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Talk of doing away with Fannie and Freddie is just that | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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A quick bye-bye to Fannie and Freddie? Don’t bank on it.

With the sudden gush of congressional proposals designed to kill the two government-sponsored companies as fast as possible — the most recent floated at the end of last week by a key committee leader in the House — you’d think Fannie’s and Freddie’s days are numbered.

In the long run they probably are, but a close look at legislative plans such as the “PATH Act” (Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act) offered Friday by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) tells me that Fannie and Freddie are going to be around for years — maybe into the next decade, beyond 2020.

Depending on how you see their current and past roles supplying the bulk of funds for home mortgages along with FHA, that’s either good news or terrible news.

Here’s how I see it.

Fannie and Freddie have been in “conservatorship” — which was designed to be a short-term legal purgatory allowing the White House and Congress time to figure out what to do with both companies — for nearly five years.  Despite a bold-sounding commitment by the Obama administration in early 2011 to work with Congress to return housing finance primarily to the private sector and out of the grips of federally chartered Fannie and Freddie, 2013 has been the first year we’ve seen a serious proposal for how to do that.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/07/16/talk-of-doing-away-with-fannie-and-freddie-is-just-that/#sthash.sDJFtI8F.dpuf

China’s Real-Estate Sector Sees Solid Housing Demand | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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China’s real-estate sector showed strength in the first half of the year amid solid housing demand, despite government controls on the market and slowing economic growth.

While the buoyancy in the housing market could lead to tighter market curbs in the months ahead, analysts said that for now, growth levels were within tolerable levels.

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Reuters

Workers welding a steel frame at a construction site in Hefei, Anhui province.

Total property investment in China in the first half of the year rose 20.3% compared with a year earlier to 3.68 trillion yuan ($599.3 billion), according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. That is marginally slower than the 20.6% growth in the first five months of the year.

The statistics bureau doesn’t give data for individual months.

Residential and commercial property sales totaled 3.34 trillion yuan in the January-June period, up 43.2% over a year earlier. Sales totaled 2.59 trillion yuan in the five months ended May, up 52.8%.

“Inventory levels in major cities are leveling off, so we’re positive on construction starts and expect growth in this portion of the market to reach 5% to 7% this year,” said Johnson Hu, an analyst at CIMB Securities.

Construction starts by area in the first half rose 3.8% from a year earlier to 959.01 million square meters. They were up 1% at 736.13 million square meters in the January-May period.

The increase comes despite a more than three-year government campaign to keep real-estate prices in check amid fears that higher housing costs could lead to social unrest. Efforts include limiting home purchases, squeezing credit to developers and tightening down-payment requirements.

Larger developers have been buying land in what are known as tier one and tier two cities—China’s most affluent and developed cities—because of expectations of continued housing demand from migrants as the government pushes ahead with its plans to speed up urbanization. Developers typically purchase land and keep it in what they call a land bank for later use.

“Despite uncertainties in the macro environment and credit conditions, most of the developers we talked to last week still have aggressive plans for land banking” in the second half of this year, said Credit Suisse analyst Jinsong Du.

 

China’s Real-Estate Sector Sees Solid Housing Demand – WSJ.com.

Heated housing market gets bit tighter for first-time buyers | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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No one has to tell Brandon and Holli Hadwin of Rockledge how fortunate they were to pull the trigger on purchasing their first home in March.

The couple locked in at a 3.75 interest rate for a 30-year mortgage and were able to move into a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the Levitt Park subdivision.

Interest rates have crawled to well beyond 4 percent now, and that has Brandon Hadwin breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’m definitely glad we jumped at it when we did,” said the 24-year-old member of the Honor Guard at Patrick Air Force Base. “It could have meant us not getting this house.”

There’s little question in many U.S. markets, including Brevard County’s, that housing is making a solid turnaround.

U.S. home prices have risen 14 straight months, but evidence suggests that first-time buyers have been increasingly on the sidelines because of rising prices and tight inventories.

In May, first-time buyers accounted for 28 percent of existing-home purchases, down from 34 percent a year before and 36 percent two years ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The declining share of first-timers means many have missed out on low interest rates — which recently moved up from near-record lows — and home prices, which have risen sharply from their bottom.

“The people buying homes today are participating in home price growth. Younger people, they are being left out,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR. “It remains to be seen when the first-time buyer can return.”

Why they matter

First-time buyers are critical to a housing recovery, because they help existing-homeowners sell and move up to larger or more expensive homes. But their presence is being reduced by:

• Competition. Cash buyers accounted for 33 percent of existing home sales in May. Investors, who are often all-cash buyers, accounted for 18 percent of purchases, the NAR data says.

Cash buyers are tough competitors, especially in markets with limited inventory and for first-time buyers who often use low-downpayment loans to finance purchases.

 

 

Heated housing market gets bit tighter for first-time buyers | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com.

World’s biggest offshore wind farm with 300 turbines | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Plans to create the world’s biggest offshore wind farm off the coast of Britain have been approved.

Work on the massive Triton Knoll site – 288 giant wind turbines off the Lincolnshire coast – can now begin after the £3.6bn project was given the go ahead.

It will dwarf Britain’s current largest offshore facility, the 175-turbine London Array in the Thames Estuary unveiled last week by David Cameron.

Go-ahead: An offshore wind farm off the coast of Skegness in Lincolnshire

Go-ahead: An offshore wind farm off the coast of Skegness in Lincolnshire

When complete, the new giant windfarm will generate 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power for 820,000 homes.

But critics say it will not come without a cost, as offshore power is currently subsidised by the taxpayer at three time the wholesale price of conventionally-produced electricity.

And the scheme is not without controversy. As part of the project, energy giant RWE are proposing building a substation the size of 30 football pitches connected to the offshore turbines, in the Lincolnshire countryside.

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The proposal was met with anger by some residents, who have accused the company of trying to turn the area into an industrial site.

Others said it would drive down house prices The Government also approved a second scheme yesterday, in Wales. Energy company Vattenfall confirmed it is investing £400 million in England and Wales’ largest onshore wind farm at Pen y Cymoedd, South Wales.

The scheme, which will consist of 76 turbines, will begin next year, with the first power being generated for the grid in 2016.

Hundreds of jobs are expected to be created in the construction phase of both projects.

Plans: Map showing where the massive Triton Knoll wind farm will be built off the Lincolnshire coastline

Plans: Map showing where the massive Triton Knoll wind farm will be built off the Lincolnshire coastline

Tensions between energy firms and residents have been growing over the past two years as applications have soared.

There are currently more than 3,000 onshore wind turbines in Britain, with a further 2,500 approved or being built.

Despite increasing public anger at the subsidies paid for green power, ministers have shown no sign of changing course.

Last month , Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, promised guaranteed prices – fixed at up to triple the market rate – for electricity from ‘green’ technologies such as wind, solar and biomass until 2019, in a bid to expand the sector.

Ministers say the financial incentive will make Britain an attractive place to invest and transform our energy supply, and are hoping that 30 per cent of power produced by 2020 will be from renewables.

Onshore wind farms are set to be given a minimum of £100 per megawatt hour – double the current wholesale rate of £50 – while offshore wind will receive a staggering £150.

The difference between the wholesale price and the agreed rate will be met by the taxpayer.

In February, more than 100 Tory MPs criticised the Government’s plan to introduce more wind farms.

Dozens of backbenchers wrote to David Cameron to demand that the £400million in subsidies paid to the ‘inefficient’ industry each year is ‘dramatically cut’.

Director of offshore renewables at industry body RenewableUK Nick Medic said the approval for the new Triton Knoll offshore wind farm was a ‘historic step’ for the industry.

He said: ‘It is the biggest project consented so far anywhere in the world, and shows the UK’s offshore sector maturing to take on new challenges of scale.

‘Following world leading projects such as the London Array, opened last week, Triton Knoll will demonstrate what offshore wind can do for the UK on a grand scale.

‘The planning consent today keeps the country firmly at the forefront of offshore wind development and will help secure up to 20 per cent of electricity from offshore wind per year by 2020.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2361335/Worlds-biggest-offshore-wind-farm-300-turbines-built-Lincolnshire.html#ixzz2YvNXPgjE
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World’s biggest offshore wind farm with 300 turbines will be built in Lincolnshire | Mail Online.

Real estate market looking up in county | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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San Luis Obispo County’s housing market is on the rebound.

 

The median price — the point at which half of residences sell for more and half for less — continues to rise, sales have picked up and foreclosures have fallen.

 

A strengthening economy has played a key role in the housing market’s comeback, and real estate will be a significant contributor toward economic growth this year, economists say.

 

“It’s on an upward trend,” said Jordan Levine, economist for Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles-based independent research and consulting firm.  “The economy is improving, tourism is doing well and more people are back to work, and there’s not a lot of inventory.”

 

California traditionally suffers from an undersupply of housing, Levine added. That lack of housing supply has kept prices higher in California relative to other states, and has resulted in pent-up demand.

 

“The supply issue is starting to express itself,” he said. “It wasn’t as big an issue when the housing market was in the doldrums. But now, it has become more obvious as demand rises.”

 

The unsold inventory index for San Luis Obispo County, which indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, was 3.5 in May, according to the California Association of Realtors. A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.

 

But some inventory relief should come in the second half of this year, as homeowners who had been holding back decide it’s time to sell, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the association.

 

“There are people that are still underwater; over 20 percent of the mortgages in California are underwater,” she said. “But that’s changing rapidly as prices go up. More will be above water and will either stay or list their home.”

 

The all-home median price for the county, which includes new and resale single-family detached homes and condos, was $421,500 in May, 12.4 percent higher than the same month in 2012, according to DataQuick, a Southern California-based real estate tracking firm. May marked the 13th consecutive month in which the county’s median home sales price saw a year-over-year increase.

 

However, the May median sale price was still 23.4 percent lower than the peak May median of $550,000 in 2006.

 

A total of 394 homes were sold in May 2013, up from 361 sold in May 2012, a 9 percent year-over-year increase.  Most of the homes sold in the county are existing, single-family homes.

 

The median price for resale homes was $435,500 in May, a 13.1 percent year-over-year increase. Sales for existing, single-family homes grew to 325, a nearly 5 percent year-over-year increase.

 

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/07/06/2574290/real-estate-market-looking-up.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Real estate market looking up in county | Local News | SanLuisObispo.com.

Realtors Report Rising Home Prices In Fairfield County | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Fairfield County Realtors say they have not seen the double-digit yearly gains in home prices reflected in the Case-Shiller Index released Tuesday. But area homes are moving, and prices are escalating, Realtors said, which are encouraging signs for homeowners.

Tuesday’s report showed that existing home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas increased 12.1 percent from the same month last year. Home prices rose 2.5 percent in April in the in the Case-Shiller report. New York, the closest metropolitan region to Fairfield County, showed only a 3.2 percent jump from April 2012 and a 1.1 percent jump from March to April.

“We’re seeing prices creep up,’’ said Brad Kimmelman,office manager at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Southport. “The market is shifting from a very clear buyer’s market and becoming a much more even playing field, but the buyers still have the advantage. We believe prices are going to keep creeping up, and that’s a good thing.”

Higgins Group Chief Executive Officer Rick Higgins said prices are rising but still have a long way to go.

“We’re probably up to 2004 prices, maybe 2005,’’ he said. “We haven’t hit 2007 when we peaked. I don’t think we’ll reach that level until 2014 or 2015.”

Many homes are now getting multiple offers, Kimmelman and Higgins said. “Five or six years ago, I never had heard the term ‘short sale’ [when the proceeds from selling the property fall short of the balance of debts] and I hear the term multiple offers a lot,’’ Higgins said. “They’re not plentiful, but I do hear about them.”

The price increases in New York, and by extension Fairfield County, have not been as dramatic because the values did not fall as much compared with other communities in the Case-Shiller Index, Kimmelman said. San Francisco, for instance, saw a 23.9 percent increase in home prices in the past year, and Las Vegas saw a 22.3 percent increase. The increase in New York was the smallest among the 20 metro areas in the index.

“We’re not seeing increases like they are seeing in Phoenix and Florida,’’ Kimmelman said. “That would be insane. We didn’t fall quite as hard as they did. Now that there’s activity, they’re increasing at a higher rate, so that makes sense.”

Pamela S. Pagnani, an attorney with Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC in Greenwich, said that as prices rise, buyers should be prepared to do their homework. Although mortgage rates are still low, it has become harder to borrow.

“Sometimes I have to manage my client’s expectations,” Pagnani said. “Banks are going to want to see your income, 401K, pension, anything they can look at. They’re digging down and asking for everything. Some people are disappointed by that, but it can’t be like it was before where they’d give you money if you were breathing. The reality is you’ll go from bank to bank, you’ll see the same situation.”

 

Realtors Report Rising Home Prices In Fairfield County | The New Canaan Daily Voice.

Purchase loans increase even as interest rates spike | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Applications for purchase loans increased last week, even as interest rates skyrocketed to their highest level in nearly two years on news that the Fed may begin to wind down its stimulus program this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today.

 

Despite market volatility, “applications for conventional purchase loans picked up by more than 3 percent over the week, and total purchase applications were 16 percent higher than one year ago, indicating that homebuyers are not yet dissuaded by the increase in mortgage rates,” said Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics at the MBA, in a statement.

 

“Government purchase applications dropped again, likely a function of the recent increase in FHA mortgage insurance premiums,” he added.

 

The increase came as the average interest rate for a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage with a loan balance of $417,500 or less spiked to 4.46 percent from 4.17 percent a week earlier, according to the MBA’s latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

 

That was the highest rate recorded since August 2011, the MBA said.

 

“Interest rates moved up sharply following the Federal Reserve press conference last Wednesday where it was indicated that the Fed could begin tapering their asset purchases later this year,” Fratantoni said. “Mortgage rates increased by the most in a single week since 2011, and refinance application volume dropped to its lowest level in almost two years.” Source: MBA

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/purchase-loans-increase-even-as-interest-rates-spike/#sthash.Xu7JOtZU.dpuf

 

Purchase loans increase even as interest rates spike | Inman News.

Surging home sales stir new housing bubble fears | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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There are differences between this run-up in prices and the housing bubble that preceded the financial crisis, said Gary Thomas, theNational Association of Realtors‘ president.

“The boom period was marked by easy credit and overbuilding, but today we have tight mortgage credit and widespread shortages of homes for sale,” Thomas said. The improved housing market and mortgage rates still near record lows, despite a recent rise in rates, is pulling buyers back in the market faster than it’s prompting sellers to put homes on the market. Buyer traffic 29% above a year ago, but the supply of homes for sale is actually down 10%, writes CNNMoney.

 

Surging home sales stir new housing bubble fears | HousingWire.

Mortgage rates jump to highest mark in a year | Pound Ridge Homes

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Mortgage rates surged again this past week, completing a consistently steep ascent in May, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.

The 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to 3.81 percent with an average 0.8 point, its highest mark in the past year. May began with the 30-year hovering at 3.35 percent, well below last year’s reading at the start of the month; however, four straight weeks of increases have pushed the average above last year’s reading of 3.75 percent.

The 15-year fixed rate average followed suit, rising to 2.98 percent from 2.77 percent last week, with an average 0.7 point. One year ago, the average was 2.97 percent.

Hybrid adjustable rate mortgages, on the other hand, remained below their averages from last May. The five-year ARM rose slightly to 2.66 percent, down year-over-year from 2.84 percent, and the one-year dropped slightly to 2.54 percent, down from 2.75 percent a year ago.

A Freddie Mac executive pegged the rising fixed-rate averages to some recent signs of economic improvement, including higher home prices and improving consumer confidence.

 

Mortgage rates jump to highest mark in a year.

Mortgage apps tumble, refis drop to lowest since late March | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Mortgage applications tumbled this week as refinancing and purchase applications continued their downward trend.

Application volume fell 9.8% from one week earlier for the week ending May 17, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Also posting significant drops, the refinance Index decreased 12% from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 3% from one week earlier, the industry trade group said.

“Mortgage rates increased to their highest level since March last week, leading to the largest single week drop in refinance applications this year,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.

He added, “The refinance index has fallen almost 19% over the past two weeks and is back to its lowest level since late March. Purchase activity declined over the week but is still running about 10% above last year’s pace at this time.”

The refinance share of overall mortgage activity slightly fell to 74% of total applications.

Meanwhile, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity inched up to 5% of all mortgage applications.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance continued to escalate, rising to 3.78% from 3.67%.

Additionally, the average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance rose to 3.93% from 3.87% compared to a week prior.

The average contract interest rate for the 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA surged to 3.53% compared to 3.43% the previous week.

The 5/1 ARM squeaked up to 2.60% from 2.55%, and the 15-year, FRM jumped to 2.96% from 2.88.

 

Mortgage apps tumble, refis drop to lowest since late March | HousingWire.