Lowering Mortgage Interest Rates
Date: Thursday December 4, 2008Posted in: mortgage, real estate, foreclosures, interest rates, mortgage industry, refinance
Mortgage interest rates are very attractive right now and could become absolutely irresistible in the near future. Interest rates are in the mid-5% for a thirty year fixed rate mortgage below the jumbo level of $729,750. Although the jumbo rate will be lowered to a cap of $625,500 beginning in 2009, it was in the news today that financial industry lobbyists are pushing a plan that could help send interest rates down to 4.5% to shake up the housing industry.
Should this plan be enacted, not only will it increase home sales, but the lending industry will be performing mortgage refinances like there’s no tomorrow. The lenders that I know are already up to their eyeballs in refi’s due to the great interest rates currently available.
Will this help curb foreclosures? It will most likely help those who need to refinance their loans - unless they are some of the unlucky ones who are no longer employed…
Just How Far Did South County Home Prices Fall?
Date: Tuesday November 18, 2008Posted in: price, real estate, short sale, foreclosures, Santa Clara County, Morgan Hill, South Santa Clara County, Gilroy, MLS, statistics, housing market, pricing, average price, home selling, Morgan Hill Real Estate, Gilroy real estate
I’ve had several clients and friends recently ask me just what, exactly, have home prices been doing in south Santa Clara County since they peaked. And, by the way, just when did they peak? To answer that question, I turned to MLSListings Pro where Realtors go to look at the Multiple Listing Service.
Here’s what I found for Morgan Hill: Morgan Hill’s average home sale price peaked in September, 2006 at $1,091,144. The average sale price for the year of 2006 was $945,240. The average sold home price in 2007 didn’t dip too drastically, but did fall 5% to $901,582. Our most recent data for 2008 through the third quarter shows an average sale price of $767,900.
For Morgan Hill, that is a total drop in average home sale prices from the year of 2006 to the end of the third quarter in 2008 of 19%.
And for Gilroy, the statistics look a little gloomier: Gilroy’s average home sale price peaked in the year 2006 with an overall average sale price for single family homes of $800,620 for that year. The average sale price for a Gilroy home in 2007 barely moved from the previous year and was $796,676. But through the third quarter of this year, the average sale price for 2008 is $565,278.
For Gilroy, that is a total drop in average home sale prices from the year of 2006 to the end of the third quarter in 2008 of 30%.
Gilroy has been particularly hard hit with foreclosures and short sales and those “distressed” listings seem to be what is selling there, so of course, that will drag down the average sale price for the city. If you live in Gilroy and you want to know how much your home may be worth now, don’t just automatically take 30% off what you think your house was worth in 2006. Each house is still valued individually and there are many factors that make up its worth. Call me for a thorough, in-depth market analysis if you are considering selling your home.
There was a time when Patience ceased to be a virtue. It was long ago.
Date: Wednesday May 7, 2008Posted in: REO, real estate, short sale, foreclosures, short sales, Realtor, banks, foreclosure, commission
(Title quote from Charlotte Perkins Gilman)
I currently have three offers out on short sale properties. Banks are taking forever to respond to these offers. One offer was submitted on March 1, 2008, one on March 30, 2008, and one was just submitted on May 5, 2008. I don’t have a response on any of them. Thank goodness my clients are aware that they will have to be extremely patient while waiting for a response from the seller’s bank (or banks if there is more than one loan on the property.) But, in the meantime, new properties are coming on the market, and the sellers and the banks may lose what offers they currently have on the table as buyers are always looking….
Anecdotally, the banks don’t seem to realize the value of the Realtors who list the short sales or those who represent buyers who make offers on the short sales. Banks want to severely cut our commissions. From what I understand regarding short sales versus foreclosures/REOs, banks would be much better off financially if they would work with the Realtors in a timely manner, pay our full commissions and get these short sales closed. The banks’ losses will be much greater if these short sales work through the foreclosure process and end up as REOs. And with the way the system is working currently, it is very probable that the majority of short sales will become REOs. Ironically, once the REOs are listed on the MLS, the seller, i.e. the bank, usually offers 3% commission to the buyer’s agent.
