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Offers signed by Redfin customers dropped 20.2% between November and December 2013, compared to a 16.7% drop during the same period last year.
Homebuyers are increasingly concerned about their budget and overall homeownership affordability, argues Olson. “They're also worried about facing stiff competition in the coming months as more buyers enter the market." -- Amilda Dymi in Origination News.
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RealtyTrac released its U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report for December 2013, which shows that 9.3 million U.S. residential properties were deeply underwater, or about 1 in 5 of every property with a mortgage.
That was down from 10.7 million residential properties deeply underwater in September 2013, representing 23% of all properties with a mortgage, and down from 10.9 million properties deeply underwater in January 2013, representing 26% of all properties with a mortgage. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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Shanghai, JinMao Tower
Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong
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Nat'l Real Estate Post: Bitcoin
What an interesting thing to consider. Let’s say you made a million dollars worth of Bitcoin in a year. Do you know what your tax liability is on that? Nothing. Yep, nothing. Can you buy stuff with Bitcoin? Yep, all kinds of stuff and now it appears houses are in that mix. Everyday more and more companies are accepting Bitcoin as payment for their goods or services.
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
First on the list is QM of course. People might not be able to qualify for as much as they used to. There are going to be fewer loan options available to them as well since many lenders simply won’t offer programs that don’t fit the safest aspects of QM.
Then there are increased Loan Level Price adjustments. These are adjustments in pricing on a buyers loan based on their profile. Things like their credit score, loan to value and property type already impact the pricing on a loan, but this year they’re going up.
How about the “g-fee” increase? This is how the GSE’s make money. They increase them to make more money and supposedly encourage private capital into the market. When the g-fee increases, it makes it down the the rate sheet and your buyer pay more. Well, we have a new FHFA Director coming in, Mel Watt, and he’s temporarily put a hold on these increases until he can see why their being bumped. For now it’s slowed down, but you can expect them to rise.
And finally insurance. FHA mortgage insurance is expected to rise, especially if there’s another FHA bailout. Flood insurance it off the charts higher in some areas due to the Biggert-Waters Act and FEMA’s rezoning of many flood zone areas. But the one insurance that’s not going up is PMI. Private mortgage insurance is getting a little better with decreasing foreclosure activity.
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Shared by Uros Kralj
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
In real estate news and mortgage news, it looks as though the McMansion is making a comeback. According to the NAHB, property square footage is on the rise and lot sizes are on the decline. Hey, we’re Americans. That’s how we roll right?
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency delayed plans to raise the base guarantee fee by 10 basis points on all mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giving newly appointed FHFA Director Mel Watt more time to evaluate the changes. -- HousingWire
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Yaroslavl, Russia
Shared by Tina En
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Construction won't return to normal this year, but it will strengthen enough to be the main driver of the housing recovery as home price gains shrink, says investment manager Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Average rates for a fixed 30-year mortgage will rise to 5.5% by the end of 2014, says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. Rates have already risen about 1 percentage point in the past year as the economy has strengthened. They'll be pushed up further as the Federal Reserve winds down its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program. -- Julie Schmit in USA Today
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Petra, Jordan
Shared by Toktam Na
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Unemployment is at its highest since the 1920's. When people are unemployed for long periods of time, employers deem them less employable. That means there are fewer people qualified to buy homes. The gov't wants to extend unemployment insurance, this means another tax. The problem with a tax like this is where to get the money. No problem. We’ll just go to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You know, those two companies that are totally kicking ass right now making more money than any other government agency (thanks to their conservatorship), that a bunch of congress people want to tear down. Yeah, that company. This tax will be in the form of a g-fee. That means homeowners will be paying for unemployment insurance.
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Shared by Uros Kralj
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At year-end, single-family starts are up 15% from 2012, according to the Census Bureau.
Meanwhile, multifamily starts fell 18% to a 312,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in December from a 380,000 rate in November. Multifamily starts are up 25% year-over-year. -- Brian Collins in Origination News
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The real estate market forecast looks ahead for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2014. The forecast covers more than 1,000 counties, 345 metro areas and 13,770 zip codes.
The company expects 5.1% appreciation over the next 12 months, rising from a 4.8% forecast last quarter and marking the sixth consecutive quarter where the index has shown forecast appreciation. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire
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