News

News

Fannie Mae Survey: Now Is a Good Time to Sell

sold

According to a new report by Mortgage News Daily, the October National Housing Survey – which is sponsored by Fannie Mae – has found that seller confidence is at an all-time high.

The survey revealed that 44 percent of respondents feel that now is a good time to sell a house.

“Consumers are growing more optimistic about the housing market in the face of broader improvement in economic sentiment,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The narrowing gap between home buying and home selling sentiment may foreshadow increased housing inventory levels and a better balance of housing supply and demand. These results may help drive a healthier housing market in 2015.”

Image via flickr/Matt_Lodi

Continue to original source.

News

Bank of America, US Bancorp Settle Mortgage-Bond Suit

Screen Shot 2014-11-10 at 10.11.21 AM

Bank of America and US Bancorp have agreed to settle their mortgage-bond suit for $69 million, Bloomberg News is reporting.

According to the news site, “Bank of America Corp. and US Bancorp (USB) agreed to pay $69 million to settle a lawsuit with investors who said the banks failed to protect them in their role as trustees for securities backed by Washington Mutual Inc. home mortgages.”

A federal judge in New York City must approve the agreement before it will take effect.

Image via flickr/401(K) 2012

Continue to original source.

News

San Fran Housing Prices Decline for First Time Since 2012

Screen Shot 2014-11-07 at 9.52.15 AM

The cost of housing in San Francisco took an unexpected downward turn from July to August of this year, Collateral Vision reported on Thursday. Home prices were down 2.1 percent over the month-long period, making it the first time since February 2012 that prices had dropped from one month to another.

As the mortgage news site points out, however, “that won’t make much of a dent with the already incredibly high prices in that city.”

Image via Flickr/ Jeffrey Keeton

Continue to original source.

News

All-Cash Home Sales Decline to 1 in 3

Screen Shot 2014-11-07 at 9.50.20 AM

The number of all-cash home sales declined in the third quarter of 2014, Mortgage News Daily is reporting. In the second quarter of the year, 36.9 percent of all transactions were dealt in all in cash, but that number dropped to 33.9 percent in the third.

“Cash sales continue to be an important piece of the real estate puzzle right now, representing one in every three home sales nationwide in the third quarter of 2014 and helping to drive up U.S. median home prices 38 percent over the last two and half years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “As institutional investors and other cash buyers slow down their purchasing in many markets across the country, more traditional buyers – including first-time homebuyers and move-up buyers – will need to increasingly fill in the missing puzzle pieces to maintain the momentum of the housing recovery.”

Image via Flickr/401(K) 2012

Continue to original source.

News

Two Changes Necessary to Bring First-Time Buyers Back into Housing Market

sold

According to Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy, two major factors need to change if we want to see more first-time homebuyers enter the real estate market.

First, he says, the fees associated with FHA loans – the “traditional form of purchasing a home” for most first-time homebuyers – need to be drastically reduced. And second, underwriting methodologies need to be revised.

“The first-time buyer, traditionally, is a higher-risk buyer,” Smith said. “But with some, I think, basic considerate underwriting we can get the first-time homebuyer back.”

Image via flickr/Mark Moz

Continue to original source.

News

Lenders Rejecting Mortgage Applications Due to Soaring Costs

rejected

According to a report by Bloomberg News, many more individuals have had their mortgage applications denied in recent months than ever before.

“The biggest thing people are suffering from is the cost to manufacture a loan,” explained Clem Ziroli, president of First Mortgage Corp. in Ontario, California. “If you have a high credit score, it’s easier. For deserving borrowers with lower scores, the cost for mistakes is prohibitive and is causing lenders to not want to make those loans.”

Image via flickr/Sean MacEntee

Continue to original source.

News

First-Time Home Buying Lowest Since 1987

sold

First-time homebuyers make up just 33% percent of the current real estate market, according to a new report released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday.

That number is the lowest point in nearly three decades, since 1987.

“Rising rents and repaying student loan debt makes saving for a down payment more difficult, especially for young adults who’ve experienced limited job prospects and flat wage growth since entering the workforce,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told Mortgage News Daily. “Adding more bumps in the road, is that those finally in a position to buy have had to overcome low inventory levels in their price range, competition from investors, tight credit conditions and high mortgage insurance premiums.”

Image via flickr/ torbakhopper HE DEAD

Continue to original source.

News

Housing Not Affordable for Many, Despite Lower Prices

money

According to a report by RealtyTrac, the issue of affordability in housing is measured very differently today than it used to be.

“A real estate market that should be flying high is instead a real estate market that is faltering,” explained Brian Mushaney, Executive Vice President, Data Solutions, for RealtyTrac.

Although housing prices and interest rates are down to historic lows, incomes are also down. According to Mortgage News Daily, “It takes $1,430 today to purchase goods and services costing $1,000 in 1999,” leaving a smaller percentage of income available for housing.

Image via flickr/Tax Credits

Continue to original source.

News

Homelessness Steadily Declining in North Dakota

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 8.28.35 AM

North Dakota currently leads the nation in the decline of homelessness with a 40 percent drop over the last year, according to the federal government census.

Nationally, the number of homeless individuals is also declining, though at a much smaller rate. The census found 578,000 Americans to be homeless this year, which is down about 2 percent from 2013.

Image via flickr/ Kamil Porembiński

Continue to original source.

News

Baby Boomers Likely to Stay Put or Upsize, Not Downsize

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 8.27.08 AM

A new survey compiled by The Demand Institute found that Baby Boomers are very happy to continue living right where they are, thank you very much. And if they do move, they’d prefer to upsize rather than downsize.

A previous report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and the AARP had suggested that boomers would be likely to move into homes with features more accommodating to aging individuals, though this new survey paints an opposite picture.

“This survey simply reflects what people are telling us their plans are,” said Jeremy Burbank, vice president at The Demand Institute. “In some cases, they’re planning ahead and being realistic, and in other cases, they’re not.”

Image via flickr/Laurie Avocado

Continue to original source.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2014/10/30/some-aging-baby-boomers-will-upsize-not-downsize-if-they-move-at-all-poll-finds/