Selling AZ With Rebecca

Friday, October 25, 2013

Mortgage Rates Fall to Four-Month Lows

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013

Fixed mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels since this summer, giving a lift this week to the housing recovery.

"Mortgage rates slid this week as the partial government shutdown led to market speculation that the Federal Reserve will not alter its bond purchases this year,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Mortgage rates have been dropping since September when the Federal Reserve decided to delay tapering its $85-billion per month bond purchasing program, which has been keeping rates low.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Oct. 24:

30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.13 percent, with an average 0.8 point, dropping from last week’s 4.28 percent average. That’s the lowest average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage since June 20. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.41 percent.
15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.24 percent, with an average 0.6 point, falling from last week’s 3.33 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 2.72 percent.
5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 3.07 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.75 percent.
1-year ARMs: averaged 2.60 percent, with an average 0.5 point, dropping from last week’s 2.63 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.59 percent.

—REALTOR(R) Magazine Daily News

Investment, Market Conditions, Mortgage, Open House, Real Estate, Selling My House, Selling your house

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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Banks Show Signs of Easing Lending Standards

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013

More borrowers may have an easier time qualifying for a mortgage as banks begin to accept lower credit scores and smaller down payments, according to the latest data from mortgage tracker Ellie Mae.

The average FICO score for a borrower who closed on a home loan last month was 732, a drop from 750 last year, Ellie Mae reports. Top FICO scores are 850. Nearly one-third of borrowers who closed on home loans had FICO scores under 700. That compares to 17 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, the average down payment for a home loan was 19 percent compared to 22 percent a year ago.

"We continue to see things open up ever so slightly month by month," says Ellie Mae President Jonathan Corr.

Many banks are showing these signs. In states that were hit hard by foreclosures, such as Arizona, Florida, and Nevada, JPMorgan Chase reduced down payment requirements on primary home loans from 10 percent to 5 percent. It also dropped its minimum down payment requirement on second homes from 20 percent to 10 percent. JPMorgan Chase says that the markets “have shown strong signs of improvement.”

Still, while some lenders are easing up, mortgage standards remain tight and may even get tighter next year, experts say. A new lending rule that goes into effect in January requires lenders to issue mortgages that meet federal standards or the lenders will face greater liability from borrower lawsuits if the loans default. Learn more about the Qualified Mortgage Rule.

"We're seeing tweaking of the underwriting standards, but it's not a wholesale loosening," says Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. "The pendulum is still too far toward restrictive."

Source: “Home loans become a little easier to get,” USA Today (Oct. 23, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/24/banks-show-signs-easing-lending-standards

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Study: When Stocks Rise, So Do Home Prices

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2013

Home prices in a given area tend to increase when the stock valuations of nearby publicly traded companies go up, according to a new Redfin study. For every $1 billion increase in stock value of locally based companies, the median sales price of nearby homes increases by $4,400, the study found.

Redfin analyzed home prices and stock valuations of 824 public companies across 19 metros over the last two decades. In Silicon Valley — home to 45 publicly traded companies valued at a total of $1.1 trillion — an increase in stock value of just 1 percent could lead to a rise of more than $48,000 in the area's median home sales price, according to the study.

Redfin notes that it may take three months for a change in companies' stock valuations to affect home prices.

The study found the following metros had the strongest correlation between median home sales prices and the stock valuations of its local companies:

Las Vegas
San Jose, Calif.
New York City
Raleigh, N.C.
Los Angeles
Atlanta
San Diego

Source: “A Common Trait that Silicon Valley, Las Vegas, and New York all Share. Hint: It’s not the Weather,” Redfin (Oct. 17, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/22/study-when-stocks-rise-so-do-home-prices

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Monday, October 21, 2013

35% Say They've Lived in a Haunted House

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

More than half of home buyers say they’d be OK buying a “haunted” house, according to realtor.com’s 2013 Haunted House Report, based on nearly 1,400 respondents' views regarding spooky homes. In fact, more than a third of respondents say they’ve already lived in a haunted house.

But if they’re going to live in a scary home, buyers expect a discount, the survey finds. Thirty-four percent of respondents say they would buy a haunted home if it were discounted 1 to 30 percent, and 22 percent said they would buy a spooky house if it had a discount of 31 to 50 percent. Nineteen percent of survey respondents say it would take a discount of 51 percent or more on a haunted house for them to buy it.

“When purchasing a home, buyers want to know what they are getting into, and that includes anything potentially spooky,” says Alison Schwartz, vice president of corporate communications for Move Inc., the operator of realtor.com. “Our data reveals that while the majority of consumers are open to purchasing a haunted home, many buyers conduct research on a home’s history to be aware of any weird incidences.”

The survey revealed that respondents believed the following are warning signs that a home could be haunted:

61 percent say a cemetery on the property;
50 percent say a home that is over 100 years old;
45 percent considered quick transitions in owners could be an indicator;
45 percent say an unexplainable low price on the home;
43 percent say a home’s close proximity to a battlefield could be another sign.

Many respondents also say they can be spooked away from a haunted home. They rated the following five incidents as having the potential to scare them away:

Levitating objects
Ghost sightings
Supernatural sensations
Flickering lights/appliances
Strange noises, such as footsteps and doors slamming

Source: “Survey: Most People Open to Buying a Haunted House,” realtor.com (Oct. 18, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/21/35-say-theyve-lived-in-haunted-house

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Builders' Confidence Wanes in October

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built, single-family homes dropped in October as concerns mounted over rising mortgage rates and uncertainty sparked by the government shutdown, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Still, "builder optimism remains above 50 and we are still seeing signs of pent-up demand in many markets across the country," says NAHB Chairman Rick Judson. "This slight dip in builder sentiment is the result of continuing challenges in the marketplace with regard to the cost and availability of labor and lots and uncertainty in Washington."

Overall, builder confidence posted a reading of 55 on the index in October. Any number above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as “good” rather than “poor.” NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe expected that once the government impasse was resolved, builder and consumer optimism would bounce back.

“Interest rates remain near historic lows and we don't expect the level of rates to have a major impact on sales and starts going forward,” Crowe says.

The index measures builder perceptions in single-family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months, and buyer traffic. All three indicators dropped two points in October. Current sales conditions registered 58 on the index; sales expectations were 62; and buyer traffic fell to 44.

Source: National Association of Home Builders

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/17/builders-confidence-wanes-in-october

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Where New Homes Have the Largest Lots

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

New England has the largest lots for new homes, nearly double the size of lots in other regions of the country, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction.

The median lot size for single-family homes that began construction in 2012 was three quarters of an acre in the New England area compared to 0.18 acres in the West South Central area, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

Here’s how lot sizes stacked up regionally:

New England (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut): 0.75 acres
East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee): 0.40 acres
Midwest-East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin): 0.38 acres
Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania): 0.29 acres
South Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia): 0.25 acres
West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota): 0.23 acres
West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas): 0.18 acres
Mountain Division (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming): 0.18 acres
Pacific Division (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington): 0.14 acres

Source: “Lots for New Homes Largest in New England,” RISMedia (Oct. 14, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/15/where-new-homes-have-largest-lots

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Monday, October 14, 2013

Middle-Class Buyers Getting Edged Out?

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2013

Middle-class home buyers are struggling to find enough affordable homes on the market as rising prices, higher interest rates, and flat incomes limit their choices.

More than half of homes for sale this month in 14 of the 100 largest metros were out of reach for middle-class home buyers, according to a new study by Trulia. The real estate company based affordability rates on a monthly payment — after a 20 percent down payment as well as taxes and insurance costs — that was less than 31 percent of the metro area’s median household income.

The number of affordable homes for middle-class buyers has decreased or stayed flat in 99 metros since October 2012, Trulia found. Rochester, N.Y., was the only metro to see a gain.

Places like Orange County, Calif., have seen the worst tightening of affordable inventory for middle-class buyers. In 2012, 44 percent of homes there were affordable to the middle class; that has fallen to 23 percent this year.

A big drop in foreclosures and lower-priced homes is a major catalyst of the shift. The percentage of existing home sales nationwide that were distressed properties selling at discounts has fallen from 23 percent last year to 12 percent as of August, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Though housing affordability for the middle class appears to be the most problematic in California, other metros are also seeing affordability lessen by big margins. In Boston, middle-class buyers now can afford 41 percent of homes on the market, down from 53 percent last year. In Denver, the percentage has fallen from 70 percent to 55 percent. Seattle has gone from 66 percent to 55 percent

The following are the markets with the least number of affordable homes for the middle class, according to Trulia’s study:

San Francisco
Percentage of homes affordable to middle class: 14.2%
Maximum affordable home price: $409,000
Orange County, Calif.
Percentage of homes affordable to middle class: 23.1%
Maximum affordable home price: $373,000
Los Angeles
Percentage of homes affordable to middle class: 24%
Maximum affordable home price: $271,000
New York
Percentage of homes affordable to middle class: 25.3%
Maximum affordable home price: $274,000
San Diego
Percentage of homes affordable to middle class: 28.4%
Maximum affordable home price: $309,000

Despite the drops, overall housing affordability nationwide still remains high historically. In 40 of the 100 metro areas, 70 percent or more of the homes remained within reach to middle-class buyers. Also, home prices remain 5 percent undervalued based on long-term price, income, and rent levels, Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, told USA Today.

Source: “Middle-class buyers see fewer affordable homes,” USA Today (Oct. 10, 2013)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2013/10/14/middle-class-buyers-getting-edged-out

http://www.rebeccasellsaz.com/

Selling AZ With Rebecca

Friday, October 25, 2013

Mortgage Rates Fall to Four-Month Lows

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Banks Show Signs of Easing Lending Standards

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Study: When Stocks Rise, So Do Home Prices

Monday, October 21, 2013

35% Say They've Lived in a Haunted House

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Builders' Confidence Wanes in October

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Where New Homes Have the Largest Lots

Monday, October 14, 2013

Middle-Class Buyers Getting Edged Out?

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