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NJOYAZlife.com | GolfAt55.com

DEC 2008

Margaret Stephens

IN THIS ISSUE:

·         GolfAt55.com now Includes Las Vegas

·        Prediction: Housing Market to Recover in 2009

·        Foreclosure Effects on Phoenix Home Values

·        FHA, Freddie and Fannie Loans – Not so Easy Anymore

·        The Numbers: Interest Rates | MLS Inventory/Sales | Market Trends

GolfAt55.com now Includes Las Vegas

As part of my continuing effort to bring you the absolute best and most comprehensive Active Adult Living  site available, GolfAt55.com will soon include the same extensive information about active adult communities and new homes for the Las Vegas area as we have for the Phoenix/Casa Grande areas! You can already access the information at www.GolfAt55.com/lasvegas, or go to the home page and select the "Las Vegas" button.

I am not licensed in Las Vegas, so my trusted colleague there, Tom Buntic, will handle all Las Vegas area inquiries. I've worked with Tom for a long time and he knows the Las Vegas housing market in and out, so he is an excellent resource for buyers. I anticipate the Las Vegas> section to be completed by the end of Jan 2009, but we are adding info daily, so check it often if you're looking for Las Vegas communities. The customized email home search and "contact us" pages are already working, so if you want to know what Las Vegas has to offer, Tom can send you a complete email home search with your specific needs and budget.

If you prefer to go directly to the "Arizona" section, you can get there by bookmarking www.GolfAt55.com/arizona.

The Numbers:

Mortgage Rates

30 YR Fixed: 5.375

15 YR Fixed: 5.190

Supply of Homes

Nov Home Sales:   4,410

# on MLS:          54,650

# Months Supply:      12

Market Trends by Area

Anthem

Apache Junction

Avondale

Buckeye

Chandler

Carefree-Cave Creek

Fountain Hills

Gilbert

Glendale

Goodyear

Mesa

Paradise Valley

Peoria

Phoenix

Queen Creek

Scottsdale

Sun City

Sun City West

Surprise

Tempe

Maricopa County

Pima County

Pinal County

Prediction: Housing Market to Recover in 2009

Business Weekly reports that according to Alexis McGee, president of Foreclosures.com, a leading real estate and property information specialist, the national residential real estate recovery has begun and by next June, the excess inventory of available homes should be absorbed.

According to Alexis McGee, “Recovery is underway. Affordable is back in the housing market,” says Sacramento-based McGee. “In 2009, housing will not only recover, but we’ll see buyers leap into this market in droves, depleting our housing oversupply, and actually putting higher price pressures on the market.”

Based on November’s foreclosure rates, McGee says the nation’s foreclosure hemorrhage has finally slowed and 2009 should see a significant decline in foreclosures as buyers return, pushing home prices up and fueling a real estate recovery.

The latest U.S. Foreclosure Index by Foreclosures.com shows a slight drop from 84,534 to 84,291 in the number of properties repossessed by lenders following foreclosure last month over October. These are REOs or lender-owned real estate. But that’s off nearly 21 percent from September’s 106,415 REO filings. Year-to-date, 12.6 of every 1,000 households nationwide have been lost to foreclosure.

“California is a great example of what’s happening now and what lies ahead for the housing sector. Long a leader in the subprime mortgage mess and rising numbers of foreclosures, the state’s foreclosures have slowed significantly,” says McGee.

In November, another perennial leader in foreclosures, Arizona, saw its REOs and pre-foreclosure filings drop 5.19 percent and 5 percent respectively, according to U.S. Foreclosure Index numbers. Arizona has lost the most homes in the U.S. to foreclosures on a percentage basis. Nevada ranks second and Colorado ranks seventh.

Foreclosure Effects on Phoenix Home Values

RL Brown, a leading real estate forecasting group for Arizona, wrote in their November report that one year ago the resale median price in the Phoenix Metro area was $234,000. This month it has slid to $162,000, representing a loss of $72,900 for the year. That's 31%. For bank-owned sales, the numbers are naturally lower, with the median price last month of just $129,000. The median price of resale homes that were "private hands" transactions was $215,000. That's a phenomenal stat! The difference is $86,000 difference between homes sold through bank-owned foreclosures and homes sold by private owners. That's how much foreclosed properties are devaluing our neighborhoods.

RL Brown does not anticipate any change in this trend until the foreclosures end. He believes now that his earlier predictions of $145,000 may have to be revised downward before the dust settles. He says "That's what happens when supply and demand are out of whack."

The values are saddening, but there are a lot of sales being made. It's about four months in a row that we've shattered the numbers from a year ago.

RL Brown sums it up very well. "Housing values and housing prices will not recover in your neighborhood until the foreclosure problem is effectively mitigated. So, the answer to the question of the day is... the housing market will rebound when the stream of foreclosures returns to normal levels, stabilizing housing prices, and when confidence then returns to buyers and sellers/builders/lenders alike."

FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loans – Not so Easy Anymore

FHA announced that effective Jan 1, 2009 they are reducing their maximum loan limits in Maricopa County from $346,250 to $271,050.

FHA has traditionally been a resource for low down payment buyers, with their 3% down payment requirements. In the past, the seller could contribute up to 100% of the down payment, on behalf of the buyer. This allowance was referred to as Down Payment Assistance Program, or DPA. As of Oct 1st, the DPA program was eliminated and no down payment assistance is allowed by “non-relatives.”

FHA programs were also great for people who had abnormal or explainable credit issues because they could be manually underwritten and reviewed instead on relying solely on the borrowers credit score. This was a lifesaver for one of my buyers who had an old boyfriend default on a car loan that was in both of their names, but he retained the car. She hadn’t seen him for over 2 years, and he was in another state. The “default” hit her credit right before her closing on a new home. FHA guidelines allowed the underwriter to make a manual decision about her loan.

This email was sent by: Margaret Stephens | www.NJOYAZlife.com | www.GolfAt55.com

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage | 7975 N Hayden Rd, Suite C-100, Scottsdale, AZ 85258

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