Monday, February 9, 2009
Designers Unite
Any Philadelphia-area Bloggers and/or Wordpress fanatics? You know who you are. Show off all your design skills right here...
Saturday, February 7, 2009
9 housing-market head winds for 2009
With home prices having dropped a painful 21% from their 2006 peaks, property owners everywhere could use a splash of good news in their New Year's Eve cocktails. But as a nasty recession is now part of the picture, the chances of an aggressive housing-market rebound in 2009 are dim. "A lasting recovery in the housing market?" says Mike Larson, a real-estate analyst at Weiss Research. "I don't see it in the cards until the back end of the year -- if that."
Here's a look at the factors that will be weighing down the housing market in 2009:
1. Recession
After months of speculation, the National Bureau of Economic Research made it official in early December 2008, announcing that the U.S. economy entered into a recession in December 2007. The only question now is: How painful a recession will we have? In a Nov. 21 report, economists at Goldman Sachs revised their previous forecast to reflect a more significant economic contraction and higher unemployment. "We now estimate that real GDP is falling at a 5% annual rate in the current quarter, and we expect this to be followed by declines of 3% and 1% in the next two quarters," the economists said. "This deepens and extends the expected recession, bringing the drop in GDP close to the decline seen in 1982 (2.3% in our forecast versus 2.7% then)." The recession will exert downward pressure on the housing market in a number of ways.
2. Higher unemployment
The shrinking economy will result in additional layoffs, which will work to smother housing demand. The unemployment rate has already been climbing -- in early December it was at 6.5% -- but many expect it to increase significantly in the coming year. Goldman Sachs projects the unemployment (more)
A $15,000 gift for homebuyers?
A $15,000 gift for homebuyers?
The U.S. Senate approves an amendment to the economic stimulus package that would provide a tax credit of up to $15,000 for homebuyers who purchase a primary residence in the coming year. But economists are skeptical tax credits will prove stimulative.
Senate readies $780 bln stimulus plan for vote
Senate readies $780 bln stimulus plan for vote
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/senate-debates-details-780-billion/story.aspx
Five reasons to buy a home this year
Five reasons to buy a home this year
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- People are afraid to buy a home in times like these, with the economy tanking and home prices continuing to fall. But if you're brave enough to stray from the herd, you might be in for the home-buying opportunity of a lifetime.
Ask for price reductions, improvements, closing costs -- whatever -- and the seller, desperately trying to get a contract, is very likely to work with you, said Jay Papasan, one of the authors of the book "Your First Home." When the market starts improving, your negotiating power starts to diminish, he added.
Buying A Home Is An Investment
A couple of days ago I came across a very interesting post by Danny Thornton. In that post he examines some of the fundamentals of how one approaches and evaluates home ownership. Oftentimes economists and personal finance professionals look only at something as either an asset or a liability. There is of course no absolute black or white when one looks at homeownership; there is the interplay of the two. I think this article quite effectively examines some fundamental questions about home ownership.
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