Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Mortgages: 15 yr rates slide below 4%


MORTGAGES
15-year rates slide below 4%, hitting historic low

A plunge in mortgage rates is giving homeowners a rare opportunity to lock in a 15-year fixed-rate loan for less than 4 percent.



Rates haven't dipped this low in decades. For those who can qualify, it's the chance to pay off a home in half the time while saving tens of thousands of dollars - if not more.



But the lower rates on short-term loans are not likely to ignite the refinancing market. Most people can't afford the higher monthly payments required by a 15-year fixed mortgage compared with a more traditional 30-year loan.



"That's not what most people need right now. They need lower payments," said Leif Thomsen, CEO of Walpole, Mass., lender Mortgage Master Inc.



The average rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.95 percent last week, according to mortgage company Freddie Mac. That's the lowest on records the company has kept since 1991.



The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 4.49 percent. Rates haven't been that low since the 1950s, when longer-term mortgages typically lasted 20 to 25 years.



Rates have fallen since spring as investors seek the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. That has lowered the yield on Treasurys. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.



Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.63 percent, down from 3.76 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to an average of 3.55 percent from 3.64 percent.



The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.



The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 a point for all loans.







This article appeared on page H - 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/08/RE0F1EPHV4.DTL&type=realestate#ixzz0wE7pPDaW

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

New Listing

Affordable 2 BR/2Bath Condo w/ pool in the Redlands: $141,000 Near golf, hiking, biking trails. 373 Ridges Blvd #209, Grand Junction, CO 81507

Thursday, June 24, 2010



Welcome to the Home for the Cure® program! I joined RE/MAX International, Inc., and Susan G. Komen for the Cure® to make a difference in our community. The Home for the Cure® allows RE/MAX offices and Associates to support Komen for the Cure and its vision of a world without breast cancer. RE/MAX Associates can make contributions to Susan G. Komen for the Cure with each closed transaction.

New listing: Adorable, Affordable, No maintenance! Walk to Mesa State College.


Virtual Tour 
833  Elm Ave. 
$139,900
Cute downtown home, stucco, metal roof, no maintance yard, workshop, hardwood floors, adorable kitchen!
2 BR, + office.  1 Bath. 
Walk to Mesa State College.
Take a look at 833 Elm Ave.  This one won't last long!!!!!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

U.S FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY DECREASES 3 PERCENT IN MAY

RE/MAX Market Update – Foreclosure-related filings fell 3% in May while bank repossessions were up 1% and hit a record high of 93,777, up 44% from a year ago. “…Overall foreclosure activity (is) leveling off while lenders work through the backlog of distressed properties…,” said RealtyTrac’s CEO. Read the RealtyTrac release: http://bit.ly/JuneMarketdata
http://www.realtytrac.com/contentmanagement/pressrelease.aspx?channelid=9&itemid=9427

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Monday, March 29, 2010

Sheriff not giving up on Clifton, Fruitvale | GJSentinel.com

Sheriff not giving up on Clifton, Fruitvale GJSentinel.com

CHFA: We provide fixed rate financing to homebuyers!

http://www.chfainfo.com/



What is CHFA?

We are the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. We have been in existence since 1973 and our mission is to finance the places where people live and work throughout Colorado.


We provide fixed rate financing to homebuyers, small to medium sized businesses, and multifamily rental housing developers.

We also provide education and technical assistance about affordable housing and economic development.

We do all this through a network of partners such as banks, developers, and local governments.

We do these things to build strong communities throughout Colorado. We believe strong communities make strong economies and we are proud to play a role.

CHFA offers programs to both first time and non first time homebuyers.


CHFA offers down payment and closing cost assistance.

CHFA is the leader in affordable housing.

CHFA owns and rents affordable rental units.

We’ll help you on your road home, from understanding the basics of homeownership to finding a CHFA program or product that works for you.


Getting started is easy!
http://www.chfainfo.com/

Home sales climb in Grand Junction | GJFreePress.com

Home sales climb in Grand Junction GJFreePress.com

New Listing: 513 Cone Court. Neat, Clean, Landscaped Newer Construction!

Virtual Tour 513 Cone Court

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

If you look at ages and generations, the market makes sense.

The Generational Storm
Each year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) publishes its annual Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers.  A wealth of information is included in the publication, statistics which are dissected by the media but largely overlooked by the average real estate professional in business planning.
This information is based on the merging of these NAR statistics with Census data, primarily taking the buying and selling behaviors of consumers based on age and comparing it with the number of consumers found in each age group.
The statistics released by NAR indicate that as a person rises in age, the likelihood of them selling increases and likelihood of them buying decreases – which may not seem like new information, however, it becomes evident when the data is analyzed in this manner, 2006 presented the real estate market with the unique challenge of oversupply and under-demand.   2006 marked a year when the oldest Baby Boomers, born in 1946, first turned 60 years of age.
The largest generation we have ever known, with nearly 80% homeownership rates, had all become sellers, with the very oldest entering retirement planning.  Which meant we needed to increase the number of first time buyers at the bottom of the market to absorb the rising inventory?  However, by 2006 the average age of first time buyers had risen to 33, and births fell in 1973.  The first time buyers we desperately needed in 2006 simply were not born.
In 2006, these two dynamics, the Baby boom entering their 60’s and the average age of first-time buyers 33 collided head-on.  Census data shows that the birth rate dropped steeply beginning in 1973, and NAR statistics demonstrate that 91% of first time buyers are native born American, while consumers over age 60 are more likely to sell and not purchase again.  The industry suddenly had a shortage of first-time buyers in 2006 just when we needed more of them.
The result was oversupply of inventory and lack of demand by first-time buyers simply because they were not born.  The phenomenon went undiagnosed and largely unaddressed until the passage of the Housing & Economic Recovery Act in August, 2008 which created the original $7500 first-time buyer tax credit.
By that time, inventory had stockpiled for nearly three years.  Compounding inventory issues we found that embedded in all the homes for sale, there were in fact persons in financial distress and incapable of competing for a sale in terms of price, incentives and market time.  Foreclosures skyrocketed.
QUICK STATS
  • Age of first time buyers during the Baby Boom: 25
  • Baby Boom became first time buyers in 1971
  • Oldest of Baby Boom first turned 60 in 2006
  • Youngest of Baby Boom will turn 70 in 2034 – that’s just 24 years
  • Age of fist time buyers in 2006: 33
  • Births dropped from 1973 – 1979
  • Current age of first time buyers: 30
  • Births began to rise again in 1980
  • Most important stat to watch – first time buyer (Gen Y) share of market:
            2006 – 36%
            2007 – 39%
            2008 – 41%
            2009 – 49%


WHATS HAPPENING NOW? 
First time buyers increasing in numbers, decreasing in absorption…….

First time buyers drive the entire market. Without a first time buyer, no one else moves.  When a first time buyer buys a small home from a homeowner, that person can buy again, and someone else can either buy again – or build.
A first time buyer can cause 3 or 4 sales as they each create their own mini trade-up cycle in the market.  In 2006 first time buyers represented 36% of the housing market, meaning the balance (64%) was trade up or new construction activity.  In 2006 each of them represented nearly 3 sales per person.  There just weren’t enough of them relative to inventory.
Today, the good news is that through this downturn the average age of first time buyers has fallen back down to 30.  We are just beginning to tap into the next generation, Gen Y, which began in 1980 and which will deliver a rising number of financially mature young adults each year.
We saw record numbers of first time buyers in 2009, with preliminary data showing first time buyers represented 47% of the nationwide market and yearend numbers reported at 51%.  The industry celebrated a dangerous statistic.
The trade-up market shrinks as the first time buyer share of market rises.  At 51% of total activity, first time buyer absorption rate fell to 1.9 sales per person in 2009, much too low for required absorption, leaving us with a trade-up market that remains stagnant despite record numbers of first time buyers.  Why?
A rising number of precious first time buyers are not getting on the trade-up ladder but instead buying vacant bank owned properties, and an opportunity for trade-up activity is missed.
2010 and BEYOND
A bright future
We are on the threshold of another boom that could potentially make the last one look boring.
The next boom will be driven by the first-time buyers in Gen Y, whose generation rivals the Baby Boom in size and numbers yet are only just beginning to reach financial maturity.
As these young adults begin to form households and desire a home of their own, they will enter the market and reintroduce demand.  By virtue of the sheer size of this generation, they will generate home buying records.  But we can’t be knocked off track as sales begin to rise by underestimating the Baby Boom retirement liquidation inventory.
For the first time in history, we will experience two enormous generations in real estate market simultaneously.  It will be fun – and it will be the consummate Battle of the Booms:  Gen Y demand vs. Baby Boom supply.
Those same record setting first-time buyers from 1971 are about to become record setting sellers.  As the Baby Boom ages and moves through their retirement years over the next 24 years, we also stand to realize a record number of listings caused by retirement-driven liquidation of primary residences.  The huge influx of listings currently can be attributed to Boomers liquidating sooner than initially planned out of fear that that market was on a free fall.
Until the absorption rate of first time buyers rises to the required rate necessary to absorb Baby Boom inventory, we could realistically see a record number of sales in terms of units, while still experiencing an oversupply of inventory, falling prices, foreclosures and short sales.  The level of impact could even vary and be confusing based on local generational distribution.
~ content supplied by RE?MAX intl. and Toni Milyard.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Rates!

Rates are at an incredible low!!!
4 7/8 for a 30 year conventional!
http://www.bankrate.com/