According to a report released by RealtyTrac, foreclosure homes accounted for 25 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2010 and that the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure was more than 32 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process — up from a 26 percent discount in the previous quarter and a 29 percent discount in the third quarter of 2009.
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Freddie Mac announced today it has ordered all evictions involving foreclosed occupied single family and 2-4 unit properties that had Freddie Mac mortgages to be suspended from December 20, 2010 to January 3, 2011. A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in September of 1.57 percent, and increase of over 25 percent (25.6%) from a year ago, and an increase of a little over 3 percent from the month before. The national foreclosure rate in September was 3.29 percent, a slight increase from 3.20 percent the month before. Dennis Norman This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for the third quarter or this year was released showing home prices declined 2.0 percent in the third quarter after having risen 4.7 percent in the second quarter. Nationally, home prices are 1.5 percent below where they were a year ago. In September, 18 of the 20 metro areas covered by the report had declines in the home price index. Homeowners will be protected by a new Federal Trade Commission rule that bans providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable. After surging in the second quarter, mortgage fraud case activity sank in the third quarter based on the Third Quarter 2010 Mortgage Fraud Index from Mortgage Daily. The Mortgage Fraud Index came in at 1007 during the third quarter – falling 41 percent from the second quarter. The index hasn’t been this low since the first quarter 2008, when it was just 713. Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for October 2010 showing a decrease of 8.1 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 28.5 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for October was 283,000 homes, a 8.1 percent decrease from Septbmer’s rate of 308,000 homes. The supply of new homes on the market increase from an adjusted 7.9 month supply in September to a 8.6 month supply in October. The median new home price decreased for the month to $194,900 from $226,300 the Continue Reading → How much interest can you save by increasing your mortgage payment? Check out the link below and the financial calculator will help you determine your savings. Click the “View Report” button to see a complete amortization payment schedule, and how much you can save on your mortgage! Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in October were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.43 million units which is a decrease of 2.2 percent from September and is a decline of 25.9 percent from a year ago. On the heels of the post I just did on shadow inventory, it is good to see a positive report on mortgage delinquencies! According to a report issued by TransUnion, mortgage loan delinquencies in the third quarter of this year declined 3.45 percent to 6.44 percent, marking the largest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2006. A report released today by CoreLogic shows that, while the overall inventory of homes for sale has remained the same in the past year at 4.2 million new and existing homes for sale as of August, the number of homes in “shadow inventory” has grown from 6.1 million a year before to 6.3 million as of August, 2010. According the to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the largest obstacles to the recovery of the housing market are job creation and the availability of credit. At their board meeting last week, NAR approved a credit polity to urge the mortgage lending industry to “reassess and amend their policies so more qualified home buyers can become home owners.” According to a survey just released by Transunion, Landlord’s and Property managers appear to be making it through the Great Recession and are seeing improvement in the market from their perspective. In fact, seven out of 10 property managers said their rental properties have no vacancies, an increase of almost 17 percent from a year ago. Only 39 percent of respondents said they’re having difficulty finding residents in today’s economic climate. Additionally, more than 3 out of 4 respondents (76 percent) said rental prices have either remained the same or increased since last year. The “robo-signing” scandal that has exposed illegal practices by servicers of mortgage loans has also showed the urgent need to reform a broken system that is plagued with abuses, lacks adequate resources and has pushed countless homeowners toward foreclosure. That’s the message that Diane Thompson, a lawyer for the National Consumer Law Center, delivered in testimony earlier this week to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Obtaining a mortgage to buy a home, or to refinance an existing mortgage, can sometimes be a little intimidating to borrowers, but it needn’t be. Granted, this is something the typical person only does every few years at most and regulations continually change the process, but that’s where lenders such as myself come in to the picture, to provide you the info you need and to guide you through the process. The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for October 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and a small decrease in new home starts compared to the month before. Price Reductions Surpass Highest Historical Levels in 15 U.S. Cities, Remain Flat Nationwide According to a report released this morning by Trulia.com, 27 percent of the homes for sale in November have experienced at least one price cut. Following four-consecutive months of increases, this rate has now flattened out nationwide. However, locally the story is different as 15 major cities hit an all-time high for price reductions in November. “Price reduction increases in many large U.S. cities can be attributed to the basic principle of supply and demand –– on that score, buyers clearly have the advantage this Continue Reading → A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, is somewhat encouraging as it shows the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for October was 9.29 percent and, while that is a terribly high rate, it is just barely higher than Septembers’ rate of 9.27 percent. Mortgage delinquencies are a “leading indicator” of foreclosures, so perhaps that means we are getting close to the foreclosure activity leveling off. Last week the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (the group that is supposed to figure out how to rescue our country out of the financial quicksand it’s in) issued a draft proposal of a plan the committee says “will make America better off tomorrow than it is today”. In addition to such enlightening statements such as “America cannot be great if we go broke” the report outlines a plan that makes five basic recommendations: Speaking at the National Consumer Law Center’s Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Boston, Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin delivered some sobering news about the Fed Reserve’s expectations for the housing market. Raskin discussed how foreclosures on residential properties soared from about one million in 2006, the “peak of the boom”, to 2.8 million last year. There were 1.2 million foreclosure filings in just the first half of 2010 and, right now, nearly five million loans are somewhere in the foreclosure process or are 90 days or more past due. Raskin said “our projections remain very grim for Continue Reading → Dennis Norman A study by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC shows that this fall as parents said goodbye to their college-bound kids, fewer of those kids were heading to dorms or apartments that are typically associated with college housing but instead will be heading to homes their parents bought for them to live in. In fact, 64 percent of real estate professionals in college towns surveyed said they had seen a significant number of “parent investors” buying homes for their kids to live in while attending college. Can I own real estate within my IRA? With investment property priced to move, some IRA owners are buying actual real estate properties. Did you know you could do that? Most people don’t. Not everyone can do it; not everyone should do it. However, some people are doing it – particularly high net worth IRA owners who see great deals in a buyer’s market. Percentage of Homeowners Underwater Reaches New Peak; Length and Depth of Housing Downturn Approach Depression-Era Declines According to Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports for 3rd Quarter 2010… The United States housing market continued its long decline in the third quarter with home values falling for the 17th consecutive quarter, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. With home values 25 percent below their June 2006 peak, the current housing downturn is approaching Great Depression-era declines, when home values fell 25.9 percent in five years. Conventional Loan Programs 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. Time is running out to take advantage of two tax credit programs that are a result of the expanded recovery act: The “Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit” and “Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit” programs both offer homeowners the opportunity to receive tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades, but the programs end this year. The National Association of Realtors® announced that it “strongly supports” the proposed guidance from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to prevent government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks from investing in mortgages encumbered by private transfer fee covenants. In a letter sent to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), NAR reiterated its opposition to these covenants, which developers often attach to a property to require payment of fees back to that developer each time the property is resold. These covenanted mandates are often extremely difficult to reverse once in place, and in many Continue Reading → Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS® just released their 2010 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers which shows that people still look at home ownership as a good long-term investment and the typical seller is experiencing positive returns from home ownership. Dennis Norman At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans today, “a slow, steady recovery” was predicted for the housing market despite ongoing challenges. Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist, said that he expects “continuing improvement of underlying fundamentals of the current market in coming years.” Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 1.8 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 24.9 percent decrease from a year ago. Five questions every potential buyer should ask when deciding whether to rent or buy a home First time homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer when making the decision to rent or buy a home: interest rates are at all-time lows, there’s still plenty of housing stock and prices are at or near their lowest in years. Still, deciding whether to buy a home or rent an apartment can be a complicated decision. How do you know what’s right for you? Potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision. |
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