The Kallhoff Team

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

CoreLogic: Home Prices Up 12.4% for Year

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2013

Home prices nationwide continue to rise, but the pace of price increases is showing signs of slowing, according to the latest housing report from CoreLogic, which includes distressed sales.

Home prices rose 0.9 percent in August from July -- a much slower pace than the previous months, signaling the end to the summer selling season, CoreLogic notes.

"In addition to normal seasonality, the recent sharp rise in mortgage rates off their historic lows was a clear driver behind the slowdown," says Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic CEO. "We anticipate moderate gains in home prices over the balance of this year, supported by the recent downward trend in rates and continued tight supplies of homes in many markets."

Still, home prices were up 12.4 percent nationwide year-over-year in August, CoreLogic reports.

The following states had the highest home price increases in August, according to CoreLogic:

Nevada: +25.9% year-over-year
California: +23.1% year-over-year
Arizona: +16.4% year-over-year
Wyoming: +15% year-over-year
Georgia: +14.8% year-over-year

Source: “Home price gains slow with summer's passing,” USA Today (Oct. 1, 2013) and “Pace of Home Price Growth Moderating: CoreLogic,” Mortgage News Daily (Oct. 1, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/02/corelogic-home-prices-up-124-for-year

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

arizona homes sale, arizona house, arizona real estate, az houses, az real estate, business,chief economist, economy, for sale by owner, FSBO, gilbert arizona, gilbert az, gilbert real estate, home for sale in arizona,homes for sale in san tan valley az, homes for sale in san tan valley az san tan valley arizona arizona homes sale home for sale in arizona real estate az real estate arizona arizona real estate san tan san tan heights homes in az for sa, homes for sale valley, homes in az for sale,houses for sale, houses in Arizona for sale, how to sell my home, johnson ranch, queen creek, queen creek arizona,queen creek az, real estate arizona, real estate az, real-estate, san tan, san tan heights,san tan valley arizona, san tan valley real estate, Selling my home, short selling my home,valley homes sale, where is san tan valley az

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Need a Down Payment? Sell Shares

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

FirstRex, a San Francisco real estate investment company, is offering homebuyers down payment assistance with one big catch: Home owners have to share any future appreciation on the home.

For example, one buyer in Orange County didn’t want to cash out his stocks for a down payment on a $780,000 home, so he paid half of the 20 percent down payment and received the other half from FirstRex. In return, FirstRex will be entitled to 40 percent of any gains in the home's value when it’s sold.

The company is mostly operating in high-end markets in California, Washington, and Oregon, and has plans to roll out in Massachusetts and Connecticut soon too.

Shared-appreciation mortgages first became available in the 1970s, but have not been very popular in recent years.

Many banks are hesitant to lend to buyers who borrow portions of their down payments. FirstRex gets around that by teaming up with several banks, such as Pacific Trust Bank, First Republic Bank, and HomeStreet Bank.

FirstRex will give buyers up to half of their down payment. When the house is sold, the company gets its money back as well as its share of any profits. If there are any losses, the company also shares in those. Home owners have the option to purchase their home’s equity back from FirstRex before selling.

Company founder Thomas Sponholtz says he feels it's a more efficient way to invest in housing than other investment strategies that have been popular lately, such as purchasing homes to rent them out.

"Operating costs are very, very low, because the home owner is really the property manager," Sponholtz told CNNMoney.

Source: “Down payment help in exchange for appreciation,” San Francisco Chronicle (Sept. 28, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/09/30/need-down-payment-sell-shares

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Monday, September 30, 2013

What a Government Shutdown Means for FHA Lending

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

As of early afternoon on Sept. 30, lawmakers were discussing short-term budget legislation, called a continuing resolution, to pay for federal government operations after midnight tonight. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials have updated the National Association of REALTORS® on what to expect concerning the status of Federal Housing Administration loans with a federal government shutdown looming at midnight eastern time.

The Office of Single Family Housing will endorse new loans under current multi-year appropriation authority in order to support the health and stability of the U.S. mortgage market. (FHA endorsements currently represent 15% of the market.) Approximately 80% of FHA loans are endorsed by lenders with delegated authority. The remaining 20% are endorsed through the FHA Homeownership Centers, leveraging FHA staff with a contractor that works on-site.
The Office of Single Family Housing will maintain the minimum operations necessary to support FHA’s existing portfolio.
The FHA Call Center and the National Servicing Center’s Call Center will remain open.
Any function of FHA that is funded through a multi-year appropriation or where the failure to perform those functions would result in an imminent threat to the safety of human life or the protection of property will continue. FHA's portfolio of insured mortgages – multifamily, healthcare, and single family, as well as commitments entered into for project-based rental assistance are within those functions.
The Office of Housing will continue to work on planned sales of defaulted notes, as required for the orderly termination of HUD’s fiduciary insurance and servicing obligations.

In anticipation of a possible shutdown, NAR is consulting with officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, FHA, VA, and the Rural Housing Service, among other agencies, and will post information on how a shutdown is expected to affect these agencies’ operations.

Source: Government Shutdown Update, The National Association of REALTORS® (Sept. 30, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/09/30/what-government-shutdown-means-for-fha-lending

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Study: $50 More Per Square Foot for Homes Near Good Schools

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

Home buyers are willing to pay a premium in order to live in a top-ranked school district, a new study finds. They're forking over an average of $50 more per square foot for homes near top-notch schools, according to Redfin. The brokerage used MLS databases to calculate the median sales price and price per square foot of homes within school zones during the period of May 1 to July 31.

Redfin’s analysis found that even within the same neighborhoods, home buyers are willing to pay substantially more for homes that fall in a top school district than for homes served by average-ranked schools.

“Homes just a short distance apart with nearly identical attributes are selling for drastically different prices,” the report says. “We’ve looked across the country at homes that have sold in the last three months and found five examples where prices vary on identical homes by as much as $130,000.”

Coastal California showed the biggest differences in home prices in the country based on school districts. Homes in the highest-ranked school zones in Los Angeles sold for $300,000 more than comparable homes in lower-ranked school zones; in San Jose, the price difference was $500,000.

The smallest differences in home prices based on school districts were in Queens, N.Y., Raleigh, N.C., and Eugene, Ore., the study found.

Source: Redfin

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/09/26/study-50-more-square-foot-for-homes-near-good-schools

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

As Rates Fall, Loan Demand Rises Again

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Mortgage applications bounced back in the most recent week as interest rates fell, offering some temporary relief to borrowers, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.

The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity, which reflects both refinancing and home purchase demand, increased 5.5 percent for the week ending Sept. 13. The previous week the index had posted an 11.2 percent gain.

This week, the purchase index, viewed as a leading indicator of future home sales, jumped 7 percent during the week.

Meanwhile, the refinancing index increased 4.9 percent. Two weeks ago, the refinancing index had dropped to its lowest level since June 2009 as mortgage rates had risen.

The MBA reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage eased 13 basis points last week, averaging 4.62 percent. Earlier this month, 30-year rates had matched a 4.8 percent high for the year.

Source: “U.S. mortgage applications gain as rates slip - MBA,” Reuters (Sept. 25, 2013) and “U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose 5.5% Last Week,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 25, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/09/25/rates-fall-loan-demand-rises-again

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

5173 N SAN MARCOS DR Apache Junction, AZ 85120

More 'Whisper Listings' Than Ever Before?

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

Off-market real estate deals, also referred to as "whisper listings" or "pocket listings," appear to be on the rise in major housing markets — and they're not just for luxury properties at $20 million or more. These top-secret listings, which are marketed off the MLS, are now happening among transactions below $1 million, as more sellers try to test the market without the commitment of officially putting their properties up for sale.

In Manhattan, for example, "sellers feel cocky. Sellers feel like they have the ball," Brian K. Lewis, an associate broker at Halstead Property, told The New York Times. He says he has taken on seven whisper listings in the past six months from clients who did not want to list their apartments on the open market. The sellers, however, were still willing to accept offers from all potential buyers. "In an improving economy with no inventory, they have the asset people want," Lewis says.

Off-market listings seem to be rising most in markets with inventories that are particularly stretched thin, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami, the Times reports.

"There's more of it now than ever before," says Shaun Osher, CEO of New York brokerage CORE. "We as brokers know everything is always for sale at a price."

Some sellers are opting to go the route of whisper listings because they believe, by keeping their homes off the open market, they won’t have to deal with the hassle of constantly getting their homes ready for showings.

New technology also is causing a growth in whisper listings. Yapmo, a mobile software company, is one such innovation. Its mobile app allows brokers to share information about properties with each other before the properties hit the market. Chicago firm @properties, which adopted the software in January, says an average of 41 properties per month — or 5 percent of the firm's transactions — have gone into contract before being put on the market.

Still, some real estate professionals say they have a distaste for these under-the-radar deals. Those who represent buyers may like that there's less competition, but on the seller side, some brokerage firms argue that these deals inevitably shut some brokers out. Also, sellers hoping for a quick full-price sale are limiting their buyer pool and their chance of securing the highest price possible.

"It's sort of like saying, 'Achieve this great price and do all of this, but don't tell anybody about it,'" says Brown Harris Stevens President Hall F. Willkie.

But sometimes you just have to do what the client wants, other real estate professionals say.

“It’s really up to the seller in terms of how they want a real estate broker to represent them,” says Neil Garfinkel, broker counsel to the Real Estate Board of New York.

Source: “For Your Ears Only,” The New York Times (Sept. 20, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/09/24/more-whisper-listings-ever

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

The Kallhoff Team

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

CoreLogic: Home Prices Up 12.4% for Year

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Need a Down Payment? Sell Shares

Monday, September 30, 2013

What a Government Shutdown Means for FHA Lending

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Study: $50 More Per Square Foot for Homes Near Good Schools

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

As Rates Fall, Loan Demand Rises Again

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

5173 N SAN MARCOS DR Apache Junction, AZ 85120

More 'Whisper Listings' Than Ever Before?

About Me

Blog Archive