CNN money- 8 Reasons to Remodel

8 reasons to invest in your home

By Josh Garskof, contributorJanuary 25, 2011: 5:30 PM ET
(MONEY Magazine) -- Not long ago, you could have your big remodeling project and get your money back too. Owners recouped an average of 87% of home improvement costs at resale in 2005, according to Remodeling magazine.

But by 2010 the magazine had pegged the typical payback at just 60%. Hardly the right time to tackle the new kitchen or master bathroom you've been dreaming of, right?

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CNN money Reports- 1 million homes reposessed in 2010

1 million homes repossessed in 2010

By Les Christie, staff writer--January 13, 2011: 10:05 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Foreclosures were at a record high in 2010, and more than 1 million people lost their homes, even as notices started leveling off during the end year.
In total, there were nearly 2.9 million foreclosure notices filed during the year, according to report released Thursday by RealtyTrac. That was a record high, but just 1.7% above 2009.

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Rent Vs Own - What to do in 2011?

Many Americans are content to rent after witnessing the crumbling housing market in recent years. But with rents on the rise and home prices continuing to fall, a reversal is in sight.



It wasn't hard for many homeowners to bid adieu to 2010. It was the year where, in many metropolitan areas across the country, rents surged as home prices fell, leading a growing chorus of skeptics to question the so-called American Dream of homeownership.
Perhaps not surprisingly, it makes more financial sense to rent than buy today in many U.S. cities, according to the latest data from Moody's Analytics. After declining during the depths of the latest recession, prices for rentals nationwide increased modestly by about 3% in 2010, partly driven by a record number of homeowners looking for new digs after foreclosing on their homes. In Moody's latest list of rent ratios (which is the price of a typical home divided by the annual cost of renting that home) for 54 U.S. metropolitan areas, 39 fell into the 'better to rent' category -- roughly the same level it's been for the past year.
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CNN Money- Panel of Experts Debate Over Housing Prices in 2011, Will They Drop?

CNN Money Reports- What Will Happen With Real Estate Market?

Bull vs. Bear: Will housing rebound?

Posted by Nin-Hai Tseng, writer-reporter

December 27, 2010 3:00 am

It's a question many Americans want answered: Will the value of my home rise or fall next year? Smart minds fall in both camps -- here are both sides of the coin on real estate.
One of the most closely watched sectors in 2011 will continue to be real estate – a wildly emotional and divisive topic that's puzzled investors and economists since the housing bubble burst around 2007. Earlier this year, many observers thought the market would turn around in a big way as federal tax credits spurred home purchases and the economy added jobs following hundreds of billions of dollars of government stimulus spending.
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Foreclosure Fiasco!

Record plunge in foreclosures, thanks to robo-signers

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of foreclosure notices filed in November plunged 21%, the biggest month-over-month drop ever recorded by RealtyTrac, the online foreclosure marketer. Filings fell 14% compared with November 2009.
The number of Americans who actually lost their homes to bank repossessions plummeted even more steeply -- to 67,428. That was off a whopping 28% from 93,236 in October. Repossessions are down a third since September. CLICK HERE for Full Article






 

CNN Money Report- Good Time to Buy?

Buying a home now is a no-brainer

 
By Ali Velshi, CNN chief business correspondentDecember 10, 2010: 2:43 PM ET

(MONEY Magazine) -- Is now the right time to invest in a house?
Trick question. Actually, it's two questions.

Question No. 1: Is now the time to buy?
Question No. 2: Is buying a house a good investment?
The first answer is easy: With a few exceptions, if you have 20% to put down and good credit, now is a great time to buy. That's been the case all year, and I'd argue that we're probably closer to the end than to the beginning of the really great time. Let me explain.
Back in January home prices had dropped 28% from their peak. More important, interest rates were at historical lows. By locking in a mortgage for 15 or 30 years on a value-priced home, you were getting an incredible deal, even if home prices decreased. (I took my advice and bought a New York City apartment.) CLICK HERE for full article

CNN Money Reports: Retirement fund or Mortgage downpayment?

Should we pay down the mortgage or save for retirement?

 
By Karen CheneyNovember 10, 2010: 11:50 AM ET

(MONEY Magazine) -- For more than a year, Kim Champney, 40, and Pat Minick, 41, have been kicking in an extra $650 to their $1,048 monthly mortgage payments. "We don't like carrying a lot of debt," says Minick, who stays home with their three kids, ages 7, 8 and 10.
At this pace, the couple will pay off the loan in 2018, eight years early. But with their mortgage rate a low 4.4% after a refi, they wonder if the house is the best place to stash their cash

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States launch foreclosure probe

Scenario: Real Estate Double Dip  Scenario: What if US house prices experience a double-dip, falling for several quarters before finally stabilizing? Potential Outcome: Some economists continue to predict a coming double-dip for both residential and commercial real estate, citing the huge number of underwater loans, vacancies, and foreclosures yet to come to market. A double dip in housing could drag down the rest of the economy and threaten the economic recovery. Potential Timeframe: Within 1 Year

The following macro indicators would be most impacted by this scenario.

	Current	Projected	Scenario Impact
US House Prices	148.91	117.14		-21%
Commercial RE Prices	1.13	0.88		-22%
US GDP Growth	1.70%	-0.96%		-2.66 pts
Consumer Confidence	48.50	32.56		-33%
Copper	$3.81	$3.17		-17%
Economic Analysis By HiddenLevers

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CNN Money Reports: Push to halt foreclosures gains steam

By Ben Rooney, staff reporterOctober 5, 2010: 6:32 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Pressure is mounting on U.S. banks to halt more foreclosures amid widespread allegations that loan servicers failed to verify legal documents in what could be hundreds of thousands of cases.
Members of Congress from California wrote to the heads of the Justice Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday, requesting that they investigate the foreclosure processes of banks under their purview for "possible violations of law or regulations."
In Texas, the Attorney General's office sent "suspension notices" to 30 loan servicers in the state, asking them to halt foreclosures until they have completed a review of their procedures. The Attorney General in Massachusetts also urged financial institutions in the state to put a hold on all foreclosures.

The moves come after Ally Financial, JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) all announced plans last week to freeze foreclosures in the 23 U.S. states where they must be approved by the courts.
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