We must keep asking this question. The Destin Condo market, like many other real estate markets, is controlled by interest rates and monthly payments. This article goes into a little more depth on what is coming in the mortgage industry. Hopefully things will continue to get a little bit better as we go down this path!
Lenders Move Slowly to Modify Loans U.S. mortgage service companies permanently eased terms on about 79,000 home loans in August, slightly less than in July.Total workouts in August, which include new payment plans for existing contracts, slipped to 188,931 compared to July’s 192,220, according to Hope Now, the voluntary coalition of mortgage servicers and investors.In all, the industry has performed some form of workout on 2.3 million loans since July 2007. About one-third of those were permanent modifications, Hope Now announced Thursday.Paul Koches, general counsel of subprime mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp., said a loan modification benefits both the borrower and the lender because losses on foreclosed homes are running at more than $100,000 per property. "It sure beats the alternative," Koches said.Nevertheless, the level of loan modifications varies dramatically in the industry, according to a Credit Suisse report released this week. Among 18 loan servicers, modification rates among subprime loans made since 2005 ranged from under 2 percent to nearly 18 percent as of August. Ocwen Financial had the third-highest level of loan modifications in the Credit Suisse report.Source: Reuters News and The Associated Press (10/02/08)
For more information on the real estate market in your area please visit us online at http://www.randbcoastalrealestate.com/ servicing the Florida Panhandle.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Rates Remain Stable Leads to a Stable Real Estate Market
Many people want to know what the rates are doing...noone wants to lock in and see rates drop so we have two things against this real estate market whether it's a Destin Condo, Destin Home, or any other type of Destin Florida Real Estate.
What is my monthly payment...which is determined by two things:
1) Interest Rate
2) Purchase Price
Of course taxes and insurance come into play, but those are variables we can't really control...so we default back to the above. Luckily we are seeing a stable line on both of these. Below is an interesting article about the interest rates and a prediction of where the Fed is going:
Daily Real Estate News August 27, 2008Key Rate May Rise, Fed Report Suggests Federal Reserve policymakers decided to hold a key interest rate steady at 2 percent for their August meeting, according to documents that also suggest the next action will be to raise rates. Released on Aug. 26, the documents reveal that "members generally anticipated that the next policy move would likely be a tightening" and indicate that economic growth and inflation would determine the timetable for any hikes. The Fed is unlikely to raise rates to reign in inflation until next year, according to most economists. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has suggested that the central bank will hold rates at 2 percent for the September meeting and for the rest of this year. Source: Washington Post, Jeannine Aversa (08/27/08)
So to stay on top of the market trends and available property please visit http://www.randbcoastalrealestate.com/ and visit the forum section of http://www.investsmarter.com/ where we talk more about what is happening in the Real Estate market and investing in smarter ideas for property and business!
What is my monthly payment...which is determined by two things:
1) Interest Rate
2) Purchase Price
Of course taxes and insurance come into play, but those are variables we can't really control...so we default back to the above. Luckily we are seeing a stable line on both of these. Below is an interesting article about the interest rates and a prediction of where the Fed is going:
Daily Real Estate News August 27, 2008Key Rate May Rise, Fed Report Suggests Federal Reserve policymakers decided to hold a key interest rate steady at 2 percent for their August meeting, according to documents that also suggest the next action will be to raise rates. Released on Aug. 26, the documents reveal that "members generally anticipated that the next policy move would likely be a tightening" and indicate that economic growth and inflation would determine the timetable for any hikes. The Fed is unlikely to raise rates to reign in inflation until next year, according to most economists. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has suggested that the central bank will hold rates at 2 percent for the September meeting and for the rest of this year. Source: Washington Post, Jeannine Aversa (08/27/08)
So to stay on top of the market trends and available property please visit http://www.randbcoastalrealestate.com/ and visit the forum section of http://www.investsmarter.com/ where we talk more about what is happening in the Real Estate market and investing in smarter ideas for property and business!
Friday, July 18, 2008
IRS Looking Closer into Real Estate Professionals..Taxation
Just when we were wondering what's next? We found it. So what do we do now when it comes to Destin Condos? We have to dig a little deeper if we are in the business of condo or real estate rental.
IRS Gets Picky About Who's a Real Estate Pro The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is taking a closer look at income tax statements submitted by individuals claiming to be real estate professionals, given that the agency has released new guidelines regarding this tax status.Licensed real estate agents and brokers do not always qualify for real estate professional status under the new rules, which mandate that individuals spend no less than 750 hours on qualified real estate activities: developing, redeveloping, constructing, reconstructing, acquiring, converting, renting, operating, managing, leasing, or selling property. This means that those with full-time jobs elsewhere cannot claim to be real estate professionals. Additionally, the IRS says losses tied to real estate activities are either passive or materially participating passive, with passive losses deductible only from passive income and materially participating passive losses deductible from other income.Those who use limited partnerships to hold property are not considered to be materially participating, and the agency is increasingly targeting limited partnerships for auditing. The IRS also is looking to make sure those claiming material participation either work 500 hours per property or aggregate the properties into one 500-hour period, and they are cracking down on those who do not meet this benchmark.Real estate investors are eligible for $25,000 in deductions from passive income up to $100,000 in taxable income; while real estate professionals do not have dollar or income limits, making the distinction ever-important to the tax planning process.
Source: Realty Times, Diane Kennedy (07/17/08)
For more investment advice and updates stay tuned to www.InvestSmarter.com and for more information on the Destin Real Estate market take some time to search online at www.Destin-Florida-MLS.com and www.real-estate-destin-florida.com. These sites are part of the InvestSmarter network.
IRS Gets Picky About Who's a Real Estate Pro The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is taking a closer look at income tax statements submitted by individuals claiming to be real estate professionals, given that the agency has released new guidelines regarding this tax status.Licensed real estate agents and brokers do not always qualify for real estate professional status under the new rules, which mandate that individuals spend no less than 750 hours on qualified real estate activities: developing, redeveloping, constructing, reconstructing, acquiring, converting, renting, operating, managing, leasing, or selling property. This means that those with full-time jobs elsewhere cannot claim to be real estate professionals. Additionally, the IRS says losses tied to real estate activities are either passive or materially participating passive, with passive losses deductible only from passive income and materially participating passive losses deductible from other income.Those who use limited partnerships to hold property are not considered to be materially participating, and the agency is increasingly targeting limited partnerships for auditing. The IRS also is looking to make sure those claiming material participation either work 500 hours per property or aggregate the properties into one 500-hour period, and they are cracking down on those who do not meet this benchmark.Real estate investors are eligible for $25,000 in deductions from passive income up to $100,000 in taxable income; while real estate professionals do not have dollar or income limits, making the distinction ever-important to the tax planning process.
Source: Realty Times, Diane Kennedy (07/17/08)
For more investment advice and updates stay tuned to www.InvestSmarter.com and for more information on the Destin Real Estate market take some time to search online at www.Destin-Florida-MLS.com and www.real-estate-destin-florida.com. These sites are part of the InvestSmarter network.
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