By Dennis Norman, on April 24th, 2013 The housing market continues to show signs that a recovery is underway with today’s report from LPS showing that mortgage delinquencies in March 2013 fell 3.13 percent from the month before and were down 3.03 percent from a year ago, according to a report just released by LPS. The foreclosure inventory rate fell slightly (0.41 percent) from the month before but was down almost 20 percent (19.61)from a year ago.
Almost all the data on the housing market, including the St Louis housing market, has been encouraging lately and pointing toward signs that a recovery is underway. Woo hoo!
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By Dennis Norman, on April 19th, 2013 FICO Survey Shows Bankers Are More Optimistic About Housing Market
Most bankers surveyed (83.7 percent) in FICO’s first quarter 2013 survey, said they felt mortgage delinquencies would decline, or at worst stay the same, during the next 6 months. Additionally, 70.8 percent of the bankers feel home prices are rising at a sustainable pace.
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Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Housing Boom Era Type Home Buying Tactics Reappearing in St Louis Real Estate Market
During the home buying frenzy of the housing boom, which peaked in 2006, it was common to see home buyers, in an effort to beat out other buyers fighting for the same home, include price escalation clauses in their offers and make “naked” (contingency-free) offers. It was also common for a seller to purposely price their home low in an effort to rein in multiple buyers and pit them against each other in a bidding war. We are Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Home Prices Nationwide Shooting Up Faster Than Anyone Thought Possible Not Long Ago
The US housing market has broken out of a deep slump, and prices are shooting up faster than anyone thought possible a year ago.
Prices of existing homes rose 10% in February nationally from a year ago. What is causing this increase?
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Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Free Credit Scores are Not Part of the Free Annual Credit Report Consumers Currently Receive
Consumers currently have the right to request their free credit report once a year, but a credit report does not include free credit scores. These two items are often confused to be the same, which they are not.
You generally must pay to see your credit score. It’s a three-digit grade that predicts how risky you are to a lender.
Earlier this month, bills were introduced in the House and Senate to allow all consumers Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 28th, 2013 St Louis Foreclosures Are On The Decline
The inventory of St Louis foreclosures in February was down 0.5 percent from February 2012, according to a report from Corelogic. The decline is modest, but is still good news for our St. Louis market. There were 10,733 St Louis foreclosures completed in the 12 month period ending February 2013, the 12th highest number of the major metro areas in the U.S. covered by the Corelogic report, as shown in the table below.
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By Diana Davis, on March 21st, 2013 Making Sense of Confusing Real Estate Terms
If you are buying, selling or refinancing a home you will come across real estate terms and industry lingo that may sound foreign to you. To help address this issue, below you will find definitions for the most common real estate terms that you are likely to come across when buying, selling or refinancing a home. If you have other questions about title insurance, or the role of the title company in these transactions, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help.
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By News Desk, on March 12th, 2013 Attorney General Chris Koster today filed a lawsuit against two related businesses that purported to provide loan modification and mortgage relief to desperate homeowners. Koster’s suit is against Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, LLC and Mortgage Law Group, LLC, as well as the companies’ managing partner, Jason Edward Searns; senior partner, Thomas Macey; and senior partner, Jeffery Aleman. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 7th, 2013 Nationwide 30-year fixed mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level of the last five weeks according to last week’s rate survey conducted by Bankrate.com. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 5th, 2013 homeowners should be aware that no one other than your present lender can guarantee any form of mortgage relief. Below are six (6) warning signs to look for that may indicate you are dealing with a loan modification scammer: Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 27th, 2013 The St. Louis foreclosure rate declined in December 2012 to 1.29 percent of outstanding home loans, a 25 percent drop from a year ago when the foreclosure rate was 1.72 percent, according to a newly released report from Corelogic. In addition, the St. Louis mortgage delinquency rate for December was 4.39 percent, down 12.5 percent from the year before when 5.02 percent of the outstanding St. Louis home loans were 90 days or more delinquent. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 27th, 2013 It is more important now than ever, as a result of increasing regulation and scrutiny of the mortgage industry, to plan ahead when you are planning on obtaining a mortgage loan to buy a house or refinance an existing loan to ensure that the process will go smoothly and as expected. Your loan approval is subject to the financial information you provide at the time of your loan approval. Any subsequent changes in your financial situation before the actual date of closing could jeopardize your loan approval and delay your closing. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 25th, 2013 More than half (52 percent) of current renters said they anticipate buying a home in the next five years, according to a survey conducted by ORC International. Tenants with children under 13 are most likely to buy a home with 69 percent of them responding that they anticipate becoming a homeowner in the next five years followed by single family tenants in general, with 60 percent of those tenants anticipating buying a home and just 44 percent of apartment renters planning on buying a home within five years. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 23rd, 2013 There were 23,348 fewer St. Louis homeowners underwater on their mortgage (owe more than the current value of their home) or, in other words are in a “negative equity” position, at the end of 2012 than there were at the beginning of the year, according to the Zillow® Negative Equity Report for 4th quarter 2012. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 20th, 2013 Conventional loans are traditional home mortgages used for primary residence, second homes or investment purposes. There are standard underwriting guidelines for conventional conforming loans up to $417,000. These loans are available as a fixed or variable (ARM) rate with a variety of repayment terms. Borrowers typically have the means for a down payment and good credit histories (680 or higher). Private Mortgage Insurance is required for loan to values greater than 80%. Used for primary residence, second homes or investment purposes Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 13th, 2013 “Nobody ‘wants’ to pay PMI, it’s just that we have no choice, especially if you want to buy a house and don’t have say an extra $50k to $80k lying around for a down payment, which most first-time buyers don’t.” Chris Durst, a first-time homebuyer and commenter on Investopedia.com. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 8th, 2013 Missourians have received more than $112 million of mortgage relief as a result of the National Mortgage Settlement reached a year ago with the nations largest lenders, according to Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster. Koster, along with Attorney Generals from other states, sent a letter to Congress last November urging them to extend a measure that was due to expire at the end of 2012 that would provide tax relief for some people receiving mortgage relief in the form of principal reduction and short sales. January 1, 2013, Congress passed the extension as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 7th, 2013 Forty-one percent of the respondents to the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for January 2013 said they expect home prices to rise in the next 12 months which is down slightly from 43 percent last month but up significantly from a year ago when only 30 percent felt home prices would rise. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 6th, 2013 FHA Interest Rate Change: MHDC’s Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) is now 4%! (APR 4.93) MHDC is raising mortgage interest rates offered to first-time homebuyers. First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 4th, 2013 A survey conducted by Prudential Real Estate revealed that 75 percent of Americans associate owning a home with the “American Dream” and 96 percent feel home ownership is important and 77 percent of the 25-34 year olds feel home ownership is VERY important. The top reasons given for wanting to own a home include to control their living space, safety and for the investment aspect of it. Interestingly, tax benefits, such as the mortgage interest deduction that REALTORS® have fought to preserve for years, finished a distant 6th on the list of reasons. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 3rd, 2013 There are fewer people losing their homes in foreclosure today than there were during the peak of the foreclosure crisis after the real estate market crash, however we still have a long way to go until we will see a “normal” number of foreclosures. According to a report released today by Corelogic, there were 767,000 homes foreclosed on in the U.S. during 2012, down almost 11 percent from the total for 2011, so a definite improvement, however, this is still three-times the “normal” number of foreclosures before the real estate market crash. From the period of 2000 – 2006, there were an average of 252,000 homes foreclosed on per year. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on January 30th, 2013 Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol Galante recently announced a series of changes to be issued that will allow the agency to better manage risk and further strengthen the health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMI).
FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium for most new mortgages by 10 basis points, or 0.10%. The FHA will also require most borrowers to continue paying annual premiums for the life of their mortgage loan.
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By Dennis Norman, on January 29th, 2013 The St. Louis foreclosure rate in November 2012 was 1.27 percent of all outstanding home mortgages, a decrease of 26.6 percent from a year before when the rate was 1.73 percent, according to a report just released by Corelogic. Foreclosure rates in St. Louis were well above the national foreclosure rate for November 2012 of 2.97 percent. In addition, mortgage delinquency rates declined in November 2012 as well falling to 4.39 percent of all mortgage loans (90 days + delinquent), down from 5.00 percent in November 2011. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on January 23rd, 2013 As part of the fiscal cliff deal, Congress extended the cancellation of mortgage debt relief provision for 1 year, through the end of 2013. It seems there is little focus on the importance of this law, it is crucial to foreclosure mitigation efforts such as principal forgiveness and short sales. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 18th, 2013 Rising home prices helped 100,000 homeowners in the U.S. crawl out of a negative equity position during the 3rd quarter of 2012, according to a report just released by CoreLogic®. During the first nine months of 2012, there were a total of 1.4 million homeowners that found themselves moving from a negative equity position on their homes to a positive equity position. In spite of this vast improvement, twenty two percent of homeowners in the U.S. with a mortgage owe more on their homes than they are currently worth. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 14th, 2013 The foreclosure inventory in the U.S. dropped to 3.51 percent in November, a decline of 2.84 percent from the month before, according to the November Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services. This trend may not continue though as, during the same period, the mortgage delinquency rate (the precursor to foreclosures) increased 1.2 percent from the month before and has increased 3.7 percent since August. Continue Reading →
By Peter Wright, on January 11th, 2013 So…you are looking to buy a home in 2013 and are considering using a FHA mortgage for financing…don’t delay, because that FHA mortgage could end up costing more very soon. HR 4264 or The Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012 is a bill that has overwhelmingly passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. This bill among other things grants FHA the power to raise its mortgage insurance premiums to as high as 2.05% annually — nearly twice the 1.20% rate most FHA-Insured homeowners currently pay today. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on January 9th, 2013 Mortgage Interest Tax Deductibility passed as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. This allows MI to be tax deductible for 2012 and 2013. The provision extends the ability to deduct the cost of mortgage insurance on a qualified personal residence. The deduction is phased-out by 10% for each $1,000 by which the taxpayer’s AGI exceeds $100,000. Thus, the deduction is unavailable for a taxpayer with an AGI in excess of $110,000. The bill extends this provision for two additional years, through 2013. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 7th, 2013 dennis-norman-realtorIf you have tried to buy a rental property lately in St. Louis then you have discovered you are not alone and the competition for good rental property is quite intense. The reason is simple, experienced investors as well as new ones see real estate as a safe investment and, in many ways, a much better alternative to other investments. Part of the reason for this is the demand for rental housing, brought on as a result of many former homeowners that have been forced, or have chosen, to rent instead of own and “would-be” homeowners that are unable to meet tougher requirements for mortgages thereby forced to remain tenants. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on January 3rd, 2013 Fannie Mae has declared that housing is finally providing a tailwind to economic growth. The company’s December Economic and Strategic Report says that the market “has turned the corner and a sustained recovery is under way.” Looking into 2013, economists predict mortgage originations will increase by 15% while refinance volume is expected to fall 26%. Continue Reading →
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