Warren Buffett on CNBC: I'd Buy Up 'A Couple Hundred Thousand' Single-Family Homes If I Could

Via CNBC

David Grogan/CNBC

Warren Buffett says along with equities, single-family homes are a very attractive investment right now.

Appearing live on CNBC's Squawk Box, Buffett tells Becky Quick he'd buy up "a couple hundred thousand" single family homes if it were practical to do so.

If held for a long period of time and purchased at low rates, Buffett says houses are even better than stocks. He advises buyers to take out a 30-year mortgage and refinance if rates go down.

Buffett revealed that he put 175 million euros into each of eight European stocks on behalf of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2011, but did not reveal the names of those stocks.

He also said Berkshire bought just a "few" shares of IBM [IBM 197.75 -0.23 (-0.12%) ] this quarter. He would have bought more but the price went up. Buffett tells Becky he probably won't buy a tech stock again, but if he understood a company and liked its management and price he wouldn't rule out another tech purchase.

Buffett says if he could only own one bank stock it would be Wells Fargo [WFC 31.37 --- UNCH (0) ] and Berkshire also added to its position in that stock during the current quarter.

On Bank of America [BAC 8.135 0.025 (+0.31%) ] , Buffett says the bank's deposit base is a "huge asset" and CEO Brian Moynihan has done exactly what he would do.

Buffett also repeated his praise for JPMorgan Chase [JPM 39.50 0.29 (+0.74%) ] CEO Jamie Dimon and says he owns some of those shares in his personal portfolio.

He does have some criticism for a big Berkshire stake: Johnson & Johnson [JNJ 64.92 -0.26 (-0.4%) ] . He believes too many mistakes have been made at the recall-prone company and while it is still attractive at its current price, he would sell some shares if he needed to raise capital. It's "obviously messed up in a lot of ways in the last few years."

Buffett on CEO Succession

Buffett defends Berkshire's decision not to disclose the name of the person the board has chosen to be his successor as CEO, saying he has invested in many companies where he didn't know who would be the next person running the company.

He does say the next CEO is "probably the CEO of some operation" within Berkshire.

Many people had interpreted Saturday's letter to shareholders as saying the board had only decided last year on a CEO successor, but Buffett tells Becky the board has actually known for years who it would go to if Buffett were suddenly unable to continue at the helm. That person, he says, has remained the same for more than a year and wasn't former Berkshire executive David Sokol. Answering a viewer's question, Buffett says the successor doesn't know he or she has been chosen by the board, and it isn't a board member.

Buffett says Berkshire is required by law to pay Sokol's legal bills, spending $1.4 million so far. He "assumes" something is happening with the SEC's investigation into whether Sokol was insider trading when he bought shares of Lubrizol before Berkshire announced its acquisition of the company.

 

 

 

Buffett on the Economy

 

 

Aside from the housing sector, Buffett says the U.S. economic recovery is healthy and won't be derailed by rising oil prices. He repeated what he's been saying throughout the recession, that it's always been a "terrible mistake" to be pessimistic on the U.S. over the long term.

Buffett says that except for its housing units, Berkshire's businesses have increased their hiring and that each business will have more employees at the end of this year than they did at the start.

But for the nation, he wouldn't be surprised if the unemployment rate returned to nine percent.

Buffett says that in "hindsight," he now thinks the government's bailout of the U.S. automakers was one of the best things to happen to the economy.

Buffett on New Portfolio Managers

 

 

Buffett heaped praise on the two Berkshire portfolio managers he's hired, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. He says Combs did extremely well with his investment choices in 2011 and has been compensated accordingly.

While he's not actively thinking about hiring a third manager, Buffett says he won't rule it out if a great person comes along.

Buffett on Taxes

 

 

On taxes, Buffett says it's a myth that U.S. corporations are paying anything close to a 35 percent tax rate and maintains those taxes are not "strangling" American competitiveness.

He dismisses suggestions by critics that if he wants the super-rich to be taxed at a higher rate then he should write a check and make a voluntary donation to the Treasury. Buffett responds that contributions aren't going to solve the massive debt problem facing the U.S.

He says it is a "travesty" that everyone else is being asked to make sacrifices but not America's most wealthy people.

While he would accept Joe Kernen's suggestion for a tax on a person's total wealth, he says he doesn't think that's the best way to go, in part because it's hard to value assets like farms.

He also says he would accept taxing dividends at the higher ordinary income tax rate, depending on what that rate would be.

In response to a emailed question from a viewer suggesting he owes it to Berkshire shareholders not to antagonize people by pushing his controversial views on taxes, Buffett says he doesn't think a CEO needs to put his or her political beliefs into a "blind trust."

He's also calling on Congress to vote this year on the Bowles-Simpson fiscal reform proposals. Buffett dismisses the idea that Congress can't get anything done in a presidential election year, saying they shouldn't be paid for the year if they're not going to do some work.

Finally, time to buy a house?

Look past national headlines about the continuing decline of housing prices and focus on your local market. It's likely recovering nicely already.

Courtesy of MSN Money Partner

Nobody wants to catch a falling knife. It is as simple as that. If potential buyers see continued home price erosion, they will stay parked on the sidelines. But as with everything else in this unique and historic housing market, perhaps the usual logic doesn't apply.

“Housing is one of the great investments right now. I tell people all the time when they come up to me, they say, 'What should I do, Mr. Trump?' I say go buy a house," said Donald Trump earlier today on CNBC

"It wouldn't be an obvious mistake to buy a house now," hedged Robert Shiller, barely a few hours later.

Perhaps they were just jumping off Warren Buffett's declaration Monday that if he had a way to manage them, he would buy a couple hundred thousand single-family homes and rent them out.

Housing appears to be rated a "buy" these days, especially among investors, who see a ripe and rising rental market and big potential for income. But is it the right time yet for what I call "organic" buyers to get in? By this I mean people buying a home to actually live in it, raising a family there and letting the dog run around in the backyard. If prices are still falling, couldn't an even better deal be waiting down the road a bit?

No. House prices will continue to fall on a national basis at least through 2012, but you have to look past national headlines to your local market, which is likely recovering nicely already. The trouble with the national numbers is that they are heavily weighted toward the lower end of the market and its distressed end.

About 73% of homes that sold in January were priced below $250,000, according to the National Association of Realtors. Forty-seven percent of homes sold that same month were considered "distressed," which is either a foreclosure or a short sale (where the lender allows the borrower to sell for less than the value of the mortgage). With all the activity in these areas, no surprise that prices skew lower.

The $250,000 to $500,000 price range may now be the sweet spot for the market. Sales in January were up in this price range, and if you have good credit, you are within GSE (government-sponsored enterprise) and Federal Housing Administration loan limits in most markets. While the FHA just raised its insurance premiums, which may hurt much-needed first-time homebuyer demand, it is still one of the best loan products out there today, especially for those with lower down payments.

You cannot time housing any more than you can time the stock market. True, housing moves far more slowly, but that works to its benefit, as prices don't rise and fall on daily news or even on major events. Sales have clearly bottomed out in housing, and prices always lag sales. They will lag longer this time around, no question, but they will come back. Supply and demand will eventually win out, even after a historic crash. If you can't get a good mortgage now, then perhaps it's not your time, but if you can, waiting may not buy you much

Homes of 2012 Academy Awards nominees

via Yahoo! Real Estate

The movers and shakers of the movie-making industry have checked off most of the red-carpet events this awards season: Critics’ Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes. Next up? The granddaddy of ‘em all: The Academy Awards.
This year, the Oscars will be broadcast live Feb. 26 (ABC, 7 p.m. EST). And while the media is abuzz with predictions of who’ll win and what they’ll wear, we are more interested in the homes where this year’s potential winners will stash their golden statues.
Here are five places the nominees have called home:

Michelle Williams
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Nominated: Actress in a Leading Role, “My Week with Marilyn”

Williams bought her house with the late Heath Ledger. Main photo: Zillow | Inset: IMDb

Williams already picked up the Golden Globe for her role as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn.” She spends her time off the big screen with her daughter, Matilda Rose, in their cozy, four-floor house in Brooklyn. Williams’ slice of real estate was purchased with late actor and ex-fiance Heath Ledger in 2005 for a reported $3.6 million. Ledger, also Matilda’s father, passed away from a reported drug overdose in January 2008.

Brad Pitt
Location: Malibu, CA
Nominated: Actor in a Leading Role, "Moneyball"

The four-bedroom Malibu home became too small for the Pitt family. Main photo: Zillow | Inset: IMDb

If Pitt does take home an Oscar, chances are he won’t be stashing it in a home in the U.S. Pitt and his leading woman, Angelina Jolie, as well as their six kids, spend most of their time abroad, specifically in a rental home in southern France. They also own multimillion-dollar homes in Cambodia and Berlin in addition to homes in New Orleans and L.A. Pitt also previously owned a home in Malibu he purchased shortly after his divorce to Jennifer Aniston in 2005.
A self-professed architecture buff, Pitt spent months renovating the mid-century modern, pictured above. Although the home has 4,088 square feet of living space with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, it was on the small side for the eight-person Jolie-Pitt clan. Pitt sold the prime piece of Malibu real estate to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi in December 2011.


Viola Davis
Location: Granada Hills, CA
Nominated: Actress in a Leading Role, "The Help"

Davis' suburban home has five bedrooms and five bathrooms. Main photo: Zillow | Inset: IMDb

Viola Davis rose to prominence with roles on the stage and has two Tony awards to her name. Since her move to the big screen, she’s been nominated for numerous awards, including best supporting actress for her role in “Doubt.”
Davis purchased the suburban home in Granada Hills in 2005 with her husband, Julius Tennon. The five-bedroom, five-bath home sits on a quarter acre with 3,917 square feet of living space.


Steven Spielberg
Location: Malibu, CA
Nominated: Best Picture, “War Horse”

Spielberg's home covers more than 7,000 square feet. Main photo: Zillow | Inset: IMDb

When Spielberg isn’t directing or producing his blockbusters, he splits time between his homes in Pacific Palisades, the Hamptons and Malibu. Unlike other celebrities, the director isn’t one to buy and sell properties on a whim; he has owned most of his homes for over 20 years.
His Malibu home, in particular, is a spectacular ocean-side property he bought in 1989 for $3,375,033. The 7,000 plus-square-foot-home sits on nearly an acre of beachfront property and has seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, and such must-have celebrity amenities as an in-ground pool.


Glenn Close
Location: Bedford Hills, NY
Nominated: Actress in a Leading Role, “Albert Nobbs”

Close has many famous neighbors in Bedford Hills. Main photo: Zillow | Inset: IMDb

Born and raised in Greenwich, CT, Close spends her time on the East Coast in both Manhattan, and Bedford Hills, NY.
Her Bedford Hills estate, pictured above, sits on 10 acres. Just north of Manhattan, the hills of Westchester County, and in particular, Bedford real estate, are appealing to many celebrities. Close can count Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and celeb couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones among her Bedford Hills neighbors.

See more Homes of Academy Award Nominees.

Where Are Foreigners Buying Real Estate in the United States

Via Credit Sesame

Many Americans consider homeownership a key stepping stone to achieving the “American dream.” But no societal group values homeownership more than foreign-born U.S. residents: those who have come to the country to seek a better life, an American dream of their own. Consider this: nearly 80% of foreign-born U.S. residents owned a home in 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors. The national homeownership rate at that time was 65.4% (it is currently 66.3%).

With that in mind, we set out to find the makeup of each state (i.e. where do its foreign-born residents come from?), and which states are most popular among foreign homebuyers and investors. (Note that these stats refer to the overall population, not homeowners alone.)

(Click on the infographic below to learn more.)

Obama, Bush, Kennedy and More Homes of Presidents

Courtesy of Forbes

For each of the U.S.’ former Presidents, the most famous residence they inhabit over their lifetime is undoubtedly the big white one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But before they were elected and after they left the Oval Office, these policy makers called other addresses “home, sweet, home.” In honor of Presidents’ Day, we’re taking a look at the homes of Presidents — present and past.

Barack Obama

Prior to his current digs at the White House, President Obama lived off Greenwood Avenue in Chicago. The Obamas’ home, pictured above, was built in 1917 and features 6,199 square feet of living space. President Obama and First Lady Michelle purchased the brick home in 2005 for $1,650,000, shortly after Obama was elected to Senate.

George W. Bush

When it came time for former President George W. Bush to retire from the Oval Office, the 43rd President decided to go back to his home state of Texas, picking up a sprawling 8,000-square-foot home at 10141 Daria Pl, which was a downsize from the 55,000-square-foot White House. The Bushes also purchased the property next door but tore it down in 2008. People speculated at the time that the demolition was to expand the former first family’s yard.

Bill Clinton

Unlike many other Presidents, Bill Clinton didn’t own a home during his residency at the White House. Born and raised in Arkansas, the former President and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose to stay on the East Coast, and purchased a home in Chappaqua, New York at the end of Clinton’s second term in office. By several accounts, the Clintons are quite popular in the small Westchester County town. Built in 1889, the Clintons’ home is situated on a cul-de-sac lot and has 5,232-square-foot of living space, 5 beds and 4 baths.

Ronald Reagan

Before Ronald Reagan lived at the White House, he lived among the star-studded hills of Pacific Palisades and Bel Air. His former Pacific Palisades property was he and wife Nancy Reagan’s home base until Reagan was elected in 1981. After two terms as the 40th President of the U.S., “The Gipper” and his wife returned to Los Angeles, picking up a prime slice of real estate in the posh Bel-Air neighborhood. The property remains Nancy Reagan’s home today.

Gerald Ford

Not one, but two of former President Gerald Ford’s homes are currently for sale — one listed in California and one in Colorado. Ford’s Vail home, pictured above, is a testament to his love of skiing and the outdoors. Listed for $9.85 million, the ski-in/ski-out home has been on and off the market starting in 2008 with a hefty price tag of $14.9 million. Gerald Ford’s other home is listed on the Rancho Mirage real estate market for significantly less. The $1.699 million listing is a mid-century ranch located on the Thunderbird Country golf course and contains some Presidential memorabilia, including a large portrait of Betty Ford hanging in the living room.

John F. Kennedy

One of America’s most famous families holds one of America’s most storied properties. The Kennedy Compound consists of 6 acres of waterfront property on Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, a small village in the town of Barnstable. John F. Kennedy’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, rented a summer cottage in Hyannis Port in 1926 and purchased the cottage 2 years later. The home, which Joseph enlarged and remodeled, became the summer getaway for the couple and their children, who enjoyed sailing on the sound. In 1956, after his marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier, Jack bought a smaller home nearby, and his brother Robert later purchased an adjacent home. Following the death of Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, the compound was donated to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.

George Washington

While we don’t have the first President’s childhood home– the one where he chopped down a cherry tree — we do have the home where George Washington reportedly slept. It is believed that the first general hung up his wig at this 1739 homestead, named the “Fowler House.” The number of nights Washington slept here is up for debate, but if you believe the historic marker on the home, he often stayed here on his way from West Point to Connecticut. The New York home is 5,800 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths and was recently listed on the Brewster real estate market for $500,000.

Are we missing your favorite President? Check out the homes of Truman, Nixon and more Presidents.

What's hot and not in home styles this year

Courtesty of Yahoo Real Estate

This year's designated New American Home is being featured as part of the International Builder's Show. Photo: flickr | International Builders' Show

Modern gets the thumbs up.
Spa-like and eco-sensitive, the “New American Home 2012” being unveiled in Orlando this week by the National Association of Home Builders in conjunction with the International Builders’ Show, is a warmer take on the classic “White Box” of mid-20th century modern design.

“A lot of people want a spa feeling and a spa look that’s very analogous to modern,” said Luis Juaregui, a Texas-based American Institute of Architects accredited architect. The 4,200 square foot, $3.5 million gray stone and glass home has free flowing entertaining spaces, floor to ceiling sliding glass doors, a stone staircase with open risers, clear glass balustrades and clean geometric lines, tempered by dark wood cabinets, area rugs and soft furnishings.

Still, to fit into more traditional looking neighborhoods, architects are increasingly going hybrid, mixing distinctly modern, techno-savvy interiors with colonial details, Tudor-style roofs or Craftsman-inspired touches on the exterior.

A home to call one’s own has long been part of the American Dream. But as tastes, technologies and regional preferences change, propelled by demographics and the socio-economic climate, the style, scale and comforts of that coveted real estate evolve.

During the bigger- is-better 1980s and 1990s, homes ballooned in size. Compact single story ranch and cape cod styles gave way to ever grander two-story neo-colonials. When the economic bubble burst, they retrenched. These days, downsizing is cool; supersized McMansions towering over smaller homes are not.

Stephen Melman, director of economic services at the National Association of Home Builders said that houses shrank about 10 percent from their 2,500 square foot peak in 2007, and are expected “to get smaller and more efficient” with open floor plans, master bedrooms on the first floor and dining rooms distinguished only by a chandelier or architectural detail.

One-story ranch homes, post World War II suburbia’s signature easy style, are slowly regaining favor, thanks to first time buyers with tiny tots and aging baby boomers seeking accessibility.
Craftsman style homes, popular before World War II, are also enjoying a revival, said Gary D. Cannella, an architect in Bohemia, N.Y. “It’s the style not the size.” Adaptable to sizable abodes or small bungalows, these one or one and a half story homes boast low-pitched rooflines, tapered columns, oversized eaves, gables and the front porches “that everyone wants and no one sits on.”

The split level, a hallmark of suburbia in the Brady Bunch era, is nearly obsolete. Despite the aerobic benefits of tri-level living, “all you do is walk up and down stairs all day long,” Cannella says. “You can’t go anywhere without steps.”

Here are the hot and not-so-hot home styles for 2012:

What's Hot in 2012

Style: Modern
Price: $399,000 to $29 million

The New American Home in Winter Park, FL looks ready for entertaining. Photo: flickr | International Builders' Show

Description: Aligned with the mid 20th-century counter classic design movement, modern is characterized by no fuss floor plans with combined dining, relaxing and entertaining spaces, clean, geometric lines, low slung roofs, and technologically advanced materials like concrete, steel and glass.
Why They Are Appealing: Easy, functional and bright, with walls of glass and open spaces, today’s modern is eco-sensitive and forward thinking, with state of the art kitchens and “smart house” technologies, though developers often prefer modern interiors with more traditional skins.
Where You’ll Find Them: Nationwide, with striking examples in the Hamptons, Santa Monica and other tony beach environs.
Style: Neo-Mediterranean
Price: $300,000 to $6 million-plus

Neo-Mediterranean home styles are becoming the Sun Belt standard. Photo: Jauregui Architect

Description: Red tile roofs, stucco walls, archways, towers and heavy wooden doors with a Spanish or Tuscan flavor.
Why It’s Appealing: The Southern European style and materials work well in warmer climates and match the landscape.

Where You’ll Find It: California, Florida, Texas, Southwest
The Flip Side: While northern European style homes are vanishing from the Sun Belt, in chillier climates such as the Northeast, two story center hall colonials still reign.

Style: Craftsman
Price: $249,000 to $2.8 million

Craftsman-style homes have become an American classic. Photo: flickr | roarofthefour

Description: Often referred to as Arts and Crafts bungalows, Craftsman-style homes have low-pitched roof lines, overhanging eaves supported by decorative brackets, gables, front porches with tapered square columns, exposed roof rafters, handcrafted wood and stone flourishes.
Why They are Appealing: This one to one and a half story style shouts cozy. With an emphasis on natural materials and decorative details, it works well for larger homes and small bungalows.
Where You’ll Find Them: coast to coast

What's Not So Hot in 2012


Style: McMansions
Price: $350,000 to $10 million +


McMansion's were a sign of success before the bubble burst. Photo: flickr | FunnyBiz

Description: Sometimes called colonials on steroids or oversized neo-eclectic houses, these super-sized jumbles of styles and decorative details from colonial to Victorian, have brick, stone, vinyl or composite veneers. A product of the latter part of the 20th century and the knock-down era of the bubble before the burst, they often replaced smaller homes on lots not suited to their hulking size.
Why they are not appealing: Pretentious, over-sized energy guzzlers, overshadow surrounding homes and out of sync with the economic climate’s downsizing trend.

The Flip Side: Well-designed mansions on properly sized lots and in appropriate settings such as golf course or lakefront communities are still hot.

Style: Split Levels
Price: $91,900 to $2,850,000

Split-level homes, with many steps, have lost market appeal. Photo: flickr | Sportsuburban

Description: A Ranch style house divided into at least three parts by short flights of stairs leading up on one side, down on another, dividing entertaining spaces from private areas such as bedrooms and separating formal rooms from more casual playrooms and dens. 


Why they are not appealing: This darling of the 1950s, 60s and 70s is outdated and complicated to maneuver with steps at nearly every turn.
Where You’ll Find Them: 1950s/60s/70s suburban subdivisions nationwide.

Style: Victorian
Price: $299,000 to $2,850,000

Victorian homes are charming, but almost no one builds them like this anymore. Photo: TBoard

Description: Turrets and towers, wraparound or granny porches and gingerbread trim with Queen Anne, Gothic or Italianate flourishes are the hallmark of these turn- of-the-20th-century two and three story homes with plenty of nooks and crannies.
Why They Are Not Appealing: While it’s hard not to love their colorful eccentricities, Victorians are challenging to rehabilitate or maintain. Their warrens of small rooms aren’t conducive to 21st century lifestyles.
Where You’ll Find Them: Urban neighborhoods, historic districts, small towns, older suburbs 

The Flip Side: Newer neo-eclectic homes borrow whimsical features from true Victorians, touting turrets, towers and porches in maintenance free materials.

Home sales inch up in California as prices fall

Via The Los Angeles Times

California's median home price in January sinks 1.3% from a year earlier. Bay Area home sales jump sharply. Short sales and foreclosures make up more than half the market.

Home sales were up slightly in January across California, and the statewide median price fell, as investors flooded Southern California and the share of distressed home sales jumped in the Bay Area.

 

The housing market is one of the few sectors of the economy that is still suffering. A report by San Diego research firm DataQuick indicated that housing continued to limp along last month in the Golden State.

The state's median home price fell to $236,000, down 1.3% from January 2011. The median — the point at which half the homes in the state are sold for more and half for less — has fallen for 16 consecutive months on a year-over-year basis.

Foreclosures, tight mortgage credit and high unemployment in the state remain significant impediments to a housing recovery, though experts warn that the first month of the year rarely is an indicator of where the market is going because of the small pool of buyers involved.

"The higher-end sales have slowed in recent months as many struggle to qualify for loans and others just sit tight," DataQuick President John Walsh said.

Statewide sales of previously owned and newly built homes were up 1.5% in January, marking the sixth consecutive month that year-over-year sales in California have improved. January sales fell 25.5% from December, though a decline from December to January is normal.

Short sales and foreclosures made up more than half of the market last month.

In Southern California, the median home price fell to $260,000, down 3.7% from a year earlier, and sales were mostly flat, increasing 0.4%.

In the Bay Area, the median price fell to $326,000, down 3.6% from a year earlier, while sales rose to their highest level for a January in five years, jumping 10.3% from January 2011.

Separately, a report on foreclosure errors released by the San Francisco County office of the assessor-recorder indicated more than 80% of a sample of foreclosures between January 2000 and October 2011 showed some kind of mistake.

State Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris said she was reviewing the "deeply troubling" report and would introduce legislation that would get tougher on faulty foreclosure practices.

Florence Mattar

Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills North

301 North Canon Drive, Suite E

Beverly Hills, California 90210

310.927.2777

Home Affordability at Record High, Builders' Report Says

Recently released data suggests that borrowers could be looking at once-in-a-lifetime deals, as rock-bottom prices and record-low interest rates continue to create perfect storm buying conditions.

Numbers released by the National Association of Home Builders on Thursday indicate that home affordability has hit a 20-year high. The release agrees with a recent Department of Housing and Urban Development assessment that found that affordability is at a 41-year peak.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, 75.9 percent of homes sold were affordable to families who earn the national median income of $64,200; that's according to the Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. But even as consumers would seem to be poised to cash in on a market brimming with deals, rigid lending requirements continue to prevent many borrowers from capitalizing on the opportune conditions, the association says.

"While today's report indicates that homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades, overly restrictive lending conditions ... remain significant obstacles," Barry Rutenberg, who is chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement.

Today's buyer's market probably won't fade anytime soon. With an investigation into illegal foreclosures recently settled between state attorneys general and the nations' five biggest servicers, foreclosures are likely to swell, experts say. And the rising tide of anticipated repossessions is likely to push down prices further, many experts say.

What's more, the Federal Reserve has said that it intends on keeping interest rates low for at least the next two years. Since mortgage rates ride on the agency's rates, they too are expected to continue to hover close to record lows.

Rise In Building Permits For 2012 Spells Confidence

Via, Derek Kravitz, AP Real Estate Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of single-family homes cooled off slightly in January after surging in the final month last year. But a rise in permits suggests builders are growing more confident that more buyers are ready to come off the sidelines.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000 homes in January. That's up 1.5 percent from December and nearly matches November's three-year high for starts.

Construction began work on 508,000 single-family homes last month. That's a 1 percent drop from December and the first decline in four months. A big rise in volatile apartment construction helped offset the decline in single-family homes.

Still, December single-family homes were revised up strongly to show builders started 513,000 homes — a 12 percent gain from November.

And building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose 0.7 percent. The majority of those permits were for single-family homes. It can take 12 months for a builder to obtain a permit and construct a single-family home.

Single-family home construction rose in each of the final three months of last year, bringing the pace of those starts to the highest level since April 2010. The modest but steady gains helped boost confidence among builders after the worst year for single-family home construction on record.

"The upturn in permits and starts in recent months has been consistent with the surge in the ... survey of homebuilders, which has surprised the markets to the upside for five straight months," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. "The new home sales numbers have not yet responded but builders seem confident that if they build, buyers will come."

The critical gauge of the housing market's health has a long way to go before most declare a full recovery is under way. The current pace is less than half the rate in which those homes went up during the 1990s. And it's only one-quarter of the 1.82 million single-family homes that builders started in January 2006, at the peak of the housing boom.

Most analysts say it could be years before the industry is fully recovered from the damage caused by the housing bust.

Builders are starting to see some signs of progress.

A measure of builder sentiment has risen for five straight months and is now at its highest level in nearly five years. Many builders are seeing more people express interest in buying a home, leading them to believe 2012 could be a turn-around year for the market.

Mortgage rates have never been cheaper. And home sales started to rise at the end of last year.

Yet for all their optimism, builders began just 430,900 single-family homes last year. It was the fewest on records dating back a half-century. And home prices are still falling.

Though new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Builders are struggling to compete with deeply discounted foreclosures and short sales — when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what's owed on the mortgage.

After previous recessions, housing accounted for at least 15 percent of U.S. economic growth. Since the recession officially ended in June 2009, it has contributed just 4 percent.

Another reason sales have fallen is that previously occupied homes have become a better deal than new homes. The median price of a new home is about 30 percent higher than the median price for a re-sale. That's nearly twice the markup typical in a healthy housing market.

The U.S. foreclosure crisis, Beverly Hills-style

The dynamics of the residential real estate collapse are very different in elite neighborhoods

Courtesy of Reuters

BEVERLY HILLS — The careworn house not far from Santa Monica Boulevard resembles millions of other homes that have been foreclosed on since the calamitous U.S. housing crash four years ago.


Garbage spews from trash bags behind the property. A smashed television leans against broken furniture. A filthy toy dog lies on its side, an ear draped across its face. The garden is overgrown. The house needs a paint job.
Yet the property on North Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, is no ordinary foreclosure.


A sprawling, Spanish-style estate, fringed by majestic pine trees and located near the boutiques of Santa Monica Boulevard, its former owners were served with a default notice in 2010; they were $205,000 behind in their payments on mortgages totaling $6.9 million.


Welcome to foreclosure Beverly Hills-style.

Some 180 houses in Beverly Hills, the storied Los Angeles enclave rich with Hollywood stars and music moguls, have been foreclosed on by lenders, scheduled for auction, or served with a default notice, the highest level since the 2008 financial crash, according to a Reuters analysis of figures compiled by RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide.

As in the default-ravaged suburban subdivisions of Phoenix, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida, plunging real estate prices are the root of the problem in Beverly Hills.

But the dynamics of the residential real estate collapse are very different in elite neighborhoods such as this. The majority of delinquent homeowners here owe more than $1 million. Many are walking away not because they can't pay, but because they judge it would be foolish to keep doing so.
"It's a business decision, not an emotional one which it is for normal people," said Deborah Bremner, owner of the Bremner Group at Coldwell Banker, which specializes in high-end properties in the Los Angeles area. "I go to cocktail parties and all people are talking about is whether it is time to walk away, although they will never be quoted in the real world."

She said she had seen in Beverly Hills a big increase in "strategic defaults," in which owners who can still afford to make their monthly mortgage payment choose not to because the property is now worth so much less than the giant loan used to buy it during the housing bubble.
Strategic default is an especially appealing option in California, one of only a handful of U.S. states where primary mortgages made by banks are "non-recourse" loans. That means the loan is secured solely by the property, and banks cannot go after a delinquent owner's wages or other assets if they default.

Bremner said she helped a client buy a Beverly Hills mansion last year that the prior owner had bought for over $4 million. He decided to stop paying his $3 million mortgage - even though he could easily afford it - when the value of the property had dropped to $2.5 million.
"They were able to comfortably cover the loan," Bremner said. "They were just no longer willing to see the value of the property drop."

A huge "shadow inventory" is building of elite homes that are in default but have not been put on the market. Of the 180 distressed properties in Beverly Hills, only 12 are up for sale.

The backlog reflects the pent-up flood of foreclosed properties of all price ranges that are expected to hit the U.S. market this year, especially after five major banks reached a $25 billion settlement last week with the U.S. over fraudulent foreclosure practices.

'Jumbo' loansAcross the United States, the largest increase in foreclosures and delinquencies, compared with 2008 levels, is with "jumbo" mortgages - loans too large to be insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government controlled mortgage finance providers. Foreclosures on jumbo loans are up 579 percent since 2008, greater than any other form of loan, according to a report last month by Lender Processing Services, Inc.

Strategic defaults are now more likely among jumbo loan-holders than any other type of borrower, according to a report issued late last year by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Nearly 40 percent of delinquencies among non-governmental mortgages, which are mostly jumbo loans, are strategic defaults, the report said.

"Now that these homeowners with jumbo loans are finding out you can do this, more and more are doing strategic foreclosures," said Jon Maddux the CEO of YouWalkAway.com, which advises homeowners who are "underwater," the term for those whose loans exceed the value of their home.

Nathaniel J. Friedman, a Beverly Hills lawyer, insists he is not a strategic defaulter - that he never missed a mortgage payment in his life. But he stopped making payments on his five-bedroom, six-bathroom Beverly Hills house on Schuyler Road three years ago.

Friedman, who had mortgages totaling $3 million with the now-defunct Countrywide Home Loans, returned home one evening in January 2009 to find a letter from Countrywide freezing his $150,000 line of credit, which was linked to his second $900,000 loan. His primary loan was $2.1 million.

The property is worth about $2 million today.

Friedman says he decided to stop paying out of a sense of vengeance from the moment he received that letter. He has been in negotiations for months with Bank of America, which took over Countrywide after its collapse, to modify the loan.

"I thought to hell with it," he told Reuters. "Why should I keep feeding a dead horse if the bank has no confidence in me?"

"I was able to maneuver things my way because of the inertia of the banking sector," Friedman said. He believes the bank will blink first, and eventually modify his loan.

How to talk to your architect

Courtesy of MSN Real Estate

So you're going to hire an architect to design your dream home — or perhaps simply to craft your dream kitchen.

Intimidated by the prospect? That's understandable. "For most people, this is the single most expensive decision they'll ever make," Gerald Morosco, a Pittsburgh architect and author of "How to Work With an Architect," says of hiring an architect and building a home. "As with any relationship, the most essential piece is the communication piece. With the absence of clear and honest communication, you get misunderstandings."

The client-architect relationship can be tricky, Morosco says. "Many people do not understand clearly what is the role of an architect in a design project," he says. On the flip side, he says, "Architects are sometimes not good listeners."

Just knowing how to talk to this little-understood creature called an architect can go a long way toward getting you the home you want. We talked to some architects and homeowners who have gone through the process to bring you some sound advice.

The interview
Interviewing architects before you choose one is your first, and perhaps best, chance to make sure that you and the architect will click.

Initially, expect to spend at least an hour interviewing an architect. What should you ask? The American Institute of Architects has compiled a list of 20 questions (PDF), including:

• What is the architect's design philosophy?
• How busy is the architect?
• What will the architect show you along the way to explain the project?

You should also expect the architect during that initial talk to interview you about your plans and vision. "What you should be listening for is to ensure that you're being heard," Morosco says. "Too often, people speak past each other, and I think that that's because people are coming from different points of view."

Be sure to ask for clarification of anything you don't understand, says Susan Lang, author of "Designing Your Dream Home." Lang also recommends that you ask to speak with the owners of the past several homes the architect has designed, and not just homes the architect lists as references.

Communicating your goals
After you've chosen an architect, you'll have that first long sit-down session to talk in detail about your dream home. Expect to be asked all sorts of questions that let the architect know your needs and your lifestyle. Residential architect Mark Demerly of Indianapolis, for instance, gives new clients a questionnaire that asks everything from how many pets they have to what time they get up in the morning.

But you shouldn't just come to this meeting armed with a pen. Come thoroughly prepared to talk about how you use your current house and how you want to use a new space — in other words, having given serious thought to the "problem" you're hoping to solve, Morosco says.

Slide show: Building your first home? 10 must-haves

Also, come with a vision in hand — literally. Architects are visual people, so present them with pictures, snapshots, books and tear sheets from magazines that illustrate aspects of homes that you like."That is a good way of visually showing what your tastes are," Lang says. You can also snip and collect pictures online on sites such as Houzz.

The aids don't have to be visual, though. "I've had clients write essays. I've had clients do PowerPoint presentations. I've had clients hand me three-ring binders with clippings," Morosco says.

As Lang puts it, "Give the architect as much information as you can, because they can't read your mind."

Bob and Teresa Finley of Wildwood, Mo., learned this lesson the hard way. They hadn't decided exactly what they wanted out of their new home, and without that knowledge to help guide the architect, the project just got more and more elaborate.

"I think it's important to have a very good idea of what you want to build before you meet with the architect," Bob Finley says. "I think we should have had a better idea of what we wanted."

Decide how you'll talk to your architect
Ideally, a home's design is a collaboration of the architect and those who will use it. Thus, many architects want to have both members of a couple present at each meeting when they discuss design.

It's great to have both participating in the decision-making process, Demerly says, but it can also be beneficial if one spouse is tapped as the designated spokesperson so two spouses speaking "doesn't stall the design process or decision-making." Will one spouse take the lead on the exterior of the house and one on the interior? Will all decisions be made jointly, before meetings?

Also, tell the architect early on how you want to communicate — by text message? Voice mail? Email? Too many times, Demerly says, he's seen situations in which an architect leaves voice mail messages, only to have the client finally respond, saying, "I never check my voice mail."

"Most failures happen because of miscommunication," he says.

Put it in writing
As the design process gets under way, misunderstandings are easy. "One way to ensure that (doesn't happen) is to follow up meetings with notes or minutes of the meeting, which would be a condensed statement of what we understood or what we heard," Morosco says. Either the client or the architect then sends those notes to the other party, giving that side a chance to comment and respond. "That instigates further conversation," he says.

Talking budget and schedule
"Without question … the No. 1 misunderstanding between clients and architects is cost," Morosco says. Owners frequently don't understand how difficult it is for architects to give an accurate estimate, he says. "The only way to really know is to involve a contractor." The best way to keep this crucial line of communication open is to bring in a contractor "very early on," he says. That way you avoid the pain of drawing up a plan, only then to get sticker shock.

"We did not start with a budget, and that was our biggest mistake, I would say," Bob Finley says.

On a related note, Teresa Finley says, "Make sure your architect gives you a clear-cut picture of all of the steps involved" in the home-design process, so there are no surprises, budgetary or otherwise. For example, the Finleys were surprised to find that their design had to undergo review by a structural engineer, a step that cost them several thousand dollars. "We didn't know that," Teresa Finley says. "There was never really a map or a timeline of how or when things were coming."

Agreeing to a schedule is another tricky topic between clients and architects. People unfamiliar with the construction industry don't have a good sense of how long it takes to design and then build a home, or even to remodel a kitchen, Morosco says. He gets calls from people in early spring who expect a project to be done by Thanksgiving. "And I say, do you mean next year?" Morosco's advice:

• Be honest with the architect about your expectations for the project's timeline. He'll tell you if it's realistic.
• Advise your architect if you have a major event for which you're trying to complete the project, such as a reunion or the birth of a child.

Don't be afraid to say, 'I don't understand'
Architecture is an esoteric profession with its own lingo that's easy to get lost in. Don't let an architect rattle on in "archi-speak." "Never be afraid to ask a question," Demerly says, and remind the architect that you don't know terms like "elevation" and "fenestration."

"The other thing a homeowner needs to realize is, can they read blueprints? And they need to be unafraid to tell an architect if they can't," Demerly says. "There's a lot of people who can't visualize. They're great at words … but they can't think 3-D." Know your limitations. If you have trouble imagining what your home, or a room, will look like, ask your architect to produce 3-D images. It will usually cost more, but you can feel confident you understand what the home will look like.

Don't be afraid to talk back
Never mind what your mother told you about being polite. "You can't be intimidated by an architect," Lang says. If you feel like she is talking above you or is designing the home she wants instead of the one you want, "you have to stand up for yourself, because you're the one who's going to live there.

"I think it's important, too, to challenge the architect if something doesn't feel right. Do that in a way of saying, 'I know you're so good at what you do; I'll bet you could figure out a solution.' And leave that to them to figure out, to dig a little deeper," Lang says. Phrasing like that will make them want to please you, she says.

Training magazine Ranks 2012 Top 125 Organizations

Via Training Magazine

Excelsior, MN (February 14, 2012)—Telecommunications company Verizon rang in the New Year by capturing the No. 1 spot on the Training Top 125 for the first time in 2012. Farmers Insurance claimed the No. 2 spot, while Top 5 newcomers Miami Children’s Hospital, Mohawk Industries, and McDonald’s nabbed Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

Training magazine recognized the 2012 Training Top 125 winners with crystal awards and revealed their rankings during a black-tie gala held last night during the Training 2012 Conference & Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Themed “An Evening with the Stars,” the gala was sponsored by BlitzMasters, Franklin Covey, GiftCertificates.com, Ken Blanchard Companies, KnowledgeAdvisors, Orrefors/KostaBoda, and Turning Technologies.

Now in its 12th year, the Training Top 125 is the only report that ranks companies unsurpassed in harnessing human capital. Some applicant statistics of note:

• The mean revenue for applicants was $5.9 billion U.S. and $11.3 billion worldwide. The mean training budget was $145.5 million, representing 4.52 percent of payroll.

• The mean number of total employees trained per organization (including independent contractors and franchisees) was 41,890, with 18,462 trained in the classroom and 38,438 trained online. A mean of 557 courses were offered as instructor-led sessions; 1,494 were offered as online self-paced modules; and 113 were offered as virtual instructor-led classrooms. Some 94 percent of applicants have a technological infrastructure to support the delivery and management of training.

• The average number of full-time and part-time trainers was 232 and 395, respectively.

• Some 97 percent of applicants use employee satisfaction surveys, and 98 percent use competency maps and personal/individual development plans. Only 64 percent tie managers’ compensation directly to the development of their direct reports.

• On the evaluation side, 57 percent of applicants utilize Return on Value; 72 percent Return on Investment; 56 percent Balanced Scorecards; and 45 percent Six Sigma. The Kirkpatrick Levels of Evaluation are more widely used: Level 1 (96 percent), Level 2 (95 percent), Level 3 (90 percent), Level 4 (82 percent).

During the gala, Training inducted two companies into the Top 10 Hall of Fame. Microsoft Corporation and SCC Soft Computer qualified for the honor by being in the Top 10 of the Training Top 125 companies for at least four consecutive years. Members remain in the Top 10 Hall of Fame for a minimum of three years. After that, they can choose to remain in the Hall of Fame by adhering to specific guidelines or they can opt to reapply for Training Top 125 consideration. Microsoft Corporation and SCC Soft Computer’s induction created two opportunities for other Top 125 companies to move into the Top 10 in 2012 and beyond. This year, 24 newcomers cracked the Top 125 list.

Training also recognized the following Top 125 companies for receiving the highest scores in three application categories and overall qualitatively:

Top Training Programs/Scope Score
Miami Children’s Hospital
Top Evaluation/Business Metric Score
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Top Human Resources Score
American Infrastructure
Top Qualitative Score
Farmers Insurance Group

In addition, yesterday afternoon, Training recognized innovative and successful learning and development programs and practices utilized by the Training Top 125 winners. Best Practice and Outstanding Training Initiative winners received crystal trophies during a ceremony on the Expo Stage. They were:

Best Practices
Edward Jones: Practice Makes Perfect
Grant Thornton LLP: Senior Management Development Program
MetLife, Inc.: Top Advisor Business Coaching
Sprint Nextel Corp.: i-Comply
Verizon: Customized Certificate Programs

Outstanding Training Initiatives
Baptist Health Care: Be Ready Suite of Educational Tools
BB&T Corporation: Asset Resolution Group Curriculum
LQ Management, LLC: Here For You Field Deployment
Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH): Life Wings
SpawGlass: Phase 2-CMiC Software Training
“The best learning and development organizations support business initiatives tactically and help drive strategic change,” said Lorri Freifeld, editor-in-chief of Training magazine. “The 2012 Training

Top 125 organizations did just that—and provided ample proof of their training effectiveness. In a year when we increased the application’s qualitative score percentage to 30 percent from 25, Top 125ers met the challenge by sharing their success stories and detailing their business results. Congratulations to all the companies named to the 2012 Training Top 125 and to the newest inductees to the Top 10 Hall of Fame.”

The Top 125 includes ranking based on myriad benchmarking statistics such as total training budget; percentage of payroll; number of training hours per employee program; goals, evaluation, measurement, and workplace surveys; hours of training per employee annually; and detailed formal programs.

The Top 125 ranking is determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs, and how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives.
Companies that wish to be considered for Top 125 ranking complete a detailed application, which is scored both quantitatively (70 percent of total score) by an outside research and statistical data company and qualitatively (30 percent of total score) by Training magazine editors and Top 10 Hall of Fame representatives.

For a profile of each of the Top 5 companies on the Training Top 125, additional information about the training efforts of all 125 companies, details on the programs receiving Best Practice and Outstanding Training Initiative awards, see the January/February 2012 issue. To order a copy, e-mail Melissa Moser at melissa@trainingmag.com, or download an order form and fax it to Melissa at 952.401.7899. The digital edition and individual articles can be found online at www.trainingmag.com.

About Training magazine
Training is a 48-year-old professional development magazine written for training, human resources, and business management professionals in all industries that advocate training and workforce development as a business tool. Training also produces world-class conferences, expositions, and digital products that focus on job-related, employer-sponsored training and education in the working world. Training is published by Lakewood Media Group.

2012 Training Top 125 Winners

1. Verizon
2. Farmers Insurance
3. Miami Children’s Hospital
4. Mohawk Industries, Inc.
5. McDonald’s USA, LLC
6. The Economical Insurance Group
7. ABF Freight System, Inc.
8. BB&T Corporation
9. Coldwell Banker Real Estate
10. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
11. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
12. Jiffy Lube International
13. United States Navy
14. CareSource
15. Edward Jones
16. Chesterfield County, Virginia
17. The Vanguard Group
18. MasterCard Worldwide
19. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
20. The Nebraska Medical Center
21. CHG Healthcare Services
22. EMC Corporation
23. MetLife, Inc.
24. First Horizon National Corporation
25. Baptist Health Care
26. Shaw Industries, Inc.
27. SPIN
28. CarMax, Inc.
29. Cerner Corporation
30. Best Buy Co., Inc.
31. Capital One
32. Grant Thornton LLP
33. Sacramento Municipal Utility District
34. Intel Corp.
35. Paychex, Inc.
36. Bell and Howell
37. Lam Research Corporation
38. University of New Mexico Hospitals
39. Oakwood Temporary Housing
40. Suffolk Construction Company, Inc.
41. WellSpan Health
42. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
43. Morrison Management Specialists
44. SpawGlass
45. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
46. Sprint Nextel Corp.
47. ESL Federal Credit Union
48. Health Care Service Corporation
49. Loews Hotels
50. Healthways, Inc

For Full List go to http://www.trainingmag.com/article/training-magazine-ranks-2012-top-125-organizations