37% of Americans today have a FICO credit score lower than 700. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the government’s mortgage insurer, is supposed to be serving borrowers with lower credit scores, however, the average FICO for an FHA loan in March was 701. See a mortgage person right away to check your credit and interest rate available.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary May reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment improved to 77.8 from 76.4 in April. It was the highest level since January 2008.
2.37 million existing homes were for sale at the end of March. Down 22% from a year ago and 41% from the peak in mid-2007 in today’s report.
Interested in buying foreclosed properties from govt agencies, well, it’s limited who can buy the first few weeks properties are available. An example, at HUDhomestore.com many properties are only available to employees of govt agencies or non-profits. Instead of opening up the bidding to all parties, those privileged few can buy without true competition. I see prices 20-25% below current market value, but the average person can not buy. These low sale prices hurt property values, holds down appraisal values, and keeps the pressure on those of the fence thinking of walking away from their mortgage.
Sales are increasing, inventories are dropping, and money is flowing into real estate. Compared with a year earlier, March pending home sales climbed 10.8 percent after a 14.9 percent surge in February. The bottom is in for real estate prices.
Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 47.7 percent of sales, in the first three months of 2012 according to Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance. That’s the 25th month in a row that distressed sales have topped 40 percent of the market. The supply of homes for sale is low, so low in many areas we are seeing multiple offers and offers higher than the asking price. We expect a ‘pop’ is home prices in the next 12 months.
The value is in the physical house, not the driveway. Take the main photo from the oppisite side of the driveway, that way buyers see the big house and small driveway. Also, the more photos the better. At FSBO.com you can add unlimited photos.
Banks use credit scores to determine their risk and the interest rate they charge for your mortgage. The better the score, the lower the risk and interest rate. It would seem that the bigger the down payment the lower the risk, so you would receive a lower interest rate. Not so! Whether you put down 20% or 50% the interest rate is the same, even though the risk to the bank is lower. Just another example of the banks not getting it.
The latest data; a) Existing home sales were down in March but continue to outpace year-ago levels b) home prices are showing further signs of stabilizing c) “Another year from now if prices stay flat and rents rise another 4, 5 or 6%, then the decision to rent or buy will be firmly in favor of buying rather than renting” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics
The Commerce Dept reported this week that builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 654,000 homes last month. That’s down 5.8% from February. But builders requested the most permits for future projects in 3½ years, suggesting that many see the housing market improving..