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 ....