Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Fed to Leave Rates Alone

Are we finally beginning to see a leveling off? The economy seems to be all over the place, the Dow was up yesterday! Rates are going to settle in place? This could be a good turn for the Lexington Kentucky Real Estate market along with the national real estate market. The more and more we look towards the future and paying attention to the bottom line we know that it still comes down to the basics: What can I afford to pay each month?! This isn't necessarily the right thing to do, but it is how things are evaluated and looked at!

Fed Expected to Leave Rates Alone This Week

The Federal Reserve, which meets Tuesday, is widely expected to leave key interest rates at 2 percent, which would keep the prime-lending rate for consumers at 5 percent.The Fed has signaled that its next move on rates is probably up, although the timing is unclear.Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, last month said the Fed probably will need to boost rates "sooner rather than later" even if employment and financial conditions haven't revived. Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, opposed the Fed's decision in June to leave rates unchanged. He said he preferred a rate increase then to fend off inflation.Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (08/03/08)

Stay tuned to www.InvestSmarter.com for more information on this and other trends in our ever changing Real Estate Market.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Falling Behind on Payments Continues to Increase

It appears that more and more people are beginning to fall behind and that is not a good thing for the economy, the banks, or the real estate market. It seems pretty obvious, but what is really beginnin to worry many people is where does it stop? We see prices on every day items skyrocketing and at some point we have to say hold on a minute! The Lexington Kentucky Real Estate market is one of those areas that really jumps out in a positive manner. But what will be happening 6 months from now. Many analysts and we at www.InvestSmarter.com also believe that we are looking at mid 2009 before we truly will know the extent of the real estate foreclosure alerts and or short sales.

More Home Owners Can't Pay Mortgages Homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage payments continue to outnumber those who are resolving their difficulties and staying in their homes, according to a report from the trade group, Mortgage Insurance Companies of America.Some 67,967 homeowners with mortgage insurance fell at least 60 days behind on their mortgages, compared with 40,687 who got back on track, the mortgage insurance group reported. May is the 26th straight month that defaults outnumbered improvements.Insurers are tightening standards on mortgages they insure to stem further losses. The new requirements contributed to a 48 percent drop in the number of mortgage insurance policies issued to new homeowners during May, the trade group says.Source: Bloomberg, Erik Holm (06/30/2008)

So stay on top of the market and what is happening on a daily basis. Take some time to look through www.lexington-kentucky-real-estate.com today and get a good feel for the trends and stay on top of the basics to make sure you don't get caught like the other people above!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Beware with Foreclosures

In Lexington Kentucky Real Estate, like many other areas, foreclosures are the talk of the town. But there are a few things to really be aware of. We discuss this online also at www.InvestSmarter.com and the article below sheds some interesting light on the foreclosure market:

Daily Real Estate News June 19, 2008

Avoid Pitfalls When Buying Foreclosures

Buying a foreclosed home is no cakewalk. It can be a sure-fire way to lose money for a purchaser who isn’t knowledgeable and careful.Here are some prime considerations for anyone wading into the foreclosure market.

Avoid outstanding liens. Make sure the property has a clean title. Any outstanding liens and fees incurred by the original owner will be transferred to the new buyer.

Bid conservatively. The market in many places is still depreciating. That unknown added to transaction, repair, and marketing costs could sour the deal.

Beware foreclosure concentration. Prices in neighborhoods where there are lots of foreclosures have declined the most – and prices in these areas are still declining. A buyer should confirm that there’s an opportunity to make money if prices fall another 15 percent.

Beware the appraisal. If the price is discounted from an appraisal done before August 2007, it is almost certainly unrealistically high.

Cash is king. Even a buyer with a renter lined up and enough money for a 20 percent down payment needs still more cash to weather another two or three years of a depressed market before unloading the property.Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (08/19/08)

These are just a few key points to investing in foreclosure properties. For more information on the Lexington Kentucky Real Estate market please go to the site.