Buyers focus on smaller homes

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-12-17-smallhomes17_ST_N.htm

Short Sales Affect Every Price Range

Bobby Burnett: Short Sales All Over Map - Bobby Burnett, principal of Keller Williams Realty – DTC, applauds new government rules designed to speed and streamline the short-sale process, in which lenders accept less than the mortgage amount in a sale. Burnett, who estimates he has completed about 400 short sales, sees short sales all across the map. “Literally, we have them from below $100,000 to well over $1 million,” Burnett said. "They are all across the board and it is affecting every inch of the market. It is affecting every economic situation, every neighborhood. It is accounting for a huge percentage of our marketplace, and it is only going to get bigger.” One thing is clear to Burnett: “People need help."
http://insiderealestatenews.com/2009/12/bobby-burnett-short-sales-all-over-map/

Denver on Moderately Hurt by the Recession

Brookings study: Denver only 'moderately' hurt by recession
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/12/14/daily19.html

New FHA Condo Rules

Washington Report: FHA Condo Rules - The Federal Housing Administration puts its long-awaited new financing rules for condo units into operation last week - immediately affecting sales in hundreds of condo projects across the country. Among the key make-or-break rules about are the following:
* FHA won't insure mortgages in buildings or complexes where less than 30% of the units haven't already been sold.
* At least 50% of the units in a project must be owner-occupied or sold to purchasers who intend to occupy them.
* No individual owner or investor can hold title to more than 10 percent of the units in the entire project.
* No more than 25% of the square footage of a condo project can be non-residential - in other words, used for commercial purposes.
* No more than 50% of the units can have FHA insured financing on them. FHA doesn't want to “concentrate its risk” in any single project.
* No more than 15% of the units in a project can be 30 days or more delinquent on their monthly payments to the condo association.
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20091214_washingtonreport.htm

Short sales rise as banks start approving them in lieu of foreclosures - Banks are beginning to go along with short sales in increasing numbers. Short sales tripled in the first six months of 2009 from the same period a year earlier. Yet for each short sale, there were 25 foreclosures started or completed in the first half of this year. "It's really finally dawning on banks that they're better off with a short sale," said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "I think banks were in denial." Banks are increasing such sales under pressure from the Obama administration and lawmakers who criticized them for favoring foreclosures and delaying short sales. Lenders and loan servicers also stand to receive up to $2,000 in incentives to close short sales under a Treasury Department plan unveiled Nov. 30.

Short sales rise as banks start approving them in lieu of foreclosures - Banks are beginning to go along with short sales in increasing numbers. Short sales tripled in the first six months of 2009 from the same period a year earlier. Yet for each short sale, there were 25 foreclosures started or completed in the first half of this year. "It's really finally dawning on banks that they're better off with a short sale," said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "I think banks were in denial." Banks are increasing such sales under pressure from the Obama administration and lawmakers who criticized them for favoring foreclosures and delaying short sales. Lenders and loan servicers also stand to receive up to $2,000 in incentives to close short sales under a Treasury Department plan unveiled Nov. 30.

Getting a Mortgage in 2010: 10 Things to Know - US News and World Report

Getting a Mortgage in 2010: 10 Things to Know - US News and World Report

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Nine Consecutive Gains for Pending Home Sales -

Pending home sales have risen for nine months in a row - a first for the series of the index since its inception in 2001, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index increased 3.7% to 114.1 from 110.0 in September, and is 31.8% above October 2008 when it was 86.6. The rise from a year ago is the biggest annual increase ever recorded for the index, which is at the highest level since March 2006 when it was 115.2.
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2009120101