Mortgage Rates End Year Near Record Lows

Mortgage Rates End Year Near Record Lows

Fixed-rate mortgages ended the year by hovering near record-breaking lows and keeping home buyer affordability high, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. 

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.66 percent for 2012, the lowest annual average in at least 65 years,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages were nearly 0.6 percentage points below that of the beginning of the year, which translates into an interest payment savings of nearly $98,600 over the life of a $200,000 loan. Moreover, opting for a 15-year fixed mortgage at today's rates, a home owner could save an additional $138,400 in interest payments.'

Freddie Mac reported the following national averages for mortgages for the week ending Dec. 27: See current rates ...

Low Inventory Levels Lift Home Prices

Low Inventory Levels Lift Home Prices

The large inventory drops have been attributed to home owners waiting out the market for price increases, investors snagging up houses, fewer bank foreclosures, and builders curbing production.

But the low inventories are helping home prices to rebound. “Large drops in inventories have whittled away the discount at which foreclosures sell in many markets, which has further contributed to big price gains,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Read more...

4 Housing Issues to Watch in 2013

4 Housing Issues to Watch in 2013

What does 2013 have in store for the housing market? With marked gains this year, housing experts expect the housing market to continue to gain momentum in the new year. 

The Wall Street Journal recently offered up some chief housing issues likely to be important in the New Year.

These include: 

• Inventories rise: To meet the increased demand, home builders are increasing production and more sellers may be more willing to test the market as housing prices increase. 
• Home prices spur demand: More buyers have urgency with home purchases as rents rise, housing values gain momentum, and mortgage rates remain low. 
• Credit remains tight: “While rising prices could serve as a tailwind, new regulations may lock in some of the defensive underwriting posture while impeding capital rules may lead banks to pare their lending footprint,” The Wall Street Journal predicts. Read more ....

Price Gains Driven by Composition Changes

Price Gains Driven by Composition Changes

 Not Appreciation, After tracking home price trends in 25 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), Radar Logic found prices in October are now 6.9 percent higher than a year ago, according to the company’s RPX Composite price.

“However, this increase was driven by a change in the composition of sales rather than price appreciation,” Radar Logic stated in a recent report.
Upon closer scrutiny, the analytics company explained the price increase is mainly the result of a decrease in distressed sales, or “motivated sales,” and the actual price increase for “non-motivated sales” is much smaller than the overall yearly gain. Read more ...

How 'Normal' Is the Housing Market?

How 'Normal' Is the Housing Market?

The housing market is expected to make big strides to getting closer to more normal levels, due mostly to a rise in home prices and household formation that is adding to demand, the NAHB reports. 

Single-family housing starts are forecasted to reach 534,000 units this year, up 23 percent this year from 2011. For 2013, single-family housing starts is expected to jump 21 percent in 2013 and another 29 percent gain in 2014 to 837,000 units. 

Multifamily production is forecast to jump 31 percent this year to 233,000, and gain another 16 percent in 2013 to 270,000. 

New single-family home sales are forecast to post a 20 percent jump this year to 367,000 and to rise another 22 percent in 2013, and reach 607,000 by 2014. Read more...

Buyer Urgency Expected to Drive 2013

Buyer Urgency Expected to Drive 2013

Home shoppers will likely have more urgency in the new year, wanting to buy before home prices rise even more. 

Home prices are edging up in most markets,and buyers are taking notice. Buyer surveys recently have shown that home shoppers expect home prices to continue to inch up, and they want to cash in before they rise too much higher. 

“Every single thing about housing is flashing green” with household formation rising, inventory falling, and affordability hovering at record highs, James Dimon, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase told CNBC last month.  Read more....

Utah year-over-year basis,experienced price gains

Utah year-over-year basis,experienced price gains

The winter season has not stopped home prices from posting both monthly and yearly gains, according to recent reports, and the Federal Finance Housing Agency’s(FHFA) October home price report was no different.

According to the agency’s Home Price Index (HPI), home prices in October rose 0.5 percent from September and 5.6 percent from October 2011. The index current sits 15.7 percent below the April 2007 peak. See what other Regions ......

FHA to Tighten Up Mortgage Standards in 2013

FHA to Tighten Up Mortgage Standards in 2013

In an effort to make up for a large budget shortfall, the Federal Housing Administration announced it will publish new mortgage standards for certain home owners and replace a popular reverse-mortgage program on Jan. 31, 2013. As among the changes, borrowers with credit scores between 580 and 620 will face stricter underwriting standards. Such borrowers will face stricter limits on their debt-to-income ratio. The FHA also will soon require a minimum down payment of 5 percent for high-cost mortgages that exceed $625,500. Read more and to stay on top of what the market is doing visit our website....

Home Prices Could Jump 9.7% in 2013

Home Prices Could Jump 9.7% in 2013

Even as the market heads into its slow season, sales numbers continued to stand well above their year-ago level in November,  National Housing Report. But the expectations for higher home prices are still widespread. Nearly three-quarters of investors polled by J.P. Morgan expect home prices to rise 5% in 2013

The report shows home sales were up 15.7 percent year-over-year in November, the second highest annual increase this year (behind October’s 17.8 percent yearly rise). November is the 17th consecutive month in which sales have posted year-over-year increases.

Prices also rose both on a month-to-month and year-over-year basis. The median price for homes sold in November was $163,750, 3.6 percent higher than October and 6.9 percent higher than November 2011. November is the 10th straight month to experience year-over-year price gains. Read more ....

Turning Point for Home Owners in 2013

Turning Point for Home Owners in 2013
Falling housing inventories and an increase in demand bode well for the market's recovery next year, according to Barclays 2013 housing outlook report. 

Townhomes: A Growing Option Once More?

Townhouses are showing a strong comeback. For the third-consecutive quarter, the construction of townhomes — attached single-family housing — saw a sharp rise in total units and market share to a point that hasn’t been seen since 2008, the National Association of Home Builders reports. 

The construction of townhouses nearly doubled in the past year — rising from 12,000 starts in the third quarter of 2011 to 21,000 starts during the third quarter of 2012. The market share of townhouses makes up 12.1 percent of all single-family housing starts, up from 11.2 percent during the previous quarter of this year. Read more ...

Great Expectations for Housing in 2013

Great Expectations for Housing in 2013

“The last few months have brought a spate of favorable news on the U.S. housing market with construction up, more home sales, and home-value growth turning positive,” Nothaft says. “This has been a big change from a year ago, when some analysts worried that the looming ‘shadow inventory’ would keep the housing sector mired in economic depression. Instead, the housing market is healing, is contributing positively to GDP and is returning to its traditional role of supporting the economic recovery.”

  

Housing Price increase 2-3  Percent,  Rates begin rising a bit, Vacancy Rates Trending Lower Here’s how Nothaft sees the coming year: Read more .....

Western States Dominate Top Markets for Sellers

Western States Dominate Top Markets for Sellers

For its latest research brief, Zillow analyzed data on actual sales prices compared to asking prices, the number of days listings spent on Zillow, and the percentage of homes on the market with a price cut.

“As most housing markets continue to improve nationwide, the relative position of buyers and sellers continues to vary considerably by geography,” said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. “In some markets, buyers are finding themselves in strong bargaining positions relative to sellers, confidently offering less than the asking price on a home they had months to consider. In other areas, it’s sellers that are squarely in the driver’s seat with their homes selling within days of listing, often after bidding wars that increase the sale price above the asking price.” Read more .....

Fixed Rates See Slight Changes

Fixed Rates See Slight Changes

Hover Near Record Lows

Fixed mortgage rates made small movements this week as fiscal cliff negotiations seemed to stall.

According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market.

“Mortgage rates showed little movement as the fiscal cliff talks looked more like a stalemate,” Bankrate said in a release. “But a newly announced stimulus plan from the Federal Reserve aimed at buying longer-term Treasuries should help bring both bond yields and mortgage rates lower, albeit modestly. Don’t expect any big moves in mortgage rates as long as the fiscal cliff talks drag on.” See rates...

Foreclosure Starts Fall to 6-Year Low

Foreclosure Starts Fall to 6-Year Low

The latest data offers “more evidence that we are past the worst of the foreclosure problem brought about by the housing bubble bursting six years ago,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “But foreclosures are continuing to hobble the U.S. housing market as lenders finally seize properties that started the process a year or two ago — and much longer in some cases. We’re likely not completely out of the woods when it comes to foreclosure starts, either, as lenders are still adjusting to new foreclosure ground rules set forth in the National Mortgage Settlement along with various state laws and court rulings.” See which States...

Who's Calling the Shots: Buyers or Sellers?

Who's Calling the Shots: Buyers or Sellers?

The housing market is changing, creating a “new playing field for home owners, who are finally able to sell, as well as would-be buyers who've been delaying a purchase in anticipation that prices would keep falling,” Money Magazine reports. 

Mortgages for home purchases are expected to soar 55 percent in 2013, according to forecasts by the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

“The days of buyers sticking it to sellers are over,' says Tracie Peay, a Salt Lake City real estate practitioner.

Still, home sellers should keep their expectations in line: Price increases are to be modest and gradual. Fiserv forecasts home prices will rise 3.3 percent a year in value between now and 2017. 

As for buyers, they may need to have a better understanding of the increased competition they may face. 

'If you want to buy, you have to be ready to make an offer,' says David Howell, chief information officer at McEnearney Associates, a real estate agency in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He says the first offer should be close to the home buyer’s best offer.  Read more ....

More Americans Say Now Is a Good Time to Sell

More Americans Say Now Is a Good Time to Sell

More Americans are growing confident about selling, with the share of those who say now is a good time to sell rising 5 percentage points in November to 23 percent and reaching its highest level since Fannie Mae started its survey in June 2010.

The rise in those who say it's a good time to sell has helped narrow the gap with those who say now is a good time to buy, according to Fannie Mae’s November 2012 National Housing Survey, released Monday. Americans are also getting more confident about the direction of the overall housing market and the economy, according to the report.

Read more....

No Foreclosures for the Holidays by Fannie,Freddie

No Foreclosures for the Holidays by Fannie,Freddie

Homeowners facing foreclosure just received an early Christmas present: They won't be evicted from their homes over the holidays.

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced Monday that they will temporarily halt all bank repossessions and evictions beginning in mid-December until Jan. 2, 2013. 

The temporary foreclosure suspension goes into effect beginning Dec. 17 and Dec. 19, respectively. The moratorium will not affect the filing notices of default or the scheduling of auction sales. 

'The holidays are a chance to be with loved ones and we want to relieve some stress at this time of year,' says Terry Edwards, Executive Vice President of Credit Portfolio Management, Fannie Mae. Read what other banks are not foreclosing either....

Number of Improving Housing Markets Soars

Number of Improving Housing Markets Soars

The number of improving housing markets grew by 76 in December to a total of 201, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Market Index. 

The index identifies U.S. metro areas that have shown improvement in home sales, employment, and housing values for at least the past six months.Some of the new markets added to this month’s improving list include Atlanta; Bloomington, Ill.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Seattle; and Green Bay, Wis.

'The big gain in improving markets this December indicates that key measures of housing and economic strength have now been holding steady or improving in metros across the country for six months or more, Read more....

Mortgage Rates Stay Low, Near Record Levels

Mortgage Rates Stay Low, Near Record Levels

Fixed-rate mortgages continue to hover near their record lows, keeping home buyer affordability high, Freddie Mac reports in its latest weekly mortgage market survey. 

'Mortgage rates were little changed and near record lows this week amid indicators of stronger economic growth and signs of tame inflation,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

The following are national averages on mortgage rates for the week ending Dec. 6, according to Freddie Mac. See Rates.....

FHA oks 2 Year Extension Anti-Flipping Waiver

FHA oks 2 Year Extension Anti-Flipping Waiver

The Federal Housing Administration is extending its 90-day “anti-flipping” waiver through 2014—which could bode well for single-family investors, rehabbers, and buyers seeking low down payment financing, Inman News reports. 

The waiver allows buyers to purchase homes that have already been sold in less than 90 days. 

The purpose of the two-year extension to the waiver is to increase “the availability of affordable homes for first-time and other purchasers, helping stabilize real estate prizes as well as neighborhoods and communities where foreclosure activity has been high,” says Carol J. Galante, acting FHA commissioner about the extension.

In 2003, FHA issued an anti-flipping waiver to stop a high number of home flipping, which was being blamed on inflating home values. The FHA rule prevented FHA-backed loans from being used to purchase homes that had been owned by a seller for less than 90 days. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to reconsider that 90-day limit when foreclosures started to cause blight in neighborhoods and put downward pressure on property values. Read requirements ...

10 most affordable cities for homebuying

10 most affordable cities for homebuying
Looking to buy a home? These housing markets offer the best combination of low prices and competitive wages, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

1. Ogden, Utah how great is that for our state number 1....

Median home price: $153,000

Median income: $71,500

% of homes sold that are 'affordable'*: 93.2%

See if your state is on this list.....

Yearly Price Gains Continue into Offseason

Yearly Price Gains Continue into Offseason

Compared to 2011, home prices continued to show strong gains in October and posted their biggest yearly increase since June 2006, according to data from CoreLogic.

Home prices—including distressed sale—climbed 6.3 percent higher year-over-year in October, marking the eighth consecutive month of yearly gains. Distressed sales include transactions for REOs and short sales.
With the conclusion of the home-buying season, home prices dropped by 0.2 percent from September to October.
According to the data provider’s pending home price index, prices should further increase yearly by 7.1 percent in November when including distressed sales. See which states ....

REO Sales Diminish to Under 20% of Overall

REO Sales Diminish to Under 20% of Overall

lear Capital released a new market report Tuesday, tracking home prices through the end of November. Nationally, quarterly price gains were cut by more than half compared to readings from the month before. For November, home prices edged up just 1 percent.

Even with fewer fair market sellers put their homes on the market – which is typical during the winter season –Clear Capital says REO sales held steady at 18.4 percent of total sales. Even with the effects of winter unfolding, the company says REO saturation trends don’t yet sound any alarms. Should distressed sales hold around their current level for the next several months, Clear Capital says downward price pressure should be minimal –- but that’s barring any other outside economic stress. Read More ....

Housing Recovery Is Sustainable

Housing Recovery Is Sustainable

According to Market Analysts.Despite a number of potentially damaging headwinds, the ongoing housing recovery will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future, analysts for Capital Economics say in a recently released report.

The housing industry’s rapid rebound took many experts by surprise-even the researchers who authored the report admit they “have been slightly taken aback” by the recovery’s speed. However, they point to several major indicators that show the current upturn is more than a temporary blip or a false recovery. Read more ....

No change to conforming loan limits at Fannie, Fre

No change to conforming loan limits at Fannie, Freddie

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced this week that it will not be changing the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Maximum loan limits for single-unit properties will stay at $417,000. However, in some designated high-cost areas that number could rise to $625,500. Read more 

Rising Prices Could Lift 3.5M Homeowners

Out of Negative Equity

While almost one-quarter of homeowners remain underwater, rising home prices over the past year have some economists hopeful negative equity could begin to diminish in coming months.

“The negative equity problem is still crippling many homeowners and the wider economy,” Capital Economics stated in a report.
In addition to the almost one-fourth of homeowners who owe more on their mortgage loans than their homes are worth, almost half of homeowners do not meet the 80 percent loan-to-value ratio required for a standard refinancing.
While “[a]dmittedly, the recovery is still in its infancy,” Capital Economics sees the potential for 3.5 million homeowners to move out of negative equity positions over the next 12 months. Read more ....