Well I hope everyone had a great Memorial day weekend. It is important to remember what our soldiers have done for our Freedom that can often be taken for granted.
May consumer confidence was just reported near a 16 year low. Soaring gas-oil prices, falling home prices and a weakening job market left people concerned about the state of the economy. Inflationary concerns are pushing mortgage bond prices lower which means rates are slightly up over the past few days. US. single family homes showed a delcine of 14.1% over the past quarter from a year ago. This is the biggest drop in 20 years! Are we in the midst of a recession? I believe we are and so does Warren Buffet and Alan Greenspan. Greenspan thinks rates could increase over the next year or so to double digits. I am not sure about that, I sure hope they don't!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Mortgage Market update
Inflation, inflation...oil prices have riesne to $135 per barrel another record high! Initial jobless claims were reported at 365,000 below expectations of 372,000 the lowest reading since April 5th. The 4 week moving average is at 372,250.
Home prices continue to fall in some areas of the country due to the large amount of foreclosures. The housing market is facing numerous troubles as buyers stay on the fence and rising mortgage defaults dump more homes on an already glutted market. In addition, many banks have raised their lending standards in response to the surge in mortgage defaults. For the person who is renting or who is a first time home buyer the opportunity to get a great deal is out there and is not hard to find. Fixed rates remain below 6% so it is a great time to buy a home!
Home prices continue to fall in some areas of the country due to the large amount of foreclosures. The housing market is facing numerous troubles as buyers stay on the fence and rising mortgage defaults dump more homes on an already glutted market. In addition, many banks have raised their lending standards in response to the surge in mortgage defaults. For the person who is renting or who is a first time home buyer the opportunity to get a great deal is out there and is not hard to find. Fixed rates remain below 6% so it is a great time to buy a home!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Short sales
What are short sales? Well they are home sales where the seller is short to payoff his mortgage with the sale of his or her home. So essentially the bank has to accept less than what is owed so they can sell the home. Short sales can be a way for the seller to avoid foreclosure but also a great buying opportunity for the buyer. You have to be patient as banks can take a long time before they will make a decision on this especially when they are losing alot of money on the deal.
First time home buyers are in a great position right now to buy one of these because they don't have to sell a home in a down market and they can make a non-continguent offer since they are currently renters. I have several clients who are looking for a short-sale right now and some work out and some don't so don't get too dissappointed if the bank says no because if the bank feels the homeowner can make the payments still they may not be so willing to accept your offer.
Most banks do not want to sell the home through a foreclosure sale at the courthouse. More on this later have a great day!
First time home buyers are in a great position right now to buy one of these because they don't have to sell a home in a down market and they can make a non-continguent offer since they are currently renters. I have several clients who are looking for a short-sale right now and some work out and some don't so don't get too dissappointed if the bank says no because if the bank feels the homeowner can make the payments still they may not be so willing to accept your offer.
Most banks do not want to sell the home through a foreclosure sale at the courthouse. More on this later have a great day!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
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