Fair housing laws: fair, but confusing

This time of year I encounter buyers who are relocating, and first-time homebuyers. Buyers often have questions about neighborhoods, and they expect answers. But I cannot legally answer some of their questions because of our fair housing laws.

Buyers tell me that they want an affordable home in a decent neighborhood, or they ask me if a particular neighborhood is good or bad. This is the type of information the buyers really want, and sometimes expect Realtors to supply. We cannot say that a neighborhood is good or bad, and even if we could our answers would be subjective.

Homebuyers get frustrated with me. They feel as though I am not helping them because they know that I know the city very well and that I know each neighborhood in the city, but I refuse to answer the “good neighborhood/bad neighborhood” question.

They want what they think is some kind of an inside scoop. There isn’t any inside scoop and there isn’t an answer to the good neighborhood/bad neighborhood question.

Buyers ask me to recommend a neighborhood and I can’t do that either. I tell them that I can answer specific questions or show them where and how to get the information they seek. I sometimes suggest they ask their friends how they like the neighborhood they live in.

Buyers are often interested in the crime rates in a neighborhood, which is easy for them to look up. They want to know about the schools, and I can help them with that. Some want to know more about the demographic makeup of the neighborhood.

I am working with a single father who wants to make sure that there are children in the neighborhood for his son to play with. One simple thing parents can do is look for swingsets. If there are swingsets, there are probably children to go with them. If I encouraged him to live in a neighborhood with a large population of children, I would be guilty of steering.

The last time I took my required fair housing training, I took it online and I flunked the test and had to take it twice. I kept breaking the law — at least on the test. I support fair housing and I understand it and I understand why we have the laws. It is the language and the rules for following fair housing laws that I struggle with.

That language can be confusing. I cannot advertise a home as a family home or as a great place to raise a family, but on our multiple listing service homes are put in categories. They are labeled as single-family homes or multiple-family homes, condos or townhouses.

Some of my listings have two living rooms — in the historic homes we can call them parlors. The second living room is always called a “family room.” I don’t understand why the term family room is not a violation of fair housing language.

We also use the term “master bedroom.” I don’t even know where to start with that term. Are the other bedrooms for servants? Usually a master bedroom is the largest bedroom in the house. It doesn’t need to be called the master bedroom. It could be called the owner’s bedroom, or simply the biggest bedroom.

I have to keep fair housing in mind when I write my blog. I have found comments on it left by the friendly folks at the federal Fair Housing Administration. Apparently they do some monitoring. I have heard tales of undercover fair housing agents visiting open houses. I am convinced that is an urban myth, but I am not sure.

Craigslist is a popular place to advertise homes for sale or apartments for rent. The site does post reminders and warnings about following fair housing rules. Craigslist was sued in February 2006 by a Chicago lawyers’ group, which charged the site with violating fair housing laws by allowing discriminatory language in postings of the site’s users. Craigslist was ultimately found to be just a “messenger,” and not liable for the actions of its users.

But in a separate ruling, a federal district judge found that another site, Roommates.com, could be held liable for Fair Housing Act violations because it required users to disclose details such as gender and sexual orientation and family status, and allowed others to use such information in selecting roommates.

I am due to take my mandatory fair housing class again this year. I plan on taking it online like I did last time. It is likely that I will have to take the test a couple of times before I pass it.

The idea of fair housing and what it means is easy to understand — it’s the language that trips me up. And sometimes my clients trip me up by asking questions that I cannot legally answer.

Original Article: Teresa  Boardman is a broker in St. Paul, Minn., and founder of the St. Paul Real  Estate blog.

 

 

Who Is Buying Homes Right Now?

 

With all of the news you read about it being impossible to buy a home right now (which isn’t true), you may also be wondering who are today’s buyers?

The National Association of Realtors® annual survey of buyers and sellers finds that nearly half of the people buying homes are first-time homebuyers, who, on average, are approximately 30 years old. The typical repeat buyer, has bought a few homes , and is 49 years young.

You definitely don’t have to be part of a couple to buy a home. Were you aware that 20 percent of recent buyers were single women, while single men only make up 12 percent of the total.

The median household income of buyers in the survey was $72,000.00, with first-time homebuyers coming in at a median of $60,000.00 and repeat buyers with a median income of $87,000.00.

And why are they buying homes? Well, people obviously need a roof over their heads, but fully one third of buyers in the survey say their primary reason was simply because they wanted to be a homeowner.

Have you bought a home in the last 12 months?  If so, what was the reason you bought your home?  I welcome all of your comments!

MMG Update – By The Numbers – January 2011

 

Mortgage Bonds are starting the day and January where they left off – in volatile fashion.

Prices are sharply lower as Stocks open the day stronger. News that China’s manufacturing slowed from it’s torrid pace is giving Stocks around the world a boost as it appears that the recent rate hikes and tightened lending standards may already be having an effect on cooling down the economy and inflation. Global Stock investors have been concerned that China’s economy may have been overheating and that inflation would put a damper on global growth. With today’s report, and again it is just one report, there is a sense that the Chinese economy may just be slowing down to a more moderate growth pace, with inflation cooling. With Traders back at their desks, today’s sell-off in Bonds is coming with some more conviction than the exaggerated price moves we saw last week, when trading volume was thin.

The last 60 days have been very volatile for Mortgage Bonds, and at times it may seem very hard to get a sense of where rates are headed in 2011 – especially with all the noise and confusion in the media. But one line we can always revert back to is “don’t fight the Fed”. Stocks finished 2010 strong, with the S&P 500 gaining 13%, thanks to QE2 and it appears they are starting 2011 where it left off. With all the economic stimulus hitting the economy, there is a sense that economic growth may pick up more than previously expected. And this growth, over time, will lead to gradually higher rates. Will mortgage rates move dramatically higher in the near term? We think not, but at the same time rate probably won’t get that much better either and any improvement may be short lived.

On Friday – we will get the Jobs Report and this one may have a big impact on all themarkets. Expectations are for 135,000 jobs to be created in December. If this reportcomes in beneath expectations, Stocks could take a breather from their rise and allow forsome bond pricing improvement. But should the number beat expectations, it is very toughto see Bonds making any meaningful improvement as continued signs of US economicgrowth will weigh on prices.

  

   

   

 

DOUBLE DIGITS – The S&P 500 gained +15.1% (total return result including the impact of reinvested dividends) in calendar year 2010. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market (source: BTN Research). 

THE LONG-TERM AVERAGE – The S&P 500 has gained an average of +9.7% per year (total return) over the last 50 years (i.e., the years 1961-2010). No single calendar year actually gained +9.7% in the last half century. The closest that any year came to the +9.7% average was in 1993 when the stock index gained +10.1% (source: BTN Research). 

+1,000% GAIN – Over the last 312 months (26 years) through 12/31/10, the S&P 500 is up +1,086% (total return), or an annualized +10.0% per year (source: BTN Research). 

 

MISSING THE BEST DAYS – The total return for the S&P 500 was +15.1% (total return) in calendar year 2010. If you missed the 3 best percentage gain days last year, your total return gain falls to +3.4% (source: BTN Research).

FROM THE MARCH 2009 LOW

– Since dropping to a bear market low on 3/09/09 (i.e., approximately 22 months ago), the S&P 500 has gained +93.1% (total return)through the close of trading last Friday 12/31/10 (source: BTN Research).

Overall, the economy looks to have stabilized from the crisis situation a couple of years ago. Although there are still some global economic concerns in Europe, the U.S. economy appears positioned for continued growth and strengthening – especially in terms of meeting the growing demand for goods in Asian and Latin American countries. What does this mean for you personally? Professionally? Economically?

The stock market finally had a good year in 2010 and saw some strong earnings to help continue the climb out of the financial crisis a couple of years ago. With the strong finish to last year, the stage is set for another good year in stocks and that is news that gives us all something to look forward to.

The positive economic news and corporate earnings in 2010 should also help the labor market strengthen in 2011. Of course, it won’t turnaround over night, but will instead start out slow and build up to more noticeable improvements in the latter part of the year. An uphill increase is worth the wait, I would much rather see this than continue to see a decline in the market. Patience will get us through this. With that said, don’t mistake those improvements for a complete rebound, since we probably won’t see significant improvement in the overall unemployment rate until after 2011. Still, any positive news for the labor market is good news for the economy – and for families across the country!

What Does All That Mean to Housing and Home Loan Rates?

The economy, stock market, and employment are all closely related. For example, an improving economy leads to better corporate earnings and increased manufacturing demand, which in turn leads to increased hiring as companies try to meet that demand.

In addition, all of the aspects discussed above influence the housing market and home loan rates. One of the biggest influences is employment, since people who are unemployed, under-employed, or afraid of losing their jobs are less likely to purchase a new home. So the improvements in the labor market will be good for the housing industry as well. And in terms of home prices, a more secure employment market can help home prices stabilize – since fewer people would be at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.

That said, it’s important to remember that all real estate markets are local…and that means there can be enormous variations across the country. Areas where employment is struggling, the housing market will continue to struggle as well. However, in many parts of the country where the bottom has been tested and employment is improving, we’ll see the housing market on the mend in 2011.

If you are ready to refinance or you are purchasing a home and need a Utah Home Loan, simply give me a call and let’s get you taken care of. It’s really that easy: http://www.utahsmortgageguy.com