Published: April 27, 2012

Well-priced listings, short sales move faster; Congress urged to move renewal of flood insurance program.

As home inventories shrink in some markets and new-home sales exceed projections for the month of March, some buyers are taking advantage of what seems to be a light at the end of the housing crisis tunnel. Lower mortgage rates and new rules for short sales are just some of the developments helping to turn around the market. These stories and more in our weekly housing news round-up.

The Seattle Times: Housing Market No Longer Yours for a Steal (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2017996700_harney22.html)

In local markets where inventories are tight and competition for homes rising, realty agents say that buyers looking to steal houses by lowballing their offers are ending up at the back of the line – their contracts either rejected out of hand or countered close to the original asking price. It's not something that economists routinely track, but it provides a rough sense of what's happening in local real estate markets. Call it the lowball index.

Bloomberg Business Week: Sales of New U.S. Homes Exceeded Estimates in March: Economy (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-24/purchases-of-new-homes-exceed-forecasts)

Demand for new U.S. homes was stronger than projected in March, showing more jobs and cheaper borrowing costs are helping stabilize the market.

Washington Post: Housing Downturn Spurs a Boom in Foreclosure-to-Rental Conversions

With home prices at historic lows and rental rates on the rise, a growing number of investors with cash to spare are seeking lucrative returns by gobbling up foreclosures in distressed markets across the country and turning them into rentals. "The investors are seeing bargain opportunities," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The Hill: FEMA Warns Congress Clock is Ticking on Flood insurance Program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday stepped up pressure on Congress to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. The program is set to expire at the end of May, and FEMA warned that after that time NFIP won't be able to issue new policies. The program is seen as key for limiting the costs of natural disasters. The House and Senate were unable to agree on a NFIP reauthorization last year, and extended the program without changes until May 31.

HouseLogic: It's Time to Make Short Sales Shorter (http://www.houselogic.com/blog/stopping-the-foreclosure-crisis/make-short-sales-shorter/)

New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules plus two bipartisan bills aim to hasten the bureaucratic and drawn-out short-sale process to prevent more home owners from slipping into foreclosure.

Thank you! Sylvia Howard | Your Friend In Real Estate Tel: 602-432-9246 | Fax: 888-651-7897 Realty ONE Group SEARCH MLS LIKE A REALTOR! PhxHomesOnlineBlog Find Me On Facebook

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“

"You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'" – George Bernard Shaw

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Washington, March 21, 2012

February existing-home sales declined from an upwardly revised January pace but are well above a year ago, while the median price posted a slight gain, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Sales were up in the Midwest and South, offset by declines in the Northeast and West.

Total existing-home sales¹, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, town homes, condominiums and co-ops, slipped 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million in February from an upwardly revised 4.63 million in January, but are 8.8 percent higher than the 4.22 million-unit level in February 2011.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said underlying factors are much better compared to one year ago. “The market is trending up unevenly, with record high consumer buying power and sustained job gains giving buyers the confidence they need to get into the market,” he said. “Although relatively unusual, there will be rising demand for both rental space and homeownership this year. The great suppression in household formation during the past four years was unsustainable, and a pent-up demand could burst forth from the improving economy.”

The bottom line is investors and first-time buyers are competing for bargain-priced properties in much of the country, with home prices showing signs of stabilizing in many areas,” Veissi said. “People realize that homeownership is an investment in their future. Given an apparent over-correction in most areas, over the long term home prices have nowhere to go but up.”

Total housing inventory at the end of February rose 4.3 percent to 2.43 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.4-month supply⁴ at the current sales pace, up from a 6.0-month supply in January. Even so, unsold listed inventory has trended down from a record 4.04 million in July 2007, and is 19.3 percent below a year ago.

All-cash sales rose to 33 percent of transactions in February from 31 percent in January; they were 33 percent in February 2011. Investors account for the bulk of cash transactions.

Investors purchased 23 percent of homes in February, unchanged from January; they were 20 percent in February 2011. First-time buyers accounted for 32 percent of transactions in February, down from 33 percent in January and 34 percent in February 2011.

Single-family home sales declined 1.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million in February from 4.10 million in January, but are 9.4 percent higher than the 3.71 million-unit level a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $157,100 in February, which is 0.1 percent above February 2011.

Existing condominium and co-op sales were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 in February and are 3.9 percent above the 510,000-unit pace in February 2011. The median existing condo price was $153,000 in February, up 1.6 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 0.6 percent to an annual level of 1.77 million in February and are 9.3 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the South was $138,100, up 1.8 percent from February 2011.

Existing-home sales in the West declined 3.2 percent to an annual pace of 1.22 million in February but are 6.1 percent above February 2011. The median price in the West was $195,300, up 3.1 percent from a year ago.

It came to my attention yesterday ( Thanks Jim, our Broker who keeps us in line!) that there is another  little detail that we must all be aware of when purchasing a Foreclosure or Short Sale

Let me start with some basic loan information about traditional Real Estate mortgages, a mortgage is a loan secured by Real Estate. Once the loan is created , the information about the debt is recorded in local property records. When the debt is sold the name of the new owner must be recorded, if the loan isn't paid and the property must be foreclosed the identity of the lender can be  found in the local property records. This system is still in place , but another system was created to further the sales of Mortgage Backed Securities ( MBS).
 To create an MBS Wall Street firms buy local mortgages. Title to these mortgages is then often recorded by a third party called Mortgage Electronic Registration System or MERS
With MERS as the mortgage holder, the loan can be bundled with thousands of other loans to create an MBS. Since the title remains in the name of MERS, there are no additional state recordation fees to be paid each time the loan is bought or sold, a savings of better than $1 billion dollars for what lenders claim are unnecessary costs.

Changing loan owners under MERS without the need to record each transfer of ownership has been largely unchallenged until recently. Now, at least seven state supreme courts have ruled against the MERS concept.

The issue of loan ownership leads directly to foreclosures. A lender can't foreclose unless it has “standing” and to have standing it must own the note.

So how does this affect you? Well the bottom line is check your preliminary title report, look at the exceptions. (Yes you really have to READ it!)

If you see an exception regarding the foreclosure of the property , look into it further. Ask your Realtor and Your title company to do a more thorough search. And buy extra title insurance that will cover gaps in the chain of title. The Gaps caused by MBS and MERS.

If a homeowner wants to file an illegal foreclosure suit and go to court and you don't have the extra coverage you could lose the property. So go out there and get a GREAT deal on a foreclosure… just be careful and watch your back, dot your i's cross your t's

It pays to be informed. Do you have an experience you can share with me? I'd love to hear of any challenges and how you overcame them.

HAPPY HOME HUNTING!

Thank you! Sylvia Howard | Your Friend In Real Estate Tel: 602-432-9246 | Fax: 888-651-7897 Keller Williams Integrity First Realty SEARCH Phoenix Properties! PhxHomesOnlineBlog   P.S. will you do me a favor? Help me reach 300 likes on my facebook page like me at http://www.facebook.com/SylviaHowardAZRealtor

My profiles:

It came to my attention yesterday ( Thanks Jim, our Broker who keeps us in line!) that there is another  little detail that we must all be aware of when purchasing a Foreclosure or Short Sale

Let me start with some basic loan information about traditional Real Estate mortgages, a mortgage is a loan secured by Real Estate. Once the loan is created , the information about the debt is recorded in local property records. When the debt is sold the name of the new owner must be recorded, if the loan isn't paid and the property must be foreclosed the identity of the lender can be  found in the local property records. This system is still in place , but another system was created to further the sales of Mortgage Backed Securities ( MBS).
 To create an MBS Wall Street firms buy local mortgages. Title to these mortgages is then often recorded by a third party called Mortgage Electronic Registration System or MERS
With MERS as the mortgage holder, the loan can be bundled with thousands of other loans to create an MBS. Since the title remains in the name of MERS, there are no additional state recordation fees to be paid each time the loan is bought or sold, a savings of better than $1 billion dollars for what lenders claim are unnecessary costs.

Changing loan owners under MERS without the need to record each transfer of ownership has been largely unchallenged until recently. Now, at least seven state supreme courts have ruled against the MERS concept.

The issue of loan ownership leads directly to foreclosures. A lender can't foreclose unless it has “standing” and to have standing it must own the note.

So how does this affect you? Well the bottom line is check your preliminary title report, look at the exceptions. (Yes you really have to READ it!)

If you see an exception regarding the foreclosure of the property , look into it further. Ask your Realtor and Your title company to do a more thorough search. And buy extra title insurance that will cover gaps in the chain of title. The Gaps caused by MBS and MERS.

If a homeowner wants to file an illegal foreclosure suit and go to court and you don't have the extra coverage you could lose the property. So go out there and get a GREAT deal on a foreclosure… just be careful and watch your back, dot your i's cross your t's

It pays to be informed. Do you have an experience you can share with me? I'd love to hear of any challenges and how you overcame them.

HAPPY HOME HUNTING!

Thank you! Sylvia Howard | Your Friend In Real Estate Tel: 602-432-9246 | Fax: 888-651-7897 Keller Williams Integrity First Realty SEARCH Phoenix Properties! PhxHomesOnlineBlog   P.S. will you do me a favor? Help me reach 300 likes on my facebook page like me at http://www.facebook.com/SylviaHowardAZRealtor

My profiles:

Agency encourages short sales by offering money

 by Catherine Reagor, columnist – Sept. 21, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2011/09/20/20110920reagor-agency-encourages-short-sales-offering-money.html#ixzz1ZBK1Q5Ac ]]> http://phxhomesonline.realestatewordpresser.com/2011/09/28/agency-encourages-short-sales-by-offering-money/feed/ 0