Stop Procrastinating; Do It Now!

By John Boe


Whether it's filing your taxes on time, paying your bills, cleaning out the garage, or getting out of bed to exercise, everyone tends to procrastinate once in a while. It has been said that Robinson Crusoe is the only person to have all of his work done by Friday. Are you the type of person who tackles projects head on and gets tasks done right away, or do you tend to procrastinate and put things off? The habit of procrastination is an attractive form of self-sabotage and is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

Procrastination can take a toll on all aspects of your life and has a significant impact on your mental and physical health. The habit of procrastination brings with it a whole host of overwhelming, negative emotions such as increased stress, anxiety, guilt, fear, worry, depression, and low self-esteem.

Here are five proven tips to help you overcome the problem of procrastination and become more productive.

1. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. You can keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed by breaking your project up into smaller, more manageable bite-size tasks. Develop a written plan of action and set realistic timeframes for the completion of each task. If you find that you're able to complete a task faster than you have planned, you will feel good about being ahead of schedule.

2. Be sure to allow plenty of time to finish each task. Once you have estimated how much time you will require to accomplish your project, schedule your work into short, thirty-minute blocks of time to keep you energized. If you do not need all the time you've allowed, you will be able to progress ahead of schedule.

3. Stay focused and avoid distractions such as talking to coworkers, checking your e-mails, playing computer games, answering phone calls, or surfing the Internet.

4. Make a commitment to accomplishing your project and hold yourself accountable. If you catch yourself thinking about not working on your project, remember the Nike motto and "Just Do It." Remind yourself of how good you'll feel when you've completed your project.

5. Become more efficient by multitasking whenever possible.
How many important projects or tasks on your "things to do list" keep getting put off because you have deliberately chosen to procrastinate? The good news is that procrastination is not a character flaw you were born with, but a habit that can be overcome with self-discipline and the determination to "Do it Now!"

"Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started."
- David Allen

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions.

For more information, visit www.johnboe.com.

Mortgage Rates Drop to Another 2011 Low

Mortgage applications decreased 2.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 16, 2011.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2.8 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 1.6 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4.9 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 7.5 percent compared with the previous week and was 6.9 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 0.26 percent. The four week moving average is down 1.53 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 1.32 percent for the Refinance Index.

"Continued anxiety surrounding the fragile economic situation in Europe led interest rates lower last week. However, refinance applications fell slightly, and purchase applications dropped further as we head into the end of the year," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "Remarkably low rates are not enough, as many homeowners continue to hold back due to lack of equity in their properties, poor credit and a weak job market."

The refinance share of mortgage activity reached a high this year of 80.7 percent of total applications from 79.7 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to a low this year of 5.1 percent from 5.6 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average loan size of all loans for home purchase in the US was $217,774 in November 2011, up from $213,430 in October 2011. The average loan size for a refinance increased from $217,153 in October to $220,523 in November. The average government purchase loan size declined from October to November, from $186,263 to $170,742. The largest purchase loans were made in the Pacific region at $308,307. The largest refinance loans were also made in the Pacific region at $304,509.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 4.08 percent, the lowest rate this year, from 4.12 percent, with points increasing to 0.49 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 4.44 percent, the lowest rate this year, from 4.47 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.93 percent, the lowest rate this year, from 3.94 percent, with points decreasing to 0.63 from 0.68 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.39 percent, the lowest rate this year, from 3.44 percent, with points decreasing to 0.40 from 0.52 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.90 percent, the lowest rate this year, from 2.93 percent, with points decreasing to 0.46 from 0.53 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

For more information, visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners Helps Support Multiple Local Charities This Holiday Season

During Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners’ holiday charity drive, sales agents and staff from throughout the region spent much of November and December gathering donations to benefit a variety of charities. The Partners banded together with one common goal - to lend helping hands and make the holiday’s special for as many as possible.
“This is the third year that CBPP aimed to help as many charities as we could, in the past we focused on helping just one group, but this year we were fortunate enough to support The Marine Corps Toys for Tots, America’s Second Harvest Food Drive, the Angel Tree, numerous Adopt-a-Family, Child Abuse Prevention Association and Faithworks, to name a few,” said Connie Farmer Ray, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners. The family-oriented company truly cares about giving back to their neighbors and communities. Throughout the Company’s service region, which spans from Beaufort, South Carolina through Savannah to St. Mary’s, Georgia, numerous boxes and bins were overflowing with contributions. Marine Staff Sergeant Ryan Frappier, who has helped facilitate Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners for the past four years in the annual Toys for Tots drive reminds us, “Everyone should realize how significant their donation actually is. It has sent a message to a needy child that someone cares, and that the magic of Christmas hasn't passed him or her by.”
“A heartfelt “Thank You” to everyone who helped to make a difference in so many people’s lives this Holiday Season,” said Connie Farmer Ray.

Consumer Concerns Stabilize: Home Price Expectations Improve

By Pete Bakel


Amid a spate of positive economic news during the November survey period, consumer sentiment appears to have stabilized from previous levels, with only incremental improvement in the deeply negative housing market sentiment witnessed this summer.

According to results from Fannie Mae's November National Housing Survey, home price expectations moved from negative to positive territory for the first time in six months, with respondents expecting home prices to increase by 0.2 percent over the next year. Overall, trends demonstrate that consumers are in a “wait and see” pattern as we move into 2012. This places consumer sentiment in line with Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Group’s November forecast of temporary economic improvement during the third and fourth quarters of 2011 leading into a slower economic growth path in 2012.

“Though their home price expectations have become slightly positive, consumers remain concerned about the direction of the economy and continue to view their household finances as being relatively flat,” says Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “Most Americans expect no improvement in their personal financial situation in the next 12 months and will likely remain wary about undertaking the significant financial obligation associated with homeownership until their view of their income, expenses, and job security heads in a more positive direction.”

Twenty-two percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next year (up 3 percentage points since last month), while 22 percent say they expect home prices to decline, down 1 percentage point since last month. 53 percent say prices will stay the same, a 2 percentage point drop from October.
Results show that 33 percent of Americans say that mortgage rates will go up over the next 12 months, down 3 percentage points from October and a return to the level seen in September.

Additionally, 68 percent of respondents say it is a good time to buy a home (down by 1 percentage point since last month), and just 10 percent say it is a good time to sell, which is unchanged from the previous two months.

On average, Americans expect home rental prices to increase by 3.2 percent over the next year, a 0.1 percent decrease from October.

While just 6 percent expect a decline in home rental prices (unchanged since last month), 41 percent of respondents believe that home rental prices will increase in the next 12 months.

The survey also concludes that 32 percent of Americans say they would rent their next home, while 63 percent say they would buy, down 3 percentage points since last month and a return to the level seen in September.

Surprisingly, 66 percent of respondents say their income is about the same, the highest number ever to report this. Sixteen percent of those surveyed say their household income has increased over the past 12 months (down 2 percentage points since October) while 18 percent say that their income has declined significantly.

Fifty-four percent report that their expenses are about the same compared to 12 months ago (up 3 percentage points versus October). Eight percent say their household expenses have decreased over the past 12 months (down 3 percentage points since October), while 37 percent say their expenses have increased significantly.

For detailed findings from the November 2011 survey, as well as technical notes on survey methodology and the questions asked of respondents associated with each monthly indicator, visit the Fannie Mae Monthly National Housing Survey site.

The More You Know: Record-Breaking Year of Natural Catastrophes Changing How Homeowners Plan for Disasters

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a provider of information, analytics and business services, recently released its first ever Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis detailing the record-breaking natural disasters that struck the United States in 2011. The report provides an analysis of significant hurricane, wildfire, tornado, flood and earthquake events, as well as a summary of potential risk in 2012 and the implications of unexpected changes in natural hazard frequency, intensity and geographic patterns.

Compiled by the CoreLogic Spatial Solutions business, the report provides an overview of the billions of dollars in property damage caused by these catastrophic events, while summarizing their structural, geographic and financial impact on the United States.

“Weather-wise, it has certainly proven to be a memorable year in the United States and around the world. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released its total cost estimate of $52 billion and counting in damages resulting from natural disasters,” says Dr. Howard Botts, executive vice president and director of database development for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions. “Several major urban areas faced unexpected catastrophes in 2011, putting disaster readiness plans and emergency response teams to the test and causing severe damage in regions underprepared for unusual weather events. As a result, homeowners, insurers, government officials and even the news media have been forced to rethink the way they view, plan for and react to natural hazards.”

Among key findings, the CoreLogic 2011 Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis report notes:

Hurricanes
• 2011 was the most expensive hurricane season for the U.S. since 2008.
• Though only three named Atlantic storms made landfall, Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee and Tropical Storm Don, they caused at least $8 billion in damages, primarily from flooding.
• Many risk experts feel it’s time to rethink national flood policies, especially in major metropolitan hubs like New York City.

Tornadoes
• The 2011 tornado season was the third most active since 1980, with 1,559 storms to date.
• The “2011 Super Outbreak” that occurred between April 25 and April 28 has been identified as the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 336 confirmed tornadoes spread across the South, Midwest and Northeast of the U.S.
• Property, casualty and commercial insurers are now beginning to reevaluate risk for tornado damage well beyond the traditional geographic focus on “tornado alley” and adjacent areas.

Wildfires
• While the 2011 wildfire season continued the trend of having fewer but larger wildfires, there was a significant geographic shift in home losses over the past year from California, which had a cooler and wetter-than-average fire season, to the drought-affected states of Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
• In May, the largest fire in Arizona history, the Wallow fire, forced thousands of resident evacuations and burned more than 469,000 acres.
• Texas and Oklahoma experienced a record number of wildfires. The Bastrop fire in Texas alone resulted in more than 1,600 homes and structures destroyed and 34,000 acres burned.
• Wildfire trends indicate that wildfire activity often follows a cyclical pattern of increase and decrease due to changing seasonal weather patterns. Based on this, parts of California are expected to see a dramatic increase in wildfire acreage next year.
• Persistent and intensifying drought conditions forecast for a large section of the U.S. for the coming year is expected to intensify and spread wildfire activity in early 2012.

Earthquakes
• The non-western U.S. earthquakes that occurred this year in Virginia and Oklahoma – events that startled many residents who believed earthquakes to be strictly a far western U.S. phenomenon.
• A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Virginia on August 23, and was felt throughout the eastern seaboard. The tremors caused damage to several iconic local structures, namely the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument.
• In early November, Oklahoma experienced a series of low magnitude earthquakes, with a quake on November 5 registering a 5.6 magnitude, the strongest ever recorded in the state.

Flooding
• CoreLogic estimates flood losses in the U.S. this year at approximately $10.67 billion, based on various flooding and storm events recorded in the National Climate Data Center.
• The melting of an above-average snowpack across the northern Rocky Mountains, combined with abnormally high precipitation, caused the Missouri and Souris rivers to swell beyond their banks across the upper Midwest.
• Record-breaking rainfall in the Ohio valley in the spring and summer, combined with melting snowpack, resulted in historical flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
• The floods of 2011 heightened awareness of flood risk outside of the FEMA 100-year flood zones. There has also been an emphasized need to raise current flood protection standards for the critical and strategic infrastructures in the U.S.
• Based on the trend pattern, 2012 should not be an extreme flood year – in fact, there should be several more years before the next extreme flood loss year. U.S. flood loss in 2012 is projected at approximately $3.53 billion.

“The natural disasters felt throughout the country this year will undoubtedly shape the nation’s response to these events in 2012,” says Dr. Botts. “The catastrophes we experienced as a nation have already impacted and will continue to impact the policies, procedures and safety measures in place for many homes and businesses. The year 2011 was a year that informed the general understanding of risk and, hopefully, will lead to improved preparedness for years to come.”

CoreLogic generated findings for the first annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis mining the company’s comprehensive parcel database and natural hazard risk analytics as well as data from the National Climatic Data Center and NASA.

For a complete copy of the CoreLogic 2011 Natural Risk Summary and Analysis Report, which includes maps, charts and images, visit http://www.corelogic.com/2011NaturalRiskSummary.

For more information visit www.corelogic.com

Prevent Home Fires This Holiday Season

With increased activity in the kitchen and heightened energy use to combat the cold, families are at greater risk of home fires during the winter holiday season. The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is encouraging families and communities across the country to take simple precautions to ensure that this celebratory time of year does not result in a fire-related tragedy.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) statistics indicate that 30 percent of all home fires and 38 percent of home fire deaths occur during the months of December, January and February. Additionally, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths result from fires that occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

Many of these simple precautions seem like common sense, but are often overlooked due to the hectic nature of the holiday season. In addition to taking preventative measures like testing smoke alarms, it is critical that families create and practice their fire escape plan to minimize tragedy if a fire does occur.

Follow these basic safety guidelines to help protect your family, guests and home from holiday home fires:

-Stay in the kitchen when food is cooking. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the United States.

-Keep children at least three feet away from cooking appliances. Never leave a child unsupervised while cooking or when an electric or gas stove is within reach.

-Keep towels, pot holders, curtains and other flammable items away from hot surfaces.

-With greater activity in and around your home comes increased energy use. Be careful not to overburden your electrical system.

-Keep space heaters out of high-traffic and exit areas, and at least three feet away from any combustible materials.

-Do not use space heaters in rooms where children are unsupervised.

-Turn space heaters off when you go to sleep or leave the room. Never leave a space heater unattended.

-Install smoke alarms inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of your home. Test smoke alarms once a month to ensure they are working properly.

-Make sure everyone in your family recognizes the sound of the smoke alarm and knows what it means.

-Plan for a fire emergency before it happens. Be sure to explain your family fire escape plan to overnight houseguests and babysitters.

For more information, visit www.holidaysafety.org.

Housing Update: Obama Administration Releases November Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the November edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard—a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. Included in this month’s report are detailed assessments for the 10 largest mortgage servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program with results from the third quarter of 2011. In addition to providing greater transparency about servicer performance in the program, the servicer assessments—first introduced in June 2011 and published quarterly—are intended to set a new industry benchmark for disclosure around servicer efforts to assist struggling homeowners, while prompting them to correct identified deficiencies.

“The mortgage servicing industry lacked accountability and transparency when this crisis started,” says Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad. “Publishing these servicer assessments is key to our efforts to hold servicers publicly accountable for their performance and keep necessary pressure on them to improve. We've seen movement in the right direction, and we will keep this up so that the industry continues to change its ways.”

Since the inception of the Making Home Affordable Program, Treasury has required participating servicers to take specific actions to improve their servicing processes to more effectively assist struggling homeowners. The latest Servicer Assessments summarize performance on three categories of program implementation: identifying and contacting homeowners; homeowner evaluation and assistance; and program reporting, management and governance. For the third quarter of 2011, only JPMorgan Chase, NA was found to be in need of substantial improvement under the program. While JPMorgan Chase demonstrated some progress in areas reported for the third quarter, the servicer has a number of outstanding items from previous quarters that have not yet been addressed and play a critical part in their broader execution of the program. For these reasons, Treasury will withhold servicer incentives from JPMorgan Chase for the third consecutive quarter and will permanently reduce incentives owed to JPMorgan Chase unless the outstanding items are addressed before the next assessment.

Bank of America, NA was found to be in need of moderate improvement for the third quarter of 2011 but will continue to have its servicer incentives for previous quarters withheld. Although Bank of America has not yet remediated all of the areas previously identified as requiring substantial improvement from the previous quarter, it has made progress in addressing a number of items.

The assessments indicate that servicers have been focusing attention on areas identified through regular compliance and program reviews. For example, the error rate with respect to servicers’ calculations of homeowner income has declined from an average of 17.5 percent as of the first quarter of 2011 to 3.8 percent as of the third quarter (income calculation is used to determine eligibility and payment amount for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)).

As the Administration continues to push servicers to provide more effective assistance to struggling homeowners through its foreclosure prevention programs, the ongoing fragility of the housing market demonstrates the need for the Administration’s recovery efforts in hard hit communities. The November Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:

• The Administration’s recovery efforts continue to help millions of families deal with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. More than 5.4 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of October 2011—including more than 1.7 million HAMP trial modification starts, more than 1.1 million FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, and more than 2.5 million proprietary modifications under HOPE Now. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, the total number of agreements offered continues to more than double the number of foreclosure completions for the same period (2.4 million). As of October, more than 880,000 permanent mortgage modifications have occurred through HAMP, with a median payment reduction for the homeowner of 37 percent.

• Eligible homeowners entering HAMP have a high likelihood of earning a permanent modification and realizing long-term success. Eighty-two percent of eligible homeowners entering a HAMP trial modification since June 1, 2010 received a permanent modification, with an average trial period of 3.5 months. Homeowners in HAMP permanent modifications have saved an estimated $9.4 billion to date.

Also featured this month is the Administration’s Housing Scorecard Regional Spotlight on market strength in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding communities. The Atlanta metro area was one of the hardest hit areas in the nation following the housing market downturn and an area where the Administration’s broad approach to stabilizing the housing market has been very active.

“Despite growing evidence of progress in the broader economy, the housing data in this month’s Scorecard offer continued mixed signals and some signs of weakness in the market,” says HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. “The Administration remains committed to helping all homeowners who have been hit hard during this housing crisis, and as the Regional Spotlight shows our efforts have helped over 135,000 families avoid foreclosure in Atlanta. But we have much more work to do to reach the many households who still face trouble and to help the market recover.”

The bi-monthly Housing Scorecard Regional Spotlight features data on the health of the Atlanta housing market and impact of efforts to help homeowners at the local level including:

• The Atlanta market is under pressure from a high percentage of distressed mortgages, deeply discounted foreclosed properties, low property values, and many severely underwater mortgages. Although the share of distressed mortgages in and around Atlanta—those 90 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or bank owned—has been above the national average since mid-2000, the local foreclosure crisis has generally mirrored that of the nation as a whole, with a significant rise in delinquencies and defaults among high-cost subprime loans beginning in 2007. Moreover, the home sales market remains sluggish in Atlanta as local home prices have shown signs of rebounding since early 2009, but remain at low levels not seen in more than a decade.

• More than 135,000 Atlanta households have received mortgage modifications, many through direct Administration programs. Since April 1, 2009 135,800 mortgage assistance interventions have been offered to homeowners in the Atlanta metropolitan area. More than 114,300 interventions were offered through HAMP and the FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency intervention programs. An estimated additional 21,500 proprietary modifications have been offered through HOPE Now Alliance servicers. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, more assistance has been offered than foreclosures completed during this period (92,800).

• The Administration’s Hardest Hit Fund and Neighborhood Stabilization Programs have fueled local foreclosure prevention efforts and market stability. Georgia has received more than $339 million through the Hardest Hit Fund to implement local solutions to borrower mortgage defaults and address the range of factors that contribute to a family's financial problems. Moreover, approximately $91.2 million has been awarded to seven jurisdictions through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help purchase or redevelop residential properties and address the effects of abandoned and foreclosed housing. In addition, the State of Georgia has received an additional $97 million toward neighborhood stabilization. Both programs have helped provide stability to the Atlanta housing market.

For more information, visit www.treasury.gov.

Consumers Expect Big Rent Hikes in 2012

By Steve Cook

Consumer sentiment on housing expectations is stabilizing as the year winds down and consumers are adopting a “wait and see” attitude towards 2012, according to Fannie Mae’s November National Housing Survey. However, on one front there is consensus: rents will rise significantly.

On average, Americans expect home rental prices to increase by 3.2 percent over the next year. Some 41 percent said rents will increase next year, 48 percent expect rents to stay the same and only 6 percent expect them to fall. The November numbers showed a slight retreat from October, when 43 expected rents to rise and 47 expected them to stay the same.

Consumer expectations for next year exceed the current level of rent increases. The average monthly rent for all categories, including apartments and single-family homes, was $846 nationwide in the third quarter, up 2.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Local Market Monitor. Reis, Inc. data puts the third quarter increases at 2.3 percent year-over-year in the 80 plus markets it tracks. The National Association of REALTORS® forecasts multifamily rents to rise 3.5 percent next year, virtually what consumers expect.

Rising rents impact the homeownership markets in two ways. Monthly mortgage payments on the median priced home-including taxes and insurance-are increasingly falling below average rent levels. In 15 cities today, it is less expensive to rent than to buy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Higher rents also make investment purchases of residential properties more attractive. Increasingly, investors are buying to rent out properties for extended periods of time rather than selling.

Consumer home price expectations changed slightly in November, moving from negative to positive territory for the first time in six months, with respondents expecting home prices to increase by 0.2 percent over the next year.

“Though their home price expectations have become slightly positive, consumers remain concerned about the direction of the economy and continue to view their household finances as being relatively flat,” said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “Most Americans expect no improvement in their personal financial situation in the next 12 months and will likely remain wary about undertaking the significant financial obligation associated with homeownership until their view of their income, expenses, and job security heads in a more positive direction.”

Highlights:
• Twenty-two percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next year (up 3 percentage points since last month), while 22 percent say they expect home prices to decline, down 1 percentage point since last month. 53 percent say prices will stay the same, a 2 percentage point drop from October.
• Thirty-three percent of Americans say that mortgage rates will go up over the next 12 months, down 3 percentage points from October and a return to the level seen in September.
• Sixty-eight percent of respondents say it is a good time to buy a home (down by 1 percentage point since last month), and just 10 percent say it is a good time to sell, which is unchanged from the previous two months.
• On average, Americans expect home rental prices to increase by 3.2 percent over the next year, a 0.1 percent decrease from October.
• Just 6 percent expect a decline in home rental prices (unchanged since last month), while 41 percent of respondents believe that home rental prices will increase in the next 12 months.
• Thirty-two percent of Americans say they would rent their next home, while 63 percent say they would buy, down 3 percentage points since last month and a return to the level seen.

For more information, visit www.realestateeconomywatch.com.