Achieving Homeownership, Getting Started…

A Home Buying Workshop:  March 2, 2010 at 7:00pm

Is now a good time?
If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, attend our FREE seminar to learn the basics about the process and have your questions answered by experts in the field.
With everything you’ve been reading in the newspaper, its difficult to make sense of the chatter -we’ll help you figure out what the latest news means for you.
Join us!

Space is limited.  Email melinda@brandongreen.com or call 202-318-1623 x7015 to reserve your seat.

I recently noticed that my monthly mortgage payment had increased by a modest amount. I received a notice that they were adding about $15 a month as a “reserve requirement” for my escrow fund. As you are aware if you’re a home owner, the bank collects extra money from you each month for an escrow fund, which it then uses to pay your real estate taxes. A nice service, because you then don’t have to come up with many hundreds of dollars every six months to pay your taxes.

However, as I found in a recent post in a financial planning newsletter (http://www.ricedelman.com/cs/education/qa_questionable_reserve_requirement), this extra reserve isn’t a requirement at all! They’re simply holding onto your money, in case there’s an “unexpected” expense. That’s nice for them, because they can then pocket the interest on your deposit. A quick phone call, and they offered to remove the extra $15 “requirement”–I didn’t even have to argue with them! They even told me they had an extra $150 in my escrow account, and would I like that returned to me? Well, duh!

So the next time you see an unexpected charge, pay attention. Even if they say it’s required. Ask questions. And if you’re tired of dealing with the big banks, you have options: check out http://moveyourmoney.info.

Everyday I meet with people getting ready to jump into the housing market and the first thing I tell them is they need to know their credit score.  This way we have a sense of how a lender is going to view them.  Just last weekend, I had a woman tell me she was afraid to look at her credit report for fear of what is on it.

Fear?!!! Who would have thought a number could cause fear?  But that is what happens all too often.  It’s like you think you have a tumor but don’t go to the doctor to get a diagnosis because you’re afraid he’s going to tell you that you’re dying.  Worst part is that sometimes it’s just a boil he can lance off.  The situation is not helped because the credit reporting bureaus have held onto the secret of what affect credit scores like they were state secrets.  Oliver Stone should write a movie about it.

Well, FICO (Fair Isaacs Corporation) has recently released the secret and it’s like the Shroud of Turin was found all over again.  If you want to know how maxing out your credit cards for the holidays affect your numbers then go to the article posted below.  Want to know what that low credit score does to a mortgage payment get at it. 

The best part of this release is that you can now make informed decisions on how to repair past mistakes.  So lance that boil and get to work.  Homeownership may not be as far away as you think.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108239/fICO-reveals-how-common-credit-mistakes-affect-scores?mod=bb-creditreports

DC Condos/Coops:
September saw a leveling off of prices across the city for condos and coops and a 5.1% increase in contracts in comparison to Sept 2008.  A 12.6% decrease in inventory means the competition for condos and coops is getting tighter across the city.  Zip codes 20001-20016 are moving quickly and inventory that is well priced is commanding multiple offers and in some cases escalation.  We are still challenged by lenders who aren’t getting documents to the table on time and a very large majority of contracts are FHA. 

It is a tale of two cities in DC however, as many of the condos in 20017, 20018, 20019, 20020 zip codes continue to see a dramatic decrease in price of nearly 30% from this time last year and a decrease in contracts of 10%. There is almost no owner occupant market in those zip codes right now and so the majority of offers we see are from investors.  Complicating matters are bankrupt condo associations with high foreclosure rates making it nearly impossible to finance many condos in those zip codes.  This pushes us back into the cash market where investors are buying at $.50 on the dollar.  

DC condos/coops: http://gcaar.com/uploadedFiles/PDF/ToolKit/Research/Home_Sales_Statistics/DC_Condo_Coop/dccc0909.pdf

DC Houses:
Inventory for DC houses is down 18.5% in comparison to this time last year, and contracts are up 20%.  The average price is down nearly $100,000 and seems to have reached a level that is peaking the buyer’s interest.  Again, it is a tale of two cities however as houses in 20017-20020 zip codes aren’t moving much at all.  Prices continue to fall dramatically in those zip codes.  If however the listing is in 20001-20016 then multiple offers will likely ensue.
 
DC houses: http://gcaar.com/uploadedFiles/PDF/ToolKit/Research/Home_Sales_Statistics/DC_Single_Family/dcsf0909.pdf

There is some indication that the fall market might be setting in.  Traditionally activity begins to slow as we move into November and our “on the ground” reports indicate the last couple weeks are much slower than the previous several.

Keep an eye on interest rates as we move into the winter.  If they remain around 5% the market will likely rebound into next year, even if the tax credit is not extended.

For more details or analysis in your area, call me, I’d be happy to look at your individual situation. 

Below is the market report for 2nd quarter.  Feel free to call Ken Rub, 202-318-1623x 7004 with any questions, and keep in mind only 60 days left to take advantage of the $8,000 1st time home-buyer tax credit! 

2nd-quarter-09.pdf

Well, not quite.  But it isn’t 2008 either.  In the last quarter my team has put together 42 contracts for sale for both our buyer and seller clients across the DC Metro area and approximately 70% had multiple bids.  Clearly not a scientific study, but fantastic on the ground data.  So what’s going on?  Ignore the national numbers for a moment which said home sales are down more than 2% this month, and focus on the local stats.  For this blog I’m going to focus on DC Houses.  More stats by the way can be found at http://gcaar.com/toolkit_ektid868.aspx .

In comparison to August 2008 listings – or new homes on the market – are down 15.2% - or 255 less homes to potentially buy.  New ratified contracts are up 17.7%  - or in other words 373 more buyers and sellers agreed upon a price in August 09 than they did in August 08.  The reason is clear – prices are down in most areas to a level that has again sparked the buyer’s interest.  The average price of a house in DC in August 2008 was $628,170 and in August 2009 it was $564,474.  If you saw a reduction of $63,696 wouldn’t you also take a closer look at the house?

I did a recent interview on DC Fox 5 that sums it up.  Take a look:  http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/092409_dc_area_homes_bidding_wars
 

Check out Keller Williams’ “This Month in Real Estate” featuring our very own, Brandon Green!

http://kwconnect.kw.com/connect/user/share.jsp?p=2893&sh=1111

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2754034.htm