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On Monday August 8, 2011, 11:40 am EDT
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Investor Warren Buffett said Monday he still believes U.S. debt should carry the top credit rating because the country won't have trouble paying off its long-term debt obligations. Buffett told CNBC that he disagrees with Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade long-term U.S. debt. The credit ratings agency on Friday cut the U.S. credit rating one notch from AAA to AA+ with a negative outlook. Buffett's Omaha-based company is one of the biggest shareholders in S&P's main competitor Moody's Corp. with about 28 million shares. But the billionaire has long urged people to make their own decisions about an investment's prospects without relying on credit rating agencies. Buffett said S&P's action doesn't change his view on the security of U.S. Treasury bills. Buffett said at least $40 billion of Berkshire Hathaway's roughly $48 billion cash and equivalents is in U.S. Treasury bills, and he wouldn't consider parking it anywhere else. "If anything, it may change my opinion on S&P," said Buffett, who is chairman and CEO of Berkshire. Buffett said America's leaders may have a hard time agreeing on the country's financial plan and the value of the dollar may decline, but that won't keep the world's richest nation from paying its debts. After all, he said the United States has a gross domestic product of about $48,000 per person, and the Federal Reserve can still print more money. "Our currency is not AAA, and in recent months the performance of our government has not been AAA, but our debt is AAA," Buffett said to CNBC. Buffett did not immediately respond to an interview request from The Associated Press on Monday. Online: Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: www.berkshirehathaway.com
Isn't it time we started listening to business people instead of politicians?
Prudential California Realty is the number 1 residential real estate brokerage for the 14th consecutive year. If you're looking for a company with this kind of consistency while providing a recognized brand in real estate, please give me a call.
Click to enlarge Beacon Economics has an updated housing forecast out for California – and
it’s pretty optimistic: The real estate forecast calls for average home
gains of 0.6% this year; 3.2% next year; 5.4% in 2013; 6.7% in 2014; and 7.8% in
2015.
All told, Beacon is basically projecting that California home prices will
jump 23% in five years ($57,800) – from a typical selling price of $256,136 in
2010 to $323,368 in 2015. Depending on one’s view, that projected 2015 pricing
would be equal to the highest since 2008, back at early 2004 levels – or still
38% off the 2007 peak.
Jordan Levine, research manager at Beacon Economics, says the optimism
is driven by “rising employment and incomes, which we project to grow by between
4% and 6% on the income side and 2% to 3% on the employment side.”
He adds: “We also have some pent-up demand for homes due to such slow
household formation during the downturn. Our calculations show that we are
currently only building 1 home for every 9-plus new residents over the past
year, so that will begin to put upward pressure on the market as the economy
begins to heal. Additionally, many of the homes currently being sold are
distressed properties, so as the mix changes to slightly better and
non-distressed properties, the median sale price will also increase. So,
the short answer is that this is being driven in part by a healing economy and
partly a shifting mix away from as many distressed homes as we move out into the
future.”
On the fence??? Now might be a good time to BUY!!!!!
__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5978 (20110323) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com
Qualities Buyers Value Most in Agents
- Home buyers value their real estate agent to help them find the right home
to purchase, but when given a list of qualities honesty and integrity is rated
as the most important quality.
- 98 percent of home buyers rated honesty and integrity as a very important
quality.
- Knowledge of the purchase process, responsiveness, and knowledge of the real
estate market were all rated as very important by more than 9 in 10 home
buyers.
- The least important to recent home buyers was skills with technology—just 40
percent of recent buyers found this was very important.
- Find the Home Buyers and Sellers Profile for 2010
here.
Intersting findings for Realtors about what buyers find important when dealing with real estate agents. Be honest (should be a given), and KNOW THE PROCESS!!! Shapen your skills with the purchase contract. Don't just know which blanks to fill in....know what it says, what it means, and how it applies to your client.
Index: San Diego home prices up 1.7% year-over-year
S&P/Case-Shiller says San Diego was one of two U.S. areas
to post gains
By Lily Leung
, UNION-TRIBUNE
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 7:19 a.m.
John Gastaldo
/ Union-Tribune staff
San Diego home prices increased in December from a year ago,
according to a key housing index released monthly.
Background
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index tracks changes in the value of
homes nationally and in 20 major metropolitan regions. The index is calculated
every month and has a two-month lag.
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Dec.
| Metro area |
Dec./Nov. chg |
Dec. 09-Dec. 10 chg |
| Atlanta |
-0.9% |
-8.00% |
| Boston |
-0.1% |
-0.80% |
| Charlotte |
-0.1% |
-4.40% |
| Chicago |
-1.4% |
-7.40% |
| Cleveland |
-0.4% |
-4.00% |
| Dallas |
-0.2% |
-3.60% |
| Denver |
-0.7% |
-2.40% |
| Detroit |
-2.3% |
-9.10% |
| Las Vegas |
-1.1% |
-4.70% |
| Los Angeles |
-1.3% |
-0.20% |
| Miami |
-0.5% |
-3.70% |
| Minneapolis |
-1.3% |
-5.30% |
| New York |
-0.9% |
-2.30% |
| Phoenix |
-1.7% |
-2.30% |
| Portland |
-1.2% |
-7.80% |
| San Diego |
-0.7% |
1.70% |
| San Francisco |
-1.0% |
-0.40% |
| Seattle |
-2.0% |
-6.00% |
| Tampa |
-2.6% |
-6.20% |
| Washington. D.C. |
0.3% |
4.10% |
Changes in home price for 20 major metro areas in the country,
including San Diego.
San Diego was one of two major metro areas in Tuesday's S&P/Case-Shiller
Home Price Index that closed 2010 with an annual gain -- reinforcing experts'
notions that the region and other parts of the state are rebounding better than
other U.S. areas from historic lows.
Home prices in the local region increased 1.7 percent in December from a year
ago, according to the 20-area index, a leading economic indicator calculated
monthly. Washington, D.C., the other area that posted a gain, saw a 4.1 percent
increase year-over-year. (The index has a two-month lag.)
San Diego was down 0.7 percent from November to December, wiping clean a
minor 0.1 percent increase from October to November. Before that, home prices in
San Diego fell three consecutive months.
"Unlike the 2006 to 2009 period when all cities saw prices move together, we
see some differing stories around the country," said David M. Blitzer, chairman
of the index committee at Standard & Poor's. "California is doing better
with gains from their low points in Los Angeles, San Diego and San
Francisco."
Home prices in San Diego have risen 10 percent since they hit bottom in April
2009, Case-Shiller figures show. Other large U.S. metro areas that have seen
substantial gains since their troughs were San Francisco, at 15 percent, and
Washington, D.C., at 12 percent.
Leonard Baron, a real-estate professor at San Diego State University, said
San Diego is likely faring better than most regions because it entered the
housing crisis earlier and it would make sense it's emerging sooner.
Other reasons San Diego may be doing better than most cities includes limited
housing inventory and higher-than-normal levels of cash buyers purchasing
properties, he said.
Areas in the Sun Belt -- Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix and Tampa -- fared the
worst. Those places dropped to new lows in December. Atlanta, Charlotte,
Portland OR and Seattle -- among the cities that were last to reach their peaks
-- also saw new lows.
On a national level, home prices fell 4.1 percent year-over-year.
"We ended 2010 with a weak report," Blitzer said. "...The National Index is
within a percentage point of the low it set in the first quarter of 2009.
Despite improvements in the overall economy, housing continues to drift lower
and weaker."
Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight, said nationwide
housing prices likely fell in December because of foreclosures and weak seasonal
demand.
His prediction: "Going forward, weak demand, foreclosures, and a glut of
homes for sale should translate into at least another five percent drop in the
Case-Shiller aggregate indices."
Lily Leung: (619)293-1719; lily.leung@uniontrib.com;
Twitter @LilyShumLeung
GREAT news for owners of homes in San Diego. If you've been thinking about buying, now is DEFINITELY the time with prices on the rise and low interest rates. Buy before the prices and iterest rates rise!!
Now may be the time to buy a home
A 1-percentage-point difference in interest rates could mean tens
of thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. Above, potential buyers at a
house in Eagle Rock. (Stefano
Paltera, For The Times / February 13, 2011)
|
Though housing prices may not have hit rock bottom, says one expert, people
who wait to find the market's bottom are likely to miss out on the current low
interest rates.
By
Kathy M. Kristof Personal Finance
February 13, 2011
If you're into bottom-fishing, now may
be the time to start trolling for real estate. At least that's the advice of
Michael Corbett, author of "Before You Buy: The Homebuyer's Handbook for Today's
Market." "I'm pretty comfortable saying that five years from now, people
are going to be saying, 'Damn, if I had just bought in 2011,' " said Corbett,
who is also host of the "Mansions & Millionaires" segment on the syndicated
TV show "Extra." "Prices are bumping along the bottom and interest rates
are really low," he said. "When you have those two together, you have the
perfect buying opportunity."
Housing prices may not have hit rock bottom, Corbett acknowledged. But
he thinks that people who wait to find the market's bottom are likely to miss
out on the current low interest rates. And rates can be every bit as
important to the cost of a deal as price. You might think you can snag a
great deal by lying in wait — hoping that the owner of a $500,000 listing will
get desperate enough to accept $450,000, for example. But if interest rates rise
1% during the time you wait, you'll end up shooting yourself in the
foot. Assuming you finance $400,000 of the purchase price of that home,
the 1-percentage-point difference between a 5% mortgage and a 6% mortgage will
cost you more than $90,000 over the life of a 30-year loan. "It's hard to
tell where the bottom of a market is, until prices start going up," said Diann
Patton, a consumer real estate specialist with Coldwell Banker Real Estate. "But
the stars are aligned for buyers right now." What's the best strategy for
bargain hunters? • Be wary of short sales. Many buyers think
they're going to get the best deals by rescuing underwater borrowers through a
short sale, Corbett said. In a short sale, a home is sold for less than what's
owed on the mortgage. But in order for the short sale to go through, the
lender holding the mortgage has to agree to the underwater price. Many are,
understandably, reluctant to do so. Realtors say that getting the existing
lender's approval adds another layer of complexity to an already complicated
transaction. In some cases, such deals can take months to
approve. "There's just no standard because every bank is different,"
Patton said. "I've seen short sales take anywhere from 30 days to eight or nine
months." Unless the existing lender has already said it's willing to
accept a short-sale price that works for you, Corbett suggested you skip short
sales entirely. Foreclosures are another story, Patton said. Lenders who
have seized a property are often more realistic about the value. In addition,
they often fix up the homes before they list them, she said. • Look
for what the real estate industry calls "battered histories." That usually
means one of three things: The home has been on the market for 90 days or more,
the seller has cut the price numerous times or the home has had other offers
that have fallen out of escrow. Any of those factors could mean that the
seller is getting anxious to get out and may be more willing to negotiate,
Corbett said. That does not mean, however, that a low-ball offer is in
order. "The last thing you want to do when a homeowner already feels
battered and beaten is insult them," he said. "If the house is appropriately
priced, never make an offer that's more than 10% below the asking price. That's
just insulting. The seller might not even counter back to you because they'd
rather that somebody else got it." • Get pre-qualified. If you're
going to need a loan to buy, make sure you've already discussed your finances
with a lender and are pre-qualified. When there are multiple offers, the
bidder who presents the most secure and attractive deal is the one who typically
gets the home. If you're the one buyer whose offer isn't contingent on
qualifying for a loan, you have a better chance.
More great press on why now is THE time to buy a home!!!
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Here's how my agents and staff greeted me this morning. AWESOME people to work with!
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