Brian Ripp ~ Your Bay Area & Fremont Real Estate & Financial Agent

Two top housing economists provided some encouraging news about the housing market during an economic session at the NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings and Expo this week. Both NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun and Moody’s Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi agree that job creation is the key to a sustained economic and housing recovery, with job creation expected later this year, but they differed on their views about how foreclosures will impact home prices.

Yun says the homebuyer tax credit added 1 million buyers, reduced inventory by 1 million units and reduced the housing supply by several months, which corresponded to a positive impact on home prices of 5 percent to 8 percent. “Stabilizing home prices will limit future foreclosures,” says Yun. He predicts slightly stronger demand for housing and a fairly even level of foreclosures entering the pipeline this year before easing in 2011. “We expect distressed sales to account for 30 to 40 percent of transactions for the remainder of this year,” he says.

Zandi also forecasts improved demand for housing, but expects foreclosures to rise later this year before easing in 2011. He also says home prices may weaken further. “There will be no real price growth in 2010 or 2011. Whether home prices weaken is unclear, but it will take two more years to work off excess housing inventory at the current sales pace. Of course, if demand picks up, it would take less time for prices to rise,” Zandi says.

from CRS Member Connect newsletter

The pace of existing-home sales in November rose a substantial 7.4 percent, cintinuing a string of solid increases in the closing months of 2009.  Looking ahead, sales are expected to ease, with households, no longer concerned about the popular home buyer tax credit immediately expiring, taking longer to buy.  NAR’s forward-looking pending home sales idex shows a 16 percent drop in closings in November.  Sales should pick up again as the tax credit wids down in mid 2010.

information from NAR’s Realtor magazine -Feb. 2010

Pending home sales rose slightly in December, increasing 1.0 percent from the previous month, according to NAR. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) was 10.9 percent above December 2008. In November, the index had fallen 16.4 percent after several months of surging activity.

The index in the Northeast rose 2.3 percent in December and was 14.9 percent higher than December 2008. In the Midwest, the index increased 5.2 percent and was 8.7 percent higher than a year ago. In the South, pending home sales rose 2.2 percent and were 5.5 percent higher than December 2008. In the West, the index fell 3.8 percent but was 18.6 percent above a year ago.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says it’s important to recognize how the tax credit is skewing market data. “There are easily understood swings in contact activity as buyers respond to a tax credit that was expiring and was then extended and expanded. These swings are masking the underlying trend, which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels. December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years,” Yun says.

from CRS Member Connect newsletter

for additional information go to my Real Estate Market Weekly Update Webcast: http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will suspend foreclosure evictions from December 19, 2009 through January 3, 2010.  To help struggling families over the holidays, both owner-occupants and tenants living in properties foreclosed upon by Fannie Mae will not be evicted.  Freddie Mac’s suspension of evictions will be limited to properties up to four units.
In a similar move, Citigroup Inc. will suspend foreclosure sales and evictions for 30 days through January 17, 2010 for loans it owns.  Citigroup’s foreclosure moratorium, however, does not extend to loans it services on behalf of other investors.  Given these developments, other lenders may follow suit, so check with the lender if appropriate.

In Freddie Mac’s results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.03 percent for the week ending October 29, 2009 – up from the previous week when it averaged 5.00 percent.
      Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.46 percent.
      “Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have averaged just below 5 percent this year, which is the lowest 10-month average since the survey began in 1971,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor

www.BrianRipp.com  serving Fremont, Newark, Union City & surrounding communities. Real Estate & Property Management.

Real Estate Market Weekly Update Webcast: http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp

When selling your home, the best thing you can do is stage it for prospective buyers.  Staging is simply preparing your home in a way that creates buyer interest, and it can make a dramatic difference in the selling price and the speed of sale.  Try these quick staging tips:

• Make the exterior of our home welcoming by staining or painting your front door and cleaning the windows inside and out so they sparkle.
• Remove stored items from your garage to make it look spacious and organized.
• Make sure your home is infused with light.  Take advantage of sunlight by opening your drapes.  If showing in the evening or on over-cast days, turn on lights in every room.
• Brighten the interior of your home with fresh, light-toned paint.
• Clean and organize kitchen cabinets, drawers and pantries.  Remove any clutter from countertops.  You may want to bake a pie or cookies before a showing to make your home smell inviting.

Of course, this works for both selling your home or even if you are planning on renting it out.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concern regarding any real estate issue.

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor

www.BrianRipp.com  serving Fremont, Newark, Union City & surrounding communities. Real Estate & Property Management.

Real Estate Market Weekly Update Webcast: http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp

 Many Americans believe that a lack of money for a down payment and closing costs is the biggest obstacle to homeownership, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR’s) 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey.  Job security is also a major concern.  Two-thirds of those surveyed think layoffs and unemployment are a big problem, and 8 out of 10 think those issues are a barrier to homeownership.

While three-fourths of Americans say declining property prices have made homes more affordable, 8 out of 10 say it’s harder to a home in their area today than it was a year ago.  Nearly half (44%) attribute their inability to sell to the large number of homes for sale in their market.

But respondents do expect to see home prices stabilize in the near future.  Nearly 7 out of 10 expect local home prices to stay the same over the next three months, while only 18% expect to see further declines, the survey finds.

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor

www.BrianRipp.com  serving Fremont, Newark, Union City & surrounding communities. Real Estate & Property Management.

Real Estate Market Weekly Update Webcast: http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp

Pending home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six years for such a streak, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6% to 94.6 from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May, and is 6.7% above June 2008 when it was 88.7. The last time there were five consecutive monthly gains was in July 2003.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a combination of positive market factors is fueling the gains. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who’ve been on the sidelines. Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower priced homes,” he said. ”Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract, first-time buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit because they must close on the sale by November 30.”

November is coming soon, if you’d like to start your home search – contact me or visit my web site and search yourself.

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor

www.BrianRipp.com  serving Fremont, Newark, Union City & surrounding communities. Real Estate & Property Management.

Real Estate Market Weekly Update Webcast: http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp

Home sales increased 35.2 percent in May in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home declined 30.4 percent, C.A.R. reported last week. “With affordability for first-time buyers at a record high, sales of existing, single-family homes continued to remain above the 500,000 level for the ninth consecutive month,” said C.A.R. President James Liptak. “Buyers are beginning to realize that the combination of favorable home prices, historically low mortgage rates, and first-time home buyer tax credits, may not align again for many years.
“The sales gains over last year have diminished in recent months,” he added. “This trend is expected to continue through the end of the year, as limited inventory at the moderate and low end of the market constrains sales activity,” he said.

I read this great information from my Calif. Association of Realtors e-mail update. www.car.org   

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor

 http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp

A surge in home sales that started in some of California’s more affordable inland areas has begun to spread to several more expensive coastal areas, another indicator that the state’s real estate market may be in recovery mode.

·         Many homes in the lower end of the market are receiving multiple offers, with some prospective buyers bidding well above asking prices. Inventory levels for homes priced under $500,000 stood at 3.2 months in May 2009, compared with 9.4 months in May 2008.

·         Some buyers, especially those in historically higher-priced markets such as the San Francisco Bay Area, are newly optimistic about buying homes and are realizing that the combination of low interest rates, favorable home prices, and first-time home buyer tax credits may not realign for many years.

·         Some housing economists caution against interpreting signs of increased sales activity as meaning the market has bottomed.  Interest rates on 30-year, fixed-rate prime mortgages have risen above 5 percent in recent weeks and could continue to increase as fears of inflation impact interest rates.  Additionally, the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers is scheduled to end Nov. 30, which may remove the incentive to purchase.

·         Although the median price in the state has risen for four consecutive months, prices in some higher-income neighborhoods still are declining. Some agents say that declining prices in these neighborhoods are a reflection of borrowers’ problems getting jumbo mortgages to make purchases.

Bottom line is – it appears that we have hit the bottom of the market (if not, it’s really, really close) and if you have considered buying a home or condo, now is the time to start the ball rolling.

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor

www.BrianRipp.com  serving Fremont, Newark, Union City & surrounding communities. Real Estate & Property Management.

Real Estate Market Weekly Update Webcast: http://realtytimes.com/REUv/BrianRipp