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February 2012 Market Update
2012 is off to a promising start. Mortgage rates continue to drop and have remained under 4% for nearly two months. Home sales are strengthening and pending home sales, a measure to gauge future sales, are at their highest levels since March 2010.
Job growth has been increasing for most of 2011, with unemployment dropping to 8.4%. As more people are getting jobs, consumer confidence has also been increasing. However, underemployment continues to be a problem for a stronger recovery. The underemployment rate is 18.1%, and there are still a significant number of people working part time, who would like to have full-time work.
Even with substantial national improvements, this continues to be a "one neighborhood at a time" recovery. Payroll jobs were up in 25 states, but down in 24, demonstrating the delicate state of the U.S. economy. Global factors such as the European debt crisis are also complicating a more robust recovery. Strong guidance is needed from local and global leaders to continue this growth, as well as allow for business to maintain momentum toward building and expanding upon the opportunities that exist.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Association of Realtors
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Interest Rates
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Another slight drop for mortgage rates as they continue to set historically low records. With homes being so affordable and the economy continuing its recovery, home prices are stabilizing, as increased sales are expected. NAR President Moe Veissi stated, "The American dream of home ownership is alive and well. We have a large pent-up demand, and household formation is likely to return to normal as the job market steadily improves. More buyers coming into the market mean additional benefits for the overall economy. When people buy homes, they stimulate a lot of related goods and services."
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Home Sales
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Existing home sales continued their rise, up 5% in December, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.61 million. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, said, "The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery. Record-low mortgage interest rates, job growth, and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market."
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Home Price
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Homes prices for December were down 2.6% from a year ago, at a median price of $164,500. One factor contributing to lower prices has been the high level of distressed properties being sold. In December, these properties began to show signs of price stabilization and increase. Foreclosures were selling at 22%, a 2% increase from a year ago, and average prices for short sales prices had risen by 3%.
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Inventory
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The housing inventory dropped 9.2% in December to a 6.2-month supply, or 2.38 million homes, at the current level of sales. These are the lowest inventory levels of homes for sale since March of 2005. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, said, "The inventory supply suggests many markets will see prices stabilize or grow moderately in the near future."
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7 Tips for Buyers
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Interest rates at favorable levels and a good selection of homes provide an opportunity for buyers. Here are a few things to for buyers to keep in mind:
1. Know what you can afford before you fall in love with your dream home.
2. Consider additional expenses that come with owning a home like property tax, insurance, and repairs.
3. Be flexible on the little things. It would be wonderful to find a home with everything you want, but those are hard to come by – distinguish nice-to-haves and must-haves early.
4. Have imagination and look beyond paint colors, wallpaper, or other easy and affordable things you can change.
5. Don't compromise on the big things, such as enough bedrooms to accommodate additions to the family or space for an office if you work from home.
6. Always inspect even if the surface looks great; it's important to know if anything major is wrong and what it will cost to fix.
7. Think about the future in regard to the neighborhoods, surroundings, schools, and developments.
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- Mobile: (941) 780-3260
- Secondary: (941) 739-6777
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This month President Obama is announcing a new program to help homeowners who want to refinance their home loans to today's lower interest rates but have been unable to do so due to being underwater.
Right now in Manatee county almost half of the homes that have mortgages on them owe more than the current value. If you are underwater in your home refinancing to get to a lower payment is simply not possible as any lender would require that the home be appraised, and the loan could not be for more than the current appraised value.
The new loan refinance program will have a limited population that it will really help, but could be a boon for those who have a high interest rate loan, and are underwater. There are some catches to the program though.
- You have to be current in your payments for the last 6 months, and you can only have been late on one payment in the 6 months prior
- The home loan amount has to meet what is considering conforming loan limits. In Sarasota and Bradenton, homes that have a loan amount below 416,000 would qualify. If you have a jumbo mortgage, then you are out of luck.
- how they intend to pay for the program that should cost 5 billion or more is to add a tax to to the major banks. This will be then passed onto everyone through higher fees. This is assuming that the program that gets through the congressional process that would need to approve this aid program.
Some really good points to the new program
- If your home is underwater the program will allow up to 140% OVER the current market value to be appraised.
- If you owe over 140% on your primary loan, then apparently there is a caveat that the lender would have to reduce your principle to this amount (140% of market value). In my opinion, most homeowners would probably rather sell their home, as a short sale, then to keep a home so far underwater.
- They are proposing a streamlined application process that my sources (wall street journal) state would only involve verifying employment. Typically on a loan application, or refinance there is a lot of paperwork to provide, including tax returns, bank statements, etc. An easy process to apply should really help
I think that this program is well intentioned, however it seems to me to a posturing effort that will allow President Obama to show that he is out to help distressed homeowners. If this Refinancing program is blocked by Congress, then this could be a talking point that he will use to show how he is on the side of the people, and Congressional Republicans are against homeowners.
The biggest issue with this program is that it does not address those homeowners that are late, or behind in their mortgage. I meet with many homeowners in Manatee and Sarasota county that are frustrated with their low home values, and feel trapped by the negative equity. Many have had issues keeping up with the mortgage payments, and even if they are late, once in the past year, this program doesn't help them whatsoever
A recent new short sale home seller in Bradenton summed it up best. He had bought in 2005, with an adjustable rate loan. It was a home that was within his budget, but do to the recession, he was unable to keep up with the payments. He had called his lender, Bank of America, to do a loan modification to lower his interest rates, but was drug through the process with no positive outcome. He fell behind in his mortgage payments, while waiting for the help that never came.
Bank of America suggested that he short sale his Bradenton home as an alternative to foreclosure. So now I am able to help him sell his family's home and avoid a foreclosure. He owes 400,000 on a home that was 550,000 in 2005. Now that home will sell for in the 250,000 range.
They are frustrated as they are going to have to move into a rental, and have damaged credit. Plus losing the 150,000 in down payment for the purchase. Meanwhile this short sale home will sell to a new homeowner who will get a much lower interest rate, and have a mortgage close to half of what he was paying.
It's hard not to get angry when you know the next owner of your home will be paying much less to purchase, and monthly payments that they could have easily afforded.
My proposal, would be to have ALL homeowners mortgage payments reset to what the current market value is today. When the home sells in the future, the negative equity portion would be recaptured by the investor/lender. All homes will eventually sell, so there will be an eventual gain to the lender. This idea would keep many thousands of families in their homes, and help stabilize the market by eliminating all those that don't want to sell but are forced to give up their homes through a short sale or foreclosure.
Here are the most expensive luxury homes and condos listed for sale in Bradenton FL as of February 1st 2012. You can click on any one of the images to view more details on the particular Bradenton Florida house or condominium.If you would like to see all of the active properties at all price levels you can visit -> http://www.sarasotachoicehomes.com/bradenton/Sarasota Choice Homes can also let you know as soon as new Bradenton Luxury properties come on the market: You can also search all of the Luxury homes and condos for sale on Sarasota Choice Homes by using this form. Sarasota Choice Homes?The Choice Homes for your Luxury Lifestyle in Bradenton Florida.
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