West Linn & Sherwood ranked in Top 100 cities to live in the US!

Not surprisingly the beautiful cities of West Linn & Sherwood here in our great state of Oregon have just been ranked in the Top 100 cities to live in the US!  Oregon’s collection of crown jewels continues to expand – congrats to both cities!!

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/PL4180150.html

The Upside of the Housing Bust

 WASHINGTON — If you’re a 20-something or even younger, your economic future is at best clouded. Your taxes will almost certainly be higher than today’s; your public services (schools, police, sanitation, defense, scientific research) will almost certainly be lower. Paying for old people, covering rising health costs, repairing dilapidated roads and servicing government pensions and the huge federal debt will squeeze take-home pay. Is there any hope for economic gains?

Well, yes — and from a surprising source. Housing. Say what?

Almost everyone considers the housing collapse a disaster, and it is. Since 2007, roughly 8 million homes have gone into foreclosure. Housing prices, according to the widely cited Case-Shiller index, are down about 33 percent from their 2006 peaks. They’re still falling, albeit at a slower pace. In some cities (Atlanta, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Detroit, Phoenix), they’re at or below 2000 levels. Home sales are stunted, and construction is a quarter of its previous peak. Housing’s implosion retards the economic recovery. Aside from unemployed carpenters and real estate agents, there’s much unsold lumber, carpet and appliances.

But housing’s troubles may have a silver lining. If you’re a homeowner, the steep fall in prices is calamitous. But if you’re a future buyer, it’s a godsend. What we’re seeing is a massive wealth transfer from today’s older homeowners to tomorrow’s younger homeowners. From year-end 2006 to 2010, housing values fell $6.3 trillion, reports the Federal Reserve. Assuming there’s no sharp rebound in prices — a good bet — that’s $6.3 trillion the young won’t pay.

Up to a point, the lower home prices merely deflate the artificial “bubble.” But there’s evidence that the declines transcend that. The National Association of Realtors routinely publishes a housing “affordability” index, which judges the ability of median families to buy the median-price home at prevailing interest rates. By this measure, existing homes are the most affordable since the index started in 1970.

Young buyers “will be able to enter the housing market at bargain prices,” argues NAR economist Lawrence Yun. When home prices again rise, increases will parallel income gains, meaning that the relative burden of housing costs will remain roughly stable, Yun says. He expects only modest increases in interest rates. (A one percentage point rise — say, from 5 percent to 6 percent — on a $150,000 mortgage boosts the monthly payment about $95.)

Falling real estate prices have also affected new homes. They’re getting smaller and less embellished, as they must. New homes typically sell at a 10 percent to 20 percent premium over comparable existing homes. If prices don’t fall, buyers won’t buy. From 1973 to 2007, the size of the average new home grew by about 50 percent, from 1,660 square feet to 2,521 square feet. By 2009, that was 2,438 square feet, with more declines expected.

“People have become much more value oriented,” says Jeff Mezger, CEO of KB Home, a major builder. At the height of the boom, with cheap mortgage credit widely available, over-confident buyers selected five-bedroom homes with Jacuzzis and granite-top kitchen counters, he says. Now, buyers favor practical amenities: more kitchen cabinets and bigger closets.

We are, perhaps, at a historic juncture. The relentless expansion of home size since World War II — encouraged by federal subsidies, including the mortgage- interest tax deduction — arguably resulted in many Americans being “over-housed.” Homes grew beyond what was “needed” or could even be enjoyed. The reason they kept expanding, Cornell economist Robert Frank has argued, was social competition. People want to be in the “best” neighborhoods with the “best” schools, and these neighborhoods have ever larger homes. Somewhat smaller homes, Frank contends, wouldn’t make people less happy.

If the housing collapse mutes this self-defeating syndrome, the main beneficiaries will be today’s young. Their homes will be somewhat cheaper and smaller; their operating costs (mainly utilities) will be somewhat lower. The sacrifices in living standards will be barely noticeable, and the savings — housing, after all, represents most families’ largest expense — will provide some relief from higher taxes and health costs.

Caveats apply. Housing markets are famously local; what’s true in one won’t be true in another. Moreover, the housing bust still looms large. The young are staying or returning home; new household formations are less than half of previous levels. Mortgage credit is constricted. Private lenders, once promiscuous with loans, are now prudish. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in a state of transition — to what, no one knows. The price adjustment, especially for new homes, is incomplete. Unless these problems are overcome, housing construction will remain depressed. Eventually, the scarcity of homes would push prices up.

But crises pass and have unintended consequences. The young just might catch a much-needed break from this one.

Courtesy of Robert J. Samuelson and Oregonlive.com

Robert Samuelson writes for the Washington Post Writers Group. 

January 14th 2011 is the deadline for Oregon’s Mortgage Assistance Program!!

Mortgage Assistance Program

If anyone you know has lost income or is unemployed and is having trouble making their mortgage payments, please pass this information on to them.  This mortgage assistance program has been established to help 5,000 Oregon households pay their mortgages for up to one year.

The application deadline is Jan. 14th 2011.  However as of Jan. 5th our sources have informed us that OHSI has only received 2,500 applications!  That’s why we’re working to help spread the word to as many Oregonians as we can.

There is a simple anonymous test on the website that you can take to see what your chances of qualifying for the program are.

As always, if you or anyone you know, has any real estate related questions or needs we are here to help!

- The Kennedy Team

Oregon Kicks Off First Foreclosure Prevention Program

Below is the press release issued by Oregon’s Department of Housing and Community Services on behalf of Governor Ted Kulongoski on Dec 6th, 2010.

If anyone you know has lost income or is unemployed and is having trouble making their mortgage payments, please pass this information on to them.  As of 12/10/2010 this program has begun to help 5,000 Oregon households pay their mortgages for up to one year.  There is a simple anonymous test on the website that you can take to see what your chances of qualifying for the program are.

As always, if you or anyone you know, has any real estate related questions or needs we are here to help!

www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org

OR Dept. of Housing and Community Services 12-6-10 Press Release

Salem—Beginning Dec. 10, struggling Oregon homeowners can apply online for the state’s new Mortgage Payment Assistance (MPA) program at www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org.  Applications for the program will be open from Dec. 10, 2010 to Jan. 14, 2011. Program participants will be randomly selected from eligible applicants by a secure software program and notified soon after the application’s closing date. The program is not first-come, first-served. All eligible homeowners who apply within the application period will have an opportunity to receive help with their mortgage payment.  “While we recognize there are not enough resources to serve the great need faced by homeowners in Oregon, we are pleased to have created a solid program that will help smooth the difficult path many families have been traveling,” said Oregon Housing and Community Services Director Victor Merced.  The MPA is the first program under the Oregon Homeownership Stabilization Initiative (OHSI) to be launched. Oregon Housing and Community Services, the state’s housing finance agency, created OHSI to deliver four programs to help homeowners suffering from unemployment or underemployment because of the recession.
The MPA program is the largest of the four programs and has been funded with $100 million to help approximately 5,000 homeowners pay their mortgages for up to one year or to a maximum payout of $20,000, whichever comes first.
Each applicant will fill out an online application then meet face-to-face with an intake advisor to answer questions and to ensure that all necessary documents are submitted. Those without internet access can go to the local intake agency office in their county for help.  A certain number of eligible homeowners in each county will be randomly selected to participate.
Oregon was deemed one of the nation’s “Hardest Hit” states because of its high rate of unemployment in 2009. The U.S. Treasury granted Oregon $220 million to deliver foreclosure prevention programs.
The state is working with partner organizations throughout the state to help homeowners with questions and to help administer the MPA program.

For a full list of agencies and the counties they serve, see http://www.ohcs.oregon.gov/OHCS/DO/newsreleases/11-17-10-NewRelease.pdf
For more information about OHSI or to sign up to receive our e-newsletter, see http://www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org. If you are at immediate risk of foreclosure, call 1-888-995-HOPE.

Courtesy of:
www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org