Friday, May 30, 2008

Homes Sales Rising in Hard-Hit Areas

Well, I have some good news and some bad news.

First the good news - home sales are up in inner-city Detroit.

The bad news is the homes are all foreclosures, for the most part. Sales are also up sharply in Las Vegas, Sacramento, Ca., and Fort Myers, Fl., as investors snatch up these properties at rock bottom prices - knowing that the value has nowhere to go but up!

Thomas Lawler, a housing economist in Virginia, says sellers "have moved into the acceptance mode" and homes are being priced to sell quickly. He says, "I think it is the first stage of good news for the market."

It is believed that the nationwide inventory of foreclosed homes is nearly half a million homes. Many lenders were slow to slash prices, hoping to avoid huge losses. But, more lenders are deeply cutting prices, as the cost of taxes, insurance and upkeep grow.

For the first four months of 2008, home sales in Detroit, excluding suburbs, were up 48% from a year earlier!

This information came to us from the Michigan Association of Realtors. The average home price dropped 56%, and many feel that there will be no further price drops.

Visit our webpage, Detroit Properties Available, to find a bargain for yourself before the gravy train moves on!

Also, on a happy note, some top US bank regulators are proposing that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's plan to address inflated appraisals should be dropped. It is believed that his plan unfairly penalizes the appraisers, rather than the brokers and lenders that threaten to blacklist appraisers that cannot "hit" value.

It is also believed that Cuomo's plan would add hidden costs and fees to an already overpriced mortgage cost system.

Comptroller of the Currency, John Dugan, suggests that Cuomo's plan violates federal law. He states, "The code would impose a dramatically different new set of operational standards for appraisal practices on a national scale that would conflict with and effectively supersede the comprehensive federal scheme established by Congress."

How I love to end the week on a happy note! 'Til next time - it's all good!

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