Today’s Top Story – Consumer

Generation Y Bullish on Housing Market

RISMEDIA, April 15, 2009-The first major survey into Generation Y's perception of the U.S. housing crisis reveals a surprisingly strong sense of optimism about the future, despite cautious near-term sentiment. While the housing industry is readying for this wave of future homeowners (approximately 80 million strong), there is little data on what this influential buying group actually wants in their next home or how the current downturn has affected their future plans.

Effective Staging Tips – Don’t Overlook the Mirror

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2009-What is the first thing that you always want your potential buyers to see when they first walk into your home that is for sale? Kitchen? Bathroom? Multi-Level Deck? The correct answer is "themselves." One of the best staging techniques is the use of mirrors, although most people don't know how to effectively use them. The first place that you should have a mirror is directly on the wall in front of someone when they open and walk through the front door.

Taxpayers Still Have Time to File or Amend 2005 Returns, but Must Act Quickly

RISMEDIA, April 13, 2009-With just a few days left to file income tax returns for 2008, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service is reminding tax filers of another important tax deadline on April 15: the deadline to file or amend returns for tax year 2005. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ecently reported that it has $1.3 billion in unclaimed refunds for people who did not file a 2005 return. In addition to standard refunds, some individuals who did not file may have been eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which could put even more money in their pockets.

Americans Optimistic about Economy

RISMEDIA, April 10, 2009-(MCT)-Slightly more than half of Americans think the U.S. economy has stabilized, and almost three in every four think it will take longer than six months for a massive economic stimulus program to be felt, an Ipsos-McClatchy tracking poll showed. A separate survey released by Ipsos, done for the Royal Bank of Canada, showed the first significant boost in consumer confidence since September 2008, when the global financial crisis erupted.

Living Life for Less – Get out of Debt and Back in Control

RISMEDIA, April 9, 2009-The news headlines paint a grim picture. Record job losses. Stagnant incomes. Rising debt. Stalled savings. One in four consumers say they are worried about making their monthly payments over the next six months, a four percent increase from last year, according to a recent Gallup poll. To help consumers climb out of the debt trap, Clarky Davis, The Debt Diva, offers tips for living life for less with a self-help approach to debt management. "Our relationship with money has become fractured," says Davis.

With Affordability Up, Home Buyers Return to the Market

RISMEDIA, April 11, 2009-Thanks to record low mortgage rates and declining home prices, 55 million families - or half of all U.S. households - can afford today's $200,000 median-priced new home, according to figures released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "That's an increase of 17 million households from conditions just two years ago and the best housing affordability number we have seen in years," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "We are now seeing the first signs that buyers are returning to the marketplace."

Best Tips to Get Your House in Tip Top Shape

RISMEDIA, April 7, 2009-As the all-important spring selling season approaches in an historically slow housing market, sellers need to do all they can to market their home - and that includes staging it to attract and "wow" potential buyers. Home stagers know just the right moves to take a house from bland to grand and bring home the biggest return on investment. "Attention to detail throughout the home can make the difference between a house that sells and one that sits on the market," explains Kate Hart, one of America's top home stagers and owner of Hart & Associates Staging & Design.

Farming the Foreclosure Market

RISMEDIA, April 11, 2009-Amid all the hype and hearsay surrounding foreclosures, three agents in diverse parts of the country are making hay with short sales and REOs. And there is plenty of hay to be had: the number of properties with foreclosure filings nationwide rose 81% between 2007 and 2008 to 2.3 million, according to RealtyTrac, with those numbers projected to rise even higher in 2009 as interest rates reset on yet another wave of questionable mortgages and unemployment rates ratchet higher.

Mortgage Rates Hit All-Time Record-Breaking Low

RISMEDIA, April 4, 2009-Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.78% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 2, 2009, down from last week's average of 4.85%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.88%. The 30-year FRM has not been lower in the life of Freddie Mac's weekly survey, which dates back to 1971 for the 30-year FRM.

Turning Lemons into Lemonade – Americans Address Employment Situation in Midst of Economic Turmoil

RISMEDIA, April 4, 2009-The Career College Association (CCA) released the results of a new commissioned survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, finding more than two out of three Americans either taking steps or considering steps to address their employment situation in the midst of the current economic turmoil. One silver lining in all the economic gloom appears to be the extent to which people may be "reinventing" their working lives with new educational programs and career skills.

Despite Recession, Consumer ‘Hold-Outs’ Struggle to Have It All

RISMEDIA, April 1, 2009-Americans' financial security has been shaken, yet they are divided in their willingness to make spending cuts. While nearly half (49%) of all adults are not ready to compromise their standard of living, the other half see little choice, according to a study by Multi-sponsor Surveys. The results of the 2009 Economic Impact Market Segmentation Study show that consumers are making the strongest efforts to limit spending on vacations (45% making strong effort), dining out (45%), entertainment (44%) and clothing (43%).

The New Norm – Americans Expect Their New ‘Normal’ Spending Levels to Be 86% of Pre-Recession Levels

RISMEDIA, March 31, 2009-While the economy is struggling to get through what could become the worst recession since the Great Depression, Americans say that even after the recession ends, their spending will return to just 86% of pre-recession levels, which equates to an approximate 10% drop, or more than $1 trillion annually, in GDP (gross domestic product). Americans also say that this new, lower level of spending is structural and could last for nearly a decade after the recession ends. These findings are based on an in-depth economic survey of more than 5,000 Americans released by AlixPartners LLP, the global business-advisory firm.

The Price is Right – 78% of First-time Home Buyers Say Now Is Good Time to Buy

RISMEDIA, March 30, 2009-Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of one of the world's largest residential real estate sales organizations, announced the results of its recently commissioned first-time home buyer survey. The survey found that more than three-quarters (78%) of potential first-time home buyers say that now is a good time to buy a home, despite widespread concern about the economy.

End in Sight? Stimulus Plan Begins to Take Hold in Puget Sound

RISMEDIA, March 28, 2009-J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, reports that housing activity in the "more affordable" price ranges in the Puget Sound region is beginning to see an uptick, which he attributes to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that was signed into law by President Obama on February 17. Scott defines "more affordable" as homes that are priced at or below the median home price in a designated market area. "February 17 will go down in history as one of the most significant events in real estate," said Scott. "The guidelines set forth in the stimulus package to aid first-time homebuyers are starting to work."

Homebuyers Face Hardship as Tighter Lending Rules Keep Them from Mortgages

RISMEDIA, March 26, 2009-(MCT)-Even with interest rates at historic lows and billions of new government dollars flowing into the financial system, getting a mortgage isn't as easy and smooth a process as it used to be. The difference between wishing for and actually getting a great deal on a mortgage can be a few dozen points on a credit score, or a few thousand dollars on an appraisal.

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