Ken D'Alessandro, CCIM's Blog by Ken D'Alessandro, CCIM

2008 WILL BE THE YEAR TO BUY!! WHY ?

April 22nd, 2008 the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) issued a news release saying U.S. monthly house price index estimates 0.6 percent price increase between January and February. The East North Central region which includes Illinois had a 1.6% price increase 2nd only to the New England region with 2.2% It's A Buyer's Market, But Only If You Buy !!! Don't let 2008 be the year you wish you bought real estate. With lower interest rates and plenty of properties to choose from, now may be the righr time to purchase real estate. Many people who wish to "wait until next year when prices are lower" may find prices lower or prices may be higher. Trying to time the market is that it requires a rising market to know where the bottom was. The truth is none of the experts can accurately predict the real estate market any better than the experts can accurately predict the stock market. Purchasing real ..(read more)

THE RETURN OF THE LAND CONTRACT

Land contracts, otherwise known as articles of agreement, or installment contracts are going to make a major comeback. Land contracts became popular during the Jimmy Carter presidency as a result of interest rates in the high teens. Briefly, They operate as follows: the parties agree on a purchase price, the seller then agrees to an installment plan at a negotiated interest rate. There is a ballon date that is generally 1-3 years. Title does not pass until the full purchase price is paid. The purchaser is able to deduct the interest and real estate taxes, the purchaser has NO loan costs and there are no appraisal issues. The seller can keep his current loan on the property, it will be paid off at the final closing when the purchaser either obtains a mortage, or in the alternative, sells the property to a third party. Advantages to the purchaser include locking in a purchase price, gaining tax write-offs, no loan costs and reduced title costs. Advantages to the seller include ..(read more)

U.S. House Price Appreciation Rate Steadies

Washington, DC- The rate of home appreciation in the U.S. remained steady in the fourth quarter of 2006, extending a general trend of deceleration begun earlier in the year. Home prices, based on repeat sales and refinancings, were 1.1 percent higher in the fourth quarter than they were in the third quarter of 2006. This is slightly above the revised growth estimate of 1.0 percent from the second to the third quarter. Prices in the fourth quarter of 2006 were 5.9 percent higher than they were in the same quarter in 2005. Price appreciation in 2006 was substantially smaller than the tremendous price gains of recent years, which ranged from 7.4 percent in 2002 to 13.2 percent in 2005. The figures were released by James Lockhart of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). "These data show that, on the whole, prices are still rising, albeit at a much slower pace, this suggests that house price appreciation is , for now, more in line with historical ..(read more)

Retirement Plan A Disappointment?

While the stock market fluctuates , money market returns falter, and large corporations are showing record losses are paying CEOs millions of dollars to leave for doing a bad job, many Americans have discovered an innovative way to remove their stagnant retirement account investment money and place it where it can do some good. Many are concerned with building wealth so they can retire comfortably. A decades old form of investing and creating wealth is gaining in popularity. Self-Directed IRAs for Real Estate. For most investors, IRA investments are generally limited to stocks, bonds and mutual funds. This is because most investors are not aware of the many different kinds of investments which can be made with an IRA and also because the majority of financial institutions which offer IRAs limit their investment options to these instruments. The creation of a self-directed IRA for real estate enables you to choose what you would like to invest ..(read more)