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NAR is reporting slipped 0.6 percent nationally to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million units in February from 5.05 million in January.
Highlights of the report:
- 7% higher than February 2009
- Weather affected closing schedules
- Housing inventory rose 9.5% to 3.59 million units or 8.6 months of supply
- 26% of transactions were cash purchases
- Distressed sales made up 35% of transactions
- Median house prices fell 1.8% to $165,100.
- First time homebuyers made up 42% of transactions.
- Northeast rose 2.4%
- Midwest rose 2.8%
- South retraced 1.1%
- West dropped 4.7%
Home sales surged on the back of a $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, but have faltered 3 months in a row. This raises worries that the housing market may be in for a rough few years once the tax credit ends and interest rates begin rising due to the government plan to stop buying mortgages on the secondary market at teh end of March. The overall debt load now on the government balance sheet will result in higher taxes dropping the disposable income consumers use to buy bigger houses or vacation properties.
This data shows that the people who need housing are buying it along with investors looking for great deals. Current homeowners have not been inspired to use the governments new $6500 tax credit to purchase another house. That may be a direct result of the fact that 25% of houses are now worth less than their mortgage balance, so they cant sell their houses.
Staff Writter
Home Prices · Pending Home Sales · sell my house · sellmyhouse.com
22
Loan Mod Hurts Your Credit Score
No comments · Posted by admin in Bank Owned, Foreclosure, Home Sales Stats, REO, Short Sales
According to a recent AP report , HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) has revealled that your credit score will probably be lowered soon after you apply for help.
For borrowers who are making their payments on time but are on the verge of default, the Obama administration’s loan modification program can reduce their credit score as much as 100 points. That makes it harder to get a loan and can present a problem when applying for a new job.
Housing counselors say it’s unfair, especially because the news often comes as a surprise to homeowners.
“Why should people’s credit be hurt even worse when they’re trying to do the right thing?” said Eileen Anderson, senior vice president at Community Development Corp. of Long Island, a housing counseling group in New York.
And many homeowners are angry that a program designed to help carries such a penalty, said Kathy Conley, a housing counselor with GreenPath Inc., a nonprofit group in Farmington Hills, Mich.
“It’s a feeling of being duped,” she said.
The Treasury Department guidelines require that mortgage companies notify credit bureaus of the loan modification process.
Worse yet, we have heard multiple cases where homeowners are not getting their trial loan modifications made permanent. So not only are you struggling to stay current on your payment while taking a beating on your credit, there is no real way to know of the bank will actually allow you to continue on the new payment plan. Many times you are just paying a lower monthly payment over 40 years. Trust us, you arent paying less over time if this is the case.
Staff Writer
16
Pulling Credit to Get a Short Sale Approved?
1 Comment · Posted by admin in Foreclosure, Short Sales
I was reading this blog from Pete Goodman who was discussing yet one more of those things we just have to shake our heads out.
Basically, Bank of America explained to him that they were going to pull the sellers credit to see if they had stopped paying their other creditors before agreeing to a short sale. If they are current on their other bills then they will make them sign a promissary note or come out of pocket with more cash.
Are you kidding me? Have they completley given up on the idea of protecting their shareholders? How does punishing the seller, who already has been thru 3 kinds of death from the stress of losing their house to this point, help them keep their losses down when the seller finally gets fed up with their antics, shuts off the heat and throws in the towell?
It is very hard to have simpathy for these large banks when we see every single day the outright garbage they put middle america thru. I guess they arent thankful that it was middle america that bailed them out when they almost went broke in the first place.
Unreal! Looking forward to the day we get interviewed about this whole thing on CNBC! Oh the stories we have to share huh!
Jason Roberts,CEO
housing market · Realtors · sell my house · sellmyhouse.com · stop foreclosure
12
Is it responsible to recommend short sale properties to our buyers who want to qualify for the tax credit?
2 Comments · Posted by admin in Short Sales
How can we recommend a short sale property to a buyer who specifically wants to qualify for the tax credit? We have time to meet the criteria of signed contract date, but the closing date is completely out of our control. And that creates a real challenge for Realtors knowing that these short sales can take 6 months or longer to close.
Thoughts?
4
January pending home sales fall 7.6% showing signs of continued weekness
1 Comment · Posted by admin in JKR Investment Group
A week economy and job market combined with brutal winter conditions across the country have taken their toll on January pending home sales which dropped 7.6% from December to January. Issues surrounding the number: Job recovery has not begun based on the latest unemployment numbers. Lending is down across the board. Government incentives such as the tax credit will be expiring in a few months. Foreclosures are still at record levels. Bad weather effect open house events.
www.SellMyHouse.com Staff Writter
