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Posted on 08 February 2009 By Zack Stovall
Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK — A national search for the fastest-growing communities over the past decade found Cabot the community in Arkansas deserving of the title “boomtown.” The BusinessWeek.com survey, conducted in association with the Little Rock-based Gadberry Group, considered growth in households from 2000 to 2008 and from 2007 to 2008, as well as change in household income, among other factors. In Cabot, a Lonoke County city of 22,092 located in the Little Rock metropolitan area, the number of households grew by 45 percent to 10,250 between 2000 and 2008, and household income grew by 83 percent during the period, to $98,555 last year. Home values there average $136,000, according to the survey. BusinessWeek.com said the area developed rapidly in part because of the growth of nearby Little Rock Air Force Base, which benefited from the most recent round of base closures with expansion of its mission as the Air Force’s largest C-130 air crew training base. Mayor Eddie Joe Williams called the report “wonderful,” and said the title is appropriate for a city that is boasting economic progress during a national economic slump. “The main reason people come here is for their families,” said Williams. “Our education system is top shelf. We take the best and the brightest minds in the state and give them the best education possible. People notice that and move here wanting that for their children.” Williams said the resulting population increase is the foundation for the economic development of Cabot. “Last year, we had 47 ribbon cuttings,” the mayor said. “Most of these businesses are retail, so they’re going to where the people are going. We’re bringing a lot of people in because of the neighborhood atmosphere that Cabot provides.” Roughly 40 percent of the 15,000 military and civilian employees at the air base live in Cabot, Williams said. Billye Everett, executive director of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, said while business is certainly booming in Cabot, effects of the national recession are being felt there, primarily in the housing and building business. “We’ve certainly felt a bit of a pinch with our building development with the recent economic downturn,” Everett said. “But we expect those numbers to be on the rise again.” Real estate values are rising in Cabot, according to Williams, while home values are flat or depreciating elsewhere around the state. Everett said the city’s economic development forecast is for a population well over 25,000. “We have to go by our official population numbers, but we look at a number of different factors, like water connections, to gauge where we are right now as a city. Former Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh, who served from 2003 though 2006, said much of his administration was devoted to making the city more business-friendly and improving infrastructure for a swelling community that has averaged more than 1,000 new residents annually since 2000. “We had to raise some taxes for water and waste management and the fire and police departments. Those are important things that people consider when they’re looking at moving to Cabot.” Everett said the city is becoming more diverse as it grows. The 2000 census listed the city as 96.7 percent white, but Everett said community lifestyle is attracting more Hispanic, Asian and black families the area.
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30-Year Rates Drop to Near 5% Mortgage rates across the board fell this week, a welcoming sign to potential buyers and home owners looking to refinance.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.04 percent this week, a drop from last week's 5.16 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 6.04 percent, Freddie Mac reports. Freddie Mac reported the following for other rates for the week: - 15-year mortgage rates: averaged 4.68 percent, down from last week's 4.81 percent. Last year at this time: 5.64 percent.
- 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 5.04 percent this week, a drop from last week's 5.23 percent. Last year at this time: 5.37 percent
- 1-year ARMs: averaged 4.8 percent, down from last week's 4.94 percent. Last year at this time: 4.98 percent
"Mortgage rates followed bond yields lower this week as recent economic reports suggest the economy is still slowing, which reduces the future threat of inflation," says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.
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Make yourself more attractive to lenders by cleaning up your personal finances
By Mike Sheridan It's never a bad time to take a hard look at your personal finances. You can clean up your fiscal household by applying a few simple steps to make yourself more appealing to lenders for mortgage, auto and home improvement loans.
Check your credit
With an estimated 60 percent of information on credit reports outdated or incorrect, it's best to inspect your report annually. For example, you're not unlikely to find factual errors and inaccuracies related to your current employer or salary. Since it's imperative to correct such errors before applying for credit and agencies can't remove bad marks from your file unless instructed by the creditor, the best thing to do is contact the creditor yourself.
Strike a balance
Think your credit is excellent because you always pay cash, never financed a car or even had a credit card? Think again. Regrettably, such responsible behavior can be as detrimental toward being approved for a loan as a poor credit history. Lenders want to see how well you handle your finances, and if you have no credit history, they can't make a judgment. So, if you have no credit, you must get some.
Still, several creditors are more accepting of those with little credit history than a bad one. Department stores, gasoline stations and furniture stores that want to encourage you to shop their stores are good places to start. Conversely, too much credit can work against you. In the eyes of lenders, a fist full of credit cards is as bad as none, indicating you have too much available credit. If you have several cards, close out most of them, consolidating to one or two.
Be your own financial planner
Beyond strong credit, you need to assert self-control on personal spending habits. Make a budget, determining what you must pay (rent, utilities), and what you can do without. Bear in mind you don't want to create a torturous existence that drives you from your budget, i.e., if you must have cable T.V., so be it. But if you can do without it, it's probably at least $500 a year in your pocket.
But consider the things you can credibly cut back on: eating out, coffee drinks, buying another pair of shoes. Seemingly minor amounts can quickly add up to a significant sum. Besides conserving, you need to learn to sock it away. Saving 10 percent is a doable, painless proposition for just about anybody. On a $30,000 year salary, that's about $125 every two weeks and you'll have $3,000 put aside in a year. By tidying up now and curbing your spending habits, you can have a spotless credit record and make yourself a far more attractive and viable candidate to lenders.
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Cinnamon Acres, Cabot - 4360 Sandhill Rd, a 1,705 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story. $159,900 - NEW LISTING ON 1.5 Acres. Property information
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Foxwood, Jacksonville - Announcing a price reduction on 901 Foxwood, a 2,440 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm 2 story. Now  MLS® $191,000 - REDUCED!!!. Property information
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Signs of Letup in Home Price Slide
The decline in residential property prices appears to be slowing, according to preliminary data from First American CoreLogic.
A preview of its November report shows that home prices fell 9.6 percent last month, compared with 10.4 percent in October and 11.2 percent in September.
"The consistent deceleration over the past two months with November indicating the same trend in price declines is encouraging because it could portend the trough in price declines," says Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic.
Still, layoffs and the swollen supply of unsold homes remain a concern, he notes.
Source: American Banker (12/29/08)
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Rx for Consumers' Credit For a better rate and terms, buyers should take these five steps before they fill out a mortgage application. By Patrick Ritchie
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document.write(' | '); | January 2009 Bad credit can ruin a deal. Bad credit translates into financing rejections, prohibitively high loan rates, and failed deals. That's why real estate professionals need to educate themselves about the credit system and show prospective buyers the value of repairing their credit, if necessary, in order to qualify for a mortgage. Unfortunately for borrowers, most credit reports contain inaccurate information. A June 2004 study performed by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy group, showed that 23 percent of consumers had mistakes on their credit reports serious enough to result in the denial of credit. All told, an amazing 79 percent of consumers had some mistake. Fortunately, consumers' rights are protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA gives consumers the ability to correct, update, amend, and take action regarding the contents of a credit report. It also guarantees consumers accuracy, fairness, and privacy in their credit reports. The Act protects consumers only if they take action, however. Credit bureaus report the information they are given by creditors; they don't verify it. If an error occurs, the burden of discovering and correcting it rests on the consumer. Here's what your customers should do before they apply for a mortgage to make sure their credit reports are accurate. - Find out what's in their file. Every U.S. consumer is now entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The easiest (and free) way to get a copy of your report is to go to the government-mandated Web site www.annualcreditreport.com. Also note that if consumers are denied a mortgage or other credit, the lender must tell them whether information in their credit report played a role in the denial.
- Dispute inaccurate information. If your customer determines that something is incorrect on a credit report, the next step is to correct the inaccuracy. If consumers obtained their credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com, they can dispute errors online. Another option is to write a letter to all three credit bureaus detailing the dispute. (Some states require one agency to notify the other two, but why risk it?) The letter should include documentation such as a cancelled check showing payment, a discharge from bankruptcy, or the like. Remember, banks typically use the middle of the three credit scores when assessing a loan application. If one report showing a high score is correct but the other two are not, the buyers may still be denied credit or forced into less-favorable terms.
- Dispute inaccurate items at the source. Consumers will also want to contact the credit card company or other source of the inaccurate information. For example, if a payment is credited incorrectly, it may be easier to resolve the error by contacting the credit company than a collection agency.
- Excise outdated information. By law, credit bureaus are supposed to remove information pertaining to the credit score—such as a late payment or collection—that is more than seven years old. Neutral information such as employment history does not have to be removed since it does not affect credit scores. Consumers should ensure that the credit bureau removes older information since it can still negatively affect a credit score.
- Protect credit identity. The Fair Credit Reporting Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly and willfully obtain a person's credit report without consent or under false pretenses. If consumers feel that their credit has been compromised, they can request that a credit agency put a “fraud alert” on their account. Consumers can take an even more aggressive step to protect their credit from identity thieves by paying credit bureaus to put a security freeze on their credit. Consumers can temporarily lift the freeze when they apply for a mortgage.
Helping your customers ensure that their credit is intact before they begin the homebuying process will make it easier for them—and you. See Part II on how to improve buyers' credit in the February 2009 issue. Stop the Bleeding Tips for prospects with truly bad credit: 1. Get your spending under control. 2. For one or two late payments, ask the lender to re-age the loan. 3. Give it time. Even after a foreclosure, a credit score can be repaired within three years. A foreclosure should be removed from the record after seven years and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after 10 years. Writer Patrick Ritchie is the author of the book The Credit Road Map, which is available at REALTOR.org/store. He can be reached at 480-203-4641 or Patrick@thecreditroadmap.com.
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The Housing Wealth Debateby Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR Research 
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article raising questions about people's optimistic "outlook" on generating wealth from their homes. The Journal characterized that view as wishful thinking. While not intending to cast aspersions on the analytical acumen of that well-respected publication, I do have a different take on that issue. My attempt in this corresponding article is to lay out the same information the newspaper published - albeit in a different light. Owning a Home Still a Good Long-Term InvestmentThe Journal article claims that those hoping for a quick rebound in home prices are likely to be disappointed. Yes, some economists predict home prices won't bottom out before the second half of 2009, and some don't see a bottom until 2011 or 2012. But market timing for home prices is even more difficult than trying to time rises in stock prices. Unlike stocks, real estate is local. In fact, the latest government data show only four states - Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada - registering home price declines of double digits. This government data has narrow coverage on homes with subprime loans, so the data should be viewed as price trends in neighborhoods with little subprime loan exposure. That makes sense, as less than 10 percent of homes have subprime loans. Interestingly, these four states are the very ones showing recent notable sales increases as buyers have taken advantage of the lower prices. Anecdotal reports of multiple bids suggest prices may be bottoming out in these areas. Home PricesExperts say you should generally expect house prices to rise just a bit more than inflation and roughly in line with household income. OK - let's look at how that works in real life. If home prices rise (on average) at an inflation-adjusted rate of 2.5%-3% a year, then nominal home prices can be expected to increase about 4.5%-6% a year. In other words, if a household buys a $200,000 home today, then that home will be worth $310,000 in 10 years, $505,000 in 20 years, and $823,000 in 30 years, assuming a 5% home price growth. Given that most homeowners have 30-year mortgages, all the debt will have been paid off at the 30-year mark. At that point, the $823,000 is pure equity. If home price appreciation increases further - say at 6% - that home will be worth $1.08 million in 30 years. Given America's poor savings rate (that's a different issue altogether), any form of savings discipline such as a monthly mortgage payment helps Americans accumulate wealth. Confidence in Rising Home ValueEven by the paper's own sources of data used to support its claims, owning a home is often still a better long-term investment than stocks. The Journal cites a poll of 2,000 adults conducted by real estate data provider Zillow.com that found 61% believed the value of their home would either remain level or rise over the next six months. Another survey of more than 1,000 homeowners, sponsored by real-estate-services firm Realogy Corp., found that 91% thought that owning a home was the best long-term investment they could make. And an online survey of 5,000 people commissioned by Citigroup found that just 32% believed it was a good time to invest in stocks - but 51% said it was a good time to buy a home. Well, who am I to argue with housing consumers! Fundamentals Impacting Home PricesYes, as The Journal says, in the long term, house prices are driven by fundamentals that are hard to predict. Those fundamental drivers include immigration, birth rates, the size and nature of households, and incomes. The trick is to figure out where job and income growth will be strongest and where those households want to live. Again I cite our mantra: All real estate is local. In fact, it can be really local. I remember a story in my local neighborhood paper several years ago about two homes that looked exactly alike. Both homes fetched roughly the same price at one point. But at the time of the Journal's recent story, one home was worth more than double the other - not because of any physical differences in the homes, but because of neighborhood characteristics. Investors and the Academic DebateFew homeowners have the time to follow academic debates about the details of home price measurements (see page 7) or the plethora of analyses on home prices published in economic or real estate academic journals, trade publications, or even The Wall Street Journal. But for those who choose to purchase properties as an investment only - that is, they're not actually living in the property - The Journal's story about a couple who, for lack of a better term, became "property managers" is telling. For nearly four decades, a married couple invested in rental properties in and near Stevens Point, WI. They thought real estate was a good way "to get rich slowly." Despite the housing downturn, they have gradually (emphasis added) built their net worth from zero to around $2.5 million through their rental properties. Yes, there were challenges -- they have dealt with countless plumbing emergencies, evicted deadbeats and even once had to clean up after a suicide in one of their properties. Well, I salute that couple. Property management is not for everyone. But some people are willing to face its challenges for the financial rewards - and ignore silly academic debates. Witness
the couple's ' accumulation of $2.5 million. Final ThoughtsBuying a home is a serious decision with serious responsibilities. It should be done with care and be based on good information. Consumers should always be wary of any "how to profit from it" slogans but at the same time should not be discouraged by doom-sayers. Yes, those households who bought during the buying frenzy and at the peak a few years back have lost a lot - if they are trying to cash in NOW. But that does not mean that the new crop of buyers will face the same fate. Generally, homeowners do accumulate wealth over the long-term. If one of your clients is a consumer who is financially and emotionally ready, current conditions certainly favor buyers over sellers. The time will surely come again when sellers have the edge. Trying to market-time a purchase may result in remorse from buying "too high" or "selling too late." Those home buyers willing to stay in the market for the long term will likely feel good and reap the benefits from their long-term investment.
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We have jumped in to this now. We will be bringing you real estate information for Central Arkansas as well as pertinent info on Real Estate across the country. We are an area on the move as you will see by our commentary and photo journals. Welcome to our home on the web!!!
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White County, Arkansas
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The single story at 108 Cedar Valley Dr has been sold.
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• 2,128 sq. ft., 2 bath, 4 bdrm manufactured home
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MLS®
$93,000
Addiveille Estates, McRae
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Just like new 4 bedroom or office on 3 acres super insulated w/6in walls in White Co. This home has a den w/woodburning fireplc + LR, large kitchen w/island and sidebyside refreg, spacious mstr. suite w/ seperate shower and double vanity, his and her closets + more. Lots of room outside for kids, pets and horses and a garden.The covered deck makes a good place to watch the deer and other wildlife. There a 2 12x30 outbuildings, car and tractor covered area. Call today to see this exceptional buy.
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• 1,325 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story
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MLS®
$118,500
Robinwood III, Cabot
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Cute 3 Bedroom/2 Bath Home centrally located in Cabot. Laminate flooring in living room with gas log fireplace. Fully Fenced back yard.
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• 1,580 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story
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MLS®
$129,500
Woodbridge, Cabot
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Charming open split floor plan home with fireplace. Large master suite and bath with jetted tub, his and hers walk in closets. Loads of storage with pantry in laundry room, linen closets and coat closet. Fully fenced with covered back patio. This home is priced right!
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