On Monday January 23, 2012, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate 360 radio show on The Big Talker 1580 WHFS AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

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Part 1 (14:24)

Ryan and Louis discuss the Republican Primary, gold and silver prices and HomeGain’s 2012 Home Ownership Satisfaction Survey.  Ryan notes that when mortgage rates move up, they move up fast. Ryan urges rate shoppers to lock in now.  Ryan predicts higher mortgage rates in 2012. Louis discusses how the networks were able to project Newt Gingrich the winner of the South Carolina primary based on exit polls.  Ryan notes that Texas governnor Rick Perry has dropped out and has endorced Newt Gingrich. Ryan notes that Romney is attaching Gingrich based on his relationship with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  Louis notes that in Iowa and New Hampshire Gingrich was crushed as a result of the focus of voters on Newt Gingrich’s activities with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae. Louis notes that during the South Carolina primary process, when the focus moved away from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and towards Mitt Romney’s activities at Bain Capital, the voters shifted away from Romney and towards Gingrich. Louis notes that Gingrich benefited in South Carolina from appearing strong in responding to a debate question relating to his personal life. Louis notes, however, that Gingrich won’t be able to win based on those types of answers.   Louis notes that as the attention shifts back to Gingrich’s activities at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Romney will benefit and Gingrich will suffer. Louis notes that Gingrich is the non Romney  flavor of the month-his predecessors being Santorum, Cain, Perry and Bachman. Louis notes that Republicans are looking for a conservative alternative to Romney. Louis notes that as people peek under the cover they will notice that Santorum and Gingrich are not as conservative as they claim. Louis notest that Ron Paul has been consistent in his view for 30 years and that his support in the polls has not fluctuated wildly  like the other candidates and has grown steadily. Louis notes that the media constantly discusses Ron Paul’s supposed non electability but never discussed the electability of the other candidates like Herman Cain whose qualifications including running a “pizza palour”, Michelle Bachman who has only been in congress a few years and Mitt Romney who was governor of a state that instituted “RomneyCare” a pre cursor to “ObamaCare” which is anathama to conservatives and Newt Gingirch with 20 years of “baggage”. Louis notes that Ron Paul has won 12 elections to congress and has increased his vote totals by 4-5X since 2008  in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. Ryan notes that  Ron Paul’s issues, excessive spending, civil liberties, the Federal Reserve have not been discussed much in the campaigns and the debates. Louis notes that the Tea Party came into existence largely as a protest against the bail outs an the irony that the two front runners Romney and Gingrich were in favor of them and the stimulus packages. Louis notes that Ron Paul has gained currency  with younger voters and that younger voters are discovering Austrian economics. Louis and Ryan discuss Ron Paul’s interest in reinstituting the gold standard and that Newt Gingrich has jumped on that bandwagon. Louis notes that during the debates they have not talked about each candidates plan to cut spending – other than Rick Perry’s attempt to name three Federal Agencies that he would cut. Louis notes that only Ron Paul has a plan to cut spending-$1 Trillion in his first year as President. 

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On Monday January 9, 2012, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate 360 radio show on The Big Talker 1580 AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

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Part 1 (14:56)

Ryan and Louis offer their predictions for 2012 on the general economy, real estate market, interest rates, the presidential election, the price of gold oil and silver and foreclosures. Louis notes that the beginning of the year will be a continuation of low interest rates, working off inventory and a tepid market but predicts a financial shock at some point in 2012 perhaps based on a European debt crisis or something in the US. Louis notes that there is no way to solve the housing crisis or the general soverign debt crisis other than to allow the debt to be liquidated, but notes that the central banks are not willing to allow it. Ryan notes of a new tax on mortgages that helps Fannie  Mae and Freddie Mac which Louis characterizes as a back door bailout of these entities. Louis notes that many homebuyers are holding off on purchasing a home because they think interest rates might go lower or that they will stay low for a long time or that home prices will fall further. Louis notes that more likely rents will rise and that it makes sense to get a long term low interest rate to protect against the rise in the real cost of shelter. Louis notes that if interest rate rose it would be a disaster for the US government  as it would make it even more difficult for the US to pay off the interest. Louis notes that the Fed’s operation twist is intended to keep long term interest rates down. Louis notes that institutional investors purchase US govenment bonds for their perceived safety. Louis notes that the US is actually printing LESS physical currency as the cost of paper and its components (coton and ink) are getting more expensive. 

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HomeGain, the first company to provide free instant home valuations online, announced the results of its 2012 Home Ownership Satisfaction Survey. Homeowners were asked whether they were satisfied with owning a home and whether price appreciation or depreciation was a factor. Over 1,400 home owners from across the nation were surveyed.

Overall, 72 percent of surveyed homeowners indicated that they were satisfied with owning a home and 28% said they were dissatisfied. When asked if price appreciation was the primary reason for their satisfaction, only 24 percent said yes. Seventy-six percent listed other reasons for being satisfied. The most popular responses were pride of ownership, and freedom to control what type of home improvements and upgrades go into their homes.

Sixty-three percent of homeowners who indicated they were unsatisfied with home ownership said that price depreciation was the primary reason. Of the 37 percent who listed other reasons for being unsatisfied, the most cited responses were the costs of home ownership, including property taxes, homeowner association fees, and maintenance and repairs.

“The HomeGain 2012 National Home Ownership Satisfaction survey shows in spite of declines in the values of homes nationwide, satisfaction among home owners remains high at 72 percent, with nearly 3 of 4 home owners satisfied with home ownership.” said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain. “Of the 28 percent of surveyed homeowners who indicated they were unsatisfied, 63 percent cited price depreciation as the primary reason.”

On a regional basis, the highest percentage of homeowner satisfaction was in the Northeast, with a 77 percent satisfaction rate. The Southeast ranked second with 73 percent, followed by the West with 71 percent, and the Midwest with 68 percent.

The survey asked when homes were purchased, the purchase prices of the homes, the type of homes purchased (short sale, foreclosure, new or existing), and the age groups of the homeowners.

Overall, homeowners who purchased their homes between 3-8 years ago were the least satisfied. Homeowners who purchased their home within the last three years or more than 8 years ago, were the most satisfied.

Homeowners who paid less than $75,000 for their home were the most satisfied, with a 77 percent satisfaction rate. Homeowners who purchased a home for more than $800,000 were the least satisfied, with a 69 percent satisfaction rate.

Those purchasing foreclosed homes or homes in a short sale had the highest home ownership satisfaction rates at 79 percent and 83 percent, respectively. Those who purchased new or existing homes had lower satisfaction rates at 73 percent and 71 percent, respectively. Sixty-seven percent of homeowners who purchased a new home, and 64 percent of homeowners who purchased an existing home, indicated that price depreciation was the primary reason for being unsatisfied.

Homeowners ages 18-25 were the least satisfied with home ownership, with a 45 percent satisfaction rate. This is the only age group to have a satisfaction rate below 50 percent. Homeowners ages 55-65 were the most satisfied with home ownership, with a 76 percent satisfaction rate.

The complete national results can be found below. Click on a question to jump to that question’s results:

1. Overall, are you satisfied with home ownership?
2. When did you purchase your home?
3. What was the value of your home when you purchased it?
4. What type of home did you purchase?
5. What is your age?

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On Monday November 14, 2011, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate Radio show on The Big Talker 1580 AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

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Part 1 (15:00)

Ryan notes a curious answer by Newt Gingrich about housing during the recent Republican debate. Louis notes the problem of having a real debate with nine candidates in an hour and noted Ron Paul, for example only spoke for 90 seconds in the most recent debate.  Louis notes that there is no free market in real estate as the government is so involved in the real estate market. Louis notes the absurdity of giving the executives of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonuses. Ryan discusses the issues that Private Mortgage Insurance companies are having and their impact on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Louis notes the analogy during the financial crisis when AIG was unable to meet its insurance obligations to Goldman Sachs and the Fed had to bail them out. Louis notes that the government caused the housing bubble with low interest rates. Louis notes that the government also causes the cost of education to go higher by guaranteeing loans. Louis note that when the government sponsors services by guaranteeing loans, prices go higher but the quality does not go up. Louis notes that students with excessive loans will have a hard time getting a job and even if they get one will have a hard time getting a loan to buy a home. Louis notes that 70% of the U.S. economy is based on spending-spending with borrowed money. Continue reading this post

On Monday November 7, 2011, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate Radio show on The Big Talker 1580 AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

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Part 1 (13:55)

Ryan notes that there is a city near Detroit, Hyland Park that has turned off the city’s electricity and pulled out the street lights because they can not pay the electric bills. Louis notes that this is considered “austerity”. Louis notes that local governments should be able to provide the necessities(fire, police, water and lighting) if the money was managed properly. Instead local governments rely on bond issues and getting money from Washington to pay for government services. Louis notes the irony of hiring local politicians to get money sent to Washington back to the local municipality. Louis also notes that governments generally don’t threatened to cut the non essentials and when they are short on cash, but rather threaten the essential services in order to extract more money. Ryan and Louis discuss the raising of bank fees on consumers and the backlash that it has created, leading to the Bank of America has retracted their intention to charge consumers to use their bank cards. Louis notes that the entire episode was the unintended consequence  of government intervention. Ryan discusses the best way to shop for a mortgage. Ryan discusses factors that impact mortgage interest rates. Ryan notes that the treasury will sell $72 billion of bonds. Ryan notes the change of government in Greece and that the contagion has spread to Italy. Louis notes the the Greek crisis has been lingering because the central bank has been propping them up. Louis also notes that if more municipalities can not provide services, the Fed may provide a bail out. This would lead to higher interest rates and inflation. Louis predicts that the dollar will out last the Euro in that it can probably print more money and that eventually, entities including sovereigns, must be allowed to fail. Louis notes that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation creates a moral hazard. Louis and Ryan discuss fractional reserve banking and its role in creating the potential for bank runs.

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On Monday October 31, 2011, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate Radio show on The Big Talker 1580 AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

Listen to the show.

Part 1 (13:47)

Ryan notes that in spite of the institution of Operation Twist,  interest rates have increased. Louis notes that the Fed can’t totally control interest rates. Louis notes that rates want to and need to go higher. Louis notes that the dollar should be a weaker currency, but the Swiss and Japanese central banks purchased dollars to weaken their own currencies.  Louis notes that there is a false concept if there is inflation, employment will increase. Louis notes that in this weak environment, all that happens is that unemployed people pay more for goods and services. Louis notes that the government uses hedonics to supress the actual impact of inflation. Louis notes that long term financing is a gift at low rates. Ryan notes the difference between the federal fund rate and the mortgage backed securities market. Louis notes that the Fed’s pronouncement that they intend to keep interest rates low is sending a false signal to the market as people think that mortgage interest rates WILL remain low until early 2013. The Fed may purchase mortgage back securities.   Ryan notes that Obama focused on health care in the first years of his administration and now is only focusing on the housing market. Louis notes that characterization is not entirely fair as the stimulus was passed prior to health care under the idea that the stimulus would solve the housing woes and unemployment. Louis notes that the government programs can not solve economic problems. Louis notes that all the government programs are merely a misguided attempt to re heat a souffle. Louis notes that politicians can not run on the platform that they are not going to do anything about the economy other than let the market sort itself out, even though that may be the best solution.

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