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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Sales of New Homes Post End-of-Year Jump

Sales of newly built single-family homes soared 11.6 percent in December over the previous month,
as the new-construction market continued to gain ground heading into the new year.

Single-family new-home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000 units in December, nearly 9 percent above December 2013 levels, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The inventory of new-homes for sale also rose, reaching a 5.5-month supply at the current sales pace. The median price of a new home sold in December was $298,100, up from November’s $291,600 median price.

“This uptick is in line with what our builders are telling us in surveys and on the ground—that they are seeing increased traffic and more serious buyers in the market for single-family homes,” says Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.

The Northeast posted the largest gain of 53.6 percent in December month-over-month, followed by a 17.1 percent increase in the South, and 3.1 percent rise in the West. The Midwest was the only region in the U.S. to post a decrease in new-home sales in December, falling 11.5 percent last month.

"After a slow start to 2014 precipitated by bad weather conditions, new-home sales have ramped up in the second half of the year," says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "We can expect this momentum to continue into 2015 with the release of pent-up demand, particularly as existing-home owners are trading up."

Source: National Association of Home Builders and “Volatile New Home Sales Jump 11.6% in December,” Forbes.com (Jan. 27, 2015)

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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

5 FOOLISH MISTAKES FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS

Buying a home is exciting, especially when you're buying for the first time. In the midst of all of the excitement, it's easy to become blinded by beautiful back-splashes, granite and quartz counter tops, hardwood floors, and fenced-in backyards. While looking at homes that are completely perfect from top to bottom, you may begin to rationalize a larger purchase than you had originally planned for — "This house is perfect for me; it's worth $50,000 extra dollars for me to have a house with enough space in a perfect location," or "We were planning on spending a little bit of money on painting; we can spend $50,000 extra on this house because it doesn't need any work."

1. Overspending

Before you even look at a single property, you need to know exactly how much you can afford. There are several online calculator tools you can use, but these tools are only estimates. Use these tools as a guide, but then adjust the amount based on your individual situation. How much is your current rent payment? Did you meet that payment each month with ease, or was it a bit of a struggle each month? The payment you can afford right now is a good indicator of what you'll be able to afford in your new home.

Meet with a lender and get pre-approved for an amount you can afford. Also, keep in mind that it's always better to lean towards a lower amount, rather than a higher amount. You do not have to use the entire amount you're pre-approved for. Once you know how much you have to work with, then and only then should you start your house hunt.

2. Counting chickens before they hatch

When determining how much mortgage you can afford, base this amount on what you are earning today. That is, the income that you and your spouse earn from stable sources. If you're in your last year of law school, for instance, don't assume that you will be earning much more money in a year or two, so you can afford a larger payment. If your wife is expecting a big promotion, don't base your mortgage payment off of her potential salary increase. No one can predict the future, and although you may very well be in a better financial situation a year down the road, there is no guarantee.

3. Failing to account for closing costs, property taxes, HOA, and homeowner's insurance

When you rent a home, you generally only have one payment — rent — and then maybe renter's insurance, which is optional. When you buy a place, your mortgage payment is only the beginning of an array of costs. Homeowner's association fees can be as low as $0 or as high as a few hundred dollars per month, depending on where you live and the amenities and services offered.

Homeowners insurance and property taxes very based on your geographic location. Florida has notoriously high homeowner's insurance rates, where they average $161.08 per month. In Idaho and Wisconsin, rates are a bit lower, averaging below $50 per month, according to Value Penguin. Property taxes average higher in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Texas and Wisconsin and they're lower in Louisiana, Hawaii, and Alabama.

Then on top of all of those costs, if your down payment is less than 20 percent of the selling price, you may end up paying an additional cost — private mortgage insurance (PMI) — which is basically insurance for the lender in case you default on your loan.

At the end of it all, your $800 mortgage payment can easily turn into a $1,200 house payment.

4. Failing to protect yourself with home inspections, contingency clauses, etc.

During your house hunt, you may find a house that looks great at first glance. Then, as you walk through a few of the rooms, you notice problems with the house — maybe the floors squeak or the kitchen island is off-centered. After walking through the house, you come to realize that someone simply put lipstick on a pig, and this house is in questionable shape.

Home inspections provide you with some protection. The inspector will be able to find problems that you can't and you want to know these problems before you sign on. "The seller isn't likely to tell you there's mold in the basement or the walls are poorly insulated," reports MSN.

Contingency clauses also offer a form of protection. "A mortgage financing contingency clause protects you if, say, you lose your job and the loan falls through or the appraisal price comes in over the purchase price. Should one of these events occur, the buyer gets back the money he used to secure the property. Without the clause, he can lose that money and still be obligated to buy the house," explains Justin Lopatin, a mortgage planner with American Street Mortgage Co., to MSN.

5. Being too naive or too paranoid

Some first-time home buyers are naive. Overly optimistic, they think nothing could possible go wrong. If a home has a few problems, they view them as easy fixes and are unrealistic when it comes to the cost and time it takes to fix up the home. Some naive buyers will move to a neighborhood on the wrong side of town, forgetting that you can fix up a house, but you can't change your neighborhood or location without moving.

Paranoid buys are sometimes difficult to work with. They may not believe the price is an accurate assessment of the house's market value. They'll submit low-ball offers and then show frustration when they are consistently rejected. Paranoid buyers don't trust real-estate agents, and may even try to buy their home without an agent, which is generally an unwise choice.

Wall St. Cheat Sheet is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Monday, January 26, 2015

10 Tips to Sell Your Home Fast

With the correct approach and a little work, you can sell your home in record time

1. Price it right from the start

Sellers often think they should start the asking price high and then lower it later if the house fails to sell. But that can result in a slower sale – sometimes even at a lower price. “The first 30 days’ activity of your house being on the market is always the best activity you’re going to see,” says Michael Mahon, general manager of HER Realtors in Columbus, Ohio. If the price is too high, many buyers and their agents will stay away, assuming you’re not serious about selling or you’re unwilling to negotiate.

2. Enhance your home’s curb appeal

This could mean adding new sod, planting flowers, painting the front door or replacing the mailbox. Prospective buyers form an opinion the moment they spot the home. "Curb appeal is everything,” Mahon says. “Driving into the driveway and walking into that front door sets the expectations.”

3. Update the interior and exterior

New fixtures, fresh paint and updated landscaping are all fairly easy and affordable ways to give your home a makeover. “It’s got to look up to the current market conditions and what’s in style,” Mahon says.

4. Clean, declutter and depersonalize

The fewer things there are in the home, the larger it will look, so remove knickknacks and excess furniture. Also take down family photos, religious items and political posters so prospective buyers can envision their family in the house, not yours. Finally, you may want to hire a cleaning service to do a deep cleaning.

5. Stage the house to show how the rooms are supposed to be used

If you have odd rooms with no obvious role, give them one. An odd alcove off the kitchen could be staged as an office or a pantry, for example

6. Make the property easy to show.

The more flexible you are about visits, the more people will be able to see your home. Be ready for prospective visitors early in the morning, at night and on weekends, with little notice. Also, leave when the house is shown so would-be buyers can feel free to move about without feeling like intruders and discuss the home's pros and cons honestly.

7. Remove your pets

Also remove their paraphernalia, such as dog dishes and cat litter boxes (or at least hide them). A prospective buyer shouldn’t even know that a pet lives in the home if you can help it, Mahon says.

8. Make sure your listing is on all the major online portals

This is usually part of an agent’s service, but it doesn’t hurt to double-check that your listing is on Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com. It also helps if your agent showcases the home on social media. “We sell as many homes off Facebook as we do off the [multiple listing service],” Mahon says. Both the agency and the individual agents have Facebook business pages where they share listings.

9. Ensure the listing has good photos, and lots of them

Most homebuyers start their search online and decide which homes they want to see based on the photos. You probably want something better than snapshots taken quickly with your agent’s phone

10. Share information about life in the neighborhood

The listing should include photos not only of the house, but also of nearby recreation, dining and shopping areas. If the schools are good, make sure that information is in the listing. “You’re not only marketing the home – you’re marketing the lifestyle,” Mahon says.

By Teresa Myers

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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Homebuilders Remain Cautiously Confident!!

Builder confidence remained above a key benchmark, reflecting that most of the nation’s homebuilders view conditions in the new-home market positively, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released this week.

Builder confidence this month fell one point to 57. However, this marks the third consecutive month the index has been in the upper 50s, meaning that most builders view new-home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good” than “poor.”

“January’s HMI reading is in line with our forecast as we head into the new year,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Steady economic growth, rising consumer confidence, and a growing labor market will help the housing market continue to move forward in 2015.”

The monthly index gauges builder perceptions in the current new-home market based on home sales, buyer traffic, and sales expectations. Overall, builders appear to be the most optimistic in the West, with sentiment there rising four points in January to 66, followed by a three-point gain to 57 in the Midwest, and a two-point increase in the Northeast to 47. The South posted the only regional drop in builder confidence in January, falling two points to 58.

Source: National Association of Home Builders

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Keller Williams Realty

More Home Owners Are Remodeling Again

A housing index that measures activity in the remodeling market reached a record-high in the final quarter of 2014, showing that home owners are once again sprucing up their homes following a large slowdown in remodeling activity in the years following the Great Recession.

The National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index rose to 60 in the fourth quarter of 2014. Any reading above 50 indicates more remodelers are reporting higher market activity than those who say they are experiencing less activity.

“The recent pace and volume of business has been a boon to our remodeler members' confidence in the recovery of the housing market," says NAHB Remodelers Chair Paul Sullivan. "The upward trajectory of the RMI results over the past year has shown that home owners are ready, willing, and deciding to remodel."

All of the subcomponents measured within the index posted increases, including large additionssmall remodels, and maintenance and repair.

"Even with some weakness in existing homes sales and house prices earlier in the year, remodelers are upbeat as 2014 closes," says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "The consistent improvement in RMI results throughout 2014 are a sign of the gradual recovery of the remodeling market."

Source: National Association of Home Builders

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Friday, January 16, 2015

VARGOS ON THE LAKE

Vargos on the Lake is a new apartment community, but around Houston, the name Vargos stands for something more.

Over 50 years ago, the Vargos family opened a lake front restaurant on these grounds. Many native Houstonians tell stories of their engagement, prom, and special celebrations at Vargos.
This was also the site of countless weddings. We even found a gal named Varga because this was the spot her parents first fell in love.

Today’s Vargos on the Lake will serve as a home to 276 lucky residences.
We plan to carry on the Vargos tradition by honoring the name with special attention to our landscaping and Lake Vargo, creating wonderful memories in the family dining room, lakeside fire pit, outdoor kitchens and clubroom.
Our wish is that the time in your life that you spend at Vargos On the Lake will be regarded as one of the best times in your life.

2 Guest Suites

Dry Cleaning Valet

Cold Food Delivery Storage

Package Delivery Alert and Storage

24-Hour Maintenance Guarantee: All service requests will be responded to within 24 hours of report

Resident Services Coordinator
Yoga Classes
Weekly Social Calendar
Latte and Tea Bar
30 Day Move In Guarantee – We guarantee you will love living at Vargos or you can move out within the first 30 days of residency and only pay for the days you occupied your home and any damages incurred.

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Thursday, January 15, 2015

Dip in Foreclosures Could Turn Up in Spring

Foreclosure filings fell to 1.1 million in 2014, the lowest annual total since 2006, prior to the financial crisis, according to RealtyTrac's newly released Year-End 2014 Foreclosure Market Report. Foreclosure filings, which include default notices, bank repossessions, and auctions, were down 18 percent from 2013 and 61 percent from a 2010 peak of 2.9 million. They were at 717,522 in 2006.

"The U.S. foreclosure numbers in 2014 shows a foreclosure market that is close to finding a floor and stabilizing at a historically normal level," says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "But a recent surge in foreclosure starts and scheduled foreclosure auctions in several states in the last few months of 2014 indicates that lenders are gearing up for a spring cleaning of deferred distress in the first half of 2015 in some local markets."

Indeed, foreclosure starts rose in December from a year prior in 26 states, RealtyTrac reports. The states seeing the largest year-over-year rises in December were Massachusetts (up 323%); New Jersey (262%); Nevada (194%); Missouri (88%), and New York (33%).

"The December surge in foreclosure starts is not a cause for concern, as it comes from a previously existing supply of distressed properties," says Andres Carbacho-Burgos, senior economist at Moody's Analytics, which analyzes RealtyTrac foreclosure data. "The national pool of distressed mortgages has not increased despite the surge in foreclosure filings. The geographic location of the surge in foreclosure starts is not surprising. The list of states with increased activity in the last months of 2014 includes those with judicial foreclosure backlogs, such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Nevada is also not a judicial state but still has a substantial pool of seriously delinquent mortgages relative to the years before the housing crisis."

Despite the uptick in some states, foreclosure starts nationally dropped 14 percent year-over-year in 2014 and were 70 percent below their 2009 peak. Bank repossessions also fell to the lowest level since 2006.

States with the Highest Foreclosure Rates in 2014

Florida: 2.3%
New Jersey: 1.87%
Maryland: 1.69%
Illinois: 1.38%
Nevada: 1.32%

States with the Longest Average Time to Foreclose (4th Quarter)

Hawaii: 1,067 days
New Jersey: 1,057 days
Florida: 946 days
New York: 934 days
Illinois: 903 days

States with the Shortest Average Time to Foreclose (4th Quarter)

Texas: 207 days
North Carolina: 211 days
Georgia: 220 days
Wyoming: 230 days
Colorado: 238 days

Source: “Year-End 2014 Foreclosure Market Report,” RealtyTrac (Jan. 15, 2015

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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Buyers Turn to Credit Unions for Mortgages

Credit unions are increasingly pressing into a category traditionally reserved for banks: mortgages
More home buyers are turning to credit unions for mortgages, according to a new report by Sageworks, a financial information company. Credit unions have quadrupled their market share since 2006, according to industry consultant data from Callahan.

Sageworks recently identified the credit unions that are issuing the largest amount of mortgage volume by region. The top credit union in the southern United States and nation for mortgage volume was the Navy Federal Credit Union, which serves the military and their families. The Vienna, Va.–based credit union’s volume from first mortgages and lines of credit was $19.33 billion as of Sept. 30.

“Whether it’s through specific first-time homebuyer campaigns like some institutions have launched or just from the increased demand among consumers in their specific markets, the credit unions on this list process a large volume of mortgages,” says Sageworks analyst Libby Bierman.
The following credit unions had the highest amount of mortgage lending in the third quarter of 2014, broken down by region:

Northeast: Digital Federal Credit Union, based in Marlborough, Mass., produced a mortgage volume of $2.08 billion, followed by Bethpage Federal Credit Union in Bethpage, N.Y., at $2.02 billion.

South: Navy Federal Credit Union, based in Vienna, Va., did $19.3 billion, followed by State Employees’ Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C., at $13 billion.

Midwest: Alliant Credit Union in Chicago, Ill., did $3.6 billion, followed by Citizens Equity First Credit Union in Peoria, Ill., at $2.1 billion.

West: Boeing Employees Credit Union in Tukwila, Wash., issued $3.1 billion, followed by San Diego County Credit Union at $2.8 billion.

Source: “Mortgage Applicants Find a Home at Credit Unions,” Sageworks (Dec. 17, 2014) and “Homebuyers Finding a Home at Credit Unions,” Forbes.com (Jan. 11, 2015

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Friday, January 9, 2015

NAR: Home Sales Only Going Up From Here

Existing-home sales will likely rise about 7 percent this year, as a strengthening economy and job growth leads to a healthier market, according to the National Association of REALTORS®' 2015 housing forecast.

"Home prices have risen for the past three years cumulatively about 25 percent, which boosts confidence in the market and traditionally gives current home owners the ability to use their equity buildup as a down payment towards their next home purchase," says Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Furthermore, first-time buyers are expected to slowly return as the economy improves and new mortgage products are made available in the marketplace with low down payments and private mortgage insurance."

Still, Yun points to several "speed bumps" that could jeopardize the pace of the housing market's recovery, particularly the anticipated rise in mortgage rates expected to arrive this year. Yun points out that many home owners who have locked in some of the lowest mortgage rates in history in recent years may be more hesitant to give up their low financing rate to move. Lenders are also being slow to ease underwriting standards to more normalized levels.

Still, in a preliminary analysis, existing-home sales appeared to finish out 2014 around 4.94 million, a drop of 3 percent from 2013. But Yun anticipates that sales will rise to 5.3 million in 2015.
Yun is also forecasting growth in home prices, but at a more moderate pace than seen in recent years. The national median existing-home price for 2014 will likely near $208,000, up 5.6 percent from 2013, but it's expected to moderate between 4 percent and 5 percent growth in 2015

Source: National Association of REALTORS®

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Thursday, January 8, 2015

FHA Lowers Its Harangued Mortgage Costs

The Federal Housing Administration is reducing its annual mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage points in a move "to expand responsible lending to creditworthy borrowers," the White House said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

FHA also said it would take added steps over the next few months to "cut red tape and clarify lending standards" in reducing mortgage costs for hundreds of thousands of creditworthy borrowers, according to the White House.

The FHA's move comes after several calls from industry trade groups, associations, and members of Congress urging the agency to lower its insurance premiums, which were increasingly blamed for sidelining thousands of would-be buyers. FHA-backed loans allow buyers to put down as little as 3.5 percent of the purchase price, and they are a major financing resource for first-time buyers.
FHA's mortgage insurance premiums will be reduced from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent. The reduction in premiums on mortgages could save an average borrower $1,000 a year on a $200,000 loan, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

In 2013, the FHA required a $1.7 billion bailout from the government after suffering losses from a high number of loan defaults in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Since 2008, FHA has increased its annual premiums for FHA borrowers five times. The National Association of REALTORS® has estimated that nearly 400,000 creditworthy borrowers were priced out of the housing market in 2013 because of the higher costs in FHA insurance premiums. But in recent months, FHA has turned a profit, which has renewed calls from other groups to lower their insurance premiums to help open the credit box to more qualified borrowers.

"This action will make home ownership more affordable for over two million Americans in the next three years," says Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees FHA. "By bringing our premiums down, we're helping folks lift themselves up so they can open new doors of opportunity."

President Barack Obama is expected to announce more about FHA's new policy on Thursday in a speech in Phoenix. The housing policy is expected to go into effect by the end of the month.

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