burlingame: Building Confidence Rises To 5-Year High - 06/19/12 03:31 AM

Home builders anticipate growth in the market for newly-built, single-family homes.  
For June 2012, the National Association of Homebuilders reports its monthly Housing Market Index at 29 -- an increase of more than 100% from one year ago and the highest HMI value since May 2007.
When the Housing Market Index reads 50 or better, it's meant to indicate favorable conditions for builders in the single-family, new-construction market. Readings below 50 suggest unfavorable conditions for builders.
The index has not been above 50 since April 2006. 
The NAHB Housing Market Index is not a "single survey" -- it's a composite. Three … (2 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : June 18, 2012 - 06/17/12 11:45 PM
Mortgage markets improved last week, moving mortgage rates in California back on a downward trajectory. Wall Street investors bid down mortgage bond yields on weaker-than-expected economic data from the U.S. and concern for events within the Eurozone.
Freddie Mac reports the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate at 3.71% for borrowers willing to pay 0.7 discount points plus accompanying closing costs. 
It's the second-lowest reading in Freddie Mac's recorded history and, as a point of comparison, one year ago, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.50% nationwide.
A homeowner giving a $200,000 mortgage at last year's 4.50% rate would have paid … (0 comments)

burlingame: Georgia Takes Top Foreclosure Spot For First Time Since 2006 - 06/15/12 05:40 AM

According to foreclosure data firm RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosure filings nationwide rose 9 percent in May as compared to April 2012. Filing topped 200,000 units for the first time in 3 months.
The term "foreclosure filing" is a catch-all term comprising default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. On average, 1 in every 639 U.S. homes receiving a foreclosure filing in May.
As in most months, foreclosure activity was concentrated by state. Just 6 states accounted for more than half of the nation's total filings.
Those six states were :
California : 13.6% of all repossessions Florida : 11.0% of all repossessions … (0 comments)

burlingame: 31 States Represented In June's Improving Market Index - 06/14/12 06:07 AM
The number of U.S. housing markets showing "measurable and sustained growth" slipped by 20 in June, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.
The Improving Market Index is meant to identify housing markets in which economic growth is occurring as a whole -- not just in the real estate space.
By using three separate, independently-collected data series, each tied to local economic conditions, the Improving Market Index takes a broader view of the housing market than other housing market indicators -- the Case-Shiller Index, for example -- which are often singularly tied to housing contracts.
The Improving Market Index tracks three … (0 comments)

burlingame: Before Moving, Check Your New Cost Of Living Estimates - 06/13/12 04:56 PM
With home values slow to rise and mortgage rates at all-time lows, there's never been a more affordable time to own a home.
However, there is more to the cost of living than just a mortgage payment. There's the cost of groceries, gasoline and routine medical care, too.
Not surprisingly, where we live affects our costs.
Big cities are often more expensive in which to live, for example, and local tax laws influence daily costs, too. 
For home buyers moving across state borders, therefore -- or even for those moving long distances intra-state -- it's important to know the relative costs … (0 comments)

burlingame: Mortgage Payments Fall To All-Time Lows - 06/12/12 08:56 AM

It's a money-saving time to be a Burlingame home buyer. Historically, mortgage rates of all types -- conventional, FHA, VA and USDA -- have never been lower and low mortgage rates make for low monthly payments. 
According to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.67% nationwide last week for borrowers willing to pay 0.7 discount points at closing, plus a full set of closing costs. 0.7 discount points is a one-time closing cost equal to 0.7 percent of your loan size, or $700 per $100,000 borrowed.
Today's mortgage rates are a bargain … (4 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : June 11, 2012 - 06/11/12 02:53 AM
Mortgage markets worsened last week, halting a multi-week mortgage rate winning streak in California and nationwide. With little economic news on which to trade, investors took their cues from the world's central banks.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke neither dismissed nor promised new market stimulus in the near future, nor did leaders in the Eurozone. China, however, did cut its interest rates for the first time since the start of the global financial crisis.
Conforming mortgage rates edged higher amid a series of volatile trading sessions. Mortgage bonds moved more sharply as compared to prior weeks and analysts expect volatility to continue.
… (0 comments)

burlingame: Phoenix Leads Annual Home Price Gains, According To Case-Shiller Index - 06/08/12 04:47 AM

Standard & Poors released its March 2012 Case-Shiller Index last week. The index is meant to measure changes in home prices from month-to-month, and from year-to-year, in select U.S. cities.
According to the report, home values rose in 12 of the Case-Shiller Index's 20 tracked markets, and one market remained unchanged.
Of the Case-Shiller markets, Phoenix, Arizona posted the largest one-year gain, climbing 6.1 percent. Atlanta, Georgia posted the largest one-year loss. Values falling more than seventeen percent there year-over-year.
Overall, the Case-Shiller Index was relatively unchanged in March as compared to the month prior, but down nearly 3 percent … (0 comments)

burlingame: FHA To Change Its Mortgage Insurance Premium Schedule Monday, June 11, 2012 - 06/07/12 05:13 AM
Beginning Monday, June 11, the FHA is changing its mortgage insurance premium schedule for the second time this year.
Some FHA mortgage applicants will pay lower mortgage insurance premiums going forward. Others will pay more. The new premiums apply to all FHA mortgages, both purchase and refinance.
The MIP update will be the 5th time in four years that the FHA has changed its mortgage insurance premium schedule.
FHA-backed homeowners who have not refinanced within the last 3 years will benefit from the new MIP. This is because, beginning with all FHA Case Numbers assigned on, or after, June 11, 2012, … (1 comments)

burlingame: Simple Real Estate Definitions : Home Inspection - 06/07/12 05:12 AM
When you preview homes as a home buyer, you can get a good feel for the home's visible traits -- its finishes, its room counts, and its landscaping, for example. What you can't get a feel for, though, is the home's "bones".
It's for this reason that real estate professionals recommend that you have a property formally inspected immediately after going into contract for it.
A home inspection is a thorough, top-to-bottom check-up of a property's structure and systems. It is not the same as a home appraisal, which is a valuation of the property. By contrast, home inspections are an … (1 comments)

burlingame: U.S. Posts Its 20th Straight Month Of Job Growth - 06/05/12 07:26 AM
For the second straight year, the jobs market looks to be slowing into the summer.
Last Friday, in its monthly Non-Farm Payrolls report for May 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 69,000 net new jobs created, plus a one-tick rise in the national Unemployment Rate to 8.2%.
2012 is shaping up like 2011, it appears.
Last year, between May and August, the jobs market was decidedly worse as compared to the rest of the year, adding just 80,000 jobs on average per month as compared to 190,000 new jobs created on average during each of the other 8 months.
This … (2 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates : Week Of June 4, 2012 - 06/04/12 09:45 AM
Mortgage markets improved last week in response to ongoing concerns for the European Union and an across-the-board weakening in U.S. economic data -- including the much-watched jobs report.
Conforming mortgage rates in California eased lower last week, falling to a new all-time low for 6th week in a row. The moves have been modest, however, falling just 15 basis points during that period.
Back then, Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage to be 3.90% for borrowers willing to pay 0.8 discount points plus a full set a closing costs.
Today, it reports a rate of 3.75% with 0.7 … (0 comments)

burlingame: Insurance Policies : Which Do You Need, Which Should You Skip? - 06/01/12 08:51 AM

Insurance is protection against unexpected expenses and insurance policies are available for nearly any scenario you can envision -- even your own ransom. But just because an insurance policy is available, that doesn't mean you should buy it.
Some insurance policies give you good bang for the buck. Others are plain wasteful.
In this 3-minute segment from NBC's The Today Show, you'll hear of several common insurance policies and their relative merits to people of California who purchase them.
For example, Americans will spend an estimated $450 million on pet insurance this year. Because of the policies' restrictions and deductibles, … (0 comments)

burlingame: Pending Home Sales Slip In May - 05/31/12 04:38 AM
The housing market took a breather in April.
After forging past its benchmark value of 100 in March, April's Pending Home Sales Index dropped back to 95.5, its lowest reading of the year. The data suggests fewer home resales throughout California and nationwide in the months ahead.
A "pending home" is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed. The Pending Home Sales Index is tracked and published monthly by the National Association of REALTORS®.
As a housing market indicator, the Pending Home Sales Index is fundamentally different from other housing metrics which often make headline news.
Unlike the Existing Home … (2 comments)

burlingame: Foreclosures Fall To 5-Year Low - 05/30/12 08:31 AM

Foreclosures filings fell 5 percent between March and April of this year, and by 11 percent as compared to one year ago. The data comes from RealtyTrac. The foreclosure-tracking firm tallied fewer than 189,000 foreclosure-related actions last month -- the fewest number since July 2007.
Rapidly-declining foreclosure figures are another signal that the U.S. housing market may already be in recovery.
According to RealtyTrac's methodology, a "foreclosure filing" is any one of the following foreclosure-related events : (1) A default notice on a home; (2) A scheduled auction for a home; or, (3) A bank repossession of a home.
All … (0 comments)

burlingame: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates : Week Of May 29, 2012 - 05/29/12 06:29 AM
Mortgage markets worsened slightly last week as demand for mortgage-backed bonds slacked. There was little surprise in U.S. economic data and the unfolding story lines of the Eurozone continued unabated.
Mortgage rates in California worsened slightly on the news, climbing for the first time in two weeks.
The change was a small one, however, and rates only eased higher Wednesday through Friday. As such, Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey failed to capture the change -- Freddie Mac's survey is conducted Monday and Tuesday. 
According to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate slipped to 3.78% last week, … (0 comments)

burlingame: 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates Fall To 3.78% Nationwide - 05/25/12 11:22 AM

For the fifth consecutive week, conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates have dropped to new all-time lows.
According to this week's Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac, "prime" mortgage applicants willing to pay 0.8 discount points plus closing costs can secure a mortgage rate of 3.78%, on average.
This is a small improvement in rate over last week when the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate was 3.79% with 0.7 discount points.
1 discount point is equal to 1 percent of your loan size.
Like everything in real estate, though, mortgage rates are local. Freddie Mac reports that the … (0 comments)

burlingame: New Home Sales Rise For 7th Month Out Of 8 - 05/24/12 10:43 AM
The April New Home Sales report suggests that the market for newly-built homes is as strong as the market for existing ones. 
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 343,000 units sold -- its second-highest reading since April 2010.
April 2010 marked the last month of that year's federal home buyer tax credit program.
April's New Home Sales data also marks the 7th of eight consecutive months during which the number of new homes sold climbed nationwide, a streak unequaled in recent history. During this period, the supply of new … (2 comments)

burlingame: Existing Home Sales Climb 3.4 Percent In April - 05/23/12 05:13 AM

Low mortgage rates are helping to make homes more affordable. It appears home buyers have taken notice.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, Existing Home Sales rose 3.4% in April from the month prior, registering 4.62 million homes sold on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis.
An "existing home" is a home that's been previously occupied. April's sales volume represents a 10 percent jump from April of last year.
For buyers and sellers in San Mateo , the April Existing Home Sales report supports the notion that the housing market may be improving; that the "bottom" occurred sometime in late-2011. Home … (3 comments)

burlingame: Home Affordability Reaches New High In Q1 2012 - 05/22/12 02:32 AM
Falling mortgage rates and stagnant home prices are making a positive effect on home affordability nationwide. Never before in recorded history have so many homes been affordable to households earning a moderate annual income.
Last week, the National Association of Home Builders reported the Home Opportunity Index at 77.5 -- it's highest reading of all-time. The index indicates that more than 3 of every 4 homes sold last quarter were affordable to households earning the national median income of $65,000.
Last quarter marks the 12th straight quarter -- dating back to 2009 -- in which the index surpassed 70. Prior to this run, … (0 comments)