Real Estate in Riverside County, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, Canyon Hills, Tuscany Hills

Since May 2003, the FHA will not provide financing on properties where the seller owned the property for less than 90 days. This rule was originally established to protect Buyers from unscrupulous investors and lenders. Unfortunately in this market, when investors regularly buy proprties at trustee sales and directly from banks, there are a large number of properties that fall into this category. Because credit is tight right now, FHA loans are quite often the only option for many buyers and as a result those borrowers do not have as many home choices.

Starting February 1st, FHA is going to lift this ban for one year to allow Buyers to get a shot at some of these homes. There are still some guidelines to protect the buyer, but overall, it means that home buyers will have more homes available to them. For more details on the recent press release from HUD, click the following link:

Even though it seemed like a Seller's market in 2009 with bidding wars and extreme competition for homes, prices really were flat for the year. I've compiled a chart below that shows the average sales price in the most popular cities in Riverside County during various months last year. For most cities, prices remained pretty constant during the year and finished the year almost where they started.

Where will prices go from here? That's anyone's guess, but one thing is for sure; with low prices, record low mortgage rates, and tax credits from the government, this sure seems like a great time for Buyers and Sellers.

The National Association of Realtors recently announced that pending home sales rose in the month of October making it nine consecutive months of increases. The Pending Homes Sales Index is an indicator based on home sales contracts signed each month. The index had a reading of 110 in September and rose to 114.1 in October - a 3.7 percent increase month over month and a whopping 31.8 percent increase over October 2008. The National Association of Realtors attributes much of the increase to the tax credit which has been extended until June 2010.

30 Year Mortgage Rates Hit Record Low

The average rate for 30 year mortgages hits it's lowest level in history last week at 4.71 percent down from 4.78 percent the previous week. 15 year year mortgages were also lower. Rates have moved up slightly this week. Low mortgage rates are certainly helping - the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications rose the week of Thanksgiving by 2.1 percent over the previous week.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association & National Association of Realtors

You've probably heard by now that President Obama signed into law the Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension last week. This extends the previous tax credit that was scheduled to expire November 30th and adds some additional benefits for new homeowners as well as existing homeowners who are thinking of making a purchase. Here are some of the key points of the new law:

Record low mortgage interest rates boosted pending home sales for the third consecutive month, with some benefit now from the first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors^®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7 percent to 90.3 from a reading of 84.6 in March, and is 3.2 percent above April 2008 when it was 87.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. “Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market,” he said. “Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead, and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”

The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast shot up 32.6 percent to 78.9 in April and is 0.8 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 9.8 percent to 90.4 and is 11.1 percent above April 2008. The index in the South slipped 0.2 percent to 93.0 in April but is 3.5 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the index rose 1.8 percent to 94.8 but is 2.9 percent below April 2008.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said there are numerous buyer assistance programs around the country. “Some states are offering bridge loans that allow first-time buyers to use the tax credit for downpayment and closing costs, but there are many other local government and nonprofit programs available to buyers, depending on location,” he said.

“Just last week, HUD announced that qualifying buyers can use the tax credit for closing costs on FHA loans, to buy down the interest rate or make a larger downpayment. Buyers who are wondering about their options should contact a Realtor^®, who can advise consumers on the housing assistance programs and resources available in a given area.”

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index² is in record territory. The affordability index rose to 174.8 in April from an upwardly revised 171.9 in March, and was the second highest monthly reading on record after peaking at 176.9 in January of this year. The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income; tracking began in 1970.

A median-income family, earning $60,900, could afford a home costing $296,800 in April with a 20 percent downpayment, assuming 25 percent of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest. Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small downpayments are roughly 80 percent of that amount. The affordable price was well above the median existing single-family home price in April, which was $169,800.

Yun cautions that the reporting sample for pending home sales is smaller than that of existing-home sales, so it is subject to greater variability. “In addition, the relationship between contracts on pending home sales and closings on existing-home sales is taking longer than in the past for several reasons,” he said. “Mortgage processing time has increased, it is taking many months to close on those homes requiring short sales with lender approval, and some sales are falling through at the last moment.”

The total number of existing-home sales is expected to improve but with dramatic local market variation in the timing of recovery. “The market has already bottomed in some areas, but this is an unusual housing cycle with some areas improving rapidly while others languish or decline,” Yun said. Link directly to this article.

Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted from REALTOR.org with permission.

Quick Facts:
· Existing, single-family home sales increased 63.8 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted rate of 522,980 on an annualized basis
· The statewide median price of an existing single-family home increased 2.2 percent in March to
$253,040 compared with February 2009
· C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index fell to 5 months in March, compared with 12.2 months in March 2008
· The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home declined to 48.3 days in March 2009, compared with 56.8 days in March 2008

C.A.R. reports March home sales increased 63.8 percent, median home price declined 39 percent

LOS ANGELES (April 27) – Home sales increased 63.8 percent in March in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home declined 39 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

“The March sales figure of 522,980 homes indicates that the market continues to be very active,” said C.A.R. President James Liptak. “All of the regions in the state experienced increases in month-to-month raw sales, with the smallest gain in the Sacramento region at 9.7 percent and the largest gain in the Riverside/San Bernardino region at 32.2 percent.”

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 522,980 in March at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity increased 63.8 percent from the revised 319,290 sales pace recorded in March 2008. Sales in March 2009 decreased 16 percent compared with the previous month.

The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2009 would be if sales maintained the March pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during March 2009 was $253,040, a 39 percent decrease from the revised $414,520 median for March 2008, C.A.R. reported. The March 2009 median price rose 2.2 percent compared with February’s $247,590 median price.

“The statewide median price showed the first monthly increase since August 2007, and has remained in the $250,000 range over the past three months,” said C.A.R.’s Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “A number of regions around the state also have registered monthly gains for one or more months since the beginning of this year. While these are welcome signs, it remains to be seen whether home prices have stabilized.

“While we still face continued weakness in the general economy and expect continued foreclosures, the increased incidence of multiple offers indicates that first-time home buyers and investors are responding to dramatically improved housing affordability. Low mortgage rates and house prices, coupled with the federal first-time home buyer tax credit, is having a definite impact on the California housing market,” Appleton-Young added.

Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted from REALTOR.org with permission.

02/19/09 - What's In the Foreclosure Prevention Plan
The Obama administration yesterday released its long-awaited plan to stem foreclosures. It's organized into three categories:

1) Help for homeoners making their payments but at risk of default and foreclosure. Homeowners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan would be eligible to refinance as long as their mortgage doesn't exceed 105 percent of the home's current market value. Currently owners need to have at least 20 percent equity. Potential impact: 4-5 million households.

2) Help for homeowners already in default and in need of loan modification. For lenders that voluntarily agree to lower a borrower's payment so that it makes up no more than 38 percent of the borrower's income, the government would share the cost of lowering the mortgage burden to 31 percent of income. Incentives to lenders to participate include a $1,000 payment. Borrowers can receive up to $1,000 as an incentive to stay current on their new mortgage. Still in the works is a proposed provision that would allow bankruptcy judges to require loan modification (known as a cramdown) as part of a household's restructuring. That provision requires legislation by Congress. Estimated potential impact: 3-4 million households.

3) Doubled resources to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To encourage investors to buy the secondary market companies' mortgage-backed securities, the government explicitly backstops them to up to $400 billion, twice the current amount.

The plan does not provide help to investors or to homeowners who are in trouble with a second home, nor does it apply to homeowners whose mortgage is part of a private-label mortgage security that is not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

"The administration's proposed plan, combined with provisions like the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit in the just-enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will help minimize foreclosures, shrink housing inventory, stabilize home values, and move the country closer to an economic recovery," says NAR President Charles McMillan.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine Online