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VARbuzz: Virginia Congressman gets praise for being moderate

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jul 2 2012 - 9:10am

Time magazine has a positive profile of a Virginia Congressman — Rep. Scott Rigell (R – VA-2) — who is actually thinking in terms of what the nation’s economy needs, rather than what kind of party politics to play.

With so many things that affect the housing market in the hands of a Congress that spends more time squabbling for political points than actually doing anything, seeing that there are moderates (and, even better, from Virginia!) and people willing to work for consensus… well, there’s some hope after all.

So what is Rigell’s terrifyingly reasonable idea?

Congress (finally) extends national flood insurance for five years

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 29 2012 - 4:43pm

Per Ken Wingert, NAR’s senior legislative representative: Our long national nightmare is over. We are officially done with flood insurance extensions for 5 years.

The House had already passed a bill, but the Senate was being held up by Rand Paul (R – Ky.) who tried to attach a controversial and unrelated amendment to the bill. Apparently that’s been dealt with and the bill passed. President Obama will sign the measure this weekend.

“This is the culmination of a successful multi-year Realtor® campaign,” said Wingert.

VARbuzz: Flood insurance bill stalls in Senate

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 27 2012 - 3:55pm

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has attached a controversial and unrelated amendment to the bill that would extend the National Flood Insurance Program. Because of that, the bill is stuck until further notice.

The bill would fund the NFIP for five years; a version passed the House quickly last summer, and it was expected to do so in the Senate as well after lawmakers reached compromises on two key issues regarding coverage of areas protected by levees. Without an extension, the program will only be funded until July 30.

VARbuzz: How to raise property values: Stop the slaughter in the streets

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 20 2012 - 9:48am

 An interesting read from the Center for American Progress on how violent crime affects property values. “The Economic Benefits of Reducing Violent Crime” (click takes you to a PDF) found that besides the obvious — saving money on police, courts, and jails — reducing violent crime has a direct effect on property values.

Across five cities with the necessary data for our analysis, we found
that a 10 percent reduction in homicides should lead to a 0.83
percent increase in housing values the following year, and a 25 percent
reduction in homicides should produce a 2.1 percent increase
in housing prices over the next year.

VARbuzz: HUD offering preforeclosure training for real estate pros

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 18 2012 - 12:39pm

Got a client who’s in preforclosure — where the lender has filed a default notice, but the owner can still sell it?

FHA is offering a free webinar for real estate pros in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia on its Preforeclosure Sale Program. It’s Thursday, July 12 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.

Quoth:

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

VARbuzz: FHA rescinds "$1,000 dispute" rule

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 18 2012 - 12:24pm

The Federal Housing Administration has done an about-face, rescinding a rule that would have prevented anyone with credit disputes totaling more than $1,000 from getting a loan.

When originally put in place (April 1), potential borrowers would either have to pay off their balances to get them below the $1,000 threshold, or provide documentation that a payment arrangement was in place.

Not surprisingly, there was pushback. A few days after the rule took effect, FHA said that borrowers whose disputed amounts were the result of a “life event” (medical bill, divorce, etc.) could use that to get around the rule.

Grimsley, Hoover, Noonan named to VREB

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 15 2012 - 4:01pm

Governor Bob McDonnell named three brokers to the Virginia Real Estate Board today:

  • Lynn G. Grimsley of Newport News, associate broker at RE/MAX Peninsula.
  • Steve Hoover of Roanoke, principal broker at MKB.
  • Catherine M. Noonan of Henrico, associate broker at Long and Foster.

Congratulations to all three!

VARbuzz: NAR to FHA: Loosen your condo rules

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 13 2012 - 5:07pm

Several dozen members of Congress, led by Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Md.) and Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) sent a letter to HUD secretary Shaun Donovan, urging that FHA reconsider some of the standards it has set for condos to be certified — and thus allow potential buyers to finance their purchases with FHA loans.

Thousands of condos across the country are no longer FHA certified, making units significantly harder to sell as many buyers can’t get financing.

As we reported before, some of the requirements for certification include

Fed’s survey examines state’s residential housing market

Posted by Andrew Kantor
Jun 12 2012 - 5:24pm

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Virginia Association of REALTORS® are working together to gain perspective on Virginia’s housing market. A majority of Virginia Realtors® indicated that housing market conditions were slightly or significantly better in the first quarter of 2012, according to the survey released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Nearly 60 percent of respondents also indicated that customer traffic was slightly or significantly higher.

The survey, conducted in partnership with Virginia Association of Realtors®, focused on the state of the residential housing market in Virginia and how these conditions changed during the first quarter of 2012.

The Federal Reserve Bank Survey

An online survey of Virginia REALTORS® conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Members were asked 11 questions regarding the state of the residential housing market and how those conditions changed during the first quarter of 2012. 

THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND (THE FED) SURVEY OF VIRGINIA REALTORS®