Daily NewsReal

MSNBC.com: Housing finance chief blocked plan to reduce mortgage principal, congressmen say

A top U.S. housing regulator failed to implement a plan to cut loan principal balances for millions of underwater homeowners even though a pilot program showed two years ago it could save taxpayers money, two House Democrats said Tuesday. Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage giant Fannie Mae, "apparently ha(s) been withholding from Congress" documents showing the potential benefits of the program to taxpayers and homeowners, according to Reps. Elijah Cummins of Maryland and John Tierney of Massachusetts. The two Democrats, in a letter to DeMarco that was released to msnbc.com, said they obtained the documents from an independent source.

  LATimes: U.S. homeownership rate at 15-year low

The 65.4% homeownership rate in the first quarter is down from 66.4% a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. But recent data suggest the housing market's outlook is promising.

  World Property Channel: Fixed Rate Mortgages in U.S. Hit All-Time Record Lows

RISMedia: BHG Rand Realty and Zip Realty Partner Up to Provide Powerhouse Technology

Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty announced today a partnership with ZipRealty. The partnership brings 17 former Zip Realty agents to BHG Rand Realty. Rand’s new agents will continue to service their clients utilizing ZipRealty’s proprietary technology platform, which has proven to be the premiere client engagement and communication platform in online real estate.

Clean Slate: Building Relationships: Understanding What Matters to Your Clients

What matters most to clients is constantly evolving and has changed exponentially over the last several years. In order to keep up and avoid being viewed as a commodity, real estate professionals must create differentiation. Rising above the competition requires a deep understanding of today’s consumer and an ability to satisfy their wants and needs.

Zillow: Pros and Cons of Building on Developed or Undeveloped Land

RISMedia: The Biggest Mistake Agents Make and How You Can Avoid It

One of the biggest mistakes an agent can make is restricting the flow of energy to their business with the following mindset: “The economy is so slow and I don’t even know where my next sale is coming from.” How often have you heard someone say that when business is down and the economy is questionable? It seems logical, doesn’t it, to tighten your purse strings? Even though it seems logical to tighten up and constrict spending, this is actually based on a “scarcity” mindset you focus on lack in your business, and on lack in economy.

  Chicago Tribune: Setting the stage for a home sale

Spring arrived very early this year in much of the country, bringing what traditionally is the best time to buy and sell real estate, even though the downturn. Issues of tight credit linger and median home prices continue to decline, though more slowly. Yet there appear to be enough positive indicators to push once-reluctant sellers into the market.

  RISMedia: March Housing Scorecard Shows Signs of Stability

CNNMoney: Underwater owners get promise of help

If falling prices have left you with a mortgage bigger than your home's value, you may soon be able to refinance at a lower rate. To settle complaints of foreclosure abuses, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally have agreed to at least $3 billion worth of refis for customers current on underwater mortgages still held by the banks. Guidance about who might qualify is maddeningly scarce, but two banks have published some criteria they'll use, and all the banks are fielding inquiries.

  Bloomberg News: DeMarco Says Principal Writedowns May Save FHFA $1.7 Billion

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could save $1.7 billion if they forgave principal on some troubled mortgages, the companies’ regulator said today in Washington.  The Federal Housing Finance Agency may make a decision “in the next few weeks” about whether to change its policy barring the two taxpayer-owned companies from performing such loan modifications, Edward J. DeMarco, the agency’s acting director, said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. DeMarco said he remains concerned that debt writedowns could be an incentive to default for some so-called underwater homeowners, who owe more than their properties are worth, offsetting any cost savings.

MSN Real Estate: More Americans think it’s time to buy a home

AOL Real Estate: 3 Things to Know About Appraisals

If you haven't had your home appraised in a while, here are three important things you need to know because the process has changed -- dramatically. And while appraisal qualifications haven't changed over the past few years, the process has, says Ken Chitester, the Appraisal Institute's spokesperson.

  HousingWire: Fannie Mae finds Americans remain committed to homeownership

Home values may be down nationwide, but the majority of Americans surveyed by Fannie Maein the fourth quarter still prefer homeownership as opposed to renting. Fannie released its quarterly national housing survey Tuesday morning after interviewing 3,000 Americans between the months of October and December. Two-thirds of renters surveyed said they hope to buy a home in the future — a trend that subsists across all education levels and demographics.

  Real Estate Blog & Blogging: Marketing Luxury Real Estate

RISMedia: Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty Announce Award Winners

Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Rand Realty, a member of RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN), recently announced its annual awards for the highest-achieving sales associates. BHG Rand Realty recognized 116 sales associates at its March 16th annual company-wide meeting and honored three of the highest performers in each of five regions – Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Northern N.J.

  Realty Times: Mortgage Applications for FHA Loans Increase Ahead of Higher Fees

It is not unusual for mortgage applications to increase during the spring season since more people begin to house hunt during that time. According to the U.S. Mortgage Market Index report from Mortech, Inc. and Mortgage Daily, activity for FHA loans increased 11 percent from the previous week. This increase comes ahead of the higher FHA costs which are scheduled to begin April 1st, with another increase scheduled for June, 2012 for FHA mortgages with higher loan limits.

  HousingWire: Treasury closes in on principal reduction window for GSEs

Treasury Department officials are narrowing the range where they think principal reduction could work for the government-sponsored enterprises. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is analyzing how much principal reduction under a revamped Home Affordable Modification Program could cost or save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The results are expected in the next few weeks, according to several sources. Meanwhile, 11 million borrowers are underwater, and roughly 4 million of them hold Fannie or Freddie mortgages.

  Reuters: US Needs Faster Growth to lower unemployment

Agent Genius: Credibility on Twitter most depends on the person tweeting

According to a new study1 by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University, consumers trust the opinions of social media contacts similarly to contacts in person like friends and family. The study notes, “As users increasingly access tweets through search, they have less information on which to base credibility judgments as compared to consuming content from direct social network connections. We present survey results regarding users’ perceptions of tweet credibility.”

  Zillow: Tips for Living in a Staged Home

Model homes make us dream about living there, but living in your own home while it is being staged is tougher than it looks. The key is to easily contain and hide your personal items – not just to showcase your home better, but also to keep your personal life, well… personal!  Below are a few tips for homeowners who are living in their staged home while it is on the market.

  Agent Genius: Real estate index shows rising number of markets improving

HousingWire: Fannie increases condo fees

Fannie Mae will charge higher fees to review condominium projects for financing. Condos accounted for roughly 9% of the government-sponsored enterprise's conventional book of business in the first nine months of 2011, according to its financial filings. Since 2009, Fannie allowed lenders to submit a condo project to Fannie for review. Once a project is approved, a lender can send mortgages on individual units to the GSE for funding.

  CNNMoney: Fannie to sell foreclosed home as rental properties

Zillow: 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Rises to Highest Rate in Four Weeks

Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 3.76 percent, up from 3.7 percent at this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered between 3.67 and 3.76 percent for the majority of the week, peaking at 3.79 percent on Friday before falling to the current rate this morning.

  Realtor Magazine: Citigroup Agrees to Pay $158M for Misleading Mortgages

In another setback for the bank, Citigroup will have to pay $158.3 million over claims that it had misled the government into insuring risky mortgage loans over a six-year time span, resulting in millions of dollars in government losses. The announcement comes on the heels of a $25 billion settlement last week that will require major banks — including Citigroup — to settle allegations of foreclosure abuses. Citigroup’s share of the bill will be about $2.2 billion from that settlement alone. 

  AOL Real Estate: Foreclosure Fire Sale: Will Bulk ‘REO to Rental’ Program Fly?

Agent Genius: 3 simple social media monitoring tools you need to know about

Have you ever wished you could know what everyone has ever said about you as a business professional? Sure, you’ve received great client testimonials and feedback over the years, but maybe there are some disgruntled clients out there who have not been happy with something you’ve done or the services you’ve provided and are broadcasting their dissatisfaction publicly, without you knowing. After all, people love to go on Twitter or their favourite blog or forum to gripe and complain.

  Clean Slate:  Habits of Highly Productive Real Estate Agents

With so many distractions, it’s a wonder real estate agents are productive at all.  Creating habits that produce consistent results allow you to achieve your maximum potential.  Working to become a highly productive real estate agent is an ongoing process. Time management has always been a real challenge.  Between phone calls, a barrage of emails, listing presentations, prospecting calls and buyers appointments, how do you stay productive?

  Agent Genius: Realtor.com updates mobile app suite, adds new features

Clean Slate: 20 Insanely Easy Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Business

As social media continues to evolve so do the tools.  Stepping up to the plate with a fierce vengeance is the new social media darling Pinterest.  Haven’t heard of it?  Let me give you a quick description before we dive into the “why” behind using Pinterest within your business.

  HomeGain: HomeGain Announces 2011 Top Performing AgentEvaluator Real Estate Agents

HomeGain real estate agents and brokers continued to have a productive and successful year, despite the questions surrounding the direction of home prices nationwide. We are proud to recognize these agents for their high level of accomplishment in association with HomeGain’s AgentEvaluator marketing program.

  Agent Genius: Hide Facebook Timeline features if you hate them

HousingWire: Mortgage application surge on low interest rates

Mortgage applications soared nearly 10% this past week as record low interest rates lifted refinancing activity, an industry trade group said Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association, which measures loan application volume through the market composite index, said loan volume increased 7.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week earlier.

  Realtor Magazine: Fannie Starts Accepting Online Offers for Properties

CNBC: Forty States Sign On to Foreclosure ‘Robo’ Settlement

After more than a year of negotiations, attorneys general from more than 40 states signed on to a proposed settlement agreement with five of the nation's largest mortgage servicers over “robo-signing” foreclosure processing abuses, according to the lead negotiator, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. “This enables us to move forward into the very final stages of remaining work. Federal and state officials, as well as representatives from the banks, continue to address matters that they must complete before finalizing any settlement,” Miller said in a statement released late Monday.

  RISMedia: Rand on Real Estate: Disaster on the Horizon

Agent Genius: Best Twitter follower manager on the market

After five years experimenting with Twitter, dozens of public speaking engagements on the topic, and thousands of followers, I have personally tried endless products that aim to help manage my Twitter followers which is necessary given the shady tactics of spam, bots and jerks. What I have stuck with since its launch is ManageFlitter, not because it has a beautiful user interface (it does not) or because it is the fastest site on the web (it is not), but because it does what I need – quickly.

  Realtor Magazine: What Customer Service Means Today

There was a time when providing great service in real estate meant getting an understanding of the lifestyles of clients and teaching them what they didn’t already know. Simply providing them with information on homes for sale, pricing, current mortgage rates and data relevant to the transaction gave practitioners a strong leg-up as consumer access to such information was limited.

  Agent Genius: Pinterest now drives as much traffic as Twitter

RISMedia: Marketing Strategies: Powerful Tips for Maximizing Your Success

In my years of experience with coaching clients to maximize their success, I have created powerful tips to help accelerate progress. The first of these is to get clear on exactly what “success” means to you. I can’t tell you …

  Clean Slate: 3 Twitter Marketing Ideas to Build Your Business

CNNMoney: Obama unveils new refinancing plan

President Barack Obama proposed a plan aimed at helping millions of homeowners refinance their mortgages to today's historically-low rates. To pay for it though, he'll need $5 billion to $10 billion. The plan would allow borrowers who are current on their mortgage to save thousands of dollars by refinancing into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  Reuters: States to decide this week on mortgage deal

Real Estate Marketing Blog: 6 Twitter Tools to Make Real Estate Agents More Effective

It’s hard to ignore the influence that Twitter has these days. With over 100 million active users, you are a real estate agent need to decide if it is going to be part of your overall marketing strategy. Don’t get me wrong: I believe you can ignore it and still make a great living as a real estate agent. But I think it’s also useful for driving business leads and building relationships, if you use it correctly. With the following tools I’ve found my own use of Twitter to be more effective and profitable. Here are they are. Enjoy!

  Investors.com: As Apartment Rents Climb, Housing Officials Expect Some Consumers To Opt For Ownership