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Is The Party Over For Low Mortgage Rates?

March 31st, 2010 categories: Buying, Loans / Financing, The Economy

March 31 - Uncle SamWill Rates Skyrocket As Some Previously Predicted?


Today marks the end of an unprecedented era for the mortgage market.

That’s because this is the final day of the Federal Reserve’s 14-month program to buy up mortgage-backed securities (MBS) — a practice that has kept mortgage rates down in the 5-percent-and-below range.

The Fed’s MBS purchase program was initiated by the government in order to keep mortgage money flowing at the time our economy was suffering through its darkest hours.

Buoyed by a consensus that the economy was on the mend, last fall, the government proclaimed that it would end its MBS buy-back program by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

In other words: today.

A New Era Starts Tomorrow

So starting tomorrow, MBS purchases will fall on the shoulders of regular investors, which means that mortgage rates will again be determined by the free marketplace, without any governmental support. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Virtual Town Hall Meeting Tonight To Discuss Benicia Schools Parcel Tax

March 30th, 2010 categories: Benicia

Wed a.m. Update: Unfortunately, I didn’t get a call at my home, so I wasn’t able to participate. Seems like the call-system phoned my work number and not my home number (even though it’s associated with my voter-registration record). I wonder how many other registered voters didn’t get a call at their home number.

Schoolhouse

Every Benicia Voter Will Get A Call At 7 pm Tonight


The Yes For Benicia Schools committee will hold a virtual town mall meeting tonight, with plans to include every registered Benicia voter and gauge whether a parcel tax to support Benicia’s schools is feasible.

At 7 pm tonight, every registered voter will supposedly receive a phone call, with Superintendent Janice Adams on the line to ask a series of questions.  Voters will use their keypads to respond to each question. There will also be an opportunity for those on the city-wide conference call to ask questions.

The parcel tax steering committee will use these responses to determine whether or not to place a school parcel tax initiative on the ballot.

Benicia’s school system has always been one of the town’s biggest assets. The school district’s desirability has helped keep Benicia’s property values higher than any other city in Solano County. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Nature’s Weedeaters Return To Benicia

March 29th, 2010 categories: Benicia, Local Stuff

Every spring, the herd from Goats R Us returns to the hills of Benicia, as part of the city’s weed abatement program.  Not only are they good for the environment, but they’re always a sight to see, especially when they’re right alongside one of the town’s major roadways.

That was the case as I drove up Hastings Dr.  in Southampton late one recent afternoon. Dozens and dozens of nature’s weedeaters were happily dining on all that new growth in the open space. So I had to pull over and snap a few photos.

IMG_1321 Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

BofA Will Slash Loan Balance By 30% For Some Underwater Borrowers Starting In May

March 28th, 2010 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing, The Economy

Pull QuoteBank of America just announced a new loan modification program that could help hundreds if not thousands of underwater Solano County homeowner.

This represents the first attempt by a major bank — and they don’t get much bigger than banking giant BofA — to slash an underwater borrower’s principal rather than simply reducing the interest rate for a period of time.

BofA’s newly announced program is slated to start in May and it’s not available for every BofA borrower. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 1 Comment »

$10K California Tax Credit Starts The Day After The Federal Credit Goes Away

March 24th, 2010 categories: Buying

Tax Credits Coming-GoingUpdate (3-25-10): Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the bill today! So the credit is now official.

The only thing standing in the way of a special California-only first-time home buyer tax credit right now is Gov. Schwarzenegger’s pen.

That’s because the legislature approved A.B. 183 earlier this week, which paves the way for a $10,000 credit for both first-time buyers and new home buyers. The governor has been a staunch supporter of the bill, so his signature should be a mere formality.

The credit is similar to the $10,000 new home-only tax credit that was introduced last March. All $100 million was gone by early July.

This time, the legislature allocated $200 million — earmarking $100 million Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Benicia-Vallejo Monthly Home Sale Report: Details On Every Closed Sale For Feb. 2010

March 16th, 2010 categories: Benicia, Buying, Selling, Vallejo

Home With Price TagEvery month, I publish a complete list of every home that sold in both Benicia and Vallejo. So if  you’re wondering what a particular home in your neighborhood sold for… or how much of a price change it took before a certain home finally sold, read on.

Here are a few highlights from February’s Benicia home sale report:

  • 9 homes in Benicia sold for less than their asking price while 7 sold for more than the asking price.
  • 10 of the 18 Benicia sales last month were regular “fair-market” sales. Five were REOs (bank-owned) and 3 were short sales.
  • The lowest sales price in Benicia was a Bay View Villas condo on Southampton Rd. that sold for $103,000 while the highest was a single family home on Townsend that closed at $571,500.

And a few highlights from Vallejo’s February home sale report:

  • 65 of last month’s 116 sales (55%) were REOs. The other 45% were split almost equally between short sales (27) and regular sales (25).

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Ugly February Home Sale Numbers For Solano County: Are We Taking A Step Back?

March 15th, 2010 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

With the exception of  Suisun City, February was a pretty ugly month for home sales and prices in the other four cities in our Solano County market area, according to the monthly statistics I just downloaded.

County-wide, the median sales price for February was $190,000 — a 7% drop from January’s $205,000. It hasn’t been that low since last June.

Contributing to that drop-off was Benicia (-26% from January), Fairfield (-19%), Vacaville (-9%) and Vallejo (-4%).

Feb Median Price GraphAlong with prices, the number of closed sales was also down throughout most of the county: Benicia -25%, Vallejo -17%, and Vacaville -6%. Fairfield, however, posted a 6% increase.

But the only city which really bucked the downward trend Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »