NAR Calls for Affordable Disaster Insurance Policy
March 11, 2010 by NAR Updates No comments »
(Mar. 10) Charles McMillan, immediate past president of NAR, told Congress that it must improve affordability of property insurance for natural disasters.
Don’t rush to refinance that ARM as it may be adjusting to 3% or lower
March 10, 2010 by Daniel Sosa No comments »
Brought to you by: www.thedailymortgagegazette.com
If your mortgage is set to adjust this year, the smart move may be to let it. Today’s conforming mortgages are adjusting lower than ever before — as low as 3 percent. It may not be what you expected when you signed for your ARM several years ago. The reason why ARMs are adjusting lower is because of how they’re made.
When conforming adjustable-rate mortgages adjust, they adjust according to a pre-determined formula. The formula is the sum of a constant and a variable. The constant is usually 2.25 percent and the variable is a daily-changing interest rate called LIBOR. The formula looks like this:
New Mortgage Rate = LIBOR + 2.250 percent
LIBOR is an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate. It’s an interest rate at which banks borrow money from each other. In Fall 2008, when Lehman Brothers fell and sparked a global banking fear, LIBOR spiked as the risk of inter-bank borrowing jumped. Since then, however, LIBOR is down.
Normalcy is returning to banking and the timing couldn’t be better for Modesto homeowners with ARMs. 15 months ago, a homeowner’s ARM may have adjusted to 6 1/2 percent. Today, that same ARM falls to just above 3. As a strategy play, it might make sense to let your ARM adjust. Or, because fixed rates are still near 5 percent, converting that ARM to a long-term fixed-rate product might make sense, too. The decision is a balance between how low do you want your payment, and how long might you live in your home.
The longer you stay, the more it might make sense to switch to fixed-rate, even though ARM rates are so low. If you’ve got an adjusting ARM, talk to your loan officer about your choices. Once March ends and the Fed withdraws its mortgage market support, mortgage rates may rise and the fixed-rate option may be gone.
7 weeks remain to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit
March 9, 2010 by Daniel Sosa No comments »
Brought to you by: www.thedailymortgagegazette.com
In November, Congress extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program to include a subset of “move-up” buyers — homeowners that have owned and lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years. The credit ranges up to $8,000 per buyer. There’s now just 7 weeks left to take advantage. To be eligible, home buyers must be under contract for a new home no later than April 30, 2010, and must be closed no later than June 30, 2010. In addition to meeting the deadline dates, there’s a basic set of requirements to be tax credit-eligible:
- You can’t purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child
- You can’t purchase the home from an entity in which the seller is a majority owner
- You can’t acquire the home by gift or inheritance
- Each buyer in the purchase must meet eligibility requirements
There’s other criteria, too. For one, the sales price on the subject property cannot exceed $800,000. Homes sold for more than $800,000 are ineligible for the tax credit. Furthermore, households earning more than $125,000 as single-filers, or $225,500 for joint-filers, are ineligible. You can read the complete eligibility requirements at the IRS website, or, you may just find it simpler to speak with your accountant about it. There are some nuances in qualifying for and claiming the tax credit on your returns and getting a professional’s opinion is always wise.
And lastly, don’t forget that government’s tax credit program is a true tax credit. It’s not a tax deduction. This means that a tax filer whose “normal” tax liability is $3,500 and who is eligible for $8,000 in credit will receive a $4,500 refund from the U.S. Treasury. If you’re currently in the House Hunt, mark your calendar for April 30, 2010. It’s 7 weeks away and you can be sure that as the date gets closer, buyer traffic is going to increase. You may find sellers more willing to negotiate today than several weeks from now.
What’s ahead for mortgage rates this week: March 8, 2010
March 8, 2010 by Daniel Sosa 3 comments »
Brought to you by: www.thedailymortgagegazette.com
Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm Payrolls report Friday morning, mortgage markets — and mortgage rates — reversed. Overall, mortgage rates dropped last week, but only by a small margin. Rates were best Thursday afternoon. It was the second consecutive week in which mortgage rates fell.
Last week was also interesting in that both stock markets and bond markets improved, proving that rates don’t always rise when stock prices do. 455 of the S&P 500 companies posted gains last week. If you’re shopping for a home or a refinance, though, don’t rest on your laurels. After Friday’s big sell-off, this week opens into a major headwind and, plus, the Federal Reserve’s support for mortgage markets ends in just 3 weeks. This week, without much data to influence traders, the upward momentum in rates may have little cause to temper. We’ll see the Consumer Confidence numbers on Tuesday and Retail Sales on Friday. Beyond that, there’s not much else.
After last week’s performance, conforming mortgage rates in California may be poised to rise rather sharply. If you’re waiting for the right time to lock your rate, it may have been this past Thursday. Consider locking your rate early this week to protect against further rate hikes.
SIOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INDEX FOURTH QUARTER 2009 RESULTS
March 5, 2010 by PMZ Real Estate No comments »January 2010 – More than 700 SIOR market experts across the country weighed in on local Industrial and Office market conditions for the Fourth Quarter 2009 SIOR Commercial Real Estate Index, compiled by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) in association with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). SIOR members again report that the national economic recession continues to have a significant negative affect on local industrial and office markets. However, 55% of SIOR members expect the market to improve next quarter. Although only an 8% positive increase over the 3rd quarter sentiment, optimism, none the less, continues to increase.
» Read more: SIOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INDEX FOURTH QUARTER 2009 RESULTS
Pending Home Sales drag in January, but should rebound for spring.
by Daniel Sosa No comments »
Brought to you by: www.thedailymortgagegazette.com
Fewer homes went under contract in January as the housing market continues to limp through the winter months. According to the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home Sales Index fell to its lowest level in 3 quarters this January. By contrast, in October 2009, the index had touched a 3-year high. The Pending Home Sales Index measures the number of homes that have gone under contract to sell, but have yet to close nationwide. It’s compiled using data from more than 100 regional listing services and 60-plus brokerages — the sample set encompasses 20 percent of all home resales in a given month.
Economists have come to rely on the Pending Home Sales Index because of its high correlation to actual home sales. 80% of all home marked “pending” close within 60 days. Many of the rest close within 120. Therefore, when we see Pending Home Sales show weakness like it did in January, we can infer that home resales will remain weak through the spring.
But will they really?
- Fewer sales should drag down home prices, bringing more buyers into the market
- Mortgage rates are still very low, but are poised to rise in just a few weeks
- The home buyer tax credit requires buyers to be in contract by April 30, 2010
In other words, there’s a confluence of factors that could lead to a rush of sales in Modesto and around the country over the next two months, reversing the housing market’s recent momentum.
Are you losing Prospects at HELLO???
March 4, 2010 by Daniel Sosa No comments »
Provided by: Terri Murphy at www.realblogging.com
First impressions are almost always irreversible and can make or break your connection in a matter of seconds, and how you connect on and offline will make determine if you will win or lose! What can you do differently than you have been doing? Are you relying on the same old things, systems, and habits…. or even more concerning, doing the same things your competitors are doing?
Today’s savvy consumer knows what they want, and are not willing to pay for services that do not meet their need. The largest buying segment of housing is GenX, and they are especially good at finding another professional who is willing to do it “their way” and fast! So, how about tune up for your presentation program? Whether you are presenting to a buyer or seller, creativity, expertise and delivery will boost or beat your chances. Here are 3 key tips on how to fine tune your connection:
1) Speed of Response: How fast are you responding to your lead requests? If you don’t have systems in place to respond in a nano-second, your prospects are moving on to the next agent who does have a method to respond in real time with targeted information …and that is what it takes to make a first WOW impression!
2) When you are meeting face to face, have you revamped how you personally “go to market”? Are you “market” presentable? Are you fully focused on your client? Have you anticipated their every need?
Before your meeting, are you equipped with a with deep needs analysis pre-written questionnaire that demonstrates you are prepared, interested and focused to authentically discover and fulfill their real objectives? Unfortunately, this is an area where many of us have slacked off. Having left a fast and furious marketplace, we didn’t have the luxury of time or the need to build trust bridges with our prospects.
A slower market is loaded with multiple opportunities to engage, connect and earn the right to provide our services to those in need and a great time to demonstrate strong differentiation from our competitors. As an example, if you are still running a paper CMA from your local MLS and showing up with a worn out one size fits all presentation, you might need to start looking for another job!
NAR reports that in 2009 that 34% of the properties sold were purchased by GenX. Translated that means they are driven by their own core values and preferences. Those preferences include real time response, deep expertise and real accountability. Think about investing some time in a marketing makeover and don’t wait another minute to re-design how you go to market while you still can! NAR’s Learning Library offers some free and almost free online webinars to help you do just that. Check them out at: (http://budurl.com/MurphyMktgMakeover)
3) Get rid of the old tools and get good with the NEW ones! You are right to be confused, frustrated and downright stubborn about trying to figure out what’s in what’s out/what’s hot and what is not, but that is no excuse.
You might be able to connect with prospects, but keeping all the updates consistent and valuable takes help from techno tools. Set aside some time or ask the experts what tools are recommended to help you service 24/7 without working all those hours. Learn how virtual tours like OBEO.com will do the reporting on activity to the seller automagically for you and engage an interested prospect with interactivity on the tour.
Your time is your money, so employing automated, customized drip systems that offer opt-in/opt-out options integrated with your IDX information is the only way to provide real time information as it is listed to prospective buyers or sellers considering to market their home.
NAR reports that approximately 98.9% of prospects search for properties on the Internet BEFORE engaging an agent. Surprisingly only 60% of agents even have a website! Do the basics, but do them right. Get a full web marketing website that does the work for you. Check out www.RealProSystems.com and get the whole enchilada: Podcasts, blogs, drip systems, automated campaigns, back end training and the list goes on. You can’t afford to be the jack of all trades, so figure out what systems can best support your goals and go for the gold.
We’ve heard if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always gotten…and that’s just not true anymore! We know we can no longer do what we’ve always done to even stay even with what we’ve generated in the past! If you are truly serious about making money by leveraging your time and expertise, get with the program. Very few customers or clients say I don’t want to work with that professional because they are too good at what they do, too eager to help me get exactly what I want and too much of an expert at their craft….just ask them!
Pending Home Sales Down
by NAR Updates No comments »
Pending home sales fell 7.6 percent and additional declines are expected from abnormal weather conditions.
Tying Friday’s Jobs Report to rising mortgage rates
by Daniel Sosa No comments »
Brought to you by: www.thedailymortgagegazette.com
Conforming and FHA mortgage rates in California have improved over the last 10 days, but that could all change this Friday with the release of February’s Non-Farm Payrolls report. Non-Farm Payrolls is the official name of the government’s monthly jobs report and, given the fragile state of the U.S. economy, Wall Street will be watching it closely. Mortgage rates could spike come Friday morning.
Jobs are an important part of the nation’s recovery. Among other concerns, unemployed Americans don’t spend as much money on goods and services, and are more likely to default on a mortgage. This retards economic growth and increases the potential for foreclosures. When jobs numbers worsen, therefore, it follows that economic projections worsen, too.
Poor employment figures draw money away from the stock markets and into less-risky bond markets, including mortgage-backed bonds. Mortgage rates improve as a result. Conversely, when jobs numbers improve, stock markets gain and bond markets worsen. Analysts expect that a net 30,000 jobs were lost in February.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics press release hits at 8:30 A.M. ET, roughly an hour before Friday’s mortgage pricing will be available to consumers. If you’re worried about rates rising on the heels of a strong jobs report, therefore, be sure to get your rate lock in today instead. Once Friday gets here, it may be too late.
How to properly screen a prospective tenant.
March 3, 2010 by Daniel Sosa 1 comment »According to the the National Association of Realtors®, “distressed homes” represented nearly 2 of every fifth home sold in January 2010. Clearly, real estate investors in Modesto and around the country are taking advantage of good deals on cheap property. But there’s risk involved. This NBC Today Show interview first ran in March 2009, featuring real estate expert Barbara Corcoran. Despite its age, the message remains relevant. Today may be a terrific time to buy a bank-owned home — just make sure you do your research first. There’s plenty of ways for investors to get burned. Some of the tips in the video include:
- Buy in your own backyard
- Start small, then build to a bigger portfolio
- Watch receipts — rent rolls don’t matter if tenants aren’t paying rent
Corcoran also gives pointers on how to evaluate a prospective tenant. Foreclosures should represent a large number of 2010’s total home sales and will offer interesting opportunities to bona fide real estate investors. be you jump in, make sure to watch the video. The rents you save may be your own.
To watch this streamline video, visit: www.thedailymortgagegazette.com
