Register Real Estate Advisors

HOUSTON (Dallas Morning News) – The Brookings Institution has named Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth two of the top housing markets in the country.

Houston ranked first and DFW third among metro areas that have been the least affected by falling home prices.

Home prices in DFW were up slightly in first quarter 2009 compared with those in first quarter 2008, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s quarterly House Price Index.

Of the top 100 metro areas, 38 avoided home-price declines over the last year.

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal) – Area home prices hit a seven-month high in April amid the area’s 20th consecutive monthly fall in the number of single-family home sales.

The average sale price of a single-family home slipped 5.8 percent in April to $194,222 from $206,239 in April 2008, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. However, the figure is at its highest level since September.

Additionally, demand for single-family rentals increased again last month.

TEXAS (Austin Business Journal) – Texas stands out as the top state for business, according to Directorship magazine.

Texas “has a pro-business tax climate that ranks third, a low cost of living, a relatively solid economy and a litigation environment that ranks tenth on our list,” the magazine reported. “Texas also ranks first in the number of Fortune 500 companies located there.”

Major corporate relocations and expansions such as Comerica’s move to Dallas and Caterpillar’s new plant in Seguin were highlighted as reasons for Texas’ ranking.

Directorship evaluated states’ overall economies, tax climates, cost of living and education to determine rankings.

TEXAS (Dallas Morning News) – Two Texas metros ranked highest in the country on Metrostudy’s latest list of new home starts and sales.

Ranking first in the year-long survey was Houston with 22,502 home starts and 28,326 sales. Dallas–Fort Worth ranked second with 17,638 starts and almost 24,000 sales.

Austin was sixth with 8,617 starts and 10,627 sales. San Antonio came in at number 11 with 7,761 starts and 9,847 sales.

I am a Realtor trained in the Texas Veteran’s Land Board.  If you are a Texas Veteran and need assistance with real estate, please do not hesitate to call me for help.  I can assist you with buying, selling, getting financing, and much more.  You can visit the Texas Veteran’s Land Board web site  below for more information about the programs they offer.

http://www.glo.state.tx.us/vlb/

by Ralph Roberts

Read the entire article.

The Treasury Department recently released its Home Affordable Modification Program Guidelines (part of its Making Home Affordable initiative), which include eligibility requirements to determine which homeowners qualify for relief under the plan. Following are the eligibility requirements as specified in the guidelines:

 

 

• Mortgage must have originated on or before January 1, 2009. 
• Home must be an owner-occupied primary residence (verified with tax return, credit report, and other documentation such as a utility bill) – this program is not designed for investor-owned properties. 
• Home must be a single family 1-4 unit property (including condominium, cooperative, and manufactured home affixed to a foundation and treated as real property under state law). 
• Home may not be vacant or condemned. 
• Borrowers in bankruptcy are not automatically excluded from consideration. 
• Borrowers in active litigation regarding the mortgage loan can qualify for a modification without waiving their legal rights. 
• First lien loans must have an unpaid principal balance (prior to capitalization of arrearages) equal to or less than:

 
1. 1 Unit: $729,750 
2. 2 Units: $934,200 
3. 3 Units: $1,129,250 
4. 4 Units: $1,403,400

 
• Foreclosure actions are suspended (not cancelled) during the trial period or while borrowers are considered for alternative foreclosure prevention options. If homeowners fail to qualify, foreclosure proceedings may resume. 
• No minimum or maximum LTV ratio for eligibility purposes. 
• Loans are eligible for only one loan modification under the program. 
• Subordinate liens (such as second mortgages or home equity loans or lines of credit) are not included in the Front-End DTI calculation, but they are included in the Back-End DTI calculation. Back-End DTI is used to determine whether the borrower will be required to undergo credit counseling as a condition to modification. 
• Servicers should follow any existing express contractual restrictions with respect to solicitation of borrowers for modifications. Applicants will be accepted into the program only until December 31, 2012 (the program expiration date), but incentive payments will continue up to five years after the date of entry into the Home Affordable Modification Program. Monitoring will continue through the life of the program.

When discussing this program with homeowners in your area, it’s a good idea to point out the following:

 
• Eligibility requirements are simply government guidelines. Guidelines may change, and lenders make exceptions, if it is in their best interest to do so. In other words, homeowners should not count themselves out. If they are having trouble making their house payment, they should explore the loan modification option. Sometimes, the only way to determine whether you qualify is to apply. 
• Not all servicers, lenders, or investors are required to participate in the program at this time. The program is designed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, but the plan’s incentives may encourage servicers, lenders, and investors to modify other types of mortgages, as well. 
• The individual servicers that agree to participate in the program are required to sign a contract agreeing to abide by the program guidelines. If the servicer does not contract under the program, they are not eligible for incentive payments. 
• Homeowners should consult a specialist who works with lenders on a daily basis to review their situation and determine whether the homeowners are likely to qualify for whatever workout options are available through the lender. Sometimes the only way to determine whether a homeowner qualifies is to submit an application.

During this unprecedented crisis in the housing industry, you can play a valuable role in keeping homeowners in your area well-informed of the programs available to help them keep their homes. I encourage you to do your part to preserve the American Dream of Homeownership and stabilize your corner of the housing market.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – March pending home sales increased from February numbers and from March 2008, indicating that buyers think now is a good time to buy a house.

The Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed a 3.2 percent gain to 84.6 from February, when it was 82. The index stands 1.6 percent higher than a year ago.

The index is understood to be a forward indicator of home sales trends as it measures contracts signed, not completed sales. The uptick may indicate that home prices have fallen low enough for buyers to get off the fence.

“If inventory goes down — it’s at just under ten months now — to below eight months, that would mean we’re on the way to a sustainable recovery,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that trend may be happening. Realtors and other industry insiders are seeing rising open house attendance and multiple bids on some particularly desirable properties.

Today, buyers are more likely to bid because they perceive the market as at or near its bottom. An April Gallup Poll reported that 71 percent of Americans thought it was a good time to buy a house.

The South saw the largest gain of any region, with pending home sales jumping 8.5 percent from February to March. Pending sales were 7.7 percent higher in March compared with the same month a year ago.

Have you downloaded your FREE copy of the Houston Newcomer Guides?  You can download a copy using the link below.  These guides contain helpful information about neighborhoods, employment, and school districts in the Houston area.  Find out about churches, golf courses, and much more.  If you are relocating to the Houston area, you will not want to miss the helpful information that is in these guides.  I specialize in selling real estate in the Northwest areas of Spring including Tomball and The Woodlands.  If you are looking for a Realtor to help you buy your next home, give me a call today.  With Coldwell Banker’s vast resources, I can also help you sell your current home fast.

http://www.houstonnewcomerguides.com/preview-northwest-houston

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal) – Thirty-year mortgage rates fell to 4.78 percent Friday, hitting their lowest level since Freddie Mac started tracking rates in 1970.

Adjustable-rate mortgages also eased, but one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages are averaging rates nearly the same as 30-year fixed rates, at 4.77 percent.

Freddie Mac officials reported borrowers who refinanced their mortgages in the first quarter reduced their combined mortgage payments by about by about $2.5 billion over the coming year.

I have finally completed my Glossary of Real Estate Terms and it is online.  You can get to it from the front page of my web site.  I know I promised it a long time ago, but it was a lot more work than I thought it would be.  After pulling together all of the terms I felt would be most useful, I have posted them online as a reference for my clients.  I hope this will help you when you have questions about your real estate transactions in the future and any paper work you might have to complete.  As always, if you have questions about real estate feel free to email them to me.