Median Home Prices up 18.5% in King County

March 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

A few days ago, I shared an article about how the greater Seattle – Bellevue – Everett area is one of the top 5 places in the country to be a home seller.  Yesterday’s article in the Seattle Times appears to back that up.

A record-low inventory of homes for sale in King County, very low interest rates and a growing Puget Sound economy combined to push the median price of houses sold in February to $365,000, an 18 percent jump over a year ago.

Only 2,947 homes were listed for sale in King County last month, down from 5,178 a year ago, according to Tuesday’s report by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

I’m currently working with several pre-approved buyers who are ready, able and wanting to buy a home in this area. What they need is more inventory.

If you have been considering selling your home, now could be the time. You may find that you have an advantage being listed before other homes plan to go on the market for Spring.

If you are planning on buying a home, I cannot stress enough how important it is to be prepared for competition. It’s crucial to be fully preapproved with a local, reputable mortgage professional.

If you’re considering buying a home in King County, or any county in Washington state, I’m happy to help you with your mortgage needs. 

Filed Under: Residential Purchase Tagged With: ,

Reader Question: Do underwriting guidelines vary between lenders?

March 5, 2013 by 1 Comment

I recently received this email from a Mortgage Porter subscriber:

Do different banks need different underwriting documents? I am talking to two lenders now, and one will give me a lower rate but asks for the bank statement from my family which wires me money; the other one has a higher rate but only needs a gift letter. Is it because some banks are more strict because of their lower rate? Thanks.

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Filed Under: Underwriting and Qualifying Tagged With: , , ,

Mortgage Rate update for the week of March 4, 2013

March 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This week’s economic calender would be considered a little on the light side if not for Friday’s Jobs Report. Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week.

Tuesday, March 5: ISM Services Index

Wednesday, March 6: ADP National Employment Report and the Beige Book

Thursday, March 7: Initial Jobless Claims and Productivity

Friday, March 8: THE JOBS REPORT

Remember, signs of inflation tend to drive mortgage rates higher. You may also notice that when the stock markets are doing well, mortgage rates tend to rise as investors will trade the safety of bonds (like mortgage backed securities) for the potential greater return of stocks.

Mortgage rates are still very low, however they have been trending higher over the last several weeks.

If I can provide you with a rate quote for a home purchase or refinance located anywhere in Washington state, please click here.

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: ,

What is the Difference Between Fannie Mae Homepath and Freddie Mac Homesteps? [UPDATED]

February 27, 2013 by 3 Comments

EDITORS NOTE: Fannie Mae is no longer offering the FannieMae HomePath mortgage program. If you are considering buying a Fannie Mae HomePath property (foreclosure that is owned by Fannie Mae) in Washington state, I’m happy to help you.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both offer special incentives to entice buyers to properties they have foreclosed on. Fannie Mae’s program is called Homepath and Freddie Mac’s is Homesteps. Although the names some similar, their incentives are VERY different. What Fannie Mae Homepath and Freddie Mac Homesteps do have in common is that the properties are generally in better shape than other distressed homes.

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Filed Under: Fannie, Freddie and FHFA, Homepath, Homesteps Tagged With: ,

The Seattle – Bellevue – Everett area named as a Top 5 Place to Sell Your Home

February 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch has named the Seattle – Bellevue – Everett area as one top five markets in the nation for selling your home. From the article:

Homes are flying off the market in Seattle. Listed properties spent a median of 56 days on the market as of January, down 38% from a year ago, according to Realtor.com. That’s almost half the median time homes are listed nationally….

….buyers have been left with a smaller number of homes to bid on, which in turn encourages multiple offers on properties that can push the purchase price higher than the asking price, experts say. There were fewer than 4,000 homes for sale in the Seattle metro area as of January, down 44% from a year prior, according to Realtor.com. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fannie, Freddie and FHFA, Real Estate Agents Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Mortgage rate update for the week of February 25, 2013

February 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This week is packed with economic indicators that may impact the direction of mortgage interest rates. Mortgage rates have been slowly inching higher since the end of last year. Rates are still very low and you can still get a 30 year in the 3’s – the rate just cost more than it did a month ago.

Here are a few of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:

Tuesday, February 26: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, New Home Sales and Consumer Confidence

Wednesday, February 27: Durable Goods Orders and Pending Home Sales

Thursday, February 28: Initial Jobless Claims, GDP – Gross Domestic Product and Chicago PMI

Friday, March 1: Personal Consumption Expenditures and Core PCE, ISM Index and Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM)

Tomorrow, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be in front of Congress to begin his two day testimony on monetary policy. In addition, $85 billion in automatic budget cuts are set to go into effect on Friday unless Congress takes action.

Remember, mortgage rates are based on mortgage backed securities (bonds) and when stocks are performing, mortgage rates tend to rise. This is because investors will trade the safety of bonds for the possible higher return available from stocks.

The only way to secure today’s mortgage rate is by locking it! You can see examples of “live” mortgage rates I’m quoting by following me on Twitter @mortgageporter or Facebook/WashingtonMortgagePro.

If I can help you with your refinance or home purchase on property located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me.

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: , , ,

FOMC Minutes and Tid Bits

February 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Yesterday the Fed released minutes from last month’s FOMC meeting. The minutes reveal the committee is debating easing or ceasing the purchase of mortgage backed securities before the end of this year. 

A number of participants stated that an ongoing evaluation of the efficacy, costs, and risks of asset purchases might well lead the Committee to taper or end its purchases before it judged that a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market had occurred.

The Fed cannot continue to keep mortgage rates at their manipulated lows forever. Industry experts estimate that if the Fed was not involved with keeping mortgage rates low with the buying of mortgage backed securities, rates would be closer to “jumbo” rates (about a full point higher in rate).

Other points I of interest from the minutes – at least to me 🙂  

…some participants were concerned that the recent increase in the payroll tax could have a significant negative effect on spending, particularly on the part of lower-income consumers.

Effective the beginning of this year, did you notice your pay check is 2% less? Congress allowed the expiration of the payroll tax cut to expire during the “fiscal cliff”. During 2011 and 2012, Americans caught a break and only paid 4.2% of their incomes for social security; we’re now back to paying 6.2%. If your monthly gross income is $5000, then your monthly take home pay is $100 less than what you had before this payroll tax.

If you’re a home owner who has not refinanced in the last year, you may want to contact your local mortgage professional to see if it makes sense. Reducing your mortgage rate can help off set the payroll tax and reduce the amount of interest you’re paying on your mortgage.  Click here if you would like a rate quote for homes located anywhere in Washington state.

Participants remarked on the ongoing recovery in the housing market, pointing variously  to rising house prices, growth in residential construction and sales, and the lower inventory of homes for sale. A number of participants thought it likely that higher home values and low mortgage rates were helping support other sectors of the economy as well, and a couple saw the housing market as having the potential to cause overall growth to be stronger than expected this year…

In the greater Seattle area, home prices continue to increase and I’m hearing from home buyers that they wish there was more inventory to chose from. If you’ve been considering selling your home, this could be a good time to meet with a real estate agent. If you need me to refer one to you, I’m happy to do so! 

….Nonetheless, it was noted that mortgage credit remained tight and the fraction of homeowners with mortgage balances exceeding the value of their homes remained high.

Those seeking a mortgage, whether it’s for refinancing or buying a home do need to qualify and it is a “full doc” process. However, it’s not impossible. You need to be prepared to provide all income and asset documents, have steady employment and good credit. If you are considering buying a home (or even refinancing) in the next 12 months, I recommend starting with a preapproval now. 

Home owners who are still upside down with the loss of their home equity may still be able to take advantage of today’s low rates if:

  • they qualify for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0). This is eligible for conforming mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to June 1, 2009 on primary residences, second homes or investment properties. Or…
  • the existing mortgage to refinance is FHA, an FHA streamlined refinance may be possible for primary residence or investment properties. Or…
  • the existing mortgage is VA or USDA. 

If you are looking at buying a home or refinancing anywhere in the state of Washington, I’m happy to help you!

Filed Under: The Fed - FOMC Tagged With: , , ,

Five weeks remaining before FHA mortgage insurance premiums increase

February 20, 2013 by 2 Comments

HUD has scheduled another increase to FHA annual mortgage insurance premiums effective with new case numbers obtained April 1, 2013 and later. FHA’a annual mortgage insurance premiums are paid monthly and are set to rise by 10 basis points.

For example, a base loan amount of $400,000 with a loan to value of 95% or lower, currently has a monthly mortgage insurance premium of $396.65 based on a rate of 1.20%. After the new mortgage insurance rates go into effect, this monthly premium will be $429.71 – an increase of $33.06 per month.

NOTE: Home owners who currently have FHA insured mortgages for their primary or investment properties and who had those mortgages guaranteed by FHA prior to June 1, 2009 will still qualify for reduced mortgage insurance premiums with FHA streamlined refinances. If you’re not one of these lucky home owners, you may want to take action now!

In addition, with new FHA loans as of June 3, 2013, FHA mortgage insurance will remain on the life of the loan. The only way to terminate it is to refinance out of an FHA loan or pay the loan off. Currently, FHA annual mortgage insurance is set to drop off the loan after it reaches a 78% loan to value and a minimum of 60 mortgage payments have been made. However with a minimum down payment scenario, it often takes closer to nine years before the loan to value reaches 78%. I would bet that many Washington home owners either refinance or sell their homes before their mortgage insurance drops off. Regardless, if you want to avoid having to pay FHA mortgage insurance for the life of that FHA insured mortgage, you’ll need to have your FHA case number prior to June 3, 2013.

What can you do?

If you want to avoid having a higher mortgage payment and you’re considering an FHA loan for your refinance or home purchase, you have a short window of opportunity to secure your lower payment now. An FHA Case number is not your application date. It is actually obtained shortly after you have a bona fide transaction and application. As we near the April 1 date, if you have a new FHA mortgage in process, you will want to confirm with your mortgage professional that your FHA case number has been secured. (They can provide you your FHA case number as proof).

I have been helping people with FHA insured mortgages since April 2000 at Mortgage Master Service Corporation. If you would like me to provide you with a rate quote for your home located anywhere in Washington State, click here.

Filed Under: FHA, Mortgage Insurance Tagged With: ,
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