May 28, 2009

Weekly Freddie: Mortgage Rates lat This Week


30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.82 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 21, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 4.86 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.98 percent.

15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.50 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.52 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.55 percent.

Five-year Treasury ARMs: Averaged 4.79 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.82 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.61 percent.

One-year ARMs: Averaged 4.82 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.71 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.24 percent.

Freddie Says:

Long-term fixed-rate mortgage rates have remained below 5.0 percent for the past 10 weeks as the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve (Fed) act to keep interest rates low through security purchases, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. The Treasury purchased $136 billion in mortgage-backed securities through April and the Fed bought $740 billion through mid-May. In addition, the Fed purchased $115 billion in Treasury bonds since March of this year.

Housing construction continued to decline, as total starts fell to the lowest level since the Census Bureau began its monthly series in January 1959. While single-family construction appears to be near or at a bottom, multi-unit construction continued to recede. Reflecting the apparent stabilization in single-family construction levels, homebuilder confidence rose in May to the highest level since September 2008 and represented the first back-to-back up tick since February 2008.

Howard Bell

www.yourpropertypath.com

A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

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May 26, 2009

Does Sentiment Preceed Markets




Optimism about the housing market is on the rise as well, an April 16 Gallup Poll found that 71 percent of Americans said that now is a "good time" to buy a house.

Case Shiller
U.S. home prices fell a record 19.1% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, according to the national Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday.

On a month-to-month basis, prices in 20 selected cities fell 2.2% in March and were down 18.7% in the past year. Analysts said there was no evidence that a recovery has begun.

The S&P/Case Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index recorded a 19.1% decline in the 1st quarter of 2009 over the 1st quarter of 2008, the largest decline in the serie’s 21-year history. The 10-City and 20-City Composites recorded annual declines of 18.6% and 18.7%, respectively. Residential real estate continued at a steady decline in March, home prices are now at 2002 levels.

The number of homes under contract increased in March, according to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, which increased 3.2 percent from February to March.

While this is good news, and we are in a bottoming process, the Economist points out that Robert Shiller, co-inventor of the index, compiled a version of the Case Shiller that stretches back over a century.

This 100 year index shows that the latest fall in nominal prices is already much bigger than the 10.5% drop in 1932, the worst point of the Depression. And things are even worse than they look. In the deflationary 1930s house prices declined less in real terms. Today inflation is running at a brisk pace, so property prices have fallen by a staggering 18% in real terms over the past year.

Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs, says that the “massive amount of excess supply” means that home prices nationwide will probably fall an additional 15 percent.

Much of the improving sentiment has to do with the end of a sharp downward spiral and not much to do with real economic recovery or an end to price declines, at least not yet.

Howard Bell

www.yourpropertypath.com

A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

Your Property PathSF

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May 24, 2009

REO: Still an Opportunity


Its selling season once again. Inventory temporarily down and the number of buyers, at least in the bay area visibly increasing. Many buyers are looking into distressed homes, bargain hunters have buying up homes at an unprecedented rate. Actual sales have risen 91% year over a year.

The Wall, Street Journal reports: As a weak housing market nudges the foreclosure rate higher, next year is looking promising for investors in distressed real estate. Lenders are stuck with foreclosed property and slashing prices or selling through auctions. Add ongoing job loss continuing beyond recovery and you can see why huge surpluses should continue to drive prices.

Realtytrac offers research insight into distressed markets. Here is what they had to say: Their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report: Realtytrac sees a 10 percent decrease from the previous month but still up 18 percent from January 2008. One in every 466 homes filed for foreclosure January.

“The extensive foreclosure efforts on the part of lenders and government agencies appear to have impacted the January numbers, particularly the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on all foreclosure sales that was extended through the end of January along with Florida’s voluntary 45-day freeze on all new foreclosure actions and scheduling of foreclosure sales that was announced at the beginning of December,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. The moratorium may have skewed the numbers lower for short period, but that is over now. Sounds like the expectation is likely we are in for another foreclosure surge.

There are three distinct REO strategies you can focus on:

NOD
The Notice of Default (NOD) list. With the NOD list, you are dealing with the owner. Ideally, the property will have a high equity, low Loan-to-Value ratio. Why? Because your profit is the difference between what the equity in the home is and the bank loan. Success here is based on the agents ability to bring bad news to a stressed client and still manage to keep the client in a positive framework. Finessing the relationship is key to keeping the client in the game and not in denial.

Short Sales
With a short sale you deal directly with the bank. The problem for the investor is the bank is not willing to sell a property considerably below current market value (another customer in denial). The second huge problem is that the banks are under staffed and over whelmed. Very difficult environment to work with, by the time you get an answer from the bank, its often the case that the buyer has left the scene.

Forclosure
Its expected that there will be a third big wave of foreclosures as the Fannie and Freddie moratorium passes. Financial institutions have ended their self-imposed foreclosure moratoriums and new foreclosure filings hit record highs. As the supply in that market swells, look for even further discounts to come. Housing markets slow down in the fall and winter, so distressed property prices should be even better.

The Math
It was clear to me that this is a very active market and that buyers were out to buy. I asked a real estate agent who specializes in REO in the bay area. I was interested in the cost benefit of selling distressed property. I could see sales volume on the rise and buyers were actively buying, but can you make money doing this.

I asked Gabrielle Dahms, a real estate agent involved with REO's in the Bay Area and here's what she had to say: After all, distressed property means low dollar volume. The volume of short sales and bank-owned properties throughout the San Francisco/Bay Area is staggering. Thousands of REOs are currently on the market, and many more short sales than that. Most of the short sales will become bank-owned because only a handful of them are approved short sales, those where the listing agent has gone through the trouble of negotiating with the bank pre-emptively. For more information about short sales you go to Gabrielle Dahm's Squidoo page.

Bank-owned properties, also referred to as REOs, can be spectacularly good deals. They can also be disasters waiting to happen.

Let’s first address the financial aspects. Generally speaking, REOs offer 20 to 50% discounts on properties in the market place. There are some hot areas in which REOs make less sense, however, because their prices are being driven up by multiple offers. Sometimes as many as 20! Clearly, there is no deal in that scenario.

Just as with regular properties for sale, location, condition, layout, neighborhood, and amenities make all the difference, especially for many of the first time homebuyers now flooding the market thanks to Obama’s First Time Home Buyer’s tax credit.

Getting into the REO market place requires guidance. Just like anything else, you can do it by yourself, but why would you? It’s like doing surgery on yourself and the outcome is a guess. That said, it pays to work with a real estate agent who is able to discern the banks’ approach, and who knows how much to bid, how to submit the offer (this is far beyond writing an offer on a contract form). The realtor also must be persistent, responsive and in contact with the bank.

Now back to the question as to whether REOs are bargains.

The short answer is, it’s an individual assessment that requires homework. An excellent and enthusiastic real estate agent on your side will do that homework and understand your motivation for wanting to own a particular property. Deep discounts are available, fixers can make for an attractive bargain, the sellers are motivated, special loan packages can make your buying experience much easier, Just as you, the buyer want to get a great value on the property in question, so does the bank want to get the highest return. Comps are still important. And of course, always factor in the time and cost of any repairs or remodeling for the property in question. Some REOs are likely to be good investments while others aren’t. Work with a realtor who presents a package solution, maybe even one who deals with buyers only because shooting from the hip is gambling, simply put.

Need More..
SomeTips

Interview the realtor you are going to work with and find out whether they will show you short sales and whether they know how to negotiate them, plus how they intend to represent you and what kind of protections they have in place for you in regards to the property you want to own. Also, ask them to explain their view of the local market to you, as well as how they will help you get the right home at the lowest price.

1. REO trade associations: that focus on the REO and default markets like REOMAC or National REO Brokers Association (NRBA), a group with about 800 members.
2. Industry Events: Five Star Default Servicing Conference to meet people in all aspects of default servicing.
3. Education: Spend time on realtytrac and forclosure,com., rismedia and Radar Logic
4. Check out the smaller institutions: Local and regional banks and credit unions, they may be more receptive to a short conversation.
5. Real Estate Agencies: Talk to agencies that are specializing in REO's.
6. Law firms: that specialize in legal matters for banks with large foreclosed portfolios.
7. Property Management Companies: Some management companies will handle REO property for lenders. If the property has tenants then they will collect rent and handle all management issues. Much of the time it is limited to lock down and trash out functions. Talk to national companies like Keystone Asset Management, Premier Asset Services and Midland Loan Services (Do a Google search)

Gabrielle Dahms can be reached at 415-200-7202 or gabrielle.dahms@firstbayarearealty.com

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May 23, 2009

NAR Looks into The Future


Realtors®' Confidence Index

NAR's monthly survey of the market outlook measures sentiment of current and future housing activity. The index consists of questions regarding current and future expectations of market conditions asked of active market participants. The first chart gives us current sentiment and you can see how buyers show a strong preference fro single family homes over condo's and town houses.

Add Image
The second chart gives us a sense of how the surveys participants see the markets going forward. The future expectation of about 45 for single family homes suggests a firming of the market. And the sub 50 value of the overall index tells us that a majority of participants tell us we are not yet out of the woods.

NAR'S Conclusion:
The data are a minor indicator that the declines in the housing markets are starting to ameliorate and are consistent with the general observations of Administration spokespersons and economists currently looking for the end of the recession.

*A high expectation is 100, medium 50 and low is 0. The markets concerned are Single Family Homes (SF), Town Houses (TH) and Condos (C).

Howard Bell

www.yourpropertypath.com

A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

Your Property PathSF

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May 20, 2009

Apartment Buildings as Investment Property

In general, rental property is better positioned for this downturn than most other properties.

Why Do It
According to the National Multi Family Council, U.S. apartments have provided the highest risk-adjusted long-term returns of all real estate asset classes and with less volatility.

1. Because investment income property is a cash flow business it has benchmarks and some standardized methods for determining value. Cash flow provides the investor with an objective evaluation tool.
2. Leases are generally one year, rental income makes relatively quicker adjustments than long term AAA leases or larger shopping malls etc. Apartment buildings have 12-14 month development cycles and can react in a timely fashion to the needs of the market place.
3. Apartments have a lower cost of capital and availability of debt capital thanks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Its a matter of policy.
4. Demographic trends are favorable. As a result, demand for rental housing in the U.S. is expanding at the strongest pace since the mid-1980s. 3 million new renter households were created as a result of new household formation, declining rate of home ownership, foreclosures bringing new renters to market and the
echo boomers coming of age
5. The cost of gas and the time it takes to live in suburban/exurban areas is taxing and many people are moving back to city hubs for the convenience.

Todays Market

Things are tough in commercial real estate. Vacancy rates are up and rent rates are declining. Because income property is evaluated using cash flow, values are declining and are likely to continue to do so for awhile.

Its not likely we will see the free fall that home prices have experienced, in part because investors are not emotionally driven buyers. So development didnt get out of whack and there wasn't as much of a bubble. Reis Inc., a third-party commercial real estate data provider, notes apartments will continue to be the beneficiaries of housing's ills until "expectations of price appreciation" re-emerge with stabilization of the housing market. Vacancy rates may rise and rent rates may drop, but the crashing collapse we've seen in the housing market is not likely.

Cap rates have already adjusted to lower cash flow and are now at 2004 levels. Attractive evaluations are beginning to create demand. The banks are not helpful, but Fannie and Freddie have stepped up and mortgage financing liquidity is available. The apartment market is viable, even in times like these. The national Multi Housing Council (http://www.nmhc.org/) points out that "relative to other investment classes such as industrial, office or retail, apartments translate 83% of NOI into cash flow while other property types range between 64% and 74%.".



Higher Vacancies and Lower Rent Rates

The Renter Demographic - Who Are They


1. Echo boomers--the children of baby boomers are now driving the rental market. They make up a third of the population and are a significant segment of the renter population. This is a group of younger adults that grew up on the internet, not television. They are wired, multi-cultural, and hold more traditional values than many of their parents. The largest generation of young people since the '60s is beginning to come of age. The owner that understands this demographic will rent smarter and faster.
2. Empty Nesters - There's also a robust apartment market for those over the age of 60 who are trading large suburban homes and yards for an apartment within walking distance to shops and entertainment.

Create Your Value Proposition

Apartments themselves are changing. If you want to rent faster, you will need to understand what the new renter values and incorporate new design elements and amenities to make them more desirable.
Some ideas
1. If you have some outdoor space, consider a community garden. Fresh herbs and flowers go a long way towards making apartment living fun experience. Give tenants a space for some communtiy involvement.
2. Consider converting unused space into a small gym. Wall off a portion of a basement area, add a few Nautilas machines, some weights and mirrors and you can turn an underutilized area into a real draw.
3. The convenience of washer/dryers and dishwashers is really appreciated, echo boomers are busy.
4. Make units cable ready and offer them as pre-wired integrated telephone, cable TV and high-speed Internet service ready
5. Add Water purification systems and programmable thermostats to all units
6. Install a public internet for the building and create a blog or twitter account for tenants to communicate. Give tenants the tools to create a sense of community.

Howard Bell

www.yourpropertypath.com

A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

Your Property PathSF

http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/

Your Property Path Amazon Store

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May 14, 2009


Another New Record

This bubble is still not over. I wonder if its true that bubbles tend to erase wealth all the way back to the its beginning. Bubbles are a do over .

Realtyrac: Foreclosures in April rose and are now affecting one in every 374 housing units, and bank repossessions will spike in the next few months.

cbs marketwatch: "Much of this activity is at the initial stages of foreclosure -- the default and auction stages -- while bank repossessions ... were down suggests that many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria."

Parsing the News
Foreclosures in California fell 10% month over month, a rate of one in every 138 housing units targeted for foreclosure. If you could remove the top four foreclosure states: California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona, it wouldnt look as bad. Together they accounted for nearly 60% of all the activity.

Anyone Benefit?
Renters
Apartment rents are dropping and vacancies are increasing. We are beginning to see rent roll backs which landlords are happy to agree with. A tp for owners: ask for a new one year lease if you do agree to a roll back. Constant cash flow and tenant retention is now more important than getting that high value renter.

Future Buyers
Some signs of stabilization, the ratio often used to compare home prices to income puts homes at 5% overvalued. Two things make me nervous. First "Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs, says that the “massive amount of excess supply” means that home prices nationwide will probably fall an additional 15 percent" (Via the NY Times.) Secondly, we have huge inventories that the banks have been holding back because they are flooding the markets and driving prices even further down.

Still, economically, the worst is probably behind us but for homes we will have to wait a little longer. When the bottom does come, it will be a hell of a buyers market.

Howard Bell

www.yourpropertypath.com

A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

Your Property PathSF

http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/

Your Property Path Amazon Store

http://astore.amazon.com/yourpropertypath20-20


May 7, 2009

Almost Two Points Lower Than October Peak: 30 Year FRM Ties Record Low Reached Earlier in April



30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.78 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 30, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 4.80 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.06 percent. The 30-year FRM now equals the record low that was set the week of April 2, 2009. It has never been recorded lower in Freddie Mac's survey, which goes back to 1970.

15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.48 percent with an average 0.7 point, unchanged for the third week in a row. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.59 percent. This is tied with the last two weeks for the lowest the 15-year FRM has been since Freddie Mac began tracking it in August 1991.

Five-year Treasury adjustable-rate mortgages ARMs:Averaged 4.80 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.85 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.73 percent. This is the lowest the 5-year ARM has been since Freddie Mac began tracking it in January 2005.

One-year ARMs: Averaged 4.77 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.82 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.29 percent.


Freddie Says:

Rates for fixed-rate mortgages hovered at record lows this week as ARM rates eased further, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages, the most popular loan among homebuyers and families seeking to refinance, are more than 1.6 percentage points below the recent peak set at the end of October 2008. For a $200,000 loan, this means a monthly savings of almost $212 in mortgage payments or over $2,500 per year. In aggregate, borrowers who refinanced during the first quarter reduced their mortgage payments by about $2.5 billion over the coming year.

The housing market may be edging towards a bottom. Existing home sales stayed near its four-month average in March while new home sales were stronger than the market consensus. More importantly, the inventory of unsold new homes fell to the lowest number since January 2002. And, the S&P/Case-ShillerĂ‚® 20-city composite index did not show a record year-over-year decline in February for the first time since December 2006. Finally, housing affordability hit record highs in the first quarter of this year, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors, which date back to January 1971.

Thanks for Reading

Howard Bell
www.yourpropertypath.com
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

Your Property PathSF
http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
Trade talk for the San Francisco real estate industry. Your source for property management tips, policies and market trends.

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May 2, 2009

Mortgage Modification: 10 is the Magic Number


Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision released their quarterly report on first lien mortgage performance for 2008 Q1. The report covers approximately two-thirds of all outstanding mortgages.

The joint report broke the loan mod results into four categories:
1. Reduced monthly payments by more than 10%
2. Reduced monthly payments by 10 percent or less
3. Unchanged monthly payments
4. Increased monthly payments.

The data shows that the default rate for payments reduced by 10% or more had the lowest redefault rates. The redefault rate was 26% after nine months when monthly payments were cut by more than 10%. When payments increased or remained the same the redefault rate rose to 50%.

A weak economy, falling home prices and too much leverage on the part of buyers created more problems for owners and lenders. Note that even in the best of the loan mod situations the default rate continued to worsen over time. Even in the magic "10" category, default rates looked to have almost doubled from three months to nine months.

To date, the bank loan modifications are not helping enough distressed owners. If you were in trouble before you went through the loan mod process, almost half of you left in the same sorry situation.

To be fair, lenders have stepped up their efforts to reduce foreclosures. The percentage of modifications that reduced loan payments by more than 10% increased to 37% in the fourth quarter from 26% in the third quarter. Still, roughly one in four borrowers saw their payments increase after their loan was modified.

* Chart Source: Via the wall Street Journal

Thanks for Reading

Howard Bell
www.yourpropertypath.com
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

Your Property PathSF
http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
Trade talk for the San Francisco real estate industry. Your source for property management tips, policies and market trends.

You can add this page to your favorite Social Bookmark site: