Today’s News Synopsis:
The MBA believes the new FHA Reform Act will have a positive effect on FHA’s finances. Tom Beede of Metrolist Services reports 58 percent of May home sales in Sacramento County were short sales. Congress may extend the home-buyer tax credit due to the inability of lenders to finish all applications within the current due date.
In The News:
Mortgage Bankers Association – “MBA Reacts to House Passage of FHA Reform Act” (6-11-10)
“FHA is playing a critical role in today’s housing market, helping to provide more affordable financing for borrowers looking to purchase or refinance a home. The reforms contained in this bill will help stabilize FHA’s finances by allowing the agency to raise its annual premiums and better take corrective action against lenders who are putting the program at risk.”
Sacramento Bee – “Home Front: Short sales — and ways to exploit them — rise in Sacramento” (6-11-10)
“In mid-May, 58 percent of homes for sale in Sacramento County were short sales and only 13 percent were bank repossessions, said Tom Beede, president and chief executive officer of Metrolist Services Inc.”
Wall Street Journal – “Congress Could Extend Home-Buyer Tax Credit Closing Deadline” (6-10-10)
“What if the home-buyer tax credit worked too well? That’s the latest concern from the real-estate industry, which says that a last-minute home-buying rush in April created bottlenecks at lenders and real-estate service companies that may not be able to finalize purchases in time for tens of thousands of buyers to receive a tax credit worth up to $8,000.”
Bloomberg - “Builders Rush to Complete Houses by U.S. Tax Credit Deadline” (6-11-10)
“U.S. builders such as LGI Homes are on a tight deadline to finish houses by the end of June so purchasers can get a federal tax credit of as much as $8,000. Buyers had to sign a contract by April 30 and must complete the transaction by July 1 to qualify. That’s speeding up a construction process that for some builders can take five to six months.”
Bloomberg - “JPMorgan Sells $716.3 Million of Commercial Mortgages” (6-11-10)
“JPMorgan Chase & Co. sold $716.3 million of bonds backed by commercial mortgages in the second offering of the debt this year, according to a person familiar with the transaction.”
Inman - “Understanding the Gen Y gender gap” (6-11-10)
“women are fundamentally different than men in what they look for in a home, Chung said. Part of being fiscally conservative is that they are more willing to make trade-offs as far as home luxuries in favor of preferred community characteristics.”
Inman - “Yahoo Real Estate climbs to No. 2″ (6-11-10)
“Realtor.com maintained its lock on the No. 1 spot with 6.2 percent of traffic; Rent.com also kept its No.4 spot with 2.8 percent of traffic. Trulia jumped into the top five with 2.7 percent of traffic, bumping ZipRealty down to sixth place with 2.4 percent market share.”
Wall Street Journal - “Is It Better to Buy New Home or ‘Used’?” (6-11-10)
“It’s impossible to know how much negotiating power you’ll have with each of these sellers until you know how desperate each is to sell. So the first thing you should do is to ask your agent to find out as much as possible about what’s motivating each: Is the resale seller just testing the market, or going through a divorce? Is the builder opening up new projects or has he been sitting for months on stale inventory? You should find out how long each house has been on the market, whether there have been price drops, how often these have occurred and how deep they were. This will give you a sense of how eager each party is to deal with you.”
For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.
Tags: bank, bruce norris, builder, commercial, construction, FHA, JP Morgan, LGI Homes, MBA, Metrolist Services, mortgage, real estate, realtor.com, Rent.com, repossession, short sale, Tom Beede, trulia, ZipRealty