By News Desk, on May 25th, 2012
But Negative Equity is a Paper Loss for Most, As 90% of Underwater Homeowners Pay Mortgage on Time
Nearly one-third (31.4 percent) of U.S. homeowners with mortgages – or 15.7 million – were underwater on their mortgage in the first quarter of 2012, despite rising home values, according to the first quarter Zillow® Negative Equity Report[1]. Collectively, underwater homeowners owed $1.2 trillion more than their homes were worth. Negative equity rose slightly from 31.1 percent in the fourth quarter, and declined from 32.4 percent one year ago.
Continue reading “Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More than Homes’ Worth“
By Dennis Norman, on May 25th, 2012  Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for April 2012 showing an increase of 3.3 percent from the month before, and an increase of 9.9 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for April was 343,000 homes, up from a revised rate of 332,000 homes the month before. The supply of new homes on the market decreased to a 5.1 month supply from a revised 5.2 months the month before. The median new home price increased slightly to $235,700 from a revised median price of $234,000 the month before and increased 4.4 percentfrom a year ago when the median new home price was $224,700.
To see new homes for sale in the St Louis area click here.
Continue reading “New home sales and prices on the rise in April“
By Robert Fishel, on May 23rd, 2012 
Fannie Mae’s April 2012 National Housing Survey indicates consumer attitudes toward homeownership, the economy, personal finances, and home prices continuing to improve.
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
The Economy and Household Finances Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; Fannie Mae’s Latest Housing Survey“
By Dennis Norman, on May 22nd, 2012 
The mortgage delinquency rate (the percentage of home loans 30 or more days past due) increased in April 0.4 percent from the month before according to the latest “First Watch Report” from Lenders Processing Services (LPS). While this is a modest increase, it temporarily reverses the trend we have seen for the past 9 months of declining mortgage delinquency rates. The mortgage delinquency rate in April, at 7.12 percent of all loans, is down 10.6 percent from a year ago however. The foreclosure rate for April was 4.14 percent, the same as the month before as well as the year before so, at least the foreclosure rate is remaining flat and not increasing. Continue reading “Mortgage delinquencies increase in April; first increase in nine months“
By Dennis Norman, on May 16th, 2012  According to a new report, The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand, by The Demand Institute, average home prices will increase by up to 1 percent in the second half of 2012. By 2014, home prices will increase by as much as 2.5 percent. From 2015 to 2017, the study projects annual increases between 3 and 4 percent. Since the real estate market is very local, it is not surprising that the report says this recovery will not be uniform across the country, and the strongest markets could capture average gains of 5 percent or more in the coming years. Continue reading “Report says housing market recovery to be led by demand by investors for rental property“
By Robert Fishel, on May 16th, 2012
By committing to a mortgage loan, the borrower is entering into a financial agreement with a lender to pay back the mortgage money, with interest, over a set period of time. The borrower’s monthly mortgage payment may change over time depending on the type of loan (Fixed, ARM, Interest Only, etc.). However, for this article, we will address the typical 30 year fixed Principal and Interest loan program. So…
Once the loan closes, over the next 360 months, the borrower will pay the same amount in Principal + Interest (P + I) each payment. As each month passes and the monthly P+I payment is made, the make up of the P + I will Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; How does amortization work?“
By Dennis Norman, on May 15th, 2012 Before you go getting too excited over my headline, I should point out that, even though Fed Reserve Board Governor Duke’s presentation today at the National Association of REALTORS mid-year meeting in Washington D.C. was titled “Prescriptions for Housing Recovery“, Governor Duke opened her remarks with “I wish I had such a prescription”. She went on to say that it is difficult to think of a single thing that, by itself will generate a sustainable recovery in housing. She did say, however, that she saw some policies that will help reduce the shadow inventory of houses in the foreclosure pipeline as well as improve the availability of financing to potential home buyers.
Continue reading “Fed Reserve Governor Duke on the "Prescriptions for Housing Recovery"“
By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2012 The collapse of the real estate market, along with a down economy has created a fertile environment for fraudsters to attempt to advantage of the many desperate homeowners that are out there. Their methods vary from foreclosure “rescue” schemes, mortgage assistance scams and other scams that generally offer to lower your payments or debt, prevent foreclosure, etc. Below is a list of tips the Department of Justice published this week to help consumers prevent themselves from becoming a victim of fraudsters. Continue reading “How to protect yourself from mortgage fraud“
By Dennis Norman, on May 11th, 2012 More good news on the housing market! The national mortgage delinquency rate (borrowers that are 60 or more days past due) declined for the first 3 months of 2012, coming in at 5.78 percent according to a report issued by TransUnion. This is after increases in the delinquency rate in the prior 2 quarters and is the lowest rate since the 1st quarter of 2009. Continue reading “Mortgage loan delinquencies drop to lowest rate since 2009“
By Robert Fishel, on May 9th, 2012
With interest rates at all time lows, it is worth the few minutes to do a mortgage check up and determine if a refinance would be beneficial to your situation. Since there are many reasons a homeowner may choose to refinance, we’ll take a look at the few most common reasons to consider a refinance. Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; Why Refinance?“
By Robert Fishel, on May 2nd, 2012
Whatever funds the borrower intends to use to close a transaction has to be sourced and seasoned. Providing proper asset documentation and the actual source of the funds is a critical element of the approval and closing process. There’s nothing worse in a real estate purchase than making it all the way through the hoops and hurdles of the approval process just to have a loan fall apart due to the borrower not using an acceptable source of funds in order to close. In other words, “Mattress Money” is no longer a legitimate source. Continue reading “St Louis Mortgage Rate Update; Cash-To-Close must be Seasoned and come from the Proper Source“
By Robert Fishel, on April 25th, 2012
Mortgage Insurance, also know as Private Mortgage Insurance, is required by lenders on conventional home loans if the borrower is financing more than 80% Loan-To-Value.
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) allows borrowers to purchase a property by qualifying for conventional financing with a lower down payment. Private Mortgage Insurance protects your lender against non-payment should you default on your loan. It’s important to understand that the primary and only real purpose for mortgage insurance is to protect your lender—not you. Continue reading “St Louis Mortgage Rate Update; What is Private Mortage Insurance (PMI)?“
By Dennis Norman, on April 24th, 2012 Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data forMarch 2012 showing a decrease of 7.1 percent from the month before, and an increase of 7.5 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for March was 328,000 homes, down from a revised rate of 353,000 homes the month before. It’s worth noting that February’s sales were originally reported by the Commerce Department to be 313,000, so the revision to 353,000 was significant. So, in the end, March may not look so bad either if the revised numbers follow suit with the month before. Continue reading “New home sales and prices slip in March; both still better than a year ago“
By Robert Fishel, on April 18th, 2012
The Federal Housing Administration has announced plans to lower mortgage insurance premiums making it easier for borrowers to take advantage of the current record low interest rates.
Under this program, up-front mortgage insurance premiums will be reduced from 1.75% percent to 0.01 percent of the total loan amount for borrowers with FHA loans made before June 1, 2009. In addition, annual fees will be cut to 0.55 percent from 1.25 percent. This streamlined refinance program is available to borrowers who are current on their payments and may qualify even if they owe more than their homes are worth. Continue reading “St Louis Mortgage Rate Update; FHA Lowers Mortgage Insurance Premiums for loans endorsed before June 1, 2009“
By Dennis Norman, on April 16th, 2012 FICO, a provider of analytics and decision management technology to the banking industry, today announced results from its latest quarterly survey of bank risk professionals which showed that almost half (46 percent) expect the volume of strategic defaults in 2012 to surpass 2011 levels as a result of more than 25 percent of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
“After five years of a brutal housing market, many people now view their homes more objectively and with less sentimentality,” said Dr. Andrew Jennings, chief analytics officer at FICO and head of FICO Labs. “Regardless of legal or ethical issues around strategic defaults, lenders must account for this risk when they evaluate mortgage applications in declining markets. Many homeowners who find themselves upside down on mortgages in the future are likely to consider strategic default as an acceptable exit strategy.” Continue reading “Survey shows banks expect strategic defaults to increase in 2012“
By Robert Fishel, on April 11th, 2012
How can a fully approved loan get denied for funding after the borrower has signed loan docs?
And then it happens. The underwriter runs a new credit report just before closing and it turns out the prospective borrower had run up a credit card balance, buys new furniture/appliances etc. and now the new debt kills the loan.
If you are serious about buying or refinancing a home, be conscientious about your obligations and credit. The following is a quick rundown of issues that come up at the last minute and either delay or kill a closing. Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; It’s not over till it’s over“
By Dennis Norman, on April 9th, 2012 Texas, Washington and New York Have Lowest Interest Rates in the Country
According to the LendingTree Monthly Mortgage Review, average mortgage rates inched up in March, with more borrowers than ever taking advantage of low Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan rates which averaged just 3.85 percent on a 30 year loan, almost 1/2 of one percent less than a conventional mortgage. However, according to the report, this may change soon as a result of the FHA adjusting its loan program guidelines and insurance premium structure which will cause the cost of a loan for future FHA borrowers to most likely increase. Continue reading “Lending Tree says FHA’s change in guidelines may increase mortgage rates“
By Robert Fishel, on April 4th, 2012
The primary indicator of value for residential real estate is comparable sales. The appraiser researches the market to gather information pertaining to sales, listings, pending sales that are similar to the subject property, and verfies this information is correct. The appraiser actually already has a good idea of the property’s value by the time they have scheduled an appointment to stop by the property.
Since the appraisal provides half the weight in any credit decision involving the security of real estate, the appraisal should be done by a qualified, licensed appraiser whom is familiar with your neighborhood, and the type of home you are buying, selling or refinancing. Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; What Appraisers Look For When Determining a Home’s Value?“
By Dennis Norman, on April 3rd, 2012 Foreclosure starts and foreclosure sales were down in February 15 and 19 percent respectively from January according to the latest Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services, Inc. today. The report also showed that mortgage delinquencies continue to decline as well with 7.57 percent of the homes in the U.S. with a mortgage being delinquent which is down 5.0 percent from the month before.
As reported in LPS’ First Look release, other key results from LPS’ latest Mortgage Monitor report include: Continue reading “Foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies drop in February; good news for the real estate market“
By News Desk, on April 2nd, 2012
Attitudes About Homeownership as an Investment, Financial Constraints, and Mortgage Accessibility May Stand in the Way of Americans’ Purchase Decisions
Fannie Mae’s latest quarterly National Housing Survey focuses on the state of homeownership aspirations among Americans across all demographic groups. The survey finds that despite the recent housing crisis, most Americans continue to believe that owning their home is preferable to renting it. The data also indicate that while financial constraints and employment concerns may may be keeping potential homebuyers on the sidelines in the near term, future improvements in employment and personal finances, a pickup in interest rates in response to stronger economic growth, and stabilizing home prices may move Americans to act on their aspirations in coming years. Continue reading “Quarterly National Housing Survey Shows that Americans of All Backgrounds Continue to Have Strong Aspirations to Own a Home“
By Dennis Norman, on March 30th, 2012
 According to a report just released by Homeaway, sales of vacation homes in 2011 reached a four-year high, fueled by the lowest median sales price in eight years, cheap mortgage rates, and the desire for a family retreat. The research found 33 percent of vacation home buyers purchased a vacation property last year primarily because of low real estate prices, while another 30 percent cited the desire for a family retreat. According to data from a National Association of REALTORS survey, the median sales prices for vacation properties at $121,300, putting ownership within greater reach of more consumers. Continue reading “Vacation home sales hit four-year high“
By Dennis Norman, on March 29th, 2012 The St Louis foreclosure rate was 1.7 percent for February 2012, the same rate as a year before according to newly released data from CoreLogic. As usual, the St Louis foreclosure rate is significantly lower than the national foreclosure rate, which was 3.4 percent in February 2012. Continue reading “St Louis Foreclosures and Mortgage Delinquencies show no change from a year ago“
By Robert Fishel, on March 28th, 2012
MAYBE…Many of my clients and prospects outgrow their current home, or relocate due to a job transfer. Regardless of the motivation for keeping one property while purchasing another, let’s address this question with the mortgage approval in mind:
Do I Have To Sell? No you do not have to sell if you are in a financial position where you qualify, i.e. Debt-to-Income Ratio is satisfactory and on paper you can afford both your current residence and the proposed payment on the new home. However, the borrower in this case must give consideration to other or additional expenses when maintaining multiple properties…increased property taxes, insurance costs, maintenance, un-expected repairs when making that decision. Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; Do I need to sell my home to buy another?“
By Dennis Norman, on March 23rd, 2012 Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for February 2012 showing a decrease of 1.6 percent from the month before, and an increase of 11.4 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for February was 313,000 homes, down from an adjusted rate of 318,000 homes the month before. This is the second consecutive month new home sales have declined. Continue reading “New home sales slip in February; still up double digits from a year ago though“
By Dennis Norman, on March 22nd, 2012 The U.S. mortgage loan delinquency rate was 7.57 percent of all home loans in February, down 5.0 percent from the month before and down 14.0 percent from a year ago, according to the “First-Look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data. The foreclosure presale inventory rate was 4.13 percent in February, a 0.5 percent decrease from the month before and a 0.3 percent decrease from a year ago. Continue reading “Mortgage delinquencies continue to decline; good news for the real estate market!“
By Robert Fishel, on March 21st, 2012
Mortgage rates have been rising nonstop since the end of last week. If you are considering a refinance or taking the plunge and buying a new home, you’d better get moving. I just had a prospect shop rates and terms for his new home over the last couple of weeks and just called back; he finally decided on a lender and wanted an updated rate quote to lock his loan. Needless to say, he was terribly disappointed…the rates we originally spoke about on a 30 year fixed rate a couple of weeks ago was in the high 3’s, my quote yesterday was 4.25% (4.45% APR ). Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; "You’ll never buy at the bottom" Interest rates are on the rise“
By Dennis Norman, on March 19th, 2012 A report just released by RadarLogic states the obvious by saying “housing is a buyer’s market” which, I think by now, we all know. However the report goes on to dig into the driving forces behind this buyer’s market and makes some interesting (and concerning) observations including the fact that, while the National Association of REALTOR’s (NAR) reported that the inventory of homes for sale in January dropped to 2.31 million homes (a 6.1 month supply and the lowest level since 2006) this does not take into account vacant homes that have been held off the market, homes that have delinquent mortgages on them and are headed to foreclosure or in the foreclosure process, nor homes with underwater mortgages. This is a large pool of homes that while they are not “on the market” now, a large percentage of them likely will be in the coming months and years thereby increasing the inventory of homes for sale. Continue reading “Report Says Realtors’ Existing Home Supply Understated by "Millions of Homes"“
By Robert Fishel, on March 16th, 2012
WHAT IS A CREDIT SCORE?
Simply stated, credit scores are a statistically-based tool to assess the future performance of a borrower. Scores are derived from the history of a borrower as it is reported to the credit repositories from any creditor. Credit scores are a proven indicator of the likelihood to repay a loan or credit obligation. The lower the score; the more risk from a borrower to repay a loan, on time and in full. Scores range from 400 to 850. This process was started by Fair, Isaac and Co., which is why credit scores are also called FICO scores. Scoring factors are “blind” and do not consider anything about an individual other than their creditworthiness. Continue reading “St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; The Significance to Credit Scores“
By News Desk, on March 12th, 2012 The Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and 49 state attorneys general announced today the filing of their landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. Continue reading “Bank of America, J.P. MOrgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial reach $25 Billion Agreement with Fed & State Government over Foreclosure Abuses“
By Dennis Norman, on March 8th, 2012 Today, CoreLogic, a leading provider of real estate market information, released its March CoreLogic MarketPulse report which had a fairly optimistic outlook on the market including the fact that today 25 percent of all markets are experiencing increases in home prices which is in stark contrast to the height of the housing bust when 96 percent of all markets saw home prices fall. Continue reading “Report shows optimism for real estate market; home prices up in one of every 4 markets“
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