Effective Economic Stimulus for Housing

Posted on February 9th, 2009 by howerreal@gmail.com

Now that the majority of elected officials serving in Congress and the White House have publicly stated their resolute intent to spend United States Treasury funds to attempt to stimulate the nation’s economy, the ideological debate as to whether it is proper to use taxpayer dollars in support of this effort should now be set [...]

The Glass-Steagall Act’s loss is the Community Reinvestment Act’s Gain

Posted on January 21st, 2009 by howerreal@gmail.com

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999, repealed the portion of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that prohibited banks from consolidating with investment houses while the GLBA also expanded the influence of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 which requires banks to make loans to higher-risk borrowers. Although the lethal economic brew imposed by the GLBA [...]

The Relationship between Home Prices and Rent Amounts

Posted on January 7th, 2009 by howerreal@gmail.com

It is widely accepted that rent amounts are a fundamental factor in determining the value of housing. If housing prices rise too far out of line with rents, a combination of declines in home values and increases in rent amounts will ultimately occur and enable these two averages to correct back toward each other. Although [...]

Geographic Micro-Markets in Real Estate

Posted on January 4th, 2009 by howerreal@gmail.com

When seemingly endless statistical reports show steadily declining home values, it is essential to analyze geographic micro-markets to properly assess the value of residential properties. Although many media and data tracking sources will often cite national declines in median housing prices, a significant number of areas, or micro-markets, will simultaneously experience an increase in home [...]

The U.S. Housing and Economic Recovery Act

Posted on January 2nd, 2009 by howerreal@gmail.com

On July 30, 2008 United States President George W. Bush signed into law the Housing Stimulus Bill H.R. 3221, now dubbed the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008”. This historic bill was previously passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 272-152 and in the Senate by a vote of 72-13. As [...]