Weekly Economic Summary From The Cascade Team (October 24, 2012)

October 24, 2012

Last week in review (October 15 - 19, 2012)

Last week, several reports brought some surprising good news to the markets. Read on for details and what they mean for home loan rates.


Table source: Mortgage Success Source

There were two pieces of good news on the housing front, as housing starts increased 15% in September to their fastest pace in more than four years. Building permits, a sign of future construction, increased by more than 11%, also above expectations. These are both signs that the housing sector’s recovery is gaining some momentum. Also last week, retail sales and the Philadelphia Fed Index, which measures manufacturing in that region, were both reported better than expected. But there was some disappointing news…

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4 Insights Into the Mind of an App-Obsessed House Hunter

Remember that commercial that popularized the catchphrase “There’s an app for that?” Imagine what viewers would say if they saw it today.  “Duh,” one might say.  “There’s more like 20 apps for that,” another might quip.  Not only are there innumerable apps for all things shopping-, money-, and real estate-related, virtually everyone who is in a position to buy or sell a home also totes a smart phone around with them, all day, every day.

These two truths create a third: home buyers don’t just like to use apps here and there – they actually rely on them to conduct their daily lives. Get this: behavioral scientists have actually recognized the existence of a new psychological condition called “nomophobia,” the emotional panic and depression –the feeling…

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"Floppers" The Latest Real Estate Scam Exposed...

The latest mortgage fraud scam known as “flopping” has sellers who actually make their home look undesirable so that they can attract low offers from buyers. 

Here’s how it works: The seller is underwater on their mortgage and wants to get the lender to agree to a short sale. The seller, working with an accomplice, seeks to get a super low price to sell their home in the short sale by making bogus damage claims. Once they get the bank to agree to a short sale, the home is sold to an accomplice who then quickly cleans up the home and resells it for a profit. 

“Floppers,” as they’re known, average a…

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Free, Free, FREE Event at The Cascade Team Real Estate

Free Free FREE Event….

1)  Free on-line home value analysis

2)  Free Home Staging consultation: The Cascade Team provides all our sellers with a FREE home staging consultation with a professional stager so you can make that all important first impression to any would be home buyers viewing your home.

3)  Free in-home competitive market analysis. Sit down and talk with an agent and understand the comps, your current local market conditions and what banks are looking at when they evaluate your home.

4)  Search Homes Right Now: Use the search tool to browse the wide variety of single-family homes, condominiums, and all real estate for sale in your local Seattle or San Diego market.

5)  Free Use the Mortgage Calculator to figure out what your…

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Derogatory Credit Guidelines for Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Short Sale, More....

Derogatory credit and the time that needs to elapse since an event such as bankruptcy, short sale or foreclosure to complete new financing has been a common question.  In summary FNMA/FHLMC, FHA, VA & USDA's guidelines are listed below.

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(Halloween Real Estate Special) Zombie-proof architecture

When the dead start to walk you'd better start building

 by N.A. | BRUSSELS 

THE streets are full of lurching, brain-hungry zombies and humanity faces extinction. Should you run for your life or stand your ground? Luckily, bespectacled men and woman who stare at blueprints have already started thinking about it. Architects are designing zombie-proof housing for Zombie Safe House, a design competition, now in its third year. It was originally devised by a trio of designers at Architects Southwest, an architectural firm in Louisiana, as an informal platform for colleagues to showcase their creative talents in a “pragmatically unconstrained format”, says co-founder Shea Trahan. It now attracts hundreds of students, practicing architects,…

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(Halloween Update) Company Sells Post-Apocalypse Survival Shelters

By Melissa Knowles | Trending Now –

The world may end at the end of this year, or at least that is what a number of people are fearing because of the ancient Mayan calendar that does not go beyond December 21, 2012. Some people even fear that the end of the world could come in the form of a zombie apocalypse. If you're a doomsdayer or know someone who is, a California-based company has a new solution for you.

[Related: Mayas prophesized, but not end of world]

Atlas Survival Shelters, whose slogan is "Better prepared than scared," offers survival chambers made out of 32x10-foot metal tubes. The chambers are designed to be installed 20 feet underground, far away from the possible crumbling of the world above. The survival chambers would be…

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Welcome to The Cascade Team Laurie Tarantola

We are very happy to welcome to The Cascade Team Laurie Tarantola, Laurie is a referral from Stan Chang and comes to us from Keller Williams. She has over 20 years of experience in buying and selling real estate. For the past few years, Laurie has focused on investment properties, but will now be including her personal love of horses and also focus on equestrian properties.

Laurie's contact information is:

• Cell Phone 425-246-8633
• Fax 425-996-9520
• Email tarantola@comcast.net
• Website http://ltarantola.com/

Certified Investment Analyst (CIA). Buying and selling Real Estate in King County for 20 years I know how to help you!

President

Turnkey Properties, Inc.

January 1990– Present(22 years 10 months)

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Why Banks/Lenders Prefer Doing Short Sales

Bank/lenders created the Short Sale process as an alternative to foreclosure and or bankruptcy. Your bank/lender will generally collect more of what is owed to them by doing a Short Sale instead of a foreclosure and or bankruptcy. Bank/lenders spend a great deal of time and money with attorneys to complete the foreclosure and or bankruptcy process.

A short sale is typically executed to prevent a home from going to the foreclosure auction, but the decision to proceed with a short sale is predicated on the most economic way for the bank to recover the amount owed on the property. Often a bank will allow a short sale if they believe it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing, as there are carrying costs associated with a foreclosure. A…

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Weekly Economic Summary From The Cascade Team (October 17, 2012)

October 17, 2012

Last week in review (October 8 - 12, 2012)

Last week, several reports brought some surprising good news to the markets. Read on for details and what they mean for home loan rates.


Table source: Mortgage Success Source

There was good news on the labor front as last week’s Initial Jobless Claims fell to 339,000, the lowest level in four years.  This news came on the heels of a surprising drop in the unemployment rate to 7.8% in September. This is encouraging news and could ease fears of slowing growth.

Also encouraging was the news from RealtyTrac that foreclosure activity declined to a five-year low in September, falling 7% from August and 16% from the same period last year. Housing has already improved substantially in certain…

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