Showing posts with label refinancing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label refinancing. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, December 7, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
An opportunity of a lifetime....
Warren Buffet says, "A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." While Mr. Buffet was writing about buying stocks, the same can be said for housing today.
Housing issues have permeated the economy both locally and nationally. This week, one index that tracks housing prices, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, indicated home values fell the most since 1968, declining 18.5% in December from the year before.
Looked at from a different perspective, this means home prices have fallen to levels not seen in six to twelve years, depending on individual markets. Following the Case-Schiller report was the report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently. The NAR reported that home prices for the month of January fell by 14.8%.
The bright spot though in contrast was that the number of homes sold in December increased. Home buyers from coast-to-coast have been buying distressed properties at the rate of 45% of total sales.
Recognizing that now is the time to buy, everyone – from those looking to purchase their first home to seasoned real estate investors – is buying homes today. Bruce Norris, the head of an investment group in Southern California, expects to buy at least 100 homes this year as, "This is the buying opportunity of our lifetime."
Fundamentals Point to Strength
The basic fundamentals of the housing market point to higher prices ahead. Almost half of the properties being sold today are existing homes that are either owned by banks or homes on which banks are accepting short sales, allowing them to be sold for less than what is owed.
New homes or homes under construction are near all-time lows. The country's demographics point to more potential buyers coming into the housing market than projected inventory in coming years. This all points to higher prices on the horizon as demand will be greater than supply. This is supported by the fact that the inventory of unsold homes fell 2.7% in January.
Why Buy Now?
Three very important reasons to buy now are:
Interest rates are near all time lows;
Home prices have declined to levels not seen in years; and
Qualified first-time home buyers are now eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit.
Lower Prices Don't Always Equate to Lower Payments
One final point to consider. Even if you believe that home prices will continue to decline, it's very difficult to believe that interest rates will remain at these low levels.
Did you know that even if home prices were to decline 10% but also during that time, interest rates available for home loans were to increase by 1.00%, your monthly principal and interest payment would actually be higher? It's true. So, if you are thinking of buying or the end of your lease is near, get busy and get in the game. To quote Mr. Buffet again, "If you wait for the robins, spring will be over."
Call me and we can discuss the best options for you today.
Housing issues have permeated the economy both locally and nationally. This week, one index that tracks housing prices, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, indicated home values fell the most since 1968, declining 18.5% in December from the year before.
Looked at from a different perspective, this means home prices have fallen to levels not seen in six to twelve years, depending on individual markets. Following the Case-Schiller report was the report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently. The NAR reported that home prices for the month of January fell by 14.8%.
The bright spot though in contrast was that the number of homes sold in December increased. Home buyers from coast-to-coast have been buying distressed properties at the rate of 45% of total sales.
Recognizing that now is the time to buy, everyone – from those looking to purchase their first home to seasoned real estate investors – is buying homes today. Bruce Norris, the head of an investment group in Southern California, expects to buy at least 100 homes this year as, "This is the buying opportunity of our lifetime."
Fundamentals Point to Strength
The basic fundamentals of the housing market point to higher prices ahead. Almost half of the properties being sold today are existing homes that are either owned by banks or homes on which banks are accepting short sales, allowing them to be sold for less than what is owed.
New homes or homes under construction are near all-time lows. The country's demographics point to more potential buyers coming into the housing market than projected inventory in coming years. This all points to higher prices on the horizon as demand will be greater than supply. This is supported by the fact that the inventory of unsold homes fell 2.7% in January.
Why Buy Now?
Three very important reasons to buy now are:
Interest rates are near all time lows;
Home prices have declined to levels not seen in years; and
Qualified first-time home buyers are now eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit.
Lower Prices Don't Always Equate to Lower Payments
One final point to consider. Even if you believe that home prices will continue to decline, it's very difficult to believe that interest rates will remain at these low levels.
Did you know that even if home prices were to decline 10% but also during that time, interest rates available for home loans were to increase by 1.00%, your monthly principal and interest payment would actually be higher? It's true. So, if you are thinking of buying or the end of your lease is near, get busy and get in the game. To quote Mr. Buffet again, "If you wait for the robins, spring will be over."
Call me and we can discuss the best options for you today.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Mortgage Applications Rise as Refinancing Jumps
Mortgage Applications Rise as Refinancing Jumps
U.S. mortgage applications jumped in the first full week of 2009 as record low interest rates spurred the greatest demand for home refinancing loans in over 5-1/2 years, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
Low mortgage rates, however, have yet to fuel demand for loans to purchase homes.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended Jan. 9 increased 15.8 percent to 1,324.8, the highest reading since the week ended July 11, 2003, when it reached 1,358.2.
Thirty-year mortgage rates have dropped dramatically since the Federal Reserve unveiled a plan in late November to buy as much as $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae [FNM 0.66 -0.03 (-5.06%) ], Freddie Mac [FRE 0.65 -0.05 (-6.56%) ] and Ginnie Mae.
The program also entails buying up to $100 billion of debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
The refinance share of applications increased to 85.3 percent from 79.8 percent the previous week, the highest level since the MBA started conducting its survey in 1990.
Spencer Rascoff, chief operating officer at Zillow.com, an online real estate service company based in Seattle, said loan requests to his company are up more than 200 percent from just two months ago, with loan requests on pace to hit about 25,000 in January and loan quotes on pace to hit 200,000.
"Many experts agree that rates will stay relatively low for at least the next few months since the federal government is now committed to buying mortgage-backed securities to keep borrowing costs low," Rascoff said on Tuesday.
"But the future of rates isn't certain, so locking in these low rates now is a smart move," he said.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 4.89 percent, down 0.18 percentage point from the previous week, the lowest level recorded in the MBA's survey's history.
Interest rates were well below year-ago levels of 5.77 percent.
"Our business has definitely increased dramatically in the past few weeks with rates dropping," Melissa Cohn, chairman and chief executive CEO of Manhattan Mortgage Company in New York, said on Tuesday.
Cohn said the telephones at her company have been ringing off the hook and while the company has not hired additional staff, it has retained as many people as possible.
"We are just working twice as hard to handle the increased volume," she said.
Meanwhile, though, the MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 14.1 percent to 295.8.
The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smoothes the volatile weekly figures, was up 10.8 percent.
Weekly Refinancing Activity Surges
The prospect of affordable home financing has provided a glimmer of hope for the U.S. economy with the housing market in the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
Mortgages
30 yr fixed 5.09% 5.25%
30 yr fixed jumbo 6.79% 6.91%
15 yr fixed 4.73% 4.95%
15 yr fixed jumbo 5.73% 5.83%
5/1 ARM 5.71% 5.16%
5/1 jumbo ARM 5.84% 5.10%
The Mortgage Bankers seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications jumped 25.6 percent to 7,414.1, the highest reading since the week ended June 27, 2003, when it reached 8,599.1.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 1.1 percent, up from 0.9 percent the previous week.
Fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 4.63 percent, down from 4.67 percent the previous week.
Rates on one-year ARMs decreased to 5.89 percent from 5.90 percent.
Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
U.S. mortgage applications jumped in the first full week of 2009 as record low interest rates spurred the greatest demand for home refinancing loans in over 5-1/2 years, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
Low mortgage rates, however, have yet to fuel demand for loans to purchase homes.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended Jan. 9 increased 15.8 percent to 1,324.8, the highest reading since the week ended July 11, 2003, when it reached 1,358.2.
Thirty-year mortgage rates have dropped dramatically since the Federal Reserve unveiled a plan in late November to buy as much as $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae [FNM 0.66 -0.03 (-5.06%) ], Freddie Mac [FRE 0.65 -0.05 (-6.56%) ] and Ginnie Mae.
The program also entails buying up to $100 billion of debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
The refinance share of applications increased to 85.3 percent from 79.8 percent the previous week, the highest level since the MBA started conducting its survey in 1990.
Spencer Rascoff, chief operating officer at Zillow.com, an online real estate service company based in Seattle, said loan requests to his company are up more than 200 percent from just two months ago, with loan requests on pace to hit about 25,000 in January and loan quotes on pace to hit 200,000.
"Many experts agree that rates will stay relatively low for at least the next few months since the federal government is now committed to buying mortgage-backed securities to keep borrowing costs low," Rascoff said on Tuesday.
"But the future of rates isn't certain, so locking in these low rates now is a smart move," he said.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 4.89 percent, down 0.18 percentage point from the previous week, the lowest level recorded in the MBA's survey's history.
Interest rates were well below year-ago levels of 5.77 percent.
"Our business has definitely increased dramatically in the past few weeks with rates dropping," Melissa Cohn, chairman and chief executive CEO of Manhattan Mortgage Company in New York, said on Tuesday.
Cohn said the telephones at her company have been ringing off the hook and while the company has not hired additional staff, it has retained as many people as possible.
"We are just working twice as hard to handle the increased volume," she said.
Meanwhile, though, the MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 14.1 percent to 295.8.
The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smoothes the volatile weekly figures, was up 10.8 percent.
Weekly Refinancing Activity Surges
The prospect of affordable home financing has provided a glimmer of hope for the U.S. economy with the housing market in the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
Mortgages
30 yr fixed 5.09% 5.25%
30 yr fixed jumbo 6.79% 6.91%
15 yr fixed 4.73% 4.95%
15 yr fixed jumbo 5.73% 5.83%
5/1 ARM 5.71% 5.16%
5/1 jumbo ARM 5.84% 5.10%
The Mortgage Bankers seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications jumped 25.6 percent to 7,414.1, the highest reading since the week ended June 27, 2003, when it reached 8,599.1.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 1.1 percent, up from 0.9 percent the previous week.
Fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 4.63 percent, down from 4.67 percent the previous week.
Rates on one-year ARMs decreased to 5.89 percent from 5.90 percent.
Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thank you
For anyone that has called my office, you have no doubt spoken to Latisha at some point. I recently had a client express just how wonderful she helped make the home buying process. In fact, I concur. It is rare that you find a true professional that is driven to do what is right for their customers. It is something that I take very serious in my business and am blessed to have someone at my side that holds the same belief.
Thanks Latisha, for all your hard work and your continued efforts to help build one of DFW's best real estate teams.
Thanks Latisha, for all your hard work and your continued efforts to help build one of DFW's best real estate teams.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Energy star features
As the cost of energy and the continued concern over the environment, it is becoming more and more important to make sure that we purchase appliances that save us money. The energy star program is a good resource to use to determine which appliances are going to save you money and that could also help the impact on our environment.
Click on this line of text to be taken to the energy star website.
Click on this line of text to be taken to the energy star website.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
A Critical Guide to Home Loans
These tips are to help assist you in evaluating which mortgage is best for you. For further details on each of these guidelines, please call our hotline at
1-800-284-0913 x 5078.
1. First Things First -- Know What You Can Afford.
You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble if you take a few minutes to figure out the loan amount you can afford.
2. Avoid Unpleasant Surprises.
Once you know about any potential porblems, you can work on clearing them up before you apply.
3. Shopping for a Mortgage Lender.
Something also to remember- a mortgage broker is the legal agent of his or her client and does not work for the lending institution.
4. What a REALTOR Can Do For You.
A good real estate professional has long-standing relationships with home mortgage professionals and can point you in the right direction to answer any questions you have.
5. Which Loan Is Right For You?
With Adjustable-Rate Mortgages, ALWAYS assume the "worst case" scenario: Assume that your loan will always rise the maximum amount.
Fixed-rate mortgages make the most sense when interest rates are low and if you're planning to stay put for the next seven or more years.
Graduated-payment mortgages are more of a risk. Your early payments are so low that they don't cover the interest due, which results in negative amortization.
If you're a first-time homebuyer who plans to trade up before the loan comes due, you might ask your REALTOR about a balloon mortgage.
"The smart buyer makes sure to know exactly how much he or she can afford to borrow before beginning to look at homes."
For more information on selling or purchasing a home, feel free to call the hotline: 1-800-284-0913 x 5078
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