Monday, December 8, 2014
Jobs up + oil prices down = sunny economic climate for US
As many
of you know, I joined WJ Bradley in the middle of November. The
transition will enable me to better serve your clients through exceptional
customer service and an even wider product offering. I am looking forward
to a highly successful 2015 with you!
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
NHD's down payment assistance program is HIP....
PRODUCT ALERT! (THIS IS BIG…I AM TYPING IN
ALL CAPS SO IT MUST BE)
For more real estate financing information, please visit my website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
Nevada Housing Division gave its down payment assistance
program a complete overhaul and you will want to get educated on the new
program and its parameters. "Home
is Possible" (HIP...I just made that up)...will be by far the most
commonly used DPA (down payment assistance) program in the state. Below are the cliff notes:
·
Up to 4% GRANT (not 2nd mortgage)
·
Maximum income is $95,500
·
No First Time Home Buyer requirement….Buyers simply must occupy
·
No re-capture tax
· Valid for up
to $400,000 sales price
Call my cell or email me and schedule a brief 15 minute
appointment to learn more about the program! 702-372-2427
Financial Markets
Stocks nose-dived this past week roughly 600 points as investors
struggle with a strengthening US economy vs. weakening global economic
conditions. On the optimistic side of
the coin investors are amped about the anticipation of a strong Q3 earnings
season. The Fed Reserve’s increasingly
positive rhetoric for the overall health of the US economy has investors long
on stocks as well. That was not enough
to overcome investor concerns of a cooling economy in China and a deflationary
interest rate environment in Europe, and by Friday, the Dow closed at 16,544,
down .2% for the year.
As is often the case, mortgage rates have improved while stocks
struggle to find a floor. The Fannie Mae
3.5 coupon has improved by 200 basis points over the past month and rates
haven’t been this low since June of 2013.
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
Grabbing the headlines locally this week is the opening Downtown
Summerlin mall. I would have never
expected to be moved by the opening of a mall.
I attended the grand opening Thursday night and was surprised at the
sense of pride I felt being that I live on that side of town and would drive by
the stalled project every day for the past 6 years. http://downtownsummerlin.com/. It’s too early to estimate the economic
effects of the mall, as many surrounding stores simply closed down existing
locations to move to the mall, leaving vacancies at their current
locations. The mall certainly has its
share of tenants that maintained their current locations as well so the overall
impact has to be deemed as a positive one.
For more real estate financing information, please visit my website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
Monday, September 22, 2014
Fannie Mae changes to guidelines not all bad
PPRODUCT ALERT!
We know Fannie Mae now requires a 4 year seasoning after a short-sale, however they have also made positive changes to their “prior derogatory credit event” policy. Improvements to the policy are as follows:
·
If a borrower
filed a bankruptcy and included a foreclosure in the bankruptcy, they can
qualify 4 yrs after bankruptcy discharge. (Prior
policy required 7 yrs after foreclosure and foreclosure date was based on Clark
County records).
·
If a borrower was
dismissed from a chapter 13 bankruptcy, they are eligible 2 yrs after dismissal
date. (Prior policy required 4 yrs after
dismissal)
· ***There is much discussion with regards to
“extenuating circumstances”. Once Fannie
provides more guidance, this could certainly allow for more borrowers to become
eligible for financing. Under the
“extenuating circumstance” policy, many economic events can be as recent as 2
years ago and the borrower can qualify for conventional financing.
Financial Markets
The Dow Jones ended the week at 17,279, and is up nearly 1,000 pts since August 7th. The US Dollar has also continued its run of gaining against other major currencies, as the US economy continues to outperform other nations' economies and the Fed attempts to wind down its quantitative-easing. The US Dollar ended Friday at a price of 1.28 against the Eruo.
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
The unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% for the month of August, down from 8.2% in the month of July, and down from 10% in August of 2013. The construction sector led the way for job growth, followed by Professional and Business services. The rate is still considerably elevated with respect to the national average (6.1%), however, the rate is nearly half of what it was at the peak of the recesion, where the jobless rate reached over 14%., just less than 4 years ago. http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/economy/job-growth-helps-drive-unemployment-six-year-low
Home sales for Southern Nevada in the month of August continues
along a similar trajectory, with median prices up year over year (up 9.7%), and
activity slowing. 2,401 single family
home sales are down from July and from August of 2013. Inventory continues to climb, with 10,892
active listings being reported, which is up by over 700 from July and up nearly
2,000 listings from the same month last year.
Below is a great fact sheet from Chicago Title with regards to August
home sales in Southern Nevada. http://jamielewis.rereport.com/market_reports?formSubmit=1&searchtype=search&emailtype=search&period=1&area=113&cities=0&locations=0&yearmonth=2014-8&proptype=1&mailer=1&redirected=1
For more real estate financing information, please visit my website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
Monday, August 11, 2014
Freddie says mortgage rates will reach 5% by this time next year
PRODUCT ALERT!
Last week to get your clients putting 20%
and applying for a conventional loan 2 years after a short sale under contract!
Financial Markets
Stocks continued to lose ground as the Dow shed nearly 600 pts in
the past 2 weeks before rallying Friday and landing at 16,553. The Dow rallied nearly 200 points for the day
as reports of American involvement in Iraq appear to be less intrusive than
initially anticipated, and news broke that Russia has ceased military exercises
near the Ukrainian boarder.
The Fannie Mae 3.5 Coupon, as often is the case when stocks sell
off, rallied and improved by about 75 basis points over the past 2 weeks, which
loosely translates into about a .125% improvement in rate to the consumer.
A client asked me what rates were going to do and asked me if he
should lock. I gave him my standard
rhetoric: “No one can say what rates will do.
Any one that tells you they know what rates will do is a fool”. He asked me again, so I googled, for kicks,
“what will rates do”? I stumbled onto a
very informative publication released by Freddie Mac. In a nut shell, the report predicts that
mortgage rates will “rise to 5% by the middle of 2015”. Great forecasting information for the economy
and housing market on a macro level.
Take a look! http://www.freddiemac.com/finance/pdf/July_2014_public_outlook.pdf
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
The median sales price of resale homes hit a 6 year high for the month of July, up .1% from June and reaching $200,000. This is up just over 11% from July of 2013 and the highest since August of 2008. The peak price of median resale homes at one point hit $315,000, in June of 2006. The abyss was realized in January of 2012, where the median price home dropped to $118,000, a measly 63% decline from peak to trough. http://vegasinc.com/business/real-estate/2014/aug/08/rising-las-vegas-home-prices-hit-nice-milestone/?_ga=1.66807850.564569733.1395507077
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Tsunami of foreclosures finally here? We are about to find out.
PRODUCT ALERT! (Listing Agents, you’ll
like this!)
First Cal Mortgage is proud to release
“Listing Marketing” to our preferred business partners. We create websites for each of your listings
that you can post on the various social media sites, provide sign riders to
capture perspective buyers, and give you access to slick flyers! Take a look at the link and contact me if you
are interested! http://matthewmaltese.mysalebook.com
Financial Markets
Friday capped the Dow’s biggest weekly loss in 7 weeks, ending the
day at 16,960 (according to the app on my I phone). The Dow lost over 100 pts during the first
hour of the opening bell Friday, after Visa and Amazon released disappointing earnings
reports. 2nd Quarter earnings reports
season has turned out to be a positive one thus far, as nearly 70% of the
companies in the S and P 500 have either met or topped earnings estimates.
The Fannie Mae 3.5 and GNMA 3.5 coupons have avoided turbulent
trading over the past 2 weeks, with only a variance of just 40 basis points
between the high and low. This basically
means that 30 yr fixed rates haven’t moved more than .125% one way or the
other. It appears to be a stale mate
between a positive earnings season and geopolitical unrest, and as a result the
mortgage-backed securities are sailing through calm waters.
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
According to a report recently released by Auction Control
Systems, notice of defaults are on the rise and will continue to do so over the
upcoming months, and would more than likely lead to a dip in sales prices in
the upcoming months. NODs for the month
of July project to be nearly 1,000 (less than 200 in January of this year) and
the company expects “2,000 notices monthly by fourth quarter”. The report goes on to state that the banks
have navigated through State Senate Bill 321, and are finally able to
properly execute the foreclosure from a
legal stand point.
Below is a thorough, interactive real estate sales report for the
month of June. Most of the data has been
covered in previous update, but is still a useful report if you are interested
in keeping current with trends. Thanks
Chicago Title!
For more real estate financing information, please visit my
website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
Monday, July 14, 2014
Cash Buyers and Investors Gambliing Less on Las Vegas Real Estate
PRODUCT ALERT!
Fannie Mae recently released the notes for its August DU release (when Fannie Mae makes changes to its automated underwriting system, DU, it announces the changes in advance). It appears that Fannie Mae will require 4 years to pass before someone with a short sale can qualify for a conventional loan. Currently the wait time is 2 yrs for a borrower with 20% down. It is scheduled to take place on August 16th, so all borrowers under contract by August 15th will still be able to close with just 2 years after a short sale. First Cal is still waiting for the official announcement from the VP of underwriting.
Financial Markets
The Dow continued to lurch forward in recent weeks, this past Friday closing at 16,943. The markets have been relatively stable, the Dow’s high point (nearly 17,100) and low point (above 16,800) over the past month is less than 300 points or less than 2% in fluctuation in either direction. The Dow is up roughly 1,000 points from 1 yr ago, or up nearly 6%.
The bond market, and in particular, the Fannie Mae 3.5 coupon (The instrument that consumer’s mortgage rates are most directly tied to) has been equally stable. The instrument hasn’t traded higher than 102.8 or lower that 101.7 in the past month. A little more than 100 basis points separated the high and low, which is equivalent to about .25% in interest rate to the consumer.
In short, both stocks and mortgage rates have been very stable and
we have enjoyed very calm waters so far this summer. Earning season for 2nd quarter has
begun and we can expect some volatility in the next several weeks as a
result.
Southern Nevada Real Estate Related Data
June home sales for Southern Nevada highlight two continuing
trends. The median home price of
$199,900 is up 2.5% from May 2014 and up 14% from the same month last
year. Cash buyers are down to under
35%! In February of 2013, nearly 60% of
the home buyers were paying cash. Simply
put this means less investors are scooping up homes and renting them out. This is a much more healthy number as home
owners that occupy the home will typically spend more in home improvement
projects, which stimulates the local economy significantly more than an
investor would. http://www.vegasinc.com/business/real-estate/2014/jul/08/investor-impact-wanes-las-vegas-home-prices-climb-/
According to a recent poll, Nevada jumped over 18 states for “Best
states for business”, that’s the good news.
Bad news is we are still ranked in the lower half, 29th. According to the poll and scoring system,
Nevada’s Achilles’ heel is education.
The state ranked dead last in education in 2013 and inched up to 49th this year. http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/economic-development/nevada-moves-18-places-ranking-best-states-business
As many of you have already heard, a new ubber-luxury development
is zoned for Southern Summerlin. One
word…Holy Smokes! http://shar.es/MgTVr
For
more real estate financing information, please visit my website: http://www.matthewtmaltese.com/home.html
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