1Q home prices fall by 19.1 pct to 2002 levels

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Home prices tumble a record 19.1 percent in the 1st quarter, drop to late 2002 levels

J.W. Elphinstone, AP Real Estate Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. home prices are at levels not seen since the end of 2002, but a closer look at data released Tuesday shows the worst may be over for some metropolitan areas.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller National Home Price index reported home prices tumbled by 19.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the first quarter last year, the largest drop in its 21-year history. Home prices have fallen 32.2 percent since peaking in the second quarter of 2006.

In cities across the country home prices varied dramatically, depending on affordability, foreclosure activity and the local economy. The bottom may be in sight in some markets, but nationally home values are expected to decline -- though at a slower pace -- for the rest of the year.

"We continue to believe that it is unlikely that we are anywhere near a bottom in nationwide home prices," according to Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist for MFR Inc.

It's hard to believe it could get much worse for homeowners in the Detroit area. Homes there are worth what they sold for in 1995. And while that's good news for homebuyers, the implosion of the auto industry and economic fallout means fewer buyers have the money to qualify for a mortgage.

"I feel like houses here are free," said Detroit area real estate agent Rose Marie Jouan with Re/Max Showcase Homes. Her house that she sold in 2004 for $200,000 is on the sales block, bank-owned, for $86,000.

In Phoenix and Las Vegas, where prices have plunged by half since their peaks, home values have receded to levels not seen since the beginning of the real estate boom. Phoenix prices are at early 2001 levels and Las Vegas values hover at mid-2002 prices.

Home values in Charlotte, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle are steady at 2005 prices, the best showing of all 20 cities in the Case-Shiller report. All three were some of the last to fall into the housing slump.

The Case-Shiller report offered other hopeful signs the worst may be over for some cities. Denver prices posted an increase over February, while Dallas prices were flat.

Separately, Case Shiller said its 20-city index of home prices fell by 18.7 percent from the year before, and the 10-city index lost 18.6 percent. However, the rates of decline slowed in March, the second straight month they didn't set record price drops.

Still, there are no signs home prices nationally have hit bottom.

"We see no evidence that a recovery in home prices has begun," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee.

All 20 cities showed monthly and annual price declines, with nine setting annual records. Fifteen cities posted double-digit drops and Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco recorded declines of more than 30 percent.

Minneapolis posted a 6.1 percent decline from February to March, the biggest monthly drop on record for any metros in the indexes. Ron Peltier, chairman and chief executive of HomeServices of America, attributed the drop to a jump in distressed sales in March.

Economists will get a look at April housing data Wednesday when the National Association of Realtors releases sales data for previously owned homes, and on Thursday when the Commerce Department puts out numbers for sales of newly built homes. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect existing home sales to rise 2 percent from March to April, while new home sales are forecast to rise by 1.1 percent.

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The Most Common Wholesaling Mistakes

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By: Omar Johnson

Certain mistakes are so commonly made by new wholesalers entering in the real estate business that they are worth mentioning and highlighting. I have listed them below for you in this article in a problem/solution format because what would be the point of highlighting the common mistakes and problems without offering relevant solutions?

Problem: You're buying in the wrong area.

Solution: Talk to your buyers, find out where they're buying, and try to find deals in those areas where buyers are active.

Problem: You're agreeing to pay too much for properties.

Solution: Lower your offers. A good rule of thumb when you are new at making offers is that if your all cash offer doesn't embarrass you at least a little it’s probably too high.

Problem: You're working with the wrong real estate agents.

Solution: Find others who are more reasonable. There's never a shortage of real estate agents in any given area, and they tend to try to make themselves easy to find.

Problem: You're worrying too much about repair costs.

Solution: Let your buyer worry about this if you are uncertain. Make sure your seller understands that your offer is contingent upon certain inspections to verify repair costs. That way if you have contracted at a price that is higher than the offers you are receiving from your buyers, or that doesn't leave enough room for you to make an acceptable profit, you won't lose face by renegotiating a lower price with your seller.

Problem: You're not making offers because you don't have money.

Solution: If you're wholesaling it doesn't matter how much money you have. You will have money because you are making offers, not the other way around. Make lots of offers, you won't be using your personal funds to close on any of them. The more offers you make and the more deals you get in the middle of the sooner you will see results from your business.

Problem: You're not prescreening prospects properly.

Solution: Whether you're dealing with buyers or sellers, there will be many more who are unqualified than who are qualified. You need to spend as little time as possible talking with the former and as much time as possible talking with the latter. This is the art of prescreening.

It involves asking the right questions to make a determination as quickly as possible if you are dealing with a prospect or a suspect.

Problem: You're not making enough offers.

Solution: Make lots of offers. Making offers and negotiating is where the main value comes from in a wholesaling business, and hence where you create the bulk of your profits. Generating leads to make offers on and realizing the profits you create are equally important of course, but assuming these aspects are tended to properly then the more time you spend making offers the greater your profit will be.

Problem: You don't have an organized follow up system.

Solution: Design a tickler file or similar file system to keep track of EVERYONE you talk with and follow up with them as appropriate. Most of the time you don't do business with a buyer or seller the first time you talk to them, but only after repeated contacts. So stay in touch!

Problem: Your investors are offering too low a price for you to profit.

Solution: Renegotiate your price with your seller. If they won’t accept a lower price let them know you won't be able to buy the house. This becomes less of a problem the better you get at everything.

Problem: You're not getting any offers because the house is in a war zone.

Solution: Find out if your buyers are interested at any price. Target your marketing towards landlords who buy in the war zone.

Problem: You're not getting any offers because the property is in too bad of shape.

Solution: Find out if your buyers are interested at any price. If the house is a teardown tell the seller that you won't be able to buy it, unless you can get it for a discount from lot value and have buyers who will take it. If the house is not a teardown target your marketing towards investors who like very heavy rehabs. There are some rehabbers who specialize and thrive in this niche.

Omar Johnson is a successful real estate investor and author of the home study course "Renegade Stealth Marketing For The Savvy Real Estate Entrepreneur" For more info visit http://www.renegadestealthmarketing.com

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Wholesaling Properties: 7 Costly Mistakes Of Newbie Investors

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By: Iman Yusef-Yahya

How did you first learn about the business of wholesaling real estate? Did you read a book? Or hear it on a 2AM infomercial? Or perhaps you know someone in the business. No matter how you learned about it, you quickly caught on that there was money to be made in the business. You may have seen incredible examples of people who found bargain properties, purchased them for pennies on the dollar, turned around and made a nifty profit.

Of course all that is true. Wholesaling properties is a lucrative business, but there are a number of pitfalls and dangers to be aware of. Remember the old saying "To be forewarned is to be forearmed." The highway to real estate fortunes is littered with well-intentioned people those who did not heed good advice. Let that not be said of you. Here are seven of the most common newbie mistakes to avoid.

1. No Cash Reserve

To jump into real estate investing with no cash reserves is pretty much a ticket to quick failure. I know - you've listened to all the infomercials and heard the gurus say "no money down," "you need no cash," and similar amazing claims. It sounds great, but the truth is you will have to have access to some cash. This may be your great credit (and your credit cards), it may be a partner who has cash reserves, it may be someone who believes in you who is willing to invest in your business. Somehow, some way, there must be available cash. Think about it - you can't even buy a stack of bandit signs if you have no cash.

2. Lack of Knowledge and Expertise

Some people love to learn and soak up knowledge and instruction. Others feel that taking time to study (seminars, teaching CDs, books, webinars, etc.) is a waste of time. "Who needs it? I just want to jump in and get rolling." Can that person become successful? Perhaps. But the chances are slim. Do you want your car tuned up by someone who has never been trained? Not me. There is so much good instruction available, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. Whatever knowledge and training you can acquire - your future clients will thank you for it.

3. Failure to Market

In order to succeed in real estate investing you will need sellers who want to sell and buyers who want to buy. The only way you can find these people is by marketing. Yes, you can hire bird dogs (people to scour neighborhoods to find properties for you), but that is not all sufficient. The lack of a marketing plan and a marketing budget is a mistake that can be fatal to your new business. You must let people know you are in business, and you must let them know what you can do for them.

4. Ignoring the Internet

Closely related to marketing is the use of the Internet. In this day and age, there is no excuse for not taking advantage of all that is available on the Net. You can find simple do-it-yourself website programs with which you can set up a website and feature your properties. Learn about such things as email campaigns and autoresponders. Use free ad services such as CraigsList. Much of what is offered on the Internet is free for the taking. Not using these tools leaves a gaping hole in your marketing plan.

5. Paying Too Much

Another mistake that often puts newbies out of the game is the lack of ability to make a clear price analysis. This is an art that is learned over time. If you are flipping to a rehabber, you must factor in such items as repairs and holding costs. Failure to understand how to price will equal out to slim or no profits. No profits means no business.

6. Falling in Love with the Property

If you latch on to a beautiful piece of real estate, it's difficult to keep emotions at bay. But that is the key to becoming a good investor. Emotions must not play a part in the decision making. If they do, it's likely that unwise decisions will be made. The best advice is to hold all properties at arm's length and remain as objective as possible.

7. Doing Nothing

Procrastination is a demon that will not only kill your enthusiasm; it will kill your entire business. If it is to become your source of income, treat it like a real business and not some hobby you've picked up. If you have determined that you want to make money in the real estate game, you must set up a work plan and follow it. If you do nothing - believe me, nothing is what will happen.

Conclusion

If you are new to the world of real estate and real estate investing, you will have enough of a learning curve without adding to your headaches. Any and all of the mistakes listed above can be easily avoided. Let these be seven headaches you will eliminate at the outset. Consider yourself forewarned!

Iman Yusef-Yahya prides herself on finding cheap, wholesale properties for real estate investors around the country. If you are a real estate investor, or want to be one, grab my FREE report on How to Buy Wholesale Properties WITHOUT Taking a Bath now at http://www.ImanAndJoesWholesaleProperties.com

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RealtyTrac: April foreclosures rise 32 percent

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April foreclosures rise 32 percent, with more bank reposessions likely to come

Adrian Sainz, AP Real Estate Writer
On Wednesday May 13, 2009, 8:43 am EDT

MIAMI (AP) -- The number of U.S. households faced with losing their homes to foreclosure jumped 32 percent in April compared with the same month last year, with Nevada, Florida and California showing the highest rates, according to data released Wednesday. Ohio was in the top 10.

More than 342,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in April, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That means one in every 374 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing last month, the highest monthly rate since the Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing firm began its report in January 2005.

April was the second straight month with more than 300,000 households receiving a foreclosure filing, as the number of borrowers with mortgage troubles failed to abate.

The April number, however, was less than one percent above that posted in March, when more than 340,000 properties were affected. The March data was up 17 percent from February and 46 percent from a year earlier.

"We've never seen two consecutive months like this," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's senior vice president for marketing. "It's the volume that's surprising."

While total foreclosure activity was up, the number of repossessions by banks was down on a monthly and annual basis to their lowest level since March of last year, RealtyTrac said.

But that's far from positive news. Because much of the foreclosure activity in April was in the default and auction stages -- the first parts of the foreclosure process -- it's likely that repossessions will increase in coming months, RealtyTrac said.

About 63,900 homes were repossessed in April, down 11 percent from about 71,700 in March, RealtyTrac said. But the mortgage industry has resumed cracking down on delinquent borrowers after foreclosures were temporarily halted by mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, together with many other lenders.

"All of these loans are now being processed pretty rapidly by the servers," Sharga said.

Help might be on the way. The Obama administration announced a plan in March to provide $75 billion in incentive payments for the mortgage industry to modify loans to help up to 9 million borrowers avoid foreclosure. But the extent of the relief remains unclear, with questions lingering about how much the lending industry will cooperate in modifying loans.

After banks take over foreclosed homes, they usually put them up for sale at deep discounts. Nationwide, sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about half of the market in the first quarter, the National Association of Realtors reported.

First-quarter home sales fell in all but six states -- Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and Minnesota -- where buyers have been able to grab foreclosed homes at discounts, the realtors group said Tuesday.

On a state-by-state basis, Nevada had one in every 68 households receive a foreclosure filing, down 18 percent from March but still the nation's highest rate. In Florida, one in every 135 households received a filing in April. For California, the rate was one in every 138 households.

Rounding out the top 10 were Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado and Ohio. In Ohio, one out of every 411 households received a foreclosure filing last month.

Among large cities, Las Vegas led the way with one in every 56 households receiving a filing. That was a slightly higher rate than the southwest Florida metro area of Cape Coral-Fort Myers, which saw one in 57 housing units receive a filing.

Cities in California took the next six spots: Merced, Modesto, Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Vallejo-Fairfield and Stockton. The Florida cities of Miami and Orlando were ninth and 10th, respectively.

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Median home prices fall in 88 percent of cities

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Median home prices fall in most metro areas, recovery hinges on first-time buyers, jobs market

Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer
On Tuesday May 12, 2009, 5:05 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home prices fell in nearly nine out of every 10 U.S. cities in the first quarter of this year as first-time buyers looking for bargains dominated the market.

While sales rose in six states among the hardest hit by the housing slump, analysts said the nascent signs of recovery in the market could be short-lived if employers continue to lay off workers in bulk.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that median sales prices of existing homes declined in 134 out of 152 metropolitan areas compared with the same period a year ago. Prices rose in the other 18 cities.

Nationwide, sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about half of the market. Overall, sales dipped 6.8 percent from the year-ago period.

"I think we're near a bottom, but we're not there yet," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. While prices could hit bottom as soon as this summer, he said, they are likely to remain stable and start edging higher slowly.

"We are finally beginning to see the seeds of a bottoming" in housing, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said at the Realtors' midyear conference in Washington, though he cited the massive inventory of unsold properties as a big concern.

At the conference, discussion focused of how to turn around the beleaguered market. Real estate agents hope the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers included in the economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama earlier this year will boost sales.

But in high-priced areas such as New York City, it doesn't make much of a difference for buyers. "It's not really a major motivator for people," said Robert Oppenheimer, a Re/Max broker in nearby Englewood Cliffs, N.J. "It's almost an afterthought."

Many in the real estate industry say that Congress should do more to stimulate housing demand.

"They need to go further," said Robert Sibcy, president of Sibcy Cline Inc., a Cincinnati real estate agency, drawing applause from a crowd of real estate agents. "They need to do it for all buyers."

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said the Federal Housing Administration soon will allow its borrowers to get short-term loans and turn the $8,000 tax credit into a down payment.

The tax credit, "is not only a tremendous opportunity for first-time home buyers, but also an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing," Donovan said, according to prepared remarks.

In the Realtors' first-quarter report, home sales fell in all but six states -- Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and Minnesota -- where buyers have been able to snap up foreclosures at a deep discount. Sales more than doubled in Nevada, rose 81 percent in California and grew 50 percent in Arizona -- signaling that the worst may be over for those distressed states.

Still, the median sales price nationwide was $169,900, down 13.8 percent from a year ago. The median price is the midpoint, which means half of the homes sold for more and half for less.

The biggest drop, of more than 50 percent, was in Fort Myers, Fla. Prices fell 40 percent or more in Saginaw, Mich.; Akron, Ohio; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Phoenix; Sarasota, Fla. and Riverside, Calif.

The biggest price gain, of more than 21 percent, was in Cumberland, Md., about 120 miles west of Baltimore.

"It's been more of a steady ride than other jurisdictions," said Jeffrey Repp, Cumberland's city administrator. "Unfortunately we didn't experience the peaks during the early parts of the 2000s, but we haven't experienced the valleys that have taken place since."

Associated Press writer Mark Hamrick contributed to this report.

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The Basics Of Wholesaling For Beginners

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By: Tom Bukacek

One of the best strategies to use for beginning real estate investors is Wholesaling. Why is this technique a great beginning? Because wholesaling properties does not require the investor to use any of his or her credit or money to complete the deal (as long as you know what you are doing).

So what is wholesaling? Here is how it works: An investor finds a property well below its market value, gets the property under contract, and then assigns or sells the CONTRACT to another investor or buyer to complete the purchase!

You do NOT improve the property; just get it under contract and SELL the contract to another investor who is looking for a house in need of repair. That’s it! It’s as simple as that! You can typically sell a CONTRACT for anywhere between $500 - $10,000+ profit!

Your basic end buyer will be someone who enjoys fixing up a house. People who like to do “fix & flips” and “rehabs” are typically working on properties and they don’t have time to look for their next deals. These investors use wholesalers to find cheap deals so they can purchase the contract and get right back to their next project. Fix & flip investors love to work with wholesalers since they do not have to take the time to find the next the project and they can have their repair crew’s move from one project to another without any down time between projects.

Some people have the genetic makeup or skill set in which to fix properties. In some peoples’ hands, tools are objects of creation. In others hands, like my own, tools are weapons of mass destruction. If you do not possess the skill set, desire, or the finances to fix up a property, then read on.

The challenging part of wholesaling is finding the property at a discount. How many people do you know willing to sell their house for 50% of market value? Searching for these discount properties takes a great deal of time, research and leg work. However, once you get a property under contract for the right price, you will all almost always be able to find a buyer. Note the phrase ‘right price’. So what is the right price?

Generally, you will be able to sell a property to an end buyer at between 60-70% ARV. Therefore, you want to be able to find a property at 50 – 65% of Market Value. Properties that are available at this price range have two things in common: 1- they need repair and 2- you will be dealing with a motivated seller. A motivated seller may not have the cash to get his house in necessary condition to sell it by conventional standards and may sell at steep discount to someone who can fix it up.

Sellers can be motivated for some of the following reasons:
• Probate property (out of state family member passed away and left property that needs repair to unexcited heir)
• Moving (person doesn’t want to be a landlord or own multiple houses)
• Job loss (cannot afford to continue making payments or fix up to get to market value)
• Vacant house
• Burned out landlord
• Divorce

Let’s look at an example. Suppose you find a motivated seller who is moving out of state. The home needs some repairs, such as carpet, paint, roof, and landscaping, but is structurally sound. They are moving in 2 weeks. The sellers have no desire to fix up the property or be a landlord from afar.

What would be the steps necessary to complete a successful transaction?

Step 1- Determine the After Repair Value (ARV). The best way for beginners to determine ARV is to utilize the services of a Realtor. You will want to know the comparable price per square foot of similar houses (within 10% of size) in the subdivision. Analyze a set of the lowest comps in the area and the highest comps of the area. For your purposes, when making an offer, seek out the lowest comps in the subdivision.

Step 2- Calculate the repairs. Do a quick drive by, look the property over, and determine what repairs may be needed. As a rule of thumb, it is a good idea to figure in a set amount as repairs when making an offer. If the amount of repairs turns out to be significantly higher than you originally set, then you may need to walk away from the deal. If lower than you thought, then you may increase the assignment fee. For the purpose of this example, during the drive by, the foundation looked fine, so we will assume $10,000 in repairs. It is ultimately up to your buyer to do the due diligence and determine the actual amount.

Step 3- Make an offer. Understand that you are making offers that will benefit your business, so your asking price will be lower than what most people’s expectations are. Expect 90% of your offers to be emphatically declined, 10% of your offers to be countered, 5% to be interesting, and 1-3% to accept. Also, it is a good idea to construct an offer that will allow your end buyer to profit. Many new wholesalers make the mistake of not caring about the end buyer. If the end buyer cannot sell to someone else, then they will not be in business long and you will have lost a good partner. Losing partners will cut your career short in this business.

Determine how to construct an offer taking into consideration what repairs they will have, an assumed profit (generally the same amount as the repairs), the estimated holding costs for 6 months, and the estimated closing costs. For the holding costs, most fixers acquire money from a money lender. The cost of acquisition of this money is expensive. Generally, I figure 65% loan to value of the property at an 18% interest rate for 6 months.

The following is how I construct an offer
* Know the conservative ARV $100,000
* Determine Repair Costs -$10,000
* Fixer’s profit (gen same as costs) -$10,000
* Est holding costs (6mo @18%) -$5,878
* Est closing costs -$9,000
* Total Costs ($34,878)
* My PROFIT or assignment fee -$5,000
* Maximum Asking price $60,122

The asking price of $60,122 would be a offer of about 60% ARV. This would fit into your criteria. Should you then offer $60,122? No. I would submit an offer between 45-50% ARV and go from there. If you start with your maximum asking price, then you will not leave yourself with any negotiating room. For the sake of this example, let’s say the eventual purchase price is $55,000.

Step 4- Get a Buyer. The ideal situation is to have a buyer in mind by the time you have a property under contract. But for many starting out, this may not be the case. When making him an offer, add your assignment fee to the sales price. So in this example, you would add $5,000 to the $55,000 and offer them $60,000. Have a stipulation in your contract that states the buyer will need to buy with cash within 5 days. After the fixer agrees to purchase, then you go to the final and most important step.

Step 5- Collect $5,000!

How many homes do you think you can sell for $.60 on the dollar? No matter what market or economic condition, if you purchase at the right price and sell at the right price, you will find buyers!

Now, before you get into any strategy or put your name on any contract, you need to know what you are doing. You need to get educated, get your real estate team set up (lawyers, Realtors, title agents, & buyers) and get others around you that have done wholesaling to assist you with the fist few deals. You will want to have an experienced real estate attorney who has solid contracts (or addendums to existing state contracts) that will allow you to do what is in the best interest of your business. There is a lot of time that goes into building your team for wholesaling, however, it’s still a great way to get into real estate with no money or credit, since you are just using your time and knowledge of the market!

For beginners looking to get started, I highly recommend networking with others who are more experienced than you. This mentorship will allow you to learn from others mistakes. Having the support of others will also assist you in overcoming any fears that may be holding you back from taking action. Find a local Real Estate investing Club and get our there and network with others to advance your career!

Tom Bukacek is a real estate investor / mentor located in Austin, TX. For more information on how to get started, visit my website at http://www.austinmillionaireblueprint.com.

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US Postal Service Rate Increase Effective May 11, 2009

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The cost to mail a one-ounce first-class letter will go up two cents starting on May 11, 2009. The US Postal Service announced the cost of the first-class stamp and other mailing services such as Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including Parcel Post), and Extra Services — will also change. They stated the average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

So, if you are using direct mail to get customers or if you're using the US Postal Service to pay your bills, be sure to either use the stamps you already have or purchase the necessary stamps to cover the rate increase. The Postal Service usually have two-sent stamps for sale.

For more information about the rate increase, go to the US Postal Service's web page.

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