Muscogee Schools: District receives $2 million

Muscogee Schools: District receives $2 million for classroom iPods, laptops and video cameras

Ledger-Enquirer

July 20, 2010
by Sara Pauff

The Muscogee County School District has earned a $2 million grant from the Department of
Defense to improve instruction at schools with a high enrollment of students with parents in the
military.

Nine schools will benefit from the grant money -- Columbus High, Early College Academy,
Hardaway High School, Northside High School, Arnold Middle School, Blackmon Road Middle
School, East Columbus Magnet Academy, Midland Middle School and Veterans Memorial
Middle School. The schools all meet the criteria for the grant of having a military student
enrollment of at least 15 percent.

The grant activities will target science, math, technology and engineering. Schools will receive
advanced technology for instructional use, including iPods, interactive white boards, document
cameras, high definition video cameras, DVD/VCRs and laptop computers.

Teachers at these schools will also travel to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta to learn new
instruction methods and attend training by the Center for Quality Teaching and Learning, the
Coca-Cola Space Science Center, Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, the
Columbus Regional Mathematics Collaborative, Columbus Technical College and the Patterson
Planetarium.

The funding will begin immediately and continue through August 31, 2013.

NAR's New Consumer site

The National Assoication of Realtors is providing a free site to find everything you need to protect, maintain, and enhance the value of your home.

Take a minute to check it out, it really offers quite a bit of information in all areas.

http://www.houselogic.com/

Pending Home Sales Show Healthy Gain, Hint at Spring Surge

Washington, April 05, 2010



Pending home sales rose in February, potentially signaling a second surge of home sales in response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 8.2 percent to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January, and remains 17.3 percent above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the improvement is another hopeful sign. “The rise in buyer contact activity may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten,” he said. “We need a second surge to meaningfully draw down inventory and definitively stabilize home values.”
The PHSI in the Northeast rose 9.0 percent to 77.7 in February and is 18.9 percent higher than February 2009. In the Midwest the index jumped 21.8 percent to 97.9 and is 18.7 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South increased 9.2 percent to an index of 107.0, and the index is 17.5 percent higher than February 2009. In the West the index fell 4.8 percent to 98.0 but is 14.6 percent above a year ago.
“Anecdotally, we’re hearing about a rise of activity in recent weeks with ongoing reports of multiple offers in more markets, so the March data could demonstrate additional improvement from buyers responding to the tax credit,” Yun said.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
# # #
*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.
The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.
Existing-home sales for March will be reported April 22 and the next Pending Home Sales Index will be on May 4; release times are 10 a.m. EDT.

Source NAR

Another Big Gain in Existing-Home Sales as Buyers Respond to Tax Credit

Washington, December 22, 2009



Existing-home sales rose again in November as first-time buyers rushed to close sales before the original November 30 deadline for the recently extended and expanded tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 6.54 million units in November from 6.09 million in October, and are 44.1 percent higher than the 4.54 million-unit pace in November 2008. Current sales remain at the highest level since February 2007 when they hit 6.55 million.

Source: NAR

Fha Mortgage insurance Program important to Housing Market

WASHINGTON, December 02, 2009



The Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program is a critical part of the American housing fabric and has never been more important than it is in today’s market, NAR President Vicki Cox Golder told a congressional panel today.
Testifying before the House Committee on Financial Services, Golder said that the FHA program is fiscally sound with responsible underwriting, and needs enhancements not radical reform. She urged Congress and the administration to tread lightly before making changes to a program that has a profound impact on economic recovery and serves the nation’s families.
“With the collapse of the private mortgage market, the importance of the FHA mortgage insurance program has never been more apparent. Thus far in 2009, nearly 80 percent of all FHA insured purchasers are first-time homebuyers. And if you take a closer look at the numbers, you’ll see that program is doing exactly what it was designed to do—make more affordable mortgage financing available to homeowners,” said Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz.
She pointed out that this year almost 50 percent of non-white Hispanic borrowers used FHA insurance or the Veterans Administration’s loan guaranty for home-purchase loans and 21 percent used the FHA or VA program to refinance a home loan. Last year, more than 60 percent of home-purchase loans and about 45 percent of refinance loans to black homebuyers were insured or guaranteed by either FHA or VA.
“As the leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, NAR knows that without FHA mortgage insurance, our housing market could never start to recover,” Golder said.
FHA’s decline in reserves is in part a reflection of a projected change in home price values, and is not tied to excessive increases in defaults or unsound underwriting practices, she said. In citing the recent FHA audit, Golder said, “If FHA makes no changes to the way it does business today, the reserves will actually exceed 2 percent in the next several years. FHA has sufficient reserves.”
FHA cash reserves and capital reserves give the agency combined assets of $30.4 billion—enough to pay all claims over a 30-year period. Most banks are required to hold reserves sufficient to pay only one year of claims. “Realtors® strongly believe that FHA is taking the necessary steps to assure its financial solvency,” Golder said.
“We look forward to working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We have confidence that FHA Commissioner Dave Stevens will do what’s needed to ensure the financial health and stability of the FHA fund. We encourage FHA to take steps that will have the least impact on FHA borrowers who are such an important part of our housing and economic recovery,” said Golder.
NAR strongly opposes H.R. 3706, the “FHA Taxpayer Protection Act of 2009,” which would increase FHA’s downpayment requirement. The bill would not add anything to FHA reserves but would put homeownership out of reach for many creditworthy borrowers.
“Realtors® believe that the best way to ensure FHA’s success is to strengthen it,” she said.
Golder also thanked Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the committee for passing legislation to extend the higher loan limits through 2010, but urged the committee to make the higher limits permanent. “The higher limits are not just for a few states with high median prices. There are currently 245 counties in 28 states that have high cost limits—this is a national issue,” she said.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section.

Greater Columbus GA/AL Area Employment Outlook is Best in Nation

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today, the Columbus GA-AL MSA employment outlook for the first quarter 2010 is the strongest in the nation.
More than 28,000 interviews were conducted with employers within 201 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States and Puerto Rico to measure employment trends between January and March 2010. Among U.S. employers surveyed, 12% expected to add to their workforces, and 12% expect a decline in their payrolls during Quarter 1, 2010.
The Columbus GA-AL MSA ranked #1 as the strongest survey area. From January to March 2010, 25% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7% expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Shelia Durham.

Source: The Valley Partnership - Columbus, GA

What is a short sale?

PLEASE REMEMBER OUR VETERANS ON THIS DAY!

A short sale is a transaction in which the lender, or lenders, agree to accept less than the mortgage amount owed by the current homeowner. In some cases, the difference is forgiven by the lender, and in others the homeowner must make arrangements with the lender to settle the remainder of the debt.
Why is the number of short sales rising?

Due to the recent economic crisis, including rising unemployment, and drops in home prices in communities across the nation, the number of short sales is increasing. Since a short sale generally costs the lender less than a foreclosure, it can be a viable way for a lender to minimize its losses.

A short sale can also be the best option for a homeowners who are “upside down” on mortgages because a short sale may not hurt their credit history as much as a foreclosure. As a result, homeowners may qualify for another mortgage sooner once they get back on their feet financially.

 
Source: NAR

* I am a Loss Mitigation Certified Broker- (short sales and pre-foreclosure)