Existing Home Sales Up

The National Association of Realtors said Friday that sales increased 5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million, the best level since January 2011 and the third straight monthly increase for sales. For the year, sales totaled only 4.26 million. While that’s up from 4.19 million the previous year, it’s below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy housing markets.  Sales are increasing at a time when the market is flashing other positive signs. Mortgage rates are at record-low levels. Homebuilders have grown slightly less pessimistic because more people are saying they might be open to buying a home this year. Home construction picked up in the final quarter of 2011The median sales price rose 2.3% to $164,500 in December. 2011. Still the housing market has a long way to go before it is fully recovered from the housing bust four years ago. In the last four years, home sales have slumped under the weight of foreclosures, tighter credit and falling prices. Fewer first-time buyers, who are critical to a housing recovery, are in the market for a home. Purchases by that group fell last month to make up only 31% of sales. That’s down from 35% in November. In healthy markets, first-time buyers make up at least 40%.  At the same time, homes at risk of foreclosure made up a third of all sales last month. In healthy markets, they comprise 10% of sales.

Investors are increasingly buying homes priced under $100,000. Still, Sales rose across the country in December. They increased on a seasonal basis by more than 10% in the Northeast, 8.3% in the Midwest, 2.9% in the South and 2.6% in the West.  The glut of unsold homes declined to 2.38 million homes. At last month’s sales pace, it would take nearly 7 months to clear those homes. Analysts say a healthy supply can be cleared in about six Months.

Americans Lead in Debt Reduction

Americans are cutting their debt faster than other countries and could already be halfway through the deleveraging process, setting the stage for the nation’s economic recovery, says a new report from McKinsey Global Institute.  However, even when U.S. consumers finish deleveraging, they probably won’t be as powerful an engine of global growth as they were before the crisis, warns the report.  According to McKinsey analysts, deleveraging happens in two stages: First, the private sector reduces debt, while economic growth is negative or minimal and government debt rises; then, growth rebounds and supports gradual government deleveraging.  “Somewhat surprisingly, given the amount of concern over the U.S. economy, we find that the United States is furthest along in private-sector debt reduction and closest to beginning the second phase of deleveraging,” says the report.  “The remaining obstacles for its return to growth are its unsettled housing market and its failure to lay out a credible medium-term plan for public debt reduction,” concludes the report.

Since the financial crisis, U.S. household debt has fallen by $584 billion, or 15 percentage points relative to disposable income, which is more than in any other country.  At this pace, Americans could reach sustainable debt levels by the middle of 2013.  The report also found that since the 2008-2009 financial crisis the world’s ten largest developed economies have seen their total debt increase, primarily due to growing government debt.  The U.S., South Korea and Australia are the only countries that have seen a decline in the ratio of total debt to GDP during that time period.  Moreover, the United Kingdom and Spain are deleveraging at a much slower pace, and it could take another decade until their private-sector debt returns to the pre-bubble levels.  In the United States, most of the private-sector deleveraging has happened in the financial sector, where debt relative to GDP had declined to $6.1 trillion from $8 trillion, levels not seen since 2000.

Tahoe Donner Web Cams

Wondering what’s going on Tahoe Donner? Now you can see first hand with Tahoe Donner’s Web Cams! Tahoe Donner provides live web cams for: Cross Country, Snowplay Area, Downhill Ski Area Snowbird Lift, Downhill Ski Area Lodge Patio, Golf Course, and Beach Club Marina. Click on the link to view Tahoe Donner Web Cam

Martis Camp – Winter in Tahoe

With winter finally in full swing at Martis Camp, our calendar presents a host of ways to embrace it with your family-including Après-Ski Mixers, Winter Wine Dinners, Moonlight Snowshoe Tours and the Martis Camp Ski Cup Championship.

The Martis Camp Ski shuttle is also up and running this year. We’ll transport you from your Martis Camp home to the Yurt where you can step into your skis and hop on the Martis Camp Express to the top of Lookout Mountain. Alternatively, explore our private, groomed trails perfect for all levels of Nordic skiing and snowshoeing-with equipment and instruction available.

While you’re out enjoying the snow or relaxing by the fire, our 8,000 square-foot Ski Lodge is well underway and scheduled to be open next season. As enjoyable as breakfast, lunch and the après-ski experiences are at the Yurt now, it’s exciting to envision the same by the Ski Lodge’s dramatic fire place or outdoor terrace overlooking the Washoe run next season.

However your family chooses to enjoy winter in Tahoe, Martis Camp is firmly committed making it a surpassing experience that will be part of your legacy for years to come.

To get a head start in fulfilling those dreams, we are proud announce a unique opportunity to purchase a built Cabin from this previously sold out collection. At 3,250 square feet, and fully furnished and ready to move in, this home is ideally located near the Camp Lodge including dining, spa and fitness area.  Designed by Walton Architects + Engineering and built by Morrison Construction, this spectacular 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath family retreat is offered at $3,485,000 with furnishings included. With ten sales already in 2012, families are embracing Martis Camp as enthusiastically as ever, so call Roger today to discover how 2012 can become your best year in Tahoe.

President’s Plan to Help Troubled Borrowers Referenced in State of The Union Address

“After several largely ineffective programs to help troubled borrowers and after fruitless attempts at budging the hard-line conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, President Obama is proposing a brand new refinance program for borrowers who are current on their mortgages, regardless of who owns their loan; the catch is that this one has to go through Congress.  ’I'm sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks,’ the President announced in his State of the Union address.  Unlike previous efforts in the refinance space, including a recently revamped and expanded government program for borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, this plan would not be limited to those with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to senior administration officials. The two mortgage giants own or guarantee about half of the nation’s mortgages. It would be open to all borrowers current on their loans.

The Obama administration is offering few details, promising more in the coming weeks, but several sources say the plan is to ask Congress to allow the government mortgage insurer, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), to back refinances of underwater mortgages. No estimates were given as to how many borrowers such a plan could potentially help, only that this would be a voluntary, borrower-initiated plan, and not a blanket refinance of all borrowers.  The costs, according to administration officials, would be modest, and the President would request that a portion of his financial crisis responsibility fee offset any of those costs, so there would be no addition to the federal debt.  ’A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won’t add to the deficit, and will give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust,’ Mr. Obama added.  Loan servicers could be faced with a flood of applications and could have to add resources to handle it all, but officials say the opportunity to generate revenues from the refinances would be incentive enough. Still many servicers have balked at the idea ofmass refinancing, as the new loans could present more risk and less reward.

The idea is to remove the barriers and ‘frictions’ that have kept many borrowers out of refinancing to historically low rates. Some of those include high levels of negative equity, loan level price adjustments, loan origination dates, put-backs on loans that default, and borrower qualifications.  Then there is the very basic problem of politics. Whatever the details of the plan are, Republicans, despite the fact that they have been calling for more refinances, are unlikely to hand President Obama a popular victory on the eve of a presidential election. They may also oppose anything that makes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bigger, when the two are allegedly winding down.”

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