Home Sweet Home, Insider-Tips on Minnesota real estate.

Who Walks Out? New Studies Shed Light on Strategic Defaults

A nationwide rise in homeowners’ “negative equity” is convincing more people to walk out on their mortgages, even if they have favorable credit ratings and can afford to pay their loan, according to recent studies.

For complete article please click here

New Housing Crash Looms

The housing crash is about to come back with a vengeance, as 7 million new foreclosure properties are about to hit the market, analysts at Amherst Securities Group LP said this week.

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For complete article by DSNews.com click here

Weekly Market Report

The Labor Day fluctuations came and went, and the Twin Cities housing market is better for it. Pending sales for the week ending September 13 rose dramatically to 1,043, which is 33.5 percent above last year's total for the same week. We must assume that a healthy chunk of this buyer activity can be attributed to first-time home buyers taking advantage of the tax credit before it expires on November 30.

New listings came in at 1,846, up 3.2 percent in a year-over-year comparison. Home sellers have recognized a window of opportunity in recent months and are listing with a little more frequency, but the overall inventory of houses for sale is still below that of the last three years and our Supply-Demand Ratio (which measures the number of houses available per buyer) remains 30.3 percent better than where we were a year ago.

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$35 Billion Slated for Local Housing

By DEBORAH SOLOMON

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is close to committing as much as $35 billion to help beleaguered state and local housing agencies continue to provide mortgages to low- and moderate-income families, according to administration officials.

The move would further cement the government's role in propping up the housing market even as some lawmakers push to curb spending at a time of rising debt.

For complete Wall Street Journal click here

Mortgage Rates Hold Steady

Daily Real Estate News  |  September 25, 2009  |

The average rate on 30-year, fixed mortgages held at 5.04 percent for the week ended Sept. 24—down from 6.09 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

Interest on 30-year, fixed loans has declined in the past three weeks, according to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft, and the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 13 percent increase in application volume last week.

Other rates performed as follows:

• 15-year fixed loans dipped for the week from 4.47 percent to 4.46 percent.
• Five-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages were flat at 4.51 percent.
• One-year ARMs fell from 4.58 percent to 4.52 percent.

Source: Wall Street Journal (09/25/09)

Is the Foreclosure Slowdown Temporary?

Daily Real Estate News  | 

Legal entanglements and well-intentioned home-owner-assistance efforts have slowed the pace of foreclosures, but eventually many of these distressed homes will hit the market anyway.

Some observers say these delays are prolonging the housing crisis and creating a “shadow” inventory that will cause more housing market pain..

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon and James R. Hagerty (09/23/2009)

Weekly Market Activity Report

Once again, the six-day gap between where Labor Day fell in 2008 and where it fell this year is causing our year-over-year weekly numbers to look weird. For the week ending September 12, you'll see a steep drop-off in new listings and pending sales, but there's no such dip last year.

New listings for the week ending September 12 were 1,624, a 12.9 percent drop from this period last year. Pending sales agreements also dropped precipitously to 840 from 1,070 a week ago, 7.3 percent higher than this week last year.

Next week's figures should begin to provide more relevant year-over-year comparisons. As the final days of the tax credit tick down (72 days and shrinking), we'll be watching market activity with heavy interest. Stay tuned.

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Minnesota foreclosures highest in the region

Even as home foreclosures dropped slightly in Minnesota from July to August, the state's rate remains the highest in the Upper Midwest.

For the entire StarTribune article click here

Running a marathon

Last weekend I ran a marathon. It was embarrassing as I was last of the runners. The guy who was in front of me, 2nd to last, was making fun of me. He said "Hey, how does it feel to be the last?" I replied, "you really want to know?" Then I dropped out of the race.

Monthly Skinny: September 2009

Where has the Minneapolis real estate market been and where is it heading? This monthly summary provides an overview of current trends and projections for future activity.

Click here to watch the September, 2009 video