The median home price in San Diego County stayed at $325,000 last month, unchanged from August, MDA DataQuick reported on October 12, 2009. " This could be more good news about the end of the housing downturn in San Diego.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Pete Saxon Realty Supports Veterans Village
I took an online class earlier this year from the San Diego Community College District taught by Jane Newcomb. A class project Jan assigned was to create a poster for a non-profit organization. I chose Veterans Village of San Diego which is run by a good friend of mine, Phil Landis.
I presented the poster to Phil yesterday at the Vet Center. He promised to hang it in a place of honor so I'm assuming the men's room. He even bought me lunch in the center cafeteria. It was "cheeseburger Tuesday."
The Vet Center is a beautiful facility and Phil does a great job running the program.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Start House-Hunting Now To Qualify For Tax Credit
First-time homebuyers—those who have not owned a home for at least three years—may be eligible for the $8,000 federal tax credit, but the window of opportunity is closing rapidly. To qualify for the credit, the buyer must close escrow by midnight on Nov. 30, when the tax credit expires. Buyers hoping to take advantage of this benefit are advised to start house-hunting early, as the buying and lending processes takes time.
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New Law May Cause Delays For Borrowers
Changes to the Truth in Lending Act took effect last month, requiring lenders to provide certain disclosures about mortgages fees and helping borrowers make better-informed loan choices. However, some in the industry believe the new regulations could create further delays in the lending process.
Previously, lenders could begin underwriting the loan the same day they received an application by charging fees to borrowers, such as paying for property appraisers. The new regulations now mandate a three-day review period for the loan documents before the loan process can begin. If the interest rate changes before the settlement date, a new set of disclosure documents must be given to the borrowers, restarting the review period.
Funding the typical mortgage on a new purchase takes approximately 45 days—at least two weeks longer than last year, according to some lenders. Delays in loan funding also can be costly to borrowers, as time on mortgage rate locks may run out.
Borrowers can lock in interest rates for as long as 60 days, and may extend the rate lock for up to three weeks—down from four weeks a year ago. The cost of each further one-week rate-lock extension costs one-quarter of a percentage point of the total loan amount.
Borrowers whose settlement dates are in jeopardy may apply for an emergency waiver of the three-day waiting period, but it is not likely to be granted, according to one lender who issues loans in 20 states.
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Previously, lenders could begin underwriting the loan the same day they received an application by charging fees to borrowers, such as paying for property appraisers. The new regulations now mandate a three-day review period for the loan documents before the loan process can begin. If the interest rate changes before the settlement date, a new set of disclosure documents must be given to the borrowers, restarting the review period.
Funding the typical mortgage on a new purchase takes approximately 45 days—at least two weeks longer than last year, according to some lenders. Delays in loan funding also can be costly to borrowers, as time on mortgage rate locks may run out.
Borrowers can lock in interest rates for as long as 60 days, and may extend the rate lock for up to three weeks—down from four weeks a year ago. The cost of each further one-week rate-lock extension costs one-quarter of a percentage point of the total loan amount.
Borrowers whose settlement dates are in jeopardy may apply for an emergency waiver of the three-day waiting period, but it is not likely to be granted, according to one lender who issues loans in 20 states.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Builder Confidence Highest Since June 2008
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose one point in August to 18, its highest level since June 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released Tuesday. “Home builder expectations have been buoyed by the success of the first-time home buyer tax credit and its anticipated boost to buying activity leading up to the Nov. 30 expiration date,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “The question is what happens after that -- whether there will be enough momentum to keep us moving toward a recovery, particularly in light of significant headwinds such as the severe credit crunch for housing production loans and inappropriate appraisal practices that are scuttling a quarter of all new-home sales. Unless Congress and the Administration focus their attention on housing right now, this improvement may well be short-lived.”
Two out of three of the HMI’s component indexes recorded substantial gains in August, according to the report. The index gauging sales expectations in the next six months rose four points to 30 while, the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose three points to 16. The index gauging current sales conditions was unchanged at 16.
Regionally, all but the South recorded HMI gains in August, according to the report. The Northeast posted an eight-point gain to 24, the Midwest posted a two-point gain to 16, the West posted a three-point gain to 17 and the South posted a one-point decline to 18.
Two out of three of the HMI’s component indexes recorded substantial gains in August, according to the report. The index gauging sales expectations in the next six months rose four points to 30 while, the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose three points to 16. The index gauging current sales conditions was unchanged at 16.
Regionally, all but the South recorded HMI gains in August, according to the report. The Northeast posted an eight-point gain to 24, the Midwest posted a two-point gain to 16, the West posted a three-point gain to 17 and the South posted a one-point decline to 18.
Friday, August 7, 2009
New FHA Guidelines To Help Struggling Borrowers
The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has implemented changes to its loan modification program to ensure consistency with the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable Modification Program. By August 15, FHA borrowers will be able to reduce their monthly mortgage payments by seeking a loan modification through their current mortgage company or loan servicer under the new FHA-Home Affordable Modification Program (FHA-HAMP).
The program will allow HUD to bring a borrower's payment down to an affordable level. Under the plan, mortgage servicers can reduce the amount of principal on which the borrower must make loan payments by as much as 30 percent to get monthly payments to affordable levels. The borrower makes the reduced payments for the life of the loan, but is responsible for paying off the loan in full when the home is sold or the loan is refinanced.
FHA borrowers can receive a loan modification after they have missed one loan payment, rather than waiting until they are at least three payments behind, as in the past. This differs from the Making Home Affordable Program in that borrowers who are current, but are at risk of default can qualify for assistance.
HUD does not have an estimate on the number of borrowers that will be assisted. According to LPS Applied Analytics, 14.2 percent of FHA loans are at least 30 days past due and not yet in foreclosure.
The program will allow HUD to bring a borrower's payment down to an affordable level. Under the plan, mortgage servicers can reduce the amount of principal on which the borrower must make loan payments by as much as 30 percent to get monthly payments to affordable levels. The borrower makes the reduced payments for the life of the loan, but is responsible for paying off the loan in full when the home is sold or the loan is refinanced.
FHA borrowers can receive a loan modification after they have missed one loan payment, rather than waiting until they are at least three payments behind, as in the past. This differs from the Making Home Affordable Program in that borrowers who are current, but are at risk of default can qualify for assistance.
HUD does not have an estimate on the number of borrowers that will be assisted. According to LPS Applied Analytics, 14.2 percent of FHA loans are at least 30 days past due and not yet in foreclosure.
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