Author: Karim Karmaly

Buy a House, Get a Visa

WSJ’s Nick Timiraos details a proposed plan in which foreigners who spend $500,000 in cash on U.S. real estate would be given visas. To fuel this demand, the proposed measure would offer visas to any foreigner making a cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real-estate-a single-family house, condo or townhouse. Applicants can spend the entire amount on one house or spend as little as $250,000 on a residence and invest the rest in other residential real estate, which can be rented out.

The measure would complement existing visa programs that allow foreigners to enter the U.S. if they invest in new businesses that create jobs. Backers believe the initiative would help soak up an excess supply of inventory when many would-be American home buyers are holding back because they’re concerned about their jobs or because they would have to take a big loss to sell their current house.

“This is a way to create more demand without costing the federal government a nickel,” Sen. Schumer said in an interview. The provision would create visas that are separate from current programs so as to not displace anyone waiting for other visas. There would be no cap on the home-buyer visa program.

The measure could also help turn around buyer psychology, said mortgage-bond pioneer Lewis Ranieri. He said the program represented “triage” for a housing market that needs more fixes, even modest ones.

But other industry executives greeted the proposal with skepticism. Foreign buyers “don’t need an incentive” to buy homes, said Richard Smith, chief executive of Realogy Corp., which owns the Coldwell Banker and Century 21 real-estate brands. “We have a lot of Americans who are willing to buy. We just have to fix the economy.”

 

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Mortgage Rates Hit New Record Lows

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.91 percent in the week ending Dec. 22, down from 3.94 percent last week, setting a new all-time low for 30-year mortgages. “Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages have been at or below 4 percent for the last eight weeks and now are almost 0.9 percentage points below where they were at the beginning of the year,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. The greater affordability provided by lower rates helped push existing home sales higher in November for a second consecutive month to an annualized pace of 4.42 million, the most since January.

Commercial Real Estate Outlook

The third quarter of 2009 brought signs of relief to a U.S. economy fighting to emerge from what has been coined the Great Recession. Most measures of economic activity moved in upwards. However, commercial real estate did not find its footing in the constantly shifting terrain of weak fundamentals and timid transaction activity. Demand for commercial properties continued on a downward path, adding pressure on prices and rents. Moreover, credit conditions continued to tighten as banks moved to strengthen their balance sheets. As a result, vacancy rates have been rising and the volume of distressed properties has grown. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the pace of decline in fundamentals is slowing, and sales transactions are posting positive growth.

You can download the Outlook in its entirety from here.

Obama To Sign Bill Extending Homebuyers Credit

By the time you read this, President Barack Obama will have signed a bill that expands a popular homebuyers tax credit and extends unemployment benefits.

Congress on Thursday completed work on the $24 billion economic package that seeks to help out the millions who have lost jobs and have been unable to rejoin the workforce. The White House announced Obama’s intention to sign the bill on Friday, shortly after Congress finished the legislation.

Under the measure, an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers would be extended for seven months and expanded with a $6,500 credit for some prospective homebuyers who already own homes.

The House passed the bill on a 403-12 vote Thursday, a day after the Senate ended a monthlong stalemate with a 98-0 vote. With some 7,000 people exhausting unemployment benefits every day and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers set to expire at the end of November, President Barack Obama is expected to quickly sign it into law.

The $24 billion package also contains tax credits aimed at struggling businesses.

The IRS says some 1.4 million people applied for the homebuyers credit through August, helping enliven the moribund housing market. The legislation would extend the program through June of next year, as long as the buyer signs a contract by the end of April. It also offers a $6,500 tax credit to those who have lived in their current residence at least five years.

The measure doubles the income ceiling for eligible individuals to $125,000. Homes must cost less than $800,000 to qualify.