About Lackawanna County, PA

Each quarter, the Census Bureau releases the Homeowner Vacancy Rate, a housing statistic the measures the percentage of homes for sale that are vacant.

A home listed for sale may be vacant for several reasons including:

1. The home has been foreclosed and the owner has moved out
2. The home seller moved into a new home and not sold his former home
3. The home was a rental property and is being sold without a tenant

In Q4 2007, the Homeowner Vacancy Rate matched its all-time high of 2.8 percent.

The statistic can be misleading, however, because Homeowner Vacancy Rates appear to be seasonal and the fourth quarter is more prone to high figures.

As evidence: In 6 of the last 7 years, Q4 posted higher vacancy rates than for the preceding three quarters.

Vacancy rates may increase in the fall because homesellers without a "need" to sell tend to take their properties off the market during the Holiday Season. That leaves an over-weighting of empty homes for sale -- precisely what the Homeowner Vacancy Rate measures.

For an interactive version of the chart above, visit the Wall Street Journal Online.

Source
Housing Markets: A Vacant Look
The Wall Street Journal Online
March 21, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/retro-VACANCY08.html

John Topa, First Sunrise Mortgage, Northeast PA Mortgage Advisor. www.FirstSunriseMortgage.com

Since December 2007, mortgage lending guidelines have changed very quickly and often without notice.

Some of the more well-known changes include:

• Broad restrictions on stated income home loans
• Broad restrictions on 100 percent financing
• "Risk-based fees" for credit scores under 740

Some of the lesser-known restrictions relate to property type and occupancy status as well as debt-to-income levels and mortgage payment histories.

Because of the number of changes and their collective scope, home buyers should be prudent and get re-pre-approved for their home loan.

Even if you last spoke with your loan officer four weeks ago, it's important to know how market changes could ultimately impact your home loan approval.

The market really is that different. Talk to your loan officer about a re-pre-approval today.

John Topa, First Sunrise Mortgage, Northeast PA Mortgage Advisor. www.FirstSunriseMortgage.com

The Federal Open Market Committee meets today and will issue a press release in addition to cutting the Fed Funds Rate at 2:15 P.M. ET.

The verbiage of the press release will be as widely watched as the rate cut itself because markets are curious about how far the Federal Reserve will go to lessen the impact of an economic recession.

With every Fed Funds Rate cut, recession becomes less likely, but the other side of the equation is that the probability of long-term inflation grows.

Like recession, inflation can be bad for the economy, too.

The Fed Funds Rate now stands at 3.000% this morning and the FOMC is expected to lower it by 0.750% or more this afternoon.

Mortgage rates are rising today because cuts to the Fed Funds Rate weaken the U.S. dollar which, in turn, makes mortgage re-payments less valuable to investors.

http://www.firstsunrisemortgage.com/

Posted on March 18, 2008

A combonation of news and rumors has been swirling around throughout NEPA in the last few days. It started with Hillary Clinton's visit to Scranton and her 30-minute speech at Scranton High School. She let it slip that she would be attending The Parade along with Gov Ed Rendell.

With the coming primary around the bend, PA has become a hotbed of political activity. Hillary already has solid ties to the area. Even during her husband's presidency, she would make trips to her father's home here in Scranton.

When news of her next visit hit the wire, the media began to wonder if others may be interested. Well, I'm sad to say that there will be no guarantee that a future president will be marching with the Irish in The Parade. Obama's campaign confirmed that they would be there only to back out citing a prior conflict. Hours later, McCain's camp declined the hypothetical invite in favor of visiting southeast PA.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the people of Scranton. Having Hillary in town twice within a week is exciting. It shows that she values the people here in NEPA. I'm sure the other presidential hopefulls will make it here eventually, but The Parade is one of the biggest events in NEPA. It means alot to have her here.

The Scranton Parade is easily one of the largest in the country. Not bad when you see who we're comparing to. We're right up there with New York and Boston. This Saturday's parade is expected to be 10,000 strong!

The latest news is the announcement of a special attendee. Hillary Clinton was in town Monday to give a speech at Scranton High School. She let the beans spill that she'll be attending the parade, in some capacity, along with Gov. Ed Rendell. Mrs. Clinton has very close ties to our region. She's made numerous trips to her father's home in Scranton.

This "Parade Day" is particularly special to me. I'll be taking my son to his very first "Parade Day". No matter what ethnicity you are, it's hard to find someone that doesn't have some special memory of the parade. I look forward to creating memories for my boy. I hope you enjoy your day as well!

Kevin Blasi
Mortgage Specialist
Universal Funding Partners, Inc
Office: (570) 342-2444
Direct: (570) 836-8336
http://www.ufploans.com/