Daniel Mudd, Fannie Mae President and CEO, said yesterday that he expects no significant recovery for the US housing market before 2010. 

Fannie Mae is the largest US source of mortgage finance and although historically conservative has recently faced multibillion-dollar losses in the recent sub prime and foreclosure collapse.He predicted that the rockiness experienced last year will continue through the balance of 2009, some 18 months away.

What are your thoughts?

When looking at what our children or chilren'd children will be studying in future business classes the subprime meltdown will surely be on the top of the list.  Think about the impact that this seemingly trivial error had on the entire economy.  Homeowners were extended credit that they could not repay if interest rates rose ... that is the trivial part to many mortgage brokers 'You can afford it today ... let tomorrow take care of itself!'

So the seemingly trivial matter of extending credit to someone that may not be able to pay when interest rates changed causes some unexpected surprises.  What were those surprises and how did those surprises effect the economy.

In my last post I discussed the difference between yesterday’s pull marketing and today’s push marketing. I explained how pull marketing is reactive — “If you build it they will come.” Push marketing, on the other hand, is pro-active — “If you build it they won’t come so you have to go get them.” (Click to view previous blog post.) Many agents today have experienced that very phenomenon: doing lots of advertising and getting little if no results.

Foreclourses has become the new real estate Four-letter word.

In March one in every 538 households in the U.S. received a foreclosure notice with Nevada (1 in 139 homes) leading the pack, followed by California (1 in 204 homes), Florida (1 in 282 homes) and Arizona (1 in 283 homes).

And the bad news is just everywhere...CNN, Fox News, USA Today, the Web, etc. etc.

To assist homeowners Real Estate Wiki (see previous entry on launch of the new wiki in real estate) has added a bunch of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) covering questions such as:

Before we launch into this segment, let’s recap the last installment. In it I was discussing how in the 1960s and 70s, our industry was in a Broker-centric Era. The brokers had all the power. Customers had very little access to listing inventory except through them. Agents had no business except through them. Modern real estate brokerage was in its infancy. By controlling the inventory, broker-owners were able to build real estate dynasties. It was common place to see multiple office operations with teams of agents, and it was during this climate that companies like Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, and other similar broker-centric companies became huge empires.

One of the challenges requiring some finesse in a short sale transaction is the process of getting a lender to tip their hand, so to speak, about the the minimum price they'd accept for a short sale.  That, we know, is at least one source of frustration for buyers and agents alike. 

Typically, in order to get the lender to even consider a short sale, the seller/borrower will need to have missed a couple of payments and a purchase offer has to be received and submitted to accompany the package.  Then, it can be several weeks yet before the lender comes back with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." 

This is the best time to buy, the cost of properties are down, the interest is low this is the best of all worlds. I see great  Opportunities and this article shins a glimmer of hope on this.

Bonnie Ankle; Event Manager - Luxury Home Council

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120886732384734503.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

When CNN’s Pulse on America program featured us two years ago, they were investigating an interesting phenomenon in our industry. Click to view video. It seems that today there are two real estate worlds coexisting simultaneously. Like in the movie The Matrix, there was the “perceived” world and then there was the “real” world. In our industry there is much the same today. Those agents who are practicing real estate this new way, are doing quite well — many better than ever. But those who are hanging onto the old-school real estate model are finding themselves working harder and harder and making less and less money.

"Goosey Lucy said that Ducky Lucky said that Henny Penny said the sky is falling." From reading and listening to the media you can't help but think of Chicken Little. Okay, well I've finally heard enough! I'm so weary of hearing one person after another bemoan the sad state of real estate today that I'm about ready to scream!

Every time it's told it gets worse! "The end of real estate is near." "The mortgage industry is doomed." "Give up and get out now while you still can." "The lead aggregators have ruined our business." "The banks are taking over our business." On and on it goes. No doubt, you've heard it too. Well I say poppy-cock! The sky is not falling!

Can you explain to a distressed homeowner what their options are before they get to a point of receiving the notice of foreclosure sale? 

It seems not an evening goes by nowadays without a TV interview showing an anxious homeowner sharing the confusion they experienced about the mortgage rate and terms at the time they bought the house that's now upside-down. Three to five years later, when the rates have adjusted, higher mortgage payments have become a reality and the specter of foreclosure looms on the horizon,  it's not a stretch to imagine many distressed homeowners similarly confused about their options.