Monthly Archives: March 2015

Detroit-area homeowners apply to avoid foreclosure | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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More than 13,000 Detroit-area property owners have entered into payment plans hoping to avoid losing their homes to tax foreclosure, but another 16,000 living in their homes have yet to take advantage of the offer ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

Hundreds of applicants sat in a hotel ballroom waiting for the chance to plead their cases before Wayne County Treasury workers. Many had lined up before 7 a.m. to be heard before the 4:30 p.m. deadline.

“I’m downhill and I can’t get out,” said Kevin Franklyn, who was waiting his turn to see if the more than $15,000 he owes on his home and a dozen or so rental properties can be turned into something more manageable.

“I’m going to try to pay what I can,” said Franklyn, 46, who blamed his tenants’ nonpayment of rent for his struggles.

More than 60,000 of the county’s 76,000 foreclosed properties are in Detroit, threatening neighborhoods hard hit by the national mortgage crisis. About $326 million in taxes, interest and fees are owed on the foreclosed homes, lots and other buildings in Detroit.

City officials fear that more foreclosures will only add to the glut of vacant houses in Detroit and blight that keeps potential homebuyers away.

Taxes have been paid in full for about 20,700 of the foreclosed properties, partly through the payment plan, according to Chief Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski.

Of the 38,100 properties still facing foreclosure, only 15,900 are occupied.

“Those are the ones we want to get to,” Szymanski said. The county has to collect property taxes by law.

City and county officials urged state lawmakers to pass foreclosure prevention bills and Gov. Rick Snyder signed the legislation in January to provide homeowners facing financial hardship with the option to sign up for a payment plan to avoid foreclosure. The bills also cut interest rates, reduced down payments and capped past due taxes.

Szymanski said more than 13,000 homeowners have entered into payment assistance plans already.

Bryan Ely, 28, of Detroit, said he owes about $20,000 in back taxes on his home on Detroit’s northwest side.

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/1000s-detroit-area-homeowners-apply-151653604.html

Strong First Quarter for Consumer Confidence | Waccabuc Real Estate

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The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment reached a ten-year peak of 95.5 in the first quarter of 2015. Although the Index of Consumer Sentiment Index decreased to 93.0 in March from 95.4 in February, it was up from 80.0 from March 2014. The harsh winter dampened the giddiness of falling gasoline prices from the start of the year. Lower income households reported a loss in confidence because they are more sensitive to higher utility costs and disrupted work hours.

The Conference Board Confidence Index increased in March to 101.3 from 98.8 in February. The March increase was driven by the improved short-term prospects for employment and income. However, consumer assessment of current conditions declined for a second consecutive month, suggesting a softening in first quarter growth. The share of consumers expecting more jobs increased in March, and the share anticipating higher incomes increased from 16.4% to 18.4% in March.

Rising consumer confidence and improved job creation numbers are positive indicators for both improved GDP growth and housing demand once the economy clears the first quarter.

UM & CB three month moving average 3 31 2015

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/strong-first-quarter-for-consumer-confidence/

U.S. home prices steady in January, Case-Shiller data show | South Salem Real Estate

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U.S. house prices were steady in January, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite released Tuesday, with Charlotte, Miami and San Diego all seeing gains of 0.7% while San Francisco prices fell 0.9%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices grew 0.9%. Compared to Jan. 2014, prices were up 4.6%. “The combination of low interest rates and strong consumer confidence based on solid job growth, cheap oil and low inflation continue to support further increases in home prices,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee for S&P Dow Jones Indicies, in a statement.

 

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-home-prices-steady-in-january-case-shiller-data-show-2015-03-31

Zillow Index Shows Access to Credit Halfway to Recovery | Cross River Real Estate

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Mortgage credit availability as measured by Zillow’s Mortgage Access Index  has risen steadily over the past two years to surpass a halfway point between the depths of 2011 and the peak of the boom in August 2004.

The new metric (ZMAI) combines seven sources of data: credit score data, debt to income ratios, PMI availability, quotes on Zillow’s mortgage platform, and other data to come up with a way to measure and track how difficult it is to qualify for a mortgage.

 

zmai

 

The index shows an abrupt and virtual evaporation of housing credit between 2008 and 2009. At the close of 2007, ZMAI stood at 97.8 points, but tumbled all the way to 28 points by the end of 2008. For the next four years, it showed no signs of credit conditions improving. It wasn’t until May 2013 when ZMAI again reached the 30-point threshold.

Other measures of credit access, like actual mortgage closing rates tracked by Ellie Mae, are not nearly as positive as the Zillow index.  Closing rates on purchase loans reached an annual average of 63.3 percent from 60.1 percent in 2013.  MBA’s mortgage credit availability index reached 118.6 in February.  It has risen 118.6 points since it was benchmarked at 100 in March 2012.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/03/zillow-index-shows-access-to-credit-halfway-to-recovery/

Stronger Demand and Thin Inventories Push Prices up 7.5 Percent | Katonah Real Estate

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Persistently tight inventories—not a good sign as the spring season nears—coupled with an uptick in sales pushed prices up 7.5 percent in February

The median existing-home price2 for all housing types in February was $202,600. This marks the 36th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains and the largest since last February (8.8 percent), according to the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million in February from 4.82 million in January. Sales are 4.7 percent higher than a year ago and above year-over-year totals for the fifth consecutive month.

Total housing inventory at the end of February increased from January by 1.6 percent to 1.89 million existing homes available for sale, but remains 0.5 percent below a year ago (1.90 million). For the second straight month, unsold inventory is at a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace.

Concerns are growing about the low inventory levels have persisted through the winter months.  Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said, “Insufficient supply appears to be hampering prospective buyers in several areas of the country and is hiking prices to near unsuitable levels,” he said. “Stronger price growth is a boon for homeowners looking to build additional equity, but it continues to be an obstacle for current buyers looking to close before rates rise.”

“With all indications pointing to a rate increase from the Federal Reserve this year – perhaps as early as this summer – affordability concerns could heighten as home prices and rents both continue to exceed wages,” adds Yun.

A NAR study released earlier this month found that the disparity between rent and income growth is widening in metro areas throughout the country and is making it harder for renters to become homeowners.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/03/8633/

Bank of Mom and Dad Puts Kids in Houses | Bedford Real Estate

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New research by loanDepot LLC indicates the number of parents who expect to help their Millennial-age children purchase a home in the future will increase by 31 percent compared to the past five years, from 13 to 17 percent. Half (50%) of the parents who will help their children buy a home say they’ll contribute toward down payments, while 20 percent will cover closing costs and 20 percent will cosign the loan.

In the future, about two-thirds of parents (67%) say they they’ll use savings to help their children buy a home, compared to 72 percent in the past. The number of parents who plan to use cash from a refinance or take out a personal loan to help their children buy a home is expect to double. In the past, just 4 percent of parents refinanced their homes and 3 percent used personal loans. In the future, those numbers are expected to increase to 8 percent for parents who will refinance and 8 percent for parents who will take out a personal loan.

“Support from parents is playing a significant role in the housing recovery, and this new research indicates the trend will increase,” said Dave Norris, president and chief operations officer at loanDepot LLC. “First time home buyers comprise 28 percent of the today’s home buying market[1], an almost all-time low. Through the survey, 75 percent of Millennial-age home-buyers who received financial support from their parents said that assistance made it possible for them to buy a home. Without that financial support, it’s likely the pool of Millennial first-time home buyers would be even smaller than today.”

AGREE TO DISAGREE

The loanDepot research surfaced opposing views between parents and Millennial-aged buyers about whether or not the parent’s financial support was or will be a gift, loan, inheritance or something else altogether. While most parents (68%) view the financial support as a gift, only 29 percent of Millennial-aged children agreed. More Millennials (36%) view their parent’s financial support as a loan to be repaid than as a gift (29%).

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/03/bank-of-mom-and-dad-puts-kids-in-houses/

Property Taxes Make Up 40% of State and Local Tax Revenues | Chappaqua Real Estate

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According to NAHB tabulations of the Census Bureau’s quarterly data, property taxes constituted 39.7% of state and local tax receipts among major sources for 2014. Sales taxes had the second largest share at 27.8%, followed closely by individual income tax at 27.9%. At 4.6%, corporate income taxes held the smallest share of state and local tax receipts among major sources.

SALT shares

Further gains are expected in all tax receipts as the economic recovery strengthens, however state and local individual income tax, corporate income tax, and sales tax collections are particularly responsive to changing economic conditions.

Gains in state and local individual income tax, corporate income tax, and sales tax collections had outpaced increases in property tax receipts until recently. This trend pushed the property tax share of total receipts from the four major sources from a high of 44.9% in the third quarter of 2010 to just below 40% as of the end of 2014. The share did stabilize recently as property tax revenues continue to grow. The current property tax share remains higher than pre-housing boom measures.

Revenues from property taxes totaled just under $498 billion for 2014.

prop tax revenues

Lagging property assessments and annual adjustments smooth property tax collections across business cycles. Nominal property tax collections are not as prone to cyclical fluctuations as other tax collections and have tended to increase with minor business cycle fluctuations.

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/

Local Farmers Market | Chappaqua Real Estate

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