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orange county: What The Federal Reserve's Meeting Today May Mean For Mortgage Rates - 04/29/09 09:24 AM
The Federal Reserve adjourns from its two-day meeting this afternoon. It's one of 8 scheduled meetings each year for the Federal Open Market Committee.
Like all FOMC get-togethers, the purpose of the meeting is to discuss financial and economic conditions in the U.S., and to make new policy to stimulate or retard economic growth, when necessary.
The Federal Reserve's main tool for reaching this goal is the Fed Funds Rate.
When the Fed lowers the Fed Funds Rate, growth is stimulated. When the Fed raises it, growth is slowed. The Fed has other tools at its disposal, of course, but the Fed Funds Rate is … (0 comments)
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orange county: How Swine Flu Helps Mortgage Rates - 04/28/09 09:51 AM
Monday, mortgage markets improved with news of new Swine Flu cases.
It's a classic example of Safe Haven buying and today's rate shoppers will see the benefits.
Mortgage rates improved about 0.125 percent Monday.
It's not an official term, but "Safe Haven buying" describes the trading patterns in which large numbers of investors move money away from risky investments and toward safer ones. As a general rule in Safe Haven buying, stocks sell off and bonds make gains, including mortgage-backed bonds.
Fears that a global Swine Flu outbreak would slow the global recovery is a major reason why mortgage rates improved Monday.
Dumping risk … (0 comments)
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orange county: The "Shadow Inventory" of upcoming foreclosures. Fact, or Myth? - 04/26/09 11:40 AM
Here's an excerpt from the latest Orange County Market Report from my friend Steven Thomas, of Altera Real Estate. It addresses the so called "shadow inventory" of foreclosure properties.
"Isn't there going to be a wave of foreclosures coming on the market? ( The "Shadow Inventory")
I am often asked about a foreclosure moratorium or banks holding back on releasing foreclosures so that they do not saturate the market. Distressed properties also include short sales, where a seller owes more to a lender, or lenders, than a home is worth. In the case of a short sale, even with a successful negotiation … (1 comments)
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orange county: Someday Soon, It May Be Easier To Get Approved For A Conforming Mortgage - 04/23/09 10:04 AM
If falling home values is what prompted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to tighten mortgage guidelines in 2007 and 2008, America's mortgage applicants may get their long-awaiting loosening within the next 18 months.
According to a government report, the values of homes financed with conforming mortgages rose for the third straight month in February.
This is an important piece of data because as values rise on the homes against which conforming mortgages are made, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's respective loan portfolios get less risky.
With less risk related to home values, there's an opening for the agencies to assume more risk … (0 comments)
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orange county: Don't Lump Your Real Estate Research With The 128,203,000 Other Homes In America - 04/22/09 11:13 AM
National real estate data helps economists identify trends in the housing market. It shapes policy and influences markets.
For active home buyers and home sellers, though, national real estate data is irrevelant. This is because national data says nothing for the factors determining home prices in any given zip code.
See, national real estate news is mash-up of data. It's 128,203,000 homes from all 50 states. Each of these states has its own economy and there are different factors that drive home values in each
Most Americans understand this.
But, if we dig deeper, we see that within those states, there are more than 19,000 incorporated … (0 comments)
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orange county: Predicting The Federal Reserve's Next Move : April 2009 Edition - 04/21/09 10:55 AM
The Federal Reserve meets next week for a policy-setting meeting.
It's one of 8 scheduled Fed meetings this year in which the Federal Open Market Committee votes on whether to raise, lower, or leave unchanged the Fed Funds Rate.
Based on data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Wall Street's expectations of the Fed Funds Rate post-meeting are as follows:
97 percent probability that the Fed Funds Rate holds at 0.000 to 0.250% 3 percent probability that the Fed Funds Rate is raised to 0.750%. There is no expectation for a 0.500% Fed Funds Rate.
The Fed Funds Rate influences the … (0 comments)
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orange county: Home Safety : An Easier, Better, Cheaper Fire Extinguisher - 04/20/09 10:07 AM
Sure, you've got a fire extinguisher at home, but if you ever had a fire, would you know what to do with it?
Like any tool, reading the directions can only get you so far. If you've never "pulled the pin" and discharged a fire extinguisher before, fighting an actual fire can be a frightening intiation.
For non-firefighters, there's an alternative. It's an aerosol spray from the First Alert company called the Tundra Fire Extinguishing Spray and it's billed as an intuitive fire safety product.
According to a First Alert product fact sheet, aside from its ease-of-use, the Tundra product boasts several advantages … (0 comments)
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orange county: The 3 States That Accounted For 50% Of The March 2009 Foreclosures - 04/16/09 11:30 AM
Since 2007, foreclosures have dominated real estate news. You can't turn on the news or open a paper without some foreclosure-related story.
But for all of the discussion, foreclosures continue to be geographically concentrated.
Adding up the latest stats from RealtyTrac.com, more than half of the country's foreclosure actions from March occurred in just 3 states -- California, Florida and Nevada.
Those 3 states represent just 19 percent of the nation's population.
Despite the local concentration of foreclosures, however, they remain a national problem. This is because mortgage lenders lend in all 50 states -- not just 3 of them -- so the … (0 comments)
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orange county: A Few Reasons Why Now May Be The Least Expensive And Easiest Time To "Go FHA" - 04/14/09 10:49 AM
Shopping for low mortgage rates is a game of luck.
Some days, mortgage rates are favorable. Other days, they're not. And while you can sometimes make an educated guess about where rates might be headed, you're not always going to guess right.
Even the experts get it wrong more often than they'd like.
But some parts of the rate shopping process can be predicted and one of them is the future of mortgage guidelines.
In general, the more often homeowners default on their respective mortgages, the harder it is for future mortgage applicants to be approved.
This is why … (0 comments)
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orange county: Orange County Housing Report: Demand Suddenly Surges - 04/10/09 11:32 AM
Hello again, Once again I am pleased to present the semimonthly Market Report for Orange County, California real estate, as prepared by my friend Steven Thomas, of Altera Real Estate.
Steven has a degree in Quantum Economics, and is cited regularly as an exceptional source for local real estate data by numerous forms of media in Southern California. Here is the link to his latest report:
https://ochousing.blogspot.com/2009/04/orange-county-housing-report-demand.html
And here are two related articles from two well respected columnists from the Orange County Register, with their perspectives, on his report:
https://mortgage.freedomblogging.com/2009/04/06/oc-foreclosure-market-is-hot/8705/
https://lansner.freedomblogging.com/2009/04/06/oc-for-sale-housing-at-3-year-low/18549/
I found it interesting to compare the different perspectives. If you … (0 comments)
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orange county: April 15 Is 1 Week Away And 27 Million Taxpayers Have Yet To File. If You're One Of Them, Here's Some Tax Tips. - 04/08/09 10:07 AM
There are 138 million taxpayers in the United States and, according to the IRS, 20 percent of them file their taxes within 7 days of April 15. In a holiday-shortened week, that means that 27 million people had better get a move on.
And while a portion of this year's last-minute filers will file with storefront operations like Liberty Tax Service or H&R Block, many others will self-prepare with the help of tax software from TurboTax or TaxCut.
If you're a member of the do-it-yourself crowd, consider taking a review of this year's tax law changes before starting your returns. The stimulus package … (0 comments)
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orange county: Two important deadlines in April - 04/05/09 11:13 PM
Well, there are a couple of big deadlines coming up in the month of April. We all know about the 15th, for income tax purposes - unless you stall for a few months. But, did you know that Orange County homeowners have a deadline of the 30th of April in order to try for a re-assessment of their property taxes?
Here is a recent development with our County's Assessor's office. You no longer have to provide 3 comparable properties along with your request for a review of your property tax assessment. Here is a link to an article from this morning's … (0 comments)
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orange county: Another Positive Housing Signal : The Number Of Homes Under Contract Increase - 04/02/09 09:19 AM
The number of homes under contract to sell is rising, another signal that the housing market may be regaining its footing.
As reported by an industry trade group, the Pending Home Sales Index gained 2 percent in February. The report measures MLS-listed homes in "pending" status -- sold but not yet closed.
Pending Home Sales is not a perfect statistic, though, by any means.
For one, the Pending Home Sales Index doesn't account for non-MLS listed homes including For Sale By Owner properties and mass foreclosure auctions. In certain markets nationwide, these two categories represent a large percentage of the overall transaction volume.
Secondly, Pending … (1 comments)
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orange county: Whatever happened to “Sell high, buy low”? - 03/28/09 02:33 PM
Hello again, I was just looking at the listing inventory of available houses for some potential buyer clients of mine, and was struck by the thought in my headline - Whatever happened to the old adage of "Sell high, and buy low"? That has always been a preferred position to be in, with regard to just about any financial investment, including that of your residence.
For the past couple of years though, that - selling high - has not been a realistic goal for most home sellers. The adage IS working fine now, for most buyers, especially with the number of … (0 comments)
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orange county: Watch Out For Mortgage Rates When Gas Prices Rise - 03/25/09 10:54 AM
Don't look now but oil prices are climbing.
This should worry today's home buyers and would-be refinancers because some of the same forces that helped to push crude past $50 for the first time in 4 months also cause mortgage rates to rise.
March 18, the Federal Reserve committed an additional $1.15 trillion to support the economy.
Since the announcement, investors have questioned whether the Fed is purposefully spurring inflation. The Fed's total debt purchases now total $1.75 trillion.
And to finance its purchases, the Federal Reserve is printing new money, devaluing the U.S. dollar along the way. This then leads to … (0 comments)
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orange county: Orange County Housing Report: 21% Fewer Distressed Homes on the Market - 03/25/09 06:40 AM
I've just read the latest Orange County Market Report, by my friend Steven Thomas, the President of Altera Real Estate Services. Steven has a degree in quantum economics and for the past couple of years his bi-weekly report has been the most comprehensive compilation of real estate activity and data for our area - regularly cited by all the major news media in Southern California, as a source for excellent, up to the minute real estate information. Here is a link to his latest report:
Orange County Housing Report: 21% Fewer Distressed Homes on the Market
My conclusions upon reading it … (0 comments)
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orange county: Explaining What The Federal Reserve Did In Plain English (March 18, 2009 Edition) - 03/18/09 07:27 PM
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged today, within the target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. This doesn't mean the Fed stood pat, however.
On plan to resurrect the economy using "all available tools", today, the Fed announced a new, $1.5 trillion round of fiscal support for the treasury and mortgage markets.
The stimulus will likely be Thursday morning's headline story.
In its press release, the FOMC touched upon a few of the prevailing economic issues, using these points as a legitimizing backdrop for its newest debt load:
Job losses and wealth loss are dragging … (0 comments)
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orange county: 4 Minutes Of Guidance For Soon-To-Be Real Estate Investors - 03/13/09 09:50 AM
"Most of the biggest real estate fortunes were not made in good times, but in bad times like this" Barbara Corcoran reminds us in this talk with NBC.
It's important perspective for Americans wondering how to invest in foreclosed properties without losing their cash or their credit rating.
In the 4-minute interview, Corcoran quips on the basics and the essentials of foreclosure investing,
"Everyone who loses their shirt loses it somewhere else." "Every big shark started small." "The house on the corner sets the tone for the block." She also lends some personal perspective to rent rolls, the … (1 comments)
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orange county: Mark-To-Market : How An Obscure Corporate Accounting Rule Might Impact Your Mortgage Rate - 03/12/09 10:43 AM
You know you're in the middle of an economic crisis when an accounting issue become Front Page News, and that's exactly where we're at today.
Mark-to-market accounting is having its day in the sun and people in need of mortgage sometime soon would do well to pay attention.
If you've never heard of mark-to-market accounting, don't worry. Not many people have. Mark-to-market is a method of valuing an asset based on its what-if-it-was-sold-today value. Mark-to-market is officially known as FASB Statement 157.
Mark-to-market is one reason why bank balance sheets look so awful right now. Banks have to assign firesale-like values to … (0 comments)
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orange county: Orange County Housing Report: A Stimulating Pause - 03/10/09 12:28 AM
Hello again, Wow! The tidal wave of information coming in on the various stimulus programs is practically overwhelming - for everyone. Buyers, sellers, prospective borrowers, as well as Realtors and lenders.
The effect this has had is a brief slow-down of what had been an increasingly active spring market here in Orange County, to a pause, to stop and figure out whether any of these programs might be helpful to us.
The fact is, depending on your situation, if you're thinking of buying, or thinking of refinancing, or worried about the mortgage you're paying on, there is something for everyone. Just … (0 comments)
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Bob Phillips, CDPE, SFR South Orange Co., CA
Coto de Caza,
CA
More about me…
Realty ONE Group
Address: 25910 Acero, #100, Mission Viejo, CA, 92691
Office Phone: (949) 643-2100
Cell Phone: (949) 887-5305
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