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RealEstatePlus.ca 2007-10-25 14:36:40 About RealEstatePlus.ca An estimated 80% of Canadians begin their search for a new home on the internet. Finding a new home is a major life decision. RealEstatePlus.ca was created to assist the user in that process by offering Canadians access to the most innovative tools and the best available information when they undertake this important step. RealEstatePlus.ca employs some of the latest technologies to help people personalize their search for property in Canada. Combining customization functionality including flexible search parameters, saved searches, watch lists and alerts with advanced mapping technologies, users can gain deep insight about properties, homes, neighbourhoods and cities before even speaking with an agent. The premise of the site is to enable users to search for homes in a way that is intuitive to them. As a result, all functionality is geared to personalizing the user experience “? familiar terminology for neighbourhoods and geographic boundaries, search di ...

Is Redfin downsizing? 2007-10-25 08:44:56 No, I guess not. But amusing repartee ensues. ...

Park St. Patio & Jeffrey Place Host Saturday Bash 2007-10-25 03:25:32 ... Amp

Toronto’s pre-tax real estate push 2007-10-25 02:34:42 The new land-transfer tax puts rush on real estate deals Toronto’s bullish real estate market, which has set a series of sales records this year, has grown suddenly more frantic, as buyers (and sellers) try to get their sales completed before the new land-transfer tax takes effect early next year. The National Post’s Adam Huras and Will Tremain report: The tax “? approved by city council on Monday, it kicks in on Feb. 1 “? will add $3,725 to the price of a $400,000 home. The average Toronto home is priced just below that. “I’ve noticed in the last couple days an influx in showings I have listed right now. It looks like people are rushing to buy just to save on the tax,”� said Bill Balamatsis of East York Realty Ltd., who estimates viewings are up about 25%. “I have one property listed at $1.4-million, and right after the announcement I started getting showings on it.”� Ann Hannah, owner and broker of record for Sutton Group Old ...

Round and Round the Market Goes - Where it Stops, No One Knows! 2007-10-24 23:09:23 So the latest market report is in. Sales are down, prices are up, and even though there’s a massive “credit crunch”, the average days on the market for September of 2007 is 37, which means that homes, in this “crappy, scary, collapsing” market are actually selling 4 days faster than last year where the average days on the market was 41. All in all… the market in San Francisco is cyclical. It goes up, it goes down, and then it goes back up again. January sales increase, they slow down in Spring, pick up at the end of Spring and beginning of summer, the late summer months are slow, and then September and October sales typically jump before taking a break for November and December, when we start all over again with another upswing in January. We’re a little slower than we’d like to be this year with the credit crunch, but even so, there’s plenty of places selling, and that means that there are qualified buyers buying them&hellip ...

National City Correspondent Lending Done 2007-10-24 20:29:38 I’m a bit behind on this one; but many thanks to the readers that sent in the notice.  As a former correspondent lender all I can say is that I’m glad they are honoring remaining commitments before closing the doors.  That’s more than most of the mortgage companies and divisions that have closed up shop are doing.  My company was burned with a loan that New Century had committed to and then didn’t come through after ceasing funding; for smaller correspondents these unsellable loans can quickly close the doors.  Here’s the notice, from the National City web site: Dear Valued Customer, As you know, rapidly changing conditions in mortgage markets have resulted in significant challenges in the industry. Like many mortgage lenders, we have taken a number of acti ...

Realtors still fretting about land tax 2007-10-24 15:08:24 Toronto Realtors are worried about what will happen to the market in the city now that the land transfer tax has been approved. Brad Lamb is widely known as Toronto’s “condo king.” He said about 8,000 new condo developments go up in the city every year and council is basically killing what he calls “the golden goose.” “It’s a shot at the arm, not through the heart … but it’s still not smart,” Lamb said. “It’s not what his council should be doing. This council should be embracing housing and seeing it for what it is, which is one of the few bright spots of the Ontario economy.” He said this will affect Toronto in a negative way, suggesting that people are resourceful and can make their livings in other cities across Canada and around the world. An Environics poll comissioned by the Toronto Real Estate Board shows 62 per cent of Torontonians think the land transfer tax is an unfair solution to the city’ ...

Bank of America to Cut 3,000 Jobs 2007-10-24 14:13:41 The jobs will primarily be cut out of their investment banking and capital markets groups in a further sign that the credit contraction has caused a mass reduction in activity in the secondary markets and structured finance arena. From Market Watch: Bank of America said late Wednesday that it is cutting roughly 3,000 jobs and launching a strategic review of its investment banking business after recent poor performance from the unit. Most of the job cuts will be from Bank of America’s investment banking unit, it said. Those reductions represent less than 2% of the company’s staff. Business Lending, Treasury Services and Capital Markets and Advisory Services, as well as supporting infrastructure, will be affected, the bank said. Bank of America reported a 31% drop in third-quarter profit last week as trading losses and a hit from loans backing leveraged buyouts nearly wiped out the company’s investment-banking income. We saw a lot of cuts on the origination side, and ... America

Random Countrywide Malaise 2007-10-24 12:13:01 With Countrywide’s sure-to-be dismal earnings call this Friday there has been some news of note to pass along to you. Countrywide stock hammered today on fears of Option ARM exposure No kidding?!! Option ARMs are going to be the next big disaster. Wait till those bad-boys start resetting with no equity. You want to watch the definition of ‘prime’ credit be dismantled? Look for 2010-2011 for proof of the arbitrary nature of credit scores vs. the very real nature of earning capacity and debt service. From Market Watch: UBS AG prepared an analysis for the WSJ showing that 3.55% of option ARMs originated by Countrywide in 2006 and re-packaged into mortgage-backed securities are at least 60 days past due, the newspaper said. That compares with an average option-ARM delinquency rate of 2.56% for the industry, the WSJ noted. Option ARMs in 2006? Really? How are these people behind on a minimum 1.5% start rate payment? So much for great credit risks offsetting exposure ...

Merrill in Peril? Writes Down $8 Billion in Bad Mortgage Debt 2007-10-24 07:35:20 Merrill Lynch reported today that it is taking an $8 billion write down for bad mortgage debt held as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).  The $8 billion totals the losses reported by Citi, UBS and WaMu combined.  Merrill Lynch stock was hammered as expected. The real story here?  Merrill pre-announced write down charges in the $4.5 billion range 3 weeks ago in advance of its earnings call.  Today that number is nearly double their initial estimates based on a self-proclaimed “more conservative approach” to write downs over the last 3 weeks of analysis.  Of course, no one now believes what Merrill is saying.  The size of the miss is insane and throws in to question how upfront other banks have been and how exactly are these banks valuing their CDO and other structured debt to get to these write downs?  Merrill for its part didn’t yield much in the way it calculated the write down. From Market Watch: “It turned out our assessment of the potential risk ...

Toronto Land Transfer Tax Approved 2007-10-24 03:53:30 Toronto has just passed a new land transfer tax for new home purchases. This new land transfer tax is in addition to the current Ontario land transfer tax that everyone is required to pay. Anyone who has purchased a home has needed to pay the Ontario land transfer tax. In Ontario the tax rates are (for example on a $450,000 home): $0 - $55,000 = .005% = $275 $55,000 - $250,000 = .01% = $1,950 $250,000 - $400,000 = .015% = $2,250 $400,000 + = .02% = $1,000 Total Ontario land transfer tax = $5,475 However, now in Toronto, all new home buyers need to pay the above Ontario tax, plus an additional Toronto Land Transfer Tax. Here is the Toronto tax on a $450,000 home: $0 - $55,000 = .005% = $275 $55,000 - $400,000 = .01% = $1,950 $400,000 + = .02% = $1,000 Total Toronto land transfer tax = $4,725 This Toronto Tax is in ADDITION to the Ontario Tax, so now a buyer in Toronto is required to pay $5,475 + $4,725 = $10,200 in tax! WO ...

Barney Frank - Broker’s Worst Nightmare 2007-10-23 21:00:17 A recent post “Dead Man Walking” highlighted the quiet moves that banks had made to slowly abandon the wholesale business model as a flight to quality through retail originations. There was some heated debate and the general consensus was that while wholesale will be reduced it will never be eliminated as part of the home financing firmament. While I still feel that brokers are the home loan ‘dodo’ I could see the validity of arguments being made for retaining the wholesale model. However, if the newest proposed legislation from Barney Frank (D-Mass) titled “The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007” passes brokers will be under extreme duress to continue operating. In an earlier post I promised a more in-depth review of the legislation; and here it is. Section 102 - Licensing for All Mortgage Originators The bill calls for the licensing of all mortgage originators either on the state or federal level as well as providing that un ...

Countrywide Launches $16 Billion “Refi or Modify”� Campaign for Subprime Borrowers 2007-10-23 12:35:38 The big news today is Countrywide’s newly announced initiative to refinance or modify some $16 billion worth of subprime mortgages in to prime or government (FHA, VA) loans. The loans targeted in this initiative are subprime adjustable rate mortgages set to adjust by the end of 2008. Countrywide anticipates that the move could potentially reach more than 52,000 customers via refinance opportunities and 20,000 customers via loan modification. Excerpts from the Countrywide press release: “Countrywide believes that none of our subprime borrowers that have demonstrated the ability to make payments should lose their home to foreclosure solely as a result of a rate reset,” said Sambol. “This is yet another step in our continuing effort to identify and improve existing programs that assist our customers.” For Countrywide borrowers currently in a subprime loan with a strong payment history, a special refinance unit has been created to contact approximately 52,0 ...

John Woodall Short Sale Expert Podcast Interview 2007-10-23 10:17:05 In this edition of the Blown Mortgage audio podcast series we speak with short sale expert John Woodall of Home Auction Advantage in San Diego. John is incredibly knowledgeable about the short sale process and shares with our listeners the ins and outs of the process for those considering short selling their home. In one of the most important interviews we’ve done to date John gives you step-by-step advice for getting out of a situation where you are upside down in your home. You can visit John online at www.homeauctionADV.com. If the above player is not visible to you, or you would like to download the file for listening at a later time, please click here to download the short sale mp3 interview. As always, music licensed under the Creative Commons license, The Streets of Miami performed by Dokapi. Share This ...

The Art of Selling Luxury Homes 2007-10-23 06:46:19 For sale: modern Corona del Mar beauty, featuring state-of-the art electronics, a water treatment system, three pools, two spas, eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Oh, and a bowling alley, vintage movie theater, caf?gymnasium, auto museum, wine cellar behind a bank-vault door and just under an acre of beachfront land. Asking price? $75 million. That makes Portabello, as the mansion is known, one of the three most expensive residences currently for sale in America. How much will the real estate agent signed to market the home get?! $4,500,000??? ———————————————————————————————– Just one commission check can be more money than you made ALL of last year! —————————————————————&m ...