Citigroup Inc. announced Monday that it is putting a moratorium on most foreclosures as it reaches out to 500,000 home owners who are not currently behind on their mortgages but who are deemed to be a potential risk.The company will assign 600 salespeople to assist the targeted borrowers by adjusting their rates, reducing principal, or increasing the term of the loan.Citigroup reported losses in the last four quarters. Monday’s action is designed to stem the flow of red ink. "Typically the lender loses the most money when a house goes into foreclosure," says Barry Zigas, director of housing policy at the Consumer Federation of America. Source: The
Associated Press, Sara Lepro (11/10/08)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
McStain Neighborhoods goes virtual
Denver Business Journal
Denver-area home builder McStain Neighborhoods is shutting down its headquarters office in Louisville because of the soft housing market, and will have a “virtual office” instead, the company said Wednesday.
The builder, which specializes in environmentally friendly homes, expects to be out of its space at 400 Centennial Parkway in Louisville by the end of November. “There will be some real noticeable activity in the middle of next week, in terms of disassembling home studio and moving stuff out,” spokesman Steve Caulk said.
McStain co-founder Caroline Hoyt said in a statement that the change will make the builder “more nimble, efficient and in a position to give customers more attention and choice.”
The company’s office employees will become part of a new virtual office, with several small offices in and around the neighborhoods where McStain builds, according to the company. McStain has about 20 employees, down from a high a few years ago of 115, Caulk said.
Company president and CEO Eric Wittenberg resigned in August, after seven years with the company, to help control costs, according to Builder Magazine. Wittenberg told the magazine that it was “tough to put your own name on the cut list,” but it was the right thing to do for the company.
McStain founders Tom and Caroline Hoyt took on more day-to-day duties. The Hoyts founded McStain in Boulder in 1966.
In the past few years, McStain has cut its building significantly.
For 2007, McStain built 141 homes valued at a total of $51 million, according to the company. Those homes were priced at $361,957 on average.
In 2006, the builder constructed 303 homes valued at $100 million total, with an average for-sale price of $330,600.
McStain builds in neighborhoods such as Lowry and Stapleton in Denver, Indian Peaks in Lafayette, Hyland Village in Westminster and West Grange in Longmont.
Denver-area home builder McStain Neighborhoods is shutting down its headquarters office in Louisville because of the soft housing market, and will have a “virtual office” instead, the company said Wednesday.
The builder, which specializes in environmentally friendly homes, expects to be out of its space at 400 Centennial Parkway in Louisville by the end of November. “There will be some real noticeable activity in the middle of next week, in terms of disassembling home studio and moving stuff out,” spokesman Steve Caulk said.
McStain co-founder Caroline Hoyt said in a statement that the change will make the builder “more nimble, efficient and in a position to give customers more attention and choice.”
The company’s office employees will become part of a new virtual office, with several small offices in and around the neighborhoods where McStain builds, according to the company. McStain has about 20 employees, down from a high a few years ago of 115, Caulk said.
Company president and CEO Eric Wittenberg resigned in August, after seven years with the company, to help control costs, according to Builder Magazine. Wittenberg told the magazine that it was “tough to put your own name on the cut list,” but it was the right thing to do for the company.
McStain founders Tom and Caroline Hoyt took on more day-to-day duties. The Hoyts founded McStain in Boulder in 1966.
In the past few years, McStain has cut its building significantly.
For 2007, McStain built 141 homes valued at a total of $51 million, according to the company. Those homes were priced at $361,957 on average.
In 2006, the builder constructed 303 homes valued at $100 million total, with an average for-sale price of $330,600.
McStain builds in neighborhoods such as Lowry and Stapleton in Denver, Indian Peaks in Lafayette, Hyland Village in Westminster and West Grange in Longmont.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Blogging - The Killer Real Estate Business Tool
By Peyman Aleagha
RISMEDIA, Nov. 12, 2008-It’s a mistake to believe that a blog is not a website. It is just another way of organizing, updating and presenting content. A blog can be a part of your website, or it can stand alone and link to it. The key is to understand what a blog is all about, and how it changes the way in which your site visitors perceive you and interact with you.
What are you trying to accomplish with your Internet presence? Many would say that it is to showcase your services, expertise and listings. That’s correct, but it doesn’t go far enough, nor does it really address the importance of the Web to the average Realtor. So, what should we be trying to accomplish with our Web presence?
- We want to be considered the “go-to” expert on local area real estate.- We want our Internet presence to start a process that eventually creates a phone or in-person relationship with a visitor who wants to buy or sell real estate.- We want our site to help us in the generation of listings by impressing listing prospects.
When visitors first arrive at your site, they are rarely ready for the “go-to.” They want information about the area, real estate processes, and lots of listings to search (give them IDX). On these early visits, they do not want a phone call or e-mail unless they ask for it. You need to give them the information they want, and gradually build trust for a relationship.
So, what’s it going to take to get the first two goals realized? This is where the power of the blog comes in. What is so different about the weblog (blog) platform or structure that makes this possible?
The content is easily entered by the real estate agent without any HTML or special Web programming knowledge at all.
The setup and structure places the content properly, requiring no page design for each entry, article or “post” as they are called.
Search engines like regular fresh new content, which is the way blogs are posted. Search engines love the way blogs are structured and the way that they present fresh new content regularly.
Web visitors aren’t patient, and they are on a quest for information. So, several smaller posts about topics like “What’s a Title Binder” or “What’s Covered by Title Insurance” will be precisely on target for their search, and they’ll read it.
You can keep the information fresh when things change, so content is easy to keep updated.
The “Comments” function of a blog makes it easy for your site visitors to interact with you and other visitors.The RSS feed function puts out an update of your content as you place it-a type of press release. The world is informed every time you post new content.
Visitors who like what you write can subscribe to your RSS feed and receive every new item as it is released. This keeps them around until they are actually ready to contact you in a more direct and personal way.
Blogs and add-ons for features are set up to automatically work with social networking like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The major difference with Internet marketing has to do with differences in the way Web consumers locate information and the ways in which they prefer to be contacted. Basically, they don’t want a phone call early in their real estate research process. They want to be anonymous, gathering information at their pace until they want to talk to a Realtor. Any effort to hold back information to force a phone or other direct contact is going to cost you prospects. Give them information they respect, and they’ll contact you.
The reason blogs work so well is that they pull the visitors into doing business with you instead of pushing them to contact you on your terms. They allow the prospect to learn about you, even the personality you show in your posts and content selection. They learn who you are and how much you know by keeping up with your content. They want to contact you at some point.
Blogs don’t change the basics. IDX should be in the site, and it’s just as easy to integrate into a blog as it is into any other site. IDX is what your visitors want when they first arrive in 90+% of cases. They may get there on a search for “YourTown real estate sold data,” but they will go from there to the listings search. They’ll also learn that you know what you’re talking about, because they found statistics about sold properties when they needed them.
Peyman Aleagha is the founder and President of RealtySoft.com. RealtySoft provides Realtors with Real Estate Web Design (http://www.realtysoft.com), Real Estate Print Marketing and Free IDX (http://www.realtysoft.com/freeidx.php) solutions.
For more information, visit www.RealtySoft.com.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
Related real estate business development articles on RISMedia.com:
RISMEDIA, Nov. 12, 2008-It’s a mistake to believe that a blog is not a website. It is just another way of organizing, updating and presenting content. A blog can be a part of your website, or it can stand alone and link to it. The key is to understand what a blog is all about, and how it changes the way in which your site visitors perceive you and interact with you.
What are you trying to accomplish with your Internet presence? Many would say that it is to showcase your services, expertise and listings. That’s correct, but it doesn’t go far enough, nor does it really address the importance of the Web to the average Realtor. So, what should we be trying to accomplish with our Web presence?
- We want to be considered the “go-to” expert on local area real estate.- We want our Internet presence to start a process that eventually creates a phone or in-person relationship with a visitor who wants to buy or sell real estate.- We want our site to help us in the generation of listings by impressing listing prospects.
When visitors first arrive at your site, they are rarely ready for the “go-to.” They want information about the area, real estate processes, and lots of listings to search (give them IDX). On these early visits, they do not want a phone call or e-mail unless they ask for it. You need to give them the information they want, and gradually build trust for a relationship.
So, what’s it going to take to get the first two goals realized? This is where the power of the blog comes in. What is so different about the weblog (blog) platform or structure that makes this possible?
The content is easily entered by the real estate agent without any HTML or special Web programming knowledge at all.
The setup and structure places the content properly, requiring no page design for each entry, article or “post” as they are called.
Search engines like regular fresh new content, which is the way blogs are posted. Search engines love the way blogs are structured and the way that they present fresh new content regularly.
Web visitors aren’t patient, and they are on a quest for information. So, several smaller posts about topics like “What’s a Title Binder” or “What’s Covered by Title Insurance” will be precisely on target for their search, and they’ll read it.
You can keep the information fresh when things change, so content is easy to keep updated.
The “Comments” function of a blog makes it easy for your site visitors to interact with you and other visitors.The RSS feed function puts out an update of your content as you place it-a type of press release. The world is informed every time you post new content.
Visitors who like what you write can subscribe to your RSS feed and receive every new item as it is released. This keeps them around until they are actually ready to contact you in a more direct and personal way.
Blogs and add-ons for features are set up to automatically work with social networking like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The major difference with Internet marketing has to do with differences in the way Web consumers locate information and the ways in which they prefer to be contacted. Basically, they don’t want a phone call early in their real estate research process. They want to be anonymous, gathering information at their pace until they want to talk to a Realtor. Any effort to hold back information to force a phone or other direct contact is going to cost you prospects. Give them information they respect, and they’ll contact you.
The reason blogs work so well is that they pull the visitors into doing business with you instead of pushing them to contact you on your terms. They allow the prospect to learn about you, even the personality you show in your posts and content selection. They learn who you are and how much you know by keeping up with your content. They want to contact you at some point.
Blogs don’t change the basics. IDX should be in the site, and it’s just as easy to integrate into a blog as it is into any other site. IDX is what your visitors want when they first arrive in 90+% of cases. They may get there on a search for “YourTown real estate sold data,” but they will go from there to the listings search. They’ll also learn that you know what you’re talking about, because they found statistics about sold properties when they needed them.
Peyman Aleagha is the founder and President of RealtySoft.com. RealtySoft provides Realtors with Real Estate Web Design (http://www.realtysoft.com), Real Estate Print Marketing and Free IDX (http://www.realtysoft.com/freeidx.php) solutions.
For more information, visit www.RealtySoft.com.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
Related real estate business development articles on RISMedia.com:
James Lockhart, Federal Housing Finance Agency director, explaining a plan to ease mortgage payments for troubled borrowers.
WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are under government control, said they would help streamline the modification of loans for potentially hundreds of thousands of homeowners who are 90 days or more behind on their mortgage payments.
The Bush administration said it would use the mortgage giants to extend aid to struggling homeowners, a move met with criticism from a top federal regulator, lawmakers and others, who charged it doesn't do enough to stem home foreclosures.
The response intensifies an already fraught debate over the government's approach to the mortgage crisis, which has cast a long shadow over the U.S. economy, from restaurants to auto makers to retail stores.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and some lawmakers support using part of the government's $700 billion in bailout funds to spur much broader loan modifications. So far, the Treasury and White House have resisted and questioned whether that idea would be effective given the costs to taxpayers.
The potential reach of the program is constrained by the large number of mortgages, especially subprime, which have been bundled into packages of securities and sold to investors around the world. The practical and contractual complexities surrounding these securities renders the mortgages hard to change.
The voluntary plan, which officials hope will be adapted by other mortgage holders, would enable certain borrowers to receive more affordable loans that would make their mortgage payments at most 38% of their monthly income.
James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which controls Fannie and Freddie, called the plan "a bold attempt to move quickly in defining a nationwide program that can quickly and easily reach many of these troubled borrowers." Mortgage servicers would be paid $800 for every loan they modify.
Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's participation could make the program standard practice for other loan servicers. To qualify, borrowers must live in their homes, not be in bankruptcy proceedings and have to owe at least 90% of the value of their home.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair questioned the plan's effectiveness, saying it "falls short of what is needed to achieve widescale modifications of distressed mortgages." Ms. Bair, a Republican White House appointee, said the government should use some portion of the financial-market bailout package to reduce foreclosures.
The government's move is the latest attempt from Washington and Wall Street to modify mortgages en masse. Led by Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., the banking industry has announced measures to make loans more affordable. Citi said Tuesday it would modify terms on as much as $20 billion in mortgages for borrowers who are current on their loan payments but could fall behind.
Driving this movement is the increasing cost of foreclosures to investors as home prices continue to plummet. LPS Applied Analytics estimates that losses from foreclosures are averaging about 44% of the loan amount, up from about 29% a year ago.
Given the scope of the crisis, working with borrowers "case by case doesn't work," says Mary Coffin, head of loan servicing for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "It probably hasn't for several months."
The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday, and the Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing Thursday to examine why the government's efforts so far have not slowed delinquencies.
The response intensifies an already fraught debate over the government's approach to the mortgage crisis, which has cast a long shadow over the U.S. economy, from restaurants to auto makers to retail stores.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and some lawmakers support using part of the government's $700 billion in bailout funds to spur much broader loan modifications. So far, the Treasury and White House have resisted and questioned whether that idea would be effective given the costs to taxpayers.
The potential reach of the program is constrained by the large number of mortgages, especially subprime, which have been bundled into packages of securities and sold to investors around the world. The practical and contractual complexities surrounding these securities renders the mortgages hard to change.
The voluntary plan, which officials hope will be adapted by other mortgage holders, would enable certain borrowers to receive more affordable loans that would make their mortgage payments at most 38% of their monthly income.
James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which controls Fannie and Freddie, called the plan "a bold attempt to move quickly in defining a nationwide program that can quickly and easily reach many of these troubled borrowers." Mortgage servicers would be paid $800 for every loan they modify.
Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's participation could make the program standard practice for other loan servicers. To qualify, borrowers must live in their homes, not be in bankruptcy proceedings and have to owe at least 90% of the value of their home.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair questioned the plan's effectiveness, saying it "falls short of what is needed to achieve widescale modifications of distressed mortgages." Ms. Bair, a Republican White House appointee, said the government should use some portion of the financial-market bailout package to reduce foreclosures.
The government's move is the latest attempt from Washington and Wall Street to modify mortgages en masse. Led by Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., the banking industry has announced measures to make loans more affordable. Citi said Tuesday it would modify terms on as much as $20 billion in mortgages for borrowers who are current on their loan payments but could fall behind.
Driving this movement is the increasing cost of foreclosures to investors as home prices continue to plummet. LPS Applied Analytics estimates that losses from foreclosures are averaging about 44% of the loan amount, up from about 29% a year ago.
Given the scope of the crisis, working with borrowers "case by case doesn't work," says Mary Coffin, head of loan servicing for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "It probably hasn't for several months."
The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday, and the Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing Thursday to examine why the government's efforts so far have not slowed delinquencies.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) said he wants to rewrite rules that servicers say make it hard for them to modify loans. Rep. Mel Watt (D., N.C.) said Democrats planned to push for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures. President-elect Barack Obama has suggested that any bank receiving money from the government as part of the rescue package should temporarily halt foreclosures.
Congress passed a housing-rescue package in July and its central plank, a program known as Hope for Homeowners, went into effect Oct. 1. It allows banks to move borrowers into government-insured loans if lenders agree to write down a portion of the principal. The program was supposed to improve upon an earlier effort, called Hope Now.
Hope for Homeowners was expected to help as many as 400,000 people, but in its first two weeks it helped just 42 homeowners, according to agency records. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated earlier this month the plan could help 19,600 people by the end of 2009. An agency spokesman said it was too early to judge the program because it takes time for loans to be processed.
"The problem is we've used so many incremental steps, none of which have been big enough to get ahead of the problem," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R., Fla.), a supporter of Ms. Bair and former secretary of the Housing and Urban Development.
In a sign of continuing woes, luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. Tuesday reported sales hit record lows last month. Robert Toll, the company's chief executive, said the financial turmoil sparked a wave of cancellations. Fears of jobs losses and the plummeting stock market drove "home buyers' confidence and our traffic and demand down to record lows." Mr. Toll said.
Bush administration officials said the effort announced Tuesday doesn't preclude other foreclosure-prevention measures. It remains unclear what other steps might be taken.
Several weeks ago, Ms. Bair began privately floating a proposal that would use roughly $40 billion from Treasury's $700 billion program to help roughly three million homeowners move into more affordable loans. The White House has been cool to the idea. Bush administration officials have said the FDIC's proposal could offer perverse incentives that might push more people into foreclosure, such as encouraging people whose mortgages were underwater to stop making monthly payments in order to qualify for aid.
The Treasury Department has so far directed its rescue spending into financial institutions, and isn't currently expected to buy distressed assets such as mortgages.
Few believe even the giant loan-modification efforts announced by financial institutions will be enough. That's because the programs focus primarily on mortgages wholly owned by the participating institutions. Most mortgages in recent years were sold to investors, and efforts to modify those are proving to be vexing, particularly when those loans have been carved into mortgage-backed securities that don't carry some government guarantee.
Of the $11.3 trillion in mortgage loans outstanding, $2.03 trillion were packaged into mortgage-backed securities sold to investors by Wall Street, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. Another $4.5 trillion are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
—Michael R. Crittenden, Deborah Solomon and John D. McKinnon contributed to this article.
Write to Damian Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com, Jessica Holzer at jessica.holzer@dowjones.com and Ruth Simon at ruth.simon@wsj.com
Congress passed a housing-rescue package in July and its central plank, a program known as Hope for Homeowners, went into effect Oct. 1. It allows banks to move borrowers into government-insured loans if lenders agree to write down a portion of the principal. The program was supposed to improve upon an earlier effort, called Hope Now.
Hope for Homeowners was expected to help as many as 400,000 people, but in its first two weeks it helped just 42 homeowners, according to agency records. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated earlier this month the plan could help 19,600 people by the end of 2009. An agency spokesman said it was too early to judge the program because it takes time for loans to be processed.
"The problem is we've used so many incremental steps, none of which have been big enough to get ahead of the problem," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R., Fla.), a supporter of Ms. Bair and former secretary of the Housing and Urban Development.
In a sign of continuing woes, luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. Tuesday reported sales hit record lows last month. Robert Toll, the company's chief executive, said the financial turmoil sparked a wave of cancellations. Fears of jobs losses and the plummeting stock market drove "home buyers' confidence and our traffic and demand down to record lows." Mr. Toll said.
Bush administration officials said the effort announced Tuesday doesn't preclude other foreclosure-prevention measures. It remains unclear what other steps might be taken.
Several weeks ago, Ms. Bair began privately floating a proposal that would use roughly $40 billion from Treasury's $700 billion program to help roughly three million homeowners move into more affordable loans. The White House has been cool to the idea. Bush administration officials have said the FDIC's proposal could offer perverse incentives that might push more people into foreclosure, such as encouraging people whose mortgages were underwater to stop making monthly payments in order to qualify for aid.
The Treasury Department has so far directed its rescue spending into financial institutions, and isn't currently expected to buy distressed assets such as mortgages.
Few believe even the giant loan-modification efforts announced by financial institutions will be enough. That's because the programs focus primarily on mortgages wholly owned by the participating institutions. Most mortgages in recent years were sold to investors, and efforts to modify those are proving to be vexing, particularly when those loans have been carved into mortgage-backed securities that don't carry some government guarantee.
Of the $11.3 trillion in mortgage loans outstanding, $2.03 trillion were packaged into mortgage-backed securities sold to investors by Wall Street, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. Another $4.5 trillion are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
—Michael R. Crittenden, Deborah Solomon and John D. McKinnon contributed to this article.
Write to Damian Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com, Jessica Holzer at jessica.holzer@dowjones.com and Ruth Simon at ruth.simon@wsj.com
Green Can Mean Gold for Realtors® and The Home Buyers and Sellers They Serve
ORLANDO, November 08, 2008 From www.nar.com
Green buildings and business practices help conserve significant amounts of natural resources and can mean added business opportunities for Realtors®. As environmental concerns continue to grow among consumers, Realtors® attending today’s “Making Green Building Work for You and Your Clients” session at the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo learned more about how to help buyers and sellers bring green into their homes.
Homes and buildings have a major impact on the environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, residential and commercial buildings account for more than one-third of the nation’s total energy use, 12 percent of water use, 68 percent of electricity consumption and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
“Realtors® build communities and are taking leading roles in promoting and encouraging green building practices,” said National Association of Realtors® President Richard Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. “Green homes and commercial buildings are our future; Realtors® realize that environmentally sensitive building practices and home features are a good investment for both their clients and the planet.”
Realtors® who can educate consumers about green developments in real estate could find a rewarding niche, especially as energy-efficiency standards become more stringent. “Realtors® with green knowledge are valuable resources for environmentally conscious home buyers and sellers,” said Gaylord.
During the session, Realtor® Michael Kiefer with Green DC Realty in Washington, D.C., shared his insights on the growing green consumer base. “The green consumer is a market we as Realtors® cannot ignore,” said Kiefer. “It’s a targeted niche opportunity, and Realtors® must find ways to make green language a part of their business.”
U.S. Department of Energy representative Lani MacRea explained the benefits of retrofitting existing homes with energy efficient features. “Existing residential buildings represent the single largest source of potential energy savings,” she said.
Panelist Victoria Schomer, from Green Built Environments in Asheville, N.C, acknowledged the influence that the real estate industry can have on environmental issues. “We know that the building industry impacts the environment in a very major way,” she said. “The goal is to support clients and their families to live more sustainable, environmentally friendly lives.”
To help Realtors® provide green expertise and service to meet growing consumer demand, NAR launched a Green Designation course in early September, and Realtor® response has been overwhelming. The first Green Designation core course was completed just days ago here in Orlando – over 230 Realtors® have earned the designation.
Green buildings and business practices help conserve significant amounts of natural resources and can mean added business opportunities for Realtors®. As environmental concerns continue to grow among consumers, Realtors® attending today’s “Making Green Building Work for You and Your Clients” session at the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo learned more about how to help buyers and sellers bring green into their homes.
Homes and buildings have a major impact on the environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, residential and commercial buildings account for more than one-third of the nation’s total energy use, 12 percent of water use, 68 percent of electricity consumption and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
“Realtors® build communities and are taking leading roles in promoting and encouraging green building practices,” said National Association of Realtors® President Richard Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. “Green homes and commercial buildings are our future; Realtors® realize that environmentally sensitive building practices and home features are a good investment for both their clients and the planet.”
Realtors® who can educate consumers about green developments in real estate could find a rewarding niche, especially as energy-efficiency standards become more stringent. “Realtors® with green knowledge are valuable resources for environmentally conscious home buyers and sellers,” said Gaylord.
During the session, Realtor® Michael Kiefer with Green DC Realty in Washington, D.C., shared his insights on the growing green consumer base. “The green consumer is a market we as Realtors® cannot ignore,” said Kiefer. “It’s a targeted niche opportunity, and Realtors® must find ways to make green language a part of their business.”
U.S. Department of Energy representative Lani MacRea explained the benefits of retrofitting existing homes with energy efficient features. “Existing residential buildings represent the single largest source of potential energy savings,” she said.
Panelist Victoria Schomer, from Green Built Environments in Asheville, N.C, acknowledged the influence that the real estate industry can have on environmental issues. “We know that the building industry impacts the environment in a very major way,” she said. “The goal is to support clients and their families to live more sustainable, environmentally friendly lives.”
To help Realtors® provide green expertise and service to meet growing consumer demand, NAR launched a Green Designation course in early September, and Realtor® response has been overwhelming. The first Green Designation core course was completed just days ago here in Orlando – over 230 Realtors® have earned the designation.
Realtors® Against Full Privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
WASHINGTON, November 11, 2008 From www.nar.com
To insure that there is sufficient capital to support mortgage lending to qualified borrowers, the National Association of Realtors® has adopted principles that recommend continued government involvement in the secondary mortgage market.
“As the leading advocate for housing issues, NAR developed these principles for consideration by the 111th Congress and the new presidential administration in light of disruptions in the credit markets and the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “NAR believes that the federal government must continue to play a role in the mortgage markets to insure the continued flow of capital.”
NAR’s Presidential Advisory Group on Government Sponsored Enterprises developed the new principles to encourage a strong, robust financing environment for homeownership. The principles call on the government to ensure an active secondary mortgage market; support affordable mortgage rates for qualified borrowers; establish reasonable affordable housing goals; require that institutions pass on the advantages of lower borrowing costs by making lower rates on mortgages available for qualified borrowers; require sound underwriting standards, and transparency and soundness with respect to disclosure and structuring of mortgage related securities; and establish rigorous oversight.“Safe and affordable mortgages must be available throughout the nation,” said McMillan. “This requires that the higher loan limits passed in the economic stimulus bill earlier this year be made permanent. The federal government must also insure that there is sufficient capital to support mortgage lending in all types of markets.”“Realtors® look forward to working with the new Congress and administration to help stabilize the housing industry and the U.S. economy, and to make sure we stem the rise of foreclosures and keep more families in their homes,” said McMillan.
To insure that there is sufficient capital to support mortgage lending to qualified borrowers, the National Association of Realtors® has adopted principles that recommend continued government involvement in the secondary mortgage market.
“As the leading advocate for housing issues, NAR developed these principles for consideration by the 111th Congress and the new presidential administration in light of disruptions in the credit markets and the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “NAR believes that the federal government must continue to play a role in the mortgage markets to insure the continued flow of capital.”
NAR’s Presidential Advisory Group on Government Sponsored Enterprises developed the new principles to encourage a strong, robust financing environment for homeownership. The principles call on the government to ensure an active secondary mortgage market; support affordable mortgage rates for qualified borrowers; establish reasonable affordable housing goals; require that institutions pass on the advantages of lower borrowing costs by making lower rates on mortgages available for qualified borrowers; require sound underwriting standards, and transparency and soundness with respect to disclosure and structuring of mortgage related securities; and establish rigorous oversight.“Safe and affordable mortgages must be available throughout the nation,” said McMillan. “This requires that the higher loan limits passed in the economic stimulus bill earlier this year be made permanent. The federal government must also insure that there is sufficient capital to support mortgage lending in all types of markets.”“Realtors® look forward to working with the new Congress and administration to help stabilize the housing industry and the U.S. economy, and to make sure we stem the rise of foreclosures and keep more families in their homes,” said McMillan.
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