After the problems we have seen over the past few of years in the real estate, mortgage and banking industries, it is not surprising we have seen significant changes brought about which makes it more challenging for a home-buyer to obtain a mortgage. Some of the changes borrowers see when they attempt to obtain a mortgage to buy a home or refinance their existing mortgage include:
The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for October shows an increase of 10.4 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 9.2 percent increase from a year ago. This is the first time in four months that the index has increased and marks the highest level the index has achieved since April 2010 when it was at 110.9. Continue Reading →
A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 17.10 percent (96,986) of all St. Louis homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the third quarter of 2011, down slightly from 17.30 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and refers to homeowners that owe more on their mortgages than the current value of their home.
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for October 2011 showing an increase of 1.3 percent from the month before, and an increase of 8.9 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for October was 307,000 homes, up from an adjusted rate of 303,000 homes the month before (originally reported at 313,000 homes). Unfortunately, even with the increase in the rate of new home sales, the current rate of new home sales is still on track to make 2011 new home sales the lowest since the Commerce Department began keeping track of sales in 1963. Continue Reading →
ST. LOUIS, MO—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the guilty plea of Matthew Kent, vice president and co-operator of Coral Mortgage Bankers Corporation’s University City office. According to court documents, between May 2007 and December 31, 2010, Kent, his partner in Coral Mortgage David Rubin, and Joshua Gould, formerly of Woodbury Financial, embezzled approximately $1,500,000 from a retired individual solicited by Rubin to provide funds for operating capital for Coral’s St. Louis operations. The individual was assured that the funds would not be spent, would be held in a secure trust account, used only as collateral for Coral’s operations, and that the individual would receive regular interest payments. Between May 2007 and December 2008, the client provided Rubin and Kent approximately $1,200,000 from his and his wife’s life savings. Despite Continue Reading →
St Louis Real Estate market update for November 25, 2011 produced by St Louis REALTOR, MORE, REALTORS. Continue Reading →
Today’s metro area home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows St. Louis metro area home sales in October increased 7.8 percent from a year ago while St. Louis home prices declined in October 0.8 percent from the year before. I took a little closer look at the St. Louis real estate market, focusing on what I call the five “core” counties; St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin and the City of St Louis, and found that home sales increased in October 13.5 percent from a year ago, and home prices declined 2.1 percent from the year before. Continue Reading →
Weekly I produce a short video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market is and where it is headed Continue Reading →
Over the past few years many people that had never faced financial trouble found themselves in foreclosure, doing a short-sale or deed in lieu or filing bankruptcy as a result of the burst of the housing bubble, record unemployment and a weak economy in general. People in this situation, many of whom were homeowners for years, were forced to lived with relatives or friends, or rent until they were able to get through their financial crisis. Now, many of these folks have been able to get back on their feet and want to buy a home again but don’t know when, or if they will be able to get a home loan again due to their past. Continue Reading →
The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for October 2011 showing an increase in single-family home building permits from the month before of 5.1percent and a 3.9 percent increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Continue Reading →
Conventional loans are traditional home mortgages, not backed by any government program of insurance or guarantee. There are standard underwriting guidelines for conventional conforming loans up to $417,000. These loans can carry fixed or variable (ARM) rates and a variety of repayment terms can be tailored to your individual needs. Buyers will need cash reserves/savings to cover two months of payments and generally, there is not a penalty for prepayment. Continue Reading →
As a member of the title industry, I often see buyers decline to purchase a survey on their new home in an effort to save money. This decision may be penny wise but pound foolish! Buyers should understand that unless they purchase a boundary survey (also referred to as a stake survey) they are not receiving coverage from the title company that the house and its improvements are sitting within the boundaries of the property they are purchasing. Continue Reading →
Weekly I produce a short video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market is and where it is headed Continue Reading →
St. Louis foreclosure activity decreased during October by 9.27 percent from the prior month and decreased by 40.41 percent from October 2010, according to RealtyTrac’s foreclosure market report that was just released. As the chart below depicts, of the sixteen counties in the St. Louis metro area that had foreclosure activity during the month, eight saw an increase from the month before, 7 a decrease and one remained the same. Ten of the counties saw a decrease from the year before with only five seeing an increase from the year before. Continue Reading →
As the mortgage industry continues to adjust to new financial regulations, it is more important than ever to ensure that the financing of your new home goes smoothly. 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 →
The median St. Louis metro home price in third quarter was $131,700, up 2.0 percent from 2nd quarter, but down 2.7 percent from a year ago, according to a report by the National Association of REALTORS. Home prices in the St. Louis metro area fared better during 3rd quarter than the U.S. as a whole which saw prices increase only .2 percent from the prior quarter and were down 4.7 percent from a year ago. Continue Reading →
This morning, Trans Union released a report showing the national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased to 5.88 percent (from 5.82 percent in the 2nd quarter) during the third quarter of 2011, after falling in the previous quarter by the largest rate in two years. This is the first time mortgage delinquency rates have increased since the end of 2009. Continue Reading →
St. Louis home prices have declined at a higher rate in September than the U.S. average. A report released this morning by CoreLogic, one of the nations leading providers of property information shows that U.S. home prices in September declined 4.4 percent from the year before and by 1.1 percent from the month before however, St. Louis home prices (the five-county “core” of St Louis City, St Louis County, St. Charles County, Franklin County and Jefferson County) declined 7.3 percent in September from the month before and were down 8.1 percent from the year before. Continue Reading →
Weekly I produce a short video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market is and where Continue Reading →
With the challenging economy we’ve faced over the past few years, not everyone has perfect credit. People have been putting more of their debt on credit cards, which in turn affects your credit rating. If you have less than perfect credit, you can make it better with a little effort on paying down your cards. Continue Reading →
The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for September shows consumers in the U.S. remain someone pessimistic about home prices, however over two-thirds (68 percent) of American’s surveyed said they thought now was a good time to buy a home and 63 percent said if they were going to move now they would buy a home. Continue Reading →
A Clayton developer pled guilty in U.S. District Court on October 27, 2011, for his role in the failed Bowman Estates construction project, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Harold Rosen, age 80, was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 21, 2011, for attempting to obtain more than $1.9 million of public financing under false pretenses. Continue Reading →
Weekly I produce a short video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market is and where it is headed. Continue Reading →
A common complaint that consumers have regarding today’s mortgage loan origination process has to do with all of the hoops they have to jump through in order to get a loan. Personally, as a loan officer, I try to be as thorough as possible going into the application as possible to avoid the last minute chase. After each deal closed, I review the process and question whether I prepared my clients for all that they needed to have or do in order to get the loan approved and closed. I will be the first to admit, I am not perfect. Continue Reading →
The St Louis foreclosure rates was 1.67 percent for August 2011, up from 1.64 percent the month before and up from August 2010 when the rate was 1.53 percent, according to a newly released data from CoreLogic. As usual, the St Louis foreclosure rate is significantly lower than the national foreclosure rate, which was 3.43 percent for July 2011. Continue Reading →
The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 4.6 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 6.4 percent increase from a year ago. This is the third consecutive month the index has decreased from the month before and, and the year over year numbers continue to show decline in the rate of improvement from last year. Continue Reading →
This morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for August was released showing US home prices increased for the fifth consecutive month. Both the 20-city composite and 10-city composite home price index increased by 0.2 percent from the month before. The 10 city composite home price index was down 3.5 percent from a year ago and the 20-city composite was down 3.8 percent from a year ago. Continue Reading →
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced it eased the requirements as well as extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to December 31, 2013 from the current expiration date for the program of June 30, 2012. According to FHFA, as of August 31, 2011, nearly 894,000 borrowers have been refinanced through HARP and they (FHFA) feel easing the requirements will make it possible for many additional borrowers to refinance as well. Continue Reading →
The “first-look” report from Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies decreased 0.5 percent in September from the month before and decreased 12.7 percent from the year before. On the other hand, and perhaps part of the reason for the decline in the delinquency rate, the foreclosure rate increased in September by 1.7 percent from the prior month and was up 8.9 percent from the year before. Continue Reading →
Between interest rates falling to record lows and home prices falling back to levels from 8 years ago, the housing market is starting to look like a very attractive investment opportunity. Continue Reading →