Keller Williams Co-Founder Gary Keller Shows Off his The Rolling Stone A...

Last chance for mortgages below 5%?

Provided by: homes.yahoo.com

Last year's 3.5% mortgage rates are long gone — and experts say consumers who hold off buying or refinancing homes in hopes that sub-4% interest levels will return could miss out on today's sub-5% rates, too.

"We think 3.5% rates are in the rearview mirror now," says Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. "It's highly unlikely that we're going to get back to those levels again."

Benchmark U.S. mortgage rates hit a record-low of around 3.5% in late 2012 and early 2013 as the Federal Reserve's Quantitative Easing III program helped push long-term interest rates into the cellar. Under QE3, the central bank had been buying $85 billion of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities each month in a bid to drive rates on mortgages and other long-term debt down.

But mortgage rates shot up to around 4.4% last summer after the Fed hinted in May at plans to begin winding QE3 down.

Now, market watchers expect QE3's phaseout and the strengthening U.S. economy's increased inflation risks to push mortgage rates to 5% or higher by year's end.

[Want to get a mortgage before rates go up? Click to compare interest rates from lenders now.]

Fratantoni predicts rates will hit 5% by summer and 5.3% by Dec. 31.

"The U.S. economy is growing again, the Fed is beginning to back off of its very-aggressive policy to lower rates and we have [increasing federal budget-deficit] pressures," he says. "Given all of that, rates are much more likely to go up than down from here."

Market tracker Zillow likewise foresees 5% mortgage rates later this year, but economic research director Svenja Gudell says interest levels should rise slowly enough to give consumers plenty of time to buy or refinance places first.

"I don't think there's the need to rush out and buy a house this very second," she says. "But I'd recommend locking in a mortgage below 5%, because I expect rates to continue rising."

On the plus side, Gudell believes lenders will have to ease today's relatively tight lending standards to keep their home-loan operations humming. After all, she says, higher interest rates typically reduce consumer demand for mortgages.

"I think we'll see banks be more generous about extending credit to people who perhaps would have had a trouble getting mortgages in 2013," the expert says.

For instance, Gudell predicts lenders will lower the FICO score required for the best home-loan rates to around 710 from today's approximately 740.

But Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, says consumers shouldn't expect sub-4% mortgage rates to return any time soon unless a "major shock" throws the economy back into recession.

"I think that if people are hoping for some temporary dip in rates, they'll be disappointed," says Yun, who forecasts 5.3% rates by late 2014. "I realize that many people have seen colleagues and friends lock in mortgages at record-low rates and are jealous. But for now, those rates are history."

The Top 5 Tools To Help Real Estate Agents Dominate The Market

Provided By: businessinsider.com

Technology is a significant part of a real estate professional's life. For real estate agents and brokers, most of their time is exhausted trying to find new clients.

In fact, for most real estate agents, getting new leads takes up most of their time and money.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/top-5-web-based-tools-that-help-real-estate-agents-grow-their-businesses-2011-5?op=1#ixzz2ro48G3aA

This, however, is much different that the top producer REALTORS that lead the industry. For these people, their time is spent selling. This raises the question: What are the top-producing real estate agents doing that is so appreciably different from their competitors?

Real estate -- as an investment purpose -- requires a respectable understanding of the risks associated with purchasing choices. There are several tools at hand to facilitate guide the decision, but few are as useful as a set of high quality real estate investment software.

These online tools will save you time and money by providing all the information and resources you'll need to make informed decisions and enriching before buying or selling property investment.

All of these tools are easily accessible via the Internet and can provide an immediate impact on real estate agents' bottom line. These tools are available to all real estate agents, and when we compare the monthly fees paid to the potential benefit, the motivations for investing in real estate marketing go up, up, up.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/top-5-web-based-tools-that-help-real-estate-agents-grow-their-businesses-2011-5?op=1#ixzz2ro4CbraO

Swanepoel Power 200 names the top 10 most powerful people in real estate

 Provided By:dfwrealestate.com

 

When it comes to influencers in residential real estate, no one was more powerful in 2013 than Realogy CEO Richard A. Smith, according to a new ranking of the 200 most powerful people in real estate by Stefan Swanepoel, who authors the Swanepoel TRENDS Report and Swanepoel TECHNOLOGY Report.

The first annual Swanepoel Power 200 list, co-edited by consultant Rob Hahn and billed as “the most comprehensive list of influential CEOs, thought leaders, and senior executives ever assembled in the residential real estate brokerage business,” bases its rankings on factors such as an individual’s tenure in the real estate business, the office he or she holds, the decision-making and financial power of the company, and how much significance the company has in the industry, among others.

“While there are others who have higher personal profiles within the industry, there is no doubt that none have more power and influence in almost every aspect of real estate than Smith,” SP200 said of its top pick, noting that Realogy owns top power brands such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Sotheby’s International Realty.

Rounding out the top 10 most powerful people in real estate on SP200’s list are: 

 

Ronald J. Peltier (No. 2)

Chairman and CEO, HomeServices of America

•Spencer Rascoff (3)

CEO, Zillow

•Gary W. Keller (4)

Co-founder and chairman, Keller Williams Realty International

•Dave L. Liniger (5)

Co-founder and chairman, RE/MAX

•Alexander E. Perriello, III (6)

President and CEO, Realogy Franchise Group

•Dale A. Stinton (7)

CEO, National Association of REALTORS®

•Pete Flint (8)

Chairman and CEO, Trulia

•Mark Willis (9)

CEO, Keller Williams Realty International

•Steven Berkowitz (10)

CEO, Move, Inc.

Members of NAR’s executive and leadership teams joined Stinton on SP200’s list, including Senior Vice President Bob Goldberg (No. 34), Past President Gary Thomas (No. 39), SVP and Chief Lobbyist Jerry Giovaniello (No. 45), General Counsel Laurie Janik (No. 47)*, and 2014 President Steve Brown (No. 51).

Local and state association leaders were also represented on the list, including Bob Hale, CEO of the Houston Association of REALTORS® (No. 23); Joel Singer, CEO of the California Association of REALTORS® (No. 36); and Ed Barisa, CEO of the Ontario Association of REALTORS® (No. 125).

 

New-Home Market Posts Big Gains as Permits Surge

Provided By: Realtor.com

Housing permits for home construction reached a five-and-a-half-year high in October, signaling a strong uprise in new-home construction, the Census Bureau reports.

Led by a big jump in multifamily permits, overall building permits surged 6.2 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. That marks the highest level since June 2008. Permits typically lead housing starts by at least a month.

Housing permits are up 13.9 percent from year ago levels.

Permits for multifamily homes -- buildings with five units or more -- posted a double-digit increase in October of 15.3 percent in October,  following a 20.1 percent increase in September too.

Single-family home permits -- which make up the largest part of the market -- rose 0.8 percent, following a 1.9 percent drop in September.

Housing permits in the West and South posted some of the strongest gains with permits rising to the highest levels in those regions since January 2008. Permits fell in the Midwest and stayed flat in the Northeast.

"Permits are often a harbinger of future housing activity and the strong showing in the multifamily sector along with stable numbers on the single-family side bode well for a continuing, gradual upturn in housing over the coming months," says Robert Denk, a senior economist with the National Association of Home Builders. "But consumer and builder confidence could be seriously undermined unless policymakers make progress over looming budget, tax and economic policy issues in the weeks and months ahead."