FHA Waives Anti-Flipping Rule Through 2012 To Increase REO Sales January 9, 2012
Posted by Matt Siggerud in Finance & Mortgage: News, Real Estate: Foreclosures And Short Sales, Real Estate: Investing In Real Estate, Real Estate: News, Real Estate: Residential, Real Estate: Traditional Sales.add a comment
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is extending the temporary waiver of its property anti-flipping rule through the end of 2012. FHA rules typically prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. In 2010, however, the agency waived this regulation, and later extended the waiver through 2011.
The new extension announced late last week will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned and bank-owned properties, no matter how long the homeowner has held the title, through December 31, 2012.
FHA says the waiver will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and revitalize communities experiencing high foreclosure activity. According to FHA, the waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to prevent predatory property flipping in which properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers.
Among these conditions, all transactions must be arms-length, with no link between the buying and selling parties.
In addition, in cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the waiver will apply only if the lender meets specific conditions, and documents the justification for the increase in value.
FHA’s property-flipping waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the agency’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.
Since the original waiver went into effect on February 1, 2010, FHA has insured nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on properties resold within 90 days of acquisition.
The agency says its own research has found that in today’s market, acquiring, rehabilitating, and reselling foreclosed properties to prospective homeowners often takes less than 90 days.
As a result, FHA says prohibiting the use of its mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days would adversely impact the willingness of sellers to consider offers from potential FHA buyers, namely because they would be required to cover holding costs and the risk of vandalism that comes with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.
December 2010 Monthly Market Update February 11, 2011
Posted by Matt Siggerud in Finance & Mortgage: News, Real Estate: News, Real Estate: Residential.add a comment
While there’s no shortage of uncertainty regarding what 2011 will bring, one thing is certain: 2010 was yet another “transition year.” Patience is running thin during this painstakingly slow recovery. According to closely watched indices, national home sales hit bottom in the first quarter of 2009 and prices followed suit shortly thereafter. As the bull gets set to wrestle the bear to the ground in 2011, let’s take a look at how we concluded 2010.
Pending Sales in the Twin Cities region were down only 2.0 percent from December 2009 to arrive at 2,640 contracts written. Meanwhile, New Listings increased 3.1 percent to 4,039 new homes. Total Active Listings increased 10.3 percent from year ago levels to weigh in at 21,161 units. Prices were a bit soft for the month. The Median Sales Price dipped 1.5 percent from last December, checking in at $159,500. The total transaction dollar volume was 5.1 percent below year-ago levels after five months of 29.0 percent declines or larger. Months Supply of Inventory checked in at 7.1 months – up from 5.0 months in December 2009.
You might have noticed that interest rates are stealthily ticking upwards. Yes, higher rates are expected in 2011 as we press toward a more durable recovery. This recovery is hinged upon continued labor market growth coupled with supply-side and demand-side housing market improvements. These challenging times have been cold and unsettling, but a neon exit sign beckons from our periphery.
Sellers In Minneapolis Offering Price Reductions More Than Other U.S. Cities August 16, 2010
Posted by Matt Siggerud in Finance & Mortgage: News, Real Estate: Current Listings, Real Estate: Foreclosures And Short Sales, Real Estate: News, Real Estate: Residential, Real Estate: Traditional Sales.add a comment
With pending home sales down sharply in July, sellers in Minneapolis are offering price reductions more often than in any other U.S. city. With sales down, the inventory of houses on the market is growing. A picture of the post-tax-credit housing market is emerging, and it isn’t pretty. Reports released Wednesday 08/11/10 showed pending home sales in the Twin Cities down, the inventory of houses on the market growing and sellers in Minneapolis offering price reductions more often than in any other U.S. city.
The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors reported that signed purchase agreements plummeted during July, falling almost 38 percent to the lowest monthly level in nearly a decade. The drop shows how much demand has declined since eligibility for the federal tax credit ran out in April.
Meanwhile, sellers had cut prices at least once on 42 percent of all active for-sale listings, with an average markdown of 9 percent, according to a separate report from Trulia.com. It’s the second consecutive month that Minneapolis topped the list for the most markdowns — although sellers in Detroit offered the deepest price cuts, an average of 26 percent. The numbers reflect a housing market stuck in a quagmire of worry and uncertainty, even with mortgage interest rates at 50-year lows.
While the latest data from Freddie Mac show 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at about 4.5 percent, nationwide mortgage originations for home purchases have fallen to about half of what they were in 2003. Freddie attributes the decline in part to a sharp rise in the number of people who pay cash for their houses. When mortgage money was easier to come by, few buyers paid cash, but in recent months the number has risen to more than 25 percent. In addition, prospective buyers are having trouble qualifying for mortgages, either because they lack a cash down payment or they’ve lost the equity in the home they already own.
Although Twin Cities sales activity was down, sale prices during July rose slightly, particularly for traditional sellers — those not facing a foreclosure or short sale. The median traditional transaction rose 5 percent to $222,500 in the metro area, while the median price of foreclosure sales was flat at $119,000. The median sale price of short sales rose 3.5 percent to $147,000. Median for all sales was $208,000.
Brad Fisher, president of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, said more sales of upper-bracket homes last month probably caused the higher median sale prices. Pending sales of houses priced from $500,000 to $1 million rose by 6 percent, and it was the only category where the number of transactions went up. Transactions were flat in the $1 million and up category, but declined in other ranges.
If sales continue to fall and the number of new listings continues to rise, it could signal a tough autumn for sale prices. Already, it’s a strong buyer’s market. Although the number of new listings that came on the market last month was down almost 10 percent, the total number of houses on the market rose slightly to 27,249, a 5.4 percent increase over last year at this time. That’s primarily because of the steep drop in sales; the number of new listings so far this year is about the same as last year.
