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Eddie Perez

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New FHA condo rules coming!

10-11-09
Eddie Perez

Hoboken Condo buyers and sellers – Must Read!

Local lenders are telling me that new FHAhouse_logo_4(Federal Housing Administration) lending rules for condominiums will be changing as of November 3rd, 2009.

This could have a negative impact on our local market as we have a large condo market and FHA loans are one of the few options available for borrowers

who have less than 20% for a down payment.

Some of the new impending rules:

Spot approvals eliminated

No more than 30% of units can be financed with FHA loans

50% pre-sale requirement for new projects

At least 50% of units must be owner occupied

Details

Most condo buildings in Hoboken did not go through that FHA approval process.

If your thinking of buying and do not have 20% for a down payment, ask your real estate agent if the building you’re interested in purchasing is FHA approved. If not, listing agents should consult with their sellers to see if the association or management company should start the FHA approval process.

I’m told that if you’re interested in a FHA loan and your lender obtains an FHA case number before the November 3rd deadline, you should be ok. I would double check with your mortgage professional to see what their individual rules may be.

Check to see if your Hoboken or Jersey City condo building has been FHA approved

For more valuable information please go to I Want to Buy my Home at the Bottom.

As a top Hoboken REALTOR, I can help you through the entire process of buying your first home. If you are looking for assistance in finding the perfect home in Hoboken, contact Eddie Perez at (201) 344-2886 or go to Hoboken Condo Expert.

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More Optimism Regarding the Tax Credit Extension

10-05-09
Eddie Perez

With the recent announcement from Wall Street investment moneyfirm Goldman Sachs Group that new U.S. home sales may jump 30 percent next year, has brought new optimism that the market is improving. Goldman Sachs Group has come to this conclusion because of continuing low interest rates and a very good probability that Congress will extend the first-time home buyer tax credit.

Supporters of the first-time home buyer tax credit say that it has helped stabilize the housing market. The credit applies to sales as of January 2009, and is good for 10% of the price of a home or up to $8,000. Since the tax credit is scheduled to expire on November 30, now is the time to purchase your first home.

For more valuable information please go to I Want to Buy my Home at the Bottom.

As a top Hoboken REALTOR, I can help you through the entire process of buying your first home. If you are looking for assistance in finding the perfect home in Hoboken, contact Eddie Perez at (201) 344-2886 or go to Hoboken Condo Expert.

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Look Who’s Walking Away…

10-05-09
Eddie Perez

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times states that theresinking-home is an increasing group of homeowners with top credit scores that are more likely to walk away from an underwater mortgage.

24 million individual credit files were examined for a recent study by the national credit bureau Experian and Oliver Wyman. They have found that homeowners with high credit scores when applying for a loan are 50% more likely to "strategically default" compared with lower-scoring borrowers.

Following you will find a summary of the researchers surprising facts:

* The typical strategic defaulter goes from never missing a monthly mortgage payment to completely stopping.

* Strategic defaults are mainly found in negative-equity markets where home values have drastically dropped since the real estate boom in 2006.

* The nationwide estimate of strategic defaults for 2008 is 588,000, making this more than double the total in 2007.

* A homeowner with a large mortgage balance is more likely to default than a homeowner with a lower balance.

Please contact Eddie Perez Broker-REALTOR, CDPE, if you are you are considering walking away from your home. As a Broker-REALTOR, and CDPE, Eddie can give you all of the options available to prevent the tragedy of losing your home. Eddie’s market includes Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken and Union City. He can be reached at eddie@InvestHoboken.com or 201-344-2886.

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August 2009 Hoboken Condo Sales Statistics

09-28-09
Eddie Perez

Here are the final sales figures for August 2009 compiled using the Hudson County Multiple Listing Service.

The Hoboken condo market picked up steam and showed solid gains in August across all categories when compared to July 2009 stats. Total units sold improved by 15% (60 vs 69 units). Average prices rose 3.6 % ($478,431 vs $495,882) and median prices were up 10.7%, ($469,950 vs $475,000). The largest gain was in pending contracts. In August, there were 69 contracts signed, a 50% gain from the 46 contracts signed in July.

While these month over month gains are encouraging for our local market, they are still mostly down from the August 2008 figures. The exception was an increase in pending contracts, another sign that buyers may be getting off of the fence and into the market.

Here are the comparisons:

August 2008 August 2009 Comparison:
Units Sold: 73 69 -5.4%
Avg. Price: $534,422 $495,882 -7.2%
Median Price: $521,500 $475,000 -8.9%
Pending: 67 80 +19.4%

August 2009 Sold Condominiums:

High Low Average Median Total Price Listing Count
List Price: $949,000 $289,000 $520,514 $499,000 $35,915,499 60
Sold Price: $870,000 $270,000 $495,882 $475,000 $34,215,900
DOM: 479 4 125 73

Studio: none sold

1 bedroom: 23 sold.

Average asking price: $398,113

Average selling price: $382,865 (-3.8% of asking price)

Average days on Market: 70

2 bedroom: 40 sold

Average asking price: $563,327

Average selling price: $533,925 (-5.2% of asking price)

Average days on Market: 153

3 bedroom: 5 sold

Average asking price: $655,360

Average selling price: $638,900 (-3.0% of asking price)

Average days on Market: 180

4 bedroom: 1 unit sold

Asking price: $949,000

Selling price: $870,000 (-8.3% of asking price)

Days on market: 25

August 2009 – Pending Contracts. These are the deals that were consummated during the month and represents the current buying activity.

Pending Condos: 80

High Low Average Median Total Price Listing Count
List Price: $1,259,000 $239,000 $490,452 $451,950 $39,236,195 80
Sold Price: pending pending pending pending pending
DOM: 523 3 104 85

Studio: 1 contract

Asking price was $499,900 and days on market was 94.

1 bedroom: 31 contracts

Average asking price: $372,462

Median price: 379,900

Average days on Market: 91

Median days on the market: 70

2 bedroom: 41 contracts

Average asking price: $519,299

Median price: $515,000

Average days on Market: 103

Median days on the market: 104

3 bedroom: 6 contracts

Average asking price: $858,275

Median price: $800,825

Average days on market: 170

Median days on market: 104

4 bedroom: 1 contract pending

Asking price was $749,000. Days on market was 135

Best,

Eddie

I hope you find this info useful.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any specific questions.

Your resource for Hoboken area real estate news, advice, best buys and more!: www.HobokenRealEstateBlog.com

If you would like specific information tailored to your Hoboken condo, email us direct at info@InvestHoboken.com

Search entire Hoboken MLS at www.InvestHoboken.com Then click browse Hoboken Listings

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Trouble For The FHA?

09-27-09
Eddie Perez

The Federal Housing Administration is tightening rules for lendersmoneyafter reporting that its financial cushion will sink below mandatory levels for the first time in its 75-year history.

"Under no circumstance will any taxpayer bailout be needed," said David Stevens, the FHA's commissioner. The agency doesn't expect to raise fees for borrowers, he said, or curtail the number of loans it insures.

Amid the collapse of the subprime lending market, the government has taken up the slack. The FHA has insured nearly a quarter of all new loans made this year, and about 80 percent of that business is from first-time homebuyers.

But the agency has faced concerns on Capitol Hill that it will soon need a taxpayer bailout. As of this summer, about 17 percent of FHA borrowers were at least one payment behind or in foreclosure, compared with 13 percent for all loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The FHA's capital cushion will drop below 2 percent of the roughly $675 billion in mortgages insured by the agency this fiscal year, an outside audit has found.

Plummeting home prices are the main reason the agency's financial reserves are dwindling. Its previous analysis had assumed prices would hit bottom this year, but the agency is now expecting prices will fall through next spring. Lower prices mean bigger losses if the FHA has to foreclose and re-sell a property.

The agency itself does not make loans, but rather offers insurance against default. Many borrowers are willing to pay for the insurance because FHA loans only require down payments of 3.5 percent of the purchase price.

The FHA now insures about 5.3 million mortgages, up from about 4 million three years ago.

Last week, the Senate passed legislation that would spend $100 million to upgrade the Department of Housing and Urban Development's computer systems, including FHA, and $20 million to combat fraud.

If you want to know whether you qualify for a loan modification, check out the government's Web site,www.makinghomeaffordable.gov. To find a housing counselor, try NeighborWorks America's site atwww.findaforeclosurecounselor.org.

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