A worker constructs a new home in Geneva, Illinois, June 23, 2009. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes

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The National Association of Home Builders said its preliminary NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index was 17 in July, up from 15 in June.

Readings below 50 in the index, which was launched in January 1985, indicate more builders view market conditions as poor rather than favorable. The July index was above expectations of 16, based on a Reuters survey of economists.

“In an encouraging sign, the improvement was driven by a 3 point gain in the index of present conditions to 17, implying a pickup in new home sales,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital in New York.

“The fact that the gain was driven by current conditions is a positive sign, suggesting home buyer interest increased despite the rise in mortgage rates over June,” she said.

The rise in home builder sentiment is a positive for the U.S. housing market, which has been showing some signs of stabilization, with sales rising and home price declines moderating in many regions of the country.

“Builders are seeing slightly better sales conditions this month as consumers take advantage of the first-time buyer tax credit, low interest rates and attractive home prices,” NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said in a statement.

The government’s $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, part of the economic stimulus package, is helping boost sales.

But there is concern about what lies ahead, Robson added.

“A true recovery in the housing market and overall economy cannot take place until the continuing foreclosure crisis is abated and a decent flow of credit is restored to housing production,” Robson said.

“Meanwhile, the stalled jobs market is a major concern to builders and potential home buyers alike,” he said.

The gauge of current single-family homes sales rose to 17 from 14. The index of sales expected in the next six months, however, was unchanged at 26. But the measure of prospective-buyer traffic climbed, rising to 14 from 13, the group said.

The U.S. housing market is suffering the worst downturn since the Great Depression as a huge supply of unsold homes, tighter lending standards and record foreclosures push down home prices.

HOME BUILDERS ARE HURTING

U.S. home builders, struggling under sinking demand and a credit crisis, have faced a flood of homes in foreclosure.

But, interest rates on mortgages have fallen in recent weeks, a key development that could help turn the hard-hit housing sector around.

Home builders have curbed their new construction. They have also been reducing their inventories of unsold homes by slashing prices at the expense of profits to pay off debt and keep afloat.

“Although today’s HMI is positive news that helps confirm the market is bouncing around a bottom, the gain was entirely contained in the component gauging current sales conditions, while the component gauging sales expectations for the next six months remained virtually flat for a fourth consecutive month,” NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said in a statement.

“Builders recognize the recovery is going to be a slow one and that we are facing a number of substantial negative forces,” he said.

On a regional basis, the housing market index declined in only one of the four regions in July. The Midwest was unchanged at 14 and the South posted a five-point increase to 20. The Northeast posted a three-point decrease to 16. The West was unchanged at 15 this month.

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre56f599-us-usa-housing-homebuilders/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC  canadian funding corp CEO

The total number of houses sold rose by an amazing 27% in June while the average sale price rose 2%. Keep in mind that these statistics include all of the GTA from the Hamilton/Wentworth townline in the west to the Durham/Northumberland townline in the east and from Lake Ontario north into Lake Simcoe. Of course not all areas experienced the same amount of growth, however, Durham Region (on the most part) is in line with these increases. To see a 3 year comparable market evaluation for South Pickering, North Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa and Courtice/Bowmanville click on Durham Region.

The other statistic to take notice of is the number of homes for sale this year as compared with last year. While sales have increased 27% this June, the number of new listings has decreased by 17% and the number of active listings has decreased by 30%. What does this mean for sellers and buyers? There is a lot less inventory to choose from and a lot more people who are looking to buy. This would explain the rise in the number of multiple offers we have been seeing over the past several weeks as well as the increase in prices.

Who knows where all of this will end up in the next several months. There is still some speculation in the economic circles that the “worst is yet to come” and yet others have changed their predictions to an earlier anticipated recovery.

http://getmovingwithkaren.blogspot.com/2009/07/june-housing-statistics-are-in.html

reviewed by Moishe ALexander, CFC  canadian funding corp CEO

Ordinarily, one would think that chattels are not included in an agreement of purchase and sale concerning real estate. And, most of the time they would be right.

However, this is not the case when we are talking about the sale of a business. Under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act the term “real estate” is defined to include real property, leasehold and business whether with or without premises, fixtures, stock-in-trade, goods or chattels in connection with the operation of the business.

Bob operated a small electrical contracting company. After 25 years in the business, he felt that it was time to retire. In addition to the 10 trucks all clearly marked “Bob’s Electric”, he had recently purchased a minivan. Bob used this vehicle to get to work. He acquired it right at the end of the year so that he could maximize the depreciation. Bob listed the business and negotiated an excellent price.

You might imagine his surprise when it came to the day of closing and his lawyer had prepared a Transfer of the minivan for him to sign. Bob said it was not part of the deal. There was nothing about the minivan in the agreement of purchase and sale. This was true!

His lawyer reviewed the agreement and said that the definition of “real estate” when it concerned the sale of a business included chattels. Since the minivan had been acquired and used in connection with the business, no matter how remote this connection might be, the minivan was deemed to be part of the deal. The obligation rested upon Bob to clearly exclude it, if that was his intention. It did not have to be written into the agreement to become part of the deal. Silence meant the minivan was part of the deal.

So, on closing the purchaser received an assignment of the lease, the stock-in-trade, the fixtures, the 10 trucks, and to his surprise, Bob’s brand new minivan that he drove to work.

In addition, there is one more little problem here worth mentioning. Bob was attracted to the minivan because of the zero percent financing spread out over five years. You guessed it! The agreement of purchase and sale conveyed the title to the assets “free and clear of all encumbrances”. So, out of the funds due on closing, Bob had to pay off the loan on the minivan in order that the purchaser would get clear title.

This little glitch arises in many business transactions, but most of the time neither the buyer nor the seller are aware, and no one asks about the minivan that the owner uses to get to work. There was some good news however. Bob had been thinking about buying a Mercedes.

http://ontariorealestatesource.blogspot.com/2009/07/dont-sell-minivan-by-mistake.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, canadian funding corp CEO

When Toronto-based developer Murray Koebel put his housing project on the market last summer, he didn’t expect it would coincide with the stock market crash.

There was barely a nibble for seven months at his Vista Homes project in Pickering. So the Vista Homes president responded, like many other developers, by slashing prices by up to $30,000 on some of the units in his development, comprised of 45 single, detached homes and townhouses.

“Those were difficult times,” Koebel said.

But since February, he has sold 18 homes, or about 40 per cent of the development. That compares with the one or two he had sold in the six months prior. “Things really started to pick up in the spring, when people saw that it wasn’t as bad as they thought,” he said.

As a result, Koebel expects to break ground this summer and is cautiously looking around at future projects, a decided turnaround from a few months earlier.

The figures seem to bear him out: The market, while still slow with a recovery not yet on the horizon, shows signs of improvement. Canadian housing construction bounced back in May after dropping to a 13-year low in April, according to figures released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. yesterday, with seasonally adjusted housing starts hitting 128,400 in May, up from 117,600 in the month prior.

“With the Canadian economy poised to begin the recovery process by this fall, the worst of the residential construction recession might be behind us,” said BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic.

Starts also rebounded strongly in the Toronto-area market, up by 35 per cent in May to 22,000 units. Most of that was due to the volatile multiple family segment, which includes condominiums and apartment buildings. “After plunging precipitously since late 2007, and appearing to be in free fall in recent months, this rebound may be an indication the sector is perhaps stabilizing,” TD Securities analyst Millan Mulraine said.

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association said yesterday that builders, including Koebel, were seeing “signs of hope” and reporting increased traffic in their sales offices and model homes.

Activity is expected to pick up slightly in the second half of the year.

“Tighter resale markets in recent months, improving credit conditions and a backlog of sales awaiting construction are all factors that will boost activity,” said Ted Tsiakopoulos, regional economist for the CMHC.

Despite the positive figures, starts are still down 42 per cent in year-to-date figures compared with last year, at both the national and Toronto-area levels.

Analysts say the overall drop in starts to date is not necessarily a bad thing, since there has been massive overbuilding in some Canadian cities, particularly in the condominium sector, where more than 35,000 units in the Toronto area alone are already under construction and expected to be largely completed this year and next.

BMO expects the rate of starts to remain below long-term trends because there is too much supply already on the market.

“A sharp rebound is unlikely in this sector thanks to about six years of overbuilding – housing starts will likely remain below the rate of household formation through 2010,” Kavcic said.

One thing that should keep construction workers busy is the renovation industry, which reported $21.3 billion spent by consumers last year, up by $1.6 billion from 2007, according to a separate report by the CMHC.

Toronto Star

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/647566

The report brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

Reported bu Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO.

A seasonally adjusted total of 31,135 homes traded hands nationally via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March 2009. This is an increase of seven per cent from the previous month, and builds on the 10.3 per cent activity gain in February. The number of transactions in March 2009 stands 18 per cent above levels reported in

January 2009, when activity sank to the lowest level in a decade.

The monthly increase in activity was largest in British Columbia (13.6 per cent), and Ontario (10.5 per cent). Sales were also up from February levels in Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) transactions numbered 35,225 units in March 2009. While this remains 13.7 per cent below levels reported in March 2008, it is the smallest year-over-year decline in six months.

The national average price for home sales via the MLS® remains below levels reached one year earlier, but year-over-year declines are shrinking. The MLS® average residential price for homes sold in March 2009 was $288,641, down 7.7 per cent from March 2008. This is the smallest year-over-year decline in six months.

The average price for homes sold via the MLS® set a new record in March 2009 in Manitoba, and remained above year-ago levels in Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador.

The national average price continues to be skewed downward by lower activity in some of Canada’s more expensive housing markets and by fewer transactions at the higher end of the price spectrum. British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, where homes are more expensive, are significant contributors to the current downward trend in national average price. MLS® home sales activity in these provinces accounted for 69 per cent of national activity in March 2008, compared to 67 per cent in March 2009.

The price trend is less dramatic for the weighted national MLS® average price, which compensates for changes in provincial sales activity by taking into account provincial proportions of privately owned housing stock. The weighted national MLS® average sale price was down 4.7 per cent year-over-year in March, compared to a 5.1 per cent decline in February.

“Housing markets are starting to show signs of buyer interest because of lower prices and interest rates,” says Dale Ripplinger, President of The Canadian Real Estate Association. “We expect April sales activity will feel some effects from the federal government incentives announced in the last budget, including the increase in the maximum withdrawal allowed under the Home Buyers’ Plan, and the First Time Buyer Tax Credit.”

Q1 2009 Results
Seasonally MLS® adjusted MLS® sales activity in the first quarter of 2009 was little changed compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, declining by less than one-tenth of a per cent.

The number of homes for sale remains high, but continues trending downward. Seasonally adjusted national MLS® residential new listings numbered 208,755 units in the first quarter of 2009. This is down 6.4 per cent from the previous quarter, and represents the third consecutive quarter-over-quarter decline. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of MLS® residential new listings has dropped 11.9 per cent from the peak reached in the second quarter of 2008.

With sales activity increasing and new listings trending lower, the balance between supply and demand is firming up in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. These provinces have the largest influence on the national housing picture, so a firming housing market balance there in March 2009 caused the national housing market balance to tighten for the fourth time in as many months.

“A number of major housing markets are stabilizing, as buyers respond to improving affordability,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Looking back to economic recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s, national resale housing activity bottomed out before the job market or economy did,” said Klump. “It will take time for ample supplies of new and existing homes to be drawn down, but demand appears to be stabilizing.”

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month. The Canadian Real Estate Association has previously released these separately.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 98,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. Further information can be found at www.crea.ca.

http://www.calgarymike.com/2009/04/mls-resale-housing-market-stabilizes.html

But now that prices are finally falling and affordability is increasing, there is another major stumbling block in their search: Job security.

“There just seems to be so much uncertainty. Prices in the range we have been looking at haven’t changed all that much, either,” said Mr. Withers.

“We keep waiting for the big housing crash,” said Ms. Harding.

They look to the situation in the United States and see prices dropping by as much as a third in many markets, but that hasn’t happened here. The Canadian Real Estate Association said prices across the country in the first four months of 2009 were down 6.7% compared with a year ago.

That’s the real-estate rub: Sales have stalled as vendors refuse to lower prices while buyers sit on the sidelines waiting for a deal after more than a decade of rising prices.

To be sure, the deals have finally begun to materialize, although not from plummeting prices. Rather, record-low interest rates, whether consumers are borrowing long-term or short, are a key factor in the new real-estate affordability.

Consider a $300,000 mortgage. At the 3.75% rate some mortgage brokers claim they can get for a five-year closed mortgage, the monthly payment is $1,537.67, based on a 25-year amortization. A couple of years ago, when the rate was closer to 5.75%, the same mortgage would cost 22% more, or $1,875.07 a month.

Cheap money has created a classic economic battle. In one corner stands the real estate industry, trying to lure buyers with rates so low it is now cheaper to own than to rent. In the other is the skittish consumer who is too focused on job concerns to care about interest rates.

For the first time this decade, the Royal Bank of Canada’s Affordability Index, which measures the percentage of household income needed to carry a home, is declining.

“We’ve seen affordability improve across the board, but especially in some centres where it had deteriorated over the past few years,” said Robert Hogue, senior economist with RBC.

Financial Post — Peter J Thompson

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

True, the month over month statistics show an increase in resales from January 2009. This is good because we sense at the very least a direction of the entire Real Estate Market both for the City of Toronto and the GTA as well.

It gives homebuyers and home buyers a sense of direction and this can definitly help in the purchase or selling of a home. Even different neighbourhoods will hold up their value even in a down Real Estate Market.

We like to follow Toronto Condos in certain Central Districts to do just that, find a direction the resales are taking not only in price but sales as well. We picked the bigger districts with the most sales top give a rounder view of the “averages”. A smaller Central District with just a few resale Condos in Toronto would give a different picture than another Central District with 700 sales.

http://torontocondos.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/toronto-real-estate-average-prices/

Mortgage fraud and the victims of fraud in real estate purchase

Mortgage fraud is defined as the material misstatement, misrepresentation or omission that is relied upon by an underwriter or lender for funding, purchasing or insuring a mortgage loan. The misstatement, misrepresentation or omission refers to the lies as also the white lies. In case a lender makes an advancement of mortgage money while telling any small lie regarding the borrower’s income, property value, intended use of property etc. then a mortgage fraud is said to have occurred.

Common victims of fraud are those who have purchased real estate whose values have been over inflated by a series of fraudulent transactions. In this way several consumers have had incurred huge financial losses and their credit ratings have been damaged.

Dealing with real estate related fraud in Alberta

This is a crime and you need be informed and armed beforehand to effectively combat the damaging influence of mortgage fraud. You need to beware when approached for opting for any scheme set to help make quick and easy money in real estate. Caution needs to be observed when your name is being taken down for credit purposes or when you are being asked to create or alter certain documents in a real estate or mortgage transaction. If you are suspecting that you can get involved in a fraudulent transaction then you ought to immediately report such suspicions to the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) for them to take suitable action.

In an effort to reduce mortgage fraud relating to the real estate market of Alberta, Canada the RECA has taken up several initiatives-

- Efforts have been made to bring about a change in the industry by introducing mandatory mortgage fraud awareness course, improved investigative resources and processes, stronger sanctions against licensees involved in mortgage fraud and development of ongoing education processes incorporating mortgage fraud identification knowledge.

- There have been collaboration endeavors with other stakeholders and enactment of legislative changes and information sharing efforts extended.

- There has been made efforts to increase public awareness.
These will hopefully work towards curbing mortgage frauds to a desirable extent and make the investment in real estate in Alberta less risky.
Jason Uvios writes about on Dealing with Fraud in Real Estate Purchase in Alberta to visit :-

http://www.socialjury.com/632/dealing-with-fraud-in-real-estate-purchase-in-alberta-2/

Brought by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO