Real Estate News for Tuesday, August 21st, 2007

I don't know if this sends chills down anyone else's spine, but according to the Chicago Tribune, the number of Realtors decline for the first time in a decade. With that we have plummeting stock prices. Mortgage lenders are filing for bankruptcy or shutting down. There are layoffs at homebuilders and banks. Plus, soaring foreclosures and loan defaults. Now let's add real estate agents to the mix. The NAR ended 2006 with nearly 1.4 million members, almost double the roughly 716,000 it had in 1997, but expects 2007 to close with 1.3 million, a drop of more than 4 percent. On top of that, foreclosures are still on the rise. California and Florida are the leading states for that. In other news, it looks like activists are trying to get more stringent lending criteria for the mortgage industry. From what I can see, the biggest thing standing in the way of buyers and sellers closing deals with each other is the financing. Buyers are having a difficult time getting loans. We may have to go back to FHA insured and VA guaranteed loans. If you are a buyer, be sure to save yourself some time and grief by going to a lender before you look at homes. You don't want to fall in love with a home, only to find out that you can't get financing for it 20 days after your offer has been accepted by the seller. You could risk losing your deposit! It's a tough time in real estate, but I love my job. I meet the nicest people and it truly makes all the work worthwhile. Let's follow this up with a cheesy picture of me in my office, shall we?




~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com