We just wanted to post this very inspirational Video by the actor, Will Smith. Please take a few minutes to watch it. His words of wisdom can inspire us all.
Blog
Archive for March, 2010
“I want to do good. I want the world to be better because I was here.”
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010• • •
Case-Shiller Shows Home Price Improvement In A Majority Of Cities Nationwide
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Wednesday. The report shows that, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, between December and January, home prices rose in more than half of the index’s tracked markets.
The strength of this month’s Case-Shiller report, however, should be put in context.
For one, the report is on a 2-month delay; it’s showing data from January, before the start of the Spring Buying Season and before the rush to beat the tax credit. Anecdotally, buyer interest has been strong since, leading to the types of multiple offer situations that drive home prices northward.
In other words, home values may be even higher than what’s reflected in the January Case-Shiller data above.
Furthermore, the Case-Shiller Index measures home values in just 20 cities nationwide and they’re not even the 20 biggest cities. Houston, Philadelphia, San Antonio and San Jose are specifically excluded from the report and each ranks among the country’s 10 most populous areas.
Despite its flaws, though, the Case-Shiller Index remains important. Much like the government’s Home Price Index, the private-sector report helps to finger broad housing trends and housing is still considered a keystone in the U.S. economic recovery.
Even if it’s two months slow.
• • •
Get Your FHA Mortgage Application Started — Fees Increase 1/2 Percent Starting Monday, April 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Starting Monday, April 5, 2010, getting an FHA mortgage in Utah and nationwide will be more expensive for borrowers.
In new guidelines set forth earlier this year, the FHA announced plans to raise additional revenue and reduce the overall risk of its mortgage portfolio.
The changes include the following:
- Increase Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums from 1.75% to 2.25% for everyone
- A plan to reduce seller concessions from 6 percent to 3 percent
- An increase in minimum downpayment for FICOs 580 or lower
For your own loan, to avoid being subject to higher loan costs, make sure to have your FHA Case Number assigned prior to Monday, April 5, 2010. That means you’ll want to give a full mortgage application before the weekend so your lender can register your loan in time for the deadline.
But don’t leave your application to the last minute.
Friday is Good Friday so most banks will be closed. Your true FHA deadline, therefore, is Thursday April 1.
Also worth noting is that the FHA isn’t done with its changes.
In its policy statement, the group also announced its plans to petition Congress to raise monthly mortgage insurance premiums. The FHA’s formal request, in summary:
- Raise monthly premiums by roughly 0.30%, or $25 per $100,000 borrowed per month
- Lower upfront mortgage insurance premiums by 1.25%, or $1,250 per $100,000 borrowed at closing
For now, the request is neither approved nor acknowledged by Congress. It’s merely a request. And in the event that Congress does approves it, the FHA reserves the right to change its projections. Either way, it means higher costs for consumers.
The best plan, therefore, is to get your FHA mortgage into underwriting ahead of the switches because borrowing money will be harder, and more costly.
• • •
What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : March 29, 2010
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Mortgage markets tanked last week, raising rates in Utah to their highest levels in a month.
Most of the losses occurred Wednesday in what was the worst 1-day mortgage market performance in more than 6 months. Even Friday’s rally could barely dent the losses. Most of the movement was tied to geopolitical concerns and worries of a ballooning federal debt load.
The best time to lock a conventional or FHA mortgage rate last week was Tuesday morning.
This week, markets should remain volatile. There’s a large set of economic data due for release, plus trading volume will thin as the week goes on because markets are closed Friday for Good Friday.
Coincidentally, Friday is also the day that the March jobs report is released.
The non-farm payroll report is expected to show net job growth of 187,000 in March. This is a large number as compared to last month’s net loss of 36,000 job. However, analysts are already dismissing March’s numbers as skewed by both the bad storms of February, and the temporary hiring of Census workers.
In most months, major job growth would be bad for mortgage rates. This month, that won’t be the case. It will take a figure north of 200,000 to cause rates to rise and the higher the actual number, the more that rates will respond.
Also this week, on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s $1.25 trillion program to support mortgage markets sunsets. Fed insiders estimate that the program dropped rates 1 percent since its inception in 2008. It’s reasonable that mortgage rates will rise after its end, therefore.
• • •