The Obama administration said Tuesday it is expanding its foreclosure prevention program to cover second mortgages and to direct more troubled borrowers to the Hope for Homeowners program.

Click here to read the article

What’s the outlook for rates?

Expect the 30-year fixed rate to hover near 5% for the balance of this year or, if the economy improves a tad, to creep up to 5.25%, says Keith Gumbinger, of financial publisher HSH Associates. HSH’s survey of lenders pegged the national average 30-year fixed rate at 5.01% in late April. The average 15-year fixed rate was 4.6% and the average 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (which has a rate that’s fixed for five years, then changes every year after) was 4.98%.

Given that the spread is so narrow between a 30-year fixed-rate loan and a 5/1 ARM, and that rates are at historically low levels, it makes no sense to take out an ARM now.

Rates will rise when inflation heats up, but that’s not an immediate risk. Kiplinger’s forecasts that the rate of inflation will stay steady for at least the next couple of months.

Who qualifies for the best rates?

You’ll generally get the lowest rate on loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac — together they back about two-thirds of all mortgage loans — if you’re taking out a conforming loan, and if you have a credit score of at least 720 and equity of 20% or more. Other factors that will help: if the property you’re refinancing is the single-family home you live in, if you don’t take out some of your equity in cash when you refinance, and if you don’t take out a home-equity loan or line of credit. Of course, you can reduce your rate by paying points at closing. A discount point is equivalent to 1% of your loan amount. Paying one point usually lowers your interest rate by 0.25 percentage point.

 http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/107030/Refinance-if-You-Can

The top subprime lenders whose loans are largely blamed for triggering the global economic meltdown were owned or backed by giant banks now collecting billions of dollars in bailout money, according to “Who’s Behind the Financial Meltdown?” – a new investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.

Click here to read the article

Prices have come down, but not as much as you might think. Eighty offers poured in for one house. Competition can be fierce. Although the median price in Southern California may have plummeted, homebuyers are still engaging in bidding wars in more desirable neighborhoods.

Click here to read the article

 

 

 

The National Association of Realtors® is a great place to gather information for Buyers and Sellers.

Click on the below link to view tips for Home buyers and sellers.

National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

The Mammoth Realty Group sales staff are members of the NAR. Our agents are bound together with a strong Code of Ethics, extensive training, and have a wealth of information about properties and the surrounding communities.

Mortgage Market News for the week ending May 8, 2009

           As a property owner in what many consider the best part of Mammoth, we would like you to be one of the first to hear about our most recent listing reductions in prime ski-in/ski-out locations. We have considered what the experts are saying about the market – that although California will be one of the first to recover, there may be a little more room for prices to decline as we move through the summer and head towards the end of this year.  With that said, we have educated our most motivated Sellers to price their properties with the future decline in mind. If you or someone you know is looking to pick up a great ski-in/ski-out location priced below the competition, we are presenting these opportunities to you. See these featured properties on the following page along with accompanying post cards for photos and descriptions.

Pinpointing the exact bottom of any market is impossible; however most are identified by a decline in inventory, a strong showing of demand for the product, and a leveling of pricing. We believe that we are definitely in the bottoming stages of the market right now in Mammoth as evidenced for example by a huge increase in recent demand. [Combining the current pending condo sales along with the closed escrows over the first quarter of 2009, we are well over a 50% increase in activity to that of the first quarter of 2008! 88 condos compared to 39! Single family home sales have had an approximate 15% increase.] We should also pay very close attention to where pricing is at the moment. The median price of a sold condo in the 1^st Q of 2006 (our market peak) was $530,000 and the average was $646,000. In the 1^st Q of 2009 it was $326,000 and $392,000 respectably; a 38.5% - 40% drop! We are most closely in line right now with where re-sale prices were in 2003. That’s 6 years ago! If the market analysts are predicting a 12 year real estate cycle this time versus our typical 7 year span, that would put us pretty much right in the middle of it – or one might conclude the near bottom? With such a strong selection of inventory still available, and interest rates at an all time low (in the 5% range!) could there be a better time to be looking to buy?

Please contact us if you are considering selling and would like a market evaluation of your home. With a combined total of over 25 years experience in real estate in Mammoth, Trish and I provide you with the elevated level of service, the negotiating skills, the strong local relationships & connections, and the inventory knowledge that you will need to have for a superior edge over your competition. Our clients receive two top agents in the strongest office in town for the price of one! Whether you are a Buyer or a Seller in these stimulating times, we look forward to hearing from you!

Most Sincerely,

Tracie Van Alstyne         &       Trish Dunlap

Tracie Cell: 760.447.0945                    Trish Cell: 760.709.1205

Tracie@RealEstateMammoth.com    TrishDunlap@Earthlink.net    www.RealEstateMammoth.com

Have a great week! Brett Lightner

By The Number$ - Monday, March 16, 2009

1.     DURING THE LAST 5 MONTHS - During the worst bear market ever for the S&P 500, the stock index fell 86.2% over a 33-month period (I.e., 9/06/29 to 6/01/32).  More than half of the 86.2% decline occurred during the last 5 months of the 33-month period.  From 12/31/31 to 6/01/32, the S&P 500 fell 45.8%.  From its all-time high set on 10/09/07, the S&P 500 has fallen 51.7% over the last 17 months to last Fridays close.  In the last 5 months, the S&P 500 has fallen 24.6%.  The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market (source: BTN Research).

2.     OBAMAS MINI-BEAR - Today is President Barack Obamas 56th day in office.  From the close of business on the last trading day before Obama took office to last Fridays close, the S&P 500 is down 10.5% on a total return basis (source: BTN Research).

3.     NOT HAPPY - A weekly survey of stock investors indicated 70% of them were bearish as of 3/04/09, the highest bearish measurement ever recorded by this study (source: American Association of Individual Investors).

4.     A FACTOR? - Theuptick rule requires a stock that is being sold short must be sold at a price above the last sales price of the stock.  Some, but not all, market watchers believe the elimination of the uptick rule on 7/06/07 has contributed to the stock bear market that began in October 2007.  The uptick rule was first adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1938 (source: Wall Street Journal).

5.     BIGGER AND BIGGER - The first budget plan presented to Congress by President George Bush (# 43) on 4/09/01 was for fiscal year 2002 and anticipated $1.96 trillion of spending for the 12 months ending 9/30/02.  The first budget plan presented to Congress by President Barack Obama on 2/26/09 was for fiscal year 2010 and it anticipates $3.55 trillion of spending for the 12 months ending 9/30/10 (source: White House).

6.     CENTRAL BANK - The Federal Reserve will hold a 2-day meeting that ends on Wednesday of the upcoming week (3/18/09).  The Fed has either lowered rates or kept them unchanged following each of its last 23 meetings.  This week�s meeting is the 2nd of 8 scheduled for the calendar year (source: Federal Reserve).

7.     JOBS - The 651,000 job losses that the US suffered during February 2009 were the 5th largest monthly total ever reported.  The last 3 months (December-January-February) rank as the 3rd, 4th and 5th worst months ever.  The worst ever (job losses of 1.97 million) occurred in September 1945 (source: Department of Labor, Financial Times).

8.     JUDGES DECISION - Bankruptcy judges have had the authority since 1978 to reduce the principal balance on loans secured by second homes, boats and cars, but not by the debtors primary residence.  The House passed legislation on 3/06/09 that would allow judges to rewrite a home mortgage loan and reduce the principal amount owed.  The bill will now be debated and voted on in the Senate (source: Los Angeles Times).

9.     WAY UP, WAY DOWN - The median sales price of a home sold in San Jose, CA (the nations 10th largest city) is down 38% in the last 13 months (source: Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, USA Today).

10.   IN TROUBLE - 1 out of every 9 mortgages in the USA was at least 30 days late with their monthly payment or was in the foreclosure process as of 12/31/08.  One year earlier (12/31/07), 1 out of every 13 mortgages was either late or in foreclosure (source: Mortgage Bankers Association).

11.   NET WORTH - The total net worth of Americans was $51.5 trillion as of 12/31/08, down 18% in the last year, reaching its lowest level since 9/30/05 (source: Federal Reserve).

12.   UP IN THE AIR - The worlds airlines lost $8 billion in calendar year 2008, half of that in the 4th quarter alone (source: International Air Transport Association).

13.   OIL PRICES - OPEC ministers met yesterday in Vienna, Austria to consider its 4th production cut in the last 6 � months.  OPEC believes a �reasonable� oil price is between $60-80 a barrel.  The price of oil closed last Friday at $46.25 a barrel (source: Financial Times).

14.   BIG APPETITE - The USA consumes as much oil per day as does the next 5 largest oil-consuming countries in the world combined (US Energy Information Administration, Wall Street Journal).

15.   SMELLY - The $410 billion emergency spending bill that passed the House last month and was approved in the Senate last Tuesday will keep the government running through 9/30/09.  The bill includes $1.8 million to research swine odor and manure management at a Department of Agriculture facility in Ames , IA.   The state of Iowa has 20 million hogs, 25% of all hogs in the nation (source: Media General).

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