Tag Archives: Cross River NY

Survey: Americans apply for mortgages 24/7 | Cross River Real Estate

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Time is money, and more Americans are adjusting their schedules to complete tasks at the most convenient time.

The mortgage space is just one of many industries adapting to this reality.

In an analysis by Mortgage Marvel of more than 650,000 online applications submitted to 1,100 lending institutions, it became clear that more people are applying for mortgages at all hours of the day, including the workday.

Technology has come a long way, allowing people to do almost anything from almost anywhere.

The survey found that in 2012 only about 15% of applications came in on Saturday or Sunday. This means more people are conducting business remotely during the hectic work week.

Additionally, of the applications coming in during weekdays, about 60% are submitted between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Mortgage Marvel said.

Rick Allen, chief operating officer of Mortgage Marvel, said, “Technology has given us more flexibility in all aspects of our lives. People appreciate being able to complete an application on their schedule and at their pace.”

He added, “We expect the number of online applications to continue to grow for many years to come.”

 

Survey: Americans apply for mortgages 24/7 | HousingWire.

Freddie: Borrowers strengthen their household budgets with refis | Cross River Real Estate

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Borrowers who refinanced their homes in the first quarter will save approximately $7 billion in interest over the next 12 months, Freddie Mac said in its first-quarter 2013 quarterly refinance report.

The enterprise’s quarterly report is culled from data on sample properties in which Freddie Mac has funded two successive conventional, first-mortgage loans, with the second being a refinancing.

The overall data shows consumers strengthening their balance sheets by using low mortgage rates to move into reduced monthly payments. In other cases, they are refinancing into shorter loan terms or obtaining a safer long-term, fixed-rate mortgage.

Freddie says in the first quarter $8.1 billion in net home equity was cashed out during the refinancing of conventional prime-credit mortgages. This figure is virtually unchanged from the previous quarter, but substantially down from the peak cash-out refinance volume of $84 billion in the second quarter of 2006.

Of those borrowers who refinanced during the first quarter, 28% shortened their loan terms, 68% kept the same loan terms as the loan they paid off and 3% chose to lengthen their loan terms, Freddie Mac said.

About 85% of those who refinance a first-lien home mortgage maintained the same loan amount after refinancing their mortgage or lowered their principal balance by putting more down at the closing table.

About 95% of refinancing borrowers selected a fixed-rate loan in 1Q.

In fact, 87% of borrowers with a hybrid ARM selected a fixed-rate loan when going through a refi in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Freddie says the Home Affordable Refinance Program has helped 2.5 million borrowers refinance since its inception through March of 2013.

HARP loans represented more than 20% of the first-quarter refinance loans acquired by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

For all those loans refinanced through HARP in 1Q, the median depreciation in property value hit 28%, with the prior loan having a median age of 6 years.

 

Freddie: Borrowers strengthen their household budgets with refis | HousingWire.

How Rising Mortgage Rates Could Affect The Housing Recovery | Cross River Real Estate

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Mortgage interest rates are rising. In the week ending May 30, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage clocked 3.81%, its highest level in a year, according to Freddie Mac. That’s 15% higher than the 3.31% record low set in November of 2012 and almost 14% higher than the 3.35% rate logged in the beginning of May. The 15-year fixed rate jumped as well to 2.98%.

The increase from the start of May through the month’s final week translates into an extra $20 per month for every $100,000 of debt accrued. If rates continue their upward march, mortgages will become more expensive.

Since cheap financing has been a notable driver of the housing recovery, could those rising rates derail the momentum? To answer that question, let’s first take a look at what low interest rates have done for housing and why they’re increasing now.

Compared to decades past, today’s rates (even at 3.81%) are unprecedentedly — and artificially — low.  They’re the direct result of a Federal Reserve-funded fiscal stimulus plan, better known as the third round of quantitative easing or QE3, aimed at hastening the recovery in housing and the economy as a whole. Through the program the Fed has been buying $85 billion worth of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities per month, a process that has tamped down interest rates, making mortgages more attractive to prospective consumers.

The low rates have enabled qualified home buyers (and owners looking to refinance) to access cheap financing, adding to already-record-high levels of home affordability. It’s helped bolster a surge in both home sales and price increases (since lower rates help make larger principals possible).

Rates are climbing now due to both stronger economic data and to speculation: recently Fed chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that the central bank may start slowing its bond buying within the next several months. The news has caused bond investors to begin selling out of their 10-year Treasury positions, driving yields for these bonds above 2%. Since mortgage rates correlate closely with Treasury yields, they have followed suit, rising about a quarter of a percentage point in just a week.

 

How Rising Mortgage Rates Could Affect The Housing Recovery – Forbes.

Saving property values in the wake of foreclosure | Cross River Real Estate

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Asset management firms are in a constant race to preserve local home values through the effective upkeep of vacant properties.

At HousingWire’s Real Estate Expo (REX Annual) on Monday, experts spoke on the subject of “Help Us Save Our Neighborhoods.” The idea behind the discussion was to visit code compliance issues, revealing effective ways to ensure property values are not weighed down by troubled and vacant properties.

Members of the panel included: Robert Klein, chairman ofSafeguard Properties; Jim Taylor, senior vice president withWells Fargo Home Mortgage; Kelvin Beene with the City of Fort Worth; Jeannie Fantasia, vice president of SecureView; and Eric Miller, executive director with the National Association of Mortgage Field Services.

Taylor said, “If you look at the REOs we sold last year, on average the customer has not made a payment in 16 months. If that is the case, that customer is really in distress.”

If we cannot help the borrower, we try to find ways to help them move on while attempting to get the house back on the market, Taylor explained. But to do so, the house has to be in the best shape possible.

“We cannot stop the situation but there are ways that we can improve the communication. One of the things that has been a constant is the stigma that is tied to a boarded property,” added Jeannie Fantasia with SecureView.

To stay abreast of how property preservation firms are coming along in preserving home values, Taylor with Safeguard announced the creation of a grading system that will score houses to show how they have progressed from REO to the day the home is sold.

REO homes take longer to get back on the market, so in the process, it is imperative that communication about the home’s status is clear and up-to-date, the panelists suggested.

 

Saving property values in the wake of foreclosure | HousingWire.

US Foreclosure Inventory Declines | Cross River Real Estate

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florida foreclosure

U.S. foreclosure inventory, which refers to properties in some stage of foreclosure, equaled 1.1 million in April,according to CoreLogic’s latest report.

This was down 24% from 1.5 million a year ago. It was also down 2 percent from March.

Foreclosure inventory represented 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 3.5% a year ago.

Meanwhile, there were 52,000 completed foreclosures in April, the same as March. But this was down from 62,000 a year ago. Before the housing bust, completed foreclosures averaged about 21,000 a month.

Home prices have been boosted by tight supply, especially a decline in the stock of distressed properties.

“Fewer distressed properties combined with improving home prices and a pickup in home purchases are significant signals that the ongoing recovery in the housing and mortgage markets continues to gather steam,” said Anand Nallathambi, president of CoreLogic in a press release.

Here are some details from the report:

  • “The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2013 were: Florida (102,000), California (79,000), Michigan (68,000), Texas (53,000) and Georgia (47,000). These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.”
  • “The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (9.5 percent), New Jersey (7.4 percent), New York (5.1 percent), Maine (4.4 percent) and Nevada (4.3 percent).”
  • “The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Wyoming (0.5 percent), Alaska (0.6 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent), Nebraska (0.8 percent) and Virginia (0.9 percent).”

Here’s a look at foreclosure inventory by state:

foreclosure inventory by state

 

US Foreclosure Inventory Declines – Business Insider.

Why housing is not boosting the economic recovery | Cross River Real Estate

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The Wall Street Journal writes that those expecting a quick return to the “virtuous cycle” by which rising prices, home sales, and housing construction feeds further consumer spending will have to wait until Americans feel more comfortable borrowing and until banks feel more comfortable extending credit, according to new commentary by Pimco.

The Pimco strategists outline four primary blockages that could restrain the housing sector’s ability to play the traditional role boosting the economy during a recovery. To see them, click here

 

Why housing is not boosting the economic recovery | HousingWire.

Madison Square Garden offers the Street exclusive real estate investment | Cross River Real Estate

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Real estate is one of the hottest investment stories on the Street. That’s because fro the first time in six years, home prices logged an annual gain in 2012, and that momentum has carried into 2013.

But while there is consensus that real estate is rebounding, how to profit is a different story.

The Madison Square Garden Co.  ($59.44 0.02%) is an integrated sports media and entertainment company that provides investors with exposure to a one-of-a-kind real-estate asset: New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

The company is maximizing value and expanding margins with a $1 billion renovation project wrapping up this fall that will enhance fans and performers’ experiences. That includes upgraded seating, more bathrooms, retail space and a wider selection of food. The facility will also receive upgraded lighting, sound and video systems.

 

Madison Square Garden offers the Street exclusive real estate investment | HousingWire.

Jobless claims inch down | Cross River NY Real Estate

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Jobless claims in the U.S. reversed back down, falling by 23,000 filings for the week ending May 18 and hitting 340,000 total claims.

This slight increase comes after last week’s revised figure of 363,000, according to the Department of Labor. 

The four-week moving average was 339,500, a drop of 500 filings from the previous week.

Analysts with Econoday said there have been a few bright spots on the outlook for May’s economic data.

“This report is definitely a strong positive for the employment outlook. Whether this correlates with gains for the Dow is uncertain given the possibility, following yesterday’s hawkish sounding FOMC minutes, that strong data could begin to trigger withdrawal of Federal Reserve stimulus,” Econoday said.

 

Jobless claims inch down | HousingWire.

Illinois home sales show 25% annual growth in April | Cross River Real Estate

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Home sales in Illinois rose 25.3% year-over-year in April, while median prices increased 7.7%, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors. 

Home sales in the state totaled 12,621 in April, up from 10,076 in April 2012. This marked the best April performance since 2007. 

The median price in Illinois was $145,900 in April, up 7.7% from April 2012 when the median price was $135,500. 

“The spring numbers are very encouraging, especially as we see substantial tightening of the numbers of homes on the market,” said Michael D. Oldenettel, president of IAR. 

He added, “While prices are inching up slightly due to strong demand, the interest rates continue to be a powerful lure for those who want to own a home and the spring housing market looks to be a strong one.” 

Illinois’ home inventory in April was 62,503 units, a 30.6% drop from April 2012, which had 90,041 units for sale. The time homes are spending on the market plummeted from 111 days to 89 days, a 19.8% drop, year-over-year. 

Of the 102 Illinois counties, 55 reported year-over-year increases in home sales in April 2013, while 42 showed year-over-year median price increases. 

“The housing market is exhibiting signs of a more stable recovery with an anticipated strong early summer led by strong sales gains and more modest but still positive gains in median prices,” noted Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the regional economics applications laboratory of the University of Illinois.

 

Illinois home sales show 25% annual growth in April | HousingWire.

Consumer confidence hits highest index since 2007 | Cross River NY Real Estate

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The University of Michigan‘s consumer confidence survey results are out.

The headline index rose to 83.7 from last month’s 76.4 reading. That’s the highest index reading since July 2007.

 

Consumer confidence hits highest index since 2007 | HousingWire.