National and State Mortgage Rates still at historic lows

According to Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, which tracks quoted mortgage rates submitted to anonymous borrowers through their website, shows mortgage rates have once again dipped into the fours for 30 year fixed mortgages. With rates at 4.88% Nationally, combined with the $8000 First Time Homebuyer and the $6500 Move Up Homebuyer tax credit still in effect, and the increasing inventory of foreclosed homes, now is the time get moving on your home purchase!!!

If you have any questions regarding home pricing or Arizona Real Estate in general, give me a call @602-492-8769 or visit my website at

http://www. troybrockarizonarealestate.com

Pending Home Sales show a spring surge…

Speculation that the extended First Time Home Buyers Tax credit is helping provide a push in home sales has been backed up by numbers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 8.2% to rose 8.2% to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January, and remains 17.3% above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

What this means in lay-mans terms is this: home sales are increasing, which is helping prices at least stabilize, if not rise in certain areas of the country. The Phoenix area market for example, is seeing multiple offers being submitted at or 10 to 20% higher than list price. This is helping to stabilize the market, as inventory is slowly decreasing and current homeowners look to sell their current homes and take advantage of the $6500 “Move Up” tax credit”

New Good Faith Estimate is Helpful, and Confusing!

The new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) introduced buy the U.S. dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in January of 2010 has helped standardize across the board what home buyers are expected to pay in closing costs, but with any new government mandates, it has created a new set of problems.

The new portions of the form that are helpful will keep title companies and mortgage brokers from inflating fees between the time a buyer signs a contract and gets the GFE until the time the houses closes. If some of the fees rise higher than 10% of what was initially quoted, the lender will have to pay the difference. Additionally, the new form has some very straightforward language that is easily understandable by the general public, with simple YES or NO answers.

Some of the adverse affects of the new form are higher up-front fees for certain work being performed. Before, you would get quoted a fee and it might rise a bit, but with the new form, lenders and title companies are simply charging more to cover any rise in the estimate. In other words, the buyer may end up paying more in fees than they would have when the previous form was being used. 

In the end, the new form is an improvement over the previous form, but it will take time to work out the kinks and make it easy to understand by all.

For additional information, click here.

Four Questions from First Time Home Buyers regarding the Tax Credit

As the April 30th deadline winds down on the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has compiled some answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the tax credit.

Check the link below for the full article.

http://tinyurl.com/y9prmkv

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended. Added Credit!!!

While banks and law firms benefit from the billions of dollars and tax-payer bail-out money, many citizens have been wondering, “What about us?” Earlier this year, legislation was signed into law allowing for first time home buyers to be eligible for up to $8,000 in tax relief. This programs has helped thousands of first time home buyers to get off the fence and purchase a home. This tax credit was due to expire on Nov. 30th, 2009. Recently, law makers heard the call of the people and legislation has again been passed no only extending the tax credit, but actually expanded the program by doubling the income levels AND allowing “move ups” to participate in the programs as well.  Details are as follows:

1. First time home buyers have until April 30, 2010 to purchase or have a home under contract
2. Income levels have increased to $145,00o single filers and $225,000 for joint filers.

What is a “Move Up Buyer?” A move up buyer is someone who has lived in their present home for 5 years and wishes to “move up” to a larger home. Those who qualify for this program will receive up to $6500.00 in tax relief for fiscal year 2010.  This also runs through April 30th, 2010.

With historic low interest rates, plenty of home on the market, and money back in your pocket, how can you not consider purchasing a home!

Household Net Worth up Two Trillion in July

American households were $2 trillion richer on June 30, 2009 than they were three months earlier, the first time in two years that household net worth has increased, the Federal Reserve recently reported. 

Household wealth rose in the second quarter at a 17% annual rate, or $2 trillion, to $53.1 trillion after falling at a 13% rate in the first quarter, the Fed said. It was the first time since the second quarter of 2007 that wealth had increased. Net worth is down $12.2 trillion from the peak in 2007, an indication of how much the collapse in stock prices and home prices have hurt. The figures are not adjusted for inflation. 

Read more here:

Mortgage Rates Continue to Drop!

Mortgage Interest rates continue to maintain the historic lows the country has seen since 2002. Rates for 30 year fixed mortgages are hovering around 5.04%, which is down from 5.07% from last week and are expected to continue to drop or at least hold steady for the next six months, as an raising of the rates could derail the current housing market recovery. These rates are making this the perfect time for potential first time home buyers to get into the market, or current homeowners to move up or refinance. 

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.47 percent, from 4.5 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. That was the lowest level on records dating to 1991.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.51 percent, unchanged from a week earlier. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.58 percent from 4.64 percent.

You can find out more on the Phoenix Real Estate market and the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit HERE

First Time Tax Credit being extended? Not YET.

The $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is set to expire Nov. 30th, 2009, (Meaning you must be closed on a house by then) but there is a push by various groups to extend or even expand the tax credit. The National Association of Realtors, leading Consumer Advocacy Groups, and Congress are pressing for an extension of the tax credit to include all home buyers, not just first timers.

This tax credit/housing recovery has been credited with helping turn around the national economy (However so slight) and the various groups are trying to maintain that momentum through 2010.  This is an important issue that actually helps you and I, so if you feel it should be extended, please write your congress person and let them know how you feel. If you would like to learn more about the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, please visit.

Foreclosure Activity still at record levels.

In a report released by Realtytrac.com titled: “August 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report”,  showed there were 358,471 foreclosure filings in the month of August. Although this is a decrease of 1% from July reporting, foreclosure filings are still up 18% from August of 2008.

Nevada, Florida, and California are the hardest hit, with Nevada having a total of 17,902 foreclosure filings in the month of August, an increase of 53% over August of 2008. A 10% month to month decrease in foreclosure has helped lower Arizona’s foreclosure and knocked it out of third place on the list.

All told, six states account for 60% of all nationwide foreclosures.  Nevada, Florida, California, Arizona, Michigan, and Utah have that dubious distinction. 

Please read here for more information

Home Prices are declining at a slower rate in 2009

More positive signs the housing market is experiencing a gradual recovery is evidenced by the fact that although most major markets, including the Phoenix real estate market, are stull experiencing a decline in housing prices, they are not as severe as they were in the forth quarter of  2008.  Home prices in the second quarter of 2009 have declined an average of 2.1%, compared to a 2.7% decline in the first quarter of 2009 and a whopping 12.5% rate in the forth quarter of 2008.

Please see more here: