Mortgage and Real Estate News: May 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Should you delay Social Security payout?

Social Security is the central thread running through America's social safety net. The program that supports older Americans, disabled workers and their families paid about $823 billion in 2013, according to the most recent Social Security Board of Trustees report.
That was more than one-fifth of all federal spending that year, covering 58 million recipients.

Marquee at the District to redefine office development in Scottsdale

Stockdale Capital Partners has announced plans to break ground in the third quarter on Marquee at the District, a new 250,700-square-foot class-A creative office development in downtown Scottsdale.

Located just southeast of the intersection of Scottsdale and Camelback roads, adjacent to the Galleria Corporate Centre and within steps of Downtown Scottsdale's Entertainment District, Marquee at the District will be a signature project within Scottsdale's rapidly emerging downtown tech cluster.

11 Credit Myths: Don’t Fall for ‘Em

Forget everything you've heard about credit. Well, maybe not everything. "Living within your means" is always important, but you should be willing to rethink what you know. Because when it comes to debt, credit reports, and credit scores, conventional wisdom is peppered with myths, misunderstandings, and misrepresentations. Credit is a tool. Like any tool, it's neither good nor bad in itself. What matters is how you use it.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch Lists for $100 Million

Michael Jackson's opulent Santa Barbara County, California estate Neverland Ranch has been put on the market for $100 million. Named after the fictional world in Peter Pan where children never grow up, the King of Pop resided on the estate, which contained its own amusement park and petting zoo to entertain visiting kids, for 15 years.

The Unbundling Of Finance

In a world where everything is being unbundled, allowing consumers to pick and choose from things like television shows and college courses, financial services are becoming à la carte, as well. People, particularly millennials, are moving away from single monolithic banking institutions serving the majority of their financial needs to hand picking the specialized services that work for them.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

RealtyTrac: Top 10 buyer and seller markets

The housing market is all over the place this year. While in some markets houses are selling for more than 100% of the asking price, other houses are being sold for less than 80% of the asking price. It's a mixed market that depends heavily on the local environment. As a result, RealtyTrac decided to identify the nation's hottest seller's markets and the best buyer's markets.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Massive Gilbert project to get first retail shops

The steel skeletons of two office towers rising along the Santan Freeway are the clearest signs of progress on Gilbert's massive Rivulon project, but the future employment center is also set to get its first retail shops by year's end, according to the developer.

Nationwide Realty Investors, a real-estate arm of the well-known insurance company, plans to start construction soon on a 17,000-square-foot retail building near Gilbert Road and Rivulon Boulevard, just north of Loop 202.

Tempe OKs Mill Ave. Twin Towers Project

Hayden House Tempe, LLC and Hensel Phelps Development LLC announced the name of their new mixed-use development project on the corner of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway, One Hundred Mill.

The project name and newly released project renderings were unveiled by the partners during a May 7th meeting with the City of Tempe, where the project received unanimous entitlement approvals. Construction is expected to begin before year-end with completion expected in 2017.

Report: Record job numbers at Scottsdale Airpark

The Scottsdale Airpark corridor — a roughly 5-square-mile area that includes the airport, shopping centers, corporate offices and sports venues — has reached record levels for jobs and businesses, according to a recent report from Colliers International.

The real-estate brokerage estimates there were 54,100 people working at 2,950 businesses within the "Greater Scottsdale Airpark" as of December 2014. That's about 700 more jobs than the previous year and about 6,000 more than in 2009.

Do renovations pay off during retirement?

Homeowners who are retired or nearing retirement often face some difficult questions: Should they remodel their homes? Will they recoup the cost? Or are they better off saving their money?

This issue is "a pretty common conundrum," says Atlanta-based certified financial planner Wes Moss, author of You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think.

Phoenix to be 'epicenter' for college title game festivities

Downtown Phoenix will play a central role in hosting the college football championship that will be played in Glendale in January.

The Arizona Organizing Committee and College Football Playoff organization announced Tuesday that downtown Phoenix will a host a weekend fan festival, concert series and the ESPN broadcast set leading up to the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 11.

Good-bye keys: ‘Smart locks’ let you in without them

When Christy and Joe Affrunti bought their Long Island, New York, house last year, one of their first projects was replacing the traditional front-door lock with one that opens using a pass code. They were tired of the hassle of "jiggling with a key."

Now, when they need to give someone like a repairman temporary access, they give a temporary code to get in. They share their permanent code with friends; those who arrive at the house before they do, for instance, can "come in and be comfortable instead of sitting in their car," Christy Affrunti says.

Wright school gets extension for $2M fundraising goal

The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture has received a five-month extension to raise $1 million toward achieving independence from its parent organization.

The school community fell short of efforts to raise $1 million total including $200,000 in cash by the end of March, but still must meet its deadline to raise a total of $2 million by the end of the year.

Building tiny houses into big help for Los Angeles' homeless

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shortly after Elvis Summers befriended Irene McGhee, he learned she was sleeping on the streets of South Los Angeles.

So the man with the blue mohawk and wraparound shades decided to build the grandmother nicknamed "Smokie" a tiny house on wheels. Summers estimates he spent less than $500 on plywood, shingles, a window and a door for the 8-foot-long structure that can be moved around by one person.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Groups Ask Congress for "Breathing Room" on TRID

There was an unusual degree of consensus at a Congressional hearing on implementation of the new Truth-in-Lending (TILA) and RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID). All four individuals testifying on behalf of different housing industry interests overwhelmingly agreed that, while implementation of TRID should continue as scheduled on August 1, there should be a grace period for enforcement.

TRID was developed over several years and several incarnations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and while each witnesses at the House Financial Services subcommittee hearing were generally complementary of the agency's work, all encouraged the committee to insist that a five month "hold harmless" period be put in place and that CFPB should not begin enforcement of the TRID rule until January 1, 2016.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Applications for new home purchases ticked up in April

Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 0.3% relative to the previous month, the Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey data for April 2015 shows.

This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Oil Prices Dip Below $65 A Barrel On Weaker-Than-Expected US Jobs Market Report

Oil prices dipped Friday morning after the U.S. jobs report signaled weaker-than-expected economic growth. Brent crude, a global benchmark, floated to $66 a barrel in early morning trading before slipping to $64.50 as of 10 a.m. EDT.

U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs in April, less than the 224,000 jobs expected, the Labor Department reported Friday. The agency attributed the slowdown in employment growth in part to cheaper oil prices, which have fallen precipitously from last year's levels, when oil was trading above $100 a barrel. The price decline has prompted widespread layoffs among U.S. oil and gas companies struggling to earn profits on expensive drilling projects.

Survey: More Millennials Say No to Credit Cards

Twenty-seven-year-old Omaha, Nebraska, resident Erin Duffy has never had -- or even wanted -- a credit card.

"I've been able to get along without it," she says, attributing the choice to ambivalence and a wariness of plastic her parents fostered in her during her formative years. "I've liked being able to pay for things as I go, not having to worry about missing a bill."

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Phoenix Real Estate in April: Sales Up 9.3%, Inventory DOWN 13% Year-over-year

For the fifth consecutive month, inventory was down year-over-year in Phoenix. This is a significant change from last year.

This is a key distressed market to follow since Phoenix saw a large bubble / bust followed by strong investor buying. These key markets hopefully show us changes in trends for sales and inventory.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Live in a Porsche? Designer labels draw Miami home buyers

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Florida — The wow factor for Miami's skyscraper condos no longer comes from a dazzling Atlantic Ocean view.

It takes something more audacious to sell beachfront property these days to the global ultrawealthy who arrive in Miami with millions to spend on second or third homes. It takes words invested with meaning in the language of the international jet set:

Porsche. Giorgio Armani. Fendi.

For Tech Titans, Sharing Has Its Limits

There are all sorts of activities required of the people who remodel the homes of tech titans in Silicon Valley. Laying reclaimed-wood flooring, installing ever-tinier bathroom tiles, wiring the network.

Add a new one: Signing a domestic nondisclosure agreement.

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