Chance Gates' Blog

RISMEDIA, February 26, 2010—(MCT)—Sales of new U.S. homes plunged 11.2% in January 2010 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, the lowest rate on record dating back to 1963, the Commerce Department recently reported.

The third-straight drop in sales on a month-to-month basis was unexpected. “The housing market remains very, very distressed,” wrote Dan Greenhaus, chief economist for Miller Tabak & Co.

“There may have been some weather-related issues playing havoc with the sales data but clearly, these results are extremely unnerving,” wrote Jennifer Lee, an economist for BMO Capital Markets. “There is nothing positive to glean from this report.”

U.S. stock markets fell after release of the report, which coincided with release of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said the economy remains fragile and needs low interest rates for an extended period of time.

Data on sales for December 2009 were revised higher to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 348,000, up from 342,000 previously reported.

Sales of new homes are down 6.1% compared with January 2009’s 329,000 units, which was the previous record low. The number of homes for sale rose 0.4% to 234,000 in January. At the January sales pace, it would take 9.1 months to sell that inventory, up from 8.0 months in December and the highest monthly supply since May.

Government statisticians have low confidence in the monthly report, which is subject to large revisions, and large sampling and other statistical errors. In most months, the government isn’t sure whether sales rose or fell. The standard error in January for instance, was plus or minus 14%. The government says it can take up to five months to establish a statistically significant trend in sales. Over the last five months, sales have been on a 362,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace, down from 382,000 in the five-month interval through December.

Sales had risen fairly steadily in the first half of 2009 before plateauing last fall. Seasonally adjusted sales have now fallen three months in a row.

With mortgage rates still very low and prices down, most analysts had concluded that the recent decline in sales was due to the impending expiration of the first-time home buyers’ credit in November.

As it happened, Congress extended the tax credit through June and expanded it to include repeat buyers. But the tax credit didn’t help sales in January. Sales of new homes are recorded once a sales contract is signed, not at closing. Some homes are sold before ground is broken on construction.

Details
Home builders had been slashing their inventory of unsold homes for more than a year to a 38-year low before January’s 1,000 increase. The number of homes for sale that are under construction fell to a record low of 100,000.

Builders have cut back on production of new homes, but they still face headwinds from unsold existing-homes as foreclosures continue to mount up. If a home isn’t sold before it’s finished, it’s taking a record 14.2 months to sell it after completion—a reflection of the mismatch between more expensively priced homes in the inventory and lower-priced homes that have been selling.

The median sales price of a new home sold in January was $203,500, down 2.4% compared with a year earlier. Cheaper homes were selling better than expensive ones: 47% of sales were for less than $200,000, up from 43% in December. Meanwhile, 38% of sales were for $200,000 to $400,000, down from 41% in December.

Sales were down in three of four regions: down 35% in the Northeast, down 12% in the West and down 10% in the South. January’s sales were up 2% in the Midwest, the government’s data showed.

(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.

Chance Gates does welcome any questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or on any articles that may be posted.  Send your  emails  to  chance at ballard-company.com

2009 FORECLOSURE LEGISLATION
By Sue Saunders, General Counsel, NVAR
The 2009 Legislature was busy trying to assist homeowners this legislative year. There are new laws which are specific to relieving some of the imbalances banks have against borrowers in foreclosures.
The first bill which was signed into law and became effective July 1, 2009, was Assembly Bill 149 (AB149). This bill provides relief for homeowners of owner-occupied houses who receive formal Notice of Default and Election to Sell (NOD) notices filed after June 30, 2009. AB 149 gives borrowers the right to seek mediation of a mortgage loan if they are the owners and occupants of that home. The borrowers have 30 days after being served with a NOD to elect to participate in mediation and notify the trustee (generally a title company). The trustee shall, in turn, notify all entities with an interest in the property that the owner is requesting mediation.
A form to request mediation and easy-to-understand instructions must be attached to the NOD notice served on the borrower. Once the homeowner requests mediation, the lender is required to participate. Mediation must then take place within 90 days of the recording of the NOD. The mediation fee is $400, to be shared equally by the homeowner and lender.
AB 149 also gives the owner-occupying homeowner the right to pay back the missed payments up until 5 days before the foreclosure sale to make good the back unpaid payments and perform under the deed of trust agreement.
Another bill which assists the homeowner in foreclosure is AB 471. This bill provides for relief from any deficiency judgment against owner-occupied homeowner if the foreclosing entity is bank which loaned the money for the purchase of the property and the homeowner lives in the property financed from the time of financing until the present. AB 471 only applies to foreclosures proceedings on loans after October 1, 2009.

RISMEDIA, February 23, 2010—(MCT)—Credit card issuers are now going to have to play by a whole new set of rules that are considered consumer-friendly—but will also cut into some of their traditional sources of revenue.

Don’t expect those companies to take that lying down. Card issuers are expected to spend the next year experimenting with new products and fees—as well as higher interest rates—testing just how much consumers are willing to shell out.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act, signed into law in May, is a sweeping overhaul of the card industry and includes provisions to help reduce the amount of interest consumers pay. The bulk of reforms are set to take effect February 22, 2010.

As card issuers prepared for the new rules in recent months, many have raised interest rates on customers—to the dismay of consumer advocates. At the same time, the weak economy and fears of rising defaults caused card companies to cancel accounts and lower credit limits on anyone who appeared risky.

The CARD Act will help many vulnerable consumers. “The biggest winners are consumers who have been taken the most advantage of,” says Josh Frank, senior researcher with the Center for Responsible Lending. These are cardholders who carry balances and have seen their interest rates jump or card terms change for no apparent reason or because they accidentally triggered a late fee, he says.

Consumers who are good managers of credit, though, might be unhappy to find that card issuers may be passing on higher interest rates and fees to them.

Here’s what the next year in credit cards might look like:

Up, up and away: The CARD Act doesn’t prevent issuers from raising interest rates, although there are more restrictions on when and how they can do so. Because card issuers can’t quickly raise rates or change terms on their riskiest customers, they will charge higher interest rates across the board to protect against potential losses, banking experts say. Synovate, which tracks card solicitations, found that offers in the fourth quarter of last year carried an average rate of 13.5%, up from 11.47% a year earlier.

Charge or else: “A lot of the talk around the industry is trying to figure out some of the fees that are going to come,” says Anuj Shahani of Synovate. He says one of the most anticipated: the inactivity fee. Card companies say it costs them money to maintain accounts, and they are starting to slap a fee on unprofitable customers who rarely use their cards.

Welcome back, annual fees: Once common, annual fees now usually appear only on subprime and high-end reward cards, Shahani says. But card issuers are eyeing a revival. Synovate reports that 35% of card offers in the fourth quarter carried an annual fee, the largest percentage in a decade. A year earlier, 23% had annual fees.

Fees for not knowing your limits: Issuers have typically covered customers going over their credit line, but often for a steep price of $35. The CARD Act doesn’t allow over-the-limit fees unless customers opt to have their overcharges covered. Many card issuers are working 24/7 to develop opt-in policies, Brauneis says. Consumer advocates expect a big promotional push by banks to get customers to sign up for this service. Don’t take the bait. “I can’t think of many consumers for whom it would be worth it,” Frank says.

Pricier balancing acts: The standard fee for transferring a balance from one card to another used to be around 3% of the amount transferred, not to exceed $75 or so. But that fee has been going up to 4% and 5% in the past year, and the dollar cap has disappeared. So you can end up paying hundreds of dollars on a transfer. Consumer advocates expect issuers to continue pitching balance transfers to collect the lucrative fees. If you’re tempted to transfer to another card for a lower rate, make sure you know the terms. Card reforms require that promotional rates must last at least six months, so check what your rate will jump to after that.

Skimpier rewards fro some: Card issuers last year watered down rewards, such as reducing points on purchases or trimming cash-back awards. That dilution is expected to continue on basic cards. But issuers will be launching richer reward programs to compete for the most profitable customers: good credit risks who carry a balance, pay interest and occasionally trigger fees.

New law, new products: Issuers have introduced new cards in the past six months, and they say these products have been in the works for a long time. But many seem designed in the spirit of the CARD Act, which aims to make card rules clearer and turn us into better money managers.

(c) 2010, The Baltimore Sun.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution.
Hank Aaron

I don’t feel right unless I have a sport to play or at least a way to work up a sweat.
Hank Aaron

I don’t see pitches down the middle anymore – not even in batting practice.
Hank Aaron

I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn’t throw it past me, none of them.
Hank Aaron

I never doubted my ability, but when you hear all your life you’re inferior, it makes you wonder if the other guys have something you’ve never seen before. If they do, I’m still looking for it.
Hank Aaron

I’m hoping someday that some kid, black or white, will hit more home runs than myself. Whoever it is, I’d be pulling for him.
Hank Aaron

It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
Hank Aaron

My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.
Hank Aaron

The pitcher has got only a ball. I’ve got a bat. So the percentage in weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.
Hank Aaron

The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them.
Hank Aaron

You can only milk a cow so long, then you’re left holding the pail.
Hank Aaron

I always need quotes for my library if anyone has heard of a great one please send it to me real estate related or not..

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional I encourage any questions or comments or the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.

Contact me at  chance at ballard-company.com www.myspace/chancegates

I’m not a big basketball fan except for March Madness.   In college basketball, I love the fact a that you actually have a playoff and a real championship game.  This year I believe the Wolf Pack will be headed to the NIT again.  The only way the Reno/Sparks area will have the boys in the NCAA Tournament is if they get the automatic bid.  From what I here Louisiana Tech will be the favorite for that.  Sorry Utah and New Mexico fans.  However The “Pack” should have a good showing as they spread the floor well and can score from multiple points.   The biggest advantage for Nevada is the 2010 Wac tournament will be right here in Reno: March 10-12.  This will be a great time to take a day off from real estate and take the wife to a game.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Current homeowners buying a house between Nov. 7, 2009, and April 30 and who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight can qualify for the $6,500. It seems less is known about the repeat buyer credit. This incentive was added when the original $8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time buyers, which expired Nov. 30, was extended.

Houses purchased for $800,000 or less are eligible for repeat buyers. Single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples up to $225,000 may receive the maximum tax credit for both repeat and first-time purchases. The credit decreases for buyers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 for single buyers and between $225,000 and $245,000 for home buyers filing jointly. The amount of the tax credit decreases as his/her income approaches the maximum limit. Buyers earning more than the maximum are not eligible for the credit. If a binding written contract to purchase is in effect April 30, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

The 2009 credit for first-timers helped jump-start the sagging home market in the summer and fall, data show. Walt Molony, a National Association of Realtors (NAR) spokesman, said two million existing-home sales in 2009 could be attributed to the $8,000 first-time buyer credit. Although it is too early to measure the credit’s effect on sales so far this year, Molony said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun believes it will add 1.5 million sales to the tally.

The repeat-buyer credit was added to appease builders, who said the original did not offer enough time to purchasers of new houses, which take at least six months to build, to close on them. New homes accounted for only 7% of the tax-credit-based sales, Molony said.

The National Association of Homebuilders’ Donna Reichle said, “We hear builders saying they are getting inquiries, but that’s all so far. According to our economists, it’s way too early,” Reichle said. “If you look back at the passage of the original $8,000 credit and impact on housing starts, it took a couple of months, and that was in the spring as well.”

Moody’s Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi says the credit will boost sales “modestly,” however, by 300,000, with one-third trade-up buyers. “I don’t expect the credit to be extended again,” Zandi said. “Each time it is extended, it becomes less effective and thus more costly.”

David Krieger, senior vice president and general manager of Coldwell Banker Preferred in Philadelphia, says he believes that “a very large increase in our listing inventory in January is a result of the $6,500 credit.” Still, the $8,000 first-time credit remains the chief reason his company’s home sales were 33% higher last month than in January 2009, he said.

Typically, repeat buyers are better off financially than first-timers, so a lot of repeat buyers realize from the start they don’t qualify for the credit, Weichert Realtors agent Alec Schwartz said. “What they do realize, and what is getting more sellers to list, is that they understand that there are plenty of first-time buyers who qualify for the $8,000 credit out there, and they have a much better chance of selling their house and buying a new one than before,” said Schwartz, Liv Mansfield’s agent.

This is also true in the region’s new-home market, said Wayne Norris, regional sales manager for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. “Builders have experienced increased activity in recent months” attributable to the $6,500 credit and “the fact that many potential buyers were able to sell their houses” to those taking advantage of the first-time buyer credit,” he said. The sense of urgency to make the tax-credit deadline and fears of rising interest rates will push new-home sales higher in the spring, Norris said.

(c) 2010, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In the Reno/Sparks real estate market, I’m finding most of the  houses being sold for less than $200,000  are getting multiple  offers submitted on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

I usually would not do this but my family has started a biggest loser contest, with weekly weigh ins and all.  It is kind of fun heckling those who are behind (my family way).  Have you ever noticed when your on a diet all the good food you see.

I guess it like when your buying a house, in the Reno/sparks area,  you start to see all the for real estate signs.

So I came across this recipe today and it sure does look good tell me what you think.

White Peach Pie

8-12 ripe white peaches, washed, split, pits removed and wedged into 8ths (leave peels on!)

1 cup vanilla sugar (I use two or three vanilla beans, split and scraped, submerged in 5 lbs. sugar)

1 lemon, cut in half

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons corn starch or tapioca flour

pinch of kosher salt

Grab a big bowl and go to town on the peaches. Wash them gently, cut in half and take out the pits. Use a paring knife. Then cut each half into eight wedges. Use a big spoon to gently mix with remaining ingredients and squeeze lemon juice over everything. Set aside while you make the dough.

Here’s what you need to know about pie dough. There are those who use shortening, and those who use butter. By now you should now I am the butter kind. So. Just use it.  At the restaurant, we make about 20 balls of pie dough at a time. This is the scaled back version.

2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour

2 sticks COLD sweet salted butter, chopped up into little bits

ice water

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a mixing bowl if you’re working by hand) add the flour. Add the chopped up COLD butter. Quickly mix on medium low speed so the butter is in little bits. With the motor running on low dribble in a bit of ice water. Keep dribbling until the mixture comes together, but isn’t too dry or too wet. Just watch. It will happen. Stop the motor…..if you are working by hand, dribble the water and work the dough until it comes together. At this point, you can make two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. If you want to make this for the freezer, wrap in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag. Defrost on the counter or in the fridge.

To roll out: flour a board or counter with a little flour, and start rolling with a pin from the middle out.  Roll north, south, east, west. Then flip the dough, adding more flour if you need to. Roll again, north, south, east, west, until it’s bigger than a pie plate, about 12 inches across. Spray a glass deep dish pie plate with cooking spray. Lay the crust inside, giving a little room for shrinkage. Roll out the second crust. Fill the first crush with fruit and dot with butter. Lay the top crust over the fruit, sealing and crimping the edges. Score the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil for 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees until the center filling reads 180 on an instant read thermometer and is bubbling.  Cool on a rack and eat warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

This happens to be one of the recipes from Dish Cafe and Catering Co.  You can see more of her recipes  at http://dishingup.wordpress.com/

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

The PGA TOUR returns to Reno this summer, July 12^th – 18^th, 2010 at Montreux Golf and Country Club. It is because of our dedicated volunteers that we can give so much to children’s charities in our community. Any amount of time is greatly appreciated.

We are currently in need of volunteer Marshals. The Marshal duties include: quieting the gallery around tees and greens, controlling crossings and ball spotting. Positions will fill quickly, so register early.

All volunteers receive:

• Two season passes for you and a guest

• Parking pass

• 1 RTO embroidered golf shirt

• 1 RTO embroidered golf cap

• Meals for each shift worked

• Volunteers’ appreciation party

• Raffle drawings for great prizes from now thru the event

• Volunteer package is $50…. a $200 value

Register online at: www.RenoTahoeOpen.com/volunteers

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, February 12, 2010—Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace are currently 4.81%, down six basis points from 4.87% at this time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rates hovered at or below 4.80% for most of the past weekend and neared 4.75% on Monday.

Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers through the site, and reflect the most recent changes in the market. These are not marketing rates or a weekly survey.

The rate for 15-year fixed home loans is currently 4.27%, while the rate for 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages is 3.70%.

The volume of mortgage requests in the past week fell 9.4% from the prior week. Of last week’s requests, 34.7% were for refinance loans, 63.5% were for purchase loans and 1.9% were for home equity loans. The prior week, 34.5% of requests were for refinance loans, 63.5% were for purchase loans and 2.1% were for home equity loans.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted on this blog.  I can be reached by email at:   chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates