How to gauge your housing market's recovery and cash in

Real estate is local, but there is some common ground to cover when looking for signs of recovery and now is the perfect time to read the tea leaves.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Real estate is local, but there is some common ground to cover when looking for signs of recovery, according to Greg Rand, author of "Crash Boom" (Career Press, $24.99), one of the latest proclaimed manual for real estate investors.

Rand, founder of OwnAmerica.com, an information portal for real estate investors, says the next boom is inevitable and now is the perfect time to read the tea leaves.

Rand says it doesn't matter which market you are examining, it's all about historic trends that tend to repeat themselves.

"The secret to making sure your real estate doesn’t turn into a money pit is to watch the trends so you can predict where the prices will rise and where they won't," says Rand.

The more trends you can find that point to recovery, the merrier for returns on your investment.

Rand says watch for these trends.

Short-Term Pain - Markets with home prices at or below where they were a decade ago have over corrected and are poised for recovery.

Among other recent reports John Burns Real Estate Consulting's "Back to the Future: Median Home Prices Mirror Years Past," recently reported markets are yielding home prices dating from 2006 to as far back as 1997, 14 years ago.

Rand suggests using Zillow's Home Value Index to examine the prices of homes sold now and 10 years ago.

"If home prices in a given market are below 2002 levels, there is a good chance that market has over corrected. Meaning, it has dropped below the level where the boom began. If it has not appreciated in ten years, it most likely has upside coming to it," say Rand.

Over-development - Markets often over correct because they were over-built and over-bought by speculators. Florida is an example. So is Las Vegas.

Job Growth – Unemployed consumers can't buy homes. Rand says track employment trends to determine where companies are moving (a la Austin, TX). That's a harbinger for long term housing demand. An eroded job base contributed to over correction conditions in places like Detroit and Las Vegas.

Lifestyle – Long term migration patterns are driven by the pursuit of happiness. Look at climate (the Carolinas), leisure trends (Colorado) and cost of living (Texas) for triggers on where the market may shift. OwnAmerica.com points to a list of research tools to use to learn about movers, often followed by shakers. CityData.com is also useful.

Responsible Government – Does local government encourage or discourage investors? Does it have rent control laws that prohibit rents based on market demand? Does it restrict short term rentals and make vacation rentals a bad investment? Seek investor- and business-friendly locals that offer incentives without barriers.

"There's nothing worse than putting your money on the table, only to have it redistributed," Rand says.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Foreign buyers cashing in on U.S. housing closeout sale

Our consumer news
also hits home! Hard!

Foreign buyers are joining domestic investors to take up some of the slack left by first-timers and other traditional buyers who are more susceptible to the hostile lending market, according to the National Association of Realtors 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Some say the end is near -- for either an up or down housing market -- when foreigners rush ashore to jump on the bandwagon or go for the spoils.

Right now they are after the spoils.

"In recent years, we have seen more and more foreign buyers coming here to take advantage of low prices and plentiful inventory," said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, RI.

Foreign buyers are joining domestic investors to take up some of the slack left by first-timers and other traditional buyers who are more susceptible to the hostile lending market, according to the National Association of Realtors 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity.

"The word that may apply in this case is capitulation. Smart investors, both foreign and domestic, want to invest in an asset when no one else wants to and that may be exactly what's happening here. Investing in real estate may seem a safer bet by comparison than other options at this point," said Nancy Osborne, chief operating officer of Erate.com, a Santa Clara, CA-based financial information publisher and interest rate tracker.

Sales from those abroad or those who were new to this country, equaled $82 billion for the past year ending March 2011, up from $66 billion in 2010.

The sales were split evenly between non-resident foreigners and recent immigrants and amounted to about 8 percent of the $1.07 trillion figure for all existing-home sales in the U.S. during the period. Foreigners purchased 7 percent of U.S. existing homes or $907 million worth in 2010.

Foreign buyers are coming to America with boatloads of money.

Sixty-two percent of foreign buyers used all cash. In recent months, nearly one in three foreigners buying existing homes were plunking down bags of cash, NAR said.

Compared to foreigners, that makes domestic real estate investors real pikers.

(See also: "Investors muscling in on first-time homebuyers' turf")

Only 18.5 percent of domestic investors were cash buyers, according to a recent Move.com study.

NAR also said foreign buyers are high-rollers. The average purchase price paid by an international buyer was $315,000 compared to the overall U.S. average of $218,000. However, 45 percent of international purchases were under $200,000.

Again, that beats out American investors.

Another study by Econohomes.com said today's breed of U.S. investors is only putting out for homes in the $50,000 market.

According to NAR, foreign buyers favor U.S. properties because they are generally cheaper than comparable foreign properties and right now they are bargain basement steals. They also see homes as a good long-term investment with the potential for rental income.

Some Realtors say more foreign families are also housing their college kids in properties near colleges and universities. International demand also stems from foreign executives temporarily working in America.

Said Phipps, "Many foreigners perceive owning a home here as an important accomplishment in their efforts to become established in this country."

Most buyers were Canadians, accounting for 23 percent of sales to foreigners, followed by China and, tied for third, Mexico, the United Kingdom and India. The top five nations accounted for 53 percent of all international transactions. Argentina and Brazil both reported an increase in foreign sales, together account for five percent of all sales, up from two percent in 2010, NAR said.

Foreigners are largely shopping in Florida (31 percent), California (12 percent), Texas (9 percent) and Arizona (6 percent), NAR reported.

Single-family homes accounted for 61 percent of foreign sales, compared to 36 percent for condos, apartments or townhomes.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Investors muscling in on first-time homebuyers' turf

Start your shopping-around engines
Prices rising on used gas-sippers

Move.com found 65.5 percent of investors surveyed said they expect first-time homebuyers' problems to work in their favor -- 18.5 percent say they'll be cash-only buyers, and 80.5 percent expect to wrest cash discounts from sellers.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Investors have the moxie, the moola, and the mindset to muscle in on first time homebuyers and they make no bones about their plans to do so, making a killing in the process.

A new Move.com Investor Survey released today, says by three-to-one, investors will be more active in local markets compared to typical homebuyers in the next two years.

The national survey says investors are bullish about vigorously competing with traditional first-time homebuyers because they know the time is right and they know they've got the edge.

(Also see: "Foreign buyers cashing in on U.S. housing closeout sale")

Move found 65.5 percent of investors surveyed said they expect first-time homebuyer problems to work in their favor -- 18.5 percent say they'll be cash-only buyers, and 80.5 percent expect to wrest cash discounts from sellers.

As revealed in another study, these investors are more like saints than sinners and are coming to market to stick around, rather than flip out.

Picking up the slack left by first-time and rank-and-file buyers, investor action, building now for years, should benefit the sluggish housing market by shrinking the over-supply of distressed and other homes that has pushed prices down to levels not seen in more than a decade.

New investors wear halos

Move says, contrary to the speculative flippers of an era gone by, 50 percent of today's real estate investors plan to hold onto properties for five years or more. Only 11 percent expect to sell within 12 months of purchase. Two-thirds (67.5 percent) say they're investing for the long term.

Fifty-nine percent told Move they're new to the investing game, with 33.5 percent considering their first investment purchase and 8.5 percent in the process of buying and selling their first investment property.

Another 17 percent said they just completed their first transaction and plan to make more. Only 36.5 percent have experience in more than one property transaction.

Newbies, maybe, but they appear to know bottom when they see it.

A recent Pew study found that 81 percent of adults agree that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make.

None of this is lost on foreign investors, as the U.S. remained a top destination for foreign buyers for the year ending in March 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

NAR's 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity said total residential international sales in the U.S. for the past year ending March 2011 equaled $82 billion, up from $66 billion in 2010.

Total international sales were split evenly between non-resident foreigners and recent immigrants, while combined total domestic and international existing-home sales in the U.S. were $1.07 trillion.

"This data suggests today's climate is hot for investing and is attracting a lot of new people that don't fit the stereotypical deal-driven flippers that buy and sell properties quickly," said Move, Inc. CEO, Steve Berkowitz.

"They're mostly entrepreneurial individuals that will make vital contributions to local communities by investing their own money and sweat equity to improve and maintain properties. These personal sacrifices made over the long run will help improve housing stocks, home values, property tax bases, and thousands of local communities," Berkowitz said.

Investors expect decent returns

Forty-eight percent expect a profit of 20 percent or more from their property investments, a 4 percent annual rate of return over five years -- a rate of return that hasn't been seen for years. Another 40 percent expect a profit of 10 percent, and only 6.5 percent expecting a five percent or less return on investment.

While investors appear poised to outnumber traditional homebuyers, 27 percent will buy a primary residence/investment as a first-time buyer. Forty-nine percent expect to live in their investment property until it's sold or turned into a rental property.

More than half (56.5 percent) will put their investments to work right away as rental properties, and 28 percent plan to purchase vacation property that they'll eventually sell.

"The number of renter households has swelled significantly during the recession as homeowners facing job loss and foreclosure have been pushed into the rental market.  The demand for rental units is forecast to rise by 12 percent by the end of the decade, making low- to moderately-priced rental units appear to be a good investment on both a valuation and a cash flow basis," said Nancy Osborne, chief operating officer of Erate.com, a Santa Clara, CA-based financial information publisher and interest rate tracker.

The Move Investor survey also found 30 percent of real estate investors are interested in buying retirement property as an investment.

"While today's market is tough for some, it's also motivating millions to take an unconventional approach and creatively search for new ways of entering the housing market," Berkowitz said.

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© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

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You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
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• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Investors: Sinners or Saints?

The investors are coming -- flippers, absentee buyers, rental property investors -- but this time, instead of being considered speculators they are getting some credit for helping to move the housing market out of neutral instead of driving it into the ground.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - The investors are coming -- flippers, absentee buyers, rental property investors -- but this time, instead of being considered speculators they are getting some credit for helping to move the housing market out of neutral instead of driving it into the ground.

Real estate investors once took in on the chin for the kind of speculative behavior critics say contributed to the last boom-bust cycle. But now the perception has changed and investors, at least a certain segment of them, are getting a pat on the back for helping housing get up off the mat.

Read Investors: The Sinners Become Saints.

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© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

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Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Vacation rentals hot in New Orleans, popular with more business travelers

Banks crank up marketing to
overcome overdraft fee losses

The BP oil disaster hasn't stopped vacation rental owners in New Orleans from enjoying the largest increase in traveler interest, compared with other popular destinations.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Vacation rental owners in New Orleans are enjoying the largest increase in traveler interest, compared with other popular destinations, despite the BP oil disaster.

In the second quarter 2010, New Orleans' vacation rental owners saw a whopping 160 percent increase in traveler interest over the same period last year, according to the recently released "HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report" by HomeAway.com.

The report also said New Orleans, still shaking off the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, has ranked in the top three markets with the largest year-over-year percent increase in traveler interest for the past four quarters.

Survey results are based on 813 responses from travelers collected between September 14 and September 20, 2010 and 264 responses from vacation rental owners received between Aug. 17 and Sept. 1, 2010.

Corporate business up

The sixth quarterly report also saw more vacation rental interest from business travelers.

Ten percent of travelers say they booked a vacation rental for a business trip and 42 percent say they would consider a vacation rental while traveling for business.

Why? Business travelers say they appreciate access to a kitchen and laundry room (69 percent), they get more bang for their buck (58 percent), it feels more like home (49 percent) and there's more space (44 percent) for coworkers, family, entertaining and privacy.

"Those traveling on business can avoid pricey hotel restaurants and mini-bars by dining in their own home away from home, and they have more space to work or relax – something that's not easily done in a cramped hotel room," said Brian Sharples, chief executive officer of HomeAway.

Other findings

The HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report also found:

• One in five (20 percent) travelers say they have dreamed of owning a vacation home.

"While many people dream of buying a beach home or mountain cabin one day, most don't realize that it's more affordable than they think," says Tom Kelly, real estate expert and author of "How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment" (McGraw Hill, $16.95).

"Second home owners can generate rental income that can help offset the mortgage and other home costs," Kelly added.

• More than one-in-three vacation rental owners have generated more revenue this year compared with the same period last year, and approximately 40 percent of owners reported generating about the same amount of income from their properties as they did last year.

• Sunset Beach, N.C., has ranked as the market with the largest increase in new vacation rental listings in all of the past three HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Reports.

• Fourteen percent of second home owners purchased their vacation home before buying their primary residence.

• Sixty-one percent of those surveyed say they have or would rent their vacation homes out for a sporting event or festival – be it the Super Bowl or a local wine festival.

• In the most recent report for the second quarter of 2010, after New Orleans' 160 percent growth in traveler interest, the following destinations had the largest year-over-year percent increase in traveler interest:

• West Hollywood, Calif. (up 151 percent)
• Santa Monica, Calif. (up 139 percent)
• Chicago (up 131 percent)
• Hot Springs, Ark. (up 129 percent)
• Lancaster, Pa. (up 122 percent)
• Snowshoe Mountain, W. Va. (up 112 percent)
• Phoenicia, N.Y. (up 109 percent)
• New York City (up 104 percent)
• Beverly Hills, Calif. (up 95 percent

To get the full report on HomeAway.com, click here


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© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

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Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

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GCCF claims process deteriorates since takeover from BP

Oil-stained shoes for a cause

Vaction rental owners, asked about their experiences trying to collect on claims for lost income are fuming with frustration after Kenneth Feinberg publicly reneged on promises to streamline the Gulf oil claims process and dole out checks faster than BP.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Forget the promise from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) head who said you'd have your claim paid within 48 hours.

Don't expect the new claims facility to maintain documentation from a claim you previously filed with the former claims facility run by BP.

And that larger, six-months-of-lost-income payment promised in a single check?

Good luck.

Vaction rental owners, asked about their experiences trying to collect on claims for lost income are howling with frustration after Kenneth Feinberg publicly reneged on promises to streamline the Gulf oil claims process and dole out checks faster than BP.

As of Sept. 9, the vast majority of GCCF claims filed for lost earnings or profits went unpaid, according to GCCF's own statistics.

Lost income claims comprise the bulk of all claims filed.

"It's taking longer than I had hoped," Feinberg told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"There are many, many claims where we have violated our own rule. Those critics who say Ken Feinberg raised our expectations and then is not living up to those expectations, they're absolutely right, and I owe them an apology," he said.

Before taking over Feinberg promised to have some claims processed in a day or two and to grant up to six months of lost income in one payment.

However, Feinberg's spokeswoman Amy Weiss told investigative newsroom ProPublica, "The announced 48-hour claim determination rule for individual claims, and the seven-day claim determination rule for business claims will be extended as necessary and appropriate."

Weiss said they've been snowed under by the volume and complexity of the required supporting documents that require "careful scrutiny and attention to assure that each claimant will be afforded the benefit of the most generous payment."

The chaotic claims system, with a confusing cycle of frequent change, has been in disarray since it was launched shortly after the April 20, 2010 explosion and fire that ruptured an oil well, killed 11 workers, sank the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and became the nation's greatest environmental disaster ever.

Before Feinberg opened GCCF on Aug. 23, BP handled claims through ESIS, a claims management and processing firm that also often bungled the job.

Two weeks into GCCF's turn, critics reluctantly say the BP system was a better deal.

"I never thought I'd say this, but part of me would like BP back and that's kind of a frustrating place to be," said George Sheldon a member of Florida's Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force.

Only about one in four, 75 percent, of claims filed for lost income or profits have been paid -- 46,543 filed, compared with 11,483 paid, as of Sept. 9.

Claims for lost income comprise 75 percent of all claims, which also include removal and clean up costs, real or personal property damage, loss of subsistence use of natural resources and physical injury or death.

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© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

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Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Making the case for lost-property-value claims in the Gulf oil disaster zone

With real estate properties along the Gulf Coast oil disaster zone expected to suffer value losses ranging from 10 to 30 percent or more, some efforts are afoot to help property owners mitigate those losses. Property owners need all the help they can get.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - With real estate properties along the Gulf Coast oil disaster zone expected to suffer value losses ranging from 10 to 30 percent or more, some efforts are afoot to help property owners mitigate those losses.

The assistance is sketchy, uncertain and without standardized procedures, however, area property owners face oil disaster-related property value hits on top of losses due to general economic and travel industry malaise and need all the help they can get.

Seattle-based Greenfield Advisors, LLC, a company specializing in complex real estate valuation services, estimates that more than 1 million parcels could suffer value losses in 44 counties in the Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

"These loss-of-property-value claims are going to be tough. Kenneth Feinberg (the attorney appointed to administer the $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims Facility and take over from BP the claims processing and paying process) is not a big fan of the claims, especially not a big fan of paying now, because no one knows the extent of the spill, with new and conflicting reports coming out every day, no one knows the final word on property values," said Peter Taaffe, an attorney, with the Houston, TX-based Buzbee Law Firm. The firm's clients include a host of Deepwater Horizon oil platform workers, Florida property owners, seafood harvesters and fishing industry workers.

Potential Oil Disaster-Triggered Property Value Losses by County

County	Area	No. of properties	Avg. distance from Gulf coastline (in yards)	Avg. loss over 5 years	Potential loss over 5 years
Escambia	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Fla.	39,368	350	$39,882	$1.6 billion
Harrison	Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.	21,221	568	$56,469	$1.2 billion
Mobile	Mobile, Ala.	10,520	436	$44,662	$470 million
Source: CoreLogic

How can individual property owners make a case for a lost property value claim?

• Government action. Earlier this summer Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist issued an executive order allowing appraisers to reassess property values in counties affected by the oil spill.

Owners in Florida's Panhandle, for example, contend their property values have already diminished because of the spill, and studies appear to back up their contentions, but they still have to pay taxes on the higher assessed amount.

The Sunshine State's do-over assessments won't mean reduced taxes, but property owners could use the new numbers to seek, say, the difference paid in property taxes for the higher, pre-spill value.

"A vacation rental property owner should fight the appraisal district to keep the values down, to reflect the reality that they are down. There's a two fold benefit -- lower property taxes and it will be a big piece of evidence if they later file a claim with BP. If the appraisal district has not lowered the appraised property value, then it will not help their claim against BP," said Taaffe

Taaffe said firms are available for hire who fight appraisal districts on valuation for a percentage of the reduced rate.

Property owners must also be aware of scams that seek to take advantage of vulnerable, uninformed property owners seeking due and just redress.

• Legal action. Jacksonville, FL-based St. Joe Co., real estate development company which owns 577,000 acres in Florida, 70 percent of which is within 15 miles of the coast recently sued Halliburton Energy Services, the cementing contractor for the well that blew out.

Longwood, FL-based New Bastion Development has projects in Panama City Beach and Marianna that have been put on hold because of the disaster. It is also planning legal action.

Taaffe, also a contributing writer with the HomeAway Gulf Coast Response Center said certain individual and smaller property owners who lost money on deals since the oil disaster may be most likely to have a lost-value claim paid quickly.

"It would be a seller who had a buyer, pre-spill, the deal fell apart because of the spill, then the seller had to sell to another party and the seller took a big hit. The seller would have a decent shot of being reimbursed for the difference (net) between first sale and second sale. Feinberg would look carefully to make sure the second sale was an 'arms' length' deal," not one made to a friend or close associate, Taaffe said.

"It boils down to what is speculation right now vs. actual documented loss," Taaffe said.

• Claims process. Greenfield recently opened a new Web site GulfSpillValuations.com, which promises automated documentation to help property owners prove their case.

The company begins with tax assessor records and then calculates the effects of historical market trends since the date of assessment as well as any other extenuating circumstances to arrive at a "pre-incident" value for a property.

The company then determines a decrease in value caused by Deepwater Horizon oil spill, based on similar techniques applied to property values following the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Hurricane Katrina.

The report, obtained instantly through an automated online process, can then be filed as supporting material with claim documents to justify a demand for compensation due to property value loss caused by the oil spill.

"This is the same comprehensive analytical work we do for million- and even billion-dollar litigation projects," said John Kilpatrick, Greenfield's CEO.

"There are normally very few individual property owners whose situations justify hiring us, but the economies of scale in this circumstance make it possible to offer our expertise to anyone harmed by the BP oil spill," he added.

The online automated report costs $500 and that's hundreds of dollars more than a traditional appraisal, but a typical appraisal probably won't cut it.

"You wouldn't hire us to do what an appraiser does. When you hire an appraiser they have no training in how to deal with value impairments due to environmental contamination or similar events, but we do" says Greenfield spokesman John Casker.

Casker also said the GulfSpillValuations.com report doesn't consider lost property value due to the effects of lost revenues, something a property owner should also consider documenting for the purposes of filing a complete lost value claim.

"The business valuation of a property leads directly to resale value. If there's (lost revenues) you can't sell the property for what you paid for it. You can't automate valuation due to lost business," Casker said.

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© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

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'Day-at-the-beach' sell tougher for vacation rental owners in Gulf Coast

HomeAway Gulf Coast Response Center

The Gulf Coast's economically pivotal vacation rental playground faces a value crunch that could cost individual properties as much as $80,000 in lost value, according to the most exhaustive study to date of the Gulf oil disaster's impact on residential real estate values, reported by the new HomeAway Gulf Coast Response Center.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - The Gulf Coast's economically pivotal vacation rental playground faces a value crunch that could cost individual properties as much as $80,000 in lost value, according to the most exhaustive study to date of the Gulf oil disaster's impact on residential real estate values, reported by the HomeAway Gulf Coast Response Center

Core Logic, in a report that denotes value as real property value combined with the value associated with the amenities of beach front access, says the cost of the oil disaster to home values along the Gulf's coastal counties is expected to range from $648 million in one year, to as much as $3 billion over the span of a half decade.

The study adds beach front proximity to the value equation because buyers who acquire coastal properties pay premiums for the amenities that come with a property that provides easy access to the proverbial "day-at-the-beach."

Among the study's 600,000 properties identified as being within 1,000 meters (about a half mile) of the Gulf coast line, are an estimated 150,000 vacation rental properties representing a uniquely pivotal sector of the area's economy, according to HomeAway.com.

HomeAway.com, the nation's largest vacation rental portal of a half million privately owned listings for travelers and property owners alike recently created the HomeAway Gulf Coast Response Center to address the concerns of vacation rental owners often overlooked by mainstream media.

Largely under reported is the fact that the Gulf Coast includes a large swath of Florida panhandle vacation rental properties -- not resorts, hotels and motels -- that provide the bulk of the area's travel accommodations with direct, easy access to beaches.

Florida, among the most over speculated housing boom markets, has had one of the nation's worst housing busts and, among all states during the first half of 2010, had the third highest foreclosure rate, with some panhandle counties suffering the worst foreclosure rates in the state, according to RealtyTrac.com.

"While it is by no means a certainty that the major coastal communities along both coasts of Florida will be impacted at all by the oil spill, the lost amenity value in these markets could be particularly high," said Mark Fleming, chief economist with Core Logic.

The report examined the impact of the oil disaster on the more than 600,000 properties identified as being within 1,000 meters of the coastline in 15 counties, representing major beach travel communities stretching from the Gulf coast of Alabama to the Atlantic peninsula coast of Florida.

The report found:

• The highest risk coastal communities along the Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida panhandle include more than 71,000 residential homes at risk of losing an estimated average loss in beach amenities valued between $40,000 and $56,000. The total estimated loss of beach amenities is valued at $3 billion.

• Of the immediately impacted communities, the largest overall loss in amenity value would be in Pensacola ($1.6 billion), followed by Gulfport ($1.2 billion).

• In terms of average loss in amenity value per home, Gulfport ($56,000) is the largest, followed by Mobile ($45,000) and Pensacola ($40,000).

• If the Gulf currents take the oil to the communities along the Florida gulf coast the loss in amenity value will rise substantially. The four coastal communities along the coast (Panama City, Tampa Bay, Cape Coral, Naples) could experience a total loss in amenity value of $11 billion impacting 238,000 homes.

• Even though the chances are low, Core Logic estimated the loss in amenity value for communities along the Atlantic coast of Florida as well. This includes Miami, Key West, Palm Bay, Daytona Beach, and Jacksonville. More than 295,000 properties within 1,000 meters of the beach could be affected with a total loss in amenity value of $13.5 billion.

"Our hope is that the oil spill is contained and the loss in amenity value is further moderated by a speedy cleanup and a return of beach amenities to the affected communities' homeowners," said Fleming.


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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Residential real estate's big investment spenders making a come back

Sunday is fun day for laughter

More than 17.2 percent of all potential home buyers today say they plan to purchase a home in the near future as an investment compared to just 5.6 percent a year ago.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Residential real estate's big spenders are back.

While some experts predict the full housing recovery is still nearly a generation away, a growing number of deep-pocket investors are buying like happy days are already here again.

A new Move, Inc. survey said interest in residential real estate investment has more than tripled in the past year.

That's good news. Up ticks in residential real estate investment is often a precursor to housing recovery.

More than 17.2 percent of all potential home buyers today say they plan to purchase a home in the near future as an investment compared to just 5.6 percent a year ago, according to Move, Inc., a network of real estate data and information web sites that include the National Association of Realtors' Realtor.com.

More than ten percent (12.3 percent) of Americans planning to purchase investment property in the near future say they will pay for the property using 100 percent cash, and 12.8 percent will use cash for more than 50 percent of the purchase price and finance the rest, according to Move, Inc.

You've got news! News that really hits home!

The full story is here: "Residential Real Estate Investment Makes a Comeback"


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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Consumers remain bullish on home as safe investment

Despite an epic downturn that could leave the housing market reeling for years to come, the vast majority of consumers, 70 percent, remain bullish on home buying as one of the safest investments, according to a recent Fannie Mae report.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Just because homes aren't selling like hotcakes doesn't mean consumers have lost their appetite for a slice of the American Dream pie.

Despite an epic downturn that could leave the housing market reeling for years to come, the vast majority of consumers, 70 percent, remain bullish on home buying as one of the safest investments, according to a recent Fannie Mae report.

With only a handful of housing markets poised to recover and most housing markets still feeling around for the bottom, 65 percent of those surveyed continue to prefer owning over renting. And 64 percent say it's a good time to buy, a level surprisingly similar to the 66 percent voicing the same sentiment in 2003 -- just before the onset of the last boom market.

The optimism is, however, tinged with some pragmatic caution, according to findings of Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey, conducted between December and January.

But even as one in three of those surveyed said it is a very good time to buy a home, they also know it isn't easy. Sixty percent believe getting a mortgage is more difficult than it was for their parents, and 68 percent believe it will be even more difficult for their kids.

You've got news....news that really hits home here: Americans Still Favor Homeownership As Safe Investment

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Why consumers still won't buy homes

Chicken wing shortage hits nation

Reasons why consumers aren't buying homes haven't changed much since the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) braved a look at the issue a year ago.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Why consumers still balk at buying homes

Greater price affordability, historically low interest rates and unprecedented federal assistance should mean boom-time-level home buying.

But the convergence of potentially positive market factors in today's housing market continue to collide with conditions that undermine the confidence of consumers who might otherwise consider buying a home.

From November to December, resale home sales plummeted nearly 17 percent, the largest month-to-month decline since 1968 -- 42 years ago.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales plummeted 11.2 percent to 309,000 in January, compared with 348,000 in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It was the lowest rate since the government began keeping records in 1963 -- almost 50 years ago -- and comes after declines in November and December.

Blame the stagnant economy in general, but specific reasons why consumers aren't buying homes haven't changed much since the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) braved a look at the issue a year ago, according to RealEstate.com, an online operation that runs local brokerage firms in more than 30 cities nationwide.

"There's no doubt that the tax incentive is a help to first time home buyers, sometimes even more so than low interest rates," said Greg Hanson, senior vice president and general manager at RealEstate.com.

"But the fact is, it's not a magic bullet. Buyers are still running into a number of roadblocks when it comes to getting a mortgage and buying their first home," Hanson added.

Roadblocks include:

Credit issues. Credit scores continue to be one of the greatest challenges for first-time homebuyers in this economy. Low scores, debt-to-credit ratios, and credit report mistakes can stop a deal cold.

"Buyers still need to be more aware than ever of how to improve and correct their credit scores if they want to have a shot at taking advantage of the tax incentive before the deadline," said Hanson.

Lenders also haven't eased stiff underwriting requirements and in some cases, have made home loans even harder to come by.

Competition from investors. A recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) report revealed more than 25 percent of sales were paid for in cash, an indication that investors are stepping in to buy homes right out from under the noses of potential first-time home buyers, according to RealEstate.com.

"Buyers with less than 20 percent down are having a hard time competing with those investor buyers. We are even seeing investors coming back into the market to flip properties that they acquire from the foreclosure sellers. In some cases the properties are back on the market in a month's time," said Kim DiBenedetto a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Del Monte Realty in the popular resort town of Carmel, CA.

Job market woes. The unemployment rate remained near 10 percent in January and that means tighter household budgets and fewer home sales. It may also be the harbinger of a second wave of foreclosures, once again creating more opportunities for investors and fewer for actual buyers, according to RealEstate.com.

Rick Sharga, Vice President of ReatyTrac says over-priced homes and poor lending practices generated the first wave of foreclosures which helped trigger a recession. The recession left the nation with a 10 percent unemployment rate, which generated the second wave of foreclosures.

Stuck sellers. With fewer buyers and a glut of homes on the market, sellers who want to take advantage of the expanded home buyer tax credit for move up buyers, can't sell their home. Other sellers have mortgages that are "under water". They can't cash in on the tax credit because selling their home would leave them with a balance to pay off not to mention moving costs and a real estate commission that, in many cases, would wipe out the tax credit. Nearly one-in-three home owners are underwater, according to Moody's Economy.com.

The weather. Global warming spawned climate change is impacting the housing market. Instead of preparing their home for buyer visits, sellers are shoveling record levels of snow. Buyers, facing blizzards and black outs, can't get to open houses. RealEstate.com says the extreme weather in some parts of the country during the last two months is putting a damper on the desire and ability to buy and sell homes.

"Home sales in winter are always known to be tough, but the recent severe storms may have brought them down to a whole new low," says Hanson.

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You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
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Home prices buoyed by favorable market conditions

Banks charging fees for
NOT using credit card

Investors are back. Home prices are lower. Interest rates are at record lows. Foreclosure abatement is up. It all adds up to rising home prices.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2009 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - If home prices were up all year as much as they've risen in the past two quarters, the housing market would be enjoying home price increases in the 6 percent neighborhood this year, thanks to a host of favorable factors.

Lower home prices, tax incentives, record low mortgage rates, foreclosure abatement measures and returning investors are coming together to send more buyers to market.

Home prices were up in the third quarter at an annualized rate of 3.8 percent and 8.2 percent in the second quarter, according to Freddie Mac's Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series.

The index registered an actual 0.9 percent quarterly gain, during the third quarter 2009 following a 2.0 percent gain in the second quarter. Together the two-quarter increase erased two-fifths of the home price declines registered during the final quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.

Happy days aren't quite hear again, however.

U.S. home sale prices remain down 3.9 percent from a year ago, according to the index.

Also, over the past five years, home prices remain down by double digits in some regions including the West South Central Division, by 20.5 percent; Middle Atlantic Division, by 16.2 percent and East South Central Division, by 15.4 percent, Freddie Mac Reported.

But even California's new home market is showing signs of recovery.

The pace of new home sales in the Golden State rose above year-ago levels for the first time since December of 2006, according to the California Building Industry Association (CBIA).

The October 20009 CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence (HWMI) New-Home Sales and Pricing Report showed that sales in new-home communities of 10 units or more, were 25 percent above October 2008, the first notable increase since the start of the housing downturn.

"While this month's figures are encouraging, we must keep in mind that we're comparing the figures to October of 2008, which was the second lowest month of nominal sales we've seen during the downturn," said Jonathan Dienhart for HWMI.

"Examining the data in a rolling twelve months, tells a more realistic increase, with a 1.5 percent rise from last month," he added.

The same is true nationwide.

"Prices are still down relative to their peaks in most markets. For example, as measured by the CMHPI, values in the New England, East North Central and Pacific divisions are at 2004 levels, on average, and the South Atlantic, West North Central, and Mountain states' home values are at 2005 levels. In contrast, average values in the West South Central area have tied their previous peak from the third quarter of 2008, while average home values in the Middle Atlantic and East South Central states have reached 2006 and 2007 levels, respectively," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

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You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

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