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..

Mortgage Rates Staying Low

Mortgage Rates Staying Low

Mortgage rates mostly hovered near their record lows this week, fueling more momentum for h0me purchases.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular mortgage option among home buyers, averaged 3.37 percent this week, just above its record low of 3.36 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. However, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular among refinancers, dipped to a new low this week, averaging 2.66 percent. 

The following are the national averages in mortgage rates for the week ending Oct. 18, according to Freddie Mac. Read more..

Housing Recovery Picks Up, But Challenges Await

Housing Recovery Picks Up, But Challenges Await

Rising home prices across the country are giving a long-awaited boost to the housing market, but fiscal uncertainties could make the recovery a “bumpy ride,” according to economists who spoke this week at a webinar sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. 

Builders continue to experience challenges in obtaining credit for new projects, and potential buyers are also still struggling to qualify for mortgage loans due to tightened underwriting standards in place the last few years. The economists also cited the challenges of appraisals coming in lower than the agreed-upon sales price and a limited inventory of developed lots in certain housing markets. Another factor potentially jeopardizing the speed of the recovery, the economists added, are pending tax increases and spending cuts that are set to take effect in January.  Read more...

Falling Foreclosures Pushing Up Home Prices

Falling Foreclosures Pushing Up Home Prices

As foreclosure backlogs have decreased, so have many of the big discounts on home prices. The slowdown in foreclosures is partially behind the recent rise in home prices, some economists say. 

“Deeply discounted existing homes have been subject to strong demand from cash buyers and investors looking to lock into housing’s attractive income returns,” says Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics. “The supply of such homes, meanwhile, has been dwindling. That has bid up existing house prices, particularly at the lower end of the price spectrum.'

The median price of existing homes nationwide was 9.5 higher in August compared to a year ago, and new home prices were up 17 percent in that same time period. Read more...

Inventory Reduces Sales in September

Inventory Reduces Sales in September

 But Helps Price

The median sales price for homes sold in September continued to move higher yearly and monthly while sales were stalled from the previous month, according to a housing report from RE/MAX, which tracks MLS data in 52 metropolitan areas.

The median sales price in September was $164,989, a slight 0.7 percent increase from August and a 7.8 percent improvement from September 2011. So far, prices have been rising yearly for eight straight months.
Out of the 52 metros surveyed, 44 saw yearly price gains. Read more...

Foreclosure ‘Boomerang’ Home Buyers Return

Foreclosure ‘Boomerang’ Home Buyers Return

Families who had once lost their home to foreclosure following the housing crash are now re-emerging and looking to buy again, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

As Stuart Miller, chief executive of national homebuilder Lennar Corp., puts it: More people are “coming out of the penalty box.” 

Some builders have a growing interest in reaching out to these “boomerang” foreclosure buyers. For example, builders like K. Hovnanian are providing sales staff with fliers that detail mortgage eligibility rules for families who have undergone a foreclosure or bankruptcy. Read more....

Where Asking Prices Are on the Rise the Most

Where Asking Prices Are on the Rise the Most

Nationwide, the median list price was $191,500 in September, only about 0.78 percent higher than a year ago, according to the most recent housing data release from Realtor.com. But in several metros across the country, asking prices are more than 10 percent higher than what they were a year ago. 

The following metros are showing the strongest rebounds in asking prices in the past year, according to September housing data from Realtor.com. Read more

Home Prices Buck Typical Seasonal Slowdown in Sept

Home Prices Buck Typical Seasonal Slowdown in Sept

Home prices in September were up 5 percent year-over-year while home sales posted a 4 percent annual increase, even as housing metrics began their typical seasonal declines, according to Redfin’s analysis of activity across 19 major U.S. markets.

Between August and September, these 19 markets saw prices decline just 0.8 percent, which Redfin says is a smaller decline than is customary at this time of year. Over the same period, home sales dropped 17 percent — a figure the company says represents “a typical seasonal decline.”
According to Redfin’s report, the number of homes for sale in the markets studied as of September 2012 — 198,581 – is down 29.3 percent from September 2011. Inventory fell by 4.3 percent from August to September. Read more...

Mortgage Rates Hover Near Record Lows

Mortgage Rates Hover Near Record Lows

Mortgage rates held steady for the most part this week, remaining near all-time record lows set last week, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly market survey. 

Here’s a closer look at national mortgage rate averages for the week ending Oct. 11. 

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.39 percent, with an average 0.7 point, up slightly from last week’s record low of 3.36 percent. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 4.12 percent. 

Home Loans Finance

By completing a Loan Pre-Qualification you'll be on your way to locking in your interest rate and giving assurance to prospective sellers that you mean business. Pre-qualification is easy and can be done via email or over the phone. To start the process simply click here...

9 States Where Foreclosures Are Dropping the Most

9 States Where Foreclosures Are Dropping the Most

Utah Foreclosures are dropping...

Foreclosures are continuing to fall across the country, reaching five-year lows, but states where foreclosures don’t have to be approved by courts are posting some of the largest drops, RealtyTrac reports. 

The following states with a “non-judicial” process reported the largest annual decreases in foreclosure activity in the third quarter:  Click hear to see if your state is on the list read more..

Rates Make Slight Increase After Record Lows

Rates Make Slight Increase After Record Lows

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showed surprisingly little life this week following the better-than-expected jobs report for September.

While rates did rise for the week ending October 11, most increases were mild. The 30-year fixed average posted the largest growth, rising to 3.39 percent (0.7 point) from 3.36 percent-a record low the week before.

READ MORE....

Foreclosure Activity Falls to Five-Year Low

Foreclosure Activity Falls to Five-Year Low

Foreclosure filings — including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions — were reported on 180,427 U.S. properties in September, according to RealtyTrac. The total number of filings last month was down 7 percent from August, down 16 percent from September 2011, and was the lowest monthly total recorded by RealtyTrac since July 2007.

The foreclosure tracking company says the decrease in September helped pull Q3 2012 numbers down to make it the lowest quarterly reading since the fourth quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 531,576 properties during the third quarter of this year, a decrease of 5 percent from the second quarter and a decrease of 13 percent from the third quarter of 2011. It marks the ninth consecutive quarter of annual declines in foreclosure activity. Read more

The Major Players Driving the Housing Market?

The Major Players Driving the Housing Market?

Despite high affordability in housing, first-time home buyers are not the ones currently fueling the market. It's repeat home buyers who are driving today’s housing market, according to recent housing surveys. 

Nearly 40 percent of investors say they plan to buy more properties over the next year than they did last year, while 26 percent of investors say they plan to purchase the same number of properties in the next 12 months, according to a survey by BiggerPockets.com and Memphis Invest. Read more

Asking Prices Soar Nationwide

Asking Prices Soar Nationwide

Asking prices posted their largest year-over-year increase since the housing slump began, a monthly report from Trulia shows. Home prices listed on the Trulia web site were up 2.5 percent nationally. When foreclosures are left out, asking prices were up 3.5 percent from year-ago levels. 

Asking prices on listed homes rose in 74 out of the 100 largest metro areas Trulia tracked. From July to August, asking prices posted a 0.5 percent gain, marking the eighth consecutive month for price increases.Read More

Mortgage Rates Find

Mortgage Rates Find

New Bottom for 2nd Straight Week

For the second week in a row, mortgage rates hit new record lows, and for the first time since mid-October 2009, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is lower than the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the week ending October 4 was 3.36 percent (0.6 point), down from last week’s average of 3.40 percent, according to Freddie  Read more

Utah 1 of 5 states with highest price Appreciation

Utah 1 of 5 states with highest price Appreciation

Home Prices Rise at Accelerated Levels

Home prices rose in August by their largest amount since July 2006,  CoreLogic reports in its August Home Price Index, which includes distressed sales. 

The five states with the highest price appreciation in August, when including distressed sales, were Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii, according to CoreLogic. Read more...

Home Buyers Grow Frustrated by Low Inventories

Home Buyers Grow Frustrated by Low Inventories

Low inventories of homes for-sale are becoming troubling to home buyers, Inman News reports. Almost every major market in the U.S. has posted double-digit decreases in for-sale listings. 

'The buyers tend to become a little frustrated as they are seeing homes that they want to 'think about' and before they can even get home to discuss it there are already multiple offers on the property,' Sheri Moritz, a real estate broker with Keller Williams' Wake Home Team in Raleigh, N.C., told Inman News. In Raleigh, inventories have fallen 21 percent in the past year, according to Realtor.com data. 

'I counsel buyers to be patient, and not get discouraged, that it may take extra time to find the suitable property,' adds Tom Avent, broker-owner at Tom Avent Real Estate in Fresno, Calif., which has posted a 43.1 percent drop in inventories in the past year. 'I have also seen some buyers give up looking, frustrated with low inventory and losing out in multiple-offer bidding.' read more...

The Real Recovery

The Real Recovery In The Salt Lake Housing Market

Home sales have gone up 21 percent and home prices are up 10 percent making the new median prices $205,000. In our business we are starting to see multiable on listings. Presently there are only 121 single family foreclosures active at this time. Foreclosured home are on a down ward trend and Utah Foreclosure rate is 2.2 percent. Utah's Foreclosure rate is at the lowest it has been since 2008.

Going forward increase housing demands have halted price declines and by the end of the year home price will likely increase by 5 percent. With records of affordability we will likely see a new wave of buyers entering the housing market.

 So if your READY to Buy or Sell give Rosa Pace a call @ 801 450-7165 or just drop us and email rosampace@gmail.com. read more...