Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Waiting to Buy Home or Waiting to Sale your Home
“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want” Ben Stein Why Wait?
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® Provides Clarus? MarketMetrics? and Clarus? Investor as Member BenefitsLOS ANGELESCA-REBS/C.A.R./ESDCAR
East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® Provides Clarus? MarketMetrics? and Clarus? Investor as Member BenefitsLOS ANGELESCA-REBS/C.A.R./ESDCAR
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Real Estate Business Services Inc. (REBS) and the East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® today announced that the East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® (ESDCAR) has signed an agreement to provide both Clarus? MarketMetrics? and Clarus? Investor? as a free member benefit. Clarus? MarketMetrics? and Clarus? Investor?, together, retail for $480 for an annual subscription.
The East San Diego County Association of REALTORS®, with more than 1,000 REALTOR® members, is among the growing number of REALTOR® associations nationwide providing their members with the competitive advantage they need in today?s challenging marketplace through the suite of Clarus? products.
?The Clarus? products strengthen our members? position as the experts of the San Diego real estate market,? said Share Smithwick, executive officer of ESDCAR. ?These products differentiate our members by enabling them to more effectively communicate market insights to their clients.?
Clarus? MarketMetrics? generates easy-to-understand market and price-point analysis charts and reports derived from MLS data for REALTORS® to share with their clients. These reports can be invaluable as a prospecting tool, an aid to setting seller expectations, or as a companion set of data to justify a buyer?s offer. With Clarus? MarketMetrics?, ESDCAR members now have access to the most current, relevant local market data that even the savviest client will value.
Clarus? Investor enables agents to engage clients in a healthy discussion about adding real estate to their investment portfolio.
?Our members want to expand their niche in this challenging market,? said ESDCAR 2009 President Candace Waldon. ?Clarus? Investor? allows the residential REALTOR® an opportunity to showcase the investment potential in our area.?
Clarus? MarketMetrics is powered by Terradatum Inc., a provider of real estate technology products based in Glen Ellen, Calif. All agreements regarding the MLS data are between Terradatum and the participating MLS. Terradatum has been generating real estate technology solutions since 1994. In addition to Clarus? MarketMetrics, Terradatum has several other bold and exciting real estate technology products: BrokerMetrics® and BrokerMetrics® Web Tools.
Clarus? MarketMetrics and Clarus? Investor are two of the latest tools in the Clarus? REsource product line provided by REBS.
The East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® (ESDCAR) is a professional trade association whose origins date to the 1950s.
Real Estate Business Services Inc. (REBS) is a subsidiary of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) and is the leading provider of real estate products and services to practitioners in California. Through its RE FormsNet (REFN) subsidiary, REBS is the creator of ZipForm® and WINForms® electronic forms software, available to more than 1,055,000 REALTORS® nationwide.
Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 180,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Real Estate Business Services Inc. (REBS) and the East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® today announced that the East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® (ESDCAR) has signed an agreement to provide both Clarus? MarketMetrics? and Clarus? Investor? as a free member benefit. Clarus? MarketMetrics? and Clarus? Investor?, together, retail for $480 for an annual subscription.
The East San Diego County Association of REALTORS®, with more than 1,000 REALTOR® members, is among the growing number of REALTOR® associations nationwide providing their members with the competitive advantage they need in today?s challenging marketplace through the suite of Clarus? products.
?The Clarus? products strengthen our members? position as the experts of the San Diego real estate market,? said Share Smithwick, executive officer of ESDCAR. ?These products differentiate our members by enabling them to more effectively communicate market insights to their clients.?
Clarus? MarketMetrics? generates easy-to-understand market and price-point analysis charts and reports derived from MLS data for REALTORS® to share with their clients. These reports can be invaluable as a prospecting tool, an aid to setting seller expectations, or as a companion set of data to justify a buyer?s offer. With Clarus? MarketMetrics?, ESDCAR members now have access to the most current, relevant local market data that even the savviest client will value.
Clarus? Investor enables agents to engage clients in a healthy discussion about adding real estate to their investment portfolio.
?Our members want to expand their niche in this challenging market,? said ESDCAR 2009 President Candace Waldon. ?Clarus? Investor? allows the residential REALTOR® an opportunity to showcase the investment potential in our area.?
Clarus? MarketMetrics is powered by Terradatum Inc., a provider of real estate technology products based in Glen Ellen, Calif. All agreements regarding the MLS data are between Terradatum and the participating MLS. Terradatum has been generating real estate technology solutions since 1994. In addition to Clarus? MarketMetrics, Terradatum has several other bold and exciting real estate technology products: BrokerMetrics® and BrokerMetrics® Web Tools.
Clarus? MarketMetrics and Clarus? Investor are two of the latest tools in the Clarus? REsource product line provided by REBS.
The East San Diego County Association of REALTORS® (ESDCAR) is a professional trade association whose origins date to the 1950s.
Real Estate Business Services Inc. (REBS) is a subsidiary of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) and is the leading provider of real estate products and services to practitioners in California. Through its RE FormsNet (REFN) subsidiary, REBS is the creator of ZipForm® and WINForms® electronic forms software, available to more than 1,055,000 REALTORS® nationwide.
Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 180,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
Monday, December 1, 2008
You can qualify for mortgage, it's just tougher
Marni Leff Kottle, Special to The Chronicle
Sunday, November 30, 2008
There is something that mortgage lenders want Bay Area home buyers to know: They are open for business.
While it is certainly harder to get a loan today than it was two years ago, lenders say it's far from impossible for would-be borrowers with the right credentials. In fact many in the industry praise the return to normal, where loan candidates are required to prove they can pay back the money they borrow.
"You can't turn on the TV or pick up the newspaper without reading about the credit crisis," said Arlene Allert, a regional manager and vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "It leads to the perception that consumers can't get the credit they need to buy a home."
Across the board, mortgage industry executives, real estate agents and others say that news stories about Wall Street's woes have left people convinced that it's simply not possible to get a loan.
"Prospective home buyers come in and they say, 'This is probably impossible, but I would like to buy a home,' " said John Holmgren, a spokesman for the California Association of Mortgage Brokers, an industry trade group.
"They say, 'If General Motors can't get a loan then it must be impossible for somebody like Little Mr. Me to borrow money, right?' But it is possible."
Lenders and others in the mortgage industry were very clear that the bar has risen. Today borrowers need three things to qualify for a loan: documentable income, good credit - a score of at least 620 - and a down payment in most cases of at least 10 percent, according to the California Association of Mortgage Brokers.
"Mortgages haven't gone away. Mortgage lending hasn't gone away," Allert said. "We've just gone back in time."
Down payment
Gone are the days of buying a home with zero down, mortgage experts said. But exactly how much cash a home buyer needs to come up with will depend on the situation.
The best rates and widest variety of loans are available to borrowers who have at least 20 percent to put down, said Matt Vernon, a national sales executive with Bank of America. "The size of the down payment ranges by product, but the 20 percent number is a safe one to guarantee a good rate," Vernon said.
"Certainly some products are a little less, some may have higher requirements than that." Buyers with less than 20 percent to put down will wind up paying more for their loans because they will almost certainly need to take out mortgage insurance.
"Any time you're under 20 percent, you're going to need mortgage insurance," Vernon said.
Borrowers can pay for the mortgage insurance in a number of ways, but no matter how it is done, it will raise the cost of borrowing money, said Holmgren, the spokesman for the mortgage trade group.
Home buyers often rely on lender-paid insurance, which builds the cost of insurance into the loan by raising the interest rate. Consumers can also opt for private mortgage insurance programs, where the borrower makes monthly payments separately from the loan just as they would for any other type of insurance.
Still, some real estate experts pointed out, even though home prices have fallen sharply in the Bay Area, many potential buyers are going to struggle to come up with such a significant down payment.
The median price for a home or condo in San Francisco dropped 12.1 percent last month to $699,000, according to MDS DataQuick, the real estate information service. A down payment of 20 percent for a median priced home would be $139,800 and it would take $69,900 to meet the lower bar of 10 percent based on the October figures.
That's a lot for most people, said Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley.
"It's a very big number - 20 percent is a very stiff standard," Rosen said. "You are talking about $100,000 to $150,000 in cash and people just don't have it." When home prices were rising, it was easy to get loans, Rosen said. Now that the market has collapsed, it's much more difficult, a relationship that doesn't make economic sense.
"At the peak the credit market should be at its tightest, and at the bottom it should loosen up," he said. "The credit market should be counter-cyclical to the housing market."
Good credit
Leery of borrowers who have poor track records, lenders are now reviewing credit reports much more carefully in an attempt to insure that loans are paid back.
"All of us have a written story of our willingness to repay," said Allert. "We look at housing debt, whether it has been paid in the past and paid on time, whether the consumer has fulfilled that obligation on a mortgage or rental history. Has the credit card debt been paid in a timely manner?"
The actual credit score is just one element of a credit report, Allert said. Lenders also examine information such as utility bills in an effort to put together a complete credit history.
Allert and other bank officials were reluctant to site a minimum threshold for a credit score, saying that the standards are changing almost daily and that it depends on each individual's circumstances and the type of loan sought.
Mortgage brokers, however, said typically a borrower needs at least a 620 credit score. "That's one of the hardest parts for people these days," said Ed Craine, chief executive of Smith-Craine Finance, a San Francisco mortgage lender.
The less a borrower has to put down, the higher the credit score requirements are going to be, said Holmgren of the mortgage trade group. He said that's one area where lending standards have changed dramatically as a direct result of the subprime debacle.
"A few years ago, you could have a very, very low credit score and still get a loan for more than 80 percent of the home's value," he said.
Today, borrowers who put down less than 20 percent may need a credit score of as much as 720, he said.
Although Bay Area home prices have fallen, leaving fewer buyers to seek jumbo loans, people seeking to borrow such large amounts of money also need higher credit scores. A new government program has raised the limits on so-called jumbo conforming loans and as of Jan. 1 that limit will be $625,500.
"Anything that falls into that category or lower will be relatively easier to finance," said Craine.
Conventional conforming loans are $417,000 or less. Federal Housing Administration loans are still available in some cases to people with lower credit scores, and often have lower down payment requirements, Craine said. The FHA is a government program that insures mortgages and was created to help people who wouldn't otherwise be able to purchase a home.
Proof of income
The final criterion that is critical for would-be borrowers is documented income high enough to support the monthly payments on the property, lenders said.
"You have to have a realistic expectation of a home that you can afford and that you have the ability to repay," said Bank of America's Vernon. "The industry term is debt-to-income-ratio. What that means is, 'Are you looking at a home that makes sense for you? Do you have the greatest degree of confidence that you will be able to pay back the loan?' "
Lenders are now going over loan applications with a fine-tooth comb, particularly income requirements, Holmgren said.
While much more stringent than what borrowers had come to expect in recent years, current loan standards aren't vastly different from those that existed in the 1980s and 1990s.
"You're going to an institution and asking them for hundreds of thousands of dollars to facilitate a home purchase," he said. "It's right to require some documentation."
And while Rosen, the Berkeley economist, said he expects lenders may eventually loosen up again on the minimum down payment, he said that income documentation requirements are here to stay.
"Full documentation is something we will see for sure, no matter what," Rosen said.
For those home shoppers who do have good credit, money in the bank and income high enough to support the value of the house they are trying to purchase, there may not be a better time to buy a home, said Allert, the Wells Fargo executive.
"Real estate is on sale right now compared to where it has been for a long time, particularly in the Bay Area," she said.
Marni Leff Kottle is a San Francisco freelance writer. Comment at realestate@sfchronicle.com.This article appeared on page K - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, November 30, 2008
There is something that mortgage lenders want Bay Area home buyers to know: They are open for business.
While it is certainly harder to get a loan today than it was two years ago, lenders say it's far from impossible for would-be borrowers with the right credentials. In fact many in the industry praise the return to normal, where loan candidates are required to prove they can pay back the money they borrow.
"You can't turn on the TV or pick up the newspaper without reading about the credit crisis," said Arlene Allert, a regional manager and vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "It leads to the perception that consumers can't get the credit they need to buy a home."
Across the board, mortgage industry executives, real estate agents and others say that news stories about Wall Street's woes have left people convinced that it's simply not possible to get a loan.
"Prospective home buyers come in and they say, 'This is probably impossible, but I would like to buy a home,' " said John Holmgren, a spokesman for the California Association of Mortgage Brokers, an industry trade group.
"They say, 'If General Motors can't get a loan then it must be impossible for somebody like Little Mr. Me to borrow money, right?' But it is possible."
Lenders and others in the mortgage industry were very clear that the bar has risen. Today borrowers need three things to qualify for a loan: documentable income, good credit - a score of at least 620 - and a down payment in most cases of at least 10 percent, according to the California Association of Mortgage Brokers.
"Mortgages haven't gone away. Mortgage lending hasn't gone away," Allert said. "We've just gone back in time."
Down payment
Gone are the days of buying a home with zero down, mortgage experts said. But exactly how much cash a home buyer needs to come up with will depend on the situation.
The best rates and widest variety of loans are available to borrowers who have at least 20 percent to put down, said Matt Vernon, a national sales executive with Bank of America. "The size of the down payment ranges by product, but the 20 percent number is a safe one to guarantee a good rate," Vernon said.
"Certainly some products are a little less, some may have higher requirements than that." Buyers with less than 20 percent to put down will wind up paying more for their loans because they will almost certainly need to take out mortgage insurance.
"Any time you're under 20 percent, you're going to need mortgage insurance," Vernon said.
Borrowers can pay for the mortgage insurance in a number of ways, but no matter how it is done, it will raise the cost of borrowing money, said Holmgren, the spokesman for the mortgage trade group.
Home buyers often rely on lender-paid insurance, which builds the cost of insurance into the loan by raising the interest rate. Consumers can also opt for private mortgage insurance programs, where the borrower makes monthly payments separately from the loan just as they would for any other type of insurance.
Still, some real estate experts pointed out, even though home prices have fallen sharply in the Bay Area, many potential buyers are going to struggle to come up with such a significant down payment.
The median price for a home or condo in San Francisco dropped 12.1 percent last month to $699,000, according to MDS DataQuick, the real estate information service. A down payment of 20 percent for a median priced home would be $139,800 and it would take $69,900 to meet the lower bar of 10 percent based on the October figures.
That's a lot for most people, said Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley.
"It's a very big number - 20 percent is a very stiff standard," Rosen said. "You are talking about $100,000 to $150,000 in cash and people just don't have it." When home prices were rising, it was easy to get loans, Rosen said. Now that the market has collapsed, it's much more difficult, a relationship that doesn't make economic sense.
"At the peak the credit market should be at its tightest, and at the bottom it should loosen up," he said. "The credit market should be counter-cyclical to the housing market."
Good credit
Leery of borrowers who have poor track records, lenders are now reviewing credit reports much more carefully in an attempt to insure that loans are paid back.
"All of us have a written story of our willingness to repay," said Allert. "We look at housing debt, whether it has been paid in the past and paid on time, whether the consumer has fulfilled that obligation on a mortgage or rental history. Has the credit card debt been paid in a timely manner?"
The actual credit score is just one element of a credit report, Allert said. Lenders also examine information such as utility bills in an effort to put together a complete credit history.
Allert and other bank officials were reluctant to site a minimum threshold for a credit score, saying that the standards are changing almost daily and that it depends on each individual's circumstances and the type of loan sought.
Mortgage brokers, however, said typically a borrower needs at least a 620 credit score. "That's one of the hardest parts for people these days," said Ed Craine, chief executive of Smith-Craine Finance, a San Francisco mortgage lender.
The less a borrower has to put down, the higher the credit score requirements are going to be, said Holmgren of the mortgage trade group. He said that's one area where lending standards have changed dramatically as a direct result of the subprime debacle.
"A few years ago, you could have a very, very low credit score and still get a loan for more than 80 percent of the home's value," he said.
Today, borrowers who put down less than 20 percent may need a credit score of as much as 720, he said.
Although Bay Area home prices have fallen, leaving fewer buyers to seek jumbo loans, people seeking to borrow such large amounts of money also need higher credit scores. A new government program has raised the limits on so-called jumbo conforming loans and as of Jan. 1 that limit will be $625,500.
"Anything that falls into that category or lower will be relatively easier to finance," said Craine.
Conventional conforming loans are $417,000 or less. Federal Housing Administration loans are still available in some cases to people with lower credit scores, and often have lower down payment requirements, Craine said. The FHA is a government program that insures mortgages and was created to help people who wouldn't otherwise be able to purchase a home.
Proof of income
The final criterion that is critical for would-be borrowers is documented income high enough to support the monthly payments on the property, lenders said.
"You have to have a realistic expectation of a home that you can afford and that you have the ability to repay," said Bank of America's Vernon. "The industry term is debt-to-income-ratio. What that means is, 'Are you looking at a home that makes sense for you? Do you have the greatest degree of confidence that you will be able to pay back the loan?' "
Lenders are now going over loan applications with a fine-tooth comb, particularly income requirements, Holmgren said.
While much more stringent than what borrowers had come to expect in recent years, current loan standards aren't vastly different from those that existed in the 1980s and 1990s.
"You're going to an institution and asking them for hundreds of thousands of dollars to facilitate a home purchase," he said. "It's right to require some documentation."
And while Rosen, the Berkeley economist, said he expects lenders may eventually loosen up again on the minimum down payment, he said that income documentation requirements are here to stay.
"Full documentation is something we will see for sure, no matter what," Rosen said.
For those home shoppers who do have good credit, money in the bank and income high enough to support the value of the house they are trying to purchase, there may not be a better time to buy a home, said Allert, the Wells Fargo executive.
"Real estate is on sale right now compared to where it has been for a long time, particularly in the Bay Area," she said.
Marni Leff Kottle is a San Francisco freelance writer. Comment at realestate@sfchronicle.com.This article appeared on page K - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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