Despite what appears to be a non-stop wave of tough news regarding real estate, four major media players have come out this month with the same advice: It Is Time to Buy a Home! Here are the four articles and a breakdown as to why the advice makes sense.

The Wall Street Journal: Why It’s Time to Buy

CBS Money Watch: Why the Time to Buy is Now

Forbes Magazine: 9 Reasons to Buy a House Now

National Public Radio: For Many, It’s Still a Good Time to Buy a Home

FHA will now allow financing on new condo projects (defined as less than 1 year since the 1st unit has sold) to have as little as 30% of the current units sold and owner occupied! This is reduced from the previous requirement of 51%. Detailed information below.

Owner-Occupancy Requirements

Project Status Requirement

Existing

At least 50 percent of the units of a project must be owner-occupied or sold to owners who intend to occupy the units Proposed, Under Construction or Existing < 12 months old FHA will allow a minimum owner-occupancy amount equal to 30 percent of declared units. One year after the first unit conveyance, the project requirement is at least 50 percent owner-occupancy of the declared units. The owner-occupancy percentage must be documented as follows: Copies of sales agreements and evidence (loan commitment) that a mortgagee is willing to make the loan*; or Evidence that units have closed and are occupied; or Information from a developer/builder that lists all of the units already sold, under contract, or closed (e.g. a spreadsheet, chart, or listing used for the company’s own tracking purposes) that is accompanied by a signed certification from the developer.

Last week Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) released their annual State of Downtown Report. The report contains graphs and numbers relating to the development of Downtown. This years report suggests that Downtown Cincinnati has seen a large increase in the number of people enjoying the array of restaurants and arts in the center city.

Arlene Koth, executive president and Chief Operating Officer of DCI, said that when they looked back at the numbers in 2010, there were a few things that really jumped out to them. One such item was the amount of development happening downtown; not just the number of projects that have been completed, but also the amount of investment that has gone into the projects downtown.

Two factors are at play, according to researchers who recently crunched the numbers, Ken Johnson of Florida International University and Eli Beracha of East Carolina University for a paper to be published in Real Estate Economics.

First, rents, though mostly stagnant the past few years, are expected to head higher as more people bitten by the housing bust turn to renting. Rents could rise 7% in each of the next two years, according to Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com.

Comey & Shepherd is the second-largest real estate firm in the Tri-State, with $1.5 billion in 2010 home sales volume.

2011 Rank: 2
2010 Rank: 5

via Cincinnati Business Courier

If you plan on moving anytime in 2011, you should strongly consider selling your house now rather than waiting. Here are five reasons why:

1.) This is when your house will get the most exposure

The spring, and particularly the month of May, is when most buyers enter the real estate market. This surge of buyers dramatically increases the exposure for your house . The best chance of getting quality offers (perhaps even multiple offers) is RIGHT NOW!

2.) Foreclosures and short sales will increase in about 90 days

The good news is that the number of people paying their mortgage on time is increasing. This will lead to less distressed property sales later this year and throughout 2012. The not-so-good news is that there is still a large inventory of existing foreclosures and short sales that will still be coming to market.

"Once we can remove those sales, we can continue to help our real estate market, local real estate market heal.” - Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors President Pete Kopf

Nearly half of Greater Cincinnati home sales last month involved foreclosures and short sales. Experts say that could help turn the market around.

Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors President Pete Kopf says 44-percent of sales last month were lender involved.

“Some people might say, wow that’s scary. It’s not scary. What it is is the cleansing of the lender involved sales of our inventory. Once we can remove those sales, we can continue to help our real estate market, local real estate market heal.”

He says it’s a domino theory. Foreclosures and short sales bring the market down.

Comparing March of last year to last month, Cincinnati saw a 7-percent drop in home sales. Kopf attributes that to the 2010 first time homebuyers’ credit.

Northern Kentucky home sales were off 11-percent.

Listen via WVXU.com here

Foreclosure report shows 2010 filings down, losses up The economic downturn that began in 2007 continued to affect homeowners throughout 2010, according to a new report by Working in Neighborhoods (WIN).

The Recession Is Over? Hamilton County Families Are Still In Foreclosure, the eighth foreclosure report produced by WIN, analyzes foreclosure statistics from the Cincinnati Court Index's Sheriff Sale Listing for each of Hamilton County's municipalities and the City of Cincinnati's neighborhoods.

Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s residential real estate market bucked the national trend as home sales rose in February compared to January.

The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors on Monday reported 963 home closings in February, up from 895 closings in January 2011, and up from 945 closings in February 2010. For the first two months of the year, sales were up 2.82 percent, to 1,858 from 1,807.

The average price fell 3.34 percent to $144,070 in February from $149,046 in February 2010. For the year, the average price is down 4.44 percent to $143,076.

The median sales price fell to $111,000 in February, from $118,000 in February 2010. For the year, the median price is down to $109,000 from $116,000. Median price is the midpoint of all sales.

Pete Kopf, president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, said increases in mortgage rates and rent are helping drive sales, in addition to a large inventory.

Industry experts are forecasting double-digit rent hikes soon.

With vacancy rates dipping below the 10% mark, demand is picking up, which is expected to put upward pressure on rental prices.

"The demand for rental housing has already started to increase," says Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com. "Young people are starting to get rid of their roommates and move out of their parents' basements."

By 2012, Alford predicts the vacancy rate will drop to 5%, causing prices to rise.

Rent hikes have been modest the past decade, averaging less than 1% a year in adjusting for inflation.

via NAR