Friday, May 15, 2009

The Sacramento Bee - "Home Front: First-time buyers reap reward of median price in Sacramento County" (5-15-08)

"Only the high desert region of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley's Merced County – which has seen a median entry-level price tumble to an astonishing $89,040 – were more affordable than Sacramento County."

Washington Post - "Plan to Encourage Banks to Allow Short Sales" (5-15-09)

"The program, known as Making Home Affordable, focuses on paying lenders to modify distressed borrowers' loans to affordable levels. But under this expansion of the program, lenders can also receive incentive payments even if the homeowner's loan is not modified. In those cases, the lender could get up to $1,000 for allowing a short sale. In such deals, the lender accepts less than the value of the mortgage in what has usually been a time-consuming and cumbersome process. Under the plan, the government will also share the cost of extinguishing second liens on the property, such as those for second mortgages."

Inman - "Mortgage rates stable" (5-15-09)

"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.86 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 14, 2009, up from 4.84 percent last week but down from 6.01 percent a year ago. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.52 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from 4.51 percent last week but down from 5.6 percent a year ago."

North County Times - "HOUSING: No sign of foreclosures slowing" (5-15-09)

"Delinquency rates in the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area hit a staggering 15.7 percent ---- meaning borrowers on roughly one out of every six mortgages were at least 90 days late on their payments, according to the report by First American CoreLogic, a Santa Ana research firm"

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Says June Demand for TALF Loans May Top This Month’s" (5-15-09)

"
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said demand for the central bank’s loans to buy asset- backed securities is likely to rise next month from May’s total as investors become more comfortable with the program."

Orange County Register - "O.C. homebuying surge near 10-month low" (5-15-09)

"Late April’s $376,000 median selling price is -24.8% vs. a year ago and -42% below June 2007’s Orange County peak of $645,000. Prices have been falling on a year-over-year basis since Sept. 2007 with the worst at -31.5% in August 2008."


Orange County Register - "Is ‘walking away’ from a home justified?" (5-15-09)

"I am not in favor of telling people to walk away from obligations, but I can understand that, if they don’t have any equity, why they might wish to. Before they do that, however, they should exhaust all options with the lender. A 9% loan probably falls in the predatory category and they may have more resources than they think. Perhaps the lenders would reduce the interest rate and/or principal balance to something acceptable. Have them do it themselves. Don’t hire a 'negotiator.' That’s probably a rip off."

Realty Times - "'Mulch' Improved: Homeowners Spruce Up Landscape and Increase Home Value" (5-15-09)

"According to Angie's List, a Web site where thousands of consumers share their ratings and reviews on local service providers in more than 425 different categories, well-designed landscaping can increase the value of your home by 7 percent to 14 percent."


Realty Times - "Not Much Changed in Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates" (5-15-09)

"Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.86 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 14, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 4.84 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.01 percent."

Realty Times - "The 20/50/30 Rule" (5-15-09)

"We have all been exposed to the 80/20 rule. This rule states that 80 percent of our results come from 20 percent of our labor, or 80 percent of our income will come from 20 percent of our clients. When this rule is learned and applied, it is a powerful tool towards success. There is another rule, which I have applied with great results throughout my sales career. It is more powerful but less known than the 80/20 rule. It is the 20/50/30 rule. Let's take an in depth look at this rule."

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