The 2012 outlook is improving modestly from a disappointing 2011. Economic growth picked up in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 2.8 percent and is expected to come in at 2.3 percent for 2012, up from 1.6 percent growth for all of last year, according to Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economic & Strategic Research Group. However, the year-end growth rate was due largely to a positive swing in business inventory growth, which is not indicative of underlying consumer demand or the overall health of the economy. Nevertheless, consumer spending improved modestly and manufacturing and services activity expanded at a strong pace. Importantly, labor market conditions continued to improve with nonfarm payroll job growth increasing nearly 250,000 across many industries, including construction. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, down from 8.5 percent the month prior, as the large increase in employment outweighed a growing number of people joining the workforce—indicating a genuine improvement in the labor market. If we continue to see this level of positive data, the Group notes, the labor market may become an upside determinant for an improved outlook.

Housing also showed signs of improvement late last year with existing home sales rising in December for the third consecutive month. Indicators point to some good pickup in construction of apartment buildings and modest pickup in single-family construction in some locations. Overall, housing is expected to add to gross domestic product (GDP) for the first time in seven years, albeit by a very modest amount. Near-term improvement in housing sales is expected to be quite modest due to the very low current level of sales and continued expected declines in home prices, which remain a challenge to the housing market.

“Risks to the forecast are more balanced between the upside and downside since our January forecast,” says Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “The economy appears to be more resilient than in previous months, and should be less vulnerable to shocks, including any spillover from the European sovereign debt crisis. However, economic growth will remain constrained by various headwinds, such as a potential spike in oil prices due to tension in the Middle East; an expected decline in net exports from the global slowdown; and an expected increase in fiscal drag, including the fading of federal spending from the stimulus and a decline in defense spending for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

For more information, visit www.fanniemae.com

Although we still have a long road ahead of us, it looks like Temecula Home owners might finally be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. If you are wondering what is happening in your specific community fill out the form below.

Some homeowners have been waiting for years for a better housing market and a good time to sell. Is it better to wait a few more years and see if you can realize a higher sale price, or sell now and move on with your life?

The motivation for selling is a key factor. Are you commuting to work several hours a day and the commute is killing you? Are your children grown and your home is now too big, in addition to being a burden to maintain? Is your home too small? Have you taken a job out of the area? Can you no longer afford to own your home? Or do you no longer want to pay the price it costs to own your home?

These are all good reasons for considering making a move. Not only do current market conditions enter into the equation, but making a move like this is usually more complicated than it was the first time you bought a home.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: First, you need to find out the probable sale price of your home and access the state of the current home-sale market in your area. You also need to know what you can do to maximize the salability of your home. Then you should consider where you’ll live next and how much that will cost.

There is so much great information on selling your Temecula Home. Whether you have questions regarding preparing your home for sale, finding motivated sellers or negotiating a great deal, articles like this help answer them.

Reactions to the prospect of negotiating run the gamut, almost like a Rorschach of people’s comfort levels when it comes to thinking, talking and asserting themselves about money matters. Some people get so excited about haggling they adopt an entirely new persona when the time comes to talk their way into saving even a few bucks here or there. Others cringe at the mere thought of  trying to suss out what’s going on in the minds of those on the other side of the bargaining table in order to strike a deal, even when hundreds of thousands of dollars (and their own best interests) are at stake.

And in light of the current market, it can seem like every real estate pundit you’ve ever seen on TV, the old guys from the Fed, Suze Orman, Jim Cramer – even the President! – have each pulled a chair up to the table and chimed into your transaction, too! Trying to factor market dynamics into your personal negotiation equation only ups the complexity factor (and the fear factor to boot).When it comes to buying or selling your home, there is a handful of negotiation need-to-knows that can go a long way toward protecting your best interests – and your cash!  Here are five essential negotiation need-to-knows for savvy home buyers and sellers:

1.  Work from a foundation of sound information. It’s essential that you amass an arsenal of information, and use that as the basis for your negotiation. You are in no position to negotiate, aggressively or otherwise, unless and until you are well acquainted with the real estate market immediately surrounding your home, including:

• what have similar homes recently sold for;
• how much above or below asking do they normally sell for;
• how long do homes stay on the market, on average, compared with the home you’re buying or selling?

Not only will your agent help you understand these numbers and how they should relate to your own offer or response, your agent is also in a good position to reach out to the other agent and collect any available information about what is important to the other party: do they care more about moving quickly, getting top dollar, or certainty that the other side can close the deal?  The other agent isn’t obligated to divulge any information but often will, in the interest of facilitating a deal that addresses their client’s priorities.

Finally, it’s uber-critical to know what your own priorities are. Ultimately, the bar for whether your negotiation for your home is successful is based on what the home and the terms of the contract are worth to you.  Know your own bottom and top line for price, and what your own priorities are, before the negotiation begins.

2.  Approach the negotiation as a problem-solving challenge.  Today’s negotiations are really more like problem solving scenarios, when you take into account all the parties whose needs must be met for the transaction to move forward.  Traditionally, negotiations were a two-way power struggle between the buyer and seller, based primarily on their wants and their respective bargaining leverage. But on today’s market, the bank – or banks on both sides — often have their own guidelines and needs that impact the terms of the deal, whether it be the seller’s lender insisting on a certain price in a short sale, or the buyer’s lender and appraiser refusing to lend anything above a certain price.

Whether you are buying a short sale or foreclosure property in Temecula or are selling your home and your competition is short sales and foreclosures, this is information that you need to know.

Technically speaking, April 15th is tax day. But for Americans who expect a refund – including many homeowners who want to cash in on real estate-related tax perks – filing sooner holds the promise of getting that check in hand, stat.

If you count yourself in that number, here’s a handy guide for 9 pieces of paper you should be sure to round up as you prepare to file, in order to reap every penny of the tax rewards you’ve earned by virtue of owning a home.

1. Mortgage Interest Statement – IRS Form 1098. The meatiest real estate tax deduction on the books is the one that allows you to deduct 100 percent of the mortgage interest you paid in a year – including prepaid interest or points you might have paid at close of escrow, if you bought a home last year. By now, you should have received in the mail a Form 1098 from your mortgage lender that reports how much that interest totaled up to in 2011.  If you itemize your taxes and claim a mortgage interest deduction, you must include this form with your tax form when you file.

(If you haven’t received yours yet, most lenders that have online account management services also post the form digitally in your secure account on the web. Just login like you would to make your monthly payment, and look for a notice that says you can now download your 2011 Form 1098.)

1. Property Tax Statements.  In addition to deducting your mortgage interest, if you own a home you are eligible to deduct the property taxes you pay to your local city, county and/or state.  You are not allowed to deduct some of the other miscellaneous expenses that some localities bundle up with the taxes they collect, like waste management and local assessments for things like street lighting, libraries and sidewalk construction.  To get this deduction right, the best practice is to have your property tax statements at hand and make sure you’re only deducting what’s allowed.

If you bought your home this year, it’s highly possible that you might not even have received a property tax statement yet – if that’s the case, look to #3, below.