MyEastBayAgent › Comments

Really, Verizon doesn't work well in West Berkeley? I was looking forward to an iPhone with Verizon instead of AT&T, but maybe there's no advantage in the places I tend to go the most. - Cathryn Hrudicka

It WAS horrible, especially near my old office. They kept saying it was because they needed more towers & kept getting shot down by the city. It's probably better now, this was 18 months ago. - MyEastBayAgent

Kicking the can further down the road. - MyEastBayAgent

"The numbers that matter are the permanent loan modifications and the redefault rate." - MyEastBayAgent

Looking for foreclosure prevention advice? Attend a workshop for homeowners sponsored by a community-based organization in your area. - MyEastBayAgent

When you call your lender, be sure to have your account information handy and be ready to give a summary of the financial problems you are having. You should also have recent income statements and your household budget with you. - MyEastBayAgent

Now Mr. Clavon is part of what many economists say is a looming threat to a housing recovery: more than a half-million option ARMs scheduled to reset in the next four years, at rates many homeowners cannot afford. His mortgage payments have risen to $2,700 a month because of a clause he did not notice on his contract, and are scheduled to rise above $4,000 in two years. - MyEastBayAgent

During the first three months of this year, the largest share of foreclosures shifted from subprime loans to prime loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The change to prime loans -- traditionally considered safer -- reflects the growing numbers of unemployed who are being caught up in the foreclosure process, economists say. - MyEastBayAgent

Last year, about 40 percent of borrowers who sought help at NeighborWorks, a large housing counseling group, cited unemployment or a pay cut as a primary reason for their delinquency. Now it is about 65 percent. The number citing a subprime loan fell significantly. - MyEastBayAgent

California has $2.4 trillion in mortgages debt. 42.0% of the properties have negative equity. - MyEastBayAgent

Numbers Work Against Government Efforts To Help Homeowners - MyEastBayAgent

There is no second foreclosure wave coming, says Sam Khater, senior economist, First American CoreLogic. “To say there is a second wave implies the (current) wave has receded,” Khater told me. “I don’t see that the wave has receded.” - MyEastBayAgent

"The first will be for new home sales, housing starts and residential investment. The second bottom will be for prices... ...I think it is likely that we've seen the bottom for new home sales and single family starts, but not for prices." - MyEastBayAgent

In our industry there is a lot of chatter about “The Brokerage of the Future”. What does this industry need to look like to capture the interest of the customers of today and tomorrow? We decided to be proactive and engage the “groundswell “to assist us in doing some modeling. Are you curious? Join us in the conversation as we unveil our work at Real Estate Connect San Francisco and on this blog in the weeks that follow. Leadership in the real estate industry has never been more important than right now. - MyEastBayAgent

He just predicted its demise. Now he's seeing some tentative signs of hope. - MyEastBayAgent

In a letter to the CEO's of both companies, Representatives Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Anthony Weiner warned that a 70 percent sales threshold "may be too onerous" and could lead condo buyers to shun new developments, according to the paper. - MyEastBayAgent

One Bay Area couple had a little surprise waiting for them when they returned from a long vacation. A stranger had moved into their home, changed the locks and put the couple's belongings in the garage. When they confronted the man, he delivered another shocker. - MyEastBayAgent

"Resets are not a huge problem as long as interest rates stay low, but recasts could be significant. " - MyEastBayAgent

Despite the central bank's efforts, rates are rising just as the housing market struggles to find its feet - MyEastBayAgent

There are many reasons why California finds itself at the financial edge. We are a state that heavily depends on personal income and sales taxes that fluctuate wildly during good and bad times. California also finds itself grappling with the reality that there may be no other bubble to save itself from the current harsh reality. - MyEastBayAgent

If your real estate license expires this month, renew now or it’ll cost you about $250 more to renew it in July. Effective July 1, fees for real estate licenses, license renewals and license exams are being increased to the maximum allowed by law. Hence, fees are going to double for salespersons and go up at least 80% for brokers. (See chart) - MyEastBayAgent

The economic slowdown could last five to 10 years and cost trillions of dollars, a top US economist has warned. Paul Krugman, who won the 2008 Nobel prize for economics, told the BBC that any recovery would be "so slow it would feel like a recession". - MyEastBayAgent

The Press Democrat: Alt-A loans: Second wave of foreclosures ahead (ht Atrios) reports that there are 18,000 Alt-A mortgages in Sonoma County (about 18 percent of all mortgages). This is a larger percentage of mortgages in Somona County than for subprime - which accounted for about 10 percent of all mortgages in the county at the peak. - MyEastBayAgent

"Our conclusion? The index as presently constructed is utterly worthless. It provides little or no insight into how affordable US Housing actually is. Further, what is omitted from the index is especially relevant to the problems occurring in the housing market today. The Index fails to account for — or even recognize — any of the out of the ordinary circumstances that are currently bedeviling the Hosuing market." - MyEastBayAgent

"A new wave of foreclosures is building in Sonoma County, one that echoes the subprime crisis that flooded the region’s housing market with distressed properties." ..."This time, it involves borrowers who took out mortgages known as Alt-A loans. Like the subprime loans that began imploding in 2006, these loans offered seductively low introductory payments that enabled many borrowers to buy or refinance homes that were pricier than they could otherwise afford." - MyEastBayAgent

A continuing steep drop in home prices combined with rising unemployment is powering a new wave of foreclosures. Unfortunately, there’s little evidence, so far, that the Obama administration’s anti-foreclosure plan will be able to stop it. - MyEastBayAgent

Yes, we have a long-run budget problem, and we need to start laying the groundwork for a long-run solution. But when it comes to inflation, the only thing we have to fear is inflation fear itself. - MyEastBayAgent

"In light of recent events in the real estate community, Sky Realty is making a major policy change that will effect how we market listings. We have decided not to syndicate our listings at the broker level to advertisement based companies. We are also asking all of our agents to pull their syndications through their individual sites." - MyEastBayAgent

Pierre Calzadilla from Trulia responds to Curtis Reddehase - "This open letter is in response to your blog post on May 12th, found here, about your decision to cease syndicating listings. While I respect your opinion, as a former director of e-business for a top independent firm and a licensed real estate agent, I don’t agree with your reasoning." - MyEastBayAgent

According to Zillow.com, nationwide, the number is 22%, up from 18% Q4 2008. In California, 32% percent of homes are worth less than what’s owed on them. - MyEastBayAgent

A bank in Texas is bulldozing four brand new homes and twelve nearly finished homes in Victorville city, California, about 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Guaranty Bank of Austin acquired the homes in foreclosure and is destroying them, reportedly, to provide a "safe environment" for the neighbors. - MyEastBayAgent