Michael Pond Team Blog

Without federal tax credits to boost demand, builder confidence dropped to its lowest level since March 2009. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell two points to 14 in the month of July. The monthly survey gauges builders' perception of the market for new...

Rick Davidson, CEO of Century 21, is cautiously optimistic about housing and feels this is a once in a generation opportunity for buyers.  Cautiously optimistic sums it up for me....How do you feel about the future of the housing market? Click here for the video link of Rick Davidson's interview ...

Homes with at least one price reduction made up 24 percent of all listings on the market as of July 1, according to real-estate website Trulia.com. The report shows 22 of the top 50 cities experiencing price cuts of 30 percent or more, though the average reduction was unchanged from May at 10 per...

CoreLogic, an analytics and real estate services provider, released a report showing national home prices up in May. According to the CoreLogic's home price index, prices rose 2.9 percent from a year ago and 0.9 percent from the month before. Distressed sales, or homes 75 percent below the median...

According to Reis Inc., a New-York based real estate research firm, the apartment vacancy rate dropped to 7.8 percent in the second quarter. The drop was the first in nearly three years and down from a 30-year high in the first quarter. The report also shows that rents rose 0.4 percent, the secon...

Fannie Mae will require underwriters use the value provided by appraisers.  If they do not agree with the value they will be required to order a 2nd appraisal instead of cutting the value on their own.  This change will help our industry overall. It isn't a problem for us here at Primary Capital....

Everything about business comes down to PEOPLE. Where in business can we escape the impact of human care, human creativity, human commitment, human frustration, and human despair? There is no reason for anything in business to exist if it does not serve the needs of people.   Bruce Cryer, Re-Engi...

Foreclosures, Inventory and Sales. Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's senior vice president, believes foreclosure sales will remain between 25 and 35 percent of all sales for the foreseeable future.  He says that we will see a steady supply of foreclosures coming on the market for the next few years.  The...

President Obama signed a bill extending the homebuyer tax credit's deadline for closing sales under contract by April 30. The legislation officially extends the deadline to qualify for the tax credit from June 30 to September 30. The bill only allows buyers with signed contracts to complete the s...

A total of 232,959 properties in some stage of foreclosure sold to third parties in the first quarter of 2010. According to RealtyTrac's U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, 31 percent of all residential sales were foreclosure homes and the average sales price of those homes was nearly 27 percent below...