VA Guarantees 20 Million Loans and Counting

VA Guarantees 20 Million Loans and Counting

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it has reached a major milestone: It has guaranteed 20 million home loans since launching its loan program in 1944. 
“The 20 millionth VA home loan is a major milestone and is a testament to VA’s commitment to support and enhance the lives of Veterans, Service members, their families and survivors,” says Allison A. Hickey, VA’s undersecretary for Benefits. “As a result of their service and sacrifice, as a group, they prove to be disciplined, reliable, and honorable—traits that are ideal for this kind of national investment.” Read more....

40 Out of 42 Counties Post Monthly Price Gains

40 Out of 42 Counties Post Monthly Price Gains

In September, home prices improved in nearly all of the largest counties throughout the United States as tracked by DataQuick.

According to the company’s new Property Intelligence Report (PIR), home prices grew in 40 out of 42 counties month-over-month, while prices improved in all 42 counties from the previous quarter and over the last year.

DataQuick suggested the PIR is displaying evidence the recovery in housing is underway, but the PIR found an uneven recovery, with some areas facing risk factors, such as high REO inventory.

Gordon Crawford, VP of analytics for DataQuick, highlighted changes in Maricopa County, where house price growth was the highest on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. From September 2011 to September 2012, prices in Maricopa County grew 20.23 percent. Read more..

3.8% Tax: What's True, What's Not

3.8% Tax: What's True, What's Not

Rumors about the 3.8% Medicare tax continue to circulate. Here's the definitive word on what's true and what's not on how the tax impacts real estate.

OCTOBER 2012 | BY ROBERT FREEDMAN

 Ever since health care reform was enacted into law more than two years ago, rumors have been circulating on the Internet and in e-mails that the law contains a 3.8 percent tax on real estate. NAR quickly released material to show that the tax doesn’t target real estate and will in fact affect very few home sales, because it’s a tax that will only affect high-income households that realize a substantial gain on an asset sale, including on a home sale, once other factors are taken into account. Maybe 2-3 percent of home sellers will be affected.

Nevertheless, the rumors persist and the latest version that’s circulating falsely say NAR is advocating for the tax’s repeal. But while NAR doesn’t support the tax (it was added into the health care law at the last minute and never considered in hearings), it’s not advocating for its repeal at this time.
The characterization of the 3.8 percent tax as a tax on real estate is an example of an Internet rumor, says Heather Elias, NAR’s director of social business media. Elias and Linda Goold, NAR’s director of tax policy, sat down for a discussion of how the tax works and how Internet rumors work and you can find their remarks in the 6-minute video below. Watch the video....

Shrinking Supply of Distressed Homes

Shrinking Supply of Distressed Homes  Makes Room for Homebuilding

 A steady drop in distressed home sales may spell a better future for builders, Capital Economics analyst and property economist Paul Diggle says.

In a US Housing Market Update released by the firm, Diggle notes that while “a substantial overhang of properties still in the shadow inventory” will keep distressed sellers in the market, the peak in distressed supply appears to be well behind us, giving homebuilders more room to grow with less competition from discounted existing homes.
“The continued drop in the supply of distressed homes on the market is encouraging homebuilders to break ground on more sites,” Diggle said.
Distressed sales made up 22 percent of all sales in September, down from 33 percent at the start of 2012, the update says. Furthermore, September’s share of distressed sales is the lowest reading in the five-year history of the data. Read more..

Nondelinquent Borrowers

Nondelinquent Borrowers Soon to Be Eligible for Short Sales

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued new rules, which will take effect Nov. 1, that will allow short sales for underwater borrowers who have never missed a mortgage payment. Previously, Fannie and Freddie allowed only home owners who had missed payments to qualify for a short sale.

Eligible borrowers under the new rules will need to show a hardship to qualify for a short sale, however. Hardships may include unemployment or a death of a spouse. 

Inman News points out one potential flaw to the new rule, however: The nondelinquent home owners who undergo a short sale will likely take just as big a hit to their credit score than if they had missed loan payments and gone into a foreclosure. Read more...

Investors Still Buying Up Properties in Bulk

Investors Still Buying Up Properties in Bulk

Shortage of Foreclosures could be because of this reason or could it:

Large corporate investors are continuing to buy up thousands of single-family homes to turn them into rentals and money-making ventures. 

And institutional investors are expected to become an even bigger force in the housing market in the coming months. Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. became the first entity to seek an IPO for its single-family home real estate trust, hoping to raise $287.5 million for its IPO. Colony Capital plan to invest $1.5 billion in the single-family rental market in the upcoming year, officials told USA Today. 

Fannie Mae is pressing forward with its bulk sales program, expecting to unload nearly 2,000 homes in bulk sales to investors to lighten its portfolio of foreclosed houses.  Read more...

Homes Are Selling Faster

Homes Are Selling Faster

Inventories of for-sale homes aren’t the only thing that is dropping. The amount of time homes are staying on the market is growing shorter as well—down 11 percent in the last year—according to the latest Realtor.com data.

Homes were listed on average 95 days, according to September housing data. That is down from 107 days a year earlier. Home buyer demand is increasing, with housing affordability still high and ultra low mortgage rates that have pushed home buyers’ purchasing power higher. Read more..