Archive for the 'Buyers' Category
Video Interview: How the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Bailout Affects Buyers
Posted by Erica Vautier Liodice | Leave A Comment »
We’ve all heard the news, the Fed has officially bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Alright, now how does that affect me?
If you are shopping for a new home loan or considering refinancing an existing loan, it could have a profound effect on your buying power!
To better understand the Fed’s announcement and figure out exactly what it means for the housing market, we went to the experts. Kevin Kueneke, a Senior Loan Consultant at CW Mortgage, breaks down the news and explains what it means for San Diego.
Watch the video interview below and find out whether or not this news will change your buying power.
Want more information?
Read Kevin’s “First Take” on the Fed’s Announcement to Bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Do you have a Real Estate or Financial Question?
Send us an email and we will post a video interview with an expert answering it for you!
Related Posts: Buyers, CW Mortgage, Exclusive Properties, Financial news, Home Loans, Homeowners, Interest Rates, Mortgage News, Video Interviews
San Diego Housing Undervalued 17% – Get the Facts
Posted by Diane White | Currently 2 Comments »
Hello Everyone, Are homes in San Diego County undervalued? That is what Global Insight states in their House Price Valuation for the 2nd Quarter of 2008…and by 17.2%!
Even the Union Tribune is calling it “A housing flip-flop”. San Diego went from being 39.1 percent overvalued in 2005 to 17.2 percent undervalued in 2008. Click here to read the full article Or read the report by Global Insight and see for yourself!
Some feel that prices will still decline by another 10%, I don’t know if I agree with that. We are having an enormous amount of multiple offers, and offers over the asking prices, and not only on bank owned properties. The word is out….San Diego is a great place to live and to buy a home!
Related Posts: Area Information, Area Statistics, Buyers, Find A Home, Foreclosures, Homeowners, Maps, Market Trends, San Diego
Fannie And Freddie Bailout…My First Take
Posted by Kevin Kueneke | Currently 3 Comments »
By now, most everyone has heard of the announcement made last Sunday that the government is officially bailing out Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC), the two mortgage giants that own or guarantee about $5 trillion in home loans. Both CEO’s are being replaced and the new heads will report to the newly formed Federal Housing Finance Agency which was created under our friend the Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
Although the bailout is in itself a complicated issue, it is better than the alternative which is a complete failure of the two companies. A complete failure could have led to a catastrophic freeze in the mortgage market, essentially a lack of money to fund new loans. Overall, the bailout is positive news which is what the housing industry needs right now.
There will be an injection of up to $100 billion in each of the two companies which could help lower mortgage rates and add stability to the economy. These lower rates and added stability could entice banks to become more willing to write new purchase-money loans as well as refinance existing loans.
We have already seen a dramatic decrease in rates since the announcement. From Friday 9/5/2008 to Monday 9/8/2008, Conforming 30 year fixed rates dropped about a half percent! In my fifteen years of lending, I cannot remember a time when rates decreased that much in such a short period, even during the last big refinance boom that ended in 2003. I have had many potential buyers coming out of the woodwork asking how much more they can afford at these lower rates. Their buying power has been significantly increased basically overnight and right now is a fantastic time to buy a home. The key will be if these rates can hold at these low levels.
It is still hard to tell how all of this will be absorbed in the long run. One concern is that taxpayers will shoulder the financial burden of the bailout, especially if market conditions worsen. Lower mortgage rates alone will not fix the housing crisis as there are still too many houses on the market. There have been several cries to loosen the recently tightened lending guidelines, but it is doubtful that we will see the return of the Wild West of loan guidelines from a year or so ago as those guidelines helped get us into this mess in the first place. There is obviously no quick fix to the housing situation, but combined with other recently passed legislation, this may be a start.
If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to call me at (760)500-1919 or email me.
Related Posts: Buyers, CW Mortgage, Home Loans, Homeowners, Mortgage News
August 2008 Real Estate Sales for San Diego – Get the Facts
Posted by Diane White | Currently 5 Comments »
Hello Everyone,
Wow, what a dramatic change a month can make! I knew there was more activity because I am out there showing homes and have been running into multiple offer situations on a regular basis, especially for bank owned properties. But even I was surprised at the number of homes that went into pending last month. (NOTE: The following statistics are from Sandicor.com)
August 2008 San Diego County Activity
Compare August to what happened in July.
July 2008 San Diego County Activity
August 2008 North County Coastal Activity
Compare August to July’s activity.
July 2008 North County Coastal Activity
North County Coastal pending sales more than tripled!
- Metro San Diego pending sales went from: 276 to 647
- North County Inland pending activity: 134 to 316
- South Bay Area pending sales activity: 311 to 675
In checking some specific areas, the actual amount may not sound like much until you figure the percent:
- Carlsbad went from 30 to 122 – 406% increase
- Carmel Valley from 6 to 44 – 733% increase
- Encinitas from 12 to 49 – 408% increase
- UTC/Sorrento area from 13 to42 – 323% increase
- Rancho Bernard/Sabre Springs/Carmel Mtn Ranch 48 to 99 – 206% increase
Some other facts about actual closings (316) for the month of August in San Diego County:
- Average days on the market (DOM) were 76 compared to 61 DOM for the pending properties
- Sales Price to Listing Price (SP/LP) averaged 99%
It will be interesting to see what the SP/LP will be in the next couple of months since there are so many multiple offers and often there are offers over the asking price. If you would like me to research specific areas or zip codes, please let me know. You can email me at [email protected] or call me at (858)248-2144.
See what John Karevoll of DataQuick said on August 18th
It certainly looks like now is the time to buy…because at this rate, prices will be going up. As always, feel free to pass this information on.
Related Posts: Area Information, Area Statistics, Buyers, Cardiff, Carlsbad, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Foreclosures, Market Trends, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, Solana Beach
Do You Have Your Loan Emergency Kit Ready?
Posted by Kevin Kueneke | Leave A Comment »
I was reading an article by Laura Rowley on Yahoo Finance today regarding the importance of being prepared for potential natural disasters. It reminded me that many people that live in Southern California have some sort of emergency disaster kit stashed away in their garage. A typical kit may include drinking water, some can goods, flashlight, batteries, candles, medications, etc. 
As a homebuyer, you should prepare your loan paperwork the same way and have all items ready in case of a loan emergency. Even though you provided your lender with the items necessary to process your loan, it is a good idea to keep a “shadow file” or Loan Emergency Kit just in case something gets misplaced…or the copier eats the only copy your lender had of your last paystub, W-2, you name it.
That credit card late payment or mortgage late payment you had removed last year might show up again. Do you have the letter from the creditor handy? What about your landlord from a year ago. Do you still know how to contact them?
Here are some other items to keep in your Loan Emergency Kit:
- Proof judgments and/or tax liens have been paid.
- Copy of divorce decree and/or child support order.
- Paperwork regarding length of time a student loan is deferred.
- If retired, awards letters for social security or pensions.
- Quarterly asset statements (401k’s for example).
- Receipts or canceled checks for rent payments. More and more lenders are requiring this type of proof of payment if the landlord is a private individual.
- Bankruptcy papers including list of creditors and the discharge paper. If your lender did not ask for these at the beginning of the process, chance are that they will need them at the end.
- Tax returns with all schedules.
- W-2’s.
- Paystubs – save them all until the deal is closed.
Getting a call at the 11th hour from your lender requesting something you have already provided can be extremely frustrating. Sure, you could stomp your feet in anger and really give your lender a piece of your mind. You could spend a few extra days thinking of ways to cause them the same emotional stress that they are causing you. Or, you could just re-fax or re-email the missing item. Remember, you are dealing with people and all people, including you, make mistakes.
Is there any excuse for these occurrences? Of course not. But underwriters are going over every file with a fine tooth comb these days and having your information at the tip of your fingers can iron out a small wrinkle before it becomes a giant speedbump.
Related Posts: Buyers, CW Mortgage, Find A Home, Home Loans, Homeowners, Mortgage News
