After hearing from an agent in Northern California that their appraisal guidelines had been changed, I called Robert Riede from the Appraisal Connection (310-768-8700) to get the latest on our appraisals here for Palos Verdes real estate. Robert confirmed that lenders had really tightened their guidelines for appraisals with most lenders requiring at least 2 comps from the last 90 days. Some...
As reported by Bloomberg, the Federal Reserve bought $5 billion of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank corporate debt under a new program aimed at reducing mortgage costs. Fed Chairman Bernanke finds it "encouraging" that his plan announced last week has already spurred a drop in loan rates. Treasury Secretary Paulson is considering using purchases of home loan securities to force...
The news today from the Federal Housing Finance Agency was that conforming loan limits will remain at $417,000 in the continental United States for 2009. There are higher loan amounts for certain counties. These are known as 'High Cost Areas" and we are one of them. Our conforming loan limits will be $625,000 (In 2008, we enjoyed a higher limit of $729,750). Any loans above $625,500 will be at...
The big news yesterday was that home resales nationally rose more than forecast in September. Sales of existing units rose 5.5% in September to the highest level in a year. Inventory of homes for sale fell 1.6% in September which was the second month in a row to show a decline. The biggest sales gain was in the West, where sales increased 16.8%. What does this mean for owners of Palos Verdes real...
Yesterday, the Fed lowered interest rates one-half a percent. The Fed Fund Rate now stands at 1.5% and the Discount Rate is 1.75%. What do you think happened with home mortgage rates? No, they did not go down but went up instead one-half a percent. A 30-year fixed loan at zero points for Palos Verdes real estate (and elsewhere) is 6 .375% conforming, 6.5% jumbo conforming and 7.5% for jumbo...
I have had several clients ask questions regarding foreclosure properties. There have not been too many on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Foreclosures are not your normal purchase and a buyer is usually on his own (unless he hires a Realtor to act as his Buyer's Agent to help him navigate through the process). Here is the time-line for the process. A NOD property is one that has a Notice of Default...
30-year fixed interest rates are down today compared to the beginning of the month. Jumbo loans actually went down 1/2% today (30-year fixed). The remainder of the loan products quoted above are up one-eighth of a percent since the beginning of the month. There are many changes in the wind for mortgages. The word is that by December jumbo conforming loans will be gone. No income verification...
Lenders have been cautioning us for months to make sure our clients pull out cash from their home-equity line of credit if they are going to use it to purchase a home (without selling their existing home and avoid a bridge loan). Many buyers are also using their home-equity line of credit to purchase second homes or income property. The caution has been to have buyers immediately get that cash and...
Interest rates were moving downward today. A 30 year fixed conforming jumbo loan (maximum loan amount of $729,750) was 6.125 percent with ZERO points. A minimum of 10% down payment is required and with a 20% down payment, there is no PMI (private mortgage insurance). Today's rates are down 1/2% from a month ago which increases affordability 5% and should bring more buyers to the market. In the...
Chris Ayres loves his house. In his refreshing and thoughtful opinion piece in the LA Times, he challenges us to remember why we should love ours too. He actually purchased his home one year ago and instead of bemoaning the fact that his home may be worth less today, he tells us why he is lucky. First, the price - Ayres concludes a $1,200,000 purchase price, a loan of $1,000,000 at a fixed rate of...