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02/26/2010 - Taxpayers Seeking Homebuyer Tax Credits, Refunds Must File Paper! - As reported by Realty Times, electronic filing will not be allowed for homeowners filing for the home buyer tax credit. The new filing rules are an effort to ward off a repeat of 90,000 taxpayers who fraudulently claimed the credit, according to the U.S. Treasury. All taxpayers (first time and move up buyers) seeking a credit or refund, must use the new IRS Form 5405 and submit it with additional closing documents as listed on the Form 5405.

Bernanke: Record-low rates still needed, as reported by USA Today, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that record-low interest rates are still needed to ensure that the U.S. economic recovery will last and to help cushion the sting of high unemployment. Bernanke struck a confident tone that the recovery should endure, but also expressed that rates will need to stay at exceptionally low levels for an extended period to in order to continue moderate economic growth as well as assist in the decline of unemployment rates.

Treasury Proposes Plan to Help Borrowers - According to REALTOR Magazine, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is looking at a plan to improve the chance that distressed home owners will get help from federal programs. The Treasury proposes to give borrowers 30 days to respond when they are denied a loan modification and demand that lenders consider all requests and even contact all borrowers who are 60 days delinquent to determine if they qualify for HAMP.



02/19/2010 - Investor Report: HUD Regulations - According to a recent NATnews report, seller financing to buyers is an essential tool for many real estate investors, but proposed regulations from HUD could create big problems. In HUD's interpretation of who is, and who is not, a "mortgage originator," it exempts individuals who offer seller financing to homebuyers. However, the proposed regulation appears to limit the exemption to just one group -- people selling their own primary residences. That cuts out investors who offer seller financing on rental houses or second homes and condos. Under HUD's proposal, they'd have to go through the same registration, licensing, fingerprinting and other licensing hoops required of fulltime mortgage brokers.

Luxury Gold Canyon homes top $2 million - Those interested in a free chance to see premium homes and exceptional interior designs last weekend ventured out to Gold Canyon for the Superstition Mountain Open House. Opened in 1998, Superstition Mountain comprises villages of custom homes and villas primarily in Old World styles harmonizing with the colors and textures of the desert and mountains. The sprawling 890-acre master-planned community features two 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed courses. The 25 homes featured on the tour were new-builds and resales from 1,995 to 5,000-plus square feet and priced from $400,000 to more than $2 million built by Superstition Mountain Homes in Prospector Village and Club Village.

Five Reasons to Hold an Open House - Here are a few good reasons to consider holding an open house: 1) While the odds are low, open houses sometimes lead to a sale; 2) Home sellers and buyer prospects like them; 3) Visitors can provide valuable feedback; 4) Other agents tour open houses, which sometimes leads to a sale; and 5) Open houses engage people, including friends and neighbors who might know someone that would be interested in buying in the area.



02/12/2010 - Investor Confidence Returns to the Arizona Real Estate Market! - According to NATnews, HomeLovers, one of Arizona�s fastest growing Arizona real estate investing and property management companies, announced availability of its 2010 State of the Industry Report for Arizona Real Estate Investing, which outlines recent trends and takes a look at what lies ahead in 2010 for investors. The report also discusses how the investor of today is different than the investor demographics that lead to the buying frenzy of 2005 and subsequent market crash. The report tells investors to expect a relatively flat market with a shallow upward trend, followed by a gradual return to historical appreciation rates through 2011 and 2012.

White House Props Up Fannie and Freddie - Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac remain at the center of the U.S. government�s efforts to keep real estate afloat. So far, the government has given the two companies a total of nearly $111 billion to buy mortgages originated by others, keeping some as investments and repackaging others for sale to investors as securities. Together, Fannie and Freddie fund 90% of U.S. mortgages. They also have reignited lending by state and local housing-finance agencies by guaranteeing $24 billion in debt.

On relative note, the US mortgage rates dip below 5 pct again at Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.97% for the week ending February 11, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Last week, it averaged 5.01%, and a year ago it averaged 5.16%. Mortgage rates are expected to rise when the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-related securities at the end of March. The Fed's agency MBS and agency debt purchase programs, aimed at lowering borrowing costs, will have reached more than $1.4 trillion.

But, Are Interest Rates About to Rise? - The central bank is planning to scale back its purchases of mortgage-backed securities late next month, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley. Interest rates will likely climb when the program ceases. However, the Fed is expected to act if rates spike too much.



02/05/2010 - Model-home opening at Lone Mountain & 64th Street! - Lennar is opening two model homes in the gated Estates at Lone Mountain community, planned for 800 houses on 600 acres northwest of 64th Street and Lone Mountain Road. Prices range from $460,000 to $531,000 for homes of 2,900 to 3,800 square feet. Lennar is in a joint venture with Pulte Homes to build Lone Mountain. Roughly half of the site is preserved as open space. Much of the vegetation, including tall saguaros, have been preserved in place or replanted. The community is laid out so that none of the homes will be built back-to-back but will instead have open space with view fences. Lots are as large as one-half acre. Lone Mountain is situated in Phoenix and the Cave Creek School District with a Scottsdale mailing address. A 30-acre community park will feature a playground, basketball court and ramadas with picnic tables and barbecue grills. A grand opening is planned from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday 2/6/2010. Feel free to call Paul Pastor Realty Group for assistance, if you are not already committed to Buyer Representation. Paul is a designated (ABR) Accredited Buyer Representative.

Feds Giving Mortgage Modifications Additional Boost - It's not easy turning a potential foreclosure into a successful affordable mortgage modification -- from either side of the table. To help clear some of the sludge out of the Obama Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) the U.S. Treasury Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced plans to speed up trial mortgage modification conversions to help homeowners obtain a permanent mortgage modification. A more recent addition to the plan also calls for a ban on mortgage lenders canceling trial modifications that were due to expire before Jan. 31, 2010, giving homeowners more time to convert.

Fannie to Offer Closing Cost Aid on Foreclosures - Fannie Mae announced Friday that it would pay the closing costs on purchases of foreclosed homes in its inventory. The government-controlled company said buyers of qualified properties will get up to 3.5% in closing costs, or an equivalent amount for the purchase of new appliances. On a relative note, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.01% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 4, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Last week, it averaged 4.98%, and a year ago it averaged 5.25%. And finally, FHA began providing mortgage insurance for some purchases in which the seller bought the property and held it for fewer than 90 days. The agency is changing what is known as the �anti-flipping rule� to speed up sales of renovated homes in communities with too many bank-owned and foreclosed homes. Waiving the rule will encourage private investors to buy vacant properties, fix them up, and quickly sell them to buyers who will be eligible to buy them using FHA financing.



01/29/2010 - Mortgage Rates Flat This Week! - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.98% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending January 28, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Last week, it averaged 4.99%, and a year ago it averaged 5.10%. "Mortgage rates held steady this week ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy committee meetings," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "The Fed announced on January 27th that economic activity has continued to strengthen. It also noted that with substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time."

Pending home sales, prices on the rise! - January�s rise in pending home sales is a critical recovery indicator for Arizona�s real estate market, says Mesa analyst Michael Orr. While that indicates prices are likely to increase, the recovery is expected to be shallow and slow. The latest report shows pending sales hit a record 9,883 in the first week of January 2010 � a 79% increase over the 5,530 tally a year ago. Short sales are on the rise. "The last three months of 2009 saw a 60% increase in short sale closings," says Fidelity Senior Vice President Steve de Laveaga. "In 2010, you will see a number of lenders move to aggressive short sale programs and cash for keys for sellers."

Foreclosure data: Prices are close to the bottom - For the first time since the foreclosure crisis began, the price of a Phoenix-area foreclosed home is roughly the same as it was a year ago. ASU professor Karl Guntermann said preliminary data for December show the median price for a foreclosed home was down just 2 points from December 2008. Guntermann said he was "a little surprised" that the index showed foreclosures so close to bottoming out. In October, foreclosed homes still were selling at about 15% less than they had a year earlier, and by November that change had decreased to 8%. Then, in December, the annual drop shrank to a mere 2%, based on early numbers.

New communities being built - Model homes have started to sprout up around the Valley. Lennar Homes will start selling a new master-planned community in Cave Creek the Saturday before the Super Bowl. "We've seen higher traffic counts, better qualified interest from buyers and better sales," said Lennar's Nick Parks. "We are seeing some interest from Canadians that are moving to the area that maybe want a second home or are maybe relocating, and also some families," Parks said.



01/22/2010 - 30-Year Rates Down For Third Consecutive Week!/em> - As stated in a recent edition of NATnews, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.99% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 21, 2010, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Last week, it averaged 5.06%, and a year ago it averaged 5.12%. "Fixed mortgage rates followed bond yields lower for the third consecutive week, pushing 30-year mortgages below 5% once more," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Because of reduced sample sizes and work disruptions that occur with severe weather, housing starts tend to be more volatile during winter months. And, indeed, housing starts declined 4.0% in December, falling short of the market consensus of no change. Building permits, which are less vulnerable to weather interruptions, unexpectedly jumped 10.9%."

Springtime house hunters out early thanks to tax credit - The springtime spurt in home buying may hit earlier this year as buyers scramble to meet an April 30 tax credit deadline. "I expect the buying season will be moved up," says Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker. Sales "are going to take off in February and March and really take off in April. ... My concern is that the move-up buyer hasn't thought what they need to do. Their window is really short. They have to coordinate closing dates." The tax credit's impact on 2010 home sales is uncertain. Some economists expect the credit to pull sales that would have occurred later in the year into the first half.

Government lifts rule discouraging flipping; homes can be bought and resold within 90 days - In a move that could make foreclosed properties more attractive to investors and increase the number of homes available to first-time buyers, the federal government is temporarily lifting a prohibition against providing FHA mortgage insurance for homes that are resold within 90 days. The waiver on the purchase of flipped houses with FHA mortgages, which begins February 1 and is effective for one year, "will give FHA borrowers access to a broader array of recently foreclosed properties," HUD said Friday in announcing the change. Conditions attached to the waiver are expected to prevent what HUD called "predatory practices" by investors. For instance when a house is resold within 90 days of purchase at a price that is 20 percent higher, the seller would have to justify the increase, such as by showing how much was spent on repairs and renovation.
 
 
 

Paul Pastor, ABR, CRS, GRI
 Broker-Owner

Pastor Real Estate Team

8494 E. Cactus Wren Circle
Scottsdale, AZ 85266

Office: (480) 575-5290
FAX: (480) 575-5291

Email:
Paul@paulpastor.com
PJ@paulpastor.com
Kasey@paulpastor.com


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