Anna-Lise Troup's Tucson Area Real Estate Update: December 2009

My husband, Joe, has released a new CD! It features contemporary instrumental acoustic guitar music blended with smooth jazz and light rock.

"Sunrise" is a collection of catchy and inspirational songs played with a passionate approach that’s evident throughout the album. The record is dedicated to Joe’s father who passed away in late 2007.

After hand picking some of Tucson’s most talented musicians he recorded “Sunrise” at Allusion Studios along with the help of the engineering guru Jim Pavett.

Joe Troup is an Acoustic guitarist based in Tucson AZ. He originally hails from the Southwestern Michigan town of Kalamazoo. With his prized Les Paul Custom at his side Joe has played in numerous rock bands over the years. For a creative change of pace he switched gears in 2007 to play an Ovation acoustic guitar.

Click on the title of this posting or check it out at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/joetroup

An expected $50 million in loan proceeds to be available by Jan. 1, 2010. The mortgage rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage will be 4.55%. Lenders can originate FHA, VA or Rural Dev. Loans. Loans can be originated in ALL of Pima County, including the City of Tucson. Limited down payment assistance is available to borrowers at or below 80% of the AMI.

The Servicer for the program is US Bank. All approved and trained correspondent lenders with US Bank may participate in the program. Borrowers must be first time homebuyers to participate. However, Veterans DO NOT need to be first time homebuyers. The following are the listed the income and purchase price limits for the program. Maximum Home Purchase Cost: One unit, $276,334, Two Units:, $353,752. Family Income Limits: Families of 2 or less, $69,000. Families of 3 or more, $79,675.

Please keep in mind that Targeted Areas have much higher income and purchase price limits.

This program is made possible by the Tucson and Pima County Industrial Development Authorities. Please contact Pat Denihan. for more information, contact Anna-Lise Troup at (520) 906-5659 or lisetroup1@comcast.net.

The nation’s foreclosure rate fell last month to its lowest level since February according to new data. A total of 306,627 Americans received a foreclosure notice in November which is an 8 percent decrease from October.

That means that 416 out of every 417 housing units is not in foreclosure. Our housing market has stabilized in the past 12 months. One of the reasons for these great home prices is the flood of artificially low fire-sales prices on foreclosed homes. With foreclosures leveling out this will help home pricing gain some traction.

Trulia, Inc., a real estate search site, has announced that 22% of homes currently on the market in the United States as of December 1, 2009 have experienced at least one price cut, the lowest level since Trulia started tracking price reductions in April 2009. The total amount slashed from home prices also dropped from $28.1 billion in November to $24.7 billion in December, representing a 12% decrease. The average discount for price-reduced homes slightly increased to 11% off of the original listing price compared to 10% in the previous four months. The number of listings on Trulia also decreased by 9% from the previous month.

South Reports Least Amount of Homes Reduced
The South has the lowest levels of price reductions, with 19% of current listings experiencing at least one price cut, a 21% decrease from the previous month. Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas Oklahoma and Mississippi are all seeing less than 15% of listings with price reductions. (Regions according to the U.S. Census Bureau)

-South – 19% of listings with price reductions
-West – 20% of listings with price reductions-Midwest – 22% of listings with price reductions
-Northeast – 25% of listings with price reductions

“We saw some of the highest levels of reductions last month, as home owners raced to sell their homes in advance of the November 30 expiration of the tax credit,” said Pete Flint. “We are now seeing fewer reductions at the low end of the market as those sellers are increasingly in sync with market prices. With the expansion of the tax credit to repeat home buyers and extension to April 30, we expect to see an increase in price reductions at the higher end of the market in the first quarter of 2010.”

For the first time since Trulia started tracking price reductions in April 2009, one major U.S. city has reached 40% of listings with price reductions- Minneapolis. This is the second straight month that Minneapolis has held the top spot for highest percentage of price reductions.

Cities experiencing significant increases in percentage of listings with price reductions from June 2009 to December 2009 include:-Kansas City, MO – 40% increase in price reductions
-Omaha, NE – 39% increase in price reductions
-Houston, TX – 32% increase in price reductions
-Minneapolis, MN – 29% increase in price reductions
-Arlington, VA – 28% increase in price reductions

Cities showing signs the highest percentage of declines for listings with price reductions from June 2009 to December 2009 include:-Las Vegas, NV – 30% decrease in price reductions
-San Jose, CA – 30% decrease in price reductions
-Long Beach, CA – 25% decrease in price reductions
-Honolulu, HI – 23% decrease in price reductions
-Albuquerque, NM – 22% decrease in price reductions

Luxury Market Still Hardest HitLuxury homes (those listed at two million dollars and above) continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered with an average of 14% being slashed from the original asking price compared to 10% for homes listed under $2 million. Additionally, luxury homes represent less than 2% of all current listings on Trulia, but are responsible for 26% of the $24.7 billion in home price reductions.

For more information, visit www.trulia.com.



Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-12-10/home-price-reduction-levels-drop-to-2009-low/#ixzz0ZmVxLfHm

By Mary Ellen Podmolik
RISMEDIA, December 15, 2009—(MCT)—Interest rates on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dipped to a 38-year low recently, giving consumers another reason to consider purchasing a home or refinancing their current one.

Freddie Mac recently stated the average rate on a 30-year loan was 4.71% with an average 0.7 point, the lowest rate since the agency began its weekly tracking of long-term interest rates in 1971. A point is equal to 1% of the loan amount, payable as a lump sum at closing. While the decline wasn’t overly dramatic, the dip is likely to get people wondering whether it’s time to sign on the dotted line.

The 5 following questions may help you decide if now is the time to go ahead and purchase a home or refinance your current home.

Q: Why are rates so low?
A: Since early January, the Federal Reserve has been purchasing mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae in an effort to stabilize the housing market by making homes more affordable for consumers. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which is managing the program, plans on purchasing $1.25 trillion of securities.

Q: Are rates expected stay this low?
A: It’s hard to tell, but don’t count on it because the lending landscape is likely to change next year. In September 2009, the Fed said it would gradually wind down the purchase program, ending it by March 30, 2010. That has some in the mortgage lending industry worried.

In a recently published mortgage survey, more than 60% of Bankrate.com’s panel of experts predicted that rates will move higher over the next 30 to 45 days. How much higher is anyone’s guess. Last year at this time, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 5.53%.

Q: Why do different mortgage surveys come up with different average interest rates?
A: It depends on which lenders are in their sample, when the survey was taken and whether the rates quoted are the posted rate, the application rate or the commitment rate. Also, some surveys take into account the points paid to secure the rate.

But regardless of the survey, the general consensus is that rates are ultra-low right now and may be the lowest the market will see.

Q: What else does a consumer need to know?
A: The lowest rates are offered to the most credit-worthy customers who can make sizable down payments. Shop not just for the interest rate and the points involved but also for the fees involved, which can vary widely from one lender to another.

If you’re refinancing, remember the bigger the loan, the greater the payoff for finding a lower interest rate. Savvy customers put in their paperwork with a lender and set a “strike” interest rate at which to lock in the loan, a good move considering rate volatility.

Several refinancing calculators are available online that let borrowers plug in all the required numbers and determine the monthly savings and how long it will take to recoup the expense of a refinancing.

Q: So is now the best time to buy a home?
A: It depends on personal situations. Homebuyers certainly have a lot of factors working in their favor right now—low interest rates, plenty of marked-down homes for sale and an extended and expanded federal tax credit that will expire in the spring.

On the flip side, there’s growing sentiment among analysts that housing prices, which are showing ever-so-minor improvement, may fall further. The reason? Lenders are expected to get better at determining which borrowers will qualify for loan modifications. That means lenders also will get faster at moving homes through the foreclosure process.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, recently predicted that housing prices nationally will hit bottom in 2010’s third quarter. That means anyone buying a house now could see the value of their investment initially depreciate.

(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-12-14/5-questions-to-consider-before-purchasing-a-home/#ixzz0ZmUJSMIq

As we get closer to the end of 2009, we can see the positive effects of the tax credit. Home sales volume is up 35.34% over last year. New listings are down 3.16% over last year and down 23.63% over last month. Active listings continue to drop over last year by 20.59% but are up 2.21% over last month.

The extension of the First-Time Home Buyer tax credit should help continue to push the market forward. As you know, Congress has passed new legislation to extend the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers and up to $6,500 credit to current home owners until April 30, 2010.

Another positive note is mortgage rates are continuing to fall. According to a survey by Freddie Mac, rates decreased to 4.71%, the lowest since the survey began in 1971. This should continue to help home sales.

While the holiday season is typically slower the numbers show a steady pace.

Click the title of this article for a link to the full report.