Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: How to Help

As in the case of the recent earthquakes in New Zealand, NAR has identified four funds that we believe are well equipped to provide disaster-relief services. We urge NAR members who want to make a donation to consider one of these four organizations. The star-ratings (four stars being the highest) and descriptions of the funds were pulled word-for-word from the Web site CharityNavigator.org. Some members have reported receiving scam e-mails from organizations, some calling themselves real estate associations, purporting to collect money for Japanese tsunami relief. Here are helpful giving tips that Charity Navigator has provided for those who want to make sure their donations reach those in need.

NAR is also staying in touch with local REALTOR® associations on the West Coast that have close ties to Japan. If they plan any specific relief efforts, we will let members know.

1. AmeriCares

Overall Rating: Four Stars

AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization whose passion to help is matched by its ability to deliver. In times of epic disaster, daily struggle or civil conflict, AmeriCares restores health and saves lives by delivering donated medicines, medical supplies and humanitarian aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. Since its founding in 1982, AmeriCares has delivered more than $9 billion in aid to 147 countries. AmeriCares is able to maximize the impact of each donation due to its gift-in-kind model and the contributions received from pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers, as well as our partnerships with local health care providers around the world. Historically, for every $100 donated, AmeriCares is able to deliver more than $3,500 in humanitarian relief to people in need, including medicines, medical supplies, nutritional supplements and other vital aid. Donate to AmeriCares' Japan relief.

2. Habitat for Humanity International

Overall Rating: Four Stars

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. Habitat is founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, decent, affordable place to live in dignity and safety. Donate to HHI's Japan relief.

3. UNICEF-USA

Overall Rating: Four Stars

The United States Fund for UNICEF was founded in 1947 to support the work of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) by raising funds for its programs and increasing awareness of the challenges facing the world's children. The oldest of 37 national committees for UNICEF worldwide, we are part of a global effort to save, protect and improve children's lives. Every moment of every day, UNICEF is on the ground providing lifesaving help for children in need. We provide families with clean water and sanitation, we vaccinate against childhood illness, and we help protect children against malaria. We provide nourishment to fight malnutrition, and we care for children affected by AIDS. We protect children from abuse, and we give them an education. We are here to make sure that all children lead a healthy, humane, and dignified life. Donate to UNICEF's Japan relief.

4. WorldVision

Overall Rating: Four Stars

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision serves alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God's unconditional love for all people. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. Donate to WorldVision's Japan relief.

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.
Regards,
Michael Hon
CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team
Associate Broker, Silvercreek Realty Group
Certified Short Sale Specialist®
Investment Property Consultant
Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com

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Count on Deficit Reduction Plan Changing Shape

Count on Deficit Reduction Plan Changing Shape

Source: National Association of Realtors
Nov. 11th, 2010

An initial draft proposal for reducing the federal deficit that suggests cuts to the mortgage interest deduction is thin on details and will likely change many times before it’s released in any final form, according to NAR.

The New York Times Wednesday published part of a leaked draft by the co-chairs of President Obama's Deficit Reduction Commission; the commission’s report won’t be released until Dec. 1 at the earliest and will likely look very different from the leaked draft, NAR analysts say. Therefore, early reactions to the plan are pure conjecture, say NAR analysts. In a statement sent to association leaders late Wednesday, NAR said media reports that the commission has recommended reducing the mortgage interest deduction are false.

The White House itself said in a statement released Wednesday that the draft is "only a step in the process toward coming up with a set of recommendations." The White House quote was included in a Nov. 11 report in the Washington Post.

Obama created the Deficit Reduction Commission earlier this year to recommend how the federal government can balance the budget by 2015, not counting interest on the national debt. The commission consists of 18 members, six members selected by the president and 12 members selected by Congress. The co-chairs, who released their initial thoughts yesterday, are retired Wyoming senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles.

What the actual report will look like is impossible to know at this point, because 14 of the 18 members at a minimum must agree to the recommendations before the report can be released. Presuming commission members agree or all or parts of a plan, it would still have to work its way through congressional hearings before Congress would take any action. A reform of similar scope, the Tax Reform Act of 1986, was in the works for more than two years before it was signed into law, pointed out Linda Goold, NAR Director of Tax Policy.

One congressional leader who has made clear the initial draft proposal won't fly if left unchanged is Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who remains House Speaker until early 2011, when the new Congress convenes and the Republican members, now the majority party in the House, name their speaker. Among the proposals Pelosi calls "simply unacceptable" are changes to Social Security benefits.

For the real estate industry, any changes in incentives around home ownership, which have been around for generations, would raise considerable concern because of the core role of home ownership in fostering communities and social stability, and in building household wealth.

As CNN, ABC, and NPR political commentator Donna Brazille has said, "For generations, the government has provided federal incentives to help families fulfill the dream of home ownership. . . The one thing that Americans aren’t cynical about is the promise of the American Dream and of home ownership’s role in that dream. We should do all we can to preserve and protect home ownership and the American Dream for today’s home owners as well as future generations."



Regards,
Michael Hon
CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team
Associate Broker, Market Pro
Certified Short Sale Specialist®
Investment Property Consultant
Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com

Bank of America halts all foreclosure sales

Bank of America halts all foreclosure sales

From CNNMoney.com

By Charles Riley, staff reporterOctober 8, 2010: 2:16 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bank of America is halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states as part of a widening investigation into flaws in the process, the company announced Friday.

The announcement came a week after the nation's largest bank said it was freezing home foreclosures in 23 states where foreclosures must be approved by the courts.

The bank said the foreclosure process on delinquent borrowers will continue, but it will not proceed to judgment or a foreclosure sale.

"We haven't found any problems in the foreclosure process," Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) President and CEO Brian Moynihan said in an appearance before the National Press Club in Washington. "What we are trying to do is clear the air, and say 'We will go back and check our work one more time.' "

The review process is likely to last a few weeks, Moynihan said.

Bank of America is not the only bank to freeze foreclosures.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) announced last week that it will also halt proceedings for about 56,000 homeowners after learning that its employees may have approved foreclosures without personally reviewing loan files.

JPMorgan Chase had no comment on Friday's announcement by Bank of America.

Ally Financial, previously known as GMAC, the finance arm of General Motors, has also paused foreclosures in the 23 states.

However, Citigroup said it is making no changes in its foreclosure procedures. "At this point, we have no reason to believe our employees haven't been following our procedures, so we do not believe a suspension is necessary," spokesman Mark Rodgers said in an e-mailed statement.

State attorneys general have stepped up pressure on banks in recent days after it was revealed that some bank employees had signed foreclosure affidavits without verifying that the documents were accurate, a process now known as "robo-signing."

Ohio's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Ally Financial and its subsidiary GMAC Mortgage for allegedly submitting fraudulent documents in hundreds of foreclosure cases across the state.

Ally declined to comment Friday when asked if they would follow Bank of America and expand their freeze.

Citibank, another large servicer, reiterated Friday that it is not planning a suspension, and that it has no reason to believe employees haven't been following procedure.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced Friday that he will hold a hearing to investigate allegations of improper mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing on Nov. 16, the day after the Senate returns from recess.

On Thursday, the White House said that President Obama won't sign a bill that could have made it easier for courts to clear foreclosures. The bill would have required federal and state courts to recognize documents that were notarized in other states.


Regards,
Michael Hon
CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team
Associate Broker, Market Pro
Certified Short Sale Specialist®
Investment Property Consultant
Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com

Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014

Here's a link and the text for an interesting article off Yahoo Real Estate provided by Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014

By Venessa Wong, Bloomberg Businessweek

Aug 4, 2010

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Where will prices rebound most by state?

A housing market rebound seems tenuous following the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, and consumer confidence remains weak due to lackluster employment, but David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, says the bottom is near. Home prices in the U.S. have declined 29.5 percent over the past four years, according to the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes. Stiff says prices should form a trough early next year, when median prices will be down an estimated 32.9 percent from the 2006 peak.

More from Bloomberg Businessweek » Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014 » America's Strongest Job Markets » Most Improved U.S. Housing Markets 2010

By early 2014, they will have climbed about 7.2 percent from 2010 levels, according to the indexes. Fiserv and Moody’s Economy.com base the housing forecast on factors that include income growth, demographic trends, unemployment rates, foreclosure rates, and construction costs. Of 384 places surveyed, the Bremerton-Silverdalearea in Washington State had the highest four-year growth forecast, with prices expected to increase 44.7 percent from 2010 to 2014. Other leading growth markets:Bend, Ore., where prices are expected to jump 33.6 percent by 2014, and Detroit, with a 33.1 percent forecast. Markets with the weakest projections: Miami andNaples in Florida and Atlantic City, N.J., where prices are expected to continue to fall over the next four years.

Top 10 Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014

Ferry heads toward Bremerton, Wash. (AP)

1. Washington

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Bremerton-Silverdale metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 44.7 percent
Current median price: $245,000
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q1
Median family income: $69,900
Population: 240,860

The Bremerton-Silverdale area, on Puget Sound's Kitsap Peninsula, has the highest growth forecast of all MSAs in the country, with prices expected to jump 44.7 percent by 2014, according to Fiserv. Cathy Doney, general manger for Reid Real Estate in Silverdale, says the waterfront community has benefited from government employment, which has helped sustain the job market, and attracted buyers looking to live close to Seattle at a lower cost. Washington’s second-strongest market isTacoma, with a growth rate expected to be 33.1 percent. Prices in the Seattle area are expected to grow 25.5 percent by 2014.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: Case-Shiller

Bend, Oregon (Getty Images)

2. Oregon

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Bend metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 33.6 percent
Current median price: $144,533*
Prices to reach trough in: 2011 Q1
Median family income: $58,200
Population: 158,630

The area around Bend area, in central Oregon's high desert by the Cascade Mountains, has the second-highest four-year growth forecast, 33.6 percent, after Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash. Bend draws home buyers and visitors with its wealth of outdoor recreational opportunities, but its prices have dropped about 40 percent since hitting a peak in late 2006. Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com now expect a rapid recovery starting next year. Greg Broderick, a real estate broker in Bend, says prices have overcorrected and buyers are seeing good value in the market. Homes priced the low hundred-thousand-dollar range "are being snapped up at a furious pace," he says. Still, the area must deal with a higher-than-average unemployment rate, which the BLS says was 13.4 percent in June.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA

Detroit, Michigan (Getty Images)

3. Michigan

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 33.1 percent
Current median price: $51,000
Prices to reach trough in: 2011 Q2
Median family income: $54,400
Population: 1,925,850

Since reaching a peak in 2006, home prices in the Detroit area have fallen 60.5 percent, according to the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes. As homes have become more affordable—the median home price in Detroit is lower than median family income—demand is expected to pick up. Prices are forecast to jump 33.1 percent over the next four years. George Moma, a broker with Century 21 Dupont Realtors, says the growing prevalence of short sales over foreclosures will help drive up the median price in the Detroit metro area. He adds that the area is attracting interest among international investors from the U.K., Dubai, Moscow, India, Ireland, and France.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: Case-Shiller

Napa, California (Getty Images)

4. California

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Napa metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 31.7 percent
Current median price: $355,000
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q4
Median family income: $79,600
Population: 134,650

Prices in the Napa area have dropped an enormous 44.6 percent since peaking in early 2006, according to first-quarter 2010 data from Fiserv and Moody’s Economy.com. Despite the drop, home prices are expected to rebound quickly. According to an article in the St. Helena Star, Napa County is vulnerable to economic and real estate market fluctuations, but the impact is mitigated by managed growth and the county’s natural and agricultural resources. The unemployment rate in the Napa area fell to 9.3 percent in June, from 11.1 percent in January, according to the BLS.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: Case-Shiller

Carson City, Nevada (Convention and Vistor's Bureau)

5. Nevada

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Carson City metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 31.6 percent
Current median price: $141,524*
Prices to reach trough in: 2011 Q2
Median family income: $63,100
Population: 55,180

By the second quarter of 2011, prices in theCarson City area are expected to have fallen 34.4 percent from peak levels, according to the Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com. Recovery will depend on job creation, as the unemployment rate was 13.4 percent in June, according to the BLS. While expectations for near-term economic growth have diminished recently and competition for jobs is extremely high, opportunities exist, even in a declining labor market, according to Nevada's Employment, Training, & Rehabilitation Dept.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA
* Source: John Burns Real Estate Consulting, April 2010

Panama City Beach, Florida (Getty Images)

6. Florida

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 26.9 percent
Current median price: $158,669*
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q3
Median family income: $53,800
Population: 164,770

Home prices in the Panama City area fell about 27 percent after hitting a peak in 2006, according to the FHFA home price index. Jennifer Mackay, an agent at Keller Williams Success Realty in Panama City, says the market was stabilizing earlier this year, but the BP oil spill led some buyers to pull out and sent the rental market into a tailspin. Despite the area’s large number of foreclosures (1.93 percent in the first half, according to RealtyTrac), Mackay says the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, which opened in May, should help stimulate local business. "I see our economy doing better than others over the course of the next year," she says. The area's unemployment rate reached 12.1 percent in January and dropped to 9.3 percent in June, according to BLS data.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA

Flagstaff, Arizona (Getty Images)

7. Arizona

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Flagstaff metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 26 percent
Current median price: $278,000
Prices to reach trough in: 2011 Q3
Median family income: $56,700
Population: 129,850

Although Arizona has been one of the states hit hardest by the housing downturn, sales activity in the Flagstaff area, home to Northern Arizona University and Flagstaff Medical Center, has picked up since the start of the year, due in part to the home buyer tax credit. Flagstaff-based broker Ann Heitland says prices still may drop in the near term, but the decrease will be limited by shrinking inventory, as there has been a lack of new construction in the area. She adds that because more than one-fifth of the Flagstaff market is second homes, demand from second-home buyers from Phoenix will also affect the recovery.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: Case-Shiller

Santa Fe, New Mexico (Getty Images)

8. New Mexico

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Santa Fe metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 25.8 percent
Current median price: $197,601*
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q3
Median family income: $64,300
Population: 147,530

Fiserv and Moody’s Economy.com expect prices in Santa Fe to drop a total of 13.4 percent from their height in 2007. Lois Sury, president of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, states in a release that median prices fell during the second quarter, but homes are moving across all price ranges. Sales in the city and county of Santa Fe rose 40 percent during the second quarter, compared with the same period last year, according to the association.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA
* Source: John Burns Real Estate Consulting, April 2010

Wyoming (Getty Images)

9. Wyoming

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Cheyenne metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 23.7 percent
Current median price: $106,602*
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q1
Median family income: $62,600
Population: 88,850

The Cheyenne metro area, which includes Laramie County, has been a fairly stable market, with home prices estimated to drop only 2.6 percent from peak to trough. Home prices increased in June, and the average time on the market decreased, according to the Cheyenne Board of Realtors. The metro area had a 7 percent unemployment rate in June, according to the BLS.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA
* Source: John Burns Real Estate Consulting, April 2010

Anchorage, Alaska (Getty Images)

10. Alaska

Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Anchorage metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 20 percent
Current median price: $177,699*
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q1
Median family income: $77,700
Population: 374,550

The housing market in Anchorage has been stable: The estimated peak-to-trough price drop was only 2.1 percent, according to the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes. Home sales, aided by the first-time home buyers' tax credit earlier this year, as well as the fact that the area is home to many people who work in the resilient energy sector, are projected to stay strong as buyers take advantage of lower prices and low mortgage rates. According to Housingpredictor.com, "the state is seeing few foreclosures and is already showing signs of recovering."

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: FHFA
* Source: John Burns Real Estate Consulting, April 2010

Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com