Maggie Moore's – Short Sale Scene

The New York Times

When borrowers choose a fixed-rate loan for a home purchase or refinancing, only one part of the monthly mortgage statement is ever likely to change: The escrow amount.
Read the full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/realestate/mortgages-shrinking-the-escrow.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

The Wall Street Journal

There were fewer houses for sale at the end of 2011 than in any of the previous four years, a positive sign for the housing sector.
Read the full story:
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/01/19/housing-inventory-ends-year-down-22/

C.A.R. Pending Home Sales Index dropped as expected between November and December, tracking the annual seasonal slowdown.  However, the index was higher than a year ago for the eighth straight month, a trend that bodes well for the start of the spring home-buying season.

C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell from a revised 108.7 in November to 91.6 in December, based on signed contracts.  The index was up from the revised 82.5 recorded in December 2010, marking the eighth consecutive month that pending sales rose from the previous year.  The decline follows a normal seasonal drop that usually occurs in November and December.  Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.

More info

The Mercury News

Mortgage interest rates, near all-time lows, are likely to remain attractive throughout 2012.  That means opportunities for new home buyers and for homeowners who want to refinance.
Read the full story:
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19683720

Calif. median home price: November 2011: $280,960 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county November  2011: Marin: $736,410 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county November 2011: Madera: $103,330 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: November 2011: 109.8, an increase of 11 percent compared with the prior year.

Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates: Week ending 1/5/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.91% fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.23 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.80% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)

The Wall Street Journal

Mortgage rates are expected to remain very low at least through mid-2012, while housing activity improves slightly, according to Freddie Mac’s economic and housing outlook.

Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/12/14/freddie-low-mortgage-rates-to-hang-around-next-year/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real Estate_BLOGSDEVELOPMENTSFEED

More than half of respondents to a recent survey by HouseLogic.com, the consumer website from NAR, said that jobs and unemployment will have the greatest impact on their vote in 2012.  Housing came in second at 27 percent.

Respondents were asked “What issue area will have the greatest impact on your vote in 2012?” National security, healthcare, and energy/environment trailed housing and unemployment by wide margins:

• Jobs/unemployment – 54 percent
• Housing – 27 percent
• National security – 8 percent
• Healthcare – 4 percent
• Energy/Environment – 2 percent
• Other – 4 percent

More info

The Wall Street Journal

With the monthly cost of owning a home more affordable now than at any point in the past 15 years, homeownership is becoming less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities.

Making sense of the story

• The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas found that home values declined in all but five markets compared with the second quarter, according to data from Zillow Inc.
• Meanwhile, rent levels have risen briskly across the country and mortgage rates, hovering around 4 percent, are the lowest in six decades.
• As a result, monthly mortgage payments on the median priced home – including taxes and insurance – are lower than the average rent levels in 12 metro areas, according to data compiled by Marcus & Millichap.
• Homeownership also is looking more affordable because after several years of declines, apartment rents will rise approximately 4 percent this year, and rents are poised to pick up even more momentum across the country next year, according to Marcus & Millichap.
• Affordability could continue to improve as prices slide even lower in coming months.  Price declines are likely because the share of “distressed” sales, including bank-owned foreclosures, tend to rise in the winter, when traditional sales activity cools.

Read the full story
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203764804577060502694077494.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

Congress will decide this week whether to reinstate the limit on government-backed home loans in high-cost areas to $729,750.

Read the full story
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/15/BUIQ1LV1P3.DTL

Consumers currently home shopping or planning to refinance, need to decide on a specific mortgage program and do research to decide which will be the best fit for their situation.
Read the full story
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19249844