Timeshare Sales Decline

Vacation timeshares are expected to fall 30 percent this year, according to the American Resort Development Association, a trade group.

“Timeshares are just very, very discretionary items,” says Chris Woronka, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. “It’s the perpetual vacation. I am prepaying for the ability to take a vacation every year. Under the current circumstances, people are more reluctant to pay for that.”

Marriott International Inc., which is cutting prices and stopping development of new units, predicted that sales are unlikely to turn anytime soon

Woronka says one of the major issues facing the industry is tight credit, which is reducing the pool of customers by preventing sales to people with lower credit scores.

Source: Bloomberg, Nadia Brandt (09/29/2009)

Cloudy Future for Solar Power

Solar power could be the answer to a cleaner and healthier world, but most American homeowners haven’t embraced it.

Installing a solar system that would produce enough energy to meet the needs of a three-bedroom, single-family home would require an initial investment of about $30,000. Of that, adopters will immediately get back $8,010 as a federal tax credit.

Many states, including California and Florida, also provide financial assistance in the form of significant grants and credits. This reduces the payback to eight to 10 years, says Ian Wofenden, a senior editor at Home Power magazine and a representative of Solar Energy International.

Wofenden says he believes that recent economic events are changing people's minds. "I think it is changing in places where people get off their butts, pull out their wallets, and do it," he says. "Then neighbors, friends and relatives see the value and follow suit."

Here are the 10 U.S. cities where there are the most users of solar power:

1. San Jose, Calif.
2. San Diego
3. Sacramento
4. Denver
5. Riverside, Calif.
6. San Francisco
7. Orlando
8. Los Angeles
9. Miami
10. Las Vegas

Source: Forbes, Lauren Sherman (09/24/2009)

Million-Dollar Homes Are a Tough Sell

You can buy a lot more house for $1 million than you used to.

Sales of homes that cost $1 million or more have dropped by 50 percent from four years ago, according to MDA DataQuick, which examined 20 top markets.

Part of the reason that fewer million-dollar properties are selling is the difficulties in getting a loan. A buyer of a $1 million home would have to earn at least $200,000 per year, and fewer than 4 percent of Americans earn that much, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

With 20 percent down, the mortgage payment for a $1 million home would cost about $4,900 a month, not including property taxes or insurance.

Statistically, not many of people – even those with prime jobs and big bank accounts – have that kind of money to spend in this economy.

Source: The Associated Press, Adrian Sainz (09/26/2009)

County Should Be Notified of Mortgage Payoff

Homeowners who pay off their mortgage loan should notify county officials where the property is located, and file proof that the debt is paid.

Otherwise, when they go to sell the property, the title company won’t be able to prove clear title and the sale will almost certainly be delayed.

In some cases, sellers have had to sue their lenders to prove that they have been paid in full. If a lender is no longer in business, the situation is even more complicated, experts say.

When the debt is paid, some lenders file the paperwork with the appropriate county courthouse. Others simply send a note to the borrower and expect them to take care of that detail. If that is the case, the borrower should hand-carry the satisfaction note to the recorder or registrar-of-deed’s office. They should make sure they get back the original document with the filing date and time stamped on it.

Source: MarketWatch.com, Lew Sichelman (09/25/2009)

President's Neighbors Trying to Sell

President Barack Obama’s next-door neighbors in Chicago, Bill and Jacky Grimshaw, are trying to sell their house.

Matt Garrison of the Matt Garrison Group, which listed the property, would not specify the listing price. He said the sale price will ultimately be determined by “the Obama factor.”

The 17-room brick home located in the Hyde Park neighborhood last sold in 1973 for $35,000. Homes in the area now sell for between $1 million and $2.5 million.

In order to view the property, interested buyers must demonstrate that they can afford to spend at least $1.5 million on a home and explain why they want to live there. People who pass the initial screening also must be investigated by the Secret Service before a showing can be arranged.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Mary Ellen Podmolik (09/12/2009)

Strapped Home Owners Turn to Renting

Rentals are rising in Greenwich, Conn., a town synonymous with luxury housing.

The housing market in this pricey community is in trouble. Single-family sales in Greenwich declined 48 percent to 167 this year through July, according to Shore & Country, based in Greenwich.

As a result of this downturn, the number of single-family properties for sale in Greenwich rose 600 percent this year. More than 525 homes were rented or listed for rent through August, according to Eric Biork, sales director for Prudential Connecticut Realty.

Mark Hanson, president of M. Hanson Advisors, a housing and mortgage research company in Menlo Park, Calif., was critical of sellers who chose to rent instead of dropping the prices.

“It’s really doing nothing but delaying the inevitable,” Hanson said. “These houses are not going to double in price.”

Source: Bloomberg, Oshrat Carmiel (09/03/2009)

Sellers Offer Overnight Trial Stays

Luxury second-home communities are increasingly offering “try-before-you-buy” weekends to potential customers, including the opportunity to play a round of golf, use the dining facilities and other amenities – plus take a mandatory tour.

St. John Fisher College professor Kyle F. Reinson, a real estate specialist and consultant for residential developers, says these tours work in part because they require a certain level of commitment on the part of both the buyer and the seller. The buyer, he says, often gets a good price because the seller doesn’t want to let him get away.

At Encaterra in Queen Creek, Ariz., four-day, weekend tours that cost the potential buyer $299 for an all-inclusive package, results in 25 percent sales, the club reports.

Source: USA Today, Larry Olmsted (09/04/2009)