You read it here first when we first reported the turnaround of the Santa Clara County housing market in some areas. The trend continues with some good news being reported locally and nationally. According to a recent Mercury News report, Marin home prices were up 15% over last year, marking similar stories of rising sales prices for desirable homes throughout the Bay Area. The Santa Clara County Association of Realtors released upbeat information last week, as well stating that the average price of single family homes in February 2012 increased 9.46% from February…
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California Mortgage Rates Jump .25% in 2 days
California Mortgage Rates for Refinance and Home Purchase loans are up .25% in 2 days and are hitting a 6 months high. On Tuesday, it was like as if the dam broke. After the rates have remained stable and under 4% for a solid 6 months - you could see it was coming. Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) were hit hard on Tuesday and by end of Wednesday they had fallen a dramatic 100+ basis points. Fall in MBS prices mean less demand for them and higher mortgage rates. For four months the MBS…
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Bank Settlements and Refinance Programs All Good News for Struggling Homeowners
Homeowners more deeply underwater on mortgages handled by five major U.S. banking firms are prime candidates for getting help from a $25-billion nationwide settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses. That's because the settlement gives the nation's largest mortgage servicers more incentives to help those who owe 40% to 75% more than the value of their homes, according to details of the settlement filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington. Even so, the settlement's effect on the housing market could be limited. Only customers of the five largest servicers are eligible for principal reductions,…
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Upside Down? HARP Obama Refinance- Ultimate Guide +RateQuote
What is Making Home Affordable (MHA) program? The Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) is a critical part of the Obama Administration's broad strategy to help California, Washington and Oregon homeowners (and rest of the country homeowners) avoid foreclosure, stabilize the country's housing market, and improve the nation's economy. What is HARP? First established in 2009, HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) was initiated as an option for underwater homeowners wanting to refinance their mortgage at lower interest rates with government expectations that it would assist millions of homeowners who found themselves owing more on…
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FHA Guideline Changes for Self Employed Borrowers and Collection Accounts
FHA recently made underwriting guideline changes for Self Employed borrowers and borrowers who have disputed and/or collection accounts. The changes apply to residents of states of California, Washington, Oregon and rest of the country. These changes will be effective April 1, 2012 and will impact all FHA mortgages except non-credit qualifying Streamline Refinances and Reverse Mortgages. New Guideline about Self Employed Borrowers: Profit and Loss (P&L) and a Balance Sheet is required if more than a calendar quarter has elapsed since date of most recent calendar or fiscal-year end tax return was filed…
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HARP 2 and Other Problems Mount for Bank of America Mortgage Business
Bank of America continues to hit the headlines, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. It all started late in 2011 when Bank of America decided to exit the Correspondent Lending business. Housing wire reported that Bank Of America was grappling with $1 trillion in soured mortgages and securities written prior to the 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. Even though the BofA spokesperson mentioned it was done to focus more on the "direct-to-consumer" channel. Then earlier this year Bloomberg reported: Bank of America's retail channel has been unable to keep up with demand…
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When Warren Buffet and NAR Speak About the Housing Market – People Listen
If you wait till you see the first robin, spring'll be over. And well, spring is over, but we're not in the dead of winter yet, either,billionaire investor, Warren Buffet said in a recent interview on CNBC while being queried on the housing market and investing. Realtors who have been around the cyclical block a few times like to say that by the time you read about a market turning around in the media, it has been that way for at least two months, giving credence to Buffets robin analogy. According to the…
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The “Facebook IPO Effect” and the Silicon Valley Housing Market
As soon as Facebook announced its pending IPO, many Realtors and mortgage professionals in the Silicon Valley were anticipating the ripple effect into the local housing market. Potential home buyers are worried that perhaps home prices will rise with all this new found wealth flooding the market. The dilemma is that consistently low inventory available on the Peninsula is putting pressure on housing prices. The folks at Altos Research, a Mountain View real estate data analytics company, wrote a compelling, and stats filled post on the true reach of the "Facebook Effect" on…
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$18 billion in mortgage relief for troubled California homeowners
California Attorney General Kamala Harris may be a hero to many Californians struggling with their home loans after obtaining a $25 billion multi-state agreement with major banks over a document signing scandal. The Mercury News broke this story recently about the agreement. Of course, this news comes too late for many people who lost their homes during the downturn in the housing market, but there are provisions for restitution. Part of the "make it right" aspect of this agreement is to repair communities blighted by foreclosures. Harris said the agreement gives California: *…
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San Jose Housing Market Recovering As Spring Market Heats Up
Spring 2012 Housing market for San Jose and Santa Clara County appears to be off to a strong start according to real time market data and Realtors anecdotal reports. The median price for a single-family home in San Jose, CA is $477,000, up from $463,000 in February of 2009. The median home price for Santa Clara County in January was $648,238. Back in February 2007, the median price in San Jose was $715,000, according to historical statistical data from the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS. According to a recent Rismedia report, housing…
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