Since the collapse of the subprime mortgage bubble, which assisted the financial turmoil, the American property market has suffered substantially. However, as political activity in the nation’s capital is as strong as ever, so is the DC area’s real estate market, in sharp contrast to the rest of the country, and in fact, a great deal of the world.

In the Washington DC metropolitan area, which includes the surrounding states of Virginia and Maryland, sales activity, property investor competition and home prices have continued to grow since the area’s real estate nadir in 2010, with a decrease in inventory and rise in sales not seen since the housing market’s apex in 2005/2006. This has led prices to return to their former levels, and in some cases exceed them.

Home prices in Virginia hit their lowest recent levels in 2008, as the market was rife with economic turmoil, while those in Maryland saw their ebb as recently as last year. Aside from this, the previous three years have seen Virginia’s prices improve, hot on the heels of buyer competition.

Virginia’s Fairfax County offers some of America’s most luxurious and convenient locations and it lies nearby to US government institutions such as the Central Intelligence Agency and mere miles from the Capitol. The situation is aided by government jobs remaining in high supply and demand. Maryland, the state which hosts the large city of Baltimore, saw prices rise in Montgomery and Howard counties.

The American economy continues to suffer, as the country attempts to deal with its debt and deficit problems. Nonetheless, prospects for property investment in the US are beginning to look better. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate, the most popular choice for homebuyers, dropped to 4.45% from 4.57% last week as the Congress and President Obama forged a default-avoiding debt deal, thus driving up mortgage applications, both for purchases and refinancing, to 7% higher than the week previous.

Pauline Felward has written about property in America and Brazil for the past two years. She is familiar with the overseas property market and is even an overseas property investor herself.

Summer is usually the best time of year for Boise real estate and this year is definitely no exception. Although Boise homes have been losing value every month since July 2006, we are seeing signs that we are nearing the bottom of the real estate market. National news-particularly relating to the Dodd-Frank bill and the debt negotiations-may change the course of current trends, but barring that, there is a lot to be positive about.

First, the July 2011 Boise real estate market is up 51% vs. July 2010 market. (That is a little misleading because July 2010 was the first month that the first time homebuyer tax credit ended.) That said, Boise home sales in July 2011 are up from July 2008, 2009, and 2010. Likewise, pending Boise home sales are up 38% from a year ago.

Distressed home sales in Boise continue to fall. (Distressed sales are either short sales-the lender accepts less than owed-or REO sales-repossessed homes.) In February, short sales represented 23% of all Boise home sales. In July 2011, short sales dropped to 16% of total. REO sales are 22% of total home sales in Boise (down from a high of 40% in December 2010). This is as low as we’ve been in the past 20 months.

The median price of an existing Boise home (no new construction) is $143,000. Although we are still off last year’s mark by -11%, this does represent a 3% increase from June 2011. Boise’s lowest median value since the real estate bubble burst was $126,500 (in January 2011). Did we hit bottom? Can’t tell until January 2012. Boise real estate values drop every winter.

The Boise home affordability index remains near a record low-meaning Boise homes are as affordable as they’ve been in a long time. In January 2005, it took 19% of a median income to buy a median resale home in Boise. In June of 2006, that hit a record high of 30%. Boise residents spent nearly a third of their gross income on a house payment. Since that time, affordability has dropped to 12%. It now sits at 13%.

The top story in Boise real estate is definitely home inventory. Overall real estate inventory is down 3% from last month and down an amazing 33% from this time last year. In July 2010, there were 3124 resale Boise homes available. This year, there are only 1901 Boise homes available–a 39% decrease. It was 2005 since homes available for sale in Boise were that low. New construction homes in Boise also continue to get bought up-inventory has fallen 43 of the past 58 months.

Another indication that we may be nearing the bottom of the Boise real estate market is that sales discounts have dropped. The average sales discount for a Boise home is 2.7%. In 2009, the average discount was near 9%.

This report summarizes a few of the trends Boise researchers have been tracking for the past several years. Most benchmarks seem to indicate we are at or near the bottom. In some cases-particularly Boise home inventory levels-it seems we are transforming form a buyer’s market to a legitimate seller’s market and that’s something we haven’t seen for nearly six years. Time will tell, but with prices still low and interest rates near record lows, it may be time to make a move before the unbelievable buying opportunity ends.

In the market for affordable Boise homes? Visit our site for complete details about the benefits of hiring a Boise real estate agent to help you find your dream home.

Part of what makes Phoenix short sales so eccentric, chancy and frustrating is the, regularly seen, lack or organisation and cooperating between the banks themselves and within the organization. Some of this plays out in the open, reported on by media outlets, but much of it really is internal.

Each one of these institution is made of folks who have different abilities and alternative ways to go about this: this regardless of common rules and steps they need to take to finish a short sale. Often the play nice and sometimes not. Frequently you won't know how a short sale will go until your in it.

We lately had a short sale which took 6 month to get the approval and another which took 1 month, both from the same bank and both owned the first and the second. If it's this complicated and unforeseeable with the same lender then imagine how it is if there are several banks for the first and second and doubtless third loan.

There are a couple of things you'll find out and knowing them can help you decide if you want to move forward with a purchase on a selected house of push on.

Here are 7 things you really should know.

7 Points to Ask About the Banks Who Hold The Mortgage

1. Who are the banks? Some are more easy to deal with then others. They each have their earned reputes.
2. How many banks/lien holders are there? If there is one then it’s 1 or 2 less to address and seek approval from. Even if it’s one bank who has got the first and second, it’s really 2 as of those mortgages can be owned by different stockholders although one bank is handling the servicing.
3. Are any of the loans portfolio loans or are they just servicing the loan.
4. In the most recent quarter or 2 how have the banks handled business? Has anything changes or are they in the middle of any changes like being sold or pushing through a new system.
5. Do the banks have any business policies? What's their short sale procedure. They have it and if you get it you can hold them responsible to their own process and time-lines.
6. How experienced is the listing agent have they worked with any of the lenders involved?
7. Has your agent worked with the listing agent before and have they worked with these bank before?

Knowing answers to these questions and researching them with your agent will assist you in deciding if a particular property is even worth chasing.

inPhoenix Realty Group is a grouping of Realtor providing Phoenix real estate services in the Phoenix home market and access to phoenix houses lists with an innovative full encompasing homes search, including short sale buying and selling guidance.

While a true real estate recovery may not have arrived yet, Boise starter homes (under $150,000) are becoming hard to buy. Many Boise real estate listings in this range end up selling for more than initial list price.

Since 2005, I have remained one of Boise’s busiest buyer reps. The last four months have been the hardest that any of buyers have endured since the national real estate market began dropping in 2006.

Of my past seven buyers, five had to fend off competing bids. Most Boise real estate agents will prolong the negotiations with a multiple bid request when two or more potential homebuyers put in an offer within the same day or two. Buyers are required to submit their “highest and best” and then wait to see if their best beat everyone else’s best. At this point, you can virtually guarantee the home sells above list price.

In one case, my buyer ended up being one of 13 bids. (With a bit of strategy and a lot of luck, we won that bid-beating out the next bidder by only $300.) In another case, the winning home buyer ended up paying $16,000 above list price (while still paying under $100,000.

In short: If you’re expecting to buy a Boise home for under $150,000, plan on a real estate bidding war. While that’s not good news, it’s better to know what to expect than to be surprised when it happens. I see the same thing with my listings. Two of my last three homes sold at or above full price and were under contract within two days. Things are improving’-at least at for Boise starter homes.

Why now? What has happened to put home sellers in the driver’s seat and pit home buyers against each other like gladiators. Three things in the Boise real estate market (that are actually also true across the country) 1. Interest rates are at historic lows. 2. Summer-at least in the Boise real estate market-is always a seller’s market because families want to get settled before school starts. 3. The Boise market is so full of short sales and foreclosures, that the entire market has settled on “distressed” home prices.

What do you do if you are a buyer? First keep a sharp eye out. There are many ways to find houses online. Secondly, be prepared to think fast. At this point, you wont have the luxury of taking a few weeks to make a decision.

Todd McCauley is an owner/agent of Eagle Rock Properties, a brokerage servicing the Boise real estate market. He has been a top producer for several consecutive years and, in addition to closing hundreds of traditional real estate transactions, he is very experienced with rent to own and lease purchase contracts.

In the market for affordable Boise homes? Check out our website for complete details about the benefits of hiring a Boise real estate agent to help you find your dream home.

Although Boise home sales are down 6% vs. June 2010, sales are actually up 6% over last month (May 2011). Remember that last year during March, April, and May first-time Boise home buyers, as well as buyers across the nation, were receiving Federal tax credits. The best year to year comparisons will come near the end of the year when last year’s tax credit won’t be a factor.

For the past 18 months, distressed home sales have greatly impacted the Boise real estate market. In June, short sales made up 15% of the total sales and REOs (bank owned properties) accounted for 29%. In total, 44% of all Boise home sales were distressed. The impact on the overall real estate market is immense. Because almost half of all home sales are distressed, prices continue to drop. The good news is that the percentage of distressed homes is actually dropping. In December 2010, distressed sales accounted for 61% of total Boise real estate market. Incidentally, only 16% of Boise short sales are successful.

Six years ago, a Boise real estate researcher created and began tracking an affordability Index. At that time it was 19%– meaning that it took 19% of a median Boise income to buy a median priced resale home. By June of 2006, that number had risen to 30%, indicating that homes were substantially more expensive. Now that index is at 13%.

The median cost of a Boise home is $150,000 this month. This is 5% up from last month. Interestingly, the median cost of a new construction home sold is nearly $240,000, indicating that most of the new construction is higher end housing. At this point, comparatively few first time buyers are choosing new construction options.

When looking exclusively at resale homes in the Boise market, the median priced home is $138,500, a 2% increase from last month. The record low was in January 2011 when the median resale price dropped to $126,500. Will that be the bottom? It appears to be so, barring another major jolt to the Boise real estate market.

Prices will rise only when home inventory levels are depleted enough to upset the supply / demand balance. Real estate inventory is falling-indicating that we are potentially on the way to a market recovery. In June of 2011, housing inventory was 32% lower than June 2010. Resale inventory is down even further. In June 2011, there were 1,970 available homes vs. 3,129 available homes a year ago. That’s a whopping 37% drop in only 12 months.

Why the big drop-off in available homes? In this market, most potential sellers won’t sell unless they absolutely have to. As a result, as buyers purchase the available short sales and REOs, inventory levels shrink. Eventually, buyers will bid Boise home prices up in an effort to obtain the relatively scarce resources. At that point, sellers will return to the market.

Price discounts in Boise home sales are of interest to both homebuyers and sellers. A discount is simply the difference between the final sales price and the home’s asking price. The average discount was about 2.3% in June 2011–about where we were twelve months ago. A low discount rate does indicate higher home prices. It just shows that Boise home buyer and sellers are agreeing more readily on where fair market real estate values lie.

In the market for fabulous Boise homes? Visit our website for complete details about the benefits of hiring a Boise real estate agent to help you find your dream home.

Buying a foreclosed home can save you money, but it’s important to know what you are getting into. There are a few differences when buying a foreclosed home instead of a regular sale. We will highlight some of those differences here.

Usually when you want to buy a home, you first find the home you want, and then you look for financing. When buying a foreclosed home, you need to be pre-approved for financing first, before you find the home. Once you find the home you want, there is little room for price negotiations on a foreclosed home.

You may have to look at a lot of houses before getting one you want. It can be a bit of a grind, as you may have to submit several offers before one is accepted. If things do work out though, you can save a lot of money, which makes it all worthwhile.

There are several things you need to do at pretty much the same time. You need to find a real estate broker who works with banks that own foreclosed homes. You also need to get pre-approved from a lender. You need to study the sales prices of comparable homes in the area you hope to buy in, so you have a good idea of the home’s value.

You can visit websites containing a database of foreclosed homes. A local real estate website might let you filter results to show only foreclosed homes. When you find the acronym REO, it stands for real estate owned, which means it is owned by a bank.

When looking though these lists, you are looking for an agent, not for a particular house at this point. Banks generally only hire one or two real estate brokers to handle their REO properties, so you want to find out who the agent is you need to contact. By using one real estate agent, the commission doesn’t have to be split between two brokers.

Brokers working with banks can know of listings that aren’t yet out. When you talk to them, remember to ask them about listings that may be coming up shortly. So they know you are serious about buying, after meeting with the agent, meet with your lender as well to obtain a pre-approval letter. Really good deals go fast, so you want to be prepared to move quickly with financing when the house you want is available.

Don’t plan on having the bank selling the house be the one to finance your new mortgage. This is a totally separate transaction. Look around for the best mortgage rate you can get and arrange financing on your own.

Base your offer on recent sales of comparable properties and write an offer based on that. Remember that foreclosed homes are sold as is, so check out the house to see what condition it is in first. Unless the home has been sitting on the market forever, it will probably have several people interested in it, so it is best to come in with the best offer you can give. The good side is that the home is most likely vacant, so you can move in right away once things are finalized.

In the market for affordable Boise homes? Visit our website for complete details about the benefits of hiring a Boise real estate broker to help you find your dream home.

Do you know how many people out there are so excited about buying a home that they don’t even bother to take a very close look at it? I am surprised to see how many people actually do this. Another thing that is pretty shocking is that inspectors will often miss little things here and there which only makes matters worse. What you need to understand is that you have to scan a potential home before you buy it in order to ensure that you are spending money on an asset and not a liability.

What you need to understand is that there are sellers out there that will cover things up in order to make the house look better and that is why you need to check it out thoroughly. Something that I would suggest that you do when looking at a house is that you lift up picture frames, move furniture around, and even pull up big rugs to see what is underneath them. When it comes to selling a house some people will do anything and that is why you need to protect the money you will be spending and check every inch of the house you are potentially going to buy.

If you really want to know whether there are things that are wrong with the house then you should ask the seller or the real estate agent, most of the time they will tell you what you need to know but then there are some people that just want to get the sale. Just know that sellers are obligated to tell you if there is something wrong with the home, it is the law yet some people still try to conceal things from you.

Advice On Purchasing A Home

Get it inspected - The very first thing you should have done is get the home inspected and make sure you are there with the inspector when they do it. What most people don’t realize is that inspectors will sometimes miss something but if you are there to ask questions and point out some of your worry spots then they should give a very thorough inspection.

Never rush - When people make the worse decisions in life it is always because they rush, don’t rush. When you are spending over a hundred thousand dollars you really want to be thorough and that is why you need to take your time and make sure your decision to buy the home is the right decision.

The last thing you need to understand is that buying a home does not have to be stressful, take friends, family, and others with you to view the home so that they can give their input as well. Just remember that buying a home is supposed to be fun, so make it fun.

When it comes to finding cheap properties then one of the things you must understand is that you have to get out there and see what kind of real estate is available. What most people don’t realize is that you need to understand what some of the strategies for real estate actually are.

Incomplete developments and subdivisions, as well as vacant properties, are visible all over the landscape. The growth of distressed properties has increased rapidly in the past three years, due to foreclosures, declines in property value, and the large number of homes for sale. Any reasonable real estate market analysis should consider the option of purchasing distressed properties, for the potential investment value they could provide.

Many parties in today’s market are looking to unload distressed property. Many financial institutions are unable to respond to the sheer number of foreclosed properties, which are reverting to their books. Also, developers and investors are looking for deals to either sell troubled assets, or to complete unfinished developments, with the highest possible return on investment.

When considering distressed property, buyers have to find diamonds among the rocks. Many distressed properties are low or moderate income housing, which will bring a low sale price, poor tenants, or high repair costs. Buyers should take care to know the location of their property, and should beware of comparing distressed properties in poor areas to distressed property in flourishing areas. As in all real estate, the location of the property is the number one consideration, when determining property value.

Investors may choose to buy short sales. Short sales are properties, which are being sold for less than the mortgage balance, by homeowners looking to avoid foreclosure. Purchasing these properties provides an advantage for the buyer, who receives a property for less than its value. Purchasing short sales also benefits the seller, who avoids a major hit to his or her credit score, and the bank, which does not have to carry distressed properties on its books.

Foreclosures require some skill and probably an attorney. These properties may be found in a variety of conditions, and may not come with a clear title. Buyers should always check out the neighborhood, to ensure that property value will rise, and should evaluate whether they have the skills, and the cash, to bring the property to livable condition.

Banks are also looking to unload REOs. REOs, or real estate owned properties, have already been through the auction process, and have failed to sell. The advantage to REOs is that the lender is the primary lien-holder. All other liens are wiped away during the auction process, so the property will come with a clear title.

Investors may also consider non-performing notes. Purchasing a non-performing note means purchasing a mortgage that is in arrears. If the property is in good condition, in a good location, then these notes may represent great value, since banks usually sell them at a discount. After purchasing the note, investors may choose to work with homeowners, offering mortgage balance reductions, or modified payments. If not, investors may start the collections process, or initiate foreclosure.

Purchasing distressed properties often becomes a complicated process, and investors should always consult a real estate attorney as part of the purchasing process. However, with the amount of money to be made from these properties, investors should always make them part of a real estate market analysis. The investor’s challenge is to ensure that properties are valuable, and in a good location, before choosing to buy.

In the market for fabulous Boise homes? Check out our website for details about the advantages of hiring a Boise real estate agent to help you find your dream home.

Global real estate firm CB Richard Ellis has called for Thailand to ease the stringent requirements it demands for foreign property investment in order to stimulate growth in the Thai economy. They believe that the development of improved foreign ownership legislation in the country would have a substantial effect on the performance of the economy.

This is a time of delicate global economic recovery, and CB Richard Ellis’ report highlights a conviction that the incremental income that international investment in the Thai property market would provide could not be ignored. If handled appropriately, these changes could have a significant impact on the wider Thai economy, without adversely affecting social and economic conditions.

The popular property markets in this region are those such as the completely liberal market of Hong Kong, and the Singapore property market which has substantially reduced restrictions on foreign ownership. In western markets like the one in the UK, foreign owners are favoured over domestic buyers particularly with regard to tax.

Encouraging more leniency for Thai banks to lend to foreign buyers against the security of Thai property would have significant rewards as current inbound investments are on a 100% cash basis. Residential developers, resort developers, construction contractors, and the Thai banking system would all gain the benefits.

If sensible checks and balances were in place to limit the level of debt, and banks charged foreigners a premium over Thai borrowers, probably somewhere in the region of 1-2%, CB Richard Ellis believe that overseas property investors would hurry to take up onshore loans. They also consider that foreign investors would also accept more stringent controls on repossession in the event of a default.

The current rules, which specify that there can be no more than 49% foreign ownership in any registered condominium were set up to avoid foreign control of landed property. If the ownership ratio was enlarged to equal market demand, there would undeniably be a major uplift in foreign investment.

Pauline Felward has written about Thai property and Singapore property for the past two years. She is familiar with the overseas property market and is even an overseas property investor herself.

Anyone you ask will admit that most of the time property is the safest investment that a person can make. It used to be a universal truth that every investor acknowledged, but in the last few years, since the massive crash in the property market, this has ceased to be true. The knock-on effect of the global economy crash has been a drastically decreased amount of capital available to invest in property markets, as well as a severe reduction in property values. This is likely to be felt for an extended period, causing gains to be deferred and further decreasing the amount of investment in property markets throughout the world.

However, there are some property markets that are already showing signs of recovery, which can provide those who are prepared to invest with medium or long term returns.

Spain: A historically strong property market, Spain saw extremely inflated property values, particularly in popular areas of the country such as around the coast. The deflation in values after the global economic crisis is already starting to be reversed. Spanish property around city areas such as Barcelona areas suffered less than outlying and seasonal areas and is therefore showing a faster resurgence.

Brazil: Not a traditional property investment market, Brazil is gaining ground on previously established property markets as its ties to major economic powers grow. These ties show the improvement that many economic specialists anticipate seeing in Brazil’s economy, which will encourage greater investment in the country. This investment will include investment in Brazilian property as the South American region becomes more attractive for investors in the light of the effect of the Arab Spring on property markets in that region.

Australia: It is a property market which spans the gap between the established with low risk and potentially low returns, and higher risks and medium term returns. Australia is already improving its profile as a property market in a stable region that can provide long term increases in property values which had been overblown prior to the economic crisis. However, the values have been depressed somewhat since the crisis, but property in Australia is already attracting visitors due to the stability of the region. The improving economic state of nearby countries is also helping to make Australia a ready target for investment.

Pauline Felward has written about the Australian property market and Spanish property for the past two years. She is familiar with the overseas property market and is even has overseas property investments herself.