October 15, 2009   

                               Renting Versus Buying                                                Vol. 2, Issue 11

What are real estate professionals saying to homebuyers and sellers about current market conditions? The successful brokers and sales associates are talking about the strengths that exist in the market. Below are positive angles that appeared recently in the media and underscore why it is a good time to buy real estate.

Lawmakers Consider Extension to Allow Freddie Mac and FHA
to Finance High Value Mortgages in 2010

Lawmakers may agree to allow Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to continue financing larger mortgages past year-end, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said.

“I am hopeful” that the higher limits of as much as $729,750 in high-cost areas, set to otherwise fall to $417,000, will be extended as part of a Housing and Urban Development department appropriations bill “being currently negotiated,” Dodd said in a hearing.

-- “Freddie Mac and FHA May be Allowed to Finance High Value Mortgages in 2010” by Jody Shenn, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 8, 2009.

Realty Times: “Market Not Showing Signs of Winter Slow Down”

“Though some economic analysts are warning that the housing market's rebound will slow down as the weather turns colder, this week's numbers show no hints of that.  

1. The Clear Capital Home Data Index, which tracks price movements in thousands of neighborhoods and ZIP codes across the country, reported a 6.3% gain for the period covering Aug. 27 through Sept. 25. Including gains in hard-hit markets like Riverside- San Bernardino, Calif. and Orlando, Fla.

1. The Mortgage Bankers Association says average 30-year rates dropped again last week in its national survey – hitting 4.89% – the lowest they've been since May, and 15-year fixed rates decreased to just 4.3%, which is the lowest ever recorded in the mortgage association's survey history.

1. New mortgage applications to buy houses using FHA loans were 52% higher last week than they were a year ago.”

-- “Real Estate Outlook: Warning of Slow Down?” by Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times, Oct. 13, 2009.

Regional Update: Good News from Markets around the Nation

Charleston, S.C.
Charleston has finally hit a streak of strong home sales. The region recorded 697 home sales during September; a 7% increase compared with the same month last year, according to the latest figures released Tuesday by the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

“The home-buyer credit has been around long enough that you're starting to see a little bit of a trickle down. When a first-time buyer purchases a home using the credit, it frees the seller to move up the real estate ladder.”

-- Josh Watts, Charleston-area sales agent, “Home Sales up 7 Percent,” by Katy Stech, The Post and Courier, Oct. 14, 2009.

Southern California
Southern California's housing market took another small step toward recovery in September as the median sales price for homes in some areas rose above last year's levels. In Orange County, the median price rose modestly to $429,000 from $425,000 in the same month last year – the first year-over-year gain since 2007, according to MDA DataQuick. If condominium sales are excluded, last month's median home sales prices in San Diego and Ventura counties also beat their September 2008 levels.

“Tax breaks, low interest rates and pent-up demand added up to create a surge in sales that's surely gone some way in stabilizing prices.”

-- Christopher Thornberg, Los Angeles economist, “Housing Upturn Occurring in Some Parts of Southern California, Data Show,” by Peter Y. Hong and Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 14, 2009.

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