The US Treasury has handed down new guidelines to lenders for dealing with short sales. In addition to some cash incentives the lenders will be responsible for responding to offers within 10 days. There are 83 banks that will be required to follow these guidelines. To read more of the article go to: http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1421797.html
Jim Gruler, CDPE, CNE
Designated Broker
Hunter James Properties
602-618-6728
This is according to the National Association of Realtors.
There is still uncertainty in the real estate market. Great time for buyers, not so good for sellers.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Home-sales-drop-27-apf-2064841344.html?x=0&.v=4
We saw that March had an increase from February sales. Now April has seen a 13% increase from March sales. There were 4783 existing home sales in April. This is really good news. Combine that news with the fact that the number of homes currently in escrow is close to 8000 means May looks to have at least as many sales as April. I believe we will hit 5000 homes sales in May. Right now Inventory is at 54716 with 49% of those properties sitting vacant. We have just under 12 months of inventory.
I believe the bottom is here for Metro Phoenix.
[digg=http://digg.com/business_finance/April_Existing_Home_Sales_Up_Phoenix]
It will be 15 days before you hear the “official” numbers from Arizona Association of Realtors, but you can say you heard it here first. March existing home sales are up, WAY UP!!! There were 4200 existing home sales in March which is an increase of nearly 34% over February’s sales. The bigger news is that the number of homes currently in escrow is close to 7000. This means that within the next 45 days or so most of these properties will be closing escrow. If the number of homes in escrow stays consistently at or above about 6500 the monthly sales figures should remain brisk at over 4000 per month. If all things continue along as they are now, April existing home sales will hit at least 4700. Even though inventory is still hovering at 56000, months of inventory is now at 13 months and should shrink to 12 months by the end of April.
Have we hit the bottom? Can’t say yet, but we should know soon.
Stay tuned….
The article, Lenders altering rules for credit, from the Arizona Republic, reports that banks and lenders are rapidly changing their requirements for loans as home sales and prices fall and delinquencies and defaults rise. To adjust their standards, which many critics say grew too lax in the middle of the decade, lenders now are raising minimum credit scores, offering smaller loans and requiring detailed proof of income and assets.
For those who do meet the tightened criteria, a new plan announced Tuesday by the Federal Reserve to provide $200 billion to the financial-services sector should mean there is plenty of money available for borrowers and lower interest rates, said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. In early 2007, customers with credit scores in the low 600s would be able to receive a mortgage with no down payment and by simply stating their income. Today, a credit score below 680 is a red flag that subjects a prospective homeowner to higher rates and special fees. Read the entire article to find out more.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority urged homeowners over the age of 60 to carefully weigh their options before tapping into their home equity through reverse mortgages to obtain additional income for their retirement years.
The group, formed by a merger of the NASD and some regulatory functions of New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE Group Inc., warned that a reverse mortgage -- an interest-bearing loan secured by the equity in a home -- can jeopardize their financial futures.
With a reverse mortgage, a bank makes payments to a homeowner instead of the homeowner making payments to a bank. The loan is repaid, with interest, when the borrower sells the house, moves out or dies. Reverse mortgages have high fees -- typically about 7% of the home's value -- and they make it difficult for homeowners to leave the property to their heirs.
Read the whole article at realestatejournal.com.
For years rapidly rising prices kept many first-time home buyers out of the housing market. But as home values slide further downward and interest rates hover at relatively low levels, it may be time to start looking to buy that first house.
That is, if you have a secure job, can afford higher down payments than were required a few years ago and can meet lenders' much stricter income and credit requirements.
Also, don't assume the seller is even in the right ballpark with his asking price. Most real-estate agents and sellers only look at comparable sales prices, or "comps," of similar homes in similar neighborhoods. Take a lesson from property investors and appraisers instead and check out prices from other angles as well.
To read the whole article go here
White House effort will give homeowners at risk of foreclosure a 30-day reprieve.
If you are a homeowner and you have a loan with one of the following banks:
Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Washington Mutual or Wells Fargo
AND you meet the following criteria you may be able to get a temporary reprieve from foreclosure proceedings:
□ 90 days or more overdue on payments
□ have not filed for bankruptcy protection
□ don't have a foreclosure date set within the next 30 days
□ haven't vacated the property
□ haven't used your loan to fund investment property or vacation homes
Read the article at:
http://www.azcentral.com/realestate/articles/0213biz-lifeline0213.html
This article from CNNMoney.com, reports that the economic stimulus plan announced by Congress last Thursday includes provisions that specifically address the mortgage crises. The package proposes lifting the dollar amount of loans that are eligible for purchase by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to $625,000 for 12 months, up from the current $417,000, and then raiding it to $725,000 permanently. “This will have a big, immediate impact, especially in California where sales have been down most significantly,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Yun added, “There’s a lot of pent-up demand in the market. This will boost confidence among these potential buyers, and some of the people on the fence will start buying.”
So, October stats came in last week and they are on par with September. The month started off a little stronger at the beginning of the month, but slowed down toward the end of the month. This is not all that unusual. There were probably quite a few people that had some issues with financing in September that go pushed to early October. October sales of existing homes came in at 3457 with an average sale price of $324,000. Since getting a jumbo loan was and is considerably more difficult these days there is also no real surprise that the average sale price has dropped a bit. We expect to see the average sale price climb as the mortgage situation gets straightened out. Looking forward to November we see things staying about the same as October and September. We expect the number of existing homes sold to be around 3400 for November.
An estimated 446,726 properties were hit with foreclosure filings during the third quarter, a 33.9 percent increase from the previous quarter and more than double the number a year ago, according to data aggregator RealtyTrac. Nevada, California and Florida posted the highest rates of foreclosure in the nation, followed by Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Texas. Arizona is ranked 7th with a 203.1% increase over a year ago. To read the whole article go here.
If you think the value of the dollar dropping is all bad, check out this article recently published in The Star, a newspaper out of Toronto. Canadians have some new found money to spend and some of them are looking South for some real estate bargains. Considering this is becoming the best buyer’s market in a long time, I can’t say that I blame them. I recently spoke with real estate broker Marg Scheben-Edey from Ontario. She definitely has seen an increase in interest from the snowbirds in her area. She has even posted about The Star article in her blog. I have personally noticed an increase in Canadians visiting Scottsdale looking for homes. This influx of money from outside the country may be a little shot in the arm for our sagging real estate market. I have talked to others who believe that we will continue to see an increase in snowbird activity from Canada as the Winter gets colder up North. Looks like we might have a good reason to thank our little brother North of the border.
Considering how bad of a month September was for existing home sales, it is not surprising that sales in October were able to match September. There were about 3420 existing home sales in October which is on par with September’s sales of 3430. Typically, October is less than September, but there has really been nothing typical about the current market. September was affected largely by the credit issues in mid-August it was not surprising to see those sales dip. October saw the sale of some of those homes that would have sold in September if it weren’t for the credit crunch. As credit issues subside we should see some increases in home sales. Unfortunately, we are entering the two slowest months of the year for homes sales, November and December. As of today there are just over 57,300 active listings in the ARMLS. At the current sale rate we have over 16 months of inventory. Of the active listings 48.6% or 27,842 properties are vacant. Needless to say, until the number of listings declines considerably the market has little chance of improving.
Sales of existing homes plunged by a record amount in September as turmoil in mortgage markets added more problems to a housing industry in its worst slump in 16 years.
The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 8 percent in September, the largest decline to show up in records dating to 1999. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 5.04 million existing homes was also the slowest pace on record.
Read the whole article:
According to an article in Resident Publications Phoenix is one of the better places to live.
The sale of existing homes fell 21% compared to August sales. This is most likely a fallout from the mortgage issues that we experience in August. We are still at about 57,000 homes on the market with 47% of those being vacant. In September 3,300 homes were sold which is lower than any month in the past 6 years. So far October is showing some signs of an improvement over September. At the September rate of sales we have 17 months worth of inventory. Look for October to equal or surpass August sales of 4,200. The best bet at this point is to hold off on selling your home until after the first of the year.
Here is a look at what the Fed's action means for consumers:
There were only 4,293 homes sold in August which is lower than any other month this year. In fact, it is the lowest number of homes sold in any month since January 2002. This is an indication which direction the market is moving. With September upon us we are now approaching the traditionally slower time of the year in terms of real estate sales. Don’t expect the sales numbers to improve for 6 months. The perceived issues with mortgages will only continue to hinder the sale of homes for the next 6 months or so. Unfortunately, there are 5,924 homes on the market with 47% of them vacant. These vacant homes are really hurting the market and will continue to be a drag on housing until that number decreases. Buyers that have good credit or have extra cash will find the next 6 to 12 months to be a great time to buy. The best time to get into any market is when that market is depressed. I think we can safely say the housing market is in a bad way at the current time. Buying in the right areas is more of a key than buying at the right time. If you are planning to hold onto a property for the next 4 years or so, buying now or waiting to buy in 12 months will not make much of a difference as long as you are buying in the proper location. Of course, make sure you use and agent you can trust.
