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  1. Buying a Home May Be More Affordable Than Ever

    1 By on February 9, 2011

    Buying a home may be more affordable than ever in many areas. That’s the conclusion of Moody’s Analytics, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.

    Homes are many areas were just as affordable or more affordable at the end of September as they were between 1989 and 2003 in 47 markets, says Moody’saffordable homes, home prices, housing markets Analytics. It based its conclusion on the ratio of median home prices to annual household incomes in 74 markets.

    In a recent blog, we reported that Trulia.com concluded that owning a home is more affordable than renting in most major cities. The online home-shopping service said it’s more affordable to buy a two-bedroom home in 72 percent of America’s 50 largest cities than it is to rent a similar home.

    The ratio of home prices to annual household income was at its highest point in late 2005 when it reached 2.3, noted the Journal article. It had fallen to 1.6 last September. That was the lowest its been in at least 35 years, or since the data have been collected, and well below the historical average of 1.9 between 1989 and 2003. Continue Reading…

    Category: Housing Market

  2. Increasing Home Prices Reported In Some New England Areas, Multifamily Properties

    By on January 14, 2011

    new england home prices, new england housing market trendsSome New England states are bucking the national housing of falling home prices, says RE/MAX of New England.

    For instance, Rhode Island saw average home price increase of 11.2 percent, from $243,968 in 2009 to $271,244 in 2010, the real estate agency reported in its “2011 Housing Market Outlook and Forecast.” That’s in spite of have the highest unemployment rate (11.6 percent) in New England and the fifth highest in the nation.

    The average Rhode Island condominium price rose 10.1 percent from $214,116 to $235,735. The average multifamily home prices jumped from $114,131 to $137,451.  The 20.4 percent increase shows that investors believe multifamily homes are priced favorably and are jumping in the housing market.

    Massachusetts, with an 8.2 percent unemployment rate, saw single-family home prices rise 7.2 percent from an average of $351,788 in 2009 to $376,970 in 2010. Condominium prices increased 9.3 percent from $305,937 in 2009 to $334,343 in 2010. Multifamily home prices showed gains of 14 percent over 2009, with average prices increasing from $226,535 to $258,322.

    “With rates continuing on a steady trajectory, it’s really an investor’s market,” said Jay Hummer, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX of New England. “There is no other industry right now in which you can expect 80 percent return on your investment. Consumers who are able to put 20 percent down, rent a property and in 20 to 30 years time own it, will realize that return.” Continue Reading…

    Category: Housing Market

  3. 2011 Forecasts: Higher Mortgage Rates, Improving Housing Market

    By on January 13, 2011

    mortgage rates forecasts, housing market forecasts, home sales predictions, Mortgage rates will increase in 2011 while housing markets will improve, predicted experts at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, FL, this week.

    Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft, a speaker at the conference, predicted that mortgage rates will reach 5.5 percent by the end of 2011, the AP reported. In making that call, he raised his prediction from December when he said rates will stay below 5 percent this year. Check current mortgage rates.

    Nothaft also thinks home prices will bottom out this year. “House prices will bottom out in 2011, and, by 2012, the house-price metric shows a gradual increase,” he said.

    National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe, another speaker at the conference predicted that home sales will rise about 26 percent this year. Home construction will increase 21 percent from last year, home prices will stay pretty much the same, and unemployment will fall below 9.4 percent. Continue Reading…

    Category: Housing Market, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rate Trends and Analysis, Mortgage Rates

  4. More Home Sales Indicate Recovery For Housing Markets And Economy

    By on December 30, 2010

    home sales, housing recovery, mortgage rates, economic recoveryAn increasing number of homes sales points to a gradual economic recovery heading into 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors.

    Pending home sales have increased over the past five months and were up again in November, NAR reported.

    Historically high housing affordability is boosting sales activity, said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “In addition to exceptional affordability conditions, steady improvements in the economy are helping bring buyers into the market,” he said. “But further gains are needed to reach normal levels of sales activity.”

    “If we add 2 million jobs as expected in 2011, and mortgage rates rise only moderately, we should see existing-home sales rise to a higher, sustainable volume,” Yun said.

    Although credit remains tight, he added, if lenders return to more normal, safe underwriting standards for creditworthy buyers, there would be a bigger boost to the housing market and spillover benefits for the broader economy.

    The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is forecast to rise gradually to 5.3 percent around the end of 2011, and unemployment should drop to 9.2 percent. Continue Reading…

    Category: Housing Market, Mortgage Interest Rates, Mortgage Rates

  5. Why The Cash-Shiller Home Price Index Is Worthless – Or At Least Not Very Helpful

    1 By on December 28, 2010

    You’re thinking of purchasing a home but are worried about home values falling. Then you see that the Case-Shiller Home Price Index says home prices fell again. So you postpone your potential house purchase. That could be a mistake.

    Actually, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index is not really saying home prices are falling nationwide.

    The quoted decline is a drop in its “national index,” an average of the 20 metro areas. Five of those cities, or a quarter of the group, are in California and Florida, states hard hit by the real estate bust. Other cities ahoue purchasing, home buying, home values, home prices, case shiller indexre in real estate bubble areas like Las Vegas or areas of chronic economic decline like Detroit. All in all, the index is tilted toward cities near the coasts that tend to have volatile house prices, as opposed to areas in the middle that tend to have more stable home prices, like Kansas City or Wichita.

    The index is just an average. Like any average, it’s an interesting number for conversation, but not much use for home buyers. You can drown walking across a pond with an average depth of four feet. The average doesn’t tell you there’s a 10-foot drop in the middle.

    Home prices in certain hard-hit areas can drag down the average figure. Think Florida condominiums. Condos tend to be more susceptible to overbuilding and price collapses because they are not as constrained by the supply of land. If there not enough acres around, the builder can just build up. And because there can be so many of them, condo prices can drag down the overall home price average.

    The reality is that home prices are going their different ways – increasing in some places, stable in others, still in trouble in others. If you’re worried about home price trends, check the trends for the town where you’re house hunting.

    Home prices in your neighborhood may, or may not, roughly follow prices of prices in a big city on the coast. In fact, home prices in the neighborhood could trend differently than a nearby neighborhood.

    In any case, no home buyer ever buys equity in a home price index. They don’t buy stock in a home price index like they buy stock in company. They buy a home in a particular community in a particular neighborhood.

    Even if you’re house hunting in area that has seen falling home prices, your decision to purchase a home should depend more on your own personal circumstances and what kind deal you get from the seller as well as what kind of mortgage rate you can find. Learn about home buying.

    But if you’re worried about where home prices will be next year, you probably shouldn’t be considering buying a home anyway. Homeownership is for the long term. If you don’t expect to own your home for at least three years, or probably more like five years, may you shouldn’t bother.

    Category: Housing Market, Purchase

  6. Mortgage Fraud Reports Up As Investors Push Loan Repurchases

    By on December 16, 2010

    Mortgage fraud complaints increased 7 percent in the first half of the year over the first half of 2009, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

    FinCEN received 35,135 suspicious activity reports (SARs) indicating possible mortgage fraud in the first half of 2010, compared to 32,926 in the same period last year.mortgage fraud, foreclosure fraud, loan modification fraud

    The increase is partly due to loan repurchase demands on older home loans in mortgage loan modification process, says FinCEN, a bureau of the Treasury Department.

    Over three-quarters of SARs made in the first half of this year involved loans made over two years earlier, compared to 44 percent in the same period of 2009. That trend shows a continuing focus on loans made from 2006 to 2008, the height of the real estate bubble.

    When homeowners default on mortgages, mortgage investors can try to force lenders that made the loans to by back the mortgages if the lenders failed to meet the investors’ lending guidelines, either intentionally or accidentally. Repurchase demands are probably one of the biggest problems facing banks today. Experts estimate that loan buybacks could cost banks $54 to $106 billion or more.

    Continue Reading…

    Category: foreclosures, General

  7. Housing Market Bottom Possible in Early 2011

    By on December 9, 2010

    The national housing market may reach bottom in the first half of 2011, but probably not before then because of a growing number of foreclosure sales,  according to the Zillow Real Estate Markets Report released today.

    Home values are 25 percent below their peak and have fallen for 51 straight months. From the end of 1928 to the end of 1933, a period of 60 months, nominal home values fell 25.9 percent, according to a recoforeclosure sales, home values, home prices, housing marketnstruction of home prices by housing expert Robert Shiller, co-developer of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

    Home values dropped again from August to September by 0.4 percent. They fell 4.3 percent from last year, Zillow reported.

    Zillow’s figures may not be as bad as they seem. Home sale prices typically fall in the autumn as the summer main home-buying season draws to close. Families with children, who tend buy larger homes, prefer to move in the summer while their kids are out of school. The end of the federal home-buyers tax credit also probably had an impact.

    Still, the figures are not encouraging. Out of 145 markets followed, home values declined in 112, were flat in 13 and up in 20. In five areas, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and San Jose, home values began to fall again after five consecutive quarters of increases. As expected, the end of state-funded tax credits prompted home values in California to fall.

    There were more foreclosures at the end of the third quarter than since 1996. Foreclosure rates will remain high due to negative equity, or mortgages that are more than home values, the company predicts.

    Foreclosure re-sales almost set record in September when they accounted for 20.1 percent of all sales during the month. That ignominious record was set in March 2009 when 20.5 percent of sales were foreclosed homes. The housing market will easily break that record this winter when the volume of non-foreclosure sales drops due to seasonality, Zillow predicts

    The good news is that at least home buyers can get some deals this winter. Home prices traditionally drop over the winter, as home sellers selling then may be more desperate, or at least are perceived as desperate.

    Category: foreclosures, Housing Market, Purchase

  8. Housing Market Recovery Not Expected Until 2012

    By on December 8, 2010

    Americans remain pessimistic about the housing market. Well over half of Americans surveyed (58 percent) expect a housing recovery will take another two years. Over one in five think a recover won’t happen until 2015 or later.

    What’s more, many (35%) think the recent foreclosure scandal will delay the housing market’s recovery, according to the survey by Trulia.com, a website for buying, selling and renting homes, and RealtyTrack, an online marketplace for foreclosures. Only 6 percent said the robo-signing controversy would not have an impact.housing market outlook, housing market recovery

    “More and more, American homeowners, sellers and buyers are tamping down their expectations for a swift recovery in the housing market and bracing themselves for a long, slow climb back to a healthy real estate market,” said Pete Flint, Trulia co-founder and CEO.

    Government incentives and low mortgage rates have done little to turn around the housing market. Americans have lost faith in both government and lenders, Flint said.

    Americans are also more likely than ever to seriously consider walking away from their home and mortgage or calling their lender to attempt to get a loan modification. Almost half (48 percent) of homeowners with a mortgage said they might walk away if their mortgage was underwater, an increase from with May 2010, when 41 percent said they might.

    If more homeowners do walk away from their mortgages, the housing market would only get worse as foreclosures and sales of bank-owned homes increase.

    Two-thirds said they might seek a loan modification as their first option if they had trouble meeting payments. Learn how to lower your mortgage payments. Just 10 percent said they’d consider renting to a tenant to help meet their mortgage as their first option.

    More are willing to consider buying a foreclosed property – 49 percent compared to 45 percent in May 2010. About two-thirds would expect to pay 30 percent less for a foreclosed property; about a third would want at least a 50 percent discount. Continue Reading…

    Category: foreclosures, General, Housing Market

  9. Mortgage Late Payments Predicted To Fall In 2011

    By on December 7, 2010

    mortgage payment, mortgage delinquencies, mortgage late paymentsAnd now for some good news. TransUnion, a major credit bureau, thinks mortgage delinquencies will drop dramatically next year.

    The mortgage delinquency rate,  the percentage of homeowners with payments more than 60 days late, will plummet almost 20 percent by the end of 2011, falling from this year’s 6.21 percent to 4.98 percent.

    Why? Unemployment will slowly fall. Home prices will continue to stabilize and increase in some areas. “While there is continued price pressure in many markets, we expect a growing number of areas of the country to experience a rise in property values along with some stabilization of values in those states and markets hardest hit by the recession,” said Steve Chaouki, a TransUnion vice president.

    The drop would more than double the 9.87 percent yearly decline of 6.89 percent at the end of 2009 and the 6.21 percent rate at the end of 2010. The company used its database of 27 million records on consumer credit use to make its predictions.

    If delinquencies do drop, the housing market and overall economy could improve. Delinquencies often lead to foreclosures, desperate home sales, and lower home values. Read about tips on avoiding foreclosure.

    Delinquencies rates had increased sharply in recent years: 54 percent between 2006 and 2007, 53 percent between 2007 and 2008 and 50 percent between 2008 and 2009. Continue Reading…

    Category: foreclosures

  10. The Longest Foreclosure Battle – 25 Years

    By on December 6, 2010

    foreclosure, avoiding foreclosure, longest foreclosure battleIn what’s probably the longest foreclosure battle, a Florida woman has not paid her mortgage for 25 years.

    A Wall Street Journal article outlines the fancy legal footwork of a retired insurance saleswoman who has not made a mortgage payment since 1985. She keeps on giving reasons why she should not be thrown out of the house, lack of the right paperwork, improper transfer of the mortgage note between lenders, personal bankruptcy, as well as more imaginative reasons. She once denied the existence of any mortgage debt. Her main strategy, however, seems to be to bury lenders under a mountain of paperwork.

    Sometimes courts simply throw out her arguments. A judge in 2007 threw out two of her defenses, calling them an “unnecessary paper chase which has been an unproductive and unnecessary use of judicial resources,” according to the article.

    Her late husband bought the house in Okeechobee County, a rural area of central Florida, using a $68,000 mortgage from First Federal Savings and Loan of Martin County, according to the WSJ article. The Savings and Loan crisis hit and the S&L merged with First Fidelity Savings and Loan. S&Ls that held her mortgage kept going out of business, merging and dropping the foreclosure case. Four different lenders held the loan before it ended up with the Resolution Trust Corp., a government-created entity that held assets of bankrupt S&Ls, then the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp., which offloaded it to Commercial Services of Perry, which specializes in distressed debt and now holds the mortgage. Continue Reading…

    Category: foreclosures

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