LATHAM REALTY

24/09/2017

http://realtormag.realtor.org/news-and-commentary/economy/article/2017/09/build-it-s-1950

Taking aim at real estate is not the way to generate growth.

06/09/2017

CLEAR SKIES AHEAD FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS

11/06/2017

150 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, PROBABLY THE BEST DESIGNING ARCHITECT AT LEAST IN MY OPINION, WAS BORN...

The architect's 150th birthday has spurred a major reappraisal of his work, including a major MoMA exhibition, yet five houses Wright built in L.A. remain underappreciated -- and misunderstood.

09/05/2017

THE MARKET WILL NOT BECOME OVER SOLD FOR MANY YEARS....

The millennial homeownership rate is still low, but the generation represents the future of both apartment renting and home-buying.

29/03/2017

GOOD NEWS!

Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes jumped to a 10-month high in February, pointing to robust demand for housing ahead of the spring selling season despite higher prices and mortgage rates.

16/03/2017

GREAT INSIGHT FROM PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS

Today Barry Habib is on the show talking about yesterday's Fed rate hike and what to expect for housing going forward. CLICK HERE to try MBS Highwa

03/11/2016

AS IS TYPICAL, ACTIVITY HAS SLOWED DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR AND WILL REMAIN SO UNTIL FEBRUARY......PRICES ALTHOUGH, HAVE SHOWN STEADY GAINS OVER THE LAST YEAR......

Sales from January through September fell 3.7 percent compared to the same period in 2015, the lowest since 2011. Despite lower sales, prices continue to climb higher albeit at a slower pace than prior years.

03/07/2016

Despite Brexit upheaval and stock market losses, U.S. real estate market appears on much more solid footing in 2016

31/05/2016

KIND OF A TEPID MARKET. NOT A SELLER'S OR BUYER'S MARKET....

Prices jumped this past month as seasonal pent-up demand slammed head-on into an inventory constrained market. Although California is still finding buyers, there’s no question that at some point, and perhaps happening now, buyers are going to put their hands up and sit tight or even consider out-of-...

24/05/2016

BE VERY CAREFUL TO DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING WHEN WIRING FUNDS....Picture this: Wire transfer instructions are emailed to the buyer. The buyer complies with the instructions to the letter. The next day, escrow contacts the buyer asking if the money has been sent yet. The buyer checks with his bank and is assured that the funds have been transferred out. When the money has still not shown up, everyone begins to retrace steps. As it turns out, the wiring instruction was bogus. The email came from an address that looked very much like that of the escrow or title company, but it was not actually theirs.
And the recipient bank account? It was real; it just wasn’t the correct one. And, yes, it has been emptied out by now.
The scheme has been perpetrated by hackers, and it has been going on around the country for a while now. Here's how one alert describes the process:
First, hackers identify the email accounts of real estate agents and brokers. (Not a hard thing to do with real estate ads and messages all over the internet and social media.) Then they hack directly into the accounts “and identify emails referencing pending real estate deals. From these strings of emails, the hackers pull out specific details about the deal, such as: (a) the parties’ names, (b) the title company involved, (c) the escrow officer in charge of the deal, and (d) other information specific to the transaction.”
Then the bad guys sit back and keep track of the transaction's progress. As it gets near to closing, they send fraudulent email “directly to the buyer or lender, making it look like it was sent by the real estate agent, mortgage broker, or escrow agent. These fraudulent emails now direct the buyer and/or lender to wire the funds necessary to close escrow directly to a different bank account than the one provided in the preliminary report or in the escrow instructions. Obviously, this new bank account is controlled by the hacker, not the title company or the escrow holder.”
If the buyer, or the lender, does not detect the fraud, “the money is wired to the bogus account controlled by the hacker and is immediately withdrawn, never to be seen again."

24/05/2016

HOMES ARE NOT GOING TO GET MORE AFFORDABLE IN THE FUTURE THAT IS CERTAIN......ESPECIALLY FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS.....

An increasing amount of new regulations is hurting business, say some of the nation's biggest homebuilders. Look no further than San Clemente, California.

20/04/2016

REAL ESTATE MOST POPULAR LONG TERM INVESTMENT. BEATS OUT STOCKS, SAVINGS, AND GOLD......

The latest Gallup poll has found that 35% of Americans now say real estate is the "best long-term investment," increasing its lead over four other investment choices.

24/03/2016

A SAFER INVESTMENT THAN THE STOCK MARKET AND ONE YOU CAN ENJOY EVERY DAY......

With strong demand for residential design in every region across the country, homeowner investment in their kitchens and bathrooms remains a primary focus. Kitchens specifically have reinforced their position as the center of the home with design considerations that accommodate multiple activities.…

29/02/2016

GOOD STUFF TO KNOW.....

Find out what capital gains tax means for your home sale, and how you can use things like marital status and property type to avoid capital gains tax.

19/02/2016

INTERESTING MIXED NEWS ON THE REAL ESTATE FRONT.....

California’s real estate market continues to be resilient. The extreme volatility in the equity markets has precipitated considerable outflows of cash, some of which may be finding its way into California real estate. Despite a slowdown in many national economic indicators, California single family…

25/01/2016

GOOD NEWS. AT LEAST THEY MUST ANTICIPATING HIGHER SALES WHICH WOULD INDICATE THEY FEEL POSITIVE ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE SALES MARKET....

18/12/2015

HERE'S WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CALI REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR NOVEMBER.

Real Property Report – California, November 2015 New TRID Rules Depress Sales and Distort Median Prices Cash is King in Low Sales Volume Market November Cash Sales Jump 34.3 Percent Y-o-Y CALIFORNIA, DECEMBER 16, 2015 – California single-family home and condominium sales fell 22.0 percent in Novembe…

15/12/2015

GOOD NEWS FOR ALL HOME OWNERS!

U.S. homeowners have finally regained the equity they lost in the bust.

29/11/2015

FYI.....KEEP YOUR BALANCES LOW IN PROPORTION TO YOUR CREDIT LIMIT TO BUILD AND KEEP A GOOD FICO SCORE. TYPICAL SCENARIO: BALANCE 20% OR LOWER BUILDS SCORE, 35-50% SCORE STAYS THE SAME, OVER FIFTY PERCENT SCORE DIMINISHES, IF BALANCE IS OVER 75% OF LIMIT, YOU DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, (EVEN IF YOU PAY IT DOWN), INSTEAD, INCREASE YOUR LIMIT BEFORE CHARGING MORE......

Advisor Diahann Lassus, president and CIO of Lassus Wherley, discusses the good, the bad and the ugly of managing credit card debt.

03/11/2015

THIS WEBPAGE SHOWS RURAL AREAS WHERE THE USDA NO DOWN PAYMENT LOAN PROGRAM'S AVAILABLE. CLICK ON PROPERTY ELIGIBILITY.

This site is used to determine eligibility for certain USDA home loan programs and the USDA Satellite Grant Program. In order to be eligible for many USDA loans, household income must meet certain guidelines. Also, the home to be purchased or served must be located in an eligible rural area as defin…

03/11/2015

HERE ARE THE BASICS OF THE NEW CHANGE IN THE LOAN PROCESS. IT IS NOT AS COMPLICATED WHEN EXPLAINED THIS WAY.......

Learn how the new mortgage rules, named "Know Before You Owe," will affect you in your homebuying process.

29/10/2015

WE ARE AT 50% OF NORMAL HOUSING PRODUCTION, BUT THAT IS DOUBLE OF WHAT IT WAS IN 2009

Steady employment and economic growth, pent-up demand, affordable home prices and attractive mortgage rates will keep the housing market on a gradual upward trend in 2016. However, persistent headwinds related to shortages and availability of lots and labor, along with rising materials prices are im…

04/08/2015

Reasons To Own A Home

First, we have to live somewhere so our choice is either to rent or buy. Some people buy homes for lifestyle reasons because they want to live in a certain area for the schools or for other amenities, and there is an inadequate supply of rental housing in the preferred area.

Additionally, there are times when owning a home despite its property tax and maintenance burdens is cheaper than renting as it was in many U.S. cities in the last several years after house prices plummeted.

Finally, when a home is purchased at an attractive price with a low interest fixed rate mortgage it can be an effective tool for building wealth even if the home only appreciates by the rate of inflation. In fact, one can build more wealth by purchasing a home with a fixed rate mortgage than by paying cash for the house.

Why is that?

Inflation reduces the real balance on your mortgage at the same time it increases the nominal price of your house. That combination can increase your real wealth.

Let me explain.

What Causes Inflation

Recall that inflation is the general increase in prices due to an increase in the money supply. When the supply of money flowing through an economy increases at a faster pace than the amount of new goods and services being produced than prices increase.

The primary reason the money supply increases is because households and businesses borrow money from banks.

When a bank lends to someone, the bank receives an IOU from the borrower and sets up a deposit at the bank in the amount of the loan. The borrower can then access the borrowed funds.

The loan allows the borrower to shift future consumption into the present because the borrower gets to purchase what they want today while forgoing some future purchases due to the need to pay back the loan.

At the same time, our modern banking system is based on digital currency so when a bank makes a loan and places a deposit in the borrower’s account the bank simply changes the digits in the account. New money is created out of thin air.

The combination of new money being created by banks and borrowers shifting future consumption into the present leads to inflation.

Inflation means a dollar in the future will purchase less than it does today. When you sell your home in the future the buyer will need to come up with more money than they would today not because the house is more valuable in real terms but due to inflation.

Inflation also means you will be paid more money today for your employment even if you are producing the same amount of output or adding the same amount of value as you are today.

Inflation’s Impact On Debt

There is one thing, though, that isn’t going up in value with the overall inflation trend. Your debts.

Banks don’t increase your loan balances each year by the rate of inflation. Your monthly payment stays the same if you have a fixed rate mortgage even as you get cost-of-living salary increases. That means you have more money to pay down debts.

If your debts are not being increased by the rate of inflation that means that on an inflation-adjusted basis (i.e. on a real basis) they are going down even if you don’t make any payments.

Today you can get a 15 year fixed rate mortgage at 3.2%. If the annualized rate of inflation over the next 15 years is greater than 3.2%, the total value in today’s dollar of principle and interest payments you make on the loan plus your down payment will be less than original cost of the house.

17/07/2015

MORE GOOD NEWS FOR HOUSING. THIS IS A TREND THAT I BELIEVE WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS AT MINIMUM. IF YOU HAVE NOT BOUGHT A HOME OR INVESTMENT PROPERTY, IT IS STILL AN EXCELLENT TIME TO RIDE YEARS OF APPRECIATION....

Real Property Report California June 2015 real estate data home sales is based upon public county records daily trustee sale foreclosure auction results.

02/07/2015

HOUSING CONTINUES TO GAIN.....

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world.

22/05/2015

MORE GOOD NEWS ON REAL ESTATE FRONT.

Real Property Report – California, April 2015: For the second consecutive month, California property sales were higher than a year earlier,” said Madeline Schnapp, Director of Economic Research for PropertyRadar. “Year-over-year growth in sales ground to a halt in September 2013. While it is still t…

19/05/2015

WOW! GREAT NEWS!!

Photo credit: Amy Berkson-Martin Subprime loans see largest declines in delinquent metrics Home value appreciatio

03/05/2015

MARCH WAS DEFINITELY A GOOD MONTH. PRICES HAVE BEEN STEADILY INCREASING HERE IN THE HEMET VALLEY....

“For the first time in 16 months, sales were higher than a year earlier,” said Madeline Schnapp, Director of Economic Research for PropertyRadar. “Pent-up demand, mild winter weather and attractive interest rates have created a wellspring of California housing market sales. Despite the California dr…

15/04/2015

BUYING REAL ESTATE IS GOING TO BE THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

Stocks are stuck in a funk.