About Henderson's Whitney Ranch

PMI, or private mortgage insurance, played a large role in yesterday's real estate boom, allowing buyers acquire property without putting a penny down. That was a tempting prospect indeed. 100% financing actually became quite popular those days as values kept galloping up on a steady pace that quickly generated equity no borrower in his right mind would dare turn down. The standard rule required a PMI if the down payment was less than 20%. These insurers were making money hand over fist, like just about all the other housing market participants did.

The real estate market's collapse changed everything in a jiffy for PMIs. They began losing truckloads of money as insurance claim requests rolled in from besieged mortgage lenders. That's one thing. They also considerably tightened their guidelines and when that wasn't enough to turn the tide they partially or totally withdrew from many real estate markets where the destruction was the worst. The ones in the latter category were called declining markets, the more prominent of them being Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, the fab four of housing euphoria. Things looked really bleak for the PMIs.

Now they are cautiously climbing out of somewhat of a hibernation. One of them, Radiant Guaranty, actually dropped the declining market label a while ago and now is insuring mortgages up to 95% LTV, or loan-to-value, as long as the originator is of stellar reputation with minimal delinquency ratios. Genworth has recently adjusted its underwriting rules to pretty much match those of Radiant. Not to fall too far behind the competition, MGIC - the top dog in the business - has removed some states from its restricted list and making other tweaks, like lowering the FICO score minimum to 660 for 95% home loans.

PMIs are softening their guidelines as the housing market appears to be settling down. The risk element of doing business is slowly fading. That's in stark contrast to what FHA is nowadays doing. Its mortgage underwriting guidelines are getting tougher on the heels of severe losses that some felt would soon require a taxpayer bailout. FHA used to be nearly the only game in town, but with the PMIs gradually rewriting their rules the playing field is leveling out. Cost wise, in many cases the two of them today are comparable. As the housing market continues slogging along the long and slow recovery road it's foreseeable that PMI will in time become a more attractive alternative.

Las Vegas mortgage borrowers will benefit

After the loud bubble bursting event Sin City quickly assumed the unofficial role of a flag bearer for the declining market troops when its own real estate sector did the unthinkable, and soon thereafter it turned largely into an FHA stronghold. It was tough to locate conventional mortgage money for anyone putting down less than 20%. Southern Nevada is nowadays experiencing some kind of a revival and PMI firms are reflecting that in their recent decisions. As a result Las Vegas home loan applicants will find more forgiving underwriting criteria to look at that will give the real estate market here a better chance to shake the lingering malaise off.

Home sales in Whitney Ranch, a master-planned community in Henderson, NV collapsed in the 4th quarter of 2007. Just one Galleria Villas condo was sold, compared to six homes and two condos in the third quarter. Year-over-year results were down 41%, with 18 homes and 8 condos sold in 2007 versus 25 homes and 19 condos in 2006.

Resale inventory stayed steady at 20 homes and 8 condos (plus 1 home with an accepted offer) putting the market squarely in favor of buyers.

Here are the details of the fourth quarter sale:

(GLVAR deems information reliable but not guaranteed. Properties listed and sold by various MLS participants. Sale Price adjusted for any seller contributions. DOM = Days on Market)

Whitney Ranch offers one and two-story homes from 1,135 to over 2,500 square feet, most built in the early 1990's with 46 added in 2006. The 165-unit, gated Galleria Villas have five floorplans - 710, 1013, 1096, 1135 and 1168 square feet. For more information, or to buy or sell a home or condo in Whitney Ranch, contact John Novak at (702) 339-9700 or JohnNovak@kw.com.

See also:
Whitney Ranch market report - 3rd quarter, 2007
Whitney Ranch market report - 2nd quarter, 2007
Whitney Ranch market report - 1st quarter, 2007

Henderson, Nevada real estate - December, 2007 statistics
Henderson, Nevada real estate - November, 2007 statistics
Henderson, Nevada real estate - October, 2007 statistics

Henderson, Nevada - Demographics
Henderson, Nevada - Fast Facts