Housing stories are hard to resist
Photo by Phil Scoville
Bargain basement prices, giant tax credits, record-low mortgage rates, plenty of properties and anxious sellers – home buyers should be wallowing in Paradise.
As we all know, though, those pesky little issues like job security fear of another banking system snafu and a relative mountain of existing debt has been keeping home purchasers coy and multiple listings stagnant.
The gridlock does seem to have loosened in recent months, though, according to sales activity reports from the National Association of Realtors, which said October’s pending sales leapt the most on record compared to the same month in 2008 – and that existing homes http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata are selling at the best pace since February 2007.
The U.S. Census Bureau said new home sales (PDF) also posted a healthy October increase over last year.
Could it be that we’re in for an atypical winter on the residential real estate market? You might want to check around to see which of the plethora of stimulus programs are having an effect in your backyard.
You’ve got the federal MakingHomesAffordable push, just beefed up last week, which prods lenders to help struggling homeowners stay afloat by recasting their loan terms. Here’s the latest report, (PDF) including state-specific data.
Fannie Mae’s Deed for Lease program, which incents banks to rent foreclosed properties back to the existing occupants, was announced last month; implementation details are scarce but it’s worth a check with local lenders to see if any deals have been struck under the program. A profile or feature about the participants would be an excellent way to put human faces on the foreclosure story.
Meanwhile, slowing the glut of abandoned and foreclosed properties helps reduce inventory and make conventional sellers more competitive.
The extension of federal tax credits for first-time buyers and “moving up” buyers doesn’t hurt either. Here’s the latest scoop on the credits from the Internal Revenue Service; note there are additional programs for military members and others.
Buyers who purchase a house through April 30, 2010 are (if they otherwise meet the criteria) eligible for the credits. And to get the cash back into the pipeline sooner, the IRS is allowing buyers to claim eligible 2010 sales on the 2009 income tax returns due April 15.
Other initiatives are afoot to speed tax credits to families and get the money pumping through the economy. Many of these are state-based, and either piggy-back off the federal programs or offer additional benefits. It’s a labyrinth, so start at the National Council of State Housing Agencies for an overview of issues and resources. Then, check out the council’s clickable map for links to programs in your region.
Best-case scenario, case workers in your state can connect you with buyers who can help you illustrate a variety of local market facets, from low-income first-timers to bargain-hunting veteran homeowners. A montage of such stories, in print or multimedia, would be a great kick-off to the winter selling season. Better set it in motion now because the logistics of finding just the right subjects for stories like this take on a certain hurry-up-and-wait quality; if you start now you should be ready to roll right after Christmas.
The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage underwriting Web sites are chock full of information; in particular take note of Freddie Mac’s report last week about the 30-year fixed mortgage rate hitting a record low of 4.71 percent. One other resource: the Mortgage Bankers Association, which offers data about delinquencies as well as its weekly mortgage application survey.
