decade-long housing boom in Northwest Indiana has been reduced to a thud. Nice how they take every bit of data and turn it drastically negative. The number of permits for new homes on file in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties has dropped 46 percent from last year, statistics from the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission show. I would have expected more of a drop, I wonder if cities and towns will drop the $5,000 impact fees they were exacting so they can help out? » Click to enlarge image Midgett Concrete employee Jeremy Allen of Merrillville marks an area while installing a concrete driveway at a new home in Crown Point.(Michael McArdle/Post-Tribune) RELATED STORIES ? Your thoughts? How soon will the market turn around? Census statistics show the number of new housing units built last year dropped to 22 perc...
More About: Home , Builders , Pick , Waiting

Activity Brisk under $200,000 in real estate
2008-08-18 13:54:00
No long post here, but a real estate blogger wrote a post with the following sentence:Showing Activity is brisk but only under $200,000I guess that says it all right now, activity is indeed brisk, but most of the buyers are under $200,000 in Porter County as well. If you are looking to purchase a home under $200,000 in NW Indiana, email or leave a comment (steve at greenptdev dot com)Here's what this means though, in another 30 days these under $200,000 sales and closings are going to start a wave of activity moving upwards to higher price levels. I have a home for sale right now in Keystone Commons in Valparaiso (Valpo schools) for $250,000 that should be right in that September real estate sweet spot. Good news again from Northwest Indiana Real Estate and Home Building
More About: Real Estate

Indiana Bloggers gather for Meetup
2008-08-17 00:37:00
daltonsbriefs My quickie thoughts on @blogindiana today http://tinyurl.com/5p2myvHey, you missed a great time today.
More About: Indiana , Meetup , Bloggers , Gather

Save FHA Down Payment Assistance
2008-08-14 04:59:00
I'm beginning a couple weeks of posts here on this site on Down Payment Assistance:Save Down Payment Assistance This post may take a day or two to really dial in, I haven't blogged much on Active Rain in the last few months since I've been busy with my consulting business here in Northwest Indiana. But I'm just a little irate that the Congress of our country has decided to eliminate a program, the FHA Downpayment Assistance Program, that helped millions of people buy homes. We are still an ownership society right? Did we give that up when the media driven recession took hold? We are still a capatalist society right? Have we decided to legislate our way to a "managed" economy? Please help us if we have. There is a bill being discussed, and I hope it gets a quick vote. Frankly the very fact that Congress went home without dealing with this problem or voting on oil drilling shows just how little they care about the two big problems our...

Good news in Indiana Real Estate
2008-08-14 00:45:00
Too lazy to write a full post this afternoon, and actually running to client meeting:Home Sales Increase in Two Central Indiana Countiesfrom Headlines - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick A new report from F.C. Tucker Company shows Madison and Boone counties posted increased home sales for July. Madison County recorded an 11.8 percent jump, while Boone County sales increased six percent, compared to the same month last year. F.C. Tucker says overall home sales in Central Indiana's nine county area are down 8.9 percent compared to July 2007 and 13.1 percent year to date.
More About: News , Estate , Real Estate , Good News

Did Indiana shift tax load to rental housing?
2008-08-11 23:19:00
Although many cheered the recent SEA 1001 property tax circuit breaker and caps, some are now asking if the tax load really just got shifted to rental housing, farms and businesses. I would agree that there will need to be futher clarification of the property tax system in Indiana , but all in all the bill seemed to me at least to be a good start.August 10, 2008Farmers, business owners, landlords not feeling reliefTheir property tax bills increaseBY PAM THARP, CORRESPONDENTNot everybody is cheering the tax relief the General Assembly provided for homeowners this year. Farmers, landlords and business owners are digging in their pockets to pay 2008 property tax bills that are 25 to 50 percent higher than in 2007, while homeowners are seeing similar reductions.Farm manager Steve Slonaker of Centerville started sorting through a stack of property tax bills for his clients last week, but the news was so bad -- 20 to 45 percent increases -- he stopped looking at them."I was so disappoint...
More About: Rental , Housing , Load , Shift

There is no National Real Estate Market
2008-08-04 13:48:00
"BusinessWeek has an interesting slide show and article about the "Real Estate Boom and Bust in the Same Metro Areas" (article here) which looks at the best- and worst-performing zip codes in the 20 largest metro areas. EconomicPicData blog summarizes the BusinessWeek data in the chart above.For example, in Dallas' Preston Hollow area (75220 zip code) there has been a +33% increase in asking price over the last year, with a median list price of $310,564 and average marketing time of 125 days. In the Fort Worth area (76110 zip code) of the Dallas metro area, asking price has decreased by -19%, with a median list price of $104,538 and average 118 days on the market."From: Carpe Diem Zip Code, Zip Code, Zip Code
More About: National , Real Estate , Real Estate Market , Market

Lenders would do well to personalize
2008-08-03 15:25:00
Loved a post today by Kevin Sandridge on Active RainIn short - lenders have gotten computer lazy, entrenched in running numbers and talking programs, and lost their ability to relate and become friends with realtors. With a lot less realtors and a lot less lenders in the business now, relationships, real relationships are in high demand for the Synergy that can be obtained! Great idea Kevin."The mortgage industry today is still very much entrenched in a 1990s "High Contact - Wham Bam" mentality. We're hungry for business - so despite being members of social networking sites (read... relationship building sites) like Active Rain, we find ourselves falling back on the old X number of "touches" per quarter business development approach. We're great with spreadsheets, amortization tables, and 1003s, but not the absolute best when it comes to establishing good old fashioned person-to-person contacts. When we do reach out, we blast ahead with our latest loan program brochures and rate...
More About: Lenders

Predictions: Rents will increase quickly
2008-07-28 14:14:00
ThereEconomists and pundits have been talking about real estate, housing, and construction statistics to the point that all we really hear is "noise" and "be afraid, be very afraid."Well, I was able to clear my head long enough this morning to read Calculated Risk's assessment of the recent releases of information on real estate, which came out Friday. Good charts and analysis from an otherwise very negative pundit. They sum up their thoughts with an assumption that it will take 5 years to eat up 1.75 million excess housing units. Not so, that's negative thinking wanting to stick it's head into a rapidly improving situation. The raw data:Homeownership rate increased, slightly, to just over 68% and bounced off the recent drop below that number, to re-acquire 2003 levels. This while the media was working overtime to tell people not to buy, and mortgage companies are over-pricing mortgage risk in an attempt to pad their profits in case Congress steps in to penalize the survivors....
More About: Predictions

Housing hits bottom - time to buy
2008-07-27 21:08:00
I've said it here a couple times already this year, we've already hit and passed the bottom of the market. It is time to buy now!From CarpeDiemBottom Line: If this rebound in homeownership rates continues to reverse the four-year downward trend, it could provide further evidence that we are finally experiencing a bottom to the housing market problems, as suggested by Larry Kudlow (The Media Are Missing the Housing Bottom) and Brian Wesbury ("Pace of existing home sales is very close to a bottom," and "Pace of new home sales has either already hit bottom or is getting very close to the bottom.")The author shows a chart, I didn't steal it but go to the link to see the whole article, with the rate of homeownership actually increasing in the second quarter, a tell tale sign that the market has begun the recovery.
More About: Time , Hits