Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
House extends homebuyer credit 3 months
Related Posts: Credit & Finance, Real Estate News, Real Estate Sales
hiHomebuyers would get an extra three months to complete their purchases and qualify for a generous tax credit under a bill overwhelmingly passed by the House on Tuesday. Under current law, homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by April 30 have until today, June 30, to close on the sale to qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. The bill would give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases. The extended deadline only applies to people who signed purchase agreements by April 30. The National Association of Realtors estimates that about 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements are likely to miss the deadline.The bill passed 409-5. It now goes to the Senate, where senators were working Tuesday evening on a bill that would extend the tax credit and extend unemployment benefits for workers who have been laid off for long stretches. The Senate could vote on its bill as early as this week – if senators can round up 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. The popular tax credit has helped to stabilize the nation’s slumping housing market. Nearly 3 million taxpayers claimed the tax credit through May 22 – claiming more than $21 billion – according to the Treasury Department. The Realtors group says the tax credit has generated 1 million new home sales that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. The tax credit for first-time homebuyers was part of President Barack Obama’s economic recovery package enacted last year. In November, Congress extended the credit and expanded it to longtime owners who bought new homes. First-time buyers were eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000. Current owners who bought and moved into another home could qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.Delays with mortgage lending and appraisal companies have meant that home sales are taking far longer to complete this year.
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Home prices rise 0.8% in April from March
Related Posts: Real Estate News, Real Estate Sales
hiNationwide Home prices in April rose for the first time in seven months as government tax incentives helped to bolster the housing market. Nationally, prices have risen 3.8 percent from their April 2009 bottom. But they remain 30 percent below their July 2006 peak.The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday posted a 0.8 percent gain. It had fallen in each of the past six months. Eighteen of 20 cities showed price increases month over month. Only Miami and New York recorded price declines. The gains highlight the impact of the federal tax credits for homebuyers. Buyers rushed to purchase before the tax credits expired at the end of April.
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Big News….Smaller Sizes !
Related Posts: Home Style, Real Estate News
hiThe size of new single-family homes declined again in 2009, dropping to a nationwide average of 2,438 square feet, according to information about new home characteristics released recently by the U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/const/www/charindex.html). For nearly 30 years, the average size of new U.S. homes increased, peaking at 2,521 square feet in 2007. It was essentially flat in 2008 and then dropped, so that new single-family homes were almost 100 square feet smaller in 2009 than in 2007.
In keeping with their slightly smaller size, new single-family homes completed in 2009 had fewer bedrooms than previously. After increasing for almost 20 years, the proportion of single-family homes with four bedrooms or more topped out at 39 percent in 2005; it was 34 percent last year. The proportion of single-family homes with three bedrooms increased from 49 percent to 53 percent between 2005 and 2009.
New single-family homes completed last year also had fewer bathrooms. The proportion of homes with three or more bathrooms was 24 percent last year, a decline from the peak of 28 percent in both 2007 and 2008. The percentage of single-family homes with two bathrooms increased from 35 to 37 percent last year, and the percentage with 2 or 2 ½ bathrooms was at 31 percent for the third consecutive year. The proportion of single-family homes with 1 or 1½ bathrooms has been below 10 percent for more than a decade.
So in this era if youy do not need itr for sure ….don’t buy it……..sharing is back in style.
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Saw Tooth or Zig Zag Recovery ? ?
Related Posts: Credit & Finance, Real Estate News, Real Estate Sales
hiSome housing experts now predict what one calls a “saw-tooth bottom” to the housing market, driven by a shadow inventory that could include up to 4.5 million properties. This shadow inventory is more than just bank-owned homes not yet on the market. It also includes sellers who would like to sell but, fearing they can’t, are waiting for signs of a market bottom before putting their homes on the market. Some say this rush to sell will add inventory to the market and at least temporarily drive prices back down – hence, the “saw-tooth” description. Years ago this was desribed as a “zig-zag” trend that if you average the past 6 months on a curve it will be as it really is…..slow but steady recovery.
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Mortgage Rates fell to the lowest this year !
Related Posts: Credit & Finance, Government, Real Estate News
hiMortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level of the year, as rates fell on U.S. government securities. Fixed mortgage rates closely track interest rates paid on long-term Treasury bonds. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped to 4.93 percent this week from 5 percent a week earlier. It was the lowest level since mid-December, when rates averaged 4.81 percent.
The drop came as investors shifted money from risky European debt to safer U.S. securities. Bond yields fell as a result, and that lowered mortgage rates. Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.
The average fixed rate dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent late last year, pushed down by a campaign by the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs for consumers. The program ended this spring, but rates have remained low, especially after fears that Greece’s government would default shook world markets.
The last time rates for 30-year fixed mortgages averaged less than 5 percent was the week of March 25, when they were 4.99 percent.
This week, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.30 percent, down from 4.36 percent last week.
Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.95 percent, down from 3.97 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.02 percent from 4.07 percent.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.
The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 of a point for 30-year loans 0.6 of a point for 15 year, 5-year and 1-year loans.
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