NAR Economist Among Top Forecasters

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS'® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun has been named among the top 10 economic forecasters by USA Today. Yun is ranked fifth on the list and is responsible for NAR’s real estate statistics and economic forecasting. The annual list recognizes accuracy in forecasting.
“NAR is proud of USA Today’s recognition of Lawrence Yun and his economic forecast accuracy. He is a highly regarded economist, and the housing and real estate industry have come to rely heavily on his economic analyses,” says Dale Stinton, NAR executive vice president and chief executive officer. “This acknowledgement contributes greatly to NAR’s reputation as the leading innovator in housing-related research.”
Yun was named NAR’s chief economist and senior vice president of research in November 2007. He has been with the association since 2000, previously serving as vice president and senior economist. He pioneered the development of the Commercial Leading Index after helping develop the residential Pending Home Sales Index.“I’m honored to be recognized among some of the best economists in the country,” says Yun. “The economy and housing industry are facing many challenging issues at this time, which makes this an interesting and stimulating position.”
USA Today enlisted the help of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to determine the most accurate forecasters among the economists surveyed in the newspaper’s quarterly survey on the U.S. economy. The economists, whose identities were unknown to those gathering the data, received four scores — one for each quarterly survey — and were ranked on the average of those four scores. FRBA used statistical methods to assess the joint accuracy of the predictions rather than assessing the accuracy of each forecast variable separately, as is commonly done.
Before joining NAR, Yun worked as an economic consultant to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Education. As a research associate at the University of Maryland, Yun developed the graduate economics curriculum for and taught free-market economics in the former Soviet Union as that country transitioned from communism to a free-market system.Yun received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland in 1995. He received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1987.

Why now is a Smart Time to Buy

Why Now is a Smart Time to Buy
Now is a great time to buy a home, say the financial gurus at the Wall Street Journal.The Journal calls it a buyers market and offers these suggestions for first-timers getting their feet wet. While their advice is solid, it’s not revolutionary, but some potential customers might find it reassuring.

Remember this is a place to live not a stock market investment, they say. Lenders want buyers to spend no more than 28 percent of their gross monthly income on mortgage payments, real estate taxes, and home insurance. Buyers shouldn’t count on stretching further because lenders won’t approve their loans.
Cash is king. Having enough money in the bank to pay closing costs that are typically an additional 2 percent to 3 percent of the price of the home is necessary.
Location. Location, location. As any good real estate professional knows, homes in good school districts where the crime is low are much more likely to hold or increase their value.
Compare. Besides just looking at the comps, buyers should examine what it would cost to rent a similar house in the same area and they might consider what it would cost to buy land and build a comparable home.
Think long haul. It will probably take at least six or seven years of living in the house to be able to sell and come out ahead.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Shelly Banjo (03/11/08)

GREAT NEWS!! As of March 6th

I know you've all been waiting for some relief to our current market conditions, and it arrived today: the new FHA and Fannie Mae- Freddie Mac conforming loan limits have been released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To find out the new limits in your area, simply click on this link: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm, which will take you to the "mortgage limits" page at the HUD web site. On that page, enter your state and county information, chose the type of loan from the "Limit Type" drop-down box (FHA Forward, Fannie/Freddie or HECM). [Note: FHA Forward is what HUD is calling the temporary FHA loan limit.] Then click the "send" button at the bottom of the page. On the results page, you'll see the new loan limit for the type of loan you selected for your area. You can also find a county-by-county listing of the new FHA and Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac loan limits at REALTOR.org by following this link: http://www.realtor.org/GAPublic.nsf/files/chart_hud_loan_limits_08.pdf/$FILE/chart_hud_loan_limits_08.pdf
The new loan limits for FHA and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now calculated at 125 percent of the HUD published median prices, with a floor of $271,050 and $417,000, respectively, not to exceed $729,750.