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Archive for the 'Mortgage & finance' Category

Rates down, but down payments up for Pinellas County real estate (and real estate everywhere)

I’ve mentioned here a number of times how low mortgage interest rates are, and how they – along with the lowest home prices in at least a decade – make homes really affordable right now.

But to be fair, there is another side of the coin (isn’t there always?) which makes home-buying more of a challenge than it was in the rock-n-roll days.

I’m talking about down payments.

Home prices may be down, and interest rates may be at historic (or near-historic) levels, but the demand for more substantial down payments is up. It’s all part of the tougher underwriting standards; lenders want to see buyers begin the home buying process with a bigger personal stake in the transaction, and that means larger down payments.

Just a few years ago, it seemed like down payments were going to become a thing of the past. Nothing-down and little-down mortgages were all the rage, and you could buy expensive homes and finance them with big mortgages without having to come up with actual cash – or not much of it, anyway.

Great interest rates are available now, as I’ve written about in the past. But if you really want that rock-bottom rate, you’d better be ready to come up with a 20 percent down payment.  It’s still possible to get a mortgage and put less than 20 percent down, but the rates are going to be higher.

LendingTree came out with a report last week that listed state-by-state average down payments, and the average of all of them was 12.29 percent.

(I know you’re wondering what the average rate is for Pinellas County real estate. Actually, LendingTree didn’t get that fine on rates, but the company DID say what the average down payment is for the state of Florida: 13.16 percent.)

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want at least 10 per cent down.  If you want the very best rate, you’re going to have to also pay for private mortgage insurance – not part of the down payment, but an upfront cost you can’t avoid.

A Lending Tree spokesperson said, “The reality is when you put less than 20 percent down, you have to pay for some kind of insurance to protect the lender from the higher risk that you’ll default…but private mortgage insurers these days aren’t always willing to do business with low down payments.”

There is some speculation out there that if we are going to continue to have record low interest rates, the mortgage industry may increasingly move toward that 20 per cent down payments.

Tags: down payment, interest rates, pinellas county, Pinellas County real estate, real estate

Joblessness down, but not enough to inspire the price of Pinellas County real estate sales

Here’s some good news: The national unemployment rate in November was down to 8.6 percent, a nice drop from the 9 percent registered in the previous month. So, does that mean that we may see a corresponding modest increase in home prices?

If you want a one-word answer to that question, here it is: No.

Still, it’s good news for the overall economy, and the strength of the economy (or lack of it) is what will ultimately drive home prices up and stimulate the market. It’s all about confidence, and no one has an awful lot of that right now when it comes to the economy, or visions of the future.

Nationally, the unemployment rate peaked in October of 2009, at 10.1 percent (according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics). It’s been settling back downward at a snail’s pace ever since, keeping pace with an agonizingly slow economic recovery.

If the economy was really starting to boom, a .4 percent single-month drop in the unemployment rate might be cause for celebration – and for a mini-stampede of home buyers wanting to take advantage of low home prices and historically low interest rates.

Instead, we have an economic recovery that is just creeping along. It doesn’t inspire much confidence about the future, and confidence about the future is what drives home sales.

Rates keep on tumbling – in Pinellas County and elsewhere

Do you think of yourself as a nervy risk-taker? Steely-eyed, firm of hand, able to discern real opportunities when they come along?

If so, and you have a mortgage on your home, you may be starting to think about refinancing. After all, interest rates are at historic lows. Just about 10 days ago, Freddie Mac reported the average rate for 30-year fixed mortgages had dropped to 3.94 percent, which was the lowest rate in history.

So why wouldn’t you take advantage of that unbelievably low rate and refinance the old ranch?

Well, because a lot of experts are saying that mortgage rates might go even lower, that’s why. That’s where the steely eyes and the firm hands come into play.

You could re-finance now and take advantage of great mortgage interest rates. OR, you could wait a little longer and (perhaps) take advantage of even lower interest rates.

Rates may vary a little bit in different areas around the country. But rates are WAY down almost everywhere you look, and the end of falling rates may not be in sight yet.

Why do these rates keep coming down? There are several reasons:

The Federal Reserve has been buying up mortgage-backed securities in hopes of forcing interest rates down.

President Obama is trying to strengthen the Home Affordable Refinance Program, which helps home owners refinance their properties – even properties with little or no equity.

The idea behind all this is that if lots of people refinance their mortgages, it could have a stimulating effect on the economy at large.

With current rates hovering around (or even below) four percent, it’s tempting to think about refinancing now. After all, how much lower can the rates go?

Many industry observers believe that you should be able to cut at least one percent off your rate when you re-finance. If you can’t do that, they say, closing costs and fees could counteract the benefits of the refinance.

But if you can talk the lender into waiving many of the fees associated with a refinance, then it may make sense to refinance, even if the new rate is only a half-percent better than the old one.

So… do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya?

Tags: mortgage rates, pinellas county, real estate, refinance

What’s the outlook for first-time homebuyers in the Pinellas County real estate market?

One bright spot in the recent residential real estate market has been the opportunities that first-time homebuyers have been able to enjoy. Falling home prices have made it possible for a lot of first-time homebuyers to finally enjoy the benefits of home ownership.

The Obama Administration’s first-time home buyer tax credit (remember that?) contributed to the opportunity, and quite a few people who had never owned a home before were able to buy. In the second quarter of 2010, 46 percent of homebuyers were first-timers.

So what’s happened?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: first time home buyers, mortgages, Pinellas County real estate

Ready to buy some Pinellas County real estate? Mortgage rates are lowest in 20 years

If the sale of Pinellas County real estate was simply dependent on interest rates, we should be seeing a stampede of homebuyers, because rates are the lowest they have been in 20 years.

According to Freddie Mac, rates for 15-year fixed-rate home loans dropped last week from 3.66 percent to 3.54 percent, the lowest those rates have been since 1991.

Rates for other mortgage profits dropped as well. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.39 percent, the lowest rate for a 30-year mortgage this year.

Why are real estate mortgage interest rates so low in Pinellas County and elsewhere when there is so much economic uncertainty? Those uncertainties are part of the reason. Mortgage rates follow yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes. Weaknesses in the economy have led investors to take money out of the stock market and put it into Treasury bonds. That lowers the yield on the Treasury bonds, and that leads to lower mortgage interest rates.

Congress established Freddie Mac in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. It provides mortgage capital to lenders.

Do those unbelieveably low interest rates make Pinellas County real estate ownership look more attractive to you? Why don’t you give me a call, and we’ll take a look what those rates can mean to you in terms of low monthly mortgage payments.

Call me anytime – 727-643-7100, or beth@bethfrederick.com

Tags: home financing, mortgages, Pinellas County real estate

Why the increase in home sales contract cancellations?

Why do home purchase contracts get cancelled?

You spend weeks or even months searching for just the right home. After a lengthy search, and after kissing a lot of frogs, you find your prince of a home and make an offer. You and the seller finally agree on a price and terms; at last you have a contract!

But instead of everything moving forward smoothly, something happens, and you end up with a cancelled contract.

After all your careful work, how can that be?

Cancelled real estate contracts are one of the side affects of this very difficult real estate market, and they can happen for a multiude of reasons. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported this month that real estate sales slipped during the month of June for the third straight month, and one of the reasons was an increase in the number of cancelled sales contracts.

What’s the reason?

No one really knows for sure, but the NAR points out that tighter credit standards might be one reason. If a loan application is unexepectedly rejected because of credit issues, you can say goodbye to your sales agreement. Likewise, tighter appraisals might be a contributing factor; if a home doesn’t appraise for the agree-upon selling price, that can mean another sales contract that ends up going nowhere.

However, economic uncertainty and the federal budget debacle may be causing hesitation among some consumers or lenders.”

Other possible reasons, according to the NAR: general uncertainty about the nation’s economy, and about the federal budget. That uncertainty may affect home buyers and sellerds as well as mortgage lenders.

Lower limits on loan amounts are scheduled to go into affect on October 1. That is several months off, but some lenders may be applying those lower limits already, anticipating that same current sales may not close before the end of September. That could be having an impact, too.

If you are planning on buying a home in the near future, you may want to call me soon so we can discuss ways of making sure your sales contract stays together until the closing.

I’m always available for a chat at 727-643-7100, or via e-mail at beth@bethfrederick.com

Tags: mortgages, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, real estate, real estate contracts

Adjustable rate mortgages on the rise again in Palm Harbor

One of the casualties of the real estate market “collapse” was the adjustable rate mortgage. ARMs were hugely popular just a few years ago, when home prices were at their highest and borrowing cheap money was easy. But many home buyers went back to the sensible old 30-year fixed-rate home mortgage when more conservative financing seemed like the right way to go.

But not everyone shied away from ARMs. Even though the total number of adjustable rate mortgages was way down in the first quarter of 2011, the total market share of ARMs actually rose to its highest point since 2008. Inside Mortgage Finance, a mortgage trade publication, reports that ARMs actually accounted for 12 percent of all home mortgages in that first quarter of 2011.

Why is that?

Mortgage rates are really low, and the rates for ARMs are REALLY low, and some buyers simply have a hard time resisting that fact. ARMs are especially attractive when mortgage money is expensive, but people really like those rock-bottom rates no matter what the prevailing rates are.

Adjustable rate mortgages are usually written for one, five or seven years, and their rates can go either up or down at the end of the mortgage term. It’s hard to imagine that the rates on new ARMs will be going anywhere but up, current rates being as low as they are.

But for some home buyers, that fact is not all that important. Some people buy homes knowing that they will be turning around and selling their new properties in just a few years – well within in the term of the ARM. In a case like that, there really isn’t much of a down side, or risk of an escalating mortgage rate.

Also, some people don’t like debt and have serious plans to pay off their mortgages in just a few years. If you are one of those people, once again the risk of getting caught with an escalating ARM isn’t very high.

The danger lies in getting an adjustable rate mortgage simply because of the more attractive rate, with no thought given to how you will cover your mortgage payment if the rate goes up in a few years. If you plan to stay in your home for a long time, an ARM may not be a very good strategy for you.

What’s the best mortgage strategy for you? Why don’t you give me a call and we’ll discuss your own special needs and strategies – 727-643-7100.

Tags: Mortgage, Palm Harbor, pinellas county, real estate

Mortgage rates are lowest they’ve been in 38 years

Do you need another reason (besides the low prices and the big tax credit) to think about buying a new home? Okay, here it is: Mortgage rates came down again this week and are now at the lowest point IN THE PAST 38 YEARS!
Freddie Mac does a survey of mortgage rates every week, and this week’s survey shows that rates are at historic lows for 30-year fix rate mortgages.
The rates on 30-year (and 15-year) mortgages came down for the fifth week in a row, according to Freddie Mac. Rates on five-year adjustable rate mortgages came down to record levels a week earlier, and they stayed in that very low range during this most recent week.
Why the low rates? Well, demand for mortgages (and, of course, demand for housing) remains weak; also, foreclosures continue to be a factor.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate for the week was 4.71%, down from  4.78% during the previous week. A year ago, the average rate was 5.53%.

Tags: interest rates, pinellas

Looking to buy in Pinellas County? The tax credit is nearing an end

     What’s going to happen to the first time homebuyer tax credit?
     The tax credit, which was introduced back in February as part of the Obama Administration’s stimulus package, gives an income tax credit of up to $8,000 to all first time home buyers. The trouble is, the tax credit runs out at the end of November.
     The Congress is thinking about extending the credit, and some members would like to see it expanded to apply to all home buyers, not just first-timers. But other members say that making the credit last longer – and apply to more people – would be a budget-buster. They say any new tax credit version should be offset by tax increases, or at least some spending cuts.
     Some observers say they think there’s a pretty good chance that the tax credit will be extended, but they are not so optimistic that it will be enlarged to include new categories of home buyers. 
     Under the current rules, the tax credit applies to individuals making more than $75,000 per year, or couples making no more than a combined $150,000 per year. Some members of Congress say they would like to double those limits so more homebuyers would qualify. That’s a nice idea and would stimulate more home purchases, but it would cost an estimated $16.7 billion. 
     Meanwhile, I can tell you that buyers are increasing their home shopping activities, trying to get sales done before the current programs ends. I know that because I have been busy showing property.

New IRS form lets loan officers see your IRS income info — twice

     Are you going to be applying for a mortgage anytime soon?  Here’s something you need to know:
     Your loan officer may ask you to sign IRS Form 4506-T. If you do, you will authorize the loan officer to get IRS electronic transcripts of your federal income tax filings.
     This may not seem like anything terribly new — the IRS has been giving lenders tax-return info for years. In the past, however, that information wasn’t requested until settlement, and it usually was requested only in the case of people who were self-employed.
     What’s changed is that Fannie Mae is working harder to spot fraudulent claims of income, and to limit losses from bad loans. So… Fannie Mae now wants lenders to get two sets of electronic IRS transcripts for all borrowers, no matter what their sources of income are.
     One copy is pulled at the time of the application, while the other gets requested before the closing.
     All of this seems to be a response to the old “stated income” or “no-doc” loans, in which borrowers were asked to simply say what their incomes were without providing any evidence. Some people inflated their incomes, and a percentage of those loans went bad when the market deflated.
     Because of all that, Fannie Mae (and other lenders) are tightening up their requirements, and IRS Form  4506-T is one of the consequences. Lenders now want to verify those income claims — not once, but twice.
     Remember, you need to take this form seriously when the loan officer puts it in front of you. Make sure that the information you provide is accurate, and make sure the years you specify are the years you actually want the loan officer to see.
     You are going to see a request for a Form 4506-T request twice during the mortgage loan application process, so be ready for that, too.
     If you would like to see a copy of the form before the loan officer actually presents it to you, you can get one on the IRS Web site, which is http://www.irs.gov