MARCH MARKET UPDATE - A LITTLE LATE : (

HARP II IS HERE!

HARP II

• Maximum Loan to Value: Unlimited
• Maximum Combined Loan to Value: Unlimited
• Occupancy: Owner Occupied / Non Owner / 2^nd Home
• Loan must be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
• If there is a 2^nd mortgage, 2^nd mortgage lender must agree to subordinate.
• Loan must have been originated prior to June 1^st, 2009.
• Appraisals may be required per automated underwriting (DU / LP) findings.
• Loans will be submitted to underwriting the week of March 19^th, 2012.

Please contact me if you want to see if you can take advantage of the HARP II program. (ctiller@hsmove.com / 602-561-1346).

FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE ON THE RISE AGAIN

On April 1^st, 2012, FHA will be once again be increasing the mortgage insurance for all new FHA mortgages originated. Upfront mortgage insurance premiums will be higher by 75 basis points, or 0.75%; and annual mortgage insurance premiums will be higher by 10 basis points per year, or 0.10%. For borrowers with a loan size of $200,000, the new MIP will add $1,500 in one-time loan costs, plus an on-going, annual $200 increase in total mortgage insurance premiums paid.

This is a substantial increase. If you are in need of new FHA financing, either for a purchase or a refinance (including Streamlines), it will be in your best interest to pull a new FHA case number prior to April 1^st, 2012.

The increase is to combat the rising FHA delinquency rate, which reached 9.6% in December; the highest level in more than two years. Delinquency is up almost 20% from one year earlier, with over 711,000 FHA loans seriously delinquent. – Housingwire.com

NEGATIVE EQUITY STILLS HAUNTS HOUSING

“CoreLogic released negative equity data showing that 11.1 million, or 22.8 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011. This is up from 10.7 million properties, 22.1 percent, in the third quarter of 2011. An additional 2.5 million borrowers had less than five percent equity, referred to as near-negative equity, in the fourth quarter. Together, negative equity and near-negative equity mortgages accounted for 27.8 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide in the fourth quarter, up from 27.1 in the previous quarter. Nationally, the total mortgage debt outstanding on properties in negative equity increased from $2.7 trillion in the third quarter to $2.8 trillion in the fourth quarter.” - CoreLogic

“Nevada had the highest negative equity percentage with 61 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (48 percent), Florida (44 percent), Michigan (35 percent) and Georgia (33 percent). This is the second consecutive quarter that Georgia was in the top five, surpassing California (30 percent) which previously had been in the top five since tracking began in 2009. The top five states combined have an average negative equity share of 44.3 percent, while the remaining states have a combined average negative equity share of 15.3 percent.” - CoreLogic

-Graph provided by CoreLogic.

FANNIE MAE RELEASES PROPERTIES TO INVESTORS

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently own approximately 180,000 real estate properties (REO). Fannie Mae is now moving to sell up to 2,500 of those properties in bulk to investors in Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and parts of Florida. The investors will be forced to rent the properties for a specific period of time. That time has not yet been disclosed.

HOME PRICES FALL EVERYWHERE EXCEPT…

Home prices posted a steep, month-over-month drop in November, falling 1.3%, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city report. Prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities the index covers. – cnnfn.com

Phoenix Arizona was the only city to post a gain. The Phoenix metropolitan area currently has less than a two month inventory of homes on the market which is driving home prices up. The inventory currently on the market is declining. Some researchers anticipate a 5% increase in home prices through the summer, with the possibility of up to 20% increase for the year.

RATE WATCH

MORTGAGE TYPE	INTEREST RATE	APR
30 YEAR FIXED	3.500%	3.684%
15 YEAR FIXED	2.875%	2.951%
5/1 ARM	2.375%	2.765%

Chris Tiller
Home Smart - Realtor

10601 N. Hayden Rd. Suite I-100

Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Office: 602.733.5643

Cell: 602.561.1346
Fax: 1-888-292-0678
ctiller@hsmove.com

http://tillersreupdate.blogspot.com/

Interest rates as of 03/05/2012. Conforming interest rates. Interest rates and APR based on loan amounts not to exceed $417,000. Loan to values not to exceed 80%. 720+ credit score. Owner occupied only. Purchase and rate in term refinances. Not all applicants will qualify. Call today for your individual scenario rate quote. Published rates may not apply to HARP programs.