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According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the number of people who purchased a vacation or investment home fell by 30 percent last year.   And, more than 40 percent of those who did purchase a second home paid cash.

“We expected vacation home sales to fall given the impact of a declining economy”, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR.  “A steady share of investment-home sales results from buyers taking advantage of deeply discounted prices in many areas, with a smaller portion of new homes in the sales mix”, state Yun.

Vacation and second home sales mirrored the sales for primary residences in terms of price declines.  The median price of a vacation home dropped to $150,000 in 2008, down from $195,000 (or, 23 percent) from 2007 levels.

Other Findings from the March Survey are:

• Who was the “Average Buyer” of Vacation Property in 2008?  The average age of a vacation home buyer was 46 years old.  They purchased a property that was generally 316 miles from their primary residence.  Their median household income was $97,200.
• Who was the “Average Investment Home Buyer in 2008?  The average age of an investment buyer was 47.  They earned a median income of about $85,000 and purchased investment property nearby their primary residence.  The median distance for an investment purchase was 19 miles from their home.
• What type of Property was purchased for a Vacation Home?  70 percent were detached, single family residences; 18 percent were condo’s; 5 percent town or row houses; 7 percent other.
• Types of Property Purchased for Investment:  64 percent were detached single family homes; 22 percent condos; 8 percent town or row houses; 6 percent other.
• Where did Vacation Home Buyers Shop?  26 percent bought in small towns; 23 percent rural areas; 23 percent resorts; 20 percent suburbs; 8 percent cities or urban areas.
• Where did Investment Buyers Shop?  28 percent purchased in the suburbs; 20 percent in a city or urban area; 23 percent rural area; 8 percent in a small town; 6 percent in resort areas.

Hopefully, the survey results will help home sellers picture who the likely buyer of their vacation or investment property may be.  Picturing who the customer is likely to be is important when target marketing to their needs.

Please visit InfoTube.net to place a FREE property listing, or search our database for thousands of great deals on homes of all types.   Thanks for visiting and let us know if you have any questions or comments in the space below.

According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, 32 percent (1/3 of all buyers) of home buyers first saw the home they purchased on the internet.   Buyer’s who found their home through a real estate agent dropped 14 percentage points to 34 percent, during the same time period.

Despite the slowdown in the housing market, buyers and sellers have increased their use of the internet when buying or selling a home.  “The internet is a very important tool in today’s real estate market”, said Tommi Crow, CEO of Crow Erickson, Inc., the company that manufactures the InfoTubes and InfoBoxes found on real estate signs from coast-to-coast.  “Home sellers know that they can use the power of the internet to reach millions of home shoppers as effectively as a real estate agent would”, said Crow, and, they can save themselves thousands of dollars in the process”, said Ms Crow.  “Americans are successfully buying and selling real estate without using agents, and that trend continues to grow”.

Home seller’s who want to maximize their online exposure use InfoTube.net, combined with the services of Why 6 Percent.  The combination of the two marketing programs provide home seller’s with a home listing on their local MLS, Realtor.com, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, Infotube, Homes for Sale Live and other major web portals, which attract millions of home buyers each month.

* Source: National Association of Realtors

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net.   Sellers can place a Free Home Listing on InfoTube.net, which advertises their property listings to tens of thousands of home buyers each month.

Mega real estate website, Realtor.com (owned by Move Inc), released survey results which showed that 54 percent of the people planning to purchase a home this year are first-time home buyers.  This is good news for home sellers because first-time buyers do not have another property they have to sell.  

In a press release statement, Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move, Inc had more encouraging news. “It’s not all doom and gloom” said Berkowitz.  “We found Americans are optimistic about homeownership despite concerns.”  He blamed the surge in first time buyer interest on the housing crash…”has created significant demand for homeownership especially among first-time buyers,” Berkowitz continued.

Home seller’s, builders and real estate agents can use this information to their advantage when marketing property.   For example, half (50%) of the first time buyer’s polled had not heard about the $8000 tax credit, so be sure to make them aware of it.  Every little bit of information helps, as most first timers are scared about timing.

Some more interesting facts about marketing to First-Time Buyer is:

• Most prefer more space, or more house for the dollar, over all other amenities.  Be sure to price your home to be the best house for the money.
• Other options that appeal to first time homeowners are energy saving features, such as energy star appliances, insulation, home improvements and upgrades; a bigger yard or outdoor entertaining area; updated amenities.   Emphasize the features in your home that address these popular “wish list” items.
• A better location was also on the wish list for first timers.  If your property is located in a convenient, safe and social area of the city, be sure to let them know what is nearby.   You may want to visit walkscore.com and post your walkscore rating on your advertising.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net home for sale website.  Sellers can place a free property listing on the site.   The site is loaded with freebies, advise and helpful features.   At InfoTube.net, Buyers can search the for fantastic deals and seller’s can do homework on the competition.

If you are selling a home and would like to advertise on the MLS and Realtor.com, click HERE. Our special “by owner” program places your property listing on all major real estate websites for a $399 one time fee. Why Pay 6 Percent?

Sales of existing homes rose to their highest levels since 2003.   Watch the short video from CNBC for a synopsis of the latest housing numbers from across the nation.

People who are gainfully employed, with solid credit, and have a down payment can buy a lot more house these days, thanks to record low interest rates and home prices.

The average interest rate for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.79 percent on Wednesday, after the Fed announced that it would begin buying up bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

The real estate market has recently seen a pick up in activity due to the $8000 tax credit for first-time buyers. And, the huge drop in lending rates yesterday, put a huge layer of icing on the cake for home seller’s. When people, who can qualify for a loan to buy a home, see the combination of tax incentives, low interest rates and dramatic price drops, the ones that are sitting on the fence, jump in and buy. Urgency to buy and refinance is also important when rates fall this low, as often the drop is temporary, as it was in January 2009.

The convergence of ecomonic stimulus does benefit some Americans more than others, however. People who do not have a down payment or good credit are less likely to benefit from the postive news, as are the 14 million Americans who are upside down (owe more on their home than it is worth) or face foreclosure. More than 13,000 struggling homeowner’s are calling the Homeownership Perservation Foundation each day. The hotline for help number is 1-888-995-HOPE.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube. net homes for sale website. Spring is here. Rates are Low. House Prices are Fantastic. Tax Incentives Abound. Buyers, Get off the Fence and Lock in the Deal of Your Lifetime. The fact is you have to live somewhere, and if renting was so great, ask yourself why your landlord owns??

While I am sure that all Americans appreciate the efforts being made in Washington to save us from ourselves… they have again overlooked a simple requirement for loan modifications which could cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

Much like the “overlooked” loopholes that allowed bonus payments, in excess of $160 million, to be paid to employee’s of Goldman Sach’s and AIG, the Obama loan modification program sets up the same windfall profit situation, without regulation, for the financial institutions who modify loans.

Under the guidelines for the loan modification program, lenders are being offered taxpayer incentives (money) to modify loans.   These cash incentives provide a huge Boom to the mortgage lending business, but unfortunately for taxpayers, some crucial regulations are missing.  Does this sound familiar?

One immediate loophole that needs to be closed is the issue of how the borrower will qualify for their new, reduced loan.   The Obama plan gives lenders incentives (ie: taxpayer money) to bring a borrower’s monthly payments down to 31 percent of their gross income.  However, the plan totally ignores the amount of other debt that the borrower can have. 

Why is a borrower’s debt important?  If a homeowner has excessive credit cards, car notes, college loans or other debt, with substantial monthly payments, they may not be able to afford even 31 percent of their income for a modified mortgage payment.   Under the present program guidelines, lender’s would be still be paid to modify a loans for borrower’s who would not qualify for a loan, if their debt was considered.

In order for the Obama housing plan to work, changes must be made.  If not, taxpayers should expect another fiasco, like the ones we a discovered after AIG, Goldman Sachs and the automakers used their taxpayer bailout money for bonuses, trips, jets and office remodeling.

To date, over 50 percent of all modified loans have fallen back into default and the foreclosed homes are showing up on the market.   Before the taxpayer’s pay out billions of dollars to unregulated lenders, as an “incentive” to modify loans to keep people in their homes, let’s make darn sure the borrower doesn’t have so much debt that they can’t repay their loan, again.   After all, how much debt a borrower has is a standard measure used to qualify for a typical loan.  Why is the borrower’s debt ratio being overlooked, when taxpayer’s are on the hook?

If you agree, write to your congressional representative.  There is still time to “modify” our guidelines for lenders.  Hopefully, with a little public outcry, this loophole will be eliminated before we hear that billions have been paid for modified loans that fall back into default in record time.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net, a FREE home listing website for everyone.   Please feel free to search our database for thousand’s of great deals on real estate.

The History of the Holiday

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of irish bacon and cabbage.

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Today, cities around the world turn green and join together to celebrate St. Patty’s Day.   Check out the photoslide show from National Geographic for some fun unusual celebrations from around the world.

Happy Saint Patrick’s day from InfoTube.net homes for sale website.

Dear Home Owner, Home Buyer and InfoTube customer:

If you had to find one single group of people to blame for our economic crisis, you’d definitely have to consider the financial products division of AIG.

They made huge, bad bets on the housing market that have cost taxpayers $170 billion…so far.¹

But get this: The Washington Post just reported that these people are receiving $450 million in bonuses—and they got their first installment on Sunday.² They destroyed our economy, and now they’re being rewarded for it with our bailout money!

President Obama has instructed Treasury Secretary Geithner to use “every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.” But AIG isn’t budging—they claim that even after hundreds of billions of dollars and a direct request from the President, their “hands are tied.”

We need to turn up the heat.

Tomorrow, AIG’s executives are appearing before a House subcommittee, and we’ve got a chance to give them a piece of our minds.

Can you sign our petition and submit a question for the heads of AIG? Or better yet, an idea for how we should get our money back? If you do before 5 p.m. ET today, we’ll make sure it gets to the committee in time for tomorrow’s hearing.

Click HERE to add your name and submit your comment.   Thank you for participating.  It is our money!!!!

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale website. Please feel free to search our database for thousands of great deals on homes for sale and rent.

Tax Perks of Homeownership

1. 100 percent of the mortgage interest you pay is tax deductible, which can add thousands of dollars to your bottom line each year.   Click Here to FIND OUT HOW MUCH YOU CAN DEDUCT, if you own a home.
2. Property taxes (real estate taxes) paid to state and local governments are 100 percent deductible on your federal income tax return.
3. Up to $500,000 ($250,000 for singles) in profit is tax free when you sell your home.

2009 Housing Stimulus Increases Tax Savings of Ownership

1. Deduct $8000 from Your Tax Bill.   To qualify for the $8000 tax savings you must be a first-time (have not owned in the last 3 years)homebuyer earning less than $150,000 (married, filing jointly) per year.  You must live in the home for 3 years after purchase.
2. Go Green and Take a $1500 Tax Credit.   The requirements for energy tax credits have eased.  Take advantage of a $1500 Tax Credit for home improvements such as energy-efficient windows, doors, insulation, appliances and mechanical systems.  
3. Save 30 percent on Alternative Energy for your Home.   Earn a 30 percent tax credit for each dollar spent on things like solar heating, heat pumps or fuel cells.
4. Save up to $2 million on foreclosures and short sales.   Taxpayers get a free pass on mortgage debt forgiveness until 2012.   Filers can exclude up to $2 million in forgiven mortgage debt, where the home sold for less than the amount owed on the loan.

Owning a home certainly has its privileges, both emotional and financial.  And, real estate is still the granddaddy of tax deductions.   Buy a home and save thousands of dollars, or rent and pay thousands to Uncle Sam.   If in doubt, ask your landlord why they own???

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale website.   Place a Free Property Listing or Search our Database for Thousands of Homes for Sale.  

 Homegain recently polled Realtors from across the country to learn what buyer’s and seller’s think about home pricing.  The results are shown below.

To see the survey questions with more data and information CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale website.   Feel free to place a free property for sale or lease listing or Search our database of thousands of homes for sale or lease by owner.

One of the largest obstacles that for sale by owner’s face is a lack of exposure for their home listing.   Whether you have an MLS listing or not, Video is one solution that costs nothing (ie: FREE and Easy to do) and greatly increases web presence.

If you don’t think that video can help you sell your property, just take a look and see what the numbers for January 2009 tell you.

• 14.8 Billion (yes, Billion) video’s were viewed in January 2009.
• 147 Million (yes, Million) people watched internet video’s during the month.

If you didn’t think you need video before, these numbers should change your mind.  And, I am not just talking about home virtual tours.  Virtual tours or 360 room views are fine, but they are just the tip of the iceberg.  Homeseller’s can add a lot of variety to their video’s and increase user interest dramatically.    Video tours are fantastic for area’s such as:

• Subdivision and neighborhood drive thru’s.
• Parks, greenbelts and nearby outdoor recreation area’s.
• Shopping Centers that are conveniently located near the property.
• Schools that serve the area.
• Churches or government centers such as libraries and public transportation systems.
• Museums and cultural sites of interest.

All of these local highlight area’s are of high interest to someone looking for a home to buy.  The internet is a world wide web, so seller’s can’t assume that their buyer will be familiar with their town or city.  Make a lasting impression and use video to show buyer’s what your location has to offer.

InfoTube.net automatically uploads all home video’s to Google and Youtube, the number one search engine for video.   You may not know that Google also searches video descriptive text, so your home listing will show up, even if the word “video” isn’t mentioned in the search term or keyword.

If you don’t use video to assist you in marketing your home, you are falling behind your competition every single day.   But, thankfully spring is coming and it’s not too late!!   Grab your digital camera and give the world a look at your home and location today.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale website.  Click here to learn how to create an internet website for your property, showcase your home with Video Tours and attract thousands of home buyers today!!

Stanford Kurland

If you aren’t bothered by morals or ethics, it is so easy to make money.   If you don’t think so, just ask the executives who ran Countrywide Financial.   

Countrywide, in case you forgot, is one companies responsible for the financial crisis.  The huge, subprime lender, that was once a Wall Street darling, made billions of dollars by putting people into home loans that they knew the borrower could not afford, then resold these bad loans to unsuspecting investors. 

It seems that Stanford L. Kurland, former President of Countrywide, along with his ex-Countrywide team of executives, are back to making money in the lending and real estate business.  They opened a brand new company called PennyMac.   PennyMac is located in spacious headquarters, in the same Los Angeles suburb where Countrywide once flourished.  (Obviously, these smug operators don’t even feel the need to leave town…)

So you ask, what kind of business is Kurland and PennyMac into now??   Surely, they would never be allowed to profit from the slimy mess they helped create???    Wrong.  Their new business buy’s delinquent home mortgages for ”pennies” on the dollar, that the US government took over from failed banks and lenders.  They are also busy snapping up foreclosures at cents on the dollar, and then reselling them for big profit.

In case you are wondering how well PennyMac and the old Countrywide team are doing… Mr. Kurland is happy to inform you that his new business is “off-the-charts good??”, as he leaned back in his leather executive chair, while the financial markets plummeted.

Are you mad?  We sure are.   I would love to give Kurland and his team a “A Penny of our thoughts!!!    If you have something to say, you can send an email to service@pennymacusa.com or call Toll-Free (866) 545-9070.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net, a Free Homes For Sale Website for owners, builders and real estate professionals.   Click here to view thousands of home listings seen no where else on the internet.

The Obama administration has given lenders the “Go Ahead” to begin modifying mortgage loans for homeowner’s facing financial hardships.   The Foreclosure Prevention Plan program is designed to ease the downward pressure on home prices, keep qualified people in their homes and prevent more foreclosures.

The Guidelines for Qualifying for this Program are as follows:

Eligiblity and Qualification:

1. Loans must be originated on or before January 1, 2009.
2. $729,750 is the maximum loan balance.
3. The property must be Owner Occupied.  Investor-owned, Vacant and Condemned properties are Excluded.
4. Borrowers must FULLY document income by providing their last 2 paycheck stubs, tax returns, and must sign an affidavit of financial hardship.
5. Owner occupancy status will be verified through credit reports and other documentation.
6. Incentives will be given to lenders who modify loans for risky borrowers, who have not missed payments yet.
7. Loans can be modified only once.

Loan Terms and Procedures:

1. The modified monthly mortgage payment can not exceed 38 percent of the borrower’s gross (Earnings before taxes) monthly income. 
2. Lenders must follow steps to reduce montly payments to 30 percent of gross income.  First, the initial interest rate can be lowered to a floor of 2 percent;  Second, the lender can stretch the loan term to a maximum of 40 years;  Then, principal debt can be forgiven, but only if the lender agree’s to do so.
3. Monthly Payment Calculations must include principal, interest, taxes, insurance, flood insurance and homeowner’s or condo dues.
4. Monthly Income includes wages, salary, overtime, fees, commissions, tips, social security, pensions and other sources of taxable income.

Incentive Payments to Lenders and Borrowers:

1. Lenders will receive $1000 for each loan they modify.  They will also receive $1000 per year on performing modified loans.
2. Homeowners who pay their modified loan on time will receive a yearly $1000 principal reduction for 5 years.
3. The lender receive a one-tine bonus of $1500 on each loan they modifiy for borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments.
4. Similar incentives and bonuses will be paid to Hope for Homeowner refinances.
5. Incentives will be given to lenders who extinguish 2nd mortgages on modified loans.

Accountability and Loan Transparency:  No More Liar Loans

1. Measures to prevent and detect fraud, such as documentation and auditing requirements, are a central point of the program.
2. Lenders are required to collect, maintain and share records for verification and review.  Records include borrower eligibility, underwriting, property verification and other documentation.
3. In some cases, property appraisal will not be required. 

To verify eligibility or check requirements, the goverment has a question and answer website.  Visit Financial Stability to learn more about qualifying.

Thank you for visiting a href=”http://www.infotube.net”>InfoTube.net homes for sale website.   Go to InfoTube.net to place a Free Property Listing, or Search our database for thousands of great homes for sale.

The Obama foreclosure plan has caused a lot of division among the people of this country.   Of, course, there is the giant split between conservatives and liberals.  But, the bigger divide, and the more interesting one, is the one it causes between the needs of renters (prospective buyers) and homeowners

I have a “hunch” that nearly all the people in favor of the mortgage support plan are homeowners and lenders.  Why?  From what I understand, Obama’s plan is to use taxpayer dollars to prop home prices.  The logic is that this action will keep banks and people from having to sell their homes for huge losses.  Or, in other words, the government is stacking the deck against homebuyers, hoping that they will quickly, rush out to buy an overpriced home, thereby “saving” us all. 

Unfortunately, Obama’s plan is likely to fail because it does nothing to correct the overbuilding (supply) and lack of demand that cause prices to drop.   It also does little to help the banks, who have discovered that they can only sell property for what they can get, not what they are owed.   In other words, if the current owner can’t afford their house at anything close what they originally paid, chances are slim that anyone else can either. 

The “housing” bailout hinges on keeping prices high or keeping people in homes they can not afford.   It does nothing to erase the over supply of homes, increase demand, nor does it put more qualified buyer’s in the market.   The bottom line is that the foreclosure plan pits renter against homeowner,  in the hope of keeping lenders in business.  

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale website.  Post your Property for Free or Search for thousands of homes seen no where else.  Comments or questions are always welcomed.  Please use the comment section below.