Poll Shows Strong Support for Government Housing Initiatives

RISMEDIA, March 5, 2010—Americans remain strongly committed to federal support for home buyers, according to a recent survey of U.S. households.

Roughly 68% of those polled said the government should continue to support housing, and 65% believe the government should be doing more to keep families from losing their homes to foreclosure.

The poll included both home owners and renters and was conducted for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) by RT Strategies, a non-partisan public opinion polling firm based in Washington, D.C. RT Strategies interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide by telephone using live interviewers on January 29-31, 2010. The sample included 170 interviews with respondents from cell-phone-only households.

Among those polled, some key groups said the government should continue to play a vital role in maintaining a healthy housing market. For example, 78% of all potential home buyers, including 81% of renters intending to buy a home in the near future, said the government should continue to support housing.

Roughly 65% of home owners said the government also needs to do more to keep families from losing their homes. Support for more foreclosure protection was not confined merely to current home owners. Among renters, 84% said the government needs to do more to helped strapped borrowers. This issue is particularly important to women, with 71% supporting greater foreclosure protection, compared to 58% of men.

Keeping families in their homes is also particularly important to first-time home buyers, as 78% of young adults under age 30 support greater foreclosure protection. And 69% of adults who are 30 to 44, the prime age range for move-up buyers, said they support more foreclosure protection.

Overall, roughly two-in-three respondents said they own their home. Among renters, about two-in-three intend to buy a home in the near future. In addition, 15% of current home owners intend to buy a home in the near future.

The poll asked respondents for their views regarding the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 that extended a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. The legislation, which was signed into law by President Obama in November 2009, also authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified repeat home buyers. Overall, 8% of those surveyed said they intend to take advantage of this credit, while another 24% who might have been interested in using the tax credit said they cannot afford to purchase a home at this time. Of the 33% of respondents who said they are planning to buy a home (both renters and current home owners), roughly 17% said they intend to use the tax credit.

Financial concerns continue to be the greatest barrier to growth in the housing market. Among renters nationwide who aspire to own their own home, 39% simply don’t have the money to buy a home at this time, and another 20% said the primary obstacle is that they feel they cannot qualify for a loan. Larger economic issues also play a role, as 18% of those surveyed said that job security is the greatest obstacle they face in trying to buy a home.

Weakness in the housing market itself may be blocking some home owners who would like to buy a new home, as 29% of current home owners said their greatest obstacle to purchasing another home is their inability to sell their current home. Beyond that, among current homeowners who aspire to buy a new home, 7% feel trapped by a mortgage that exceeds the value of their current home, 14% fear that the value of a new home might fall after they make the investment, and 13% say home prices are too high to allow them to buy a new home at this time.

Even amid a housing market downturn, 40% of respondents said their home is their most valuable investment, twice the number who cite any other single investment–401k accounts, savings accounts and CDs, stocks and bonds, or mutual funds–as their leading family investment.

5 Tips for a Successful Home Remodel

As spring approaches, many homeowners grow eager to start remodeling projects to update and refresh their surroundings. Before getting started, it’s a good idea to hire a professional remodeler for a workable plan and better results, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“A professional remodeler knows how to translate a homeowner’s dreams and budget into a beautiful reality,” said Donna Shirey, CGR, CAPS, CGP, president of Shirey Contracting in Issaquah, Wash. and 2010 chairman of NAHB Remodelers. “They have the expertise and skills to satisfy a customer while keeping the budget in check.”

Here are five tips for planning a successful home remodel that you can enjoy for many years to come.

1. Compile a list of home remodeling ideas and draft a budget for the work.
You likely have some projects in mind, such as modernizing the bathroom, renovating the kitchen, replacing windows or repairing the roof. Prioritize your wish list: Maybe you don’t have the budget for your dream remodel, but professional remodelers can maximize your dollars by doing the work in phases, suggesting budget-friendly products and materials and implementing creative design solutions.

2. Look for a professional remodeler to help plan the project.
Start by searching NAHB’s Directory of Professional Remodelers at www.nahb.org/remodel. You’ll get a list of nearby remodelers to contact. Asking friends and neighbors for names of qualified remodelers will also help you find a match for your project.

3. Check the references and background of the remodeler.
After you start speaking with remodelers and find one or two who match your project’s needs, be sure to conduct some background research by checking with the Better Business Bureau, talking to their references and asking if they are a trade association member (such as NAHB Remodelers). Remodelers with these qualities tend to be more reliable, better educated and more likely to stay on top of construction and design trends.

4. Agree on a contract.
Talk over the details of the home remodeling project and begin reviewing the contract. You’ll want to check the remodelers’ insurance coverage, ask about any warranties on their work, know who is responsible for obtaining any building permits and understand the process for making any change orders after the contract is signed. Make sure that you and your remodeler see eye to eye before you sign on the dotted line.

5. Take advantage of the energy efficiency tax credits.
If your remodel includes replacing windows or doors, adding insulation, installing new roofing, upgrading heating or air-conditioning units, updating the water heater or installing energy generating products (such as solar panels, heat pumps or wind turbines) then you can take advantage of federal energy efficiency tax credits through 2010 that will help defray costs and maximize your remodeling budget while reducing home energy bills.

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Decreases 2% in February 2010

RISMEDIA, March 11, 2010—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its February 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 308,524 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of 2% from the previous month but still 6% above the level reported in February 2009. The report also shows one in every 418 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in February.

“The 6% year-over-year increase we saw in February was the smallest annual increase we’ve seen since January 2006, when we began calculating year-over-year increases, but it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity—albeit at a historically high level that will likely continue for an extended period.

“In addition, severe winter weather appears to have temporarily slowed the processing of foreclosure records in some Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.”

Foreclosure activity by type
Default notices (Notices of Default and Lis Pendens) were reported on a total of 106,208 U.S. properties during the month, an increase of 3% from the previous month but down 3% from February 2009. Default notices were down 25% from their peak of more than 142,000 in April 2009 but were still more than three times the number they were four years ago in February 2006.

Foreclosure auctions (Notices of Trustee’s Sale and Notices of Sheriff’s Sales) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 123,633 U.S. properties, a decrease of 1% from the previous month but still 16% higher than the level reported in February 2009. Scheduled auctions were down 14% from their peak of more than 144,000 in August 2009 but were also about three times higher than the number reported in February 2006.

Bank repossessions (REOs) were reported on a total of 78,683 U.S. properties during the month, a 10% decrease from the previous month but an increase of 6% from February 2009. Bank repossessions were down nearly 15% from their peak of more than 92,000 in December 2009 but were at nearly twice the level reported in February 2006.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada foreclosure activity decreased nearly 7% from the previous month and was down 30% from February 2009, but the state’s foreclosure rate continued to rank highest in the nation for the 38th month in a row. One in every 102 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month—more than four times the national average.

Arizona and Florida documented nearly identical foreclosure rates, with one in every 163 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in both states. Despite a nearly 21% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month, Arizona’s rate was statistically slightly higher than Florida’s rate and ranked second highest among the states.

California’s foreclosure rate ranked fourth highest among the states, with one in every 195 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, and Michigan’s foreclosure rate ranked fifth highest among the states, with one in every 226 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Utah (one in every 275 housing units), Idaho (one in 296), Illinois (one in 305), Georgia (one in 331) and Maryland (one in 407).

Six states account for more than 60% of national total
The six states with the most foreclosure activity accounted for 61% of the national total in February. California led the way, with 68,562 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month—down nearly 5% from the previous month and down 15% from February 2009.

Foreclosure activity in Florida increased nearly 15% from the previous month and was up more than 16% from February 2009. The state continued to post the nation’s second highest total, with 54,032 properties received a foreclosure filing during the month.

Increasing foreclosure activity boosted Michigan’s total to third highest among the states. A total of 20,028 Michigan properties received a foreclosure filing during the month—up nearly 14% from the previous month and up 59% from February 2009.

With 17,312 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, Illinois posted the fourth highest total, followed by Arizona, with 16,718 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, and Texas, with 12,638 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in February.

Other states with totals among the 10 highest in the country were Georgia (12,177), Ohio (11,286), Nevada (11,035), and Maryland (5,732).

Divergent trends in metro areas with top 10 foreclosure rates
Metro areas in the Sun Belt states of Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona continued to dominate the top 10 highest foreclosure rates among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, but activity trends in these areas varied considerably.

The Las Vegas metro area documented the highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 90 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, despite a 9% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month.

Six of the other metro areas in the top 10—all in California or Arizona—also reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month. The biggest monthly decrease among the top 10 was in the Phoenix metro area, where foreclosure activity dropped nearly 18%.

In contrast, the two Florida metro areas in the top 10 both posted substantial monthly increases in foreclosure activity. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area saw a 31% increase in foreclosure activity from the previous month, giving it the second highest metro foreclosure rate—one in every 92 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. An increase of nearly 66% in foreclosure activity from the previous month helped boost the foreclosure rate in Port St. Lucie to sixth highest.

Is It the Beginning of the End for Housing Crisis?

RISMEDIA, March 8, 2010—(MCT)—A smaller percentage of mortgages were delinquent and the rate of those entering the foreclosure process slowed in the fourth quarter of 2009, possible signs that the foreclosure crisis that has gripped many of the nation’s housing markets is finally starting to ease, a trade group has reported.

“We are likely seeing the beginning of the end of the unprecedented wave of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures that started with the subprime defaults in early 2007,” said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, in a written statement.

The delinquency rate for mortgages on one- to four-unit residential properties was a seasonally adjusted 9.47% of all mortgages outstanding in the fourth quarter, down from 9.64% in the third quarter and up from 7.88% in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the MBA’s quarterly delinquency survey.

Delinquencies include mortgages that are at least one payment or more past due but not yet in foreclosure.

Meanwhile, 1.2% of outstanding mortgages entered the foreclosure process in the fourth quarter, down from 1.42% in the third quarter and up from 1.08% in the fourth quarter of 2008. The percentage of mortgages at some point in the foreclosure process at the end of the fourth quarter was 4.58%, up from 4.47% in the third quarter and 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The MBA survey covers about 44.4 million loans on one- to four-unit residential properties, or about 85% of all first-lien residential mortgage loans that are outstanding in the country. No doubt, the foreclosure nightmare isn’t over yet.

The percentages of loans 90 days or more past due and loans in foreclosure process set record highs in the fourth quarter, according to the report. Many of those loans more than 90 days past due are in loan modification programs, and some of them have been seriously delinquent for months waiting for modifications to get finalized.

But the good news is there are fewer problem loans actually entering delinquency—likely a result of fewer layoffs, Brinkmann said. “We normally see a large spike in short-term mortgage delinquencies at the end of the year due to heating bills, Christmas expenditures and other seasonal factors. Not only did we not see that spike but the 30-day delinquencies actually fell by 16 basis points from 3.79% to 3.63%,” he said. He added that the non-seasonally adjusted 30-day delinquency rate has only dropped three times in the past between the third and fourth quarter—”and never by this magnitude.”

Depending on the fate of seriously delinquent mortgages—whether they are cured with modifications or ultimately enter foreclosure—the percentage of mortgages somewhere in the foreclosure process could start to see a gradual decline in the second half of the year, he said during a conference call with reporters.

If normal seasonal patterns hold, there could be a bigger drop in the 30-day delinquency rate in the first quarter of 2010, Brinkmann said. That would be a positive sign for the months and years ahead. “The continued and sizable drop in the 30-day delinquency rate is a concrete sign that the end may be in sight,” he said. “With fewer new loans going bad, the pool of seriously delinquent loans and foreclosures will eventually begin to shrink once the rate at which these problems are resolved exceeds the rate at which new problems come in. “It also gives us growing confidence that the size of the problem now is about as bad as it will get,” he said.

Long-Term Rates Rise to Over 5% for First Time in Three Weeks

RISMEDIA, February 27, 2010—Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.05% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 25, 2010, up from last week when it averaged 4.93%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.07%.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.40% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.33%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.68%.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 4.16% this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.12%. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.06%.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.15% this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.23%. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.81%.

“Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages followed long-term bond yields higher and rose above 5% this week amid a mixed set of economic data reports” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “For instance, the January producer price index jumped well above the market consensus, but the consumer price index remained subdued and consumer confidence declined to the lowest level since April 2009, according to the Conference Board.

“There were also varying reports as to the current state of the housing market. The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index rose for the third consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter, albeit at a slower rate, and the 20-city composite index showed an increase in December 2009 for the seventh month in a row; six metropolitan areas experienced positive year-over-year growth, compared to four in November. New home sales, however, unexpectedly slowed in January to the smallest pace since records began in 1963, and the supply of homes at the current sales rate rose to 9.1 months, the most since May 2009.”

What it takes to save Nashville's historic properties

Preservation of historical properties in the Inglewood area is the focus of a community meeting Monday, Feb. 22.

The meeting comes on the heels of a possible sale that could potentially demolish a Gallatin Pike home, one that many neighbors see as historic, but one that does not meet federal requirements to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“It’s important to look at homes and structures and see what we need to preserve,” said Councilwoman Karen Bennett, who represents District 8.

“We want to be proactive, because if we are negligent, we will lose some important structures.”

Representatives from the Metro Historical Commission will be at the Feb. 22 meeting to offer residents information on how the historical preservation process works and what types of structures qualify.

Bennett hopes the meeting will be the first of several to create a dialogue about possible structures that may be worthy of preservation, specifically before the threat of a demolition enters the picture.


A few years ago the property known as Evergreen Place, at 5007 Gallatin Pike near Briley Parkway, sparked debate among neighbors who were for or against a Home Depot replacing the 200-year old Greek Revival residence.


The home, which built by an early Presbyterian minister, formerly housed a museum devoted to the late country singer Jim Reeves.


Although the house was on the National Register of Historic Places, that didn’t grant it any special protection from being demolished. Properties that are placed on the register are still not protected if an owner wants to raze it, said Tim Walker, executive director of the Metro Historical Commission.


The future of a house at the Gallatin Pike/Broadmoor intersection has recently
sparked much comment on the neighborhood list serv.


Preliminary discussions are in the works to possibly demolish the residence to make way for a U.S. Bank.
The house, known as Sunny Gables, was once occupied by Albert Hadley Jr., a nationally known veteran interior designer. Hadley, who decorated the Kennedy White House, Al Gore’s vice presidential residence, among others, returns to his hometown annually for the Antiques and Garden Show.


The house has been reviewed by both the Metro and state historical commissions, but does not meet the federal guidelines for eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, Walker said.

“The property doesn’t qualify because it’s not architecturally distinct enough or have enough local history behind it to qualify,” said Walker. “We did determine that it’s worthy of conservation, but that provides no protection, but it’s important and its status could change in the future.”


Neighbors don’t object to the owners selling the property and don’t want to impede development, but some think there should to be more respect for such buildings, and many would prefer it be adaptively reused.


“Everyone has the right to sell their property, but we just didn’t anticipate it will be demolished,” said Robbie Jones, an Inglewood resident.


“We would like to see the owners work with the community to help them come up with some options to sell to an owner that would preserve it.”


The owners of the property, Linda and Robert Smith, declined comment.

Future development
Amanda Spenser, another Inglewood neighbor, says it’s inevitable that the property will be developed in the near future and the corridor has room for improvement.


“Strict zoning ordinances are needed if the corridor is ever going to improve,” she said. “Inglewood residents should have a say in what kind of business can build there, but to inform the owners that they either can’t sell the property, or that they must pay to move the house, is audacity beyond belief.


“If those against the sale of the property feel that strongly about it, they need to pay the fair market value for the house.”


Representatives with U.S. Bank say while the deal isn’t close to being complete, they want to work with the community. Their current location is at 3740 Gallatin.


“We have been a good neighbor to this community and are now searching for a new location for a environmentally friendly branch,” said Lisa Clark, spokeswoman for U.S. Bank. “It’s important to keep it near our existing branch because we want people to be able to easily access it.”