Real Estate Information Archive

Home loan apps jump 16%

Sunday, January 14, 2007

by Thomas Khammar

Interest rates decline for first time in 5 weeks

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Overall mortgage application volume posted strong growth during the first week of January as borrowers took advantage of falling interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total home loan volume, increased 16.6 percent last week, rising to 671.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 575.6 one week earlier.

Refinancing activity saw the largest gains last week as the seasonally adjusted refinance index shot up 17.3 percent from the week before, followed closely by a 16.2 percent jump in the purchase index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 48.4 percent of total applications last week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share decreased to 20.1 percent, its lowest in three-and-a-half years.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.13 percent, compared with 6.22 percent a week earlier, with points including the origination fee increasing to 0.94 from 0.92 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans. Points, which are fees charged by lenders for loan processing, are expressed as a percent of the total loan amount.

The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.85 percent from 5.93 percent, with points dropping to 0.98 from 1 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.

Average rates for one-year ARMs decreased to 5.79 percent from 5.84 percent, and points held at 0.83 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.

The Mortgage Bankers Association survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.

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Bubble's pop was akin to a slow leak

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

by Thomas Khammar

Home sales tumbled in 2006, but prices mostly dipped. Even so, don't expect a boom soon.

What's the shape of the post-bubble, post- correction real estate market? And what does it mean for buyers and sellers in the new year?

The latest sales data show a small but unmistakable uptick in activity and declining unsold inventories. In late December, the National Assn. of Realtors reported that existing home resales were up by a hair in November — 0.6% — the second straight month of modest increases off the cyclical trough in September. On Dec. 27 the Commerce Department reported sales of new houses rose 3.4% over the previous month, while builders' unsold inventories dropped to their lowest level since last February.

All of this suggests that the 18-month market correction that followed the four-year housing boom has just about run its course. From a national statistical perspective, we're somewhere near slack tide — but no one's looking for another frothy high tide anytime soon.

Some local markets are moving contrary to the relatively flat national trend. Three dozen metropolitan areas — primarily markets with moderate prices and solid employment growth — were still racking up low double-digit house price inflation at the end of the third quarter of 2006, according to federal data. The L.A.-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan area continued to chug along with an annualized appreciation rate above 7%. Dozens of other areas — primarily where unemployment has been a persistent and increasing economic drag — showed signs of modest deflation in home values, according to the same data.

In the main, however, the housing market appears to have weathered the correction phase of the cycle without the blood running in the streets that some bubble-bust bears had forecast. Median prices of resale houses have fallen 3.6% nationally year-to- year, and anecdotal reports of 10% to 20% asking- price reductions in formerly hyper-inflated markets are common. But that's what corrections are all about, as opposed to outright busts.

Moderate price cuts also eventually stimulate buyers — who'd been sitting on the sidelines wondering when the market might bottom out — to wade back in and start shopping again.

That's where we appear to be at the moment, and where we're headed in 2007, absent unexpected economic jolts to the global capital markets that could send mortgage rates spiking. In that event, all bets are off.

So what are smart strategies in a slowly recovering real estate environment for heads-up buyers and sellers? One good rule: Think baby steps instead of big leaps. Sellers shouldn't assume that with the trend line turning positive they can suddenly price their house for what they might have commanded in early 2005. Forget about it.

In most places, buyers still have the upper hand. There's plenty of inventory to choose from, shoppers are picky and unrealistic pricing is a guaranteed route to sitting dead in the water for months, unvisited and unsold. Be realistic on pricing. And be happy there are buyers out there again.

On the other hand, smart shoppers should recognize that the game is changing, the spring buying season is looming and that lobbing low-ball offers at already marked-down properties isn't a winning strategy. If you are seriously in the market, be prepared to pay a price that may not be as low as you'd hoped, but that just might be your last shot at a particular house before it sells for closer to the asking price a few weeks from now. Shoppers also need to understand that today's prevailing mortgage rates — a little above 6% for 30-

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Change in the Real Estate Industry?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

by Thomas Khammar

WOW, last August (2005) their were close 12,000 people who took the real estate exam to become real estate Agents in the state of California..........This past August? Only 6,000!

What does that mean to you? YOU CANNOT USE your FRIEND or FAMILY if you still expect to have an agent help you on PRESERVING YOUR EQUITY! You have to use a trusted name in real estate, someone who is going to fight for you and make sure not one dollar is left on the table.

The market is TURNED, no need to keep making things sound better than they are, we are in a FULL SWING buyer's market. Is it a good time to sell? OF COURSE! You gained over 70% return on your investment in the past 3 years, we haven't seen property prices dip drastically and I doubt we will.......

want more details? Contact me, thomas@pwrhteam.com

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Preserving Equity or Netting the Most Equity?

Monday, September 11, 2006

by Thomas Khammar

What is it? With this changing market people are wondering, are we in a down market? Are we in a bad market? Are we going to loose all of our equity? That's the multi-million dollar question now a days...

Selling your home is a matter of selling for TOP MARKET VALUE, nothing more nothing less. Going off comps (comparable) is not an accurate way of pricing a home anymore; work with a Realtor that knows the area so they can help price your property exactly where it should be within your time frame. DON'T BE DISCOURAGED if it doesn't sell within 48 hours like a year ago. Call me for more details about how Preserving your equity is our number one task!

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negative media hype? FOR WHAT?

Friday, September 01, 2006

by Thomas Khammar

with interest rates getting lower and lower im noticing buyers starting to get anxious again to BUY BUY BUY. Getting a lot of calls all the sudden on our listings. Getting lots of buyers out there wanting to view properties. Why wouldn't you want to buy right now? Interest rates are this low........property values in most places are about 10% lower than last year........get it while its there, right?

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Mortgage Rates drop for 6 straight weeks?

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

by Thomas Khammar

What does that mean to the real estate industry? Why are they dropping, now 6 weeks in a row?

Slower economic growth has helped bring fixed mortgage rates to a five-month low, along with the Federal Reserve Board hitting the pause button on rate increases. Although inflation remains a threat, bond investors are confident in the Fed's forecast that inflation will recede as the economy cools......

What's your opinion?

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