Thursday, March 27, 2014

Market Matters

Spring Home Buying Season Starts Outside Polar Vortex
Source: Investor’s Business Daily

The spring home buying season, typically the busiest of the year, is now under way, and activity is brisk in many markets. Geoff McIntosh, managing broker and co-owner of Main Street REALTORS®, said, “We continue to see an extremely active marketplace. We've had a lot of pent-up demand and incredibly short inventory.” McIntosh is treasurer of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
Read the full story
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Why You Can’t Find That Home For Sale on Zillow or Trulia
Source: Seattle PI
 
According to a recent study, large website portals have fewer real listings and display far more duplicates and expired listings. Consumers who rely solely on these avenues for listings are missing a huge portion of the market.
Read the full story
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Why a boost in pickup truck sales means the housing market is in for good news
Source: Washington Post

Reportedly, there is a strong correlation between the real estate market and auto sales, particularly the pickup truck since they are related to the construction industry. With an increase in home building activity, more workers buy pickup trucks when they are hired by construction companies.
Read the full story
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Obama administration says housing agency won't need Treasury aid
Source: Reuters
 
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has adequate reserves and will not need a second subsidy, according to the most recent budget proposal from the White House. When the fiscal year closed on September 30, the agency ended up drawing $1.7 billion in aid from the Treasury to shore up its finances.
Read the full story
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Monday, March 24, 2014

Newsline

Home Prices Lose Momentum 
Data through December 2013, released by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, showed that national home prices closed the year of 2013 up 11.3 percent. This represents a slight improvement over last quarter’s annual rate of 11.2 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2013, the National Index declined 0.3 percent.  
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In December, the 10-City Composite remained relatively unchanged while the 20-City Composite showed its second consecutive monthly decline of 0.1 percent. Year-over-year, the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted gains of 13.6 percent and 13.4 percent, approximately 30 basis points lower than their November rates. 
More info
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Pending home sales reverse two-month declineWith the statewide housing inventory slowly improving, California pending home sales picked up steam in January and reversed a two-month decline, but pending sales were still down from a year ago, C.A.R. reported.

California pending home sales posted higher in January, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) jumping 22.9 percent in January to reach 84.8, up from a revised index of 68.9 in December, based on signed contracts.  Pending sales were down 17.5 percent from the revised 102.8 index recorded in January 2013.  The year-over-year decline was the fifth straight annual double-digit drop in the PHSI.  Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market. 

January saw an increase in active listings across all property types, especially in equity properties, which helped to improve housing supply conditions.  The Unsold Inventory Index for equity sales climbed from 3 months in December to 4.4 months in January.  The supply of REOs rose from 2.8 months in December to 3.2 months in January, and the supply of short sales increased from 3.2 months in December to 4.6 months in January.
More info

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Mortgage Rate Update

30 Year Fixed up to $417,000 4.125% to 4.50%
30 Year Fixed “Agency” up to $625,500 4.375% to 4.625%
30 Year Fixed FHA up to $417,000 3.75% to 4.25%
30 Year Fixed FHA “Jumbo” up to $729,500 3.875% to 4.25%

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Market Matters

U.S. Home Sellers Return for Spring as Buyers Get Relief
Source: Bloomberg

As the housing market’s busiest season approaches, escalating values are spurring more listings as homeowners regain equity lost in the worst crash since the 1930s. With more sellers looking to cash in on rising prices, would-be buyers likely will have more choice and therefore, relief from the bidding wars of last year.
Read the full story
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If investors bail on housing, what then?
Source: CNBC
 
After the housing crash, investors bought thousands of distressed properties with billions of dollars in cash. It is estimated that institutional investors have purchased well over 100,000 homes, but some experts are concerned that if investors pull out of the housing market this year, there could be a "significant" or "somewhat significant" impact on the markets.
Read the full story

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Finding ways to help young adults make their first home purchases
Source: LA Times
Stricter mortgage underwriting standards, higher unemployment, and heavy student debt are among the key factors that stand in the way of many potential buyers in their 20s and 30s. But first-time home buyers in this age group may be able to turn to effective techniques that family members, friends, and even employers can use to bridge the generational gap by offering a helping hand.
Making sense of the story
  • Americans who were 30 to 34 in 2012 had the lowest homeownership rate of any similarly aged group in recent decades at 47.9 percent.
  • In comparison, Americans born between 1948 and 1957 had a 57.1 percent ownership rate by the time they hit the 30-to-34 bracket. This is despite record low mortgage rates and bargain-priced foreclosures and short sales.
  • A new federal rule imposing a 43 percent maximum debt-to-income ratio for "qualified mortgages" is particularly difficult for younger buyers with high student debt. Student debts average $21,402 but can balloon as high as six figures.
  • According to one industry estimate, 27 percent of first-time buyers last year received gift money from relatives to help defray the down payment and closing costs.
  • With professional help, some family members are providing either second mortgages or first mortgages, and properly structured, these loans provide annual returns to family members well in excess of money-market funds or bank deposits.
  • Money provided as a loan cannot be disguised as a loan. If the money is a gift, there needs to be a formal letter making the purpose of the gift explicit and the specific transaction for which it is to be used. Documentation is also needed to attribute the source of the funds and the capacity of the gift giver to provide the money.
Read the full story

Monday, March 10, 2014

Interest Rate Update

Interest rates have eased down a tiny bit over the last few weeks. Some “experts” say rates could dip down again for a short period of time to keep the housing market moving.
2014 Housing Outlook
Freddie Mac just released their 2014 housing outlook and it seems pretty positive. They indi-cate that continued softness in the labor market and a sluggish economy will help keep home prices in check but that housing demand is expected to remain strong. They also indicated that interest rates should remain where they are and could even ease a bit depending on future eco-nomic reports.
How Does This Affect You ?
One always needs to remember that most of the reports that come out are national reports for the entire country. The last month has seen the Midwest and East hammered with bad weather which will cause a slowdown in housing. In out little area of paradise we are still seeing a lack of inventory. I have a whole drawer full of pre-approved buyers that are having trouble getting their offers accepted. As the year moves along I believe inventory will increase, rates will re-main low, and demand will remain strong. Good news for the long term.
30 Year Fixed up to $417,000
4.125% to 4.50%
30 Year Fixed “Agency” up to $625,500
4.375% to 4.625%
30 Year Fixed FHA up to $417,000
3.75% to 4.25%
30 Year Fixed FHA “Jumbo” up to $729,500
3.875% to 4.25%

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Want to Sell Your Home? The Spring Selling Season May Be Coming Early This Year

If you're considering selling your home in 2014, now is the time to get ready. Not next month, not next week, not tomorrow. Right now.
Why? Because buyers are already on the hunt.
The Internet is the new curb appealLast month will likely be remembered for polar vortexes, widespread snow, and historic traffic jams. Lost in the shuffle is that while American's were sitting inside trying to stay warm, they were looking at houses for sale on the Internet. 
Experian Marketing Services released its monthly most visited real estate website rankings earlier this week for web traffic in January. The results are eye popping.
Web traffic to real estate websites was up 25% from December to 364 million visits. Zillow(NASDAQ: Z  ) led the way with over 57 million visits and Trulia (NYSE: TRLA  ) limped into second at over 30 million visits.
If you're considering selling and your home is not yet online, then every day you're missing out on thousands (or even millions) of potential buyers viewing your home. 
Even more incentive for buyersSpring is coming, and that is certainly driving a lot of the interest in homes currently listed for sale. But there are other factors at play.
Mortgage rates have declined over the past month and are currently trending back toward 4% for traditionally structured, well qualified loans. This is a significant development for buyers, as interest rates are a huge driver of home affordability.
For example, a traditional 30 year, $150,000 mortgage at 4.5% would have a monthly payment of $760. If rates declined to 4.25%, the payment would change to $738.
For borrowers on the edge of qualifying for a mortgage, that $22 per month savings could make the difference between getting a loan approval or not. Over the life of the loan, that 0.25% difference saves the borrower $7,963!
For buyers, the time is now!Buy low and sell high, right? For buyers, the time to buy low is quickly ending, creating a sense of urgency to buy now before prices rise too high or interest rates return to more historically normal levels.
According to CoreLogic and reported by Realtor.org, home prices in 2013 saw the largest percentage increase across the board since 2005, north of 11% as of December. The appreciation was most pronounced in the states that were hit hardest in the real estate collapse: Nevada rose 23.9%, California 19.7%, and Michigan 14% rounding out the top three.
Buyers are ready. Are you?The spring selling season will be in full swing sooner than you think. Rates are low, there is urgency to buy now, and buyers are already coming out of their winter slumber. If you're planning to sell you home in 2014, you need to be ready now. Don't miss out on the perfect, well qualified buyer because you waited a moment too long.

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