week in review

I wanted to share with you what is about to roll out that could truly assist our past clients, in the event they call you with questions about President Obama’s revision to the HARP refinance program that will be released December 1st.  Current home owners can now refinance provided they meet the following criteria.  Highlighted in yellow is the significant change to the program:

·         Current mortgage must be owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae

·         The mortgage must have been closed prior to May 31^st, 2009

·         Must be current and meet traditional conventional loan credit standards

·         Loan to Value is no longer calculated.  (Previously LTV could not exceed 105%.  Technically the LTV could have gone to 125% but very few lenders participated at these LTVs)

This is a huge win for Nevada.  There are really only a few markets where housing depreciated by more than 125%, so the majority of the home owners across the country were able to take advantage of the program when it first rolled out nearly 2 years ago, while many home owners in Nevada were “left out in the cold”.  Please feel free to share this email with your past clients.  Every home that doesn’t go into foreclosure is another home that won’t be listed on the MLS for sale, and our housing market recovers sooner.  Savings of $100-$200 per month per household will also be a boost to our local economy, as it will provide more discretionary spending. 

Financial Markets

The Dow Jones quietly had its best month ever, increasing over 1,000 points, over 12%.  The Dow ended Friday at 12,231.  The bond market, in typical fashion, moved in the opposite direction, and mortgage rates have gone back up to the levels they were from about 1 month ago. 

Southern Nevada Real Estate and Economy

September Sales data is more of the same.  405 new home sales recorded with an average sales price just over $206,000.  4,281 resale homes were recorded for the month with a median price of $108,100.  50% of the homes were foreclosures, roughly 25% were short sales and slightly over 50% of the homes were purchased with cash. 

http://www.lvrj.com/business/las-vegas-home-sale-prices-rose-in-september-132162568.html

week in review

Financial Markets

The Dow Jones ended Friday down, but for the week up over 200 points, arriving at 11,103.  September unemployment report was released and 103,000 jobs were created for the month, far exceeding expectations.  That isn’t saying much, expectations were dismal as a result of August’s unemployment report showed 0 jobs created.  Included in the September report was an upward revision to August numbers, which showed that actually 57,000 jobs were created in August, not 0…Woops…. 

Southern Nevada Real Estate and Economy

Below is an article in the Las Vegas RJ reporting that the Clark County Commission issued over 4 million dollars in federal funds to rehabilitate and sell houses by Eastern and the 95.  The funds will also go towards down payment assistance for the buyers purchasing the homes.  

http://www.lvrj.com/news/commission-oks-4-million-in-federal-funds-to-buy-rehabilitate-and-resell-homes-131116398.html

On a random note, the Las Vegas Ski Resort is open for business!  It is the first ski resort in the U.S. to open.  http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/oct/08/las-vegas-ski-resort-first-country-open/

Posted again in case you missed it

We are now seeing prospective home buyers that have had a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale in the past looking to re-engage in to home ownership.  So, the following question gets asked often now: When can someone who had a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale purchase a home again?  Below is a generic breakdown of when someone can purchase a home after such an event:

Conventional Loans:

·         Short sale/Deed in lieu of foreclosure: 2 years (with 20 percent down) OR 4 years with 10% down.

·         Bankruptcy: 4 years from discharge date

·         Foreclosure: 7 years from the date the bank takes the home back. 

FHA Loans:

·         Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: 2 years

·         Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Can be in it, provided they have been making on time payments for a minimum of 1 year and acquire permission from trustee.

·         Foreclosure/deed in lieu/short sale: 3 years from the date the home is transferred to new owner/bank.

We are starting to see hard money lenders crop up that are willing to lend to a borrower sooner, but typically would require a minimum of 20-30% down, charge 3-5 points and offer a rate typically in the double digits. 

weekly comments

We are now seeing prospective home buyers that have had a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale in the past looking to re-engage in to home ownership.  So, the following question gets asked often now: When can someone who had a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale purchase a home again?  Below is a generic breakdown of when someone can purchase a home after such an event:

Conventional Loans:

·         Short sale/Deed in lieu of foreclosure: 2 years (with 20 percent down) OR 4 years with 10% down.

·         Bankruptcy: 4 years from discharge date

·         Foreclosure: 7 years from the date the bank takes the home back. 

FHA Loans:

·         Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: 2 years

·         Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Can be in it, provided they have been making on time payments for a minimum of 1 year and acquire permission from trustee.

·         Foreclosure/deed in lieu/short sale: 3 years from the date the home is transferred to new owner/bank.

We are starting to see hard money lenders crop up that are willing to lend to a borrower sooner, but typically would require a minimum of 20-30% down, charge 3-5 points and offer a rate typically in the double digits. 

Financial Markets

The Dow Jones ended the day down 240 points, landing at 10,913 and putting the explanation point on the worst performing quarter in 3 years.  Friday’s catalyst for the sell-off actually came from China, as an important manufacturing report showed contraction for the 3^rd consecutive month.  This is concerning to investors because China, one of the only healthy economies, is showing signs of a slow-down.  A sluggish Chinese economy could accelerate problems for the global economy. 

The bond market rallied as a result of the stock market sell-off, and mortgage rates improved slightly.

Southern Nevada Real Estate and Economy

Below is an interesting article about the resurgence of the down town Las Vegas real estate market as well as commercial interest that developers have in the area. 

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/27/interest-residing-downtown-soars/

Below is an article on a plan to develop a trail system that encompasses the entire valley.  This really doesn’t have anything to do with real estate but think it’s a great concept!

http://www.lvrj.com/news/group-unveils-new-trail-plan-for-valley-130900908.html