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School funding, which is traditionally based on property tax revenue, has taken a hit as the housing industry has declined. A big hit. Nearly half of all property tax revenue is used for public elementary and secondary education, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Decreased residential building and increased mortgage loan defaults have meant less money for schools than they might have hoped this year. Take, for example, Lee County in Florida. Recent numbers indicate school impact fee collections fell by more than $23 million this year–which won’t be easy to replace. Foreclosures, which have hit a high…

Jerry Howard, chief executive of the National Association of Home Builders, told CNNMoney.com last week that overbuilding was a key reason for the current housing decline–and he’s not kidding. At the end of October, there were 191,000 finished homes hanging out on the market, 14 percent more than last year, according to government data. The number swells to 500,000 if you include new homes about to be built. That gives us a housing supply of more than eight months–and a declining home price. As the housing supply grew, demand shrunk, and new home median price fell a record 13 percent…

According to a press release issued this week by ForSaleByOwner.com, real estate agents and brokers will collect $55 billion in commissions during 2007–a $19 billion increase from 2000. Really? During the housing slump? Well, housing figures always need to be looked at twice if they’re compared to numbers from several years ago–and 2000 predates the residential boom that we’re currently seeing a correction from. So perhaps, yes, agents and brokers are up in comparison. But you’d be hard-pressed to say they’re doing well. (Believe me–I just refinanced my mortgage, and if I even so much as made eye contact with…

Forbes has released its list of the biggest home sales of the year–and the top five were all in New York City. It’s been an unusual year for housing, but an even more unusual year for housing in New York. As the rest of the nation saw home prices and values drop, New York’s real estate market stayed stable and strong. According to ABC News, 2007 was a record-setting real estate year for Manhattan. Developer Harry Macklowe bought an entire floor in the Plaza Hotel (except for one apartment) during its conversion to private housing for $60 million, the new…

The Fed lowered its target Tuesday for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 4.25 percent. The discount rate, what banks pay to borrow from the Fed, was also cut by a quarter-point to 4.75 percent. The Fed hopes its actions will boost the economy. But yesterday morning, many people were hoping something else–that the Fed would do more. The industry has been speculating for weeks about what the Fed would do at its December meeting. For awhile, a big cut seemed almost certain. And then, a rush of recently-released economic reports threw some uncertainty into the mix. Government…

Yesterday, we touched on what mortgage bailout plan criticisms many economists, politicians and industry members have expressed. Much of the concern surrounds the plan’s scope and schedule, which some say won’t help enough homeowners in enough time. And now, three days after the initial announcement, some confusion still surrounds who exactly will benefit from the rate freeze and other plan breaks. But the bigger question is: Who won’t? Interest-only loan holders. Borrowers with 2-28 and 3-27 loans, in which typically just the interest is paid for the first two or three years before switching to paying principal and interest for…

Late last week, President Bush announced a new proposal to help troubled homeowners, which included halting increases on many of the adjustable rate mortgages due to reset soon. The housing crisis is ongoing–and could, if foreclosures keep increasing, greatly affect spending and the national economy. It is clear something needed to be done: But is the mortgage plan the right solution? Not everyone thinks so. In a letter to Congress last week, 61 economists said they oppose the plan and basically told the government to leave the housing situation alone, Bloomberg reports. Many members of the government aren’t too keen…

The past two weeks have provided us with a dizzying array of economic information–new job data, construction spending results, forecasts from Fannie Mae and Moody’s. And it’s all fueled the ongoing speculation about whether or not the Fed will change the interest rate next week when it meets. Last week, it looked like that was a strong possibility; and now, economists aren’t so sure. It is, of course, impossible to know what the Fed will decide. But we can predict some of the key information they’ll likely consider: Home Prices. The housing slump will undoubtedly influence the Fed’s decision, even…

President Bush today announced the highly anticipated interest rate freeze program, designed to help prevent further waves of home foreclosures. The voluntary, private-sector arrangement involves no government funding and will only affect mortgages for owner-occupied homes. You can’t have missed any payments, and the loan has to have been taken out between 2005 and July 30, 2007 and be set to reset in 2008 or 2009, according to MSNBC. “There is no perfect solution,” President Bush said during the announcement. “The homeowners deserve our help. The steps I’ve outlined today are a sensible response to a serious challenge.” (Watch the…

Today’s multi-housingnews.com news included an item about California affordable housing builder AMCAL focusing efforts on market-value apartments. The company plans to build two this year. Why? According to Sid Paul, AMCAL Equities’ Vice President of For-Sale Housing, mortgage restrictions and dwindling loan options in California–which saw some of the greatest increases in property values before the housing slump and some of the biggest declines during it–are prompting more and more residents to rent. "We’re seeing a void for workforce earners who may not be low wage earners, but who may have a need for rental properties," Paul told multi-housingnews.com. Although…