I read an article that Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest mortgage financier is shrinking its mortgage investment portfolio.They reported this week that its holdings declined at a compound annualized rate of 4.1 percent in August, while its total book of business fell by 1.3 percent.
Fannie Mae’s single-family serious delinquency rate dropped 17 basis points in July to 4.82 percent (Fannie Mae reports delinquencies with a one-month lag time). The multifamily serious delinquency rate declined 6 basis points to 0.74 percent in July.
Fannie’s single-family delinquencies are still 65 basis points above the rate recorded in July 2009, but they have been dropping now for five straight months.
Does this mean we’re out of the housing mess? It’s really impossible to tell. It does show that we are moving in the right direction. Especially when you consider the Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) and its regulator attribute improvements to the company’s loss mitigation efforts and the fact that newly acquired loans are of much higher credit quality than in the recent boom years. There are skeptical analysts who suggest the lower past-due numbers are merely the consequence of an increase in GSE foreclosures. However, they need to also consider Fannie’s sibling government-backed mortgage firm, Freddie Mac is seeing the same trends come to light in its mortgage business.
Freddie’s single-family serious delinquency rate dropped 6 basis points to 3.83 percent, according to its August figures. It too, shrank its portfolio by 5.2 percent.
As of the end of August, Fannie Mae’s total mortgage portfolio stood at $3.2 trillion.
Posts Tagged ‘Houses For Sale Leucadia’
Fannie Mae Delinquencies Decline Housing Market On The Rebound?
Friday, October 1st, 2010Housing Remains Highly Affordable for Sixth Consecutive Quarter
Thursday, September 16th, 2010Bolstered by favorable interest rates and low house prices, housing affordability remained near its highest level nationwide for the sixth consecutive quarter since the series was first compiled nearly two decades ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.
The HOI indicated that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. The index for the second quarter was slightly more affordable than the previous quarter and almost equaled the record-high 72.5 percent set during the first quarter of 2009.
Until 2009, the HOI rarely topped 67 percent and never reached 70 percent.
“Homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for almost a generation,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “Interest rates continue to hover at historic low levels, the economy is beginning to rebound and with house prices starting to stabilize, conditions are beginning to draw home buyers back into the market, which is a positive step on the path to recovery.”
Syracuse, N.Y., was the most affordable major housing market in the country, edging out Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., which had held the top ranking for nearly five years. In Syracuse, 97.2 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $64,300.
Also near the top of the list of the most affordable major metro housing markets were Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.; Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Among smaller housing markets, the most affordable was Springfield, Ohio, where 96.6 percent of homes sold during the second quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning a median-income of $56,800. Other smaller housing markets near the top of the index included Mansfield, Ohio; Bay City, Mich.; Monroe, Mich.; and Lansing-East Lansing, Mich., respectively.
New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., continued to lead the nation as its least affordable major housing market during the second quarter of 2010. There, 19.9 percent of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable to those earning the New York area’s median income of $65,600. This was the ninth consecutive quarter that the New York metropolitan division has occupied this position.
The other major metro areas near the bottom of the affordability scale included San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Honolulu, all metro areas that have lingered among the bottom rankings for several quarters.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif., was the least affordable of the smaller metro housing markets in the country during the second quarter. Others near the bottom included Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Ocean City, N.J; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.; and Napa, Calif.
San Diego County Home Prices Up For 12 Straight Months
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010San Diego County Home Prices Up For 12 Straight Months according to last Wednesdays San Diego Union Tribune coverage in the Business section, only San Francisco’s market rose more. This is in keeping with history of price points over the years. San Francisco always seems to lead the way in prices. This being our observation over many years and not addressed in the article.
California will continue bumping along and doing fine while the rest of the nation will have its’ ups and downs. The rest of the country is not a direct indicator of our prices. That is something I have learned over the years and this article certainly takes nothing away from that feeling or conclusion. If you would like to see results in your particular zip codes of interest, email them to me at rob@robdennyhomes.com. I’ll get you a comparison going back 12 months or more!
Seven Things All Borrowers Should Know About FHA Loans
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Seven Things All Borrowers Should Know About FHA Loans as talked about by FHA Pros, LLC, a national FHA condo approval service, has developed a list of facts speaking to the top misconceptions associated with FHA loans in order to help home buyers better navigate an already confusing market. FHA loans are mortgages issued by qualified lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
1. FHA loans are not only for lower-income borrowers. FHA loans are available to everyone. There is no maximum income restriction associated with FHA loans, but borrowers do need to substantiate income and assets by submitting proper documentation.
2. FHA loans are not only for first-time buyers. Many people believe FHA loans are available only to first-time home buyers, but this is not the case.
3. FHA loans are not just small loans; in fact, loan amounts can be as high as almost $800,000. The government recently raised the maximum loan amount from its original cap of $362,790 to $793,750 as a way to help stabilize the housing market. The amount a buyer can borrow varies from county to county.
4. FHA loans are not affiliated with the section 8 housing program. While both programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FHA loans have nothing to do with low-income subsidized housing. FHA loans are simply mortgages insured by FHA. This insurance provided by the federal government allows lenders to lend more freely by assuring them that they will be repaid in the event of default. Most traditional lenders, including Wells Fargo & Co., JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup are able to provide FHA loans to their customers.
5. FHA loans are often more affordable than conventional loans. While FHA loans typically offer the same interest rates as other loans, borrowers benefit from a much lower down payment of as low as 3.5%.
6. FHA-approved condo developments are more desirable to buyers. With 87% of home buyers indicating that they plan to use FHA loans, condo associations that are not FHA approved are missing out on a significant pool of prospective buyers. Under rules in place since February 2010, an entire condominium development must now apply to HUD and be granted FHA approval before a buyer can purchase a unit in an association with an FHA loan or before an existing unit owner can refinance into an FHA loan.
Due to the general unwillingness of today’s lenders to extend credit with respect to conventional loans, many borrowers find that FHA is their best bet. Lenders don’t mind lending when the federal government (FHA) assures them of repayment.
Homeowners associations (HOAs) should note that although FHA-insured mortgages might be easier to obtain, they are not “risky” loans, due in large part to the strict “full documentation” requirements placed on borrowers. Individual buyers or sellers can initiate the approval process or current owners can encourage their HOA to apply.
7. FHA loans are assumable. In addition to lower down-payment and credit-qualifying requirements as compared to conventional loans, FHA loans are assumable. This means that when a seller with an FHA loan sells his or her property, the loan and its financing terms (interest rate) may be transferred to the new buyer subject to qualification.
Will you use FHA financing to purchase your home? Do you have more questions about FHA? Contact Rob Denny today at rob@robdennyhomes.com or visit my website www.robdennyhomes.com.
Spring Cleaning Clutter Tips
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010As another spring comes to an end it’s a good time to ask yourself “did I ever get around to spring cleaning this year?” If not, here are some ueful tips to implement before the BBQ season begins-
That kitchen drawer
Take the pizza rolling, slicing thing and all those other items you bought for less than $5.99 that you just knew you’d always use and put them in a cardboard box. Whenever you use one of the items, put it back in the drawer. At the end of the month—with the exception of the turkey baster—you need to ask yourself if you will ever use whatever is left in the box.
The bedroom closet
We wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, which means the vast majority of your closet is filled with—you guessed it, clutter. Walsh suggests the ‘reverse clothes hanger trick.’ Take everything on a clothes hanger and turn it around back-to-front. For the next three to six months, every time you wear something, hang it back the correct way after you wash it. Whatever is still hanging back-to-front, ask yourself if you will ever really wear the item. The reverse clothes hanger trick is an efficient, non-traumatic way to see what you wear and what you don’t.
Your shoes
To understand how many shoes you have, you have to release them from captivity. Find the largest room or hallway in your house and line them up. Every pair of shoes you have. Then sort the shoes by type—running shoes, sensible pumps, sandals and so on. Then give yourself a ratio such as 10-to-1 (for every 10 you keep, get rid of one pair), 5-to-1 if you’re or even 3-to-1 if you’re a true pioneer.
The car
Get in the habit that whenever you gas up the car, in those two minutes you declutter and throw out any trash. In addition, get milk crate-size containers, and put them in the way back. Whenever the kids bring something into the car—sports gear, book bags, etc.—it goes in their crate. Be sure to use the crates whenever you go shopping too. When you arrive home, make sure nobody leaves the car empty-handed—everyone has to carry their crate into the house.
The garage
Divide your garage into clear zones: one area for gardening equipment, one area for holiday decorations, one area for luggage and one area for tools. Establishing zones is a functional way of keeping the place organized and the volume of stuff in control.
You may actually need a bigger home and/or a 3 car garage. I can can help you find what you want. Visit www.robdennyhomes.com or email me at rdennyhomes@gmail.com today.
“Relax…I’ll handle the details”