Friday, November 13, 2009

Are There Any Foreclosure Deals Left?



For the eighth straight consecutive month, national foreclosure activity in the U.S. was dominated by a small set of states.
As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than half of October's foreclosure-related activity came from just 4 states:
1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
The remaining Top 10 states in terms of total foreclosure activity included Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland.
Foreclosures are up 19 percent from last October, but a deeper look at the RealtyTrac report revealed two positive developments for the housing market.
1. Foreclosure activity is down 3 percent from last month
2. Foreclosures per Household decreased in 9 of the 10 most heavily concentrated states
Furthermore, Nevada's foreclosure pace is down 4% from last year. This is a big deal because Nevada has long led the nation in foreclosure-related activity. Until last month, Nevada's year-to-year foreclosure rate hadn't fallen in more than 4 years.

According to an industry trade group, distressed homes account for nearly one-third of home resale activity. Distressed homes range from foreclosures, foreclosure auctions and short sales, etc. We're seeing numerous short sale listings go to closing within 2-5 months now, and for great prices - call me anytime for more info. And if you know someone else who's upside down in the mortgage and needs help...tell them not to wait for their bank to decide their fate - Take Back Control! Call 703-400-6757 today.
Thanks to Ken Byrne, Vice President for Residential Lending of First Savings Mortgage Corp (703-883-9582 ) for some of the content in this posting.


Thursday, November 05, 2009

First Time Home Buyers Could Have Until April 2010 to Buy!



Last night, the Senate unanimously approved an extension of the current $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit. The House is expected to approve the measure in the next few days and then on to the White House for signature sometime next week. The current proposal would give qualifying homebuyers until April 30th to sign a purchase contract and an additional 60 days to close. In addition, homebuyers who previously owned a home for at least five consecutive years in the previous eight years would be eligible for a $6,500 tax credit for new home purchases. The income limits would expand to $125,000 for individuals and to $225,000 for married couples. Updates will be forthcoming as the bill moves forward.

Monday, November 02, 2009

FIRST TIME HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT EXTENSION APPROVED BY TUESDAY?


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the first time home buyer tax credit could be approved as early as Tuesday, November 3rd. There is a vote scheduled for late on November 2nd. “The House said that they would accept that and that could be done as early as November 3rd,” said Senator Reid. The delays in approving the bill has been due to the Republican demands for votes on amendments including the expiration of TARP funds by the end of 2010.
The November 2nd vote would allow Democrats to ignore the amendments if the bill is approved. Democrats have a plan to extend the first time home buyer tax credit until April 30th. The revised plan will also allow higher income home buyers to qualify for the tax credit. There is also an addition to the bill that home buyers who lived in their prior homes for at least five years could receive a credit of $6500. The increases of income for the tax credit are up to $125,000 for an individual and $225,000 for a couple from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively.


In addition, the House Appropriations Committee has approved an extension of the $729,750 loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration through September 2010. The committee also increased the lending and guarantee authority of FHA and Ginnie Mae, as requested by the Obama Administration. The Department of Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill authorizes FHA to insure $400 billion in single-family loans during fiscal year 2010, up from $315 billion in the current 2009 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The FY 2010 appropriations bill allows Ginnie Mae to guarantee up to $500 billion in securities backed by single-family and multifamily loans. Congress provided the secondary market agency with $400 billion in MBS guarantee authority in the FY 2009 appropriations bill. The massive stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed in February raised the maximum loan limit for the GSEs and FHA to $729,750. But the higher limit is due to expire at year-end, if the full House as well as the Senate does not approve this bill.

Goes to Show - Inventory Is Low and Buyers Are Scrambling!

Just Listed on Friday, October 30th

4 offers in so far and we've called for highest and best by end of the business day today...offers are strong and ABOVE asking price! Don't miss out on this great listing...703-400-6757.