Tag Archives: Cross River Real Estate

QM Rule is a Yawner | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

Despite months of turmoil and repeated complaints from lenders, Realtors, builders and other members of the housing lobby, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s Qualified Mortgage Rule enacted in 2014 has not had any significant impact on risk taking and credit availability, according to a new study by the Federal Reserve.

Congress passed one of the most comprehensive financial reform laws in U.S. history, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. One key part of Dodd-Frank — the ability-to-repay (ATR) provision — discourages risky mortgage lending practices that proliferated during the housing boom. On January 10, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rules implementing the ATR provision went into effect. For the first time, Federal law required lenders to consider certain underwriting criteria and make a good-faith determination that borrowers will have the ability to repay their home loans. As the new ATR requirement represented a shift toward more prescriptive regulation in the residential mortgage market, it is important to understand how the rules are affecting risk taking and credit availability.

Federal Reserve economists Neil Bhutta and Daniel RingoIn used recently released loan level data collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to examine how the new rules may have affected mortgage lending activity in 2014. They examined broad lending patterns and found little indication that the new rules had a significant effect on lending in 2014. They conducted sharper tests around the date of enactment, and around lender-size and loan-pricing thresholds, where treatment of loans under the new rules varies. They found evidence that some market outcomes were affected by the new rules, but the estimated magnitudes of the responses are small.

The new ATR rules require lenders to consider and verify a number of different underwriting factors, such as a mortgage applicant’s assets or income, debt load, and credit history, and make a reasonable determination that a borrower will be able to pay back the loan. (Thus, these verification requirements prohibit so-called “no-doc” loans, where borrowers’ income and assets are not verified.) Borrowers may allege a violation of the ATR requirement within three years of the date of violation. They may also use a violation of the ATR requirement as a defense against foreclosure for the life of the loan. Lenders that are found to violate the ATR rules can be liable for monetary damages.

 

read more…

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2016/01/qm-rule-is-a-yawner/

Mortgage rates average 3.95% | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

Freddie today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate declining slightly leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage hasn’t risen above 4 percent since the week of July 23rd of this year, which is helping homebuyer affordability in the face of rising house prices due to low levels of inventory in many markets.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.95 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending November 25, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.97 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.97 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.18 percent with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.17 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.01 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.98 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.01 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.59 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, down from 2.64 percent last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.44 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

As of January 1, 2016, the PMMS will no longer provide results for the 1-year ARM. Additionally, the regional breakouts will not be provided for the 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgages, and the 5/1 Hybrid ARM.

Quote
Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“In a quiet week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, the 30-year mortgage rate dipped 2 basis points to 3.95 percent. Economic releases over the last week contained no major surprises, and none are expected in the next few days. The year is winding down, and the only remaining market dates of note are December 4 — the last employment report of the year — and December 15-16, the long-awaited FOMC meeting.”

Gen Xers more likely than Millennials or Boomers to buy a home | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

MCLEAN, VA–(Marketwired – Nov 18, 2015) – Freddie Mac

  • Gen Xers more likely than Millennials or Boomers to buy a home
  • Millennials more likely to save for short- and long-term goals
  • Renters offset rent hikes by spending less on essentials and are considering getting a roommate

Renters indicate they still feel challenged with their finances and 66 percent are carrying debt each month, according to a recent Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) survey. Yet, the majority of renters (56 percent) are optimistic about managing their debt. Renters are also saving money for numerous priorities and a down payment on a home is not at the top of their list. In addition, Gen Xers are more likely than Millennials or Boomers to buy a home in the next three years.

For the Freddie Mac quarterly online survey, conducted in October on its behalf by Harris Poll, renters currently saving for all listed goals place a higher priority on saving money for an emergency/unexpected expense (59 percent), retirement (51 percent) and children’s education (50 percent) than a down payment on a home (39 percent) or a vacation (26 percent). They also indicate that they are behind in saving for those things.

Looking across generations, Millennial renters are more likely to be saving for short- and long-term goals than Boomer and Gen X renters. For example, Millennial renters are more likely to be saving for a major purchase (92 percent) and a vacation (94 percent), when compared to Boomers (82 percent and 81 percent respectively) and Gen Xers (77 percent and 75 percent respectively).

“We know rents are rising faster than incomes and now we have data to show that many renters don’t have enough to pay all their debts each month, which is forcing them to make tradeoffs, such as cutting spending on other items,” said David Brickman, Freddie Mac executive vice president of Multifamily. “Despite this, some renters feel optimistic about managing their debt.”

Brickman added, “Growth in the renter segment will most likely occur through multifamily properties as more than half of those currently renting single-family properties are planning to become homeowners in the near future. The data shows single-family renters are increasingly more dissatisfied than multifamily renters.”

Ways to Offset a Rent Hike

The many ways in which renters are making adjustments due to rent increases include:

  • 51 percent are spending less on essentials, the same as last quarter.
  • 52 percent put off plans to purchase a home, compared to 44 percent in June.
  • 35 percent are contemplating getting a roommate, up from 29 percent in June.
  • 26 percent say they need to move into a smaller rental property, compared to 20 percent in June.

The Future Homebuyer

When broken out by generations, 58 percent of Gen X renters expect to purchase a home in the next three years, compared to 42 percent of Millennials and 33 percent of Baby Boomers.

Overall, almost half (48 percent) of renters in single-family properties are dissatisfied with renting, and are more likely to purchase a home in the next three years than multifamily renters (57 percent vs. 28 percent).

Satisfaction with Rental Experience

The satisfaction rates from the March, October and June surveys this year are virtually unchanged, with a third of renters being very satisfied with their rental experience and almost a third (30 percent) indicating they are moderately satisfied. In the October survey,

  • 70 percent of satisfied renters are likely to continue renting for the next three years, up slightly from 68 percent in the previous quarter.
  • 30 percent of satisfied renters indicate they are more likely to buy a home, compared to 32 percent in the previous quarter.

In addition, the top favorable factors for renting remain about the same and are freedom from home maintenance (79 percent), more flexibility over where you live (74 percent) and protection against declines in home prices (68 percent).

Additional details about the survey, including charts, are on the Freddie Mac website.

Here’s what the typical #homebuyer and #seller look like | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

This is the third year in a row that the share of first-time buyers declined, staying at the lowest point in nearly three decades, according to an annual survey released by the National Association of Realtors.

Instead of first-time buyers, the overall strengthening pace of home sales over the past year was driven more by repeat buyers with dual incomes.

In this year’s survey, the share of first-time buyers declined to 32%å (33% a year ago), which is the second-lowest share since the survey’s inception (1981) and the lowest since 1987 (30%). Historically, the long-term average shows that nearly 40% of primary purchases are from first-time homebuyers.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the housing recovery’s missing link continues to be the absence of first-time buyers.

“There are several reasons why there should be more first-time buyers reaching the market, including persistently low mortgage rates, healthy job prospects for those college-educated, and the fact that renting is becoming more unaffordable in many areas,” said Yun.

He attributed the drop in first-time buyers to several reasons.

“Unfortunately, there are just as many high hurdles slowing first-time buyers down. Increasing rents and home prices are impeding their ability to save for a down payment, there’s scarce inventory for new and existing-homes in their price range, and it’s still too difficult for some to get a mortgage,” Yun said.

This infographic shows what the typical homebuyer and home seller look like.

Click to enlarge

NAR

(Source: National Association of Realtors)

read more….

[Infographic] HereÕ what the typical homebuyer and seller look like

Mortgage rates drop to 3.76% | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates following Treasury yields lower following a more than disappointing September jobs report. This continues to keep average rates below four percent for the 11thconsecutive week, including the 15-year fixed falling below 3 percent once again for the first time since April of this year.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.76 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending October 8, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.85 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.19 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.99 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.07 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.36 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.88 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from 2.91 percent last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.06 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.55 percent this week with an average 0.2 point, up from 2.53 percent last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.42 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quote
Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Calling the September jobs report disappointing is an understatement. The sputtering U.S. economy added only 142,000 jobs. To make matters worse, there were downward revisions to the prior two months. Hourly wages were flat, and the labor force participation rate fell to 62.4 percent, the lowest rate since 1977. In response, Treasury yields dipped below 2 percent triggering a 9 basis point tumble in the 30-year mortgage rate to 3.76 percent.”

Homes in the Rental Housing Stock | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

While renting a home is often associated exclusively with apartment living, there are many types of homes in the rental housing stock. Renting a home, regardless of structure type, can provide a housing option for individuals and families who are on a budget, saving to purchase a home, or who expect to change locations in the near-term. And while builders have accelerated their pace of multifamily construction to meet rising rental demand, it is useful to understand the composition of the current rental housing stock.

Based on the Census Bureau’s 2013 American Housing Survey, the rental stock increased 1. 4 million from 2011 to 2013 to a total of 40 million residences. Contrary to popular expectations, most rental homes are smaller properties, single-family homes and multifamily buildings with 2 to 4 units.

Single-family detached homes made up the largest individual share of the rental housing stock, 29 percent of the entire rental market in 2013. Combining that portion of the market with the share of townhomes (single-family attached), all single-family residences accounted for 35 percent of the occupied rental stock.

The second largest share of rental stock was multifamily homes with 2 to 4 units (19 percent).

Slide1

It is the case that rental housing tends to be located in urban areas. 85 percent of rental homes were located in metropolitan areas (MSAs), with 43 percent in central cities and 42 percent in suburbs. Multifamily dominated the housing rental market in both central cities and suburbs, largely due to the high land costs. Single-family rental homes were most popular in non-metropolitan areas.

Slide2

The share of rental homes increased moderately almost across all structure types from 2011 to 2013, except for townhomes. The rental share of single-family homes, including both detached and townhome rental properties, increased three percent from 2011 to 2013, compared to only a one percent increase in multifamily rental share. However, the increase for single-family rental inventory was not due to initially built-for-rent purposes, but came from formerly owner-occupied to rental homes.

Slide3

read more…

http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/09/what-kind-of-homes-are-in-the-rental-housing-stock-2/

U.S. Home Prices Remain Flat in June, Case-Shiller Says | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

U.S. home price growth remained largely flat in June, according to a report released Tuesday, a further indication that the housing market is holding steady after years of turbulence.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, covering the entire nation, rose 4.5% in the 12 months ended in June, slightly greater than a 4.4% increase in May.

The 10-city index saw a slightly lower gain of 4.6% from a year earlier, compared with a 4.7% increase in May. The 20-city index gained 5% year-over-year, compared with a 4.9% increase in May.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 5% increase to the 20-city index.

This month’s Case-Shiller numbers are being closely watched after Monday’s stock market plunge has some investors eyeing real estate as a more stable investment. Another important indicator, sales of new homes in July, is also set to be released Tuesday.

But economists cautioned that the report reflects the state of the housing market a couple of months ago. It doesn’t take into account whether there will be any impact from the latest market news.

“If you’re uncertain about the economy you’re not going to take your money and buy a house,” said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research. “It’s just a question mark that we didn’t have before.”

David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, pointed to a major stock market drop as one potential factor that could cool off the housing market in the coming months.

“A stock market correction is unlikely to do much damage to the housing market,” he said. “A full-blown bear market dropping more than 20% could present some difficulties for housing and other economic sectors.”

Month-over-month home price gains were modest, according to the report. Not seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Index rose 1% from May to June. The 10-city and 20-city indexes saw a 0.9% and 1% change over the month respectively.

 

read more…

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/home-prices-remains-flat-in-june-case-shiller-says-1440507733

Mortgage Rates average 3.94% | Cross River Realtor

Leave a reply

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates reversing course and nudging higher for the first time in four weeks.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.94 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 13, 2015, up from last week when it averaged 3.91 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.12 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.17 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.13 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.24 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.93 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.95 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.97 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.62 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.54 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.36 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quote
Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“The jobs report for July showed that the economy added 215,000 jobs, in line with expectations. Wage growth remains modest at 2.1 percent compared to the same time last year, and another solid if not stellar employment report leaves a potential Fed rate hike on the table for September. However, this year’s theme of overseas economic turbulence continues with the focus shifting east to China. Over the past few days the Chinese Yuan has fallen sharply. In the midst of these mixed data mortgage rates inched up, increasing 3 basis points to 3.94 percent. Headed into the fall, we’ll likely see continued interest rate tension, with dollar appreciation weighing against possible Fed rate hikes leaving the rate outlook clouded.”

Home Prices are now only 6.5 Percent below Peak | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

In terms of national averages, the recovery has raised prices within a hair of their highest peaks reached during the boom nearly ten years ago, but on a market-by-market basis, median prices in fewer than half of the nation’s larger markets have fully rebounded from the housing crash.

At $251,000, US home prices are now just 6.5 percent off June 2006 peak of $268,000, and up over 25 percent from the market”s bottom, according to May data released today by Black Knight Financial Services.  Black Knight reported that its HPI index rose 1.1 percent in May over April and 5.1 percent over May 2014.

However, on a market-by-market basis, only 47 percent of the nation’s top 300 markets have met or exceeded their peaks in 2007. Homes.com, which tracks price rebounds by market, reported that in May 139 of the nation’s 300 largest markets had achieved full price recovery.

Homes.com reported that:

  • Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (115.17% rebound percentage), Austin-Round Rock, TX (113.15%), and Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (113.04%) led the nation’s top 100 markets  in rebound percentage in May.  In fact, nine of the top ten leading rebound markets were in the West.
  • Three of the nation’s beste online casino largest markets had at least a 7% increase yearly while seven markets had an annual percentage increase of at least 6%. Five markets are from California which is the most from a single state.
  • The West was home to nine of the top ten markets achieving the greatest year over year price appreciation in May.

read more…

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/07/home-prices-only-6-5-percent-below-peak/

Homeownership rate drops to 48-year low | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

The homeownership rate in the United States in the second quarter declined to 63.4%, the lowest it has been since 1967, according to data from the Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau.

Further, the steady decline since 2009 continues.

Click to enlarge

(Source: Census Bureau)

On a quarterly basis, the rate was 1.3 percentage points (+/-0.4) lower than the second quarter 2014 rate (64.7%) and 0.4 percentage points (+/-0.4) lower than the rate last quarter (63.7%).

For the second quarter 2015, the homeownership rates were highest in the Midwest (68.4%) and lowest in the West (58.5%). The homeownership rates in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West were lower than the rates in the second quarter 2014.

Click to enlarge

(Source: Census Bureau)

National vacancy rates in the second quarter 2015 were 6.8% for rental housing and 1.8% for homeowner housing.

“The flipside of such strong rental demand is that the homeownership rate fell once again in the second quarter,” said Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics. “This suggests that homeownership has not kept pace with the cyclical rebound in household formation which is now underway, and gives weight to the idea that first-time buyers in particular are still struggling to gain a foothold in the market.

“However, foreclosure rates are declining steadily, employment and incomes are growing at a healthy pace and credit conditions are gradually loosening,” Stansfield said. “What’s more, there is no evidence of a fundamental shift in homeownership aspirations. Accordingly, we expect that the homeownership rate will soon find a floor.”

 

read more…

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34596-homeownership-rate-drops-to-48-year-low