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

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March but not closed, rose 5.3 percent from the previous month and was 21.1 percent higher than March 2009, NAR reports. This follows an 8.3 percent monthly increase in February.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says the rise in pending home sales is a result of better housing affordability and the homebuyer tax credit, but he expects sales to decline in the months ahead following the expiration of the tax credit. “Clearly the homebuyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales. Later in the second half of the year and into 2011, home sales will likely become self-sustaining if the economy can add jobs at a respectable pace and from a return of buyer demand as they see home values stabilizing,” Yun says.

The index rose in three of the four regions from February to March, and all four regions year-over-year. In the Midwest, it increased 1.2 percent in March from the previous month and was 18.5 percent higher than a year ago. In the South, the index jumped 12.7 percent in March and was 28.3 percent higher than March 2009. Pending sales in the West rose 1.9 percent during the month and were 8.8 percent above a year ago. But pending sales in the Northeast declined 3.3 percent in March, although they were 27.2 percent higher than a year ago.

Foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were reported on 315,716 U.S. properties during January, a 10 percent decrease from December but still 15 percent higher than January 2009, according to the latest RealtyTrac figures released today. One in every 409 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing during the month.

REO activity fell 5 percent from the previous month, but was up 31 percent from a year ago. Default notices were down 12 percent in January, but were up 4 percent from January 2009, while scheduled auctions were down 11 percent for the month but were 15 percent higher than a year ago.

RealtyTrac’s CEO James J. Saccacio says the January foreclosure data is similar to a year ago, when a double-digit jump in foreclosure activity in December 2008 was followed by a 10 percent drop in January 2009. “If history repeats itself, we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works,” Saccacio says.

Nevada continues to lead the country in foreclosure activity with one in every 95 households receiving a foreclosure filing during January, more than four times the national average. Arizona was second with one in every 129 households receiving a foreclosure filing.

Las Vegas had the highest metro foreclosure rate in the country, with one in every 82 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, despite a decrease of 2 percent in foreclosure activity from the previous month and 21 percent drop in activity from a year ago. Phoenix was the only metro area among the top 10 to post a month-over-month increase (4 percent) in foreclosure activity.

Brian Ripp, CRS

info from; CRS connect e-mail update

Today’s real estate market isn’t what it used to be.  If you want to sell your house, you may be thinking of ways to set your home apart from others.  How can you make the decision easier for you the buyer and help yourself as well?  On way is by doing a pre-sale inspection.

A pre-sale inspection can benefit both the seller and the buyer.  With a pre-sale inspection, you’ll know what condition your house is in before it goes on the market.  This information allows you to have a better idea of what your house’s listing price should be, and it avoids surprises that might arise after it goes into escrow.  Discovering conditions early in the sales process allows the seller to decide how to handle the conditions when they aren’t under the additional pressure of already being in contract.  It also helps avoid a possible disclosure lawsuit.  With a pre-sale inspections, the buyer also benefits by knowing the condition of the property before making an offer, which can mean a quicker and easier sale.

At this inspection may look at your home’s roof, structural, plumbing fireplace, and heater.  Inspection prices range from $300 – $500.

The Federal Reserve today announced it will maintain its target for the federal funds rate in the 0 percent to 0.25 percent range, and expects economic conditions to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period of time. “Information suggests that economic activity has continued to pick up and that the deterioration in the labor market is abating,” the Fed said in a prepared statement.

“Financial market conditions have become more supportive of economic growth, although economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time.  The Committee anticipates that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and market forces will contribute to a strengthening of economic growth and a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability,” the Fed said.
 
To provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve also said it will purchase a total of $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and nearly $175 billion of agency debt, and will gradually slow the pace of these purchases in order to promote a smooth transition in markets.

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

The median home price in California will rise 3.3 percent to $280,000 in 2010 compared with a projected median of $271,000 this year, according to C.A.R.’s “2010 California Housing Market Forecast”.  Sales for 2010 are projected to decrease 2.3 percent to 527,500 units, compared with 540,000 units (projected) in 2009.

“California’s housing market continued its strong sales rebound this year, resulting from the continued pace of distressed properties coming to market,” said C.A.R. President James Liptak.  “This follows two years of double-digit sales declines in 2006 and 2007.  Looking ahead, we expect sales to moderate to a more sustainable pace.” 

“After experiencing its sharpest decline in history, we expect the median price to rise modestly next year,” Liptak added.  “2010 will mark the beginning of the ‘new normal’ for California’s housing market.  This ‘new normal’ likely will feature a steady stream of sales driven by distressed properties in the low end of the market, coupled with moderate home-price appreciation.”

 “With distressed properties accounting for nearly one-third of the sales in 2010, inventory will be relatively lean, under six months during the off-season months, and a roughly four-month supply during the peak season,” said C.A.R. and Vice President Leslie Appleton-Young.  “We expect the median price to decrease slightly through the remainder of 2009 and into next year, then rise before leveling off next summer.  For the year as a whole, home prices are forecast to reach $280,000. The wild cards for 2010 include foreclosures, loan resets, the labor market, and the California budget crisis, as well as the actions of the federal government.”

taken from C.A.R. Newsline – e-mail market update.

National Association of Realtors estimates that the federal government’s economic stimulus plan, along with lower interest rates and other mortgage relief measures, could help trigger 900,000 additional home sales in 2009, compared with conditions in the absence of the stimulus package.  The association also expects home inventory to fall below an 8-month supply by the end of the year.

Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor, since 1985

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

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

The pattern gets clearer week after week: We are looking at a slow-motion housing recovery that should have us out of the recession later this year.

Now that’s not to ignore the fact that there are markets in the country that still face very challenging economic dynamics – with no real turnaround in view yet on housing sales, prices and unemployment. But the national numbers are telling us something important, and they increasingly look postive.

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

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

The tide is rising for high-end borrowers.

Some traditionally stable housing markets are facing new stress as rising numbers of affluent homeowners find that they have little to no equity in their homes.

Last week we looked at the accelerating deterioration of jumbo mortgages, which are too large for government backing. Wednesday’s WSJ looks at a new Zillow study that says 20% of homeowners are underwater, with mortgages worth more than the value of their homes.

Jumbo borrowers were once seen as less likely to default, because they were required to put down substantial down payments—ranging from 10% to 20% or more—even during the boom when lax lending ruled. But as home prices have fallen sharply, more markets that have lots of jumbo loans are seeing an outsized share of borrowers with negative equity.

In the San Jose-Santa Clara, Calif., area, almost two-thirds of all outstanding mortgages are jumbo, according to Zillow. In that market, nearly one in five homeowners are underwater and that figure rises to around 45% when looking at mortgages obtained within the last five years.

One big worry: Negative equity situations could spur more foreclosures and short sales, particularly as more affluent homeowners lose their jobs or take new ones that pay less. Short sales accounted for around 12% of all home sales in both of those California markets last year.

Jumbo borrowers face added challenges because it’s hard to refinance without putting more money into their homes, and it’s hard to find jumbo mortgages with low rates that don’t require hefty fees. The Obama administration’s housing rescue plans haven’t dealt much with jumbo borrowers, largely focusing on helping homeowners below the conforming loan limits, which are set at $417,000 in most of the country and rise to as high as $729,750 in the most expensive housing markets.

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

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