1. FHA Under New Command

When the FHA announced in late September that it was hiring a chief risk officer—for the first time in the agency’s 74-year history—it was taking preventive action. The agency had seen the market share of FHA-insured mortgages grow to almost 40 percent from about 4 percent four years ago, and its new chief, David Stevens, was not taking any chances with financial safety. When the agency’s capital-to-insurance ratio had dipped below 2 percent in one of its reserve accounts, Stevens—a veteran mortgage and real estate executive who has held key posts at Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac, and Long & Foster—immediately took steps to assess and manage FHA’s risk. The government insurer hasn’t had a major technology upgrade or staff increase in more than a decade, yet demand for the FHA’s stabilizing presence continues to grow. Can Stevens meet the demand without jeopardizing safety and soundness? Given the no-nonsense steps he’s taken to shore up his agency’s credit position, the answer appears to be yes.

2. Bernanke’s Second Term

Ben Bernanke—appointed in September to a second four-year term as Federal Reserve chair—is nothing if not innovative. When the Federal Reserve’s conventional monetary policy tools failed to shore up mortgage lending in 2008, the Fed intervened by committing up to $1.25 trillion to purchase Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities and another $200 billion to purchase their debt. That action is widely credited with keeping mortgage rates at historical lows and putting the brakes on a market that was at risk of free fall. Then, in another unprecedented step, Bernanke committed Fed funds to the purchase of commercial mortgage-backed securities to help thaw those credit markets, though the jury is still out on whether the agency’s commitment is big enough—and for a long enough duration—to do the job.

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Top 10 Real Estate Developments of the ‘00s

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Lately, it seems like everywhere I look on the Web, I find some kind of best-of list for the past decade. Not wanting us to be left out of this retrospective frenzy, I thought I’d compile my own list of the top 10 developments in real estate through the ‘00s.

Each day between now and Monday, Dec. 21, I’ll be overviewing the 10 best—and worst—things this decade had to offer for real estate professionals right here on Speaking of Real Estate. So, without further delay, here’s #10 on the list:

#10: Going Green

Back in the early 1980s, homes started to get bigger on average. By the 1990s, many builders were constructing houses so large—yet so similar—that the term “McMansion” had been coined to describe the huge structures with cookie-cutter designs that stood on quarter-acre lots across America.

Sometime early in the ‘oos, a backlash against these houses reached a critical mass due to a combination of the rise of New Urbanism, greater awareness of environmental issues, and the practical realities of the economic downturns that bookended this decade. In addition to the aesthetic revulsion these homes often provoked, the McMansions were reviled by many for being energy eaters. More than one-fifth of all energy used in the United States in 2006 was consumed by residential buildings, and these houses were a major contributor to that figure.

Nowadays, the watchwords in housing are sustainable development, small energy footprints, and green architecture. More builders are starting to use recycled materials in construction and incorporating renewable energy sources into designs—and getting the attention of consumers with these efforts.

However, the push to go green in real estate has occasionally produced a backlash of its own. For instance, many practitioners are apprehensive about overzealous energy regulations for homes, particularly with the proposed Cap and Trade bill. Also, some believe that once the economy improves, Americans will resume their big-house-lovin’ ways.

Whether the green movement in real estate is a long-term trend remains to be seen. But no one can deny that it’s been an important development in this decade.

Other Major Real Estate Developments of the Decade

1. Housing Goes Boom and Bust

2. The Fall of Fannie and Freddie

3. Government-Led Recovery

4. The Practitioner Explosion

5. Commercial Crash

6. HVCC

7. Record Lows in Mortgage Rates

8. RE.net

9. Real Estate on TV

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If you haven’t been to www.HouseLogic.com, you need to check it out!

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Choose what fits your budget:

BUDGET BUYER

The following products are available for less than $250.

Blog

Multiple platforms

FREE

A blog costs little, except your time. Solutions like Blogger, TypePad, and Wordpress make it easy to get started. Even if you opt for a fee-based premium plan, blogging is an investment in your career. It can enhance your reputation, demonstrate your expertise and improve search engine placement. If you do plan to blog in 2010, approach it as a year-long resolution.      

Smartphone

Curve 8530

Available through Verizon Wireless for $99, after rebate, with a two-year service contract

Blackberry’s new Curve 8530 is one of several models that make it easy and affordable to get started with a smartphone. Running the Blackberry OS, the 3G Curve 8530 has built-in WiFi, GPS, and a 2-megapixel camera with digital zoom and video capabilities. There’s also a mini-QWERTY keypad and microSD memory card slot.

USB Camcorder

Flip Ultra

$149; HD version available for $199

The Flip Ultra is an easy-to-use, inexpensive solution for posting video tours and testimonials. With 4 GB of internal flash memory, it can record up to two hours of video at 640×480 resolution. The Flip has a USB connector and FlipShare software for formatting, editing, and uploading video to a computer and the Web.

Printer

Epson WorkForce 1100

$199

Prices have come way down, so you can get a lot more printer for your money now. Case in point: Epson WorkForce 1100. Maximum print size for this color inkjet is 13×19 inches, big enough for quick signs on the fly. To reduce consumables, it has separate ink cartridges for each color. Maximum print speed for standard sized pages is rated 30 pages per minute (ppm) black, 17 ppm color; and 13 ppm black, 5.5 ppm color in its laser-quality mode.

Cameraphone

Memoir T929

$199 through T-Mobile, with service contract

At this writing, Samsung’s 8-megapixel Memoir T929 is one the highest resolution cameraphones available, but that will surely change as the year progresses. If you don’t need a true smartphone, consider something like this full-featured product with GPS for your communications and photography needs. Specs include 16x digital zoom and built-in flash.

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MID-RANGE BUYER

Here are a few solutions you can find between $250 and $750.

Smartphone

iPhone

$299 with two-year service contract from AT&T

Apple’s iPhone set the bar in the smartphone sector, and it’s on many practitioner wish lists. The top-of the line 32 GB iPhone 3GS has a 3-megapixel digital camera/camcorder, touchscreen interface, voice control of phone and iPod functions, and built-in GPS with an integrated maps application. It runs on the iPhone operating system and is compatible with thousands of software apps.

Scanner

Snapscan s300

$329

Fujitsu’s Snapscan s300 gives mobile real estate professionals seeking an easy solution for converting printed forms and contracts to PDFs for sharing by e-mail. This compact mobile scanner converts two-sided printed documents to searchable PDFs at speeds up to eight pages per minute. It can also scan business cards and export the info to Outlook and other contact management systems.

Netbook

Mini 1101

$329

HP’s entry Mini 1101 delivers the compact size and connectivity that make this growing class of mini PCs increasingly popular. It has the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 10-inch screen, integrated webcam, mobile broadband, WiFi b/g, and Bluetooth adapter.

Picture Projector

S1000pj

$429

Nikon’s new S1000pj boasts one feature technology that will hopefully find its way into other handheld devices this year, including smartphones. Built into the camera is a video projector system to display images and video at sizes ranging from 5 to 40 inches, on any surface. It’s also a serviceable compact camera, with a 12.1MP sensor, 5x wide-angle optical zoom lens, and a 2.7-inch LCD.

Desktop Computer

ThinkCentre A70z

$499

Lenovo’s all-in-one computer, the ThinkCentre A70z, claims less space on your desktop without sacrificing performance or features. Just 2.4-inches thick, it has a 19-inch screen for mounting on the desk or wall. The basic configuration has an Intel Celeron processor, DVD player and hard drive, with optional WiFi and webcam.

Multi-Function Machine

imageClass MF8350Cdn

$699

Step up to a color laser printer for the home or office with Canon’s network-ready imageClass MF8350Cdn. The desktop-sized printer/copier/scanner/fax measures 17×19 inches. Speed is rated 21 pages per minute when printing black or color, and it can handle two-sided printing, copying, and faxing.

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HIGH-END BUYER

The following products cost more than $750.

Camera/Camcorder

Lumix DMC-GF1

$899 in kit with one lens

Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-GF1 is one of the new breed of compact digital single-lens reflex (SLRs) cameras that can double as a high-resolution camera or HD video recorder. As a camera, it has a 12.1-megapixel sensor, built-in flash, three-inch LCD, and settings for point-and-shoot implicity or full creative control. There’s a dedicated video button, and several recording formats, including HD 1280×720 video.

Enhanced GPS

Eclipse AVN726E

$1,299

If you want a permanent solution for mobile navigation and entertainment, an in-dash system like the Eclipse AVN726E may be a good fit. It’s a full-featured GPS system with a 7-inch touchscreen and voice prompts. It’s also an AM/FM receiver with built-in DVD player and an input jack for direct connection to an iPod.

Mobile Workstation

Covet M6500

$2,749 for basic configuration

Dell’s new Covet M6500 workstation is designed to be the only computer the mobile professional needs. With Windows 7 Professional installed, it has an Intel Quad Core 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM expandable to 16GB, a 160GB hard drive, 17-inch screen, media bay with DVD recorder, and a Dell WiFi mini card for wireless networking.

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Learn More: 2010 Tech Wish List  ׀  Shopping Glossary  ׀  What Others Want

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