Real Estate Outlook: Existing-Home Sales Rise_ HAPPY MONDAY from Attanasio Properties!

http://bit.ly/ftPoWL

The housing market continues to keep experts and analysts on their toes.

The housing market is regional not national.  The West has seen the biggest increase in home sales and we are hopeful that trend continues. 

Closing Costs Explained_very straightforward explanation of what can be an overwhelming but rewarding process.

http://bit.ly/gJx7EL

Qualifying and being approved for a mortgage are only part of the financial responsibility of buying a home. There's also a host of closing costs that, as a buyer, you should expect. Affordability is a topic on the minds of today's buyers, so researching each of the following costs, large and small, is important.

The End of Fannie and Freddie? Perhaps but change can be good...scary but good!

http://fxn.ws/essdWI

They date back decades, with their roots in the Great Depression. And as with anything else that has been around for so long, their mere existence, in an ever-changing world, brings some measure of comfort – and their failure instills terrifying uncertainty about what could possibly replace them.

 

U.S. close to punishing banks over foreclosures

http://on.msnbc.com/gw23wB

WASHINGTON — U.S. bank regulators are finalizing punishments against mortgage servicers after a probe found "critical deficiencies" with the industry's foreclosure processes.

 

I THOUGHT THIS WAS PRETTY INTERESTING, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS!

Weekly financial market update...Here's Joe!

 

This week brings us the release of six pieces of economic data for the bond market to digest along with two potentially influential Treasury auctions. The financial markets will be closed Monday in observance of the President’s Day holiday, so don’t expect to see new mortgage pricing until Tuesday morning. One of the six reports is considered to be of low importance, but since we have data being posted every day of the week except for tomorrow, it is likely that we will see plenty of movement in mortgage rates the next few days.



Tuesday morning brings us the first of this week's data with the release of February's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) during late morning trading. This Conference Board index measures consumer confidence in their personal financial situations, giving us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. If consumers are feeling good about their own financial situations, they are more apt to make large purchases in the near future. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the economy, related data is considered important in terms of gauging economic activity. It is expected to show an increase in confidence from 60.6 in January to 65.0 this month. A lower reading would be considered good news for bonds and mortgage rates.



The National Association of Realtors will post January’s Existing Home Sales report late Wednesday morning. It tracks home resales throughout the country, giving us a measurement of housing sector strength. It is expected to show a small decline in sales of existing homes, meaning the housing sector remained fairly flat during the month. Ideally, the bond market would like to see a sizable decline in sales because weak housing is one of the hurdles that the economy must overcome to recover from the recession. The longer it takes for the housing market to recover, the longer it will take the economy to do the same.



Thursday has two reports scheduled to be posted. The first is January's Durable Goods Orders data that gives us an important measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders at U.S. factories for items expected to last three or more years. A smaller increase than the 3.0% that is expected would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. This data is quite volatile from month-to-month, so large swings are fairly normal.



January's New Home Sales report will be posted late Thursday morning. This is one of the least important reports of the week, and is the sister report to Wednesday's Existing Home Sales release. They measure housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but usually do not have a significant impact on bond trading or mortgage rates unless they show significant surprises. This report is also expected to show a decline in sales.



The first of two revisions to the 4th Quarter GDP reading is scheduled for release Friday morning. Analysts' forecasts currently call for an annual rate of growth of 3.3%, indicating that the economy was slightly stronger in the last quarter of the year than initially thought. It will be interesting to see where this figure falls and what its impact on the markets will be. Generally speaking, higher levels of activity are bad news for the bond market, while a sizable downward revision would be good news and could lead to improvements in mortgage pricing.



The last piece of data scheduled for release this week is the University of Michigan's revision to their Index of Consumer Sentiment for February. Current forecasts show this index not changing much from its preliminary estimate of 75.1. This index is fairly important because it helps us measure consumer confidence that translates into consumer willingness to spend.



In addition to this week's economic reports, there are two relatively important Treasury auctions that may also influence bond trading enough to affect mortgage rates. There will be an auction of 5-year Notes Wednesday and 7-year Notes on Thursday. Neither of these sales will directly impact mortgage pricing, but they can influence general bond market sentiment. If the sales go poorly, we could see broader selling in the bond market that leads to upward revisions to mortgage rates. However, strong sales usually make bonds more attractive to investors and bring more funds into bonds. The buying of bonds that follows usually translates into lower mortgage rates.



Overall, look for plenty of movement in bond prices and mortgage rates this week. I think we will see the most movement either Tuesday or Thursday, but Friday may be fairly active also. This would be a very good week to maintain contact with your mortgage professional, especially if still floating an interest rate.

Information courtesy of Joe Patterson, Princeton Capital.



 

Latest technology ! Immediate Gratification!

What does QR stand for? Follow the directions below and check it out!

If you don?t have a QR code reader app, BeeTagg QR code-reader is free app that is compatible with most mobile smart phones. Download BeeTagg QR-code reader at http://get.beetagg.com directly from your mobile phone. Once downloaded, access the app and snap a picture of the bar code above to be connected.

The latest technology!

If you don?t have a QR code reader app, BeeTagg QR code-reader is free app that is compatible with most mobile smart phones. Download BeeTagg QR-code reader at http://get.beetagg.com directly from your mobile phone. Once downloaded,
access the app and snap a picture of the bar code above to be connected.

Click on the picture to make it bigger after downloading the reader. It's FREE!

This is great and I am going to be incorporating it into all of my listing marketing, we are a society that likes immediate gratification and yes, we still like to look at the pictures.

Another big financial report due today...

Also Thursday morning will be the release of the Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for January. This Conference Board report attempts to predict economic activity over the next three to six months. It is expected to show a 0.5% increase, meaning that economic activity may rise in the near future. A smaller than expected rise would be good news for the bond market and mortgage rates, but the CPI draws much more attention than the LEI. Therefore, for this report to influence mortgage pricing, it will have to show a sizable variance from forecasts and the CPI will have to match estimates.

 

 

Today's mortgage loan rate (loan of $500K with no points) 5.28%, still historically low.  If your curious to see how this weeks financial reports will affect rates, stay tuned.  Feel free to shoot me an email at victoria@buysellnorcal.com.

 

Rates courtesy of Princeton Capital



 

Luxury home sales jump 21% in California, more good news!

http://lat.ms/g72emB

California homes priced at $1 million or more experienced a sales boom in 2010, the first increase in five years, even as overall home sales in the state declined, a real estate information service reported. The reason: High-end home shoppers went bargain hunting as certain parts of the economy improved but luxury home prices remained depressed.

Financial report expected this week could effect interest rates

 

The week’s first release is one of the highly important ones when the Commerce Department posts January’s Retail Sales data. This report is very important to the financial markets because it measures consumer spending. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data is watched quite closely. If Tuesday's report reveals weaker than expected sales, the bond market should thrive and mortgage rates will fall since it would be a sign that the economy is not as strong as many had thought. However, a stronger reading than the 0.5% increase that is expected could lead to higher mortgage rates.



Wednesday brings us three economic releases in addition to the FOMC minutes. January's Housing Starts will be posted early Wednesday morning, giving us an indication of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand. It usually does not affect rates unless the results vary greatly from forecasts. Current forecasts are calling for an increase in starts of new housing.

Fed Chairman Bernanke will speak before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday morning and overseas Friday morning. Neither engagement is expected to bring any new theories or give an indication of the Fed’s next move to boost or limit economic activity. The markets always watch his words, but I would be surprised if either of these lead to changes in mortgage rates.



 

This information courtesy of Joe Patterson with Princeton Capitol

Thanks Joe!

Should I buy now or wait?

Check out the numbers, you might be surprised.

The Healing Has Begun for Bay Area Housing Market! Yay Us!

Silicon Valley –Our Cupertino office reports sales activity is on the rise, but inventory levels remain low – frustrating some agents and buyers ready to make the move. The low end of the market is seeing offers on properties that were ignored for months. Los Gatos is also seeing unseasonably high activity for this time of year with both sales and inventory increasing. The San Jose Almaden office says the local market has been off to a fast start as well.  Listings are growing but our region is keeping pace with the increase in sales. In Saratoga, after a slow start to January it seems as though the activity level and energy level is quickly rising.

 

South County – This January was the best in regard to sales in the last four years, our Gilroy office reports. Agents are busy and reporting good activity at open houses. Inventory is increasing slightly as many sellers have waited for the holiday season to pass before going on the market. Similarly, the Morgan Hill office had an incredible January with over 35 sales and almost that many new listings.  There is a good “buzz” in the office and agents are busy.  The year has started off with high expectations and great attitudes.  Agents, buyers and sellers seem more optimistic that perhaps the market has stabilized.

 

Santa Cruz – Overall the market is getting off to a typical start for January.  The inventory levels are very low with still not many new listings coming on the market.  Open houses are fairly busy and agents are finding that buyers are actively looking.  We are seeing beach property prospects/and investors looking for great deals & the offers rarely come in at asking or near asking price.  There does not seem to be a lot of consistency - a new listing came on the market today, bank owned, 4800 sq ft, on 5 acres, in gated community which was listed for $2 + million - came on at $799,000.  One of our agents also sold a beach house after several months for close to asking at $1.345 million.  The spring market is right around the corner and we are expecting good things!

 

Report courtesy of Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker Northern California Region.

Hot new listing in Cupertino, coming soon! Great opportunity for builder!! Stay tuned!

Hot new listing in Cupertino, coming soon! Great opportunity for builder!!

Stay tuned!

Jobless claims tumble, productivity rises

http://reut.rs/e0cRzX

 

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week while nonfarm productivity in the fourth quarter was stronger than expected, confirmation the economic recovery was strengthening.

 

Yay Us!

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday everyone, have a happy and safe Superbowl Sunday!

Happy Friday everyone, have a happy and safe Superbowl Sunday!

Super Bowl Snacks, Something fun from one of my favorite websites!

http://bit.ly/gRktS2

Grilled, Barbecue-Stuffed Potato Skins and much, much more.

 

Enjoy Superbowl Sunday!

How long will a short sale or foreclosure affect your ability to purchase your next home?

We are just now getting feedback from underwriters on the affect that short sales and foreclosures have on borrowers ability to get a new mortgage loan.

What we know, homeowners will recover. A short sale or foreclosures is not the end of your creditworthiness and you will be able to buy again if you keep that dream alive.

See the stats here. Should you or someone you know have questions about the short sale process I am happy to have a compassionate and candid conversation about all of the options.

Off to broker tour, 121 Grove on tour today!

Off to broker tour, 121 Grove on tour today!

Cities in the US where buying is less expensive than renting! San Jose makes the cut!

Rent vs. Buy Index – Q1 2011 America’s Largest 50 Cities by Population

Rank City State Price:Rent Ratio

Much Less Expensive to Buy Than to Rent (Ratios 1?15)

1 Miami FL 6

2 Las Vegas NV 6

3 Arlington TX 7

4 Mesa AZ 8

5 Phoenix AZ 8

6 Jacksonville FL 8

7 Sacramento CA 10

8 San Antonio TX 11

9 Fresno CA 11

10 El Paso TX 11

11 Baltimore MD 12

12 Detroit MI 12

13 Washington DC 12

14 Indianapolis IN 12

15 Philadelphia PA 12

16 Dallas TX 12

17 Houston TX 13

18 Honolulu HI 13

19 Atlanta GA 13

20 Long Beach CA 13

21 Tulsa OK 13

22 Denver CO 13

23 Nashville TN 13

24 Chicago IL 13

25 Omaha NE 13

26 Columbus OH 14

27 Charlotte NC 14

28 Virginia Beach VA 14

29 Tucson AZ 14

30 Raleigh NC 14

31 Colorado Springs CO 15

32 San Diego CA 15

33 San Jose CA 15

34 Louisville KY 15

35 Austin TX 15

36 Minneapolis MN 15

Less Expensive to Rent, But May Make More Financial Sense to Buy (Ratios 16?20)

37 Milwaukee WI 16

38 Cleveland OH 17

39 Boston MA 17

40 Oklahoma City OK 17

41 Albuquerque NM 18

42 Portland OR 18

43 Oakland CA 18

44 Fort Worth TX 19

45 Los Angeles CA 20

46 Memphis TN 20

Total Cost of Homeownership Much Greater Than Renting (Ratios 21+)

47 San Francisco CA 21

48 Kansas City MO 21

49 Seattle WA 24

50 New York NY 31

Great investor opportunity in Downtown San Jose!

http://bit.ly/fBtW5o

Classic Victorian has huge potential for builder or investor, large lot can be developed for townhomes or just restore this lovely home to its original splendor!

Call Victoria at (408)887-4425 with questions.