Steven Keefe

What does the federal takeover of two mortgage finance giants mean to consumers?

The government hopes that its plan will bring down mortgage rates by removing doubts about Fannie and Freddie. Treasury Secretary Paulson hopes to make investors feel confident about buying the companies mortgage-backed bonds.

Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), today issued the following statement on the government's plan to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship:

"While it is unfortunate that we have reached this point, we are hopeful that the government's action on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will help to increase liquidity in the nation's mortgage markets and restore confidence in the global financial markets. At this critical turning point, it is essential that government regulators and all parties involved in the nation's housing finance system work together to rebuild the nation's secondary mortgage market - a move that is absolutely vital to provide affordable mortgages for America's home buyers and to help spur an economic recovery."

What could happen next?

If you are thinking of buying a home or refinancing a mortgage, the government takeover will help stabilize rates. They might even fall a quarter of a percentage point or so, now that the government has stepped in to make its backing of Fannie and Freddie more transparent.

Rates certainly matter in persuading people on the sidelines to step in and start shopping for a home. The interest rate you pay for a mortgage depends in part on the rules that Fannie and Freddie set for the kinds of loans they will buy. Now that they have new bosses in the federal government, the rules could change, but may not change for a few months, until after the November elections.

In an effort to maintain our position as the market leader in mountain real estate, we generate a report monthly that shows from what source the buyers that use our services to buy real estate come from.

The following chart shows by percentage where the buyer leads come from for the months of May, June, July and August of 2008. Nearly 60% of all of the transactions we do representing buyers comes from what we call our sphere of influence. Past clients, and personal referrals make up this group.

Serious sellers use Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty because they get results. No one sells more real estate on the mountain than Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty. Contact us at our office to find out what we can do to assist you in getting your home sold.

The following chart shows all single family home sales reported to Rim Association of Realtors from January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008 and the percentage market share each company has for listings sold.

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty had more listings sell than all other companies combined for the first 5 months of 2008. If you are a homeowner looking for a real estate company that provides results, contact Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty at 909.336.2131.

The golf course market is in prime season. So far this year, 4 properties on the course have sold and closed escrow. 3 of the 4 were listed by Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty in Lake Arrowhead.

The following chart shows current listings on the golf course, properties under contract and sales that have occurred so far year to date.

For all of your real estate related needs, please contact us at Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty the #1 real estate company in the San Bernardino Mountains for over 25 years.

The following chart shows all single family home sales in Lake Arrowhead from January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008. Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty represented the seller in 50% of these transactions. All data from Rim Association of Realtors.