Nov 08
Mortgage Demand Falls After Sandy Applications for home loans purchases and refinancing dropped 5 percent last week as tropical storm Sandy ravaged the East Coast and disrupted normal business activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Due to the severe storms, mortgage application demand posted the big falls in New Jersey, where applications fell 60 …
Nov 07
FHA Orders Foreclosure Halt for Sandy Victims The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has ordered a 90-day temporary suspension of foreclosures in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy last week, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development announced Monday. “I directed all FHA lenders to impose a moratorium on any foreclosures for 90 days in disaster-affected areas,” Shaun Donovan, …
Nov 06
Extend Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief. The National Association of REALTORS® sent out a call to action to its million-plus members this weekend, urging them to support an extension of tax relief on mortgage forgiveness. Under federal law, cancelled debt is generally considered taxable income. Since 2007, however, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act has …
Nov 06
Foreclosed Home Owners Rebound Faster With FHA Loans. Home owners who experienced foreclosures are finding themselves owning again sometimes only three years later—possibly even less—with FHA loans. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac usually require a seven-year wait following a foreclosure. However, FHA loans will approve loans after three years, if the borrower can show …
Nov 05
Homes Are Selling Faster as Inventories Fall. The median time a home is on the market nationwide? Just 69 days. The number of days on the market nationwide has fallen nearly 30 percent from year-ago levels. Meanwhile, inventory levels are hovering at all-time lows, with the number of homes for-sale down 31.2 percent from a …
Nov 05
Home Ownership Rate to Rise Soon? Another sign economic recovery: The home ownership rate is no longer falling. It remained unchanged from the previous quarter, standing at 65.5 percent in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported this week. A year ago, the home ownership rate stood at 66.3 percent. The home ownership rate is …
Nov 02
Foreclosures on homes Make Less of a Dent in Market. Foreclosures continue to fall as the number of short sales inch up, according to CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report for September. “The continuing downward trend in foreclosures along with a gradual clearing of the shadow inventory are signs of stabilization and improvement in the housing market,” …
Nov 01
Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae Offer Mortgage Aid to Sandy Victims Borrowers with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae-backed loans who suffered damage to their homes by Hurricane Sandy may qualify for temporary forbearance on their mortgages. Affected home owners with Freddie Mac-backed loans may be eligible for forbearance for up to a year on their …
Oct 31
Appealing to Your Littlest Clients: children. Real estate agents need to keep children in mind when marketing to families and should present more information than the number of bedrooms. Try marketing not just the home, but also provide information about nearby parks and green spaces, compile data about local schools and sports programs, and link …
Oct 30
Worst May Be Over for Foreclosure Epidemic Foreclosures have fallen in about 62 percent of the country’s 212 largest metro markets in the third quarter, leading to more stability in the housing market recovery, RealtyTrac reports in its latest foreclosure report. What’s more, RealtyTrac reports that foreclosure activity in 58 percent of the major markets …
Oct 30
Homebuilders Need More Land, Analysts Say. Homebuilders need to “replenish their land inventories” to respond to the projected growth in buyer demand within the next few years, say Moody’s Investor Service analysts. Part of what’s hampering them from doing so: They lack revolving lines of credit due to the housing downturn and applying for more …
Oct 30
Home Owners Near Foreclosures Feel Big Loss Too Home owners living near a foreclosed property have faced about $2 trillion in losses to property values, according to a new report by the Center for Responsible Lending, which analyzed the impact of foreclosures on properties within one-eighth mile of a home in foreclosure. “Communities with high …
