Join us on a home tour of 73 Nashoba Road, Concord, MA.
{ 0 comments }
The Attias Group Real Estate is proud to join the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in praising the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for issuing new rules governing short sales. According to the FHFA mortgage servicers must now acknowledge receipt of short sale purchase offers within three business days; respond to short sale requests within 30 days (with a possible 30 day extension); and make a final decision within 60 days of receiving purchase offers. This new program will dramatically shorten the transaction time on a distressed mortgage situation.
In a short sale, a homeowner sells the property below what is owed on the mortgage, and the lender agrees to accept the lower amount. These new rules will lessen the transaction time, which averages more than 120 days. A major benefit of this more expedited process calls for lenders to use standardized paperwork and to establish an acceptable sale price before the home is put on the market. Sellers will be allowed at least 120 days to market the home and possibly as long as one year, without the fear of foreclosure.
In conjunction with this new program from the FHFA, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a short term program that ignores lender-forgiven mortgage debt from now until December 31st 2012. The IRS is allowing homeowners to go through a short sale or foreclosure, on a primary residence without any tax consequences, provided the lender officially releases the debt. This is significant, as the rules change on January 1st, 2013: the amount the lender forgives, in either a short sale or foreclosure, on a primary residence will be taxable on federal income taxes.
The Attias Group Real Estate believes with these new rules and programs in place the lower quartiles of the market will see increased activity throughout 2012 through the expedited flow of short sale properties. Over 2300 homes have sold year-to-date, in Middlesex County under $500,000. We believe these new rules from FHFA and the IRS will help flush out under water properties and their constant negative value impact on the rest of the market. Year-to-date 1097 homes have sold in the $500,000 to $1.5 million price range in Middlesex County; this is an increase of 23.9% over the same time period last year. The Attias Group Real Estate attributes this significant increase due to the activity taking place in the lower sector of the market. Therefore allowing people to take advantage of the favorable market conditions, and buy up, at what is the tail end of a buyer’s market.
Please contact The Attias Group Real Estate for current market analysis; advice and guidance on buying or selling your home, at 978.371.1234 or info@theattiasgroup.com
{ 0 comments }
As we transition into this Spring’s bustling housing market, The Attias Group Real Estate finds it pertinent to report on the state of the investment-homes sales market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) published a report stating that investment-home sales had increased by 64.5% in 2011. This investor demand benefits the health of the overall market as it absorbs some of the foreclosure volume and bank owned inventory, which as chief NAR economist Lawrence Yun adds: “isn’t lingering on the market for long.” 41% of these buyers bought more than one home as an investment which totaled 1.23 million sold investment homes in 2011. Vacation home buyer sales also increased by 7%. These statistics put both vacation and investment sales at their highest level since 2005, because investing in a rental property to generate income is better than stagnant funds in the bank.
While some economists have predicted that these steep increases could reinforce the stability of the housing market, The Attias Group Real Estate believes that with the recent shift away from a buyer’s driver market in some sectors, to a more competitive sellers market; investment home purchase opportunities will decrease. The time to take advantage of this market is now, these investment opportunities will not last. The Attias Group believes we are transferring from a buyer driven market to a seller’s market, based on multiple factor analysis.
Please contact The Attias Group Real Estate for fortified representation as well as information about the nature of the market in your community at 978.371.1234 or info@theattiasgroup.com
Investment Properties Becoming Sound Portfolio Additions
{ 0 comments }
