NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Fixed-rate mortgages continued their decline to record lows this week and the 5-year adjustable rate also reached a new low, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

“Low rates are helping to heal many battered local housing markets by increasing home-purchase activity,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, in a news release.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.92% this week, down from 3.95% last week and 4.68% a year ago. It is also at its lowest point since Freddie Mac started tracking the rate in 1991.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.56% this week, down from 3.63% last week and 4.75% a year ago. The ARM is at its lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking it in 2005.

And 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.53% this week, down from 3.55% last week and 4.72% a year ago.

To obtain the rates, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and both of the ARMs required payment of an average 0.7 point. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

Rates broke record lows after reports of a sluggish economy, Nothaft said.

“Private payrolls increased by 71,000 jobs in July, below the market consensus forecast, and revisions shaved June’s growth by 34,000 workers,” he said. “The Federal Reserve also noted in its Aug. 10 policy statement that the pace of recovery in output and employment slowed since its last meeting in June.”

April Lee is a MarketWatch Reporter based in New York.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A surprisingly strong rebound in California’s real estate market helped lift a key home price index for the eighth month in a row.

That’s good news for people who plan to sell their homes this spring. Prices are now up almost 4 percent from the bottom in May 2009, but still almost 30 percent below the May 2006 peak.

Prices rose 0.3 percent from December to January on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday. Prices increased in 12 cities in the index.

The biggest monthly gain was in Los Angeles, where prices rose 1.8 percent from December. And real estate agents say there’s a distinct sense the worst of the downturn is over.

Buyers are “seeing that prices are creeping up,” said Tony Middleton, a real estate agent with ZIP Realty who concentrates on the San Fernando Valley. “They’re losing bids on homes and they have to bid again.”

Prices in San Diego, meanwhile, rose by almost 0.9 percent. Phoenix had the third-largest gain at 0.8 percent.

Compared with the same month last year, the 20-city index was off just 0.7 percent from last year at a reading of 146.32. That was the smallest decline in almost three years and in line with analysts’ expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.

Rising home prices also could boost consumer optimism. For most Americans, their home is their largest asset, so as values climb from the depths of the housing bust, homeowners feel wealthier and more comfortable spending. And, for homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, rising prices rebuild equity.

Consumer confidence rebounded in March after a February plunge, according to a survey released Tuesday. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.5 in March, recovering about half of the nearly 11 points it lost in February.

Still, shoppers remain cautious and there are signs that last year’s housing rebound won’t last. Home sales sank during the winter, and government incentives that have propped up the market are ending.

Another reason for the positive news is simply that the Case-Shiller index measures a three-month average of home prices. So January’s report included November’s strong home sales.

However, bargain-hunting homebuyers continue to pack open houses in California, often facing off with investors for foreclosed homes.

“We’re seeing multiple offers in most of the markets here in the San Francisco Bay area,” said David Kerr, an agent with ZipRealty in Oakland, Calif. “People are getting off the fence.”

In February, bank-owned properties made up 44 percent of all resales in the state, according to MDA DataQuick. In Southern California, they accounted for more than half of resales.

With such high demand, supply is dwindling, driving prices higher.

Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate has flat-lined of late, and that’s made buyers more comfortable about purchasing a home than they were just six months ago, said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California.

California home sales will likely get a boost in coming months thanks to a new serving of government stimulus.

Last week, state lawmakers enacted a tax credit of up to $10,000 for homebuyers that kicks in May 1. The state allotted $100 million for first-time buyers and another $100 million to anyone who buys a newly built home. California had a round of tax credits last year that proved to be popular; that program ended in July.

The latest incentive picks up where a federal first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000 is scheduled to leave off when it expires at the end of April. Should the Obama administration extend the federal tax break, that could give homebuyers in California even more reasons to buy.

Still, there remain pockets of weakness. Sales of homes priced above $500,000 are sluggish. And despite rising prices, more than one-third of all homeowners with a mortgage still owe more on their loans than their homes are worth, according to First American CoreLogic.

Among the cities showing monthly price declines in January, the biggest drop was in Portland, Ore., where prices fell 1.8 percent from December. Chicago and Seattle saw declines of 1.7 percent, while prices in Atlanta fell 1.5 percent.

Many analysts expect the Case-Shiller 20-city index will again turn downward in the coming months as more foreclosures in other states hit the market.

“It is only a matter of time before the index records a double-dip in prices,” wrote Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, who forecasts a 5 percent drop. The market will be tested in the second half of the year, he wrote, when a tax credit that has boosted sales is gone.

The Case-Shiller index measures home price increases and decreases relative to prices in January 2000. The base reading is 100; so a reading of 150 would mean that home prices increased 50 percent since the beginning of the index.

Alan Zibel reported from New York.

Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase.

The new law also provide a “long-time resident”  credit of up to $6,500 to others who do not qualify as “first-time homebuyers.” To qualify this way, a buyer must have owned and used the same home as principal or primary residence for at least five consecutive years of the eight-year period ending on the date of purchase of a new home as a primary residence.

For all qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 tax returns.

As mentioned in my blog, several posts down, East West Partners has filed for Chapter 11. This has put excessive price pressure on the properties in Old Greenwood and Grays Crossing. There are some very good deals, with the associated risk, that are popping up. Shared ownership properties in Old Greenwood are selling for under $30k in some cases. Lots and homes in Grays Crossing are severely depressed from a year or two ago.

If you’re not completely risk adverse, let me know if you want to go check out some homes or land.

Qualified 2009 and 2010 first-time home buyers can get up to 10% of the home’s purchase price or a maximum of $8,000. In November 2009, legislation extended a tax credit of up to $6,500 (or up 10% of the home’s purchase price) to long-time residents of the same primary residence if they purchase a new main home. To qualify, eligible taxpayers must show that they lived in their previous homes for a five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the closing date of the new home.

Important details to remember:

1) You don’t have to pay it back (as long as you stay in your qualified home for at least 36 months).

2) If you qualify for the credit, you can still apply it to this year’s taxes, even if you’ve already filed your returns, or save it for your 2010 returns.

3) This is a true tax credit, not a deduction. If you qualify for the full credit, there will be an actual dollar-for-dollar reduction of up to $8,000 (or up to $6,500 for qualified repeat buyers) on your tax bill now or in 2010.

4) New income qualification limits have been put in place that expanded the pool of qualified buyers.

5) If you purchased a qualified home or plan to after reading this article, you must have a contract in place by April 30, 2010 (with closing to take place by June 30, 2010), so don’t wait!

There are, of course, other details and qualification requirements and restrictions that you’ll need to consider. But don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions. Also, if you happen to have your completed 2009 tax return handy, we’ll help you calculate how much money you can get if you purchase a home and qualify for the full credit.

Article written by:

Kimberly Wydra
Broker Associate #00981565
Delta Home Loans
Phone: 530-478-8383

On November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) through June 30, 2010. The bill also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time.

Tax Credit for Homebuyers

First-Time Homebuyers (FTHBs): First-time homebuyers (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000.
Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.
Current Owners: The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.
Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

What are the New Deadlines?

In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010.

by debt kid on January 17, 2008 (www.debtkid.com/short-sale-vs-foreclosure-which-is-the-better-option)

Admit it, you’ve Zillowed your house. And if you haven’t, odds are a friend or relative has but you don’t know about it.

Launched in 2006, Zillow.com has become a must-visit Internet site for anyone interested in real estate. It’s not so much information on financing, discussion boards or its blog on real estate news that draw millions of views each month. It’s the Zestimate, which is what the Seattle-based company calls its estimated appraisal of a piece of property.

Just punch in an address and Zillow’s hard drives dig through comparisons and public records to give you an estimated selling price in seconds. Just take that to your Realtor and say, “I want that price.” Right?

“Wrong,” says Gregg Swan, a Phoenix, Arizona-based Realtor who created DebunkingZillow.com not long after the original site was started. “Their information is coming from public records, which can be notoriously inaccurate, and comps which may not be anything like the house you’re trying to price.”

Web sites like Zillow and Trulia.com, which gives detailed neighborhood information, depend on the reliability of county record offices and census bureau statistics. If a house or street is a little different than average, there can be differences in price.

Swan says the average Zestimate is often too low or too high because the company doesn’t take into account essentials that give a house that extra “oomph.” Say, for instance, you own an older home on a large lot in an upscale area surrounded by some very nice houses around the same size on your street. The Zestimate could show that your home is on a par with your neighbors’, even though you haven’t painted it since the Carter administration, the roof is ready to collapse and the landscaping needs a bulldozer to correct it.

Zillow’s staff continues to tinker with software, trying to come up with the most accurate real estimates this side of an appraiser. The most recent overhaul took place early this year when Zillow allowed people to make their own changes to the data points that make up a Zestimate.

“If your Zestimate says your home has three bedrooms and you actually have four, you can change that information, which will help make the system more accurate,” says Spencer Rascoff, CFO and vice president of marketing for Zillow. “Nearly 1.3 million homes have had data points changed this year and we’re expecting many more next year.”

Where Zillow shines is in areas of tract homes, where you’ll find lots of similar-sized and appointed properties. In that case, there are plenty of comps to choose from and property records are fairly new, which helps create accurate Zestimates. Things get murky when you’re trying to value a one-of-a-kind beachfront home or a historic property with unusual features.

The site claims its Zestimates get within 5% to 20% of a home’s selling price about 90 percent of the time, nationwide. In some communities, like San Jose, California, the rate is higher, at 94.3%, but in others, like Pittsburgh, the accuracy rate drops below 85%.

“Web sites like these are fun, but they’re just for general information. I wouldn’t bet my house on what they tell me,” says Elizabeth Blakeslee, a vice president with the National Association of Realtors. “If you want a deeper look at how much your home is worth, you’ll need a formal appraisal.”

Shared ownership property in Tahoe Donner – Search All Prices

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