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Archive for 'The Economy'
Are Mortgage Rates Going Up, Up, Up?
December 27th, 2009 categories: Loans / Financing, The Economy
UPDATE (12-28-09): Just came across this Washington Post article, which says that Freddie Mac is predicting interest rates of 6% at some point in 2010.
When you watch the real estate market on a daily basis, as I do, it’s easy to read too much into a few solitary changes over a relatively short period of time.
But every new or emerging trend has to start somewhere, doesn’t it?
And that’s what’s caused me to wonder if the recent uptick in interest rates is just a random blip on the radar screen or instead the beginning of a climb towards higher and higher mortgage rates.
If you haven’t been watching the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (on the left sidebar of our web site), you may not have noticed, but over the past three weeks, interest rates have turned north.
As of Christmas Eve, interest rates nationally had risen to their highest level (5.05%) since Labor Day. And that was just three weeks after hitting an all-time low of 4.71%.
On a historical or even year-to-date scale, a rate of just over 5% shouldn’t sound like bad news at all. Read the rest of this entry »
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HOT NEWS…Congress Extends First-Timer Tax Credit & Adds A New One For Move-Ups
November 5th, 2009 categories: Buying, The Economy
$8,000 For First-Timers, $6,500 For Some Move-Ups
Congress earlier today overwhelmingly approved long-awaited legislation extending the tax credit for first-time buyers and adopting a new tax credit for many move-up buyers.
Assuming President Obama signs the bill, which he’s already said he’ll do, the new law will go into effect as soon the existing tax credit expires at the end of this month.
So if you’re in escrow and qualify for the current $8,000 first-time buyer credit, as long as you close escrow by Nov. 30, nothing changes.
The new law extends the credit to Apr. 30, 2010 and allows an additional 60 day extension to close escrow for those who are already in contract by that date. Read the rest of this entry »
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Home Buyer Tax Credit Update: A New Credit May Be On The Books By Week’s End
October 27th, 2009 categories: Buying, The Economy
Update (10-31-09) Congress is still tweaking the bill and it appears that they’ll now vote on the bill sometime next week. The current proposal now calls for keeping the credit at $8,000 for first-time buyers and giving move-up buyers a $6,500 credit (as long as they’ve lived in their current home for at least 5 of the last 8 years).
Legislators were busy on the home buyer tax credit front earlier today, crafting what may soon be a new and improved home buyer tax credit. Well, not sure about “improved,” but it will definitely be new.
Keep in mind that all of this is still subject to change as Congress and the White House decide how best to keep the housing market moving forward without saddling the country with any extra unnecessary debt.
As of mid-day Tuesday, various real estate and media outlets were reporting that Senators had potentially reached agreement on Tax Credit III.
If nothing changes between now and the time President Obama signs it, according to what I’ve read and heard, here is what the new credit might look like: Read the rest of this entry »
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Tax Credit Update: Will It Stay Or Will It Go?
October 25th, 2009 categories: Buying, The Economy
With only 36 days to before the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit expires, the winds surrounding its fate are swirling all around Capitol Hill these days, as lawmakers try to decide whether to extend it or let it fade away.
From what I’ve been reading and hearing, there seems to be strong sentiment in Washington to extend the credit. But for how long or in what form still seems very much open to debate.
The options that have been bandied about in recent weeks include: Read the rest of this entry »
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First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Expires In Just 3 Months…Or Does It?
August 29th, 2009 categories: Buying, The Economy
The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit has been a boon to the real estate market — so much so that in today’s multiple-offer market, many first-timers are now worrying that they won’t be able to find a home and then close escrow before the credit expires at the end of November.
That Nov. 30 deadline is just three months away, which means if you’re not already in escrow on a regular sale or bank-owned purchase, you probably need to be in contract on a home in the next 30-45 days if you want to have a realistic chance of closing by the end of November.
And if you’re planning to buy a short sale, which can easily take 3-4 months to complete, Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Have The Banks Created An Artificial Market?
August 20th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Selling, Solano, Suisun City, The Economy, Vacaville, Vallejo, Viewpoint
This is the second and final part of this post. To read Part 1, click here.
In yesterday’s article, I talked about our expectations earlier this spring that hundreds of new bank-owned properties would come on the market shortly after the foreclosure moratoriums were lifted in early spring.
To date, those expectations haven’t come to fruition, which is bewildering, especially when most bank-owned homes continue to attract multiple-offers — sometimes with as many as 30+ offers on one house.
So the obvious question: have the banks really foreclosed on as many homes as we all suspect or have they Read the rest of this entry »
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Gaudy Solano County Home Sales Figures For March: More Proof We’ve Reached The Bottom?
April 26th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Suisun City, The Economy, Vacaville, Vallejo
March’s home sales numbers were again ‘off the charts’ throughout Solano County when compared to last March and they’re also stronger than Feburary’s totals, which, in turn, were stronger than January’s numbers.
All of this adds credence to the notion that the market may have already hit bottom in the lowest price ranges, as opportunistic investors and eager first-time buyers continue to descend on the market in record numbers.
Some of this month’s highlights: Read the rest of this entry »
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Will Obama’s Housing Plan Have An Impact In Benicia-Vallejo & Environs?
April 12th, 2009 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing, The Economy
It’s been a little more than a month since President Obama announced his Making Home Affordable housing plan. 
Unfortunately, in many parts of the country, including right here in Benicia, Vallejo and much of the rest of the Golden State, the plan likely won’t have much of an impact.
And, judging by what many of my colleagues in other parts of the state or country are saying, the program may be one of those that sounds good but has little impact in some of those areas as well.
In case you missed it, the Making Home Affordable Plan is supposed to help up to 9 million U.S. homeowners refinance or modify their loans in an effort to prevent responsible owner-occupants from instead becoming foreclosure casualties.
The program targets two different types of borrowers: Read the rest of this entry »
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Fairfield Had The Greatest Q4 Home Sales’ Increase In Entire U.S., Says Business Week
March 10th, 2009 categories: Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Solano, Suisun City, The Economy, Vacaville, Vallejo
It’s not often that Solano County makes national news. But in a recent article entitled “Signs Of Life From The Real Estate Market,” Business Week magazine, named Fairfield as the city with the largest increase in home sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 in the entire U.S.
That’s pretty heady stuff; not just being singled out by a nationally recognized magazine of Business Week’s stature, but also taking honors as the number one city in the entire country. Read the rest of this entry »
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New State Law Delays Foreclosures An Extra 90 Days…Well, Kinda-Sorta
March 2nd, 2009 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, The Economy
If you read details of California’s recently approved state budget, you probably saw mention of a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures that was attached to the approved budget.
Already, though, there’s been a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what the new state Foreclosure Prevention Act really does and doesn’t do. It’s being hailed as everything from the state’s foreclosure prevention end-all to nothing more than nine pages of meaningless, toothless legalese.
In its simplest terms, the budget amendment, authored by Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) essentially extends the foreclosure sale date an extra 90 days to allow borrowers additional time to hopefully work out an alternative with their lenders. Read the rest of this entry »
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