Today’s Top Story – Consumer

Great Spaces: Britney Spears, Leo, ‘Kimye’ and More

Britney Buys on Lake Sherwood We love when one celeb snags the living space of another. At the end of 2012, ’90s pop darling Britney Spears purchased the home of former professional hockey player Russ Courtnall and his actress of a wife, Paris Vaughan. The new home—built in 2010—sits on just under 1.5 acres in the Lake Sherwood area, a sweet spot in Ventura County, and overlooks the brilliant Lake Sherwood reservoir. Spears’ new Mediterranean style home features gorgeous limestone and oak floors, beamed ceilings, a temperature-controlled wine cellar and a home theater.

Real Estate Transactions & Money Laundering: Get Informed

The crime of money laundering continues to be a growing area of concern in the United States. Therefore, law enforcement agencies and the financial sector devote considerable time and resources to combating these illegal financial activities. While money laundering is most often associated with banks and other financial institutions, real estate transactions can also provide cover for various money laundering schemes. Money laundering is the process criminals use to disguise the illegal origin of their funds. Certain criminal activities generate substantial proceeds. Legitimizing, or “laundering” this money through the financial system, is a critical component for criminals to hide their activities

Real Estate Q&A: Banks Cut Back on Lending for Co-Ops

(MCT)—QUESTION: I bought a co-op apartment unit in January 2010 with a conventional mortgage. I am trying to refinance it and have found that big banks are not willing to work with me. Can you please explain what’s happening here? —Louis ANSWER: When you buy a home in a community, there are several ways that you can own it. In a “fee simple” arrangement, you own the land and home outright and the community

Real Estate Trends: From Trash to Treasure

From homes to cabins to dormitories—and everything in between—re-purposed shipping containers, or ISBUs (Intermodal Steel Building Units) are making their mark on the residential real estate sector, blurring the lines between two very distinct industries as one’s trash becomes the other’s treasure. Originally built to transport goods, the average life of a shipping container is now being extended, thanks to environmentally conscious consumers, builders, designers and a host of other real estate professionals who see their potential when it comes to building homes.

Innovative Home Products Poised to Hit Market

(MCT)—In the market for a hot-water-dispensing refrigerator? That was just one of the innovative and unusual products on display last month at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. The annual event, put on by the National Association of Home Builders, serves as a massive showcase for new ideas and technology for the home.

Living Smart: The Time Is Right for Energy-Efficient Home Improvements

(MCT)—If you’re thinking about replacing your windows this year with more energy efficient options, Washington just upped the incentive to actually get the job done. As part of the “fiscal cliff” agreement earlier this year, federal lawmakers agreed to reinstate the energy efficiency home improvement tax credits that had expired with 2011. Homeowners who did not claim the full credit from 2006-11 can now receive 10 percent of the cost, up to a $200 tax credit, for Energy Star qualifying replacement windows purchased between Jan. 1, 2012 through the end of this year.

Nation’s Leading Brokers Vie for Top Ranking

As the real estate market quickens its pace toward recovery, brokerage firms from around the country are reporting increasingly positive numbers. Brokers will document their organization’s success by participating in RISMedia’s 25th Annual Power Broker Report & Survey, the industry’s preeminent report ranking the nation’s top real estate firms. Sponsored by Move, Inc. and HSA Home Warranty, the 2013 Power Broker Survey has long served as a competitive differentiator for firms of all sizes. To complete the survey now, please click here. The survey deadline is February 27, 2013.

Housing Recovery Is Real but Risks Remain

The U.S. housing recovery is real and underway. The end-of-year numbers are in for the primary housing measures. Existing home sales were up 9 percent in 2012 from 2011; new home sales were up 20 percent in 2012 from a year earlier and housing starts were up 27 percent this past year compared to the previous year. Granted, these advances were based off historically low bases but we will take what we can get after six years mired in a housing recession. Perhaps a more telling statistic for the nation’s housing outlook is appreciating home values. Over the past six months, home prices increased between 4 and 9 percent, according to the major home price indexes.

NAHB Announces Best of Show Product Winners at 2013 International Builders’ Show

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) named the winners in its inaugural Best of IBS Awards last week during the 2013 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas. Awards were given to exhibitors with a product or line that shows the best combination of design, functionality and innovation. Decided by a panel of independent judges made up of attending reporters and building professionals, the awards were given in five categories. The winners were: • Best Home Technology Product: Key Digital Systems- Compass Control ®

Donovan and DeMarco Announce Extended Foreclosure Relief for Hurricane Sandy Storm Victims

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who serves as President Obama’s Chairman of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac will extend expiring protections against foreclosure actions against homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed due to Hurricane Sandy. The additional 90-day foreclosure moratorium applies to homeowners with properties in states where the President issued major disaster declarations following Hurricane Sandy. The extended moratoriums announced today apply to the initiation of foreclosures and foreclosures already in process.

Florida Markets Still the Best Places to Buy Foreclosures

Hot foreclosure markets have come and gone over the past seven years but one thing seems to stay the same. The markets with the most and the cheapest foreclosures are still located in Florida. A judicial state that has had its share of controversy over robo-signing practices as well as high levels of negative equity and deep declines in home values since 2006, Florida markets still offer investors the best opportunities to buy and profit by either flipping or renting and holding renovated foreclosures.

Survey: Homeownership Is Increasingly Important to Younger Americans

Prudential Real Estate, an HSF Affiliates LLC company, has released its end-of-year Outlook Survey, which shows that Millennials and Generation X place a higher importance on and hold more favorable views toward homeownership than older generations. According to the national survey, confidence increased marginally among respondents with 73 percent at least somewhat confident in the recovering real estate market and property values as opposed to 72 percent in Q2.

Exterior Replacement Projects Provide Biggest Return on Investment for Homeowners, Say REALTORS®

Homeowners looking for the most return on their investment when it comes to remodeling should consider exterior replacement projects. According to the 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, REALTORS® rated exterior projects among the most valuable home improvement projects. “REALTORS® know that curb appeal projects offer great bang for your buck, because a home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see,” says National Association of REALTORS® President Gary Thomas.

Pending Home Sales Down in December but Remain on Uptrend

Pending home sales declined in December but have stayed above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index,*a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, fell 4.3 percent to 101.7 in December from 106.3 in November but is 6.9 percent higher than December 2011 when it was 95.1. The data reflect contracts but not closings. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says there is an uneven uptrend. "The supply limitation appears to be the main factor holding back contract signings in the past month. Still, contract activity has risen for 20 straight months on a year-over-year basis," he says.

Homeowners Take a Fresh Look at Remodeling

(MCT)—If you’ve put off redoing that kitchen or adding a deck while waiting for the economy to perk up, welcome to the club. Like the rest of the housing market, home improvements and remodeling plunged during the recession as consumers hunkered down. But now that economic conditions are improving, the forecast for home fix-ups is looking up, too. “Future market indicators, which have been lagging a little bit, have jumped up,” said Paul Emrath, a research vice president with the National Association of Home Builders.

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