Investment Property Sales Plunge 30%

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Realtors reports that sales of vacation homes and investment properties slid 30 percent last year as tough economic conditions and tight lending requirements shut out buyers.

The Realtors group also said Monday that median sales prices of vacation and investment homes dropped 23 percent to $150,000 as problems in housing market stretched to the second home segment.

Home sales were down across the board in 2008. The Realtors group said sales of primary homes declined 13 percent to 3.77 million last year.

Conducted in March, the 2008 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey includes 1,924 responses

Home Prices See 6.3% Annual Decline For January

WASHINGTON – A government report says U.S. home prices fell 6.3 percent in January from the same month last year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says prices, on a seasonally adjusted basis, rose 1.7 percent from December to January.

Changes in the geographic mix of sales explained the unexpected monthly increase. Home sales included in January's data were weighted toward areas that haven't borne as much of the brunt of the housing recession, the agency says.

The government index is calculated using mortgage loans bought or guaranteed by federally controlled mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is down 9.6 percent from its peak in April 2007.

Mortgage Loan Modification Now Cheaper and Easier Thanks to ModificationSoft.com

Las Vegas (PRWEB) March 17, 2009 -- Homeowners wanting to reduce their mortgage payment and avoid foreclosure can now take advantage of a new mortgage loan modification service at www.ModificationSoft.com. The revolutionary portal provides homeowners with a simple and convenient way to create a loan modification proposal for their lender--all online without the hassle or expense of hiring an attorney.

Priced at $397 or $497, the new do-it-yourself mortgage loan modification service provides a cost-effective solution for homeowners who are struggling to meet their monthly mortgage payment. "It's much cheaper to purchase our mortgage loan modification service than to hire an attorney or third-party loan modification company--which can charge anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000," said Jeff Strum, managing partner of U.S. Loan Modification Services, LLC. "Plus, with ModificationSoft.com, homeowners are in control, and they don't have to worry about paying several thousand dollars to a third party only to discover they have been scammed."

Mortgage loan modification is a rapidly-increasing trend, as the nation's economic crisis pushes loan defaults to a record high. ModificationSoft.com represents a very timely and feasible solution for homeowners who are facing financial difficulties. "Loan modification can save a homeowner hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan by modifying to a lower interest rate, longer term or principal reduction," Strum said. "It can keep a homeowner from having his or her home foreclosed on."

Mortgage loan modification provides a better alternative than a traditional refinance. Refinancing typically requires a new closing, legal fees, survey, appraisal and taxes. Loan modification, however, is a restructured agreement between the borrower and mortgage lender with revised terms and interest rates. It immediately brings the existing loan up to date, giving the homeowner a fresh start to manage the mortgage note.

ModificationSoft.com is a unique resource because it provides everything homeowners need to create their own loan modification proposal. Here's how it works: Users create a password-protected account, follow the simple, step-by-step instructions to input their information and either upload, email or fax copies of their paycheck stubs, banking statements and other documents. ModificationSoft.com does the rest. It generates a customized loan modification proposal and securely sends it--along with the information and documents provided--to the lender. The system also helps create a hardship letter, updates financial information required by the lender, and provides confirmation that the lender has received the loan modification package.

U.S. Housing Starts See Unexpected Rebound In February

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly rebounded in February, according to data on Tuesday that provided a rare dose of good news for the recession-hit economy and fractured housing market.

The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped 22.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units from 477,000 units in January. That was the biggest percentage rise since January 1990 and also marked the first increase since last April.

"That is an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy. It is good signal of what is to come. With the rally in equities we hopefully have seen a bottom for the economy here," said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader at Tempus Consulting in Washington.

U.S. stocks have been on the rise over the last several days and the major indexes opened flat on Tuesday. U.S. government bond prices trimmed gains after the data and the U.S. dollar fell against the euro as risk aversion eased.

The data came as the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee was due to start a scheduled two-day meeting on Tuesday, It is expected to leave the target for its benchmark overnight funds rates unchanged at zero-0.25 percent.

But the statement at the end of the meeting on Wednesday will be scrutinized for clues on the central bank's readiness to start buying Treasuries to boost its efforts to jump-start an economy in recession since December 2007.

New building permits, which give a sense of future home construction, rose 3.0 percent to 547,000 units, from 531,000 units in January. That also marked the first advance in permits since April last year.

Compared to the same period in 2008, housing starts were down 47.3 percent in February and permits declined 44.2 percent. Completions rose 2.3 percent to a rate of 785,000 from January's 767,000.... read more