Entries by The KCM Crew

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Where Are Housing Prices Headed?

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been reporting great news recently. Last week’s Existing Home Sales Report and yesterday’s Pending Sales Report both showed consecutive months of increases in the number of homes sold. Finally, buyers are jumping off the fence and taking advantage of one of the most opportune times to purchase a […]

What The Crystal Ball Says About Rates

Predicting what will happen with interest rates is risky for a person’s credibility.  Last year at this time, I (and the KCM Crew) believed rates would climb after June and for very logical reasons: the end of the Fed’s purchase of mortgage-backed-securities (MBS) and the end of the Tax Credit. What we didn’t anticipate was […]

The Real American Idol – HOMEOWNERSHIP!

Simon Cowell would have to be considered congenial compared to the critics of real estate in the last few years. But like the popular TV show, where the ultimate winner is not chosen by a select few but instead by the vote of the nation, homeownership again has proven to be the choice of the people. […]

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Distressed Inventory to Step Out of the Shadows

We are beginning 2011 with much more positive news about real estate than we have had in several years. The pending sales numbers (houses going into contract) have been climbing for several months. Last month’s Existing Homes Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors showed an increase of over 12%. Demand definitely seems to […]

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Is the Housing Market Starting to Come Back?

It seems that the housing market is finally showing signs of a recovery. We are not suggesting that it will come roaring back and we will see 2006 numbers again. However, the National Association of Realtors released their December Existing Home Sales Report yesterday. The report showed a 12.3% increase in closed transactions over the month before. […]

What IS Risk Retention and How Will It Affect You?

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010. The law’s far reaching impact will take years to understand, but as professionals we do know that Title IX (Risk Retention) will have a dramatic impact on consumers and the mortgage industry. What is Risk Retention? Risk Retention […]

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You Need an EXPERT, Not Just an Agent

A major national television network called us a few weeks ago to do a live interview. To Steve Harney, our lead author, it was an honor to visit their Manhattan studios and meet Gerri Willis, the anchor of her own show – The Willis Report.  She and all the people on her staff were both extremely […]

Questions Sellers Should Ask Before Choosing An Agent

Once a homeowner decides to sell their home and hire a professional agent to market it for them, most sellers will interview a few agents before signing on the dotted line. That’s a good idea. However, most sellers don’t have a clue on who is the RIGHT choice. Many sellers pick and agent based on a “connection” or […]

Oswald Acted Alone and We Did Land on the Moon

We believe that things are usually as they seem. We are not the type of organization that believes in conspiracies. However, there is something interesting in some of the housing price studies we are seeing in our research. It seems that some of the groups making the predictions are the same ones that have the […]

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Rent vs. Buy: Do the Math and Then Ask Mom

We are starting to hear from real estate professionals that a growing number of purchasers are young adults being persuaded to buy now. Who are the people selling them on the American Dream? Their parents! It seems that parents of some adult children are strongly suggesting that their children take advantage of the low cost […]

How Should Your Home Be Marketed?

Differentiating a home from the massive inventory is difficult. In a world of information overload, building excitement about a single home (when there are “three just like it” for sale on the same block) is a monumental task. Really, MARKETING a home is an agent’s primary job. I mean, agents don’t determine price (the buyer […]

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Would You Hire a Fat Personal Trainer?

Imagine you decided to get into great physical condition in 2011. It was your most important New Year’s resolution. Would you hire an out-of-shape trainer to help you achieve your goal? Of course you wouldn’t. You would want to take advice from a person that already is in the physical condition you hope to attain. […]

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, KCM Community! In some ways, 2010 was a very difficult year for sellers, buyers and real estate professionals. However, it made us a little stronger .. as adversity always does. It also helped us remember that the value of homeownership is so much more than just the price of a house. Let’s make […]

Questions You SHOULD Be Asking Your Lender

We have run this post before but want to make sure you still are asking the right questions of your loan officer. Here is a great list from Dean. – The KCM Crew More and more, consumers are learning that there is much more to getting a mortgage than just the interest rate and points.  A good […]

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Real Estate 2010: The Year of Intervention

This past year has been very challenging for real estate. The market was defined by outside intervention. This intervention tugged at historic trends. Government involvment caused market fundamentals to be distorted beyond recognition. Unpredictability was the only thing we could predict. Modifications The administration’s announced goal of the modification program was to save 3-4 million families […]

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Dr. Doom, Mr. Bear and Real Estate

Trying to negotiate the current housing market is difficult. There are so many external variables impacting real estate it seems almost impossible to project where sales and prices are headed. But, there were two people who saw the challenges we are currently experiencing back in 2005-2006. They looked at the market and predicted we were in […]