Home for sale: # of days on the market decreasing!

Home prices are going UP and selling FASTER!

The National Realtors Association "Existing Home Sales Report" last week has revealed other relevant housing data for today's home buyers and sellers. Most notably, the average home's "Number of Days on the Market" slipped to just 70 days nationwide.

This tells us that homes are selling 31% faster as compared to a year ago. Now, some might say that homes are selling more quickly because they're being priced more appropriately (i.e. "cheaper"). As it turns out, that's not the case. The median home sale price is up 11 percent from last year and prices appear headed higher still.

The primary reason why home prices are rising is because buyers outnumber sellers, and mortgage financing has become cheap.

Call me to get your credit approval into place and before beginning your home search, click here for my blog post on Tips for the Home Shopper in a changing market.

Things to avoid when purchasing or refinancing

There are four major things to avoid doing before applying for a loan and during the loan process itself.  Any one of these four things can greatly impact your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan, so it is critical to avoid doing any of the following until AFTER your loan is closed. 

IMPORTANT: Your loan is funded and recorded (closed) when you get your keys on a purchase transaction and for a refinance transaction your loan is closed when you have gone through the 3 day right of rescission period and your loan has been funded and recorded (you will receive a phone call or an e-mail from me or my processing team that your loan has been completed!).  

Here are the 4 things to avoid when purchasing or refinancing: 

Low rates increase home buying power!

Low rates increase buying power!

When mortgage rates get this low, buyers feel less sting from rising prices and are willing to "extend themselves" a little bit. Purchasing power climbs 11% for every 1 percent drop in rates. That's a significant shift with mortgage rates at all-time lows.

As buyer's, when things are "on sale", like mortgage rates are and like home prices are, we feel we can afford more.  And we can. 

On the flip side, as the housing market continues to recover and we begin to see higher prices, coupled with slowly increasing mortgage rates.

Click here for my blog post Mortgage rates to rise, slowly in 2013 when borrowing ability will decrease on TWO fronts.  In the future we will see:

• Higher rates and 

• Higher home prices

Take advantage of a perfect market! Call me to explore your mortgage options.  :)

Existing Home Sales: Strongest Quarter Since 2010

Existing Home Sales UP! 

The National Association of Realtor's (NAR's) Existing Home Sales report tallies home sales of previously-occupied homes and not since the tax-credit fueled Spring of 2010 have so many "used homes" been sold.

In addition, the trade association reports that just 2.32 million homes remain for sale nationwide -- the sparsest supply since March 2005. At the current sales pace, the entire U.S. stock of homes for sale would sell in just 5.9 months.

Housing market analysts believe that a 6.0-month supply represents a market in balance between buyers and sellers; neither group benefiting from much negotiation leverage. With supply below 6.0 months, then, leverage tends to shift toward sellers.

When home supply falls, more buyers compete for fewer homes, a situation which leads to "multiple offers" and competitive bidding. Homes sell more quickly, at higher prices.

It's tough to get "great deals" (Click here for my blog post How to win a bidding war) in a seller's market -- just ask a buyer who's won a bidding war. (Click here for my blog post Tips for buyer's in a changing market)

Homes are selling 31% faster than 1 year ago!

Home values will be increasing with higher sales numbers and volume

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the September Existing Home Sales showed 4.75 million units sold on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis.

The September 2012 reading marks an 11 percent increase from one year ago.

With the sales number in the NAR report, home are selling 31% faster when compared to one year ago. 

Click here for my blog post on advice on how to be prepared to win in a bidding war.

Post Card just went out to my clients! Refinance Opportunities!

Refinance opportunities have arrived again!  Call me to review your options!  801-540-5108

Mortgage rates to rise, slowly

After reaching record lows in 2012, mortgage rates are expected to creep up slowly in the year ahead, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicted on Tuesday, October 23, 2012. 

Mortgage rates predicted to rise in 2013, slowly

Rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are expected to average 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012, rising to 3.9% in the first quarter of 2013 and eventually rising to an average 4.4% by the fourth quarter of next year, the MBA said. The 30 year mortgage rate is expected to average 4.1% for all of 2013.

Call me to review your purchase or refinance options at today's 'best rates in our lifetime!".  :)

Helpful personable guidance! Loan closing October 24, 2012

Brandon and Marty celebrating a great interest rate! 

Marty, your help when we bought our home 3 years ago was awesome and the help you have given us on this refinance was awesome as well!

When we call you we know we will get the most helpful guidance and this time was no exception!  The new FHA streamline refinance program with the special rates were perfect for us!  Thanks for the analysis, we are going to save a ton of interest!  :)

We appreciate how personable you are!  We will recommend you to our friends and family whenever we can!  Thanks, Brandon

I would also like to add how much we appreciate the time you take to keep us updated throughout the loan process. Thanks again for helping us with this refinance and getting us into this house to begin with!  We loved working with you both times. 

Thanks again,

Crystal



Brandon and Crystal Malby  Closing October 24, 2012

Homeownership and Children: It's a great combination!

Study Concludes Homeownership Tied to Positive Outcomes for Children

Homeownership is associated with lower high school dropout rates and lower teen birth rates, according to a new study by professors Richard K. Green and Gary D. Painter at the University of Southern California and Michelle J. White at the University of San Diego.

The study, "Measuring the Benefits of Homeowning: Effects on Children Redux" found that, after accounting for other factors such as parental education, the dropout rate among children living in owner-occupied homes was 2.6 percentage points lower and the teen birth rate was five percentage points lower than for children living in rentals.

Key findings from the study include:

Why FHA Streamline Refinances are so great

The FHA Streamline Refinance has perks!

The FHA Streamline Refinance is a unique mortgage product, available to homeowners with existing FHA home loans. The program was built to be the fastest, simplest way for an FHA-insured homeowners to refinance their respective mortgages.

The FHA Streamline Refinance's big draw is its leniency.
For homeowners using the FHA Streamline Refinance program  -- according to the FHA rulebook--  income is not verified; employment is not verified; and, credit scores are not verified.

So long as an FHA-backed homeowners makes his mortgage on-time payments for a period of at least 12 months, a mortgage approval is all but guaranteed.  Call or e-mail me if you have an FHA loan that you would like to refinance and I can review your benefits. 


The FHA Streamline Refinance is an excellent program with lots of success stories. It remains the fastest, easiest mortgage refinance program in the country.

 

For portions of my Blog Post I would like to thank Dan Green (NMLS #227607) who is an active loan officer with Waterstone Mortgage and writes excellent daily Blog posts about the Mortgage Industry.  

Benefits of closing your home sale or purchase by year end

Benefits to Buy and Sell by year end!

5 Payoffs of Closing Escrow By Year's End
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson | Broker in San Francisco, CA 
Every intentional human behavior has one or more payoffs. Sometimes they are rewards we’re consciously aware of, like getting our literal paychecks in exchange for the sweat of our brows. Other times, we are much less conscious of the potential payoffs of our behavior, as when someone procrastinates at filing their taxes to avoid the realities of their financial situation (for a while - the tax man always cometh, sooner or later).

Psychologists call these less-obvious payoffs “secondary gains.” According to them, a payoff is a payoff, whether or not you know you’re getting it!

When it comes to putting a firm, year-end deadline on your personal mission to buy or sell your home, there are the obvious payoffs of having 2013 dawn on your new life in your new home, being out from under water or simply being able to move onto a new phase of your life.  But there are loads of secondary gains, as well.

Here is a handful of payoffs, some obvious, some less, which you stand to realize by getting your home purchase or sale closed before the curtain drops on 2012 - and the ball drops on 2013: