Boise Meridian Eagle Idaho Real Estate - Homes Sales and Boise Investment Properties

Michael Hon, CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team Assoc. Broker, Silvercreek RG The Iron Eagle Realty Team is a Full Service Real Estate Company. Our mission is to assist our clients in the successful acquisition and sale of their personal homes and/or investment properties in the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. We have successfully helped our clients with short sales, investment properties and foreclosed / bank owned properties in the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market.

Showing posts with label mortgage assistance. Show all posts

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Here’s More Evidence That Home Prices Have Hit Bottom

By Nick Timiraos
Wall Street Journal Blogs

Home prices in July were up by 3.8% from one year ago.
In each of the last three years, home prices have increased in the spring and summer, when more people are buying homes, before giving back all of those gains and then some in the fall and winter, when activity cools.

But it is beginning to look like that might not happen this year, absent a major stumble for the economy.

Home prices in July were up by 3.8% from one year ago, the largest year-over-year jump in six years. Moreover, prices have shot up by 9.6% from February, when they registered their lowest levels of the housing downturn, according to CoreLogic CLGX +0.32% data released Tuesday.

This adds evidence to the case that U.S. home prices may have hit bottom earlier this year. Even though prices will soften in the autumn, “we have a much better supply and demand dynamic” than in previous years, said Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic.

So when people say they believe home prices haven’t reached a bottom—that this year’s seasonal gains will be wiped away by January or February of next year—here’s the relevant question: Will home prices fall by 9.6% in the next six months?

Anything, of course, is possible. Home prices fell in the winter—what Mr. Fleming calls the “offseason”—in each of the last three years to record a new low. But they have not fallen by 9.6% in any six-month span since March 2009, which was when the U.S. economy was still in recession.

That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news: While the year-over-year comparisons look good right now, the economy—and workers’ wages—aren’t growing fast enough to justify this kind of increase on a sustained basis.

Instead, the snapback in home prices in the last six months is more an indication of how prices “over-shot” over the past year. Investors, sensing deals, began buying up homes. The most likely scenario for home prices over the next year is that they may rise, but not at the breakneck pace of the past few months (and they’ll fall on a relative basis in the coming months due to normal seasonal factors).

There are other serious headwinds. It’s still hard to get a mortgage, and many households have too much debt. Millions of homeowners owe more than their homes are worth. Millions more have enough equity to sell their house but not enough to make a down payment on their next house and pay a real-estate broker’s commission.

As we’ve written many times before, the strong rise in home prices this year owes as much to sharp declines in inventory as it does to demand-side improvement. Banks have been much slower to take back and list foreclosed properties, easing pressure on home prices but leaving a bloated “shadow inventory” of potential foreclosures.

These homes will weigh on markets for years, though there’s less evidence that they will be dumped on the market at once. While the shadow inventory may not lead to a big drop in prices that some have feared, it will probably keep a lid on future home-price gains.

Finally, lower mortgage rates have dramatically increased the purchasing power of today’s home buyers when compared to one year ago. Some real-estate executives are nervous that demand isn’t stronger given today’s low mortgage rates, and they’re worried about what will happen if rates rise.

The bottom line: Don’t be surprised if the all-time low in home prices is in the rearview mirror. But this doesn’t mean a full-on recovery is here, and there’s little evidence that the current pace of improvement can continue. For now, home prices appear to be bumping along a bottom.

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.

Regards, Michael Hon, REALTOR®CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team
Associate Broker, Silvercreek Realty Group
Certified Short Sale Specialist®
Investment Property Consultant
Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax: 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Mortgage rates going up, up, up

Mortgage rates going up, up, up
Fed may take action as soon as next week
BY INMAN NEWS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012.

Mortgage rates ticked up from historic lows for the fourth week in a row as the bonds that finance most home loans continue to look overpriced to investors.

Some have speculated that the prospect of rising mortgage rates could spur homebuyers who have been sitting on the fence into action. But for now, mortgage rates are still well below historic norms, and there's speculation that the Federal Reserve could move as early as next week to keep long-term rates in check.

For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 3.66 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Aug. 23, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That's up from 3.62 percent last week, but well below the 4.22 percent offered at the same time a year ago. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit an all-time low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971 of 3.49 percent during the week ending July 26.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages -- a popular option for homeowners refinancing a loan -- rates averaged 2.89 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from 2.88 percent last week but down from 3.44 percent a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages hit a low in records dating to 1991 of 2.8 percent during the week ending July 26.

Rates on five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans averaged 2.8 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from 2.76 percent last week but down from 3.07 percent a year ago. Rates on five-year ARM loans hit a low in records dating to 2005 of 2.74 percent during the week ending July 26.

For one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs, rates averaged 2.66 percent with an average 0.4 point, down from 2.69 percent last week and 2.93 percent a year ago. Rates on one-year ARMs hit an all-time low in records dating to 1984 of 2.65 percent during the week ending Aug. 9.

A separate survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed demand for purchase loans during the week ending Aug. 17 was up a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent from the week before, and up 3 percent from a year ago.

Applications for refinancings -- which accounted for eight out of 10 loan applications -- were down 9 percent from week to week, to the lowest level since early July, the MBA said.

With mortgage rates at all-time lows in July, sales were up 9.4 percent from a year ago and home prices posted their strongest annual growth since 2006, the National Assocociation of Realtors reported this week. Now, some are wondering if mortgage rates are headed up, what impact that might have on sales.

In the short run, rising mortgage rates could boost home sales by getting buyers off the fence, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in March, when mortgage rates also appeared to be on their way up. But a significant increase in mortgage rates will reduce homebuyers' purchasing power and shrink the pool of eligible homebuyers, Yun fretted.

At the time, Yun expected rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were headed to 4.5 percent, which he said would dent home sales by 3 percent. If rates on 30-year loans hit 5 percent, the impact on home sales would be closer to 6 percent, Yun said in March.

The Federal Reserve has made it a priority to keep mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates low during the downturn to encourage borrowing and stimulate the economy.

In a program that wound down in 2010, the Fed bought $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The artificial demand for MBS created by the Fed pushed MBS prices up, and yields down (bond prices and yields move in opposite directions).

When the Fed ended the program in March, 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicted that rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages would rise from around 5 percent at the time, to 6.6 percent by the fourth quarter of 2012.

But the European debt crisis and continuing uncertainty about the global economic recovery created demand for Treasurys, government-backed MBS and other investments seen as safe havens by investors. That pushed long-term yields -- including mortgage rates -- down even more.

In a forecast issued this week, economists at Fannie Mae said they expect rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will average 3.7 percent next year, and that existing home sales will grow more modestly in 2013 (2.8 percent) than this year's projected growth of 7.8 percent.

The Fed has continued measures designed to keep a lid on interest rates -- last fall it announced it would reinvest principal payments on its holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt and MBS, which totaled $1 trillion at the time, into agency-backed MBS as those investments matured.

Now, there's speculation that the Fed will embark on a third round of "quantitative easing," or QE3, to keep an economic recovery on track.

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's last meeting showed its members in general agreement that "additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon" absent considerable improvement in economic indicators.

The minutes show that committee members discussed the merits of purchases of Treasurys versus agency MBS. While some worried that more large asset purchases could actually "increase the risks to financial stability or lead to a rise in longer-term inflation expectations," others "agreed with the staff's analysis showing substantial capacity for additional purchases without disrupting market functioning."

Many at the meeting said any new purchase program "should be sufficiently flexible to allow adjustments, as needed, in response to economic developments or to changes in the committee's assessment of the efficacy and costs of the program," meeting minutes said.

The Federal Reserve could act at as early as next week's Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced QE2 in 2010, Reuters reports.

Mortgage broker and Inman News columnist Lou Barnes sees no fundamental economic explanation to the recent rise in rates. While some analysts think investors are less enthusiastic about buying Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities because the economy is improving and the Fed won't embark on QE3, Barnes thinks there's a more technical explanation.

With yields at record lows, bond and MBS prices are also at record highs. Investors are simply taking profits, pushing bond and MBS prices down and yields up, Barnes says. He thinks the sell-off in 10-year Treasurys could push yields back up to 2 percent, which would put 30-year fixed-rate mortgages back in the 4 percent to 4.25 percent range.

The increase in rates "might stop here, but rates are not going all the way back down until something ugly happens," Barnes said in his most recent Inman News column.

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

REO inventories drop even as banks hold on to them longer

Foreclosure starts drop in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon
BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012.
Inman News®

Inventories of bank-owned properties fell year over year across four Western states in July even as lenders took longer to get those properties off their books, according to the latest report from real estate data company ForeclosureRadar.

The report covers foreclosure trends in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. Of the five states, only Oregon did not see its bank-owned inventory drop last month.

In California, the number of homes repossessed by lenders but not yet resold, known as bank-owned or real estate owned (REO) inventory, was down 36.4 percent to 66,000 properties last month. Banks sold REOs in 283 days on average, up from 232 days in July 2011. By contrast, homes bought by third parties at auction, usually investors, were resold in an average 138 days, up from 128 days a year ago.

Nonetheless, there are some signs the pipeline of foreclosures in the Golden State is speeding up a bit. Foreclosure starts rose 12.3 percent year over year in July to 21,175. The average number of days between the initial notice of default and the end of the foreclosure process (with the property either sold to a third party or repossessed by the bank) was 276 days last month (equivalent to about nine months), down from 310 days (about 10 months) a year ago.

Among the California homes in the foreclosure process whose fates were decided in July, most (10,398) experienced a cancellation of the process due to a successful loan modification or short sale, among other possible reasons. The number of properties that went back to the bank as REOs declined 54.2 percent on an annual basis to 4,512. Foreclosure sales to third parties fell 6.6 percent to 3,269.

In Arizona, foreclosure starts fell 28.2 percent year over year in July, to 4,433. Foreclosure cancellations were down 4.4 percent annually, to 3,575. The number of properties that went back to the bank as REOs decreased 33.8 percent year over year, to 2,191. Those sold to third parties rose 3 percent on an annual basis, to 1,630.

Arizona's REO inventory fell 38.1 percent last month, to 14,784. While the time to foreclose declined to an average 136 days from 175 days in July 2011, the time between when the bank took back the property and the property was resold rose a whopping 64.9 percent, to an average 244 days in July. Third parties resold properties in less than half that time, 107 days, up from 94 days a year ago.

Foreclosure activity in Nevada has slowed to a trickle, likely as a result of a Nevada state law that went into effect in October designed to crack down on documentation irregularities by foreclosing lenders.

In July, Nevada foreclosure starts were down 61.8 percent, to 1,618, compared with 4,235 a year ago. Foreclosure cancellations were down to 800, a nearly 60 percent drop from July 2011, but the number of properties becoming REOs dropped even more precipitously, 77.8 percent, to only 394 properties. The number of properties sold to third parties on the courthouse steps fell 34.4 percent, to 429.

The state's REO inventory was down 63.8 percent to 5,541 in July with the number of homes in the foreclosure pipeline dropping by more than half year over year. It took nearly 46 percent longer to foreclose on a property last month than it did in July 2011: an average of 471 days -- the equivalent of nearly 16 months. Banks also took considerably longer to sell homes once they'd repossessed them -- an average 221 days, up from 154 days a year ago. Third parties resold in an average 133 days, up from 98 days.

In Washington state, time to foreclose was virtually unchanged from a year ago in July: 102 days on average. Foreclosure starts were up 13.1 percent to 2,527. Cancellations fell 59.5 percent to 601. The number of properties that went back to the bank as REOs fell 67.1 percent to 595. Foreclosure sales to third parties fell 36 percent to 151.

As in the aforementioned states, REO inventory in Washington fell substantially last month: down 42.2 percent to 6,554. Banks took an average of 249 days to resell an REO property, up 25.9 percent. By contrast, third parties took an average 107 days to resell, down 24.1 percent.

In Oregon, foreclosure starts were down 58.6 percent year over year in July, to 426.

"This is most likely related to both the new Oregon law, SB 1552, that gives homeowners at risk of default, or in default, the right to request mediation to avoid foreclosure, as well as the Oregon Court of Appeals ruling that may force some lenders to proceed judicially with foreclosures," the report said.

"It is still not clear whether this is a temporary decline or part of a move toward judicial foreclosure in Oregon."

Nonetheless, time to foreclose fell to an average of 143 days from 162 days a year ago. Foreclosure cancellations in Oregon fell 11.9 percent on an annual basis last month, to 761 properties. At the same time, the number of properties reverting to REOs rose 93.6 percent year over year, to 395. Sales to third parties rose 73.7 percent, to 66 properties.

In contrast to the other four states in the ForeclosureRadar report, REO inventory in Oregon rose in July, up 39.7 percent to 3,153 properties. Banks also resold REOs at a quicker pace -- an average of 203 days, down from 219 a year ago. Third parties resold in an average of 79 days, up from 66 in July 2011.

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The One Housing Solution Left: Mass Mortgage Refinancing

By JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ and MARK ZANDI
Published: August 12, 2012
NYTimes.com

MORE than four million Americans have lost their homes since the housing bubble began bursting six years ago. An additional 3.5 million homeowners are in the foreclosure process or are so delinquent on payments that they will be soon. With 13.5 million homeowners underwater — they owe more than their home is now worth — the odds are high that many millions more will lose their homes.

Housing remains the biggest impediment to economic recovery, yet Washington seems paralyzed. While the Obama administration’s housing policies have fallen short, Mitt Romney hasn’t offered any meaningful new proposals to aid distressed or underwater homeowners.

Late last month, the top regulator overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac blocked a plan backed by the Obama administration to let the companies forgive some of the mortgage debt owed by stressed homeowners. While half a million homeowners could be helped with a principal writedown, the regulator, Edward J. DeMarco, argued (we believe incorrectly) that helping some homeowners might cause others who are paying on their loans to stop so that they also could get their mortgages reduced.

With principal writedown no longer an option, the government needs to find a new way to facilitate mass mortgage refinancings. With rates at record lows, refinancing would allow homeowners to significantly reduce their monthly payments, freeing up money to spend on other things. A mass refinancing program would work like a potent tax cut.

Refinancing would also significantly reduce the chance of default for underwater homeowners. With fewer losses from past loans burdening their balance sheets, lenders could make more new loans, and communities plagued by mass foreclosures might see relief from blight.

Well over half of all American homeowners with mortgages are paying rates that would appear to make them excellent candidates to refinance. Many of those with stable jobs, good credit scores and even a modest amount of home equity have already done so, taking out 30-year loans at rates around 3.5 percent, some of the lowest rates since the 1950s. But many others can’t refinance because the collapse in house prices has wiped out their home equity.

Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, has proposed a remedy. Under his plan, called Rebuilding American Homeownership, underwater homeowners who are current on their payments and meet other requirements would have the option to refinance to either lower their monthly payments or pay down their loans and rebuild equity.

A government-financed trust would be used to buy the mortgages of homeowners who had refinanced at an interest rate that was about 2 percentage points more than the record-low Treasury rates at which the government borrows. This would generate enough interest income to cover the costs of any defaults, administration of the trust and other expenses. Families would have three years to refinance; after that, the trust would stop buying loans and eventually wind itself down as homeowners repaid their loans.

Homeowners would see lower mortgage payments and rebuild equity more quickly. Taxpayers would get their money back, with interest, and would gain further as a stronger economy lifted tax revenues. Banks and other mortgage investors would get potentially troubled loans off their books. Some banks won’t like losing the large amounts of interest income they are earning on their current mortgages, but if the refinancing market were working properly these loans would have been refinanced long ago.

If the program was very successful, we envisage that two million outstanding loans could be placed in a Rebuilding American Homeownership trust at its peak. If the average mortgage balance was $150,000, then at the peak there would be $300 billion outstanding.

The federal government could finance the plan directly, through the Federal Housing Administration, or indirectly, through the Federal Home Loan Banks, which offer government-backed credit. Or the Federal Reserve could underwrite the plan; the central bank’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, recently talked about the Fed’s doing something akin to the Bank of England’s new Funding for Lending program, which offers incentives to banks to increase lending to households and nonfinancial businesses.

Opponents of additional borrowing or Fed lending will say that a program like this is an unacceptable risk, but the greater risk is to do nothing and let the housing market continue to hold back the economy.

Mr. Merkley’s plan resembles the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Plan, or HARP, which was designed to help underwater homeowners refinance loans backed by Fannie and Freddie. It has made possible 1.4 million refinancings, far fewer than the goal set in 2009 of 3 million to 4 million. The administration has made some improvements to HARP and proposed others. But the Merkley plan has the potential to go further, reaching the 20 million households with mortgages that aren’t backed by Fannie or Freddie.

The Merkley plan has a successful precedent in the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, established in 1933. It swept more than a million Americans out of foreclosure and into the long-term, stable mortgages that would become the hallmark of the middle class during the 1950s and ’60s. It’s time to revive this idea.

Since the Great Recession began almost five years ago, housing has been at the heart of our economic woes. If we do nothing, the problem will eventually resolve itself, but only with significant pain and a long wait. Mr. Merkley’s plan would speed the healing.

Joseph E. Stiglitz is a professor of economics at Columbia. Mark Zandi is the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Treasure Valley foreclosure rates fall again

The Idaho Statesman

Treasure Valley foreclosures in September dropped slightly to 2.58 percent of mortgage loans from 3.26 percent in that month last year, according to CoreLogic, which tracks real estate trends nationwide.Foreclosure activity in Boise and Nampa is lower than the national average, which was 3.48 percent for September.The mortgage delinquency rate also decreased in the Valley. CoreLogic data show that 6.01 percent of mortgage loans are 90 days or more delinquent, compared with 7.76 percent for the same period last year, representing a decrease of 1.75 percentage points.Vally foreclosure rates have fallen every month since they reached a high of 3.57 percent in December 2010.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/12/13/1915272/treasure-valley-foreclosure-rates.html#storylink=cpy

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.

PS: We've Helped More Buyers and Sellers than 99.8% of any Local Realtor

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Regards, Michael Hon, REALTOR®
CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team
Associate Broker, Silvercreek Realty Group
Certified Short Sale Specialist®
Investment Property Consultant
Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax: 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Help for Idaho

There are many homeowners who are late on their mortgages due to a variety of reasons. Some of them have been lulled into a loan modification offered by their lenders. Usually, the loan modification path is very frustrating and leads to a denial even after several attempts. I have included some links below that may be helpful for those attempting a loan modification.

Bank of America - Loan Modifications
Wells Fargo - Loan Modifications
Citimortgage - Loan Modifications
Chase - Loan Modifications
Fannie Mae - Loan Modifications
Freddie Mac - Loan Modifications

Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against you in obtaining a loan modification. Banks are in the business of collecting money, not modifying loans. They either want the money or your home.

If you have truly exhausted all your means of paying your mortgage and you have been denied a loan modification once, twice or even three times, the best solution may be a short sale. Here are links to shot sale information from the top four lenders.

Making Home Affordable
Bank of America Short Sale Information
Wells Fargo Short Sale Information
Citimortgage Short Sale Information
Chase Short Sale Information

We hope this information help. Stayed tuned for our new website, http://www.HelpForIdaho.org.

The Iron Eagle Realty Team's mission is to assist you, our client, in the sale and acquisition of real estate properties in the state of Idaho, specifically the Boise Idaho Real Estate Market. Whether you are buying or selling a home, whether it is a foreclosure, short sale or equity property, we handle our customers and clients with empathy and honest truths so they can make informed decisions as they advance in the process of buying and selling real estate that meet specific needs.

Regards, Michael Hon, REALTOR®
CEO, The Iron Eagle Realty Team
Associate Broker, Silvercreek Realty Group
Certified Short Sale Specialist®
Investment Property Consultant
Direct: 208.919.0458 Office: 208.939.9033 Fax: 208.514.1422
www.IronEagleRE.com Michael.Hon@IronEagleRE.com