Forward this e-mail to your friends!  Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:  http://www.smartrealestatenews.com/

*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

*** Join Chris’ Facebook Fan Page–> http://www.mclaughlinchris.com

******************************************************

We’re not allowed to release her name. Because she used to

work for the enemy.  And she knows all their dirty little

tricks.  Just call her the Short Sale Sensei…

 

This gal used to be well respected by banks.  She processed

nearly 10,000 short sales for lenders too big to name here.

 

She was one of them.  She attended their office parties.

She’s sat down to dinner beside them.  Socialized and went

to sporting events with them.

 

If there’s a tactic or strategy the bank’s kept hidden from

investors, she knows it.

 

And she’s ready to spill the beans in an ENCORE tomorrow,

Thursday, at 3 PM ET, NOON PST, on a fr-ee webinar, right here:

 

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/815788648

******************************************************

Number of bank failures this year: 22 and counting

Last week, regulators closed 2 banks, bringing the number of bank failures to 22 so far this year. The banks which were shut down are Carson River Community Bank, based in Nevada, with $51.1 million in assets and $50 million in deposits as of Dec. 31 and Rainier Pacific Bank with $717.8 million in assets and $446.2 million in deposits as of Dec. 31. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures up to $250,000 per account at member institutions, will take a hit of over $100 million on account of the 2 failures. FDIC says the number of troubled banks jumped to 702 in the fourth quarter from 552 in the earlier quarter. Nearly one in every three banks reported a loss in the latest quarter. Amid recession and a rise in delinquent loans, the pace of bank failures has been rising, from 25 in 2008, to 140 in 2009, and to 22 in just the first 2 months this year. Banks are likely to incur as much as $300 billion in losses on Commercial property loans in the near-term, according to a recent report by the Congressional Oversight Panel, the watchdog that monitors financial bailout. With the economy not showing any signs of sustained recovery, the FDIC’s insurance fund is expected to take a hit of over $100 billion in the next four years.

Construction spending falls 0.6%

According to the Commerce Department, construction spending in the U.S. fell for a third straight month by 0.6% to $884.13 billion in January; construction spending dropped 1.2% in December. Nonresidential buildings in the private sector dropped 0.9% in January, while state and local government construction dropped 0.7%. Federal construction spending rose 1.9% to a high of $30.68 billion in January, increasing for the fifth straight month. Spending on private home buildings rose 1.3%. While housing starts rose 2.8% in January from December, construction permits, an indicator of future projects, dropped 4.9%. New home construction which rebounded strongly in the third quarter of 2009 seems to have lost some momentum. The economy was pushed into its worst slump since 1930s on account of the housing collapse. “We haven’t really seen much improvement in housing,” said Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics. “Residential construction is still weak. On the non-residential side, builders are hesitant to go along on new projects and banks are reluctant to provide the capital.”

Will Simon’s bid for General Growth attract antitrust?

Simon Property Group, a large owner of malls presented last month a $10 billion offer to buy General Growth Properties, another mall operator. Simon has offered to pay $7 billion towards General Growth’s unsecured debt. In addition, Simon would pay $6 per share to General Growth’s shareholders and spin off General Growth’s residential-development division, which Simon values at $3 per share. The deal, if it goes through, would create a single entity which would control about 520 malls in the U.S. While analysts wonder if the bid would invite antitrust concerns, David Simon, the Chief Executive Officer of Simon, said such concerns are unwarranted. “No way. Not even close,” said Simon. “Retail real estate is so diverse. There are so many options for retailers. We’re competing with the Internet. You have Wal-Mart [Stores Inc.], big-box retailers, department stores. I just don’t see it being a big issue. But there’s an education process I think the industry is going to have to go through.” General Growth is not interested in accepting Simon’s bid and has countered Simon’s bid with a plan to receive funding from Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a Canadian property investor.

HARP gets extension for 12 months

The Obama administration introduced the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) last year to help about 4 to 5 million borrowers who have little or no equity in their homes. The program, administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, refinanced 190,180 mortgages in 2009 with loan-to-value between 80% and 125%. The program which was set to expire June this year has been extended by 12 months. Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said the program has been extended to June 2011 in order to “support and promote market stability and to encourage lenders and other mortgage market participants to fully adopt the HARP program, including the implementation of the October 2009 expansion of loan-to-value ratios to 125%.” Analysts have been critical of the program and say it has had a limited impact so far. “The overall volume last year was an embarrassingly small amount. I don’t think it will make a big difference” to have the program extended, said Thomas Lawler, a housing consultant.

Bankruptcies drop in the U.S.

BankruptcyData.com says only 5 public companies filed for Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in February, compared to 19 in the same period in 2009. In January, 12 public companies filed for bankruptcy while 11 public companies went under in December. Bankruptcies of large companies — with more than $1 billion in assets — have slowed down. In 2009 about 25% of the companies that filed for bankruptcy had assets over $1 billion while so far this year only 19% percent of the total 16 bankruptcy filings have had more than $1 billion in assets. The improved economic situation and buoyancy in capital markets are helping companies stay afloat. Analysts however warn that the scenario is not entirely rosy and more bankruptcies can be expected. “Last year was like a tsunami, but this next phase will be more like a rising tide; consistent and steady,” said William Snyder, a managing partner with CRG Partners. Analysts feel capital restructuring can help companies only to a limited extent. In the long run, what really matters is operational efficiency. Alan Cohen, chairman of Abacus Advisors, a turnaround and restructuring firm, said: “You can correct a balance sheet by manipulating debt into equity, or reducing debt, but unless the entity focuses on improving operations, they’re going to have a tough time.”

Now on to our real estate investing educational section…

Parkinson’s Law & Short Sales

Cyril Parkinson must have been an astute student of human behavior especially when it came to economic trends and traits; a British Civil service employee, Parkinson originally noted the tendency for bureaucracies to expand over time…an observation sure to be noticed by short sale buyers waiting for approval from big banks. In fact, many of the Parkinson’s observations seem to apply especially well to short sale investments including:

“The demand upon a resource tends to expand to match the supply of the resource”

Think about “easy credit”. Without easy credit and lax lending terms many people would not have bought homes they were unable to afford to begin with; it’s also why modification programs simply won’t work in the majority of situations. Despite decades of government intervention designed to make everyone a homeowner, the ratio of renters versus homeowners tends to remain the same over time. Essentially the current situation can be considered a correction back to the “mean”.

“The amount of time in which one has to perform a task, is the amount of time it will take to complete that said task”

Again, how many last minute approvals have you encountered recently? While procrastination isn’t limited to bankers or brokers, it’s certainly alive and well in today’s economic arena.

So, how can you use Parkinson’s Law to your advantage? It’s simple…

1. Expedite Deadlines…for yourself and others. Rather than wait until the last possible moment, start setting deadlines ahead of time for both yourself and others. This not only reduces stress but tends to put you back in control of sluggish situations and lagging negotiations.

2. Put a “product” back into productivity…rather than outline a “to-do” list, start measuring actual outcomes instead. For example, set a date to have all your social media marketing up and running then clearly define what it should consist of and look like. If you aren’t able to get it done by a specified date, pull in the big guns and have it done for you; remember, the objective is to  achieve a final outcome or goal rather than just “make busy work”.

3. Calculate the value of your time…then hire out others to do at least the bottom 20% of the least profitable errands and chores. By consistently doing this on a regular basis it is possible to increase your personal productivity and hourly time value by well over 20 per annum.

See you at the top!

Chris McLaughlin
**************

Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute LLC 2009.

All Rights Reserved.

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches 

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
Finally, a blog for Real Estate professionals
that want up-to-the-minute news, & how it impacts
us and our market…
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/blog

*************************************************

About the author:

Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.

    * As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
      foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
      100 short sale & REO closings each month
   * Long-time authority on real estate investing
      and rapid reselling of distressed homes.  Owns
      portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
     properties
    * Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,
     running 4 different offices, supporting over
     400 agents, uniquely positioning him to help
     thousands of investors make money in the
     biggest market opportunity ever!
    * Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
      seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
      in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
      Wealth Building
    * Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
    * Join my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.mclaughlinchris.com
–

Forward this e-mail to your friends!  Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:  http://www.smartrealestatenews.com/

*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

*** Join Chris’ Facebook Fan Page–> http://www.mclaughlinchris.com

******************************************************

We’re not allowed to release her name. Because she used to

work for the enemy.  And she knows all their dirty little

tricks.  Just call her the Short Sale Sensei…

 

This gal used to be well respected by banks.  She processed

nearly 10,000 short sales for lenders too big to name here.

 

She was one of them.  She attended their office parties.

She’s sat down to dinner beside them.  Socialized and went

to sporting events with them.

 

If there’s a tactic or strategy the bank’s kept hidden from

investors, she knows it.

 

And she’s ready to spill the beans, TODAY at 3 PM ET, NOON

PST, on a fr-ee webinar, right here:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/815788648

******************************************************

Fannie Mae seeks $15.3 billion in bailout money

Fannie Mae, the country’s largest mortgage financier, says it needs another $15.3 billion to tide over the current housing crisis. The company posted a staggering loss of over $ 70 billion in 2009 compared to $ 58.8 billion losses in 2008. Fannie’s losses were mainly on account of $11.9 billion in credit expenses, which included bad loans and costs incurred in maintaining foreclosed properties. The company also took a $5 billion write-down on low-income tax-credit investments. About 5.38% of Fannie’s single-family loans were more than 90 days delinquent, up from 2.42% a year earlier. Total nonperforming loans of the company were $216.5 billion at year-end, compared with $119.2 billion in the prior year-end. Fannie has so far received over $ 60 billion in bailout money. While the company expects to see an improvement in its performance this year, losses are likely to continue through 2010. Fannie and Freddie Mac have played a key role in implementing the Obama administration’s initiatives to stem the rising tide of foreclosures. Michael Williams, Chief Executive of Fannie Mae, said foreclosure prevention was a top priority. “Our overriding objective is keeping people in their homes whenever possible.”

Orleans Homebuilders files for bankruptcy

Orleans Homebuilders, a Pennsylvania-based housing developer has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. Orleans had $440 million of assets and $498.8 million of liabilities as of December 31. Jeffrey Orleans, Chief Executive, said the company is looking for a buyer through a negotiated sale or court-supervised auction. The company’s revenue dropped by about two-thirds over the last three years — from $1 billion in 2006 to $322 million in 2009. The company defaulted on a $350 million credit facility last month after failing to get an extension of maturity of its debt. Orleans said it had $311 million of cash borrowings outstanding, excluding letters of credit. Orleans joins a long list of real estate companies that have filed for bankruptcy so far. “There’s been an enormous bubble in commercial real estate, and it has to come down,” said Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, the watchdog that monitors financial bailout. “There will be significant bankruptcies among developers and significant failures among community banks.”

Mortgage insurance claim-denials on the rise

According to Moody’s Investors Service, claim denials by mortgage insurance companies have risen to 25% in the recent past from a historic average of about 7%. In the face of drop in new business, mortgage companies are increasingly getting finicky about honoring claims on defaulted loans, and this in turn is increasing transaction cost to servicers and investors. According to Moody’s, Bank of America (BoFA) recently filed a lawsuit against MGIC, a mortgage insurer, claiming the insurer improperly denied claims from BofA’s servicer unit. While the lawsuit is still on, mortgage insurers are becoming more confident in denying partial or whole claims from servicers and Moody’s says the industry can expect continued high rescission rates for the future. According to the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, the 14,378 mortgage insurance policies issued in January 2010 had a total value of $4.16 billion, and this was lower in volume and dollar terms than any month in 2009. While the BofA-MGIC lawsuit continues, Moody’s believes servicers’ rebuttal efforts “will be less forceful and will have little impact on claim denials. RMBS transactions that carry pool policies (partial or full) are likely to receive little benefit from them.”

A $150 billion package to reinstate jobless benefits

According to the Department of Labor, about 400,000 people will lose unemployment benefits in the next few weeks on account of the Senate blocking the extension of jobless benefits. Sen. Jim Bunning (R., Ky.), blocked the extension, saying the cost of extension (around $10 billion) is not offset by cuts elsewhere to the federal budget. Senate Democrats are now seeking to get around Bunning’s objection by pushing a bill containing several measures aimed at stimulating job growth. The $150 billion measure includes $81 billion to extend unemployment benefits, such as Cobra subsidies to help the unemployed buy health insurance, for the rest of this year and $25 billion to help prevent layoffs. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat, said the bill would “put cash in the hands of Americans who could spend it quickly, boosting economic demand.” The other measures in the bill include provisions unrelated to job creation, such as a $7 billion plan to prevent, for seven months, a 21% scheduled cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, a $1-per-gallon tax credit for biodiesel fuel and a $6.6 billion credit promoting corporate research and development programs. The bill is likely to be sent to the House for approval this week or next.

Treasury says government finances deteriorated in 2009

The Treasury Department said in a report the government’s financial position, reported on an accrual basis, continued to deteriorate in fiscal 2009. On a net basis, the government had a shortfall of $11.46 trillion in the year ended September 30, 2009, compared with $10.2 trillion in 2008. The net operating cost rose to $1.3 trillion in 2009 from $1 trillion in 2008. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said: “The increase was largely due to increased costs for mandatory spending programs, such as unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, continued investment in the economic recovery effort, and more than a $400 billion decrease in tax revenue due to the economic downturn.” According to the report, “in the absence of policy changes, large and increasing primary deficits” will lead to an increase in the government’s debt burden. While there is a need to stimulate the economy, economists are concerned about the deteriorating fiscal situation. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that if deficits are not brought under control, the confidence of investors who buy government debt will drop.

Now on to our real estate investing educational section…

“Must Know” Metrics for Real Estate Investors

The daily news is filled with economic indicators but which ones really matter  the most to the average real estate investor? Of course, they all contain valuable information but data doesn’t mean the same thing to every industry. Reduce the mental clutter and learn how to focus on the data that does matter with these “must know” metrics for real estate investors.

1. Housing Starts – Published by HUD and/or the Census Bureau, housing starts are one of the most important long term metrics every real estate agent, broker and investor should know and understand. The number of housing starts provides a very clear indication of future growth as well as supply and demand.

2. Inflation vs Interest Rates – It is essential to know the true inflation rate versus the current interest rate. Negative “real” interest rates (ie, when inflation is higher than short term market rates) is a red flag that a downturn in the economy is a likely.

3.  Vacancy/Rental Rates – Whether you buy and hold or simply flip every property, knowing the current supply/demand for units helps keep prices in order. New home buyers and investors alike often desire homes in specific area of a specific size so don’t just glance at the raw numbers; instead, obtain up to date data on specific zip codes or neighborhoods of interest.  Obtain this information from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

4. Impact Fees & Other Taxes – Although local in nature, here is an often neglected area that can add thousands to the bottom line especially in areas that experienced rapid growth over the past several years. Impact fees in many areas now exceed the original purchase price of a vacant piece of property making even the most downtrodden homes profitable investments.  Likewise, regional growth (or lack thereof) as well as in-filling or expansionary trends remains an important indication for real estate trends in any given area.

5.  Consumer Sentiment – Every investor knows consumers are fickle; never underestimate the power of psychology and consumer sentiment to move a market. Nationwide and local data are equally important. People tend to feel less optimistic during winter months especially during the holiday season…more optimistic in summer months after those heavy credit card bills are paid off from the year before. Use it to your advantage when buying or selling.

6. Home Sales – New and existing home sales remain a fundamental measure both as a nationwide indicator and local indication of real estate “health”. Be sure to differentiate between site built homes, manufactured homes, condos and other forms of real property as well as various price levels.

7. Mortgage Applications – The Mortgage Bankers Association or MBA tracks this index in order to provide up-to-date information on the housing market. Four week moving averages provide a much more robust picture than weekly averages so it’s best to get a general update each month rather than focus too closely on any given week.

8. House Prices – The HPI or House Price Index is published by the Office of Federal Housing Oversight and is considered the gold standard for resale data.

See you at the top!

Chris McLaughlin
**************

Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute LLC 2009.

All Rights Reserved.

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches 

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
Finally, a blog for Real Estate professionals
that want up-to-the-minute news, & how it impacts
us and our market…
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/blog

*************************************************

About the author:

Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.

    * As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
      foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
      100 short sale & REO closings each month
   * Long-time authority on real estate investing
      and rapid reselling of distressed homes.  Owns
      portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
     properties
    * Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,
     running 4 different offices, supporting over
     400 agents, uniquely positioning him to help
     thousands of investors make money in the
     biggest market opportunity ever!
    * Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
      seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
      in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
      Wealth Building
    * Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
    * Join my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.mclaughlinchris.com
–

Forward this e-mail to your friends!  Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:  http://www.smartrealestatenews.com/

*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

*** Join Chris’ Facebook Fan Page–> http://www.mclaughlinchris.com

******************************************************

Short Sale Automation … The Paperless, Easy Solution.  Join us

Saturday at 3 PM ET, NOON PST as we unveil a new

way to manage what used to be chaos:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/231942947

******************************************************

Home sales drop 7.2% 

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales fell in January but are above year-ago levels.  Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast that completed sales last month rose almost 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.5 million, up from 5.45 million in December.  Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.05 million units in January from a revised 5.44 million in December, but remain 11.5% above the 4.53 million-unit level in January 2009.  Total housing inventory at the end of January fell 0.5% to 3.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.8-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 7.2-month supply in December. Raw unsold inventory is 9.6% below a year ago, and is at the lowest level since March 2006.  The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $164,700 in January, unchanged from a year earlier. Distressed homes, which accounted for 38% of sales last month, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they typically are discounted in comparison with traditional homes in the same area.  A parallel NAR practitioner survey4 shows first-time buyers purchased 40% of homes in January, down from 43% in December. Investors accounted for 17% of transactions in January, up from 15% in December; the remaining sales were to repeat buyers. The survey also shows that buyer traffic increased 9.4% in January.

Economy grows 5.9%

The Commerce Department reported today that the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of the nation’s economic activity, grew at an annual rate of 5.9% in the last three months of 2009.  Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that the revision would show the same 5.7% growth that was originally reported a month ago.  The solid growth follows a 2.2% annualized increase in the third quarter. Most economists now agree that the recession probably ended at some point last summer.  Still, the recovery is widely perceived as fragile. Economists point out that much of the growth at the end of the year came because businesses were no longer slashing inventories. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified to Congress this week that the central bank will need to keep interest rates low in order to support the economy.  The recovery is even less apparent to the typical American. Job losses have continued in all but one month and most economists believe unemployment will stay close to 10% for much of the year.  Credit remains tight for small businesses and consumers and the recovery in housing prices is uneven at best. The most recent survey of 5,000 American consumers by the Conference Board found the greatest level of worry about the current state of the economy in 27 years.

Housing recovery off the rails?

As the Federal Reserve nears the end of a critical, year-long program to support the mortgage market, the recent slump in housing is making some analysts uneasy about a recovery that many thought sustainable just a couple months ago.  “Housing is at a pivotal, ambiguous point,” says Ted Gayer, co-director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution.  Recent reports from home sales to mortgage activity has been starkly negative. And, even if some of it can be written off to seasonal patterns, namely weather, the weakness is not what people expected.  New homes sales fell to a record low in January, extending a two-month slide; both pending and existing home sales were down in the most recent month; homebuilder sentiment in January fell back to where it was last June, and mortgage applications have fallen three of the past four weeks.  No one expected a wonderful housing recovery with unemployment stubbornly high, the consumer balance sheet still in repair mode, and credit conditions stingy, but right now there’s palpable worry about momentum–especially given a string of solid months in mid- to late-2009.  Global Insight, for one, says it will probably lower its projections for housing starts and new home sales. The homebuyer tax credit, which now applies to repeat buyers and not just first-time ones, “isn’t panning out, its’ not registering, “say Newport. “Demand for new housing is a lot weaker than we thought it would be.”  Some 4.5 million homes are expected to fall to foreclosure this year, following 2.8 million in 2009. In contrast, existing homes sales for the two-year period will average about 5.5 million.

Green jobs mythology

“Green jobs” have become a central underpinning of the Obama administration’s rationale to promote clean energy. But how valid is the assumption that a “clean-energy” economy will generate enough jobs to mitigate today’s high level of unemployment?  The Washington Post took a look at the question.  Consider just one clean-energy sector, the smart grid, for its job-creation potential. The Obama administration allocated a little more than $4 billion in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to the smart grid, most for installing smart meters — digital versions of the spinning electric meters that are omnipresent nationwide. Virtually eliminating human intervention by eliminating the need for meter-reading and transmitting data directly to utilities, smart meters promise more accurate measurement of electricity usage as well as increasingly efficient management of energy production resources.  It typically takes a team of two certified electricians half an hour to replace the old, spinning meter.

In one day, two people can install about 15 new meters, or about 5,000 in a year. Were a million smart meters to be installed in a year, 400 installation jobs would be created. It follows that the planned U.S. deployment of 20 million smart meters over five years, or 4 million per year, should create 1,600 installation jobs. Unless more meters are added to the annual deployment schedule, this workforce of 1,600 should cover installation needs for the next five years.  Now let’s consider job losses. It takes one worker today roughly 15 minutes to read a single meter. So in a day, a meter reader can scan about 30 meters, or about 700 meters a month. Meters are typically read once a month, making it the base period to calculate meter-reading jobs. Reading a million meters every month engages about 1,400 personnel. In five years, 20 million manually read meters are expected to disappear, taking with them some 28,000 meter-reading jobs.  That’s not an increase in jobs.  It’s a loss.  And this metric is one that follows “greening” everywhere – the sad fact is that to streamline to “greener” technologies eliminates jobs.  It’s all fine and well to treat mother nature better, but patently dishonest to pretend it’s a jobs strategy.

DSNews.com — House prices fall

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally-adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI), house prices declined modestly in the fourth quarter of 2009.  On a seasonally adjusted basis, the fourth quarter HPI was just 0.1% lower than it was in the third quarter of 2009. However, the quarter-to-quarter decline in prices was much more significant when measured without seasonal adjustment. According to FHFA, the unadjusted national decline was 1.5%.  FHFA’s seasonally-adjusted monthly index for December was down 1.6% from its November value, and over the year, seasonally-adjusted prices fell 1.2%. Although house prices in the fourth quarter of last year dropped notably from the fourth quarter of 2008, prices of other goods and services during this same period rose 1.9%. Accordingly, the inflation-adjusted price of homes fell approximately 3.1% over the latest year.  The all-transactions HPI, which includes data from mortgages used for both home purchases and refinancings, also fell in the fourth quarter of last year. Compared to the previous quarter, the index declined 0.7%, and over the four-quarter period it plummeted 4.7%. FHFA said the difference between appreciation rates in the two indexes is entirely explained by the inclusion of refinancings in the all-transactions index.

Now on to our real estate investing educational section…

Friday File – 15 Minute Real Estate Resolution

This week we spent some time discussion the use of social media marketing for real estate including several specific tips to enhance your LinkedIn profile page. This week’s 15 minute real estate resolution takes it to the next level by suggesting you take the time to adopt an actual strategy for using LinkedIn. Before implementing these advanced level tips be sure you have a firm handle on the basic LinkedIn process.

1. Set-up a “Company Buzz” application. Simple select any keyword desired (ie, short sale real estate) and the Company Buzz application will show you what is being said about the topic on Twitter. It’s easy to get started; simply log in to LinkedIn, click on the “applications” menu to the left then click on “Company Buzz” on the application page. Install the application, allow it to display on your LinkedIn profile page and then type in your Twitter ID or topic keywords etc… All the tweets will then automatically show on your LinkedIn page.

2.  Ask & Answer. Questions are a great way to engage others or show what you know. Ask and answer at least one question this week just to get a taste for the application. It’s quick and convenient enough that you might find yourself using it more frequently than anticipated.

3. LinkedIn Lions. There is a lot of debate whether or not someone should join a LIONS group or not. These meta networkers can certainly raise your ratings but LinkedIn has also suggested a rather negative position in relation to these groups. On the other hand, open networking has been shown to work especially when used properly and not abused. For more information on the general LinkedIn LIONS visit http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/linkedinlions/ or perform a search for real estate specific LIONS groups in your area. Remember, LInkedIn has now limited the total number of connections to only 30,000 so use discretion.

See you at the top!

Chris McLaughlin
**************

Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute LLC 2009.

All Rights Reserved.

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches 

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
Finally, a blog for Real Estate professionals
that want up-to-the-minute news, & how it impacts
us and our market…
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/blog

*************************************************

About the author:

Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.

    * As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
      foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
      100 short sale & REO closings each month
   * Long-time authority on real estate investing
      and rapid reselling of distressed homes.  Owns
      portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
     properties
    * Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,
     running 4 different offices, supporting over
     400 agents, uniquely positioning him to help
     thousands of investors make money in the
     biggest market opportunity ever!
    * Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
      seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
      in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
      Wealth Building
    * Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
    * Join my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.mclaughlinchris.com
–

Forward this e-mail to your friends!  Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:  http://www.smartrealestatenews.com/

*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

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Woops!  We had a major gotowebinar meltdown Tuesday … and

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Home prices falling

According to Fiserv, a division of Moody’s Economy.com, the average home price in the United States will fall by about 6% by September 2011.  Most of the projected home price decline will occur during the usually slow summer months of 2010. After that, prices should begin to stabilize, according to Fiserv, and stay almost flat through fall of 2011. The main reason for continued decline, according to Mark Zandi, economist and co-founder of Economy.com, is foreclosures — the same thing that’s plagued markets for the past three years.  He figures there are at least 4.5 million mortgage loans either in foreclosure or clearly headed in that direction. When that additional inventory hits the market, it will provide numerous choices for buyers and encourage sellers to drop their listing prices.  The end of two federal programs, which have been propping up markets, will also tamp down prices. The Fed’s program to buy mortgage securities lapses on March 31, when it cedes the playing field to private investors, who will almost surely demand higher rates, and a month after that, the homebuyer tax credit will start to expire.  Of course, home prices are ultimately decided by employment. “If [the job market] improvement is stronger than expected, prices will get better. If it’s weaker than expected, prices will be worse,” Zandi said.

Jobless claims up

The Labor Department said in its weekly report that there were 496,000 initial job claims filed in the week ended Feb. 20, up 22,000 from a revised 474,000 the previous week,. The prior week, there were 442,000 claims filed.  A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected new claims to fall to 460,000. The government said 4,617,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Feb. 13, the most recent data available. That’s up 6,000 from the preceding week’s revised 4,596,500 claims for a jump of more than 12% over the past two weeks. A Labor Department official said the unexpectedly large rise could partly reflect a backlog of claims that were unable to be processed in four Mid-Atlantic and New England states because of heavy snowfall. Still, the increase is likely to amplify concerns that the job market is weakening, potentially slowing the economic recovery.  Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak, said the claims data has been unusually distorted in recent weeks. As a result, “we are concerned about the upward pressure on initial claims but not overly concerned.”  The four-week average, which smoothes volatility, rose by 6,000 to 473,750.  The four-week average has risen by about 30,000 in the past month, raising concerns that job cuts are continuing. Initial claims had fallen sharply over the summer and fall but the improvement has stalled since the year began.

New home sales down

The Census Bureau says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales fell 11.2% to 309,000 last month, compared with a revised rate of 348,000 in December.  It was the lowest rate since the government began keeping records in 1963 and comes after declines in November and December.  The drop surprised many industry analysts. A consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected January sales to rise to an annual rate of 354,000. “Some people were expecting a surge in demand because of the tax credit,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight. “But that surge isn’t materializing.”  New home sales fell in all U.S. regions except the Mid-west, where sales edged up 2.1%. The Northeast was the hardest-hit last month, with sales plunging more than 35%.  “Distressed inventory continues to hit the market at cut-rate prices, drawing potential buyers away from new product,” said Mike Larson, real estate analyst at Weiss Research. “And let’s face it, the job market is nothing to write home about, either.”  There were an estimated 234,000 new homes for sale at the end of December, according to the report. At the current sales rate, it would take 9.1 months to sell through that inventory. That’s up from December, when there were 8.1 months of inventory on the market. Prior to December, inventory levels had been steadily declining since May 2009. IHS Global Insight’s Newport said he also expects sales to pop this spring. However, he may reduce his full year forecast for new home sales in light of Wednesday’s report. “Builders are putting up homes,” he said. “But what these numbers are telling us is that those homes aren’t selling.”

Manufactured Goods Jump 3%

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that orders for durable manufactured goods jumped 3 percent in January, the biggest increase since a 5.8 percent increase last July. However, excluding transportation, durable goods orders fell by 0.6 percent, a weaker showing than economists had expected.  The strength came mostly from a surge in demand for commercial aircraft, while demand for autos, machinery and a host of other products fell last month, indicating manufacturing is still facing hurdles that could slow the economic recovery.  The drop in orders excluding transportation followed solid gains of 2 percent in both December and November.  Analysts were not too concerned by the drop in demand outside of aircraft, noting that the government revised higher the increase in orders excluding transportation in December to show a gain of 2 percent, stronger than the initial estimate of a 1.4 percent rise.  Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said the January durable goods report provided further evidence that “the manufacturing sector is enjoying a healthy rebound, driven by restocking and a sharp turnaround in world trade.”  The 0.6 percent drop in orders outside of transportation reflected a big 9.7 percent plunge in demand for machinery, which offset a 1.9 percent increase in orders for primary metals such as steel.  Orders for non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft, fell by 2.9 percent in January following solid gains in the two previous months. This category is considered a proxy for business plans to invest in new equipment to expand and modernize.

MBA proposes forbearance program

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says it has developed a concept for a new forbearance program that would allow qualified borrowers who had lost their jobs to remain in their homes while they seek new employment.  According to the proposed program, loan servicers would reduce the borrower’s mortgage payment to an affordable amount for up to nine months while the homeowner looked for employment.  “The vast majority of new distressed borrowers we are seeing involve the loss of income,” said John A. Courson, MBA’s President and CEO.  “This program is designed to buy those borrowers time to find a new job, after which they could hopefully qualify for a loan modification.” Loan servicers who participate in this program would reduce monthly payments to an affordable level based on household income, and borrowers would be initially evaluated for the forbearance program using a model that assumes the borrower will be reemployed within nine months of losing his or her job at 75 percent of the borrower’s previous salary.  The borrower would be reevaluated as to employment and income status every three months for a total forbearance of nine months.   Once reemployed, the borrower would be evaluated for a modification under the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). “Recent statistics show that the average unemployed U.S. worker stays unemployed for between six and seven months,” added Courson.  “That is a long time for a borrower with a dramatic drop in income to stay current on their mortgage.  Further, borrowers with such a precipitous drop in income can’t qualify for most loan modification programs, so we are looking for ways to allow those borrowers to keep their homes while they look for another job.”

Now on to our real estate investing educational section…

LinkedIn LifeHacks for Realtors & Investors

By now nearly every real estate agent, broker or investor in the nation has a LinkedIn account…but are you making the most of it? According to LinkedIn, the majority of people create a profile, invite a few friends and family then let it go dormant. Learn how to supercharge your LinkedIn profile and let it begin really working for you with these quick tips:

1. Pick a professional name. Select the title or name you want to use for all of your business dealings to put on your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to make sure your name shows up on the Google search results whenever you perform a search for that name. Because LinkedIn is a large website that is constantly indexed by Google, your LinkedIn profile should show on the first page.

2. Pimp our your profile. LinkedIn comes with a standard “my blog” and “my website” links on the profile page…rather than use these rather lame and generic equivalents, put them both to maximum productivity by customizing each. Simple log into LinkedIn, click on the “edit” button then “other”. The system will now allow you to customize the phrase so people can more easily find your business. For example, replace with your name and city or type of real estate you specialize in for enhanced search engine visibility and marketing.

3. Add the options. Link to your Facebook account (remember, use a strategic name!) and import your Wordpress blog into your LinkedIn profile page. Not only does it keep the content fresh and focused in one easy to access location but it reduces the amount of time you spend updating information. Another important option to consider is LInkedIn’s Direct Ads campaign where you can target professionals for as little as $50 per month. It works a lot like Google’s adwords but for LinkedIn. Find out more at https://www.linkedin.com/directads/start.

4. Include your email contact list. Sounds like a no-brainer but a surprising number of people fail to follow through with this one simple step! If you are like most real estate agents, chances are you have hundreds or even thousands of email contacts in your address book. Put them to good use!

5. Join a group. There are many LinkedIn groups ranging from specialized interest areas, geographic location or simply to share and expand networking connections. While some shudder at the thought of joining a link-building group, keep in mind these are all willing participants who act like virtual networking promoters on steroids. Six degrees of separation demonstrates the best connections are often those most distant from our typical circle of influence so take time to develop both close and far connections.

If this sounds like a lot of work, don’t despair. Find out how to put Social Media to work for your professional goals without the hassle or headache.  Join us tonight at 8:30 PM ET, 5:30 PM PST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/819732522

See you at the top!

Chris McLaughlin
**************

Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute LLC 2009.

All Rights Reserved.

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Finally, a blog for Real Estate professionals
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About the author:

Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.

    * As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
      foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
      100 short sale & REO closings each month
   * Long-time authority on real estate investing
      and rapid reselling of distressed homes.  Owns
      portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
     properties
    * Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,
     running 4 different offices, supporting over
     400 agents, uniquely positioning him to help
     thousands of investors make money in the
     biggest market opportunity ever!
    * Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
      seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
      in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
      Wealth Building
    * Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
    * Join my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.mclaughlinchris.com
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