Habitat for Humanity offers free Deconstruction Program

From Habitat for Humanity local Denver website....

Are you about to go through a major renovation or looking to demolish some or all of your home? Habitat Metro Denver’s ReStores have an extensive deconstruction program helping homeowners save in labor costs when tearing out old cabinets, light fixtures and other materials during times of construction. Habitat’s specialized team of volunteers can come and salvage items that we carry in our stores, help defray demolition costs and provide a great tax receipt for salvaged goods.

We typically do deconstruction projects on Saturday’s but we can accommodate other days depending on the size and scope of the project. Please contact Corey Biechele at 303-960-4811 or corey@habitatoutlet.org for more information or to schedule a showing of your property.

Common items we might remove include:

Kitchen cabinet sets
Appliances
Furnaces
Hot Water Heaters
Boilers
Light Fixtures
Bathroom vanities
Toilets
Bathtubs
Interior and exterior doors
Garage doors
Carpet
Thermostats
Fireplace inserts
Copper pipe & More!

Click Here for Complete Habitat Link

Pending home sales increased in March and are well above a year ago

interesting article....

 

By Justin T. Hilley

• April 26, 2012 • 9:53am

Pending home sales increased in March and are well above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.
NAR’s pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 4.1% to 101.4 in March from an upwardly revised 97.4 in February. It is 12.8% above March 2011 when it was 89.9. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
The index is now at the highest level since April 2010 when it reached 111.3.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said 2012 is expected to be a year of recovery for housing. “First-quarter sales closings were the highest first-quarter sales in five years. The latest contract signing activity suggests the second quarter will be equally good,” he said.
“The housing market has clearly turned the corner,” Yun added. “Rising sales are bringing down inventory and creating much more balanced conditions ... which means home prices will be rising in more areas as the year progresses.”
The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20% of transactions for existing-home sales. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year of examination.

Impatient Buyers Target Homes Before They Go on Sale

Impatient Buyers Target Homes Before They Go on Sale
In Business Outlook

House hunters frustrated with the market’s supply of homes have shifted their search from the streets to underground.  More buyers are targeting homes that haven’t yet hit the market, a trend agents say will grow as inventory shrinks and the mismatch of what’s available and what’s desired continues.
Such back-pocket deals used to involve mostly luxury homes where buyers and sellers wanted to keep the sale hush-hush. But lower-priced houses are becoming a bigger part of the mix because even those are in short supply.  Working behind the scenes gives buyers access to the deep well of homeowners who would like to sell, but don’t think the market is healthy enough to list. Agents say they identify these sellers through referrals, as well as track those who listed their homes but backed out when they couldn’t sell. There are also buyers who work with agents to make unsolicited bids on homes they think fit their needs.  “There is a shadow market out there with a lot of people who want to sell,” says Joe Grunnet, a broker in Minneapolis. Homeowners “just don’t know they can sell in this market. They still think the world is coming to an end.”  Housing experts say there is a robust stash of homes that aren’t on the Multiple Listing Service. CoreLogic says that for every two houses available in the United States in January, there was one in the “shadow,” or not yet on the market. There’s also a deep overhang of prospective sellers who have already decided to rent their homes rather than sell.  Mike Blood, who struggled to find a $150,000 to $200,000 home in the northern suburbs, recently caught a break. He spotted a construction dumpster in front of a house in Blaine, Minn., that he saw during an earlier hunt.  After learning that it was being readied for resale, he and his agent made an offer even though the home was months from being listed.  “I was so frustrated,” says Blood, who expects to close on the home next month. “And felt like I didn’t have anything to lose.”  Blood didn’t disclose the purchase price. He said he looked at about 60 homes, but they needed too much work or he got outbid.  Grunnet, whose firm specializes in sales and rentals of urban condos, said the stock of available units downtown is so tight that he often runs down the list of owners who are renting out their units to see whether they would sell.  During the first four months of this year, he said his brokerage has already sold more off-market properties than in the previous three years combined.For Alison and Fred Parks, the decision not to list was a way to test the market and avoid having strangers traipsing through their $1 million-plus condo near the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis.  “We’re private people, living in a popular neighborhood,” they said. The Parkses contacted Cindy Froid, a local agent who says that, on average, 30 to 40 percent of her deals come together before a public listing.  The couple gave Froid three months to sell, and it ended up selling within days to someone who already lived in the neighborhood for the full list price of $1.4 million.  Unusually low inventory is forcing Froid to get more creative in her efforts to reach prospective sellers. “It is a function of necessity,” she said. “It’s hunting and gathering. If it’s not online, I’m going to try to find it for you.”  Graham Smith, the agent who helped Blood, said that in some ways these premarket deals are simply a return to the basics.  “It’s good old-fashioned networking, that’s all it is,” he said. “It’s just using the tools available today to make it easier and more efficient to sell houses.”
©2012 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Distributed by MCT Information Services ^[2]

5 signs that it's a good time to sell

5 signs that it's a good time to sell
Why desperate homeowners could find relief this year
By Dian Hymer Inman News®

Traditionally, most homes have sold during the spring months. In the current volatile housing market, the time of year is not the most reliable predictor of the best time to sell. Homes certainly show better in spring than they do on a dark and dreary winter day. Lately, however, weather patterns are hard to predict. The weather has some effect on home sales. It can slow things down if incessant rain keeps sellers from being able to prepare their homes for sale. However, a bigger influence on the housing market is the overall economic situation and its impact on buyers' psyche. Normally, the home-sale market ramps up in March or April and stays busy until the beginning of July when the market tends to slow down for the summer. The 2011 home sales went counter to this. The market was active at the beginning of the year, but stalled in April. If you waited until spring to sell last year, you would have missed the best selling opportunity of the first half of 2011. The early slowdown was partially due to the expiration of the homebuyer stimulus package. The homebuyer tax credit program accelerated home purchases creating a mini bubble in 2010 that was followed by a significant slowdown in home sales. Negative economic news played a big part in the sluggish home sales during most of last year. The stock market was unpredictable, and the earthquake in Japan had repercussions for many industries. Plus, Greece was on the brink of bankruptcy, and the future of the European Union was in doubt. Bad economic news and massive uncertainty lowers consumer confidence. Buyers need to have jobs, but they also need to feel confident in their future to take on a major purchase like a house. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: The best time to sell is when consumer confidence is on the upswing; interest rates are low; unemployment is decreasing; the economic news is mild; and there are more buyers in your local market niche than there are sellers. A high-demand, low-inventory market gives sellers an edge. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell in March 2012 to 70.2 (1985=100), down from 71.6 in February, when it was up sharply. Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, attributed the improvement in consumer confidence in February to less pessimism about current business and employment conditions and more optimism about the short-term outlook for the economy and job prospects despite a rise in gas prices. Franco said the moderate decline seen in March was "due solely to a less favorable short-term outlook." Interest rates are currently at historic lows and are expected to stay low for the rest of the year. Even with low rates, buyers have had difficulty qualifying due to rigid mortgage approval underwriting. Capital Economics, an analytics firm, expects the housing crisis to end this year partially due to lenders loosening credit. According to Capital Economics, one indicator of loosening is that banks are now lending 82 percent of loan-to-value (LTV), compared with a low of 74 percent LTV reached in mid-2010. This means qualified buyers need less cash to buy, which should lead to more sales this year, although higher home prices are not expected. These positive indicators combined with a drop in homes for sale at the end of 2011 and a decrease in unemployment may provide an opportunity for sellers in spring 2012, provided their homes are priced right for the market. A major surprise on the economic front could change the picture. THE CLOSING: Regardless of the economic indicators, the best time to sell is when the time is right for you. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of "House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers" and "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide."

Housing in Mountain States Climbs Back

from cnbc...good article.

Housing in Mountain States Climbs Back
Published: Friday, 30 Mar 2012 | 12:52 PM ET
By: Rob Reuteman,
Special to CNBC.com

Residential housing in the mountain states of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico is looking stronger than many others, but that's partly because the comeback hasn't been as steep.

Simply put, homes in the region didn’t appreciate in value over the last decade as much as in the coastal regions, Arizona or Nevada. What didn’t go up much before the bubble burst in 2008 didn’t go down much once it did.

Homes certainly lost value, but owners don’t have to regain as much ground to attain their earlier equity.

“We didn’t experience the bubble that California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada did,” said Thomas Thibodeau, a residential real estate expert at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business. "Prices in Denver came down about 14 percent, peak to trough, and it now looks like the decline has come to an end.”

In 2008, Thibodeau co-authored a study examining 84 U.S. metro areas for signs of a speculative housing bubble. Twenty-five cities showed housing prices 30 percent over the expected increase, the study concluded. But with the exception of Las Vegas, all were within 75 miles of the Pacific or Atlantic coast.

“Extreme speculative activity, so prominently publicized, was extraordinarily localized,” the study concluded.

The 2012 story of residential real estate in the so-called Intermountain West can be told in a tale of three cities — Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and Denver — where its population is most concentrated.

Salt Lake City Picking Up

Home sales in Salt Lake City climbed for the eighth-consecutive month in January, up more than 30 percent from a year ago, according to a recent report by the Utah Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, Utah reported its best January in five years, with nearly 2,000 residential closings.

The Utah market began 2012 in much the same way the prior year concluded, says Utah Association of Realtors President Lori Chapman.

“Sales were up, inventory was down. The spring buying season also is looking like it will be stronger than last year," says Chapman.

Data from Trulia.com, which tracks residential real estate nationwide, also shows a buyer’s market in Salt Lake, with a median sales price of $122,085 reflecting an 11.2 percent decrease from December 2011 to February 2012.

Salt Lake home sales in the past five years have jumped 9.6 percent, according to Trulia.

"We've been in multiple buyer situations, [making] it hard to get a property," says Janet Marroquin, an agent with Sold By An Angel Real Estate. “We’ve been fighting for properties.”

Indeed, housing inventory in Utah fell 24 percent in January year over year, says Chapman.

Denver Almost Tops

The closely watched Case-Shiller index for January showed the Denver market in positive territory for the first time in 18 months.

The slight 0.2-percent, year-over-year increase was the third-best showing among the 20 cities tracked in the barometer.

Other than Denver, only Detroit and Phoenix showed price increases, at 1.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Chris Mygatt, president of Coldwell Banker Colorado, says an improving housing market is reverberating throughout Denver’s economy. “I think it’s an important tell-tale sign, one of many pointing to a continued recovery and stability in the Denver housing market."

Mygatt adds, “I’m being told that there is an increase in furniture sales and landscaping. It really is across the board. Although our strength is modest compared to recoveries of the past, I really do think there is a fundamental shift in consumer confidence and the local economy.”

Another positive sign is the number of unsold resale homes. They plunged 42 percent in February from a year ago, according to the report released by independent broker Gary Bauer.

There were only 10,086 unsold single-family homes and townhomes/condominiums on the market in February, about 60 percent less than the year-ago period, and the least for that month since 2000, says Bauer.

“The inventory is a somewhat challenging situation,” he says. “It’s a good-bad situation, depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller.”

The relative lack of Denver homes for sale has caused Fuller Sotheby’s agent Nancy Levine to reach into her bag of tricks for something she hasn’t used since housing’s heyday in the mid-2000s.

“For the first time in five years I’m getting multiple offers on homes,” Levine said. “So I’m putting escalation clauses into offers again. We tell the seller we’ll pay them $10,000 over whatever other offer they get.”


he biggest problem Denver brokers are having is finding properties for buyers, says Levine. “Relocation clients, people moving here from Nashville or Southern California for jobs, are blown away by the market here. They say they like a house, we go back and it’s already under contract.”

“Prices aren’t up much yet, but I think they’re headed that way,” she adds. I’m seeing more consumer confidence, people feeling better about their jobs and the economy. In Colorado, we feel as if we are finally moving forward, that the worst is behind us.”

6 elements of a compelling home seller love letter

6 elements of a compelling home seller love letter
Mood of the Market

By Tara-Nicholle Nelso

Recent reports suggest that the real estate market might be picking up. That said, sellers from coast to coast are still doing everything within their power to differentiate their home from the scads of other competitive listings.

As someone who has been inside probably thousands of homes with buyers over the years, I've always thought there was one super-simple, vastly underrated marketing technique for homes that are having a hard time standing out from the rest of the market: the seller love letter.

A seller love letter is a note, personally written or typed up by the home's seller. Among other things, it expresses the love the seller's family has had for the home, and explains the facts and events underlying that sentiment.

I've seen these be as short as a single page, and as long as a binder containing a 10-page letter and a collection of supporting pictures and other documents.

If the power of staging lies in depersonalizing the property so buyers can picture their own family living out their own lives in the home, the power of a seller love letter is that it leaves buyers with a warm feeling that the home has a positive energy and history, which is especially desirable on today's distressed property-riddled market.

Here are six things smart sellers should consider including in their love letters about their homes to their buyers:

1. Fond family memories. Now, there's no reason to get all "TMI" (too much information) about it, but the fact is that buyers do love to hear sweet, fond family memories about a property. I've watched with my own two eyes as buyers who liked a 100-year-old home fell desperately in love with it as they read about the seller's parents' building the home, and then raising a flourishing family there.

Even much newer homes can have their own endearing stories, whether they be about a hard-charging professional bachelor who is moving out of a loft to start a family; about retirees who raised their kids there and are now moving to downsize and be near their grandkids; or about a smart, single woman who was the first person in her family to own a home.

The goal here is to create warm fuzzies while you satisfy the buyer's craving to know why on earth anyone would want to move from such a lovely place. And if you can tell a happy story, you can kill another bird with a single stone – distinguishing your place from all the tragic stories and sadness surrounding the short sales and foreclosures with which your home is competing.

2. Favorite neighborhood vendors and local businesses. One reason people dread moving so much is that it forces them to find new vendors for everything, especially for the practicalities and minutiae that can derail our schedules and lives if they don't run well. If you have neighborhood businesses you love, making a list of them and including them with your love letter is very much appreciated by buyers.

Take care to include things like: dry cleaners, house cleaners, landscapers, carpet cleaners, produce markets and butchers, and especially restaurants that have great take-out and delivery services.

You get extra points if you know the proprietor and authorize the buyer to drop your name, or you include menus with your list of restaurants that deliver to the property address.

3. Lifestyle amenities that map to local buyer wish lists. Give some thought to the sorts of things people looking to buy a home like yours might be looking for, from a lifestyle perspective, and include notes about any of those amenities in the neighborhood that you and your family or housemates have especially enjoyed. Things like dog parks, playgrounds, running trails, yoga studios, libraries and bookstores, museums and outdoor recreational opportunities make great fodder for this list.

4. History of upgrades. Of course, your state-required disclosure forms will include a pithy section for relating the repairs and upgrades you've done in the time you owned the property, but you can take that to a new level in your seller love letter with a free-form description of the work, color commentary (if it makes sense) around why and how you had it done, and a little appendix that includes any relevant plans, permits warranties, receipts, service contracts and the like.

(Obviously, you don't want to include the originals of these items if this love letter document will be left out in the property during showings.)

If there are any issues or repairs that are likely to come up in the buyer's inspection reports that you want to explain in more detail, the love letter can give you your chance to do just that.

5. Property details and tricks. If you have a detailed landscape plan that identifies all the plants and trees in your yards, tricks for how to work the heating and cooling timer or the tricky downstairs doors, details on when the neighborhood trash pickup happens, or info about your alarm, termite or other service contracts, prospective buyers will feel well taken care of if you compile and include all this information with your love letter and let them see it before they even make an offer.

6. Neighbors. If you have particularly close and friendly relationships with any specific neighbors, or there are block parties, online or email Listservs, homeowners association (HOA) or neighborhood watch meetings or other favorites, ones with kids, block party, watch meetings, other things being planned/organized, let the buyers know.

You see, a good seller love letter is equal parts lovey-dovey and logistical, but the care that goes into preparing it and the love that is evident in its content can be a significant selling point to buyers weary of dealing with bank sellers or stressful short-sale situations.

Whatever you do, if you decide to write a seller love letter for your home, review your plans and thoughts about what to include with your local agent first. You want to make sure not to run afoul of any equal opportunity housing laws or disclosure laws.

As well, waxing rhapsodic about all the weekends you invested in the terrible mural on the wall might be more concerning than compelling to buyers who think they could live in your home easily -- assuming they paint over the mural on day one as the new owners.

Homes With Wings...

Interesting home on Inman News....

A home with wings
Retired aircraft give rise to architectural innovation
By Inman News, Thursday, April 5, 2012.

Francie Rehwald wanted a home with curvilinear, feminine shapes for a 55-acre property in the Malibu, Calif., hills that overlooks a mountain range, a valley, and the Pacific Ocean. In fulfilling her dream, architect David Hertz designed "Wing House" ... and recycled a Boeing 747-200 to do so.

That airplane was selected from among the hundreds of retired airplanes that sit in California's deserts. They are typically sold for the price of aluminum. This purchase -- an aircraft measuring more than 230 feet long, 195 feet wide and 63 feet tall, with more than 17,000 cubic feet of cargo area -- cost less than $50,000 dollars.

All of the structures on Rehwald's property incorporate components and pieces of that aircraft.

Both main wings and two stabilizers from the tail section -- more than 2,500 square feet to scale -- make up the roof for the master bedroom.

A fire pit and water element are constructed out of the engine cowling. A separate art studio uses a 50-foot-long section of the upper fuselage as a roof. The roof of the guesthouse incorporates the remaining front portion of the fuselage, and upper first-class cabin deck.

The lower half of the fuselage and cargo hold forms an animal barn, while a separate meditation pavilion made from the entire front of the airplane is 28 feet in diameter and 45 feet tall -- the cockpit forms a skylight.

The trend in recycling structures not traditionally considered "real estate" is not limited to airplanes -- it includes shipping containers, retired railroad cars and locomotives, among other conversions, and spans the gamut from residences to restaurants to luxury hotels.

Tom Bennington, of Max Power Aerospace Inc., worked for airline companies before entering his current line of work, in which he assists airline and leasing companies in taking "live" airplanes out of service. One facet of that business has included building homes out of those retired airplanes.

He purchases aircraft -- one or two at a time, as storing multiple aircraft is an added expense -- then, on order, breaks them down into their component parts at his workshop in Smyrna, Tenn.

After that, he trucks the parts to the property where his team has preinstalled a pedestal upon which they reconstruct the airplane. One design fastens the craft in a stationary position while another allows the new home to rotate on the pedestal as if, Bennington explains, "it is a whole plane weather vane."

Many of these homes are built outside strictly urban areas, although utilities come from the usual source or can include alternative/sustainable sources.

On average, it takes about six or seven months, from beginning to end, to make an airplane home move-in ready, according to Bennington, a former Eastern Airlines pilot.

Can these airplane homes spook pilots who are up in the air? "Pilots keep their eyes on cockpit instruments and never look at the ground," he said.

The convergence of airline companies scaling back their fleets and the Internet allowing adventuresome travelers to search for one-of-a-kind accommodations turns up interesting venues.

The website Airbnb.com, for example, features unique rental properties around the world -- including stays in converted aircraft. Among these are the 727 Fuselage Home in Costa Rica, the 1950s Bristol Freighter Motel in New Zealand, and the Entire Airplane Suite in the Netherlands.

Restaurants flourish in stationary aircraft, too. A small sample includes Airplane Restaurant, a Boeing KC-97 in Colorado Springs, Colo.: (take a virtual tour here); a Boeing 747-121 in South Korea; and Runway 34, a decommissioned Soviet airplane in Zurich, Switzerland, whose renovations include hardwood floors, atmospheric lighting, airline seats, and a main cabin transformed into a cigar lounge, with cocktail tables and servers dressed as flight attendants.

Then there is the half-airplane/half-boat Cosmic Muffin that began life as a Boeing 307 Stratoliner, acquired by Howard Hughes in 1939 as part of his purchase of TWA. It changed hands several times before being extensively restored by current owner Dave Drimmer with Jeff Gibbs.

Tax benefit for couples owning separate homes

Interesting Article for Tax Time=.....

Tax benefit for couples owning separate homes
Mortgage interest deduction available per residence, not per taxpayer

By Tom Kelly
Inman News®

Before the current, rather liberal, tax advantages for homeownership, many older people delayed or declined marriage or remarriage "for tax purposes."

That's because each individual over 55 was entitled to a one-time tax exclusion of $125,000 on the sale of a principal residence.

Because many former spouses entered into a new relationship already owning a home, they usually chose to sell one of them before returning to the altar. That way, they could obtain the $125,000 benefit twice; a married couple got it only once.

I thought about that "marriage penalty" recently when the U.S. Tax Court ruled that the cap on mortgage interest deductions applies in the same way to unmarried couples as it does to married couples, affirming a ruling by the Internal Revenue Service assessing a tax deficiency against a gay couple who jointly own two houses.

The court rejected the petitioners' argument that Congress intended to impose a "marriage penalty" on married couples.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, mortgage interest is deductible from income, but not to the extent that it is attributable to an outstanding mortgage principal balance of more than $1 million. Similarly, interest payable on a home equity line of credit that is used to finance home improvements is deductible, but not to the extent that it is attributable to an outstanding loan balance of more than $100,000.

In this case, the same-sex couple jointly purchased houses in areas of Los Angeles and Palm Springs. They used the Palm Springs house for vacations and weekends and the L.A. home as their primary residence.

The outstanding mortgage principal balances for the two houses exceeded $2 million in 2006 and 2007, and the outstanding principal balance on a joint home equity loan exceeded $200,000.

In filing their federal income tax returns for 2006 and 2007, they each claimed interest deductions for interest attributable to a $1 million mortgage balance and $100,000 home equity loan balance, effectively asserting that each could use the full interest deduction allowance.

According to the case, the IRS sent both people deficiency notices, disallowing a substantial portion of their interest deductions. It maintained that the $1 million and $100,000 caps were applied per residence, not per taxpayer.

The IRS pointed out that a married couple jointly purchasing a house is subject to the $1 million and $100,000 cap, even when the married couple files their income tax returns separately (in which case, each can claim deductions only for interest attributable to half the capped amounts).

And, in a prior case, the IRS had taken the same position regarding unmarried different-sex couples who purchased houses jointly.

Which takes us back to the benefit of owning (not necessarily filing) separately especially when it comes to deducting mortgage interest on expensive homes.

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 changed not only the one-time, $125,000 home-sale exclusion for persons over 55 years of age, but also the "rollover replacement rule." Under the old law, a taxpayer could defer any gain on the sale of a principal residence by buying or building a home of equal or greater value within 24 months of the sale of the first home.

Tax on the gain was not eliminated, but merely "rolled over" into the new residence, reducing the tax basis of the new home.

The intent of the 1997 tax code, which replaced the "rollover" provision and $125,000 over-55 exclusion, was to allow most homeowners to sell their primary residence without tax -- and not worry about keeping records. Taxpayers no longer can utilize parts of either portion.

In order to qualify for the $250,000 exclusion ($500,000 for married couples), taxpayers must have owned and used the property as a principal residence for two out of five years prior to the date of sale.

Second, they must not have used this same exclusion in the two-year period prior to the sale. So, the only limit on the number of times a taxpayer can claim this exclusion is once in any two-year period.

Consumer Attitudes Stabilize, Positivity Spreads

interesting recent article on consumer confidence...

Positivity Spreads

From Business Outlook,Consumer News and Advice,Finance and Economy,Real Estate Trends,Today's Marketplace,Today's Top Story,Today's Top Story -

Americans’ concerns about key economic and housing issues are beginning to subside, according to results from Fannie Mae’s February 2012 National Housing Survey.

Consumers’ attitudes have stabilized across most indicators—including personal finances, housing, and employment—demonstrating their sense that downside risks have abated somewhat compared to late summer and fall of 2011.

While Americans’ confidence in the direction of the economy has been the most pronounced (35 percent think that the economy is on the right track, up 19 percentage points since November, and 57 percent think the economy is on the wrong track, down 18 percentage points since November), their confidence about personal financial situations, household income, and household expenses, as well as attitudes about homeownership and renting is holding at steady levels.

At the same time, Americans’ concern about losing their job in the next 12 months has stabilized since the late fall, with 76 percent of Americans saying they are not concerned in February 2012, compared to 70 percent in November 2011.

“The pickup in the pace of hiring over the past few months has helped soothe consumer concerns, lifting their moods regarding their personal finances, the direction of the economy, and their views on the housing market,” says Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “As a result, we’ve seen more potential for economic upside, creating a more balanced near-term outlook.”

Survey Highlights

The Economy and Household Finances

The rise in confidence in the economy’s direction continued this month, with 35 percent responding that they think the economy is on the right track, a 5 percentage point increase from January. The percentage of respondents who say the economy is on the wrong track dropped to 57 percent, a decline of 6 percentage points.

Only 12 percent think that their personal financial situation will worsen in the next 12 months, a 3 percentage point drop from January and the lowest value in over a year.

Sixteen percent of respondents say their income is significantly lower than it was 12 months ago (down 1 percentage point since January), while 63 percent say it has stayed the same (up 1 percentage point since January).

Thirty-three percent say their expenses have increased significantly over the past 12 months, a 3 percentage point decrease from last month and the lowest level in the past 12 months.

Homeownership and Renting

On average, Americans expect home prices to increase by 0.8 percent over the next 12 months (down slightly since last month).

Twenty-eight percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months (consistent with last month), while 15 percent say they expect home prices to decline (down 1 percentage point since last month). Fifty-three percent say prices will stay the same.

Ten percent of Americans say that mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months, a 2 percentage point increase from last month.

The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell rose by 3 percentage points to 13 percent, the highest level in over a year, while the percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy dropped 1 percentage point to 70 percent this month.

On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 3.5 percent over the next 12 months, a slight increase since January.

Forty-five percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, a 2 percentage point increase from last month, while 3 percent expect them to go down, a 2 percentage point decrease from last month and the lowest value in over a year.

Sixty-five percent of respondents say they would buy their next home if they were going to move, up 1 percentage point since last month, while 29 percent say they would rent, down 1 percentage point versus last month.

The most detailed consumer attitudinal survey of its kind, the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey polled 1,003 Americans via live telephone interview to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, mortgage rates, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer confidence. Homeowners and renters are asked more than 100 questions used to track attitudinal shifts (findings are compared to the same survey conducted monthly beginning June 2010). Fannie Mae conducts this survey and shares monthly and quarterly results so that we may help industry partners and market participants target our collective efforts to stabilize the housing market in the near-term, and provide support in the future.

For more information, visit www.fanniemae.com [2].

Great article from Stewart Title-12 Resolutions for Common Transaction File Problems