We had a great Account Exec, and thought the BofA wholesale platform was strong and valuable.
If you are working with BofA, make note of the time lines below:
There is a message posted on the wholesale lending website outlining the time frames to close out your pipeline. Below is an excerpt from the message that includes the key dates.
Key dates:
·No new applications via the Wholesale Lending website will be accepted after close of business today, Tuesday, October 5.
·All application packages must be submitted and received electronically by the close of business, Friday, October 15.
·Pipeline applications must fund by Wednesday, December 1.
·Locks will be accepted through the close of business, Wednesday, October 13.
oAll locks during this time frame must be 45 days or less in duration.
oThe normal extension, relock and renegotiation policies will apply, but will not be allowed to extend the original duration beyond December 1.
oAll floating loans as of Thursday, October 14 will be considered canceled.
·Access to the Wholesale Lending Web Site (WLWS) will be terminated Wednesday, December 1.
·DO sponsorship accounts for Bank of America Brokers will be terminated Wednesday, December 1.
Did you know that The Mortgage Group, for the 2nd year in a row, was one of the fastest 5,000 growing companies in the US! In the August 2010 addition of INC. magazine we were up to #2,782 from 2009's ranking of 4,136!!! IMPORTANT! If you currently have a FHA mortgage and would like to lower your rate without an appraisal, call or email soon. If you have a loan that is serviced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and are slightly under water, we may be able to help folks if their negative equity is 5% or less. This program is also available for investment properties. Call or email for details. If you are a homeowner over age 62, and would like more information on the merits of a Reverse mortgage, please contact me. Remember, your referrals are the lifeblood of my business. Thank you for remembering me. I Hope you enjoy this newsletter.
No, we are not talking about a depression here. We are talking about the more constant use of the word "deflation." Actually, deflation can be considered a depression of prices. We often say that one of the objectives of the Federal Reserve Board is to fight inflation. We can also say that another objective of the Fed is to protect us against deflation, however the threat of deflation comes up so rarely, there is little discussion of the issue. We all know why higher prices are bad for the economy. When consumers have to spend more of their income on staples, they have less money left over to spend and contribute to economic growth. Inflation is typically accompanied by higher rates which also depress the economy. If money will be worth less in future years, banks that lend money have to charge high rates in order to make a profit.
So why would deflation be bad news? Deflation is not only a symptom of a poor economy, it would contribute to the lack of economic growth as well. Why would a manufacturer produce goods if those goods are likely to fall in price below the replacement value? We have such an example right now where builders have found in some areas that homes are selling for less than the replacement costs. Why build a home if you can’t sell it at a price that is equal to the cost of building? Here is the good news. Natural population growth in the world has put so much pressure on natural resources such as energy, it is not likely that deflation will become a problem. It is more likely that the slow economic growth we are experiencing will be accompanied by low rates of inflation and therefore low rates such as we are experiencing. And this is a good thing, because we need these low rates if we are going to continue to grow out of the slump. A little inflation right now is good news but increased rates of inflation while the economy is not growing would be bad news. Then we would be discussing another bad word: stagflation.
The Markets. Like a broken record (or we should say records), the weak economic data continues to contribute to the current string of record-breaking rates. The streak has been running for over two months now. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending August 26, 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.36%, down from 4.42% the previous week. The average for 15-year fixed fell to 3.86%. Adjustables were stable with the average for one-year adjustables down slightly to 3.52% and five-year adjustables remaining at 3.56%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 5.14%. Attributed to Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac, "Existing home sales plunged 27 percent in July, while new homes fell 12 percent to a new all-time record low, which led to some market concerns that the housing market may slow the economic recovery. As a result, long-term bond yields fell to the lowest levels since January 2009, allowing fixed rates to ease to new record lows this week. Much of the slowdown in sales, however, was expected due to the recently expired homebuyer tax programs, which pulled through future home purchases into the first half of the year. The average existing home sales over the first seven months of 2010 were nearly 8 percent higher than over the same period a year ago. Moreover, house prices still appear to be stabilizing. Nationally, house prices rose 0.9 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis during the second quarter of this year this year after 11 consecutive quarterly declines, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase only index. Eight of the nine census regions experienced positive gains, compared to none in the first quarter." Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.
Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages Updated August 27, 2010
Daily Value
Monthly Value
August 26
July
6-month Treasury Security
0.19%
0.20%
1-year Treasury Security
0.25%
0.29%
3-year Treasury Security
0.77%
0.98%
5-year Treasury Security
1.38%
1.76%
10-year Treasury Security
2.50%
3.01%
12-month LIBOR
1.124% (July)
12-month MTA
0.370% (July)
11th District Cost of Funds
1.797% (June)
Prime Rate
3.25%
Breaking News:One of the most popular housing programs in the United States is tightening their guidelines for refinances, effective with loan applications taken on September 7th. If you are thinking about taking advantage of today’s record low rates, the time to act may be now as FHA is tightening their standards by requiring more equity in their homes for those who want to refinance to lower their payments.
More than 48 percent of first-time buyers expect home prices to increase by this time next year, according to a survey by Century 21 Real Estate. The survey posed questions to people who had bought or sold a home in the last year. Sixty percent of first-time home buyers say they didn’t understand the process of buying a home, and more than 85 percent of both first-time buyers and sellers said that using a real estate professional was important. The top three skills valued in a real estate professional by both buyers and sellers were knowledge of the area, trustworthiness, and responsiveness. More than 80 percent of buyers believe now is a good time to buy a home. In choosing a home, 95 percent of first-time home buyers thought price was the most important consideration, but 90 percent were also very concerned about neighborhood safety. About 54 percent of first-time sellers think home prices are more affordable now than they were this time last year, and 50 percent were selling because they were purchasing a property they saw as more attractive and better suited to their needs. Source: Century 21 Real Estate LLC
2009 survey of home owners conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that most of them are satisfied with their residences. About 70 percent of respondents rated their homes an 8, 9, or 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 28 percent giving them the "best" rating of 10. Residents of new construction tend to rate their homes even more highly: 84 percent gave them between an 8 and 10, and 45 percent gave a perfect 10 rating. Likewise, more than 68 percent of residents rated their neighborhoods highly, with 25 percent giving it a "best" rating. People living in newly built homes rate their neighborhoods especially highly: 75 percent rated their neighborhoods highly and 35 percent said their neighborhoods were 10s. The nation’s home owners paid a median of $1,000 in monthly housing costs in 2009, compared with $808 for renters, according to the findings. The most common reasons recent movers had for choosing their neighborhoods were convenience to job (20 percent), convenience to friends or relatives (14 percent), look/design of neighborhood (10 percent), and the house itself (10 percent). Source: US Census Bureau
Reis Inc. reports that the nation’s second-quarter apartment vacancy rate slipped 20 basis points to an average of 7.8 percent from the first three months of the year — the first drop in over two years. SNL Financial, meanwhile, notes that the average occupancy for apartments owned by REITs increased nearly 100 basis points from a year earlier to almost 95 percent as of the end of March. Falling homeownership, coupled with the young and employed leaving their parents’ homes or roommates to rent their own units at a rapid clip, suggest that demand for multifamily housing could climb at a modest clip for at least the next several months. Investor Business Daily
This is a nexessary read for any one that is an active FaceBook user.
PS: While my business is good and growing steadily, it is important for you to know that I am always looking forward to helping those you refer to me: your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers!
Here's the dark side of Facebook PLACES. It just went live on Wednesday last week -- so the Bartman decided to give it a whirl.
I was celebrating a killer July sales month so I decided to have a dinner party and I invited some of my younger friends in their 30's. All of them iPad, iPhone, or Droid toting, digitally connected REALTOR colleagues.
We headed over to Blue Corn Cafe off Jefferson and I-25 for blue margaritas.
The wait staff had arranged a large, long table for all of us. when 90% of our group had arrived I had announced I had checked them in on Facebook Places as they arrived to I could inform the rest of the group.
Foursquare lets you check in and tagging people with GPS like check-in programs like Foursquare and now Facebook Places isn't a bad thing, right? Well... as I learned today (Sunday) it depends on who you talk to. Because it CAN be a huge violation of your Privacy.
Here's what happened.
I now have more than 1,000 Friends on Facebook. Combined with my friends and colleagues I invited to dinner on Friday, we probably shared more than 17,000 friends/contacts.
As my friends arrived, I checked them into Facebook places without their permission. Informing the rest of the incoming gang where we were and who showed up.
When I informed the group I had added them -- 5 out of the 11 were upset. One of my friends was completely torked. He had told his wife a small white lie. He told his better half that he had work to do.
She is an avid user of Facebook. (whoops, my bad! )
So he imagined his wife waiting at home for him at the front door -- holding the frying pan to beat him over the head immediately upon his arrival.
Another problem didn't surface until the next day. My post on Facebook Places showed up in more than 100 newsfeed websites. I never meant to broadcast this to a ton of websites. What the Hell was I thinking?
Ooops. Here I am reading about my dinner party and who I checked in as the arrived at the door. Why does this have to make the news feeds? I had no clue. Suffice it to say, I got a few upset phone calls this weekend. Fortunately, the newsfeeds dump stuff quickly and I personally wrote 11 of them asking them to please clear the news about my party which was now a train wreck that I wanted to forget.
Who's responsible for this problem? Marrk Zuckerberg, CEO and jerk at large from Facebook. Apparently he just can't seem to stay out of trouble. In April, Facebook announced the LIKE button feature which violated a lot of people's security by openly allowing anyone with the skills to hack your personal calendar online and access content you might not want others to have.
What's WRONG with Check In Networks like Foursquare and new Facebook Places? Plenty of you've been stalked on line by thieves.
My checking my friends into Facebook Places sends the clear message to a whole new crop of smart theft rings, I call; DiHeads ( Digital Housebreakers with Droids or DHD's )
One of my colleagues told me this is a real problem and he showed me a website, PleaseRobMeshowed the darker side of Check in Websites. I invite you to click and visit that site. If you use Twitter, Facebook or Foursquare -- this will scare the living daylights out of you. And it needs to wake all of us up -- because we have to be careful with what we do online.
Because thieves will watch you and wait for you to leave your home. The process might take weeks or months of stalking. But one day, you go home and you learn sometimes too late, that you need to be more careful with what you post online.
Below is the video on YouTube that shows you how to deactivate the Facebook Places and prevents people from ADDING or letting them Check you in, too.
Tsk. Tsk. I like Facebook.
But it seems that Facebook never really thinks alot about how their new products will affect personal security. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook's founder/CEO) blindly spends millions of dollars in new products that can harm you.
They screwed up in April on the privacy issues. And now... here we go again.
Below is the YouTube Video that Facebook Places is now under your control.
Below is an interesting write up from a Bank of America economist.
The refinancing wave has been tepid given that the average rate on a 30-year
conforming mortgage has fallen to a record low of 4.42%. At this rate,
the large majority of homeowners have an incentive to refinance. It is therefore
disappointing that the pre-released tables from the 2009 American Housing
Survey show that, of the 68% of homeowners with mortgages; nearly half have
mortgages greater than 6%.
The relatively low rate of refinancing is seemingly a function of the difficult and
timely process that requires a great deal of paperwork and upfront costs for the
borrowers. Negative equity borrowers will also face roadblocks to refinancing.
This is unfortunate, since a refinancing boom would provide a stimulus to the
stumbling economy. Assuming the median price of $171,400 over the first half of
the year and a 20% downpayment, the median monthly payment would drop from
$822 with a 6% mortgage rate to $695 with a 4.5% mortgage rate. This translates
to a savings of $1,528 a year, or 2.5% of median US family income.
Have a great day!
PS: While my business is good and growing steadily, it is important for you to know that I am always looking forward to helping those you refer to me: your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers!
Hello! LiveWire, an unaffiliated Networking and Referral group, is looking to add a successful, ethical, community driven Realtor to the group. If you are looking to generate warm referrals from a group of dedicated professionals, a group like this is a must. Please call or email me if you would like to attend one of our weekly breakfast meetings. We meet every Wednesday morning from 8:25 to about 9:45AM at The Cozy Grill, 440 Warwick Ave, Warwick, RI0288841.7643-71.4048. We have just enough structure to add to your bottom line and just enough flexibility to keep it fun. Bring plenty of business cards!
Best, -Sean
PS: Will we see you at tomorrow's breakfast meeting? How 'bout next week? Don't wait, the opening will fill quickly!
Have a great day!
PS: While my business is good and growing steadily, it is important for you to know that I am always looking forward to helping those you refer to me: your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers!
I mentioned in a blog the other day that I was establishing a new networking group. This is because I want to be proactive in setting myself up in the best possible situation I can for the coming slower winter months. This is also because I've experienced the benefits of a networking group that works the way it is supposed to. Our first networking group did right at $80k in business among a dozen members in one year.
If you've never been in a networking group, you might want to consider joining one, if there are strong networking groups in your area. Usually these will be a BNI or a Goldstar group. To get into the networking group, there has to be an opening for the real estate, loan officer, inspector or whatever position. These spots usually open up when a person benefits so much from the referrals from the group that they get too busy to stay in the group. I know it sounds odd, but trust me, it happens. A person may leave a networking group also when they just arent' connecting with others in the group.
It may be just me, but I think being the only real estate professional (or whatever you do) is the way to go. Most networking groups allow only one person per profession. That way, you're the only real estate agent who receives the leads from the group. Also, you can discuss your trade secrets openly. Of course, make sure you know everyone in the group really well first! You don't want to give away all your competitive advantages to someone who may go give them to the competition. This would be an ethical violation in many groups.
A major benefit of joining a networking group, besides referrals, is the friendship and support you will receive. When done right, the local networking group is something like Active Rain on a local level. There is discussion, education, support, spirited dialog and income producing opportunity. That's the good stuff! The bad stuff is that networking groups aren't perfect. Sometimes they don't last. Sometimes the leadership changes and the group is negatively impacted. And sometimes, you just don't fit into the group. The good news though, is that there are usually other groups around. And if there are no groups that are open, you can just go and start your own.
My advice is to look for a breakfast networking group. That means you'll have to get out of your bed early, but the referral payoff can be big! Lunch groups usually take an hour and half minimum and can be difficult when you get into a busy day. We tried setting up a lunch group and it failed miserably. As well intentioned as everyone was, most couldn't make the lunchtime meeting due to unscheduled stuff that would pop up during the morning.
Tomorrow, I'll share how our new networking group is going be structured and how the things we are going to do are a bit different from the "establishment" groups. We're very excited because we're taking the best of what works in networking groups, tweaking it and adding our own elements. We believe we've found the formula that is going to draw members and give them the support and referrals we all want and need in a slow economy.
Click here to check out my Greater Tulsa and Owassowebsite. The premier greater Tulsa and Owasso, OK homes local informational website for your real estate needs.
While some people have REAL reasons to default on their home loans, the "strategic" defaulter only adds to the greater problem. Think twice, learn your options and don't lend to the culture of entitlement.
FANNIE MAE BRINGING DOWN THE HAMMER ON STRATEGIC DEFAULTS
Fannie Mae announced today that they will make people who can make their payments and who do a strategic default will make them wait seven years before they are eligible for a Fannie Mae loan. It is estimated that there are 11 million homes across America who are under water. That means the home owner owes more on the mortgage than the current market value of the home. We are facing the worst real estate bubble in the history of this county. There were predictions that we could have up to 21 million households upside down in their house in three years. I believe Fannie Mae is taking an early position to make people think twice before they perform a strategic default.
DEFINITION OF A STRATEGIC DEFAULT
This is when a home owner is walking away from their mortgage that they could pay but have decided not to because they owe more than their house is were worth at the current time. Home owners are not seeing any hope. So, their ideal suggestion is to give up and start all over.
Furthermore, Fannie Mae stated that they will pursue deficiency judgments in states that allow this by law. Please contact Harry D'Eliato learn more about your option in Arizona. Do you want to be on this list? Strategic defaults are continuing to rise because people have lost hope in the American Finance Machine. People on Wall Street continue to receive big bonuses at Christmas time and the American home owner is losing their home. Where is the balance? Who is monitoring Wall Street?
Fannie Mae will look at each hardship as it crosses it desk. A person with an acceptable hard ship or an approved short sale will only have to wait two years before obtaining a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae. Another option for home owners is to sign over their house in a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" to avoid a lengthy foreclosure process.
Statistics show that 7 out of 10 people who were foreclosed on their home did not seek a real estate professional for assistance. The Real Estate and Beyond Teamis here to serve the Phoenix, Arizona. We have professional lawyers, CPAs and tax attorneys waiting to assist you during your time of need. Would you like to know your options? If you cannot sleep at night, then please contact Harry D'Elia.
Harry D'Elia recently acquired another Realtor Designation-
CERTIFIED SHORT SALE NEGOTIATOR (CSSN)
Make the Call, Set the Plan, Do the Deal$!
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
Never did we see a more important dichotomy in the releases on the state of real estate in the past week. First, Standard and Poor’s released a report that stated it will take three years to clear the shadow inventory from the markets, though this number will vary widely based upon location. Three years of shadow inventory indicates that the real estate market will continue to be a drag upon the economy for the next few years. Second, an article was released by CNN/Money that indicates we are heading towards a long-term housing shortage (See Real Estate News Section For More Information). There is plenty of present excess inventory as the amount of shadow inventory has been estimated at anywhere from four to eight million homes, however, in the long-run we are not building or replacing enough units to keep up with the long-term demand of population growth. What does this say? It says that real estate is a great long-term investment, especially at today’s prices and rates. The problem always arises when we think about real estate in terms of the short-run. During the boom everyone was looking to make a killing. However, real estate is a long-term investment and anyone purchasing a home should be measuring its worth over decades, not months.
Meanwhile, there seems to be some life in the markets. In the past several weeks the stock market seemed to be taking every piece of news negatively while it adjusted to the fact that the economy was growing more slowly. The past week was not only the second positive week in a row for the markets, when negative news was released the markets seemed to bounce back more quickly. For example, the housing start and permit data was well below expectations on Wednesday and jobless claims rose more than expected Thursday. However, each day the markets ended the day recovered from early losses. Could this be the turn after a correction? Oil prices seem to be reacting pretty much the same way. Higher oil prices point to markets that are seeing brighter days ahead for the economy. Of course two weeks do not constitute a trend, but certainly the period provides fodder for optimists.
The Markets. Rates were stable at historically low levels in the past week, with fixed rates rising slightly and adjustables falling. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending June 17, 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.75%, up from 4.72% the previous week. The average for 15-year fixed rose to 4.20%. Adjustables were down with the average for one-year adjustables falling to 3.82% and five-year adjustables decreasing to 3.89%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 5.38%. “Rates were little changed this week amid preliminary signs that the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit in April may have led to a slowdown in new construction,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Starts on single-family homes fell 17 percent to an annualized pace of 468,000 units in May from April’s 20-month high. In addition, permits on one-unit homes fell to the slowest pace since May 2009. Nonetheless, household balance sheets have been improving over the past four quarters. In aggregate, households gained $6.3 trillion in net worth in the first quarter from a year ago, according to the Federal Reserve. In addition, homeowners have regained $1.1 trillion in home equity over the same time period. Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.
Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages Updated June 18, 2010
Daily Value
Monthly Value
June 17
May
6-month Treasury Security
0.16%
0.22%
1-year Treasury Security
0.28%
0.37%
3-year Treasury Security
1.18%
1.32%
5-year Treasury Security
2.01%
2.18%
10-year Treasury Security
3.21%
3.42%
12-month LIBOR
1.115% (May)
12-month MTA
0.402% (May)
11th District Cost of Funds
1.825% (April)
Prime Rate
3.25%
The number of U.S. borrowers failing to pay their home loans has fallen significantly in the last few months, according to RBS Securities Inc. Of borrowers with subprime loans wrapped into bonds issued in 2007 who had never previously missed a payment, an average of 2.6 percent failed to pay at least once in March, April or May. That’s a drop from 3.7 percent in February and a 15 percent decline after seasonal adjustments, RBS calculates. “We believe that the last few months’ performance points to a fundamentally positive shift in borrower behavior,” Paul Jablansky, Desmond Macauley, and Ying Wang, analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland, wrote in a June 8 report. Source: Bloomberg
As the nation struggles to shrug off the worst housing crash since the Great Depression, it may be hard to believe a housing shortage could be on its way. The nation is simply not building enough homes to keep up with potential demand. Just 672,000 new homes were started in April, less than half the long-term run rate needed to meet the nation’s natural population growth. "It is ironic, but there is a growing consensus that there may be a new housing shortage coming," said James Gaines, a real estate economist with Texas A&M. So far, the shortfall has been masked by a weak economy that has put a damper on homebuying. Once the job market rebounds, however, people will look to have their own homes again. This pent-up demand could get unleashed on unprepared markets, causing shortages and rising local prices. Household formation has been on hold during the past few years as young people, especially, have been unable to find jobs. In the past, an average of more than 1.3 million households were formed each year, causing demand for 1.5 million new homes. More homes than households are needed to replace those destroyed by fires, floods, teardowns and neglect. In 2009, only 398,000 new households were formed, according to the Census Bureau. That is much lower than average and a quarter of the number formed just two years earlier. "The decline in household formation is artificial," said Gaines. "The young are moving in with their parents. There’s even doubling up among working class people. There’s a pent-up demand coming if and when the economy recovers." Those doubting a new bubble is near point to a large inventory overhang. As many as 7 million homes are vacant but not for sale, according to the Census Bureau, which should provide cushion to offset increased demand. The inventory number, however, can be deceiving for two reasons: People may not want to live in hard-hit areas where the houses are or the homes may be beyond repair. "Many of these vacant homes may not be habitable or are in locations where nobody wants to live," Gaines said. Source: CNN/Money
If the demographics bode well for the for-sale sector of the housing market, the numbers look absolutely smashing for the rental side of the business, according to panelists at PCBC’s Multifamily Trends day. For every 1% decline in the ownership rate, there is a corresponding increase in renter households, said Clyde Holland, chief executive officer of the Holland Partner Group, a Vancouver, Wash.-based developer. So, if there is another 2% decline in the ownership rate to a long-term average of 64%-65%, there will be a need for 5.5 million to 5.7 million rental units, he told the conference. "Even if (the potential renters) double up, there will be demand for 2.5 million to 3 million apartments," Holland said. And that’s on top of the 3.4 million potential renters in the 18- to 34-year-old age bracket—"the largest cohort since the baby boom of the 1960s"—who will enter the market between now and 2015, Holland also pointed out. "This year alone, some 800,000 persons will enter the rental market, and an even larger number will enter the market next year," he said. Household formations, added Brian McAuliffe, managing director of acquisitions at RREEF, Chicago, "are just as critical as job growth, if not more so," to the apartment sector. Source: National Mortgage News
Have a great day!
PS: While my business is good and growing steadily, it is important for you to know that I am always looking forward to helping those you refer to me: your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers!
WASHINGTON - Homebuyers may get an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he wants to give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale.
The proposal would only allow people who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date.
Reid introduced the proposal as an amendment to a bill that would extend jobless benefits through the end of November. Joining him were Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.
Reid, who faces perhaps the toughest re-election campaign of his political career, represents a state that has the nation's highest foreclosure rate.
The National Association of REALTORS® has been pushing hard in Congress for the extension. According to NAR, Mortgage lenders have been swamped with borrowers trying to get approved by the end of the month. Many potential borrowers are unlikely to make the deadline.
"Time is of the essence," said Lucian Salvant, a spokesman for NAR. "It's important for Congress to get this done, because there's whole bunch of loans that aren't going to close on time."
First-time buyers were eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000. Current owners who bought and moved into another home could qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.
Written by: Alan Zibel, Associated Press
Reposted from: www.msnbc.com Thanks to Germani Title for bringing this to my attention!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
The Markets. Like a broken record (or we should say records), the weak economic data continues to contribute to the current string of record-breaking rates. The streak has been running for over two months now. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending August 26, 30-year fixed rates averaged 4.36%, down from 4.42% the previous week. The average for 15-year fixed fell to 3.86%. Adjustables were stable with the average for one-year adjustables down slightly to 3.52% and five-year adjustables remaining at 3.56%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 5.14%. Attributed to Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac, "Existing home sales plunged 27 percent in July, while new homes fell 12 percent to a new all-time record low, which led to some market concerns that the housing market may slow the economic recovery. As a result, long-term bond yields fell to the lowest levels since January 2009, allowing fixed rates to ease to new record lows this week. Much of the slowdown in sales, however, was expected due to the recently expired homebuyer tax programs, which pulled through future home purchases into the first half of the year. The average existing home sales over the first seven months of 2010 were nearly 8 percent higher than over the same period a year ago. Moreover, house prices still appear to be stabilizing. Nationally, house prices rose 0.9 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis during the second quarter of this year this year after 11 consecutive quarterly declines, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase only index. Eight of the nine census regions experienced positive gains, compared to none in the first quarter." Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.
I mentioned in a blog the other day that I was establishing a new networking group. This is because I want to be proactive in setting myself up in the best possible situation I can for the coming slower winter months. This is also because I've experienced the benefits of a networking group that works the way it is supposed to. Our first networking group did right at $80k in business among a dozen members in one year. 
Fannie Mae announced today that they will make people who can make their payments and who do a strategic default will make them wait seven years before they are eligible for a Fannie Mae loan. It is estimated that there are 11 million homes across America who are under water. That means the home owner owes more on the mortgage than the current market value of the home. We are facing the worst real estate bubble in the history of this county. There were predictions that we could have up to 21 million households upside down in their house in three years. I believe Fannie Mae is taking an early position to make people think twice before they perform a strategic default.
;)
;)
