Fast Facts
Calif. median home price: October 2010: $304,220 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region October 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $864,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region October 2010: High Desert $125,060 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Third quarter 2010: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 12/9/2010 30-yr. fixed: 4.61 Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.96% Fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 3.27% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
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Don’t pay a fee to enroll in a biweekly mortgage payment plan
Biweekly mortgage payment plans are back. But there can be drawbacks.
Click here to read the full LA Times story
Paying off a mortgage
Paying off a mortgage or even paying down the balance early might seem enticing to most borrowers. There’s the big savings in interest payments and the freed-up cash flow that can result, not to mention the emotional benefit of wiping out what for most people is the largest financial commitment of a lifetime.
Click here to read the full NY Times story.
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Should you refinance if you’re over 50?
With interest rates near record lows, refinancing has never looked so tempting – especially for people nearing retirement, who’d love some extra cash to pad their diminished savings. But for homeowners over 50, there’s more to consider than just a lower rate.
California expects mortgage-aid program to begin in weeks
The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) reported this week that its “Keep Your Home California” program will be delayed because of logistical issues with the program. The program was scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 1.
MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS
Click here to read the full Sacramento Bee story.
Credit scores: How 720 became the new 680
Until recently, a credit score of 680 was something to be proud of. It meant you paid most of your bills on time, got dinged when you went shopping for a refi, but in general, had a solid enough record to get a loan at the best rates.
Click here read the full Wall Street Journal story.
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California to join multistate inquiry of foreclosures by banks
In late September and early October several major lending institutions began voluntarily halting foreclosures in select states while they reviewed their foreclosure processes. This action is in response to findings that questioned whether some lenders/servicers were following the correct procedures to foreclose on a property.
MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS
Click here to read the full LA Times story
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Unemployed and can’t pay your mortgage? You soon can apply for a no-interest government loan for up to $50,000 to pay your mortgage and cover your arrears. The loan, which can offer assistance for up to two years, will be forgiven if the homeowner stays in the house for five years.
Click here to read the full CNN story
Refinancing Into Shorter Loans
Grim headlines about the housing market can make that final mortgage payment seem like a distant dream. But a growing number of homeowners are refinancing into shorter-term mortgages designed to make the dream become a reality sooner.
Click here to read the full NY Times story
Shorter-term mortgages make sense for some people, not for others
Loans that must be paid off in 15 or 20 years instead of the standard 30 have benefits, but there may be better ways to invest your cash.
Click here to read the full LA Times story
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A housing rebound? Yes, it’s possible
Despite continued discouraging data from the real estate sector, a few bullish arguments are beginning to emerge. One MIT economist even believes that demand for new homes exceeds residential construction.
Click here to read the full CNN story
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Watching the number of homes both for sale and in escrow in East Long Beach gives us a barometer on what is happening in our local real estate market. Obviously, a rising number of homes in escrow is a good sign of things. On the other hand, a rising number of homes currently for sale can have a depressing result on prices. We will be constantly watching these numbers and posting them here. As of today the numbers stand at:
Date | Homes On Market | Homes In Escrow |
| SEP 10 | 168 | 83 |
| Apr 20 | 114 | 85 |
| Jan 02 | 77 | 72 |
| Nov 7 | 78 | 78 |
| Oct 21 | 66 | 90 |
| Oct 4 | 73 | 87 |
| Sept 21 | 70 | 86 |
| Sept 03 | 69 | 97 |
| Aug 13 | 76 | 80 |
| July 14 | 107 | 93 |
| July 1 | 69 | 98 |
| June 13 | 77 | 105 |
| June 8 | 69 | 106 |
| May 30 | 66 | 102 |
May 18 | 59 | 102 |
May 10 | 78 | 88 |
Paying off the house in 15 years...
A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate – even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.
To read the full story, please click here.
Mortgage assistance programs help people through patches of unemployment
In the current national economic crisis, unemployment has replaced mortgages that readjust to higher rates as the primary cause of home foreclosures. As a result, mortgage assistance programs are being offered to help people through the rough patches of unemployment.
To read the full story, please click here.
The interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are in freefall, averaging just 4.44 percent on Aug. 12, according to Freddie Mac. Not only was that down from 5.07 percent in January, it was the lowest since Freddie began keeping records in 1970. To read the full Wall Street Journal story, please click here.
Under the program, eligible borrowers must:
HUD will announce additional details, including the targeted communities and other program specifics when the program is officially launched in the coming weeks.
Additionally, the existing loan to be refinanced must not be an FHA-insured loan, and the refinanced FHA-insured first mortgage must have a loan-to-value ratio of no more than 97.75 percent. Interested homeowners should contact their lenders to determine if they are eligible and whether the lender agrees the write down a portion of the unpaid principal.
Fannie Mae plans to implement a comprehensive marketing outreach campaign to raise awareness about the site and also intends to use the site as a vehicle to roll out new options for borrowers that are currently being developed.
Americans tapped $8.3 billion in home equity -- the least in a decade.
Americans in the second quarter tapped the smallest amount of home equity in a decade, showing households are focused on repairing tattered finances.
To read the full story, please click the link below to the story from Bloomberg:
The Senate passed the financial regulation bill today, which will impact home buyers and lending guidelines. Chief among the changes impacting consumers is the creation a consumer bureau at the Federal Reserve and the requirement that lenders ensure a borrower is able to repay a home loan by verifying income, employment, and credit history.
MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS
Nearly 180,000 home buyers would have missed out on the tax credit had Congress and the president not taken action to extend the deadline to close escrow. Estimates from NAR show as many as 17,700 home buyers in California would not have received the tax credit without the extension.
The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) announced that it will spend $420 million to trim individual mortgages by up to $50,000. Lenders will be asked to match the amount, a deal that could make thousands of mortgages newly affordable across California.
Amt available to troubled households: $700 million
Number of households expected to get help: 44,000
Max help per household: $50,000
Max mortgage amount: $729,750
Launch date: Nov. 1, 2010
Who's running it: California Housing Finance Agency, the state's affordable housing bank. CalHFA will add 10 staffers; it has budgeted $52.4 million, or 7.5 percent of the federal funds, for administration
Requirements: Must be a low- or moderate-income household and a primary residence. Limited to purchase loans, or possibly refi loans obtained to get a lower interest rate. No cash-out loans allowed. Not for investors.
THE PROGRAMS
Principal reduction: Borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth could receive up to $50,000 to reduce the amount they owe. Lenders would be urged to provide a match and perform a loan modification based on the new amount owed.
Amount budgeted: $420.6 million.
Mortgage reinstatement assistance: Borrowers would receive up to $15,000 to catch up on late payments. Lender would provide up to $15,000 and a loan modification to go forward.
Amount budgeted: $129.4 million.
Unemployment mortgage assistance: Borrowers could get $1,500 a month for six months to help make house payments (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and homeowners association dues) while looking for work. Lenders would supplement.
Amount budgeted: $64.7 million.
Transition assistance: Borrowers will receive up to $5,000 to move if they can't afford their mortgage under any loan modification scenario.
Amount budgeted: $32.3 million.
From LA Times...
New research suggests buyers applying for mortgage loans immediately after house hunting often make poor choices—sometimes selecting the first loan option presented, regardless of the terms with which it is associated.
MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS
