So, we have all heard the scary, negative facts right now regarding the country's economic situation. Some good news I have found:
Stocks are staging a strong recovery rally today, after an utterly awful session Monday. The markets, which had been up all day, surged even higher this afternoon on renewed hopes that Congress will pass a financial rescue plan this week.
At 1:43 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 342 points to 10,707 after plunging a whopping 778 points Monday, its worst one-day point drop in its storied 100-plus-year history.
This afternoon, the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 77 points to 2,061 after plunging 200 points Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index had added 45 points to 1,152 after losing 107 points in yesterday's session, the biggest drop ever for the S&P 500(From Msn.com)
August Home Sales are UP from 2007:
Glendora 91740:17 91741: 11
San Dimas: 7
La Verne: 18 !!!!!!!!!!1
Claremont: 34 !!!!!
Covina: 91722: 24; 91723: 7; 91724: 17!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Data taken from county records)
Last, I still believe real estate is a wonderful investment. Real Estate is a safe place to "park" your funds, enjoy tax benefits and you have an almost guaranteed long-term return on your investment. Although prices have dropped, I still have not seen them at 2002 levels. If we looked at sales from 2002, we would not be able to compare and show the same price for a like property in Glendora. With the prices still lower than a few years ago, interest rates good and FHA loans a good option, this is still a wonderful time to invest in real estate.
Please call me or post any comments you may have. Also, any questions you have are welcome. These are uneasy times, but things will improve in the long-run -- they always do!
Honesty, Integrity...Service you can TRUST!
Stacy
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Stock Market is up -- What now?
As many of you may already know, it has been a whirlwind week for Wall Street. What is worrisome is that what happens on Wall Street does affect the folks on Main Street (i.e. average American's). Many people have come through open house's, called into our office and stopped to ask us REALTOR (S) what we think about the current housing market, what we think about Wall Street and the bailouts and the bank failures ....and all of that negative news. Responsible, repsected professional REALTORS (R) will all tell you this is something we all watch closely, but that regardless of the topsy-turvy bank situations and the misgivings people are having about the stock market, real estate sells are UP. The prices are down, but the existing home sales has exceeded that of last years' numbers.
Stability in the housing market is coming. The insecurity first time home buyers and also current homeowners have had can be relaxed. Here's what the professional REALTORS (R) all know, and what we are trying to tell the world:
1. Price your house right to sell fast. We are seeing multiple offer situations in homes priced right. This may be less than what you would have done last year, but it still will sell. Remember, if you have not already spent the dollars you perceived as yours through equity, you have lost nothing.
2. Sellers are looking for good offers - not total low-ball offers. Which means, buyers, do not expect a total liquidation of housing through bargain basement prices. If you are looking for the bottom of the market -- stop! You will not know the bottom until prices go back up. Remember: Prices have dropped, but not everyone selling is in a default situation. Those sellers that can wait, will.
3. And those sellers that wait, if you do not want to sell now, for your perceived price, and you can hold on a 2-3 more years....Guess what! I think you will be safe.
4. Buyers: If you have been waiting, things do not get better! Prices are low, interest rates are historically low (still BELOW 6%) and FHA loans are big. Coupled with the federal tax credit for first time home buyers, this is the best year to buy -- better thany any in recent memory.
5. Buyers and Sellers: Remember - a home is a long-term investment. Do not expect to "cash out" big if you are selling now and bought less than 5 years ago. Buyers, do not expect that golden deal -- that needle in the haystack foreclosure -- the deals are out there -- but they are getting multiple offers. The time is now! Do not hesitate!
As always, if you or anyone you know needs any real estate advice, please send them my way.
Honesty, Integrity...Service you can TRUST!!!!
Stacy
Stability in the housing market is coming. The insecurity first time home buyers and also current homeowners have had can be relaxed. Here's what the professional REALTORS (R) all know, and what we are trying to tell the world:
1. Price your house right to sell fast. We are seeing multiple offer situations in homes priced right. This may be less than what you would have done last year, but it still will sell. Remember, if you have not already spent the dollars you perceived as yours through equity, you have lost nothing.
2. Sellers are looking for good offers - not total low-ball offers. Which means, buyers, do not expect a total liquidation of housing through bargain basement prices. If you are looking for the bottom of the market -- stop! You will not know the bottom until prices go back up. Remember: Prices have dropped, but not everyone selling is in a default situation. Those sellers that can wait, will.
3. And those sellers that wait, if you do not want to sell now, for your perceived price, and you can hold on a 2-3 more years....Guess what! I think you will be safe.
4. Buyers: If you have been waiting, things do not get better! Prices are low, interest rates are historically low (still BELOW 6%) and FHA loans are big. Coupled with the federal tax credit for first time home buyers, this is the best year to buy -- better thany any in recent memory.
5. Buyers and Sellers: Remember - a home is a long-term investment. Do not expect to "cash out" big if you are selling now and bought less than 5 years ago. Buyers, do not expect that golden deal -- that needle in the haystack foreclosure -- the deals are out there -- but they are getting multiple offers. The time is now! Do not hesitate!
As always, if you or anyone you know needs any real estate advice, please send them my way.
Honesty, Integrity...Service you can TRUST!!!!
Stacy
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
How will the Fed Take Over of Fannie and Freddie Affect You? Read on...
This is a posting from MSN Money and Bankrate.com
How the Fannie and Freddie takeover affects you
The feds want mortgages to remain available at good rates to creditworthy borrowers. That's good news. But don't expect easier jumbo mortgages or home equity loans.
The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is designed to put downward pressure on mortgage rates and to ensure that home loans remain available.
Those goals are made crystal clear in the statements made by public officials.
The primary mission of the two mortgage giants "now will be to proactively work to increase the availability of mortgage finance," says James Lockhart, who will temporarily govern Fannie and Freddie.
Lockhart, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, adds that his agency will examine Fannie's and Freddie's fees "with an eye toward mortgage affordability."
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the government has three objectives: "market stability, mortgage availability and taxpayer protection." That's another signal that the government wants mortgages to remain available, at good rates, to borrowers with a low risk of default.
Jim Sahnger, a mortgage broker with Palm Beach Financial Network in Stuart, Fla., says, "The good news for the consumer is that money will still continue to flow, provided you have the ability to qualify."
Dean Baker, an economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank in Washington, D.C., says, "I think that the immediate impact will be somewhat positive. You'll see some drop in mortgage rates because it'll decrease the uncertainty" that had pushed mortgage rates up this summer.
Baker says he can imagine a drop in mortgage rates of around a quarter of a percentage point, give or take about 5 basis points. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. "It's something," he says. "It's not going to make a huge difference."
It's hard to guess the timing of such a rate decrease. Baker says it might happen as soon as today, but possibly later, as people in the mortgage industry scratch their heads and assess the federal government's plan. "Probably we're talking inside of two weeks," Baker says.
Sahnger agrees that rates will fall soon. "There will be an immediate impact as far as rates," he says. "I think rates are going to improve modestly at the beginning."
Mortgage rates are expected to fall because the Treasury Department will buy mortgage-backed securities. Here's why rates would fall as a result of the Treasury buying mortgage-backed securities:
When investors buy bonds, they have a wealth of choices. They can buy U.S. Treasury bills and notes, or corporate debt, or bonds from state and local governments. Or they can buy mortgage-backed securities, which behave much like bonds. Mortgage-backed securities are known as MBS in industry shorthand.
Fannie and Freddie guarantee the mortgage-backed securities that they issue, and those securities are deemed quite safe as investments. Not as safe as Treasury notes, but relatively safe. Fannie and Freddie are government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, and for decades they had implicit government backing. That backing is now explicit.
In the past few months, investors have rushed to the safety of Treasury notes and haven't been as eager to buy mortgage-backed securities. The lessened demand caused the prices of mortgage-backed securities to go down. When bond prices fall, bond yields rise, and that's what happened with mortgage-backed securities. As yields went up, so did mortgage rates. The difference, or spread, widened between Treasury yields and mortgage-backed securities.
Now that the Treasury will buy mortgage-backed securities, their prices should rise because of the greater demand. (The same thing would happen if the federal government bought, say, boxcar loads of sugar. You would expect sugar prices to go up.) When bond prices rise, yields drop -- so mortgage rates should follow.
Lockhart, whose department will run Fannie and Freddie, describes this succinctly when he says, "As the GSEs have grappled with their difficulties, we've seen mortgage rate spreads to Treasurys widen, making mortgages less affordable for homebuyers. While the GSEs are expected to moderately increase the size of their portfolios over the next 15 months through prudent mortgage purchases, complementary government efforts can aid mortgage affordability. (The) Treasury will begin this new program later this month, investing in new GSE MBS."
The government's action will have a beneficial effect on some mortgages, but not all. It will have little or no impact on jumbo mortgages -- home loans for large amounts. (The definition of a jumbo loan varies, depending on house prices in each metro area. A jumbo is a loan of more than $417,000 in much of the country, and is higher in more expensive housing markets -- up to $729,750 in places such as Los Angeles.)
Because jumbo mortgages are perceived as riskier, their rates have been unusually high for the past year. Historically, jumbo rates had hovered about a quarter of a percentage point above the rates for mortgages backed by Fannie and Freddie. Now they're about a full percentage point higher, and that gap is unlikely to narrow soon.
The government's bailout of Fannie and Freddie won't affect rates on home equity loans or home equity lines of credit, either.
This article was reported and written by Holden Lewis for Bankrate.com.
How the Fannie and Freddie takeover affects you
The feds want mortgages to remain available at good rates to creditworthy borrowers. That's good news. But don't expect easier jumbo mortgages or home equity loans.
The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is designed to put downward pressure on mortgage rates and to ensure that home loans remain available.
Those goals are made crystal clear in the statements made by public officials.
The primary mission of the two mortgage giants "now will be to proactively work to increase the availability of mortgage finance," says James Lockhart, who will temporarily govern Fannie and Freddie.
Lockhart, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, adds that his agency will examine Fannie's and Freddie's fees "with an eye toward mortgage affordability."
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the government has three objectives: "market stability, mortgage availability and taxpayer protection." That's another signal that the government wants mortgages to remain available, at good rates, to borrowers with a low risk of default.
Jim Sahnger, a mortgage broker with Palm Beach Financial Network in Stuart, Fla., says, "The good news for the consumer is that money will still continue to flow, provided you have the ability to qualify."
Dean Baker, an economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank in Washington, D.C., says, "I think that the immediate impact will be somewhat positive. You'll see some drop in mortgage rates because it'll decrease the uncertainty" that had pushed mortgage rates up this summer.
Baker says he can imagine a drop in mortgage rates of around a quarter of a percentage point, give or take about 5 basis points. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. "It's something," he says. "It's not going to make a huge difference."
It's hard to guess the timing of such a rate decrease. Baker says it might happen as soon as today, but possibly later, as people in the mortgage industry scratch their heads and assess the federal government's plan. "Probably we're talking inside of two weeks," Baker says.
Sahnger agrees that rates will fall soon. "There will be an immediate impact as far as rates," he says. "I think rates are going to improve modestly at the beginning."
Mortgage rates are expected to fall because the Treasury Department will buy mortgage-backed securities. Here's why rates would fall as a result of the Treasury buying mortgage-backed securities:
When investors buy bonds, they have a wealth of choices. They can buy U.S. Treasury bills and notes, or corporate debt, or bonds from state and local governments. Or they can buy mortgage-backed securities, which behave much like bonds. Mortgage-backed securities are known as MBS in industry shorthand.
Fannie and Freddie guarantee the mortgage-backed securities that they issue, and those securities are deemed quite safe as investments. Not as safe as Treasury notes, but relatively safe. Fannie and Freddie are government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, and for decades they had implicit government backing. That backing is now explicit.
In the past few months, investors have rushed to the safety of Treasury notes and haven't been as eager to buy mortgage-backed securities. The lessened demand caused the prices of mortgage-backed securities to go down. When bond prices fall, bond yields rise, and that's what happened with mortgage-backed securities. As yields went up, so did mortgage rates. The difference, or spread, widened between Treasury yields and mortgage-backed securities.
Now that the Treasury will buy mortgage-backed securities, their prices should rise because of the greater demand. (The same thing would happen if the federal government bought, say, boxcar loads of sugar. You would expect sugar prices to go up.) When bond prices rise, yields drop -- so mortgage rates should follow.
Lockhart, whose department will run Fannie and Freddie, describes this succinctly when he says, "As the GSEs have grappled with their difficulties, we've seen mortgage rate spreads to Treasurys widen, making mortgages less affordable for homebuyers. While the GSEs are expected to moderately increase the size of their portfolios over the next 15 months through prudent mortgage purchases, complementary government efforts can aid mortgage affordability. (The) Treasury will begin this new program later this month, investing in new GSE MBS."
The government's action will have a beneficial effect on some mortgages, but not all. It will have little or no impact on jumbo mortgages -- home loans for large amounts. (The definition of a jumbo loan varies, depending on house prices in each metro area. A jumbo is a loan of more than $417,000 in much of the country, and is higher in more expensive housing markets -- up to $729,750 in places such as Los Angeles.)
Because jumbo mortgages are perceived as riskier, their rates have been unusually high for the past year. Historically, jumbo rates had hovered about a quarter of a percentage point above the rates for mortgages backed by Fannie and Freddie. Now they're about a full percentage point higher, and that gap is unlikely to narrow soon.
The government's bailout of Fannie and Freddie won't affect rates on home equity loans or home equity lines of credit, either.
This article was reported and written by Holden Lewis for Bankrate.com.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Happy (almost) Fall!
Labor Day is officially over and the traditional countdown to fall -- then Christmas -- has begun in our house! Target and Longs are slowly bringing out the holiday candy! It is easy to celebrate when holidays are approaching -- and there is still much to celebrate with the new housing bill.
Read below in my past posts for specific information regarding many great incentives for first-time buyers. If you have been on the side-lines - waiting for the prices to "bottom-out" - rest assured, they are very low and more people are taking note. There is a saying in real estate -- "One never knows the bottom of the market until prices start to go back up". Now is the best time to think seriously if you would like to buy and take advantage of the many TAX benefits! Some people never see an income tax RETURN until they are homeowners! This may be the time to guarantee that spring-time return.
Owning a home in southern California is at times difficult to keep up with -- but I also know rents are NOT declining -- and there are not tax benefits to renters. We have a wonderful community and it makes sense to invest in it!
Call me or email me with your housing questions! I am always here to help!
Happy Fall -- Happy Househunting -- Happy tax deductions!
Stacy
Honesty, Integrity...Service you can TRUST!
Read below in my past posts for specific information regarding many great incentives for first-time buyers. If you have been on the side-lines - waiting for the prices to "bottom-out" - rest assured, they are very low and more people are taking note. There is a saying in real estate -- "One never knows the bottom of the market until prices start to go back up". Now is the best time to think seriously if you would like to buy and take advantage of the many TAX benefits! Some people never see an income tax RETURN until they are homeowners! This may be the time to guarantee that spring-time return.
Owning a home in southern California is at times difficult to keep up with -- but I also know rents are NOT declining -- and there are not tax benefits to renters. We have a wonderful community and it makes sense to invest in it!
Call me or email me with your housing questions! I am always here to help!
Happy Fall -- Happy Househunting -- Happy tax deductions!
Stacy
Honesty, Integrity...Service you can TRUST!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)