10/31/11 HAVE A SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12 Most-Searched Housing Markets - Which cities are home buyers targeting the most? Realtor.com recently released its search rankings of 146 metros during the month of September. The Phoenix-Mesa market made the list at #7 with a median list price of $150,000. Read article:
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/10/31/12-most-searched-housing-markets

Survey Reveals 5 Home Buying Myths - Overall, today’s home buyers tend to be fairly knowledgeable about the real estate market. However, a recent survey revealed five main areas of confusion. According to the survey, 41% of buyers think they will have to purchase private mortgage insurance, regardless of the amount of their downpayment. In reality, buyers only need to purchase PMI if their downpayment is less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. Additionally, 56% of the buyers said the purpose of the appraisal was to determine if a home was in good condition. In reality, the purpose of an appraisal is to estimate fair market value. Read article:
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/10/28/survey-reveals-5-home-buying-myths

10/24/11

Obama To Promote New Steps To Help Housing Woes - According to an administration official, Obama's housing initiative will help homeowners with little or no equity in their homes refinance by cutting the cost of doing so and removing caps for deeply underwater borrowers. The new rules apply to homeowners with federally guaranteed mortgages who are current on their payments. With the president's jobs bill struggling in Congress, the White House is refocusing its efforts on steps Obama can take to address the nation's economic woes without getting lawmakers' approval. Read article:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141648275

10/20/11 this weeks update

CoreLogic: Good and bad in Phoenix, U.S. housing markets - CoreLogic released its U.S. Housing and Mortgage Trends report today with an interesting mix of national and local information. Here’s a look at data for the Phoenix metro area for July 2011:
- Total sales: 9,346
- REO sales: 3,415
- Short sales: 1,327
- Percent of sales that were distressed: 50.7 percent
- Home prices month-over-month: Up 1.3 percent
- Percent of home loans 90 days delinquent or longer: 9.9 percent
- Pre-foreclosure filings: 6,022
- Auction filings: 6,035
Read article:
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/business/2011/10/corelogic-good-and-bad-in-phoenix.html

What Your Clients Can Do If Rejected for a Loan - Lending experts say buyers shouldn’t give up if rejected for a loan — they may still be able to qualify for a mortgage if they keep trying. They should take a close evaluation of why the original mortgage application was turned down, and find ways to address those issues. Applicants can, by law, find out why they were rejected in a mortgage application. Some borrowers may need to save up for a larger down payment or take steps to improve their credit score. Others may find shopping around for other lenders can help. Read article:
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/10/17/what-your-clients-can-do-if-rejected-for-loan

Additional articles that you may find of interest:

Assistnace for short sale assistance

Arizona trying new ways to assist homeowners - Of the $268 million allotted to the state since 2010, only about $4 million has been spent as of this week. Last week, officials launched a program to use the funds to help borrowers complete short sales. The state agency is now offering homeowners $4,500, plus money to pay closing costs such as the real-estate agent's fee, if they work with their lender to complete a short sale. It started taking applications for its short-sale assistance last week, and several real-estate agents already have made inquiries. Read article:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/09/30/20110930arizona-trying-new-ways-assist-homeowners.html

Positive sign for housing

Shadow Inventory Drops: ‘Positive Sign for Housing’ - The nation's residential shadow inventory as of July declined slightly to 1.6 million units, representing a supply of five months, according to CoreLogic. That's down from 1.9 million units, a supply of six months, from a year ago, and follows a decline from April when shadow inventory stood at 1.7 million units. "The steady improvement in the shadow inventory is a positive development for the housing market," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. Read article:
http://www.housingwire.com/2011/09/27/shadow-inventory-declines-to-five-month-supply-corelogic

New requirements for landlords

New Requirements for Landlords Who Deny on the Basis of Credit Score - Landlords and their agents need to be aware of how they may be affected by new requirements imposed upon them by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Landlords who take “adverse action” regarding a tenant application will have to provide specified information if that adverse action is based upon the applicant’s credit score. What might adverse action be? At least one of the following: 1) Denying the lease/rental application; 2) Requiring a co-signer; 3) Requiring a higher security deposit; and 4) Requiring an increased rent amount. Read article:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20110927_landlords.htm

lower rates again

Fed’s Latest Move May Send Rates Lower - The Federal Reserve announced this week that it will invest $400 billion in long-term Treasury securities over the next nine months, which is expected to send interest rates on mortgages even lower. The Fed’s move is yet another attempt to try to stimulate economic growth. Economists predict that interest rates could drop by a few tenths of a percentage point. Read article:
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/09/22/fed-s-latest-move-may-send-rates-lower