AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog/media/feedlogo.gif AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Mortgage Modifications Still Taking Banks Too Long, Report Sayshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/19/josepth-smith-banks-delay-mortgage-modifications/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/19/josepth-smith-banks-delay-mortgage-modifications/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/19/josepth-smith-banks-delay-mortgage-modifications/#commentsFiled under: ,

By Andrew Miga

WASHINGTON -- A new report says homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure must wait too long for their loan modification applications to be reviewed by some of the nation's top mortgage servicers. Such delays can plunge borrowers deeper in debt.

Joseph A. Smith, the independent monitor of last year's national mortgage settlement, said Wednesday that while the banks are doing a better job complying with new mortgage servicing rules, more needs to be done. The settlement between 49 states, federal government agencies and lenders JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial set new rules for how banks handle troubled home loans.

The settlement helped close a difficult chapter of the financial crisis when home values sank and millions edged toward foreclosure. Many firms had processed foreclosures without verifying documents.

See more on mortgage modification:
Principal Reduction: Is Debt Forgiveness Fair?
Exploring the Mortgage Mod Maze
Court Blasts Bank for Reneging on Mortgage Modification

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]]>ally financialBank of Americacitigroupforeclosure crisisforeclosure settlementJPMorgan Chasemortgage modificationwells fargoThe Associated Press2013-06-19T13:19:00 00:00Mortgage Rates Rise Again, To Nearly 4%http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/13/mortgage-rates-rise-sixth-straight-week/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/13/mortgage-rates-rise-sixth-straight-week/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/13/mortgage-rates-rise-sixth-straight-week/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mortgage contract and fountain penBy Marcy Gordon

WASHINGTON -- Fixed U.S. mortgage rates rose for the sixth straight week, putting the average rate on the 30-year loan just shy of 4 percent. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.98 percent. That's up from 3.91 percent last week and the highest since April 2012.

The average rate was last at 4 percent or higher in March 2012. The rate on the 15-year loan advanced to 3.10 percent from 3.03 percent. That's also the highest since April 2012.

Concerns that the Federal Reserve will scale back its bond purchases have pushed rates higher. Still, mortgage rates remain low by historical standards. Cheap mortgages have helped sustain a housing recovery that began last year, encouraging more Americans to buy homes or refinance existing loans.

Mortgage rates are rising because they tend to follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The yield on the 10-year note climbed as high as 2.29 percent this week from a low of 1.63 percent last month. It has since declined to 2.20 percent in early trading Thursday.

The Fed's $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases have pushed down long-term interest rates. As speculation has grown that the Fed will slow those purchases, investors have driven rates up. That has decreased the value of bonds with lower yields. Fed policymakers hold a two-day meeting next week that will be closely watched for signals that the Fed may soon slow the bond purchases.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. The average fee for 30-year mortgages was unchanged at 0.7 point. The fee for 15-year loans also was steady at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage held at 2.58 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable-rate loans was unchanged at 0.4 point. The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 2.79 percent from 2.74 percent. The fee edged up to 0.6 point from 0.5.

See more on mortgage rates:
Home Mortgage Rates at Highest Level in a Year
Are No-Cost Mortgages Always the Best Deal?
10 Mortgage Misconceptions

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Understanding Home Mortgage Basics

 

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]]>15 year fixed rate mortgage30 year fixed rate mortgageadjustable rate mortgagesFreddie Machome buyingmortgage ratesmortgage rates risingThe Associated Press2013-06-13T14:19:00 00:00Home Repossessions Picked Up in May, RealtyTrac Reportshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/13/home-repossessions-rise-May-RealtyTrac-report/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/13/home-repossessions-rise-May-RealtyTrac-report/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/13/home-repossessions-rise-May-RealtyTrac-report/#commentsFiled under: ,

foreclosure on doormat of photo illustrationBy Alex Veiga

LOS ANGELES -- Lenders stepped up action last month against homeowners who had fallen behind on their mortgage payments, taking possession of more homes and initiating the foreclosure countdown clock on many others. Completed foreclosures jumped 11 percent nationally in May from the previous month, with monthly increases taking place in 33 states, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

The monthly pick up reflects a rise in homes entering the foreclosure process last year. Many of those homes wound their way through the often lengthy process and ended up becoming bank-owned properties. Home repossessions, however, were down 29 percent from May last year, reflecting the long-term downward trend.

Banks also started the foreclosure process on more homes last month. Foreclosure starts rose 4 percent from April, but were down 33 percent versus May last year, the firm said.
The increases come as the U.S. housing market continues to gain strength, propelled in part by growing demand for homes at a time when there's a thin supply of available homes for sale in many markets.

That dynamic has helped push home prices higher. They climbed nationally on an annual basis by 12.1 percent in April, the biggest gain since February 2006, according to data provider CoreLogic.
The combination of a tight inventory of homes for sale and rising prices makes for an opportune market for banks.

"Home prices are rising and demand is stronger, so they can recoup more of their losses when selling a bank-owned home, and in most cases should be able to sell relatively quickly," said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac.

The prospect of more bank-owned homes hitting the market also is good news for homebuyers struggling with the short supply of available homes. But not so great for homeowners, Blomquist said. "For homeowners who are current or own their homes outright, this could slow down the recent rapid rise in home price appreciation, which could mean the value of their home does not go up as quickly in the short term," he said.

That's an unwelcome development, particularly for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage, or owe more than their home is worth. As of the end of March, 19.8 percent of all U.S. homes with a mortgage were underwater, according to data provider CoreLogic. Rising home prices have helped drive that number down from 21.7 percent at the end of last year, and returned roughly 850,000 homes to a state of positive equity in the first three months of this year.

All told, 38,946 homes were taken back by lenders last month. Repossessions increased on a monthly basis in 33 states, including North Carolina, Oregon and Wisconsin. At the current pace, the nation is on track to finish the year with about a half million completed foreclosures, down from 670,000 last year, Blomquist said.

Foreclosure starts totaled 72,698 homes. They increased on a monthly basis in 26 states and rose on an annual basis in 14 states, including Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii and Arkansas.
Florida led the nation last month with an overall foreclosure rate nearly three times the national average. Rounding out the top three were Nevada and Ohio.

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See more about repossessions and foreclosures:
What's Behind the Foreclosure Surge in New York, New Jersey
Why Buyers Should Consider Foreclosures or Short Sales
Here's What You Can Buy With Your Foreclosure Settlement

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]]>completed foreclosuresforeclosure processforeclosuresforeclosures fallrealtytrac foreclosure reportrepossessionsThe Associated Press2013-06-13T10:17:00 00:00Repurposed Schools Offer Lessons in 'Ultimate Form of Recycling'http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/10/cities-repurpose-school-buildings/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/10/cities-repurpose-school-buildings/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/10/cities-repurpose-school-buildings/#commentsFiled under: ,

Repurposed real estate in Detroit, Burton Theater

By Corey Williams

DETROIT -- When it was a high school, the auditorium and gymnasium at the Burton International School thrummed with the sounds of students gathering for assemblies or bouncing balls. These days, film dialogue and soundtracks fill the nearly 100-year-old building, which has found new life as a movie theater. Developer Joel Landy remade the school into the Cass City Cinema at the Burton Theater.

"It had all the seats and a projection booth built in 1924," Landy said (of the building pictured above). "That kind of clinched it." Burton was among dozens of Detroit public schools forced to close in recent years as the district sank into debt and parents sought better education options. Now the city is getting high marks for its efforts to reuse those buildings -- as churches, substances-abuse centers, housing and more. The practice also offers lessons to other districts confronting the same challenges.

"Detroit has more experience with finding new uses because it has had more empty buildings on its hands," said Emily Dowdall, a senior associate with the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts, a public policy organization that released a report earlier this year on the growing number of vacant schools in a dozen U.S. cities.

Some of the nation's largest school districts have seen their enrollment plummet and budget deficits rise, forcing them to close half-empty buildings and those that are too costly to maintain. Chicago expects to shutter 50 schools and programs before fall classes begin. A reform board in Philadelphia has voted to close 23 schools. "Many districts are now on their second and third round of closings" and are increasingly looking at the practices of other cities, including Detroit, Dowdall said.

The Detroit district has made more than $16 million by selling or leasing closed schools and vacant land. Forty schools have been sold. Another 45 are leased, according to the district. More than 80 schools are listed as available. Between 2000 and 2010, Detroit's population dropped by more than a quarter of a million, to just over 700,000 people. By 2008, public school enrollment had slipped below 100,000 students. It's projected to fall to 40,000 by 2016.

About seven years ago, officials padlocked 35 schools, followed by 29 more in 2009. Of 172 schools that were open in 2010, 100 remain open. Landy bought four old school buildings in Detroit. One is now a charter academy. Another was turned into lofts. A third houses a music school and recording studio.

He bought the old Burton International School building four years ago for about $400,000. Movies are shown on weekends. It also has a Montessori school.

At least one shuttered Detroit school is now used as a church. The former West Side Academy houses substances-abuse programs. Carole Hoste teaches music in one of Landy's buildings. It makes sense for the school district to sell the buildings "if they can get a quick chunk of money," she said. "I don't know why they weren't doing that a long time ago."

Detroit no longer sells to charter schools, which compete for students and state funding. But the city is aggressive in its efforts to sell and lease buildings, said Tammy Deane, a former residential and commercial real estate broker who manages the district's real estate office. Buildings have sold for as little as $5 per square foot. Vacant land has fetched about $100,000 an acre.

"We work with anyone and everyone, and try to be very creative to move properties and help visionary buyers realize their dreams," Deane said. "We want the new owners to move in soon as we move out." That's to deter thieves who target vacant buildings to strip out their electrical wiring and pipes for sale as scrap metal.

Other districts have also had success with school recycling. The Kennedy School in Portland, Ore., was boarded up for years. The lawn wasn't being cut, and the property "just didn't look good," said Thelma Diggs, who was part of a committee that reviewed options for the site's future.

"I wasn't even considering tearing it down," Diggs said. "If you can use all that money to tear it down, why not keep it?" McMenamins, developer of pubs and historic hotels in Oregon and Washington state, got the building from the city at no cost in 1996 and turned it into a 57-room hotel. The company is required to provide 15 years of free meeting room space to a neighborhood association. It also allows neighbors to use the hotel's soaking pool.

"A hotel project is super cool," but it may not fit plans for many school districts or neighborhoods, said Shannon Jaax, director of the Kansas City Public Schools' "repurposing initiative." When that program kicked off in January 2011, the district had 30 empty schools. Six have since been sold and another is under lease with an option to buy. A recent sale, Seven Oaks School, had been closed since 1997 and will be repurposed as affordable senior housing.

"Some school districts have been trying to maximize price," Jaax said. "What we are trying to do is balance the need to be financially responsible, (while) looking at what type of project will be the best fit in the community."

Chicago schools are just beginning the process. The district plans to work with community leaders to determine the best use for closed buildings. "If there is no strong use for the community or for a sister city agency," the district "will explore selling each property to the highest bidder," spokesman Dave Miranda said.

They could also use someone like Detroit's Landy. Not one to throw away anything with value, Landy moved a used pool table into a bathroom at the school-turned-movie house. It sits between urinals and stalls. "Reuse," he said "is the ultimate form of recycling."

See more on repurposing and recycling:
Re-Use Hawaii Recycles Home Demolition Waste for New Homes
Homes Made Mostly From Recycled Materials
Castle Made of Car Parts and Other Junkyard Finds

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]]>Cass City CinemaChicago Public SchoolsDetroit real estateJoel LandyKansas City Public SchoolsPortland Oregon real estaterepurposed schoolsThe Associated Press2013-06-10T11:00:00 00:00U.S. Home Prices In April Jumped Most in 7 Yearshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/04/april-2013-home-prices/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/04/april-2013-home-prices/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/04/april-2013-home-prices/#commentsFiled under: ,,

By Christopher S. Rugaber

WASHINGTON -- U.S. home prices soared 12.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain since February 2006, as more buyers competed for fewer homes. Real estate data provider CoreLogic says prices rose in April from the previous April in 48 states. Prices also rose 3.2 percent in April from March, much better than the previous month-to-month gain of 1.9 percent.

Prices in Nevada jumped 24.6 percent from a year earlier, the most among the states. California's gain was next at 19.4 percent, followed by Arizona's 17.3 percent, Hawaii's 17 percent and Oregon's 15.5 percent. More people are looking to purchase homes. But the number of homes for sale is 14 percent lower than it was a year ago. The supply shortage has contributed to the price increases.

Rising home prices can help sustain the housing recovery. They encourage more homeowners to sell. And they spur would-be homeowners to buy before prices increase further. Home sales and prices began to recover last year, six years after the housing bust. They have been buoyed by steady job gains and low mortgage rates.

Sales of previously occupied homes ticked up to a 3½ year high in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. And they are likely to keep growing: A measure of signed contracts to buy homes rose to its highest level in three years in April. There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.

The limited supply of homes has also made builders more willing to ramp up construction. That's creating more construction jobs. Applications for building permits rose in April to the highest level in nearly five years.

Prices rose in April from the previous year in 94 out of the 100 largest U.S. cities, CoreLogic said. That's up from 88 in the previous month. Los Angeles and Phoenix reported the biggest price gains among the cities, CoreLogic said. Prices in both cities leaped 19.2 percent compared with a year earlier.

They were followed by Atlanta and Riverside-San Bernardino, which both posted 16.5 percent gains. Dallas rounded out the top five, with a 10.2 percent increase. Despite the large gains, home prices are more than 22 percent below their April 2006 peak, the CoreLogic survey found. In Nevada, they are still 47.3 percent below their peak, and in Florida, prices are 40.5 percent below their peak.

See more news about home prices:
Case-Shiller: Home Prices See Biggest Jump in 7 Years
5 Reasons Housing Will Continue to Improve
Homes Selling as Fast as They Did During Housing Boom

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]]>April 2013 home pricesCoreLogicCoreLogic Home Price Indexhome buyinghome priceshome valueshousing recoveryThe Associated Press2013-06-04T11:00:00 00:00Pending Home Sales Reach Highest Level in 3 Yearshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/30/pending-home-sales-april/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/30/pending-home-sales-april/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/30/pending-home-sales-april/#commentsFiled under: ,,

home sale pending sign in front of houseBy Christopher S. Rugaber

The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes ticked up in April to the highest level in three years. The increase points to growth in home sales in the coming months. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales rose 0.3 percent to 106. That's the highest since April 2010, when a homebuyer tax credit inflated sales.

Signed contracts have jumped 10.3 percent in the past 12 months. There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale. Home sales and prices began to recover last year and have been buoyed by steady job gains and low mortgage rates. Sales of previously occupied homes rose in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, a 3 1/2-year high. Sales of new homes also rose in April, to nearly a five-year high.

Still, the supply of homes on the market remains low and that could keep sales from accelerating later this year. The number of available homes for sale rose in April, the Realtors' group said last week, but was still down 14 percent from a year earlier. Fewer homes for sale may be holding back sales in tight markets out West, such as Las Vegas and Phoenix. In those cities, many homeowners still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

The trend showed up in the April pending home sales report. Signed contracts to buy homes soared 11.5 percent last month in the Northeast and 3.2 percent in the Midwest. But they fell 7.6 percent in the West and 1.1 percent in the South.

Still, the tighter supply is also pushing up home prices. That could encourage more people to put their houses on the market. The Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller 20-city home price index this week said prices rose in March nearly 11 percent over the past 12 months. That's the fastest pace in seven years. And a limited supply of homes has made builders more willing to ramp up construction. Applications for building permits rose in April to the highest level in nearly five years.

Mortgage rates, meanwhile, jumped this week to their highest levels in a year. That means potential homebuyers are facing higher costs. Still rates remain relatively low by historical standards. The average rate for a 30-year mortgage rose to 3.81 percent, up from 3.59 percent last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The record low of 3.31 percent rate was reached in November.

More about home sales:
Homes Selling as Fast as They Did During Housing Boom
Spring Homebuying 'Stuck' Under Tight Inventory, NAR Says

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First Time Buyer Recounts Home Buying Process

 

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]]>Case Shiller Home Price Indexcontracts to buy homeshome buyinghome saleshome+buyinghomebuyersNational Association of Realtorspending home salesThe Associated Press2013-05-30T11:30:00 00:00Ex-Justice Diane Hathaway Sentenced To Prison For Real Estate Fraudhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/29/diane-hathaway-fraud-prison-sentence/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/29/diane-hathaway-fraud-prison-sentence/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/29/diane-hathaway-fraud-prison-sentence/#commentsFiled under:

Diane Hathaway, Michael Kingsley leave federal court

By Ed White

Declaring herself "broken" and "disgraced," former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway tearfully took responsibility for fraud Tuesday before a judge sentenced her to a year and a day in prison for concealing assets while she was pleading with a bank for a sale on her underwater home.

Defense attorney Steve Fishman said the devastation of losing a prestigious job seemed to be enough punishment for Hathaway, who vaulted to statewide prominence through an extraordinary Supreme Court election in 2008. But U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara rejected community service and instead chose prison. Crying and reading from a statement, Hathaway, 59, blamed her crime on "personal issues" but added: "That is no excuse."

"I stand before you a broken person," she told the judge. "I am ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated and disgraced." The 2011 sale of Hathaway's Grosse Pointe Park home, near Detroit, erased the balance of her mortgage, $664,000. Prosecutors said that she claimed hardship while still possessing more than $1 million in assets, including a debt-free home in Windermere, Fla.

In short sales, banks let distressed owners sell properties for less than what's owed on them, providing a significant benefit to borrowers who can't afford to keep paying the mortgage but want to avoid foreclosure. Hathaway and husband Michael Kingsley (pictured above) put the Florida home in a relative's name while dealing with ING Bank on the Michigan house, then got the property back in their names in 2012. Before the sale, she also tapped more than $350,000 in cash to buy two homes that were placed in the names of stepchildren, according to the government.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of a year to 18 months, while Hathaway asked for probation and community service. The fraud charge wasn't related to her work at the Supreme Court, but authorities said her expertise in real estate and law was a factor in the scheme. "We do not ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on who she is," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Lemisch, noting her successful career as a judge and prosecutor. "We ask you to sentence Diane Hathaway based on what she did."

The 366-day sentence will allow Hathaway to get time off for good behavior, meaning her actual time in custody likely will be nine to 10 months. The judge didn't elaborate on why he chose that punishment, saying only, "I have thought a great deal about this."

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade hailed the result. "Homeowners who play by the rules should know that those who don't will be held accountable, no matter who they are," she said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

See more on mortgage fraud:
10 Worst Cities for Potential Mortgage Fraud
Real Estate Fraud: How to Spot a Scam
Latest in Mortgage Fraud: Flopping

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Emails Show JP Morgan Chase Hid Flaws

 

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]]>Diane Hathawaydiane hathaway fraudMichigan Supreme Court Justicereal estate fraudUnderwater homeownersThe Associated Press2013-05-29T13:30:00 00:00Case-Shiller: Home Prices See Biggest Jump in 7 Yearshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/28/case-shiller-home-prices-march/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/28/case-shiller-home-prices-march/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/28/case-shiller-home-prices-march/#commentsFiled under: ,,

By Christopher S. Rugaberillustration of homes for sale

WASHINGTON -- U.S. home prices jumped 10.9 percent in March compared with a year ago, the most since April 2006. A growing number of buyers are bidding on a tight supply of homes, driving prices higher and helping the housing market recover. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday also showed that all 20 cities measured by the report posted annual gains for the third straight month. And prices rose in 15 cities in March from February. That's up from only 11 in the previous month. The monthly figures aren't seasonally adjusted and may reflect the beginning of the spring buying season.

Annual prices rose in Phoenix by 22.5 percent, the biggest gain among cities. It was followed by San Francisco (22.2 percent) and Las Vegas (20.6 percent). New York City had the smallest annual increase at 2.6 percent, followed by Cleveland at 4.8 percent.

The index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The March figures are the latest available.

The U.S. housing market is steadily recovering, buoyed by solid job gains and near-record low mortgage rates. Sales of new homes rose in April to nearly a five-year high. And sales of previously occupied homes ticked up in April to the highest level in three and a half years. Despite the gains, a limited number of homeowners are putting their houses on the market. That's helped lift home prices. And it's made builders more willing to ramp up construction. Applications for building permits rose in April to the highest level in nearly five years.

The recovery is creating more construction jobs and bolstering the economy in other ways. Higher home prices make homeowners feel wealthier and encourages them to spend more.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

More on home prices:
New Home Sales Up 2.3% in April as Median Price Hits Record High
Homes Selling as Fast as They Did During Housing Boom
Spring Homebuying 'Stuck' Under Tight Inventory, NAR Says

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Annual Home Prices Rise by 10.5%

 

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]]>Case Shiller Home Price Indexhome priceshome prices risehousing markethousing market recoveryThe Associated Press2013-05-28T10:11:00 00:00New Home Sales Up 2.3% in April as Median Price Hits Record Highhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/23/new-home-sales-record-prices/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/23/new-home-sales-record-prices/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/23/new-home-sales-record-prices/#commentsFiled under: ,,

New home sales up 2.3 percent in April; record high prices

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes rose in April to the second highest level since the summer of 2008 while the median price for a new home hit a record high, further signs that housing is recovering. New-home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 in April, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was up 2.3 percent from March and just slightly below January's 458,000.

Both January and April had the fastest sales rates since July 2008. The median price of a home sold in April was $271,600, the highest level on government records going back to 1993. The April price was 8.3 percent higher than in March and 13.1 percent higher than a year ago.

Steady job creation and near-record-low mortgage rates are spurring more Americans to buy homes. With the April increase, sales are now 29 percent higher than a year ago, but sales are still below the 700,000 level considered healthy by economists.

The strength in April was led by a 10.8 percent rise in sales in the West. Sales in the South were up 3 percent but sales fell 16.7 percent in the Northeast and were down 4.8 percent in the Midwest. Sales of previously owned homes rose in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, the highest level in 3½ years.

Greater demand, along with a tight supply of available homes for sale, is also boosting prices in most markets and encouraging more construction. Applications for permits to build homes rose in April to the highest level in nearly five years. While construction of new homes and apartments slipped a bit in April, the drop came one month after construction topped 1 million for the first time since June 2008.

Higher prices tend to make homeowners feel wealthier. That encourages consumers to spend more, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke cited the revival in housing as a significant benefit of the Fed's super-low interest rate policies. "Higher prices of houses and other assets, in turn, have increased household wealth and consumer confidence, spurring consumer spending and contributing to gains in production and employment," Bernanke said in an appearance before the congressional Joint Economic Committee.

Several major homebuilders have reported strong annual increases in orders for the first three months of the year, Ryland Group Inc., said that its orders in April jumped 59 percent from a year earlier.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have a sizable impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

More news about home sales:
Homes Selling as Fast as They Did During Housing Boom
Spring Homebuying 'Stuck' Under Tight Inventory, NAR Says

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
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First Time Buyer Recounts Home Buying Process

 

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]]>april home pricesapril home saleshome priceshome saleshousing markethousing market recoveryNew Home Salesreal estate marketThe Associated Press2013-05-23T11:45:00 00:00Housing Starts Drop but Building Permits Soarhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/16/April-housing-starts-building-permits/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/16/April-housing-starts-building-permits/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/16/April-housing-starts-building-permits/#commentsFiled under:

By Martin Crutsinger

WASHINGTON -- U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in April, one month after topping the 1 million mark for the first time since 2008. But most of the decline was in apartment construction, which tends to vary sharply from month to month.

And applications for new construction reached a five-year peak, evidence that the housing revival will be sustained.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, a 16.5 percent drop from the March pace of 1.02 million. Applications for building permits rose 14.3 percent to a rate of 1.02 million, the most since June 2008.

Builders are benefiting from a sustained rebound in housing that began a year ago. Steady job growth, rock-bottom mortgage rates and rising home values have boosted demand.

New construction of single-family homes declined 2.1 percent in April to an annual rate of 610,000. Multi-family construction, which is volatile, plunged 39 percent to a rate of 243,000. That drop more than reversed a 26 percent surge in March.

Housing starts fell last month in every region except the Midwest, where it rose 11 percent compared with March. New construction dropped 28 percent in the South. It fell 13 percent in the Northeast and 6 percent in the West.

Even with the sharp drop in construction last month, confidence among builders is rising. The National Association of Home Builders says its builder confidence index rebounded in May to a reading of 44, up from 41 in April. The outlook for sales reached its highest point in more than six years.

New-home sales rose 1.5 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000. That's still below the 700,000 pace considered healthy. But sales are 18.5 percent higher than a year ago.

Several major homebuilders have reported strong annual increases in orders for the first three months of the year. That includes the start of the spring home-selling season, the traditional peak period for sales.

Ryland Group Inc. said this week that orders in April jumped 59 percent from a year earlier. And over the first three months of this year. orders have jumped 54 percent.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the homebuilders' group.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Previous stories on home construction:
U.S. Housing Starts Surpass 1 Million in March
U.S. Housing Starts Rise, Permits at 4 1/2-Year High
U.S. New-Home Sales Jump to Highest Since July 2008

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Pros and Cons of Buying a New Construction Home

 

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]]>April 2013 home constructionbuilding permitshousing markethousing market recoveryhousing startsThe Associated Press2013-05-16T11:00:00 00:00Chris Brown's Curbside Art Angers Los Angeles Neighborshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/12/chris-brown-curbside-art-angers-neighbors/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/12/chris-brown-curbside-art-angers-neighbors/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/12/chris-brown-curbside-art-angers-neighbors/#commentsFiled under: ,

Chris Brown home

LOS ANGELES -- Grammy-winning musician Chris Brown's neighbors are unhappy with what some are calling frightening art he's chosen to have painted along the curb of his Hollywood Hills home.

A neighborhood group said the grimacing, sharp-toothed, red-eyed goblins painted along a retaining wall have been scaring children, and is an eyesore to boot, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"There are lots of babies, lots of children, and they're literally frightened. It's like devils on the wall - big scary eyes and big scary teeth, and just the whole vibe is not what we're used to," Patti Negri, president of the Hollywood Dell Civic Association, told the newspaper.

L.A. city code officials responded to complaints about the monster art and cited the "Run It!" singer $376 for unpermitted and excessive signage.

Chris BrownUnder city ordinances, it's illegal to create murals on most private properties. Though that didn't stop Madonna from painting her Hollywood Hills home in red and yellow stripes in the 1990s.

Brown has been ordered to remove the goblin paintings within 30 days, but his attorney Mark Geragos said the musician is not backing down.

"They are trying to suspend the First Amendment," Geragos said.

Geragos alleges that neighbors are harassing Brown and have also made parking complaints about him and called animal control.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Saturday, Negri said all she wants is for Brown to "tone it down and be a better neighbor."

Brown's tumultuous relationship with singer Rihanna and foul-mouthed Twitter presence have given him a bad boy reputation.

Brown won a Grammy in 2011 for Best R&B Album with "F.A.M.E." and was arrested shortly after the 2009 awards ceremony for assaulting Rihanna.

"I know a $300 fine is probably pocket change. But hopefully and maybe, he'll just see the light and decide to be a good neighbor," Negri told the Times. "We're happy to have him -- if he just tones it down."

See more on murals:
Graffiti Artist Says His 'Murderers' Mural Was Censored by NYPD
Wall Murals in Homes: Take 'Em or Leave 'Em?

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Missing Banksy Mural Shows Up in Miami Auction

 

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]]>Chris Brownchris brown curbside artneighbor disputesproperty rightswall muralsThe Associated Press2013-05-12T15:35:00 00:00Fed Admits Mistakes in Mortgage Settlementhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/09/mortgage-foreclosure-settlement-checks-mistake/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/09/mortgage-foreclosure-settlement-checks-mistake/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/09/mortgage-foreclosure-settlement-checks-mistake/#commentsFiled under: ,

signing a check
By Martin Crutsinger

WASHINGTON -- Some 96,000 borrowers who received checks to compensate them for wrongful foreclosures on their mortgages will be getting an additional check to correct for errors in the initial payment, the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday.

The Fed said the affected borrowers received initial compensation amounts that were too low because of errors made by Rust Consulting, the company handling the payments.

The new checks will make up the difference between the amounts that should have been paid and the lower amount paid by Rust. Borrowers are being told to cash both the original check and the new checks, which will be mailed around May 17. The borrowers affected had loans serviced by former subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The Fed said that about 96,000 of the 217,000 checks that were mailed to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley borrowers had incorrect amounts.

The payments were part of a settlement that 13 of the nation's largest banks reached with the government in January. Under the terms of that agreement, the financial institutions agreed to pay a total of $9.3 billion in cash and reductions of mortgage balances to borrowers who either lost their homes or were at risk of foreclosure.

The banks settled regulators' complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on borrowers with abuses such as "robo-signing," automatically signing off on foreclosures without properly reviewing documents.

The settlement covers borrowers whose homes were in various stages of the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010.

The Fed said that borrowers with questions should call Rust at 1-888-952-9105 to confirm eligibility, update their contact information or get answers to other questions.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

See more on the foreclosure settlement:
Robo-Signing Scandal: Hundreds More Military Members Were Victims
Do Banks or Homeowners Win in Mortgage Settlement?
Foreclosure Settlement Money: Are States Using It the Right Way?

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Foreclosure Settlement Checks Much Smaller Than Regulators Forecasted

 

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]]>compensation checksFederal Reserveforeclosure victimsGoldman SachsMorgan Stanleywrongful foreclosurewrongful foreclosure compensationThe Associated Press2013-05-09T13:06:00 00:00March Home Prices Show Biggest Gain in 7 Years, CoreLogic Sayshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/08/march-home-prices-corelogic/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/08/march-home-prices-corelogic/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/08/march-home-prices-corelogic/#commentsFiled under:

rising home prices graphic
By Christopher S. Rugaber

WASHINGTON -- A survey shows U.S. home prices rose 10.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the biggest gain since March 2006. CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, said Tuesday that annual home prices have now increased for 13 straight months. Prices are rising in part because more buyers are bidding on a limited supply of homes for sale.

Prices increased in 46 states over the past year -- 11 of them posting double-digit gains. And when excluding distressed sales, which include foreclosures and short sales, prices rose in every state. A short sale is when a home sells for less than what is owed on the mortgage.

Nevada led all states with a 22.2 percent annual gain. It was followed by California (17.2 percent), Arizona (16.8 percent), Idaho (14.5 percent) and Oregon (14.3 percent). Home prices also rose 1.9 percent in March from February, signaling a solid start to the spring buying season. And 88 of the 100 largest cities reported price gains compared with a year earlier, down slightly from 92 in February.

Prices in Phoenix rose 18.8 percent in March from a year earlier, the largest gain of any city. Los Angeles, Riverside, Calif., Atlanta and Houston posted the next largest gains.

Steady job creation and record-low mortgage rates have boosted home sales and construction in the past year. More demand, along with a limited supply of homes for sale, has pushed prices higher. The number of homes for sale fell nearly 17 percent in March compared with a year ago. That supply would be exhausted in about 4.7 months at the current sales pace. That's below the 6 months of supply that is typical in a healthy market.

Rising home prices can help sustain the housing rebound and lift the economy. More potential homebuyers may seek to purchase a house before prices rise further. And homeowners are more likely to put their houses on the market once they expect a good price.

Higher home values also boost Americans' overall net worth. That can encourage consumers to spend more, driving more economic growth. Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of economic activity.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

See more on rising home prices.
Why the Fast Rise in Home Prices Doesn't Equal a Bubble
Realtor Raps on Tight Inventory: 'All the Houses Gettin' Sold'
Cities Where Housing Bubbles Could Be Starting to Form

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Annual Home Prices Rise by 10.5%

 

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]]>CoreLogichome price surveyhome priceshome prices riseThe Associated Press2013-05-08T12:36:00 00:00In Seattle, a Backlash Against Tiny Apartment Crazehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/01/seattle-tiny-apartments/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/01/seattle-tiny-apartments/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/05/01/seattle-tiny-apartments/#commentsFiled under: ,

Kris King's tiny apartment, seattle

By Phuong Le

Developers in Seattle have been leading the U.S. in building hundreds of tiny apartments -- some about the size of a generous parking spot -- to cater to solo young workers, retirees who prefer city living, students and others looking to downsize.

Now, some residents are complaining that micro-apartments crowd too many people together, aren't compatible with some neighborhoods, don't encourage people to put down roots, and circumvent a design review process meant to get public input. They're pushing for a building moratorium and more regulation of such projects.

"They're maxing out what they can do under the land use code," said Patrick Tompkins, who lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood where some projects have replaced single-family homes, sometimes without much warning. The city code allowing such tiny units has been around for at least three decades, but micro-apartments have taken off in the last three years, said Bryan Stevens with Seattle's planning department. "It's really coincided with the recession. Apparently there's pent-up demand," he said.

Since 2006, the city has permitted 48 micro-housing projects. If all are built, they would yield living quarters for about 2,300 people. The micro-apartments range from 150 to 200 square feet for single occupants, with rents running about $500 to $700 a month and often include utilities, furnishings and Internet. Seattle code allows up to eight unrelated people to live in one dwelling unit, as long as they have their own individual living quarters and a shared kitchen. Projects meeting this threshold aren't required to undergo design review, which upsets opponents like Carl Winter.

Kris King's tiny apartment, seattle

Winter, who supports a moratorium, isn't opposed to the projects but believes they can be built with more neighbor input. The city is providing an incentive for builders by not enforcing the normal regulations, he said. Supporters, including Mayor Mike McGinn, however, say the micro-apartments provide transit-friendly, affordable options for people who don't need a lot of space and want access to urban amenities.

The mayor doesn't support a moratorium, said McGinn spokesman Aaron Pickus, but "we are taking a close look at the process for approval." City councilmembers are also weighing possible changes. A public forum is planned in coming weeks.

In Seattle, about 41 percent of residents live alone, according to 2011 census figures. That makes such units appealing for some tenants, like Kris King. Though King (pictured above at home) was initially shocked by the size of the tiny apartment he rented in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood, it had everything he needed: It was walking distance to work, fit his budget and put him close to downtown for less. Other apartments in the area could easily top $1,000 a month.

"I don't make a ton of money. This was appealing because it was affordable and it gave me access to a downtown market," said King, 36, who works as a counselor at a downtown Seattle homeless service center and pays $750 for his unit, roughly 120 square feet, which includes utilities and Internet. There's a demand for micro-housing because more people are living in single households, said John Infranca, research fellow at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University Law School. He is co-writing a report on smaller housing units in cities across the country, including Seattle.

"People are getting married later, divorcing at a higher rate, delaying marriage for several reasons, or are older individuals outliving spouses," he said, adding that "on a square-foot basis, it's not affordable, but it's more affordable than other studio and one-bedroom apartments."

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

See more:
Yep, It Can Get Smaller: A 130-Square-Foot Apartment in Paris
Tiny House Movement Spawns Whole Communities of Mini Homes
Tiny House for Sale in Arkansas Has Everything But Room

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Top Tiny Apartments You Won't Believe

 

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]]>First Hill apartmentsmicro-apartmentsSeattleSeattle tiny apartmentstiny homesThe Associated Press2013-05-01T11:30:00 00:00Lawyer: Home of Former Ricin Suspect Kevin Curtis Now Unlivablehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/30/former-ricin-suspects-home-is-unlivable/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/30/former-ricin-suspects-home-is-unlivable/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/30/former-ricin-suspects-home-is-unlivable/#commentsFiled under:

Kevin Curtis home is searched

By Holbrook Mohr

OXFORD, Miss. -- Attorneys for a Mississippi man who was briefly charged with sending ricin-laced letters to the president and others are encouraged after speaking with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office about repairing or replacing the man's house after an intensive search left it uninhabitable.

Christi McCoy, an attorney for Kevin Curtis, a 45-year-old Elvis impersonator, said Monday that she and another attorney had spoken with authorities about the process to go through to get their client's property repaired or replaced. She said she was encouraged by their response to a letter she sent U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams demanding that Curtis be provided temporary housing and that the government repair his Corinth, Miss., home and possessions. She also wants the government to pay his legal bills.

"We feel like the letter was well-received and we'll be working with the FBI to get all his property returned and get his property repaired," she said Monday night. McCoy contended that Curtis couldn't return home after investigators searched it but failed to find evidence of the deadly poison ricin. (Federal agents wearing hazardous material suits and breathing apparatus are pictured, above, about to enter the home on April 18.)

"To be specific, Mr. Curtis' home is uninhabitable. I have seen a lot of post search residences but this one is quite disturbing. The agents removed art from the walls, broke the frames and tore the artwork. Mr. Curtis offered his keys but agents chose to break the lock. Mr. Curtis' garbage was scheduled to be picked up Thursday, the day after he was snatched from his life. A week later, the garbage remains in his home, along with millions of insects it attracted," the letter says.

Curtis was once charged in the mailing of poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and a Mississippi judge, but the charges were later dropped. The investigation shifted last week to another man who had a falling out with Curtis, and that suspect appeared in court Monday on a charge of making ricin.

Though attorneys for Curtis say their client was framed, McCoy believes whoever sent the letters had a primary goal of targeting the public officials. Curtis has said that he feuded with the man now charged in the case, 41-year-old James Everett Dutschke. "I think Kevin was just an afterthought or a scapegoat," McCoy said.

Some of the language in the letters was similar to posts on Curtis' Facebook page and they were signed, "I am KC and I approve this message." Curtis often used a similar online signoff. Had damaging Curtis been the point of the scheme, McCoy said she believes that whoever set up her client could have done a better job of implicating him, such as planting evidence at his home.

McCoy said in an interview Monday that she still believes the FBI acted on the best information available at the time, but it's time to make her client whole. The letter said Curtis' life was "ruined." Curtis was arrested April 17. The charges were dropped six days later and Curtis was released from jail.

A message left seeking comment about McCoy's letter at the federal prosecutor's office in Oxford, Miss., wasn't immediately returned.

After Curtis was released, the focus turned to Dutschke. In court Monday, a judge ordered that Dutschke be held without bond until a preliminary and detention hearing Thursday. More details are likely to emerge at that hearing, when prosecutors have to show they have enough evidence to hold him.

Dutschke made a brief appearance wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands shackled. He said little during his hearing other than answering affirmatively to the judge's questions about whether he understood the charges against him. Dutschke has denied involvement in the mailing of the letters, saying he's a patriot with no grudges against anyone. He has previously run for political office and was known to frequent political rallies in northern Mississippi.

An attorney from the public defender's office appointed to represent Dutschke declined to comment after Monday's hearing. Another attorney of Dutschke's, Lori Nail Basham, said she will continue to represent him in other matters but not in the federal case. Dutschke's house, business and vehicles in Tupelo, Miss., were searched last week, often by crews in hazardous materials suits, and he had been under surveillance.

He faces up to life in prison if convicted. A news release from federal authorities said Dutschke was charged with "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin."

He already had legal problems. Earlier this month, he pleaded not guilty in state court to two child molestation charges involving three girls younger than 16, at least one of whom was a student at his martial arts studio. He also was appealing a conviction on a different charge of indecent exposure. He told The Associated Press last week that his lawyer told him not to comment on those cases.

Earlier in the week, as investigators searched his primary residence in Tupelo, Dutschke told the AP, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"I'm a patriotic American. I don't have any grudges against anybody. ... I did not send the letters," Dutschke said.

Dutschke and Curtis were acquainted. Curtis said they had talked about possibly publishing a book on a conspiracy that Curtis says he uncovered about the black-market sale of body parts. But he said they later had a feud.

Curtis's attorney Hal Neilson said the legal team gave authorities a list of people who may have had a reason to hurt Curtis and Dutschke's came up. The Mississippi judge who received one of the letters, Sadie Holland, is part of a family that has had political skirmishes with Dutschke. Her son, Steve Holland, a Democratic state representative, said his mother encountered Dutschke at a rally in the town of Verona in 2007, when Dutschke ran as a Republican against Steve Holland.

Holland said his mother confronted Dutschke after he made a derogatory speech about the Holland family. She demanded that he apologize, which Holland says he did. Dutschke's MySpace page has several pictures with him and Wicker, though he's never worked for Wicker's campaign. Republicans in north Mississippi say Dutschke used to frequently show up at GOP events and mingle with people, usually finding a way to get a snapshot of himself with the headliner.

"He would always hand his camera to somebody to get his picture made," longtime Republican Mike Armour of Tupelo said by phone Monday. A woman described by a neighbor as Dutschke's wife arrived at their home Monday afternoon but covered her face and did not respond to a reporter as she walked from a green minivan into the house.

Rory Key lives just down the street from Dutschke's house. He said Dutschke came to his house while the FBI was searching the suspect's home asking for a drink and a snack. He said the suspect was more upset than nervous. Key said he doesn't believe Dutscke committed the crime. He also said he didn't know him that well because Dustchke kept to himself.

Associated Press writer Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Miss., contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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Ricin Charges Dropped Against Paul Kevin Curtis

 

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]]>Kevin Curtisricinricin suspect home unlivablericin suspects homeThreat to kill ObamaThe Associated Press2013-04-30T11:20:00 00:00Case-Shiller Index: Home Prices Up By Most In Nearly 7 Yearshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/30/case-shiller-index-home-prices-rise/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/30/case-shiller-index-home-prices-rise/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/30/case-shiller-index-home-prices-rise/#commentsFiled under: ,

Case-Shiller index: home prices up by most in nearly 7 years

By Christopher S. Rugaber

WASHINGTON -- U.S. home prices rose 9.3 percent in February compared with a year ago, the most in nearly seven years. The gains were driven by a growing number of buyers who bid on a limited supply of homes.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased from an 8.1 percent year-over-year gain in January. And annual prices rose in February in all 20 cities for the second month in a row. Phoenix led all cities with an annual gain of 23 percent in February. Prices jumped nearly 19 percent in San Francisco. In Las Vegas, home prices increased 17.6 percent and in Atlanta they rose 16.5 percent.

Eleven of the 20 cities reported price gains in February compared with January. Those monthly numbers are not seasonally adjusted and reflect the slower winter buying period. The index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The February figures are the latest available.

Steady hiring and near-record low mortgage rates are driving up demand, helping sustain the housing recovery that began last year. Buyer traffic was 25 percent higher in March than it was a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

At the same time, prices are surging because buyers have fewer homes to bid on. The number of homes available for sale has fallen nearly 17 percent in the past year to 1.93 million, the Realtors' group said last week. At the current sales pace, that supply would be exhausted in 4.7 months, below the 6 months that is typical in healthier markets.

Home prices nationwide are still about 30 percent below their peak reached at the height of the housing bubble in August 2006. They are only back to where they were in the fall of 2003.

And Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow, a real estate data provider, cautioned that the national figures are being skewed by sharp rebounds in cities hit hard during the housing bust, including Las Vegas and Phoenix. Investors are helping drive up prices in those cities.

"This report needs to start being taken with a grain of salt, Humphries said. "The appreciation rates we're currently seeing ... are not broadly reflective of what's happening in the national housing market right now."

Steady home price gains can help drive the housing recovery. Higher home prices encourage more people to buy before prices rise further. They can also entice more homeowners to sell by making them more confident they'll get a good price. In addition, higher prices raise the equity people have in their homes, which makes selling more profitable. But many homeowners still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. That can make it difficult to sell.

Higher home values can also help the economy. They increase homeowners' wealth, which encourages more spending. Consumer spending drives 70 percent of economic growth.

Sales of previously occupied homes leveled off over the winter but may increase in the coming months. A measure of signed contracts to buy homes rose to a three-year high in March.

Homebuilders are also starting work on more new homes and apartments. That creates more construction jobs. Builders started work on more than 1 million homes at an annual rate in March. That's the first time the pace has topped that threshold in nearly 5 years.

See more about home prices:
Best Housing Markets Right Now
Spring Homebuying 'Stuck' Under Tight Inventory, NAR Says
Signs the Housing Recovery Is Stalling

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First Time Buyer Recounts Home Buying Process

 

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]]>Case-Shiller Indexhome pricesHomeBuildershousing marketThe Associated Press2013-04-30T09:45:00 00:00If You Want to Be Audited, Live in One of These 5 Areashttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/18/irs-audit-most-common-areas/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/18/irs-audit-most-common-areas/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/18/irs-audit-most-common-areas/#commentsFiled under:

1040 tax formWASHINGTON -- Worried the Internal Revenue Service might target you for an audit? You probably should be if you own a small business in one of the wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles.

You might also be wary if you're a small-business owner in one of dozens of communities near San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta or the District of Columbia.

A new study by the National Taxpayer Advocate used confidential IRS data to show large clusters of potential tax cheats in these five metropolitan areas. The IRS uses the information to target taxpayers for audits.

The taxpayer advocate, Nina Olsen, runs an independent office within the IRS. She got access to the data as part of an effort to learn more about why some taxpayers are more likely to cheat than others.

The study also looked at tax compliance in different industries, and found that people who own construction companies or real estate rental firms may be more likely to fudge their taxes than business owners in other fields.

Many of the communities identified by the study are very wealthy, including Beverly Hills and Newport Beach in California. Others are more middle class, such as New Carrollton, Md., a Washington suburb, and College Park, Ga., home to a section of Atlanta's massive airport.

Steve Rosansky, president and CEO of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, said that business owners in his city are probably targeted because many have high incomes. The likelihood of an audit does increase with income, according to IRS data.

"I imagine it's just a matter of them going where they think the money's at," Rosansky said in an interview. "I guess if I was running the IRS I'd probably do the same thing."

The study focused on small-business owners -- sole proprietorships, to be specific -- because they have more opportunity than the typical individual to cheat on their taxes. Many small businesses deal in cash while most individuals get paid in wages that are reported to the IRS.

The IRS only audits about 1 percent of tax returns each year, so the agency tries to pick returns that are most likely to yield additional tax money.

The IRS will not say much about how agents choose their targets. But as millions of procrastinators scrambled to meet Monday's deadline to file their taxes, the agency was running every tax return through a confidential computer program to determine the chances of collecting more money from an audit.

Each tax return is assigned a score. The higher your score, the more likely you are to get audited because, according to the IRS, the more likely you are cheating on your taxes.

The score is called the Discriminant Inventory Function, or DIF. A high DIF score does not guarantee you are a tax cheat but the IRS claims it's reliable.

"If your return is selected because of a high score under the DIF system, the potential is high that an examination of your return will result in a change to your income tax liability," says an IRS publication that explains the auditing process.

How do you get high score? The IRS won't say, but veteran tax preparers and former IRS workers believe they have a pretty good idea.

"If you're reporting $8,000 of charitable contributions when you're only making $50,000, that's a red flag," said Bob Meighan, vice president of TurboTax, an online tax preparation service. "Likewise if you're reportingbusiness or employee expenses that are out of the ordinary for your income range, that would attract the interest of the IRS as well."

The bottom line, according to the experts: People who take unusually large deductions for their income get a high score. Also, business owners who claim unusually large expenses for the size and type of their business get a high score.

"I had a case here where the person made about $40,000 and they claimed $25,000 of employment-related expenses," said Elizabeth Maresca, a former IRS lawyer who now teaches law at Fordham University. "Most people don't spend $25,000 to earn $40,000. That's an unusual number."

DIF scores can vary across industry, according to the study by the taxpayer advocate. For example, people who owned construction and real estate rental companies were more likely to have high scores. Lawyers, accountants and architects and people who provided other professional services were more likely to have low scores.

Olsen said construction and real estate rental companies probably deduct more expenses that are not independently reported to the IRS. The IRS does not like those kinds of expenses because they are harder to verify without an audit.

"Construction for sole proprietors has been historically a cash business," Olsen said.

The study, which was included in Olsen's annual report to Congress in January, used data from 2009 tax returns to plot the DIF scores for sole proprietorships across the country. The city where you live is not a component of the score, according to the study. Nevertheless, researchers were able to identify clusters of likely tax cheats.

Sole proprietorships make up about two-thirds of all U.S. businesses. Sole proprietors report business income on their individual tax returns and, the IRS says, they account for the biggest share of the tax gap, which is the difference between what taxpayers owe each year under the law and what they actually pay.

The tax gap was $345 billion in 2006, according the latest IRS estimate.

In all, researchers identified clusters of potential tax cheats in more than 350 communities in 24 states, mostly cities and towns but some neighborhoods, too. About one-third of them were in California, with most near Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Most of the others were in communities near Houston and Atlanta, and in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. There were relatively few in the Midwest or the Northeast.

The researchers also looked for areas with high concentrations of small business owners who were very unlikely to cheat on their taxes.

They came up with four: the Aleutian Islands in Alaska; West Somerville, Mass., a neighborhood in Somerville, a suburb of Boston; Portersville, Ind., an unincorporated town in the southern part of the state; and Mott Haven, a neighborhood in the Bronx, one of New York City's boroughs.

Stephen Mackey, president and CEO of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, said he's glad the business owners in his community excel at civic virtue. But he was at a loss to explain why they stood out from so many others across the country.

"I'd like to think we're not alone in terms of the civic engagement of business people," said Mackey. "But I would say two things. One is they are very close to the community inside and outside their businesses. At the same time, it's not small town America. It's minutes from downtown Boston."

See more on taxes:
6 Little-Known Tax Tips for Homebuyers
Accidental Landlords: Tax Time Is Coming

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When Tax Cheats Can Breathe Easy

 

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]]>The Associated Press2013-04-18T11:45:00 00:00U.S. Housing Starts Surpass 1 Million in Marchhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/16/housing-starts-march/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/16/housing-starts-march/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/16/housing-starts-march/#commentsFiled under: ,


By Martin Crutsinger

WASHINGTON -- U.S. builders broke ground in March on homes at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.04 million, the fastest since June 2008. The gain was driven by a surge in apartment construction and showed continued strength in the housing market at the start of the spring buying season.

The Commerce Department says that builders increased their construction pace by 7 percent in March from February. Apartment construction jumped 31.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 392,000 -- the fastest pace since January 2006. Single-family home construction, which represents nearly two-thirds of the market, fell 4.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted 619,000. That was down from February's pace of 650,000, which was the fastest pace since May 2008.

Applications for building permits, considered a good barometer of future construction, declined 3.9 percent to an annual rate of 902,000, down from February's rate of 939,000 -- also nearly a five-year high.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, called the strong housing data "obviously good news." But he cautioned that the March surge was due to a big jump in the volatile area of apartment construction and it was likely that construction activity would drop in April.

Steady job growth, near record-low mortgage rates and rising home values have encouraged more people to buy. In response to higher demand and a low supply of available homes for sale, builders have stepped up construction. March's pace of homes started was nearly 46 percent higher than the same month in 2012. Housing construction fell 5.8 percent in the Northeast but showed gains in the rest of the country led by a 10.9 percent rise in the South. Housing construction was up 9.6 percent in the Midwest and 2.7 percent in the West.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

See more on home construction:
U.S. Housing Starts Rise, Permits at 4 1/2-Year High
6 Cost-Saving Reasons to Buy New Construction
U.S. New-Home Sales Jump to Highest Since July 2008

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Pros and Cons of Buying a New Construction Home

 

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]]>economyhousing markethousing startsThe Associated Press2013-04-16T09:30:00 00:00Lance Armstrong Sells $10 Million Austin, Texas, Househttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/11/lance-armstrong-austin-house/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/11/lance-armstrong-austin-house/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/11/lance-armstrong-austin-house/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lance Armstrong home, Austin, Texas

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has sold his Austin, Texas, estate to an oil-and-gas rights agent. The Austin American-Statesman reports that a deed of trust filed with Travis County last week showed Al Koehler obtained a $3.1 million loan to buy the property, Armstrong's home since 2004.

Lance ArmstrongAlthough county tax rolls listed the 1.7-acre property's value at $3.9 million, local real estate agents say the house was listed at $10 million. However, in an email to the American-Statesman, Koehler says that he paid nothing close to the listed value.

Koehler is a founder of Royalty Clearinghouse, which buys oil and gas royalties and mineral rights on behalf of clients.

Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins confirmed the sale and says that Armstrong plans to remain an Austin resident. Armstrong has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in August and is banned for life from sports.

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Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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Lance Armstrong On Telling His Son The Truth

 

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]]>Austin TexasLance ArmstrongLance Armstrong Austin houseLance Armstrong homeThe Associated Press2013-04-11T13:45:00 00:00More Good News: Another Report Corroborates Gain in Home Priceshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/03/home-prices-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/03/home-prices-recovery/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/03/home-prices-recovery/#commentsFiled under:

U.S. home prices jumped in February by the largest amount in seven years, evidence that the housing recovery strengthened ahead of the all-important spring-buying season. Home prices rose 10.2 percent in February compared with a year earlier, CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, said Wednesday. The annual gain was the biggest since March 2006. Prices have now increased on an annual basis for 12 straight months, underscoring the recovery's steady momentum.

The gains were broad-based. Prices rose in 47 of 50 states and in all but four of the nation's 100 largest metro areas. Delaware, Alabama and Illinois were the only states to report price declines. CoreLogic's measure of national prices also rose 0.5 percent in February from January. That's a solid increase during the winter months, when sales typically slow.

An increase in home sales has helped lift prices. In February, sales of previously owned homes reached the highest level in more than three years. Still, much of the demand has come from investors. Sales to first-time buyers remain below healthy levels.

Related: Find Homes for Sale in Your Area


Another reason prices are rising is the supply of available homes for sale remains extremely low. In January, it reached a 13-year low. The supply of homes for sale did rise in February for the first time in 10 months. That suggests more people are gaining confidence in the housing recovery, which could help ease supply concerns and drive sales higher in the coming months.

The price gains were concentrated in the West, according to CoreLogic. The states with the biggest price gains were Nevada, where prices rose 19.3 percent, followed by Arizona, with 18.6 percent, and California, with 15.3 percent. Hawaii and Idaho rose 14.6 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.

The cities with the biggest gains were Phoenix, Los Angeles, Riverside, Calif., Atlanta and New York. Nationwide, home values were still down more than 26 percent from their peak in April 2006 through February, CoreLogic said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>home price gainhome priceshome prices seven year gainhome valueshousing recoveryThe Associated Press2013-04-03T12:30:00 00:00