Friday, January 30, 2015

Market Matters


Parking, local opposition add to affordable housing costs, study finds

Source: LA Times

A new report from several state housing agencies concludes that community opposition, design changes and parking are among the factors driving up the cost of building affordable housing in California. The report comes as California grapples with a massive affordable housing shortage. Los Angeles County alone needs nearly 500,000 more units to meet the area's need. The study estimates that projects with major community opposition saw their costs go up by 5 percent and underground parking added 6 percent to the cost.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -

Which Americans Are Most Likely to Own Homes?
Source: Wall St. Journal
 
A new study by Ancestry.com Inc. found that some jobs that weren’t especially high-paying had higher homeownership rates than occupations with bigger paychecks. Firefighters, for example, rank very highly; 84 percent own homes. Meanwhile, 78 percent of mail carriers own homes, which is the same rate as for lawyers and judges. Teachers (74 percent) ranked higher than economists (64 percent). Notably, just 33 percent of people in the armed forces own, making them one of the lowest-ranking groups.
Read the full story


A Victory for a Fairer Housing Market
Source: Huffington Post
Julián Castro, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has announced successful HUD efforts to address maternity leave lending discrimination. For example, as part of a settlement with HUD, Wells Fargo will compensate families who experienced discrimination because they were pregnant or on maternity leave when they applied for a loan. Castro stated, “It's unquestionably wrong that a family would unfairly lose out on buying a home or refinancing a loan at any time, but especially at a time when they need it most.”
Read the full story
You Don’t Need to Be Perfect to Get a U.S. Loan Anymore
Source: Bloomberg

While credit is still almost 90 percent tighter than in the housing bubble that ended in 2006, a Mortgage Bankers Association measure of credit availability has shown a 4.7 percent loosening this year. Established lenders remain reluctant to ease their rules, but this has created opportunities for smaller firms, many of which are now offering slightly riskier mortgages, sometimes at higher interest rates or requiring larger down payments.
Read the full story

Friday, January 23, 2015

Market Matters

Tight Credit? Even Ben Bernanke Couldn’t Refinance His Mortgage
Source: Wall St. Journal
The former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, recently commented in a speech that he was unable to refinance his mortgage as a sign of credit conditions in the country. But his larger point was that lenders have grown to rely heavily on automated underwriting systems and the requisite documentation of borrower incomes, the sources of their down-payment funds, etc. which can result in qualified borrowers being turned away.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -
 
Analysts Expect Home Price Appreciation to Continue Slowing
Source: DSNews.com
 
Analysis from housing experts suggests that many metros around the country will see home price appreciation switch to a much slower track—or even decline modestly, in some cases—as the factors directing the momentum of the last few years diminish and fundamental drivers start playing a bigger role. Annual price appreciation regularly topped 10 percent nationwide in 2012 and 2013; however, as of July, yearly growth was down to 5.6 percent.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -

Attend Berkeley’s 37th Annual Real Estate & Economics Symposium

On Nov. 3, join one of the most prestigious economic/real estate conferences in the country when Berkeley’s Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics hosts its 37th Annual Real Estate & Economics Symposium at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Attendees can expect a professional, high-powered event that attracts several hundred attendees annually. The Symposium features a distinguished group of experts in real estate, finance, government, and academia, who evaluate and discuss real estate and financial markets. Many of the best business minds and most important decision-makers in the country examine how the political and economic environment will impact real estate and business today, and share their expert views on what lies ahead, providing the information and the perspective needed to have the competitive edge to prosper in our changing times.
Register here 
 
- - - - - - -
 
Help for mortgage seekers who don't fit the mold
Source: L.A. Times
 
Due to the impact of federal rule changes, it can be difficult for potential homeowners to qualify for a mortgage if they don’t conform to all the underwriting mandates on credit, income, debt-to-income ratio and other criteria. To service these buyers, a new segment of the mortgage market has begun taking shape: "non-Qualified Mortgage" or non-QM lending. Interest rates are typically higher. 
Read the full story
- - - - - - -

Friday, January 9, 2015

Market Matters

Why More Renters Aren’t Buying (Hint: Weak Incomes, Savings)
Source: Wall St. Journal


Younger workers and other renters lack the capacity to purchase a home, as a new survey shows borrowers want to buy, but they can’t cut it financially. A majority of renters opt against owning because their incomes or savings are too low, or their debts too high, to handle homeownership. Around 40 percent, moreover, say their credit isn’t good enough. Strict mortgage lending standards have contributed to low homeownership levels among this demographic.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -


How to shop for the best mortgage rate
Source: CNBC
 
While mortgage rates have been relatively stagnant this year, home prices and mortgage rates are expected to increase over the next few months. CNBC has compiled advice on shopping for the right mortgage from experts in the field. For example, Craig Strent, CEO of Maryland-based Apex Home Loans, cautioned, “Don't overpay for your mortgage. One of the biggest mistakes home buyers make is to take a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage when they don't need it.”
Read the full story
- - - - - - -


Riverside County development to test vigor of area's housing recovery
Source: LA Times

The first phase of Spring Mountain Ranch, a 785-acre master-planned community nestled in a canyon northeast of UC Riverside, is set to launch in October and it’s one of the largest projects of its kind in 20 years. Observers of the housing market will be closely watching the fate of the development and whether homes sell well because it represents a big bet by developer IStar Financial that the housing market in this epicenter of the foreclosure crisis has healed significantly.
Read the full story      
- - - - - - -

Friday, January 2, 2015

Market Matters

Lower rates fail to fuel home buyers
Source: CNBC


Total mortgage application volume rose just 0.2 percent last week from the previous week, despite the fact that interest rates for U.S. mortgages dropped to their lowest level in over a year last week. Mortgage rates haven't fallen significantly in part because banks do not expect the recent rallies in the Treasury market to continue; instead they still see interest rates moving higher toward the end of this year.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -
Countrywide CEO Says No Regrets
Source: LA Times
 
Angelo Mozilo, the founder and CEO of Countrywide before it was bought by Bank of America, recently gave an interview to express his surprise about criticism of the company all these years after the financial crisis and to lash out against a new lawsuit from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Countrywide is largely blamed by lawmakers and authorities for lax underwriting and predatory lending, which resulted in $55 billion in fines before Bank of America bought it out.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -


Where Are the Baby Boomers Going to Live
Source: The Atlantic

Baby Boomers are marching steadily toward retirement and a new report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies shows how quickly the nation is moving toward its golden years. By 2030, one in five Americans will have hit the retirement age. Increasingly, the housing stock built by and for Baby Boomers doesn't meet anyone's needs—neither a younger generation looking for starter homes that don't exist, nor an older generation confronted by accessibility challenges.
Read the full story      
- - - - - - -


How to get a mortgage right now, even with bad credit
Source: HousingWire
 
Mel Watt, the director of Federal Housing Finance Agency, has urged the opening of the mortgage credit box to less-than-optimal borrowers in a recent interview. Watt commented, “We are getting lenders to reduce some of the credit overlays.” For those with a FICO that is under 620, Watt advised that borrowers should be prepared to pay more, to explore all their mortgage options, and get a co-signer.
Read the full story
- - - - - - -

About This Blog

Short Sales and Foreclosures

More Information

  © Blogger templates Psi by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP