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Archive for February, 2010

Philadelphia: Top 10 Cities to go from Renting to Buying a Home or Condo

February 18, 2010 at 2:28 pm · Filed under For Home Buyers, Philadelphia Market Conditions

In Philadelphia now is a good time to make the jump to homeownership.

The U.S. government has pushed hard to make homeowners out of one-third of Americans who still rent their homes. It introduced and later extended a tax credit for first-time home buyers, and has kept federal interest rates at their lowest levels since the 1940s.

Market conditions are such that now is a particularly good time for some renters to take the hint.

Whether to rent or buy is a complex decision, but timing is important. In Philadelphia, the premium to buy–the difference between what you’d pay monthly to own a home, rather than rent–has dropped dramatically. In Philly the step up from renting to buying is a much smaller one than usual. Buying isn’t necessarily cheaper than renting and in fact, it often remains a more expensive proposition. But if you are determined to own a home in Philly that investment is a better one now than it normally is.

The next thing to consider is whether your home will appreciate. With strong industries in Philadelphia (healthcare / pharmaceuticals) and a relatively healthy labor market that will keep generating new jobs the demand for homes will increase and therefore home prices will go back up.

So upgrading will cost much less than usual and home buyers are likely to get a good return on their investment.

Philadelphia Statistics:

Premium to Buy, 15-year Average: 28.4%
Premium to Buy, Q3 2009: 18.7%
Five-year Home Price Index Forecast: 13.85%
Median Rent: $957
Median Home Price: $227,500
Blended Mortgage Rate: 5.33%

FIND YOUR PHILLY HOME AND STOP RENTING!

Technorati: philly home buyers, philly renter, rent vs buy, good time to buy in philly

posted by janice SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

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Philly Mortgage Rate Update: February 15th 2010

February 16, 2010 at 2:21 pm · Filed under First Time Home Buyers, For Home Buyers, Mortgage

“IT AIN’T OVER TIL IT’S OVER.” Yogi Berra.

And whether you find those words deeply wise or simply puzzling…The Fed has told us repeatedly that their massive purchasing program of Mortgage Backed Securities is just about over – and this translates to home loan rates rising in the near future. As you can see in the chart below, the amounts of Mortgage Backed Securities the Fed is purchasing are slowly dwindling, as the program is set to wrap up by March 31st, and are clearly trying to ration out the remaining portion. Last week, the Fed purchased $11 Billion in Mortgage Backed Securities, which leaves them with $66 Billion to spend out of their original $1.25 Trillion allotment. So about 95% of the total has already been spent and has purchased about 3 out of every 4 home loans during the past year. When such a large buyer leaves the market, it is very likely that prices will worsen.

This is very important because as the Fed has less money to last through the remaining months of the program, their ability to keep home loan rates low via their purchasing power will wane. And those who can take advantage of currently low home loan rates do not wait, as the clock on these historically low rates is ticking.

Todays Mortgage Rates:

30 Yr Fixed – 4.75% (1 point) / 5% (0 points)

15 Yr Fixed – 4.25% (1 point) / 4.375% (0 points)

5 yr ARM – 3.625% (1 point) / 3.875% (0 points)

7 yr ARM – 3.875% (1 point) / 4.25% (0 points)

FHA 30 Yr Fixed – 4.75% (1 point) / 4.875% (0 points)

FHA 5Yr ARM – 3.875% (1 point) / 4.125% (0 points)

Investment – 5.3755% (0 point) / 5.5% (0 points) 25% down payment required

*Rates are based on 80% loan to value unless noted and 720+ credit score (with the exception of FHA) *Income and Asset verification required and must meet DTI guidelines *This is not a commitment to lend and other conditions may apply

Technorati: philly mortgage, mortgage market, carina marchese, center city mortgage company

APPLY FOR A MORTGAGE ONLINE

Brought to you by our favorite mortgage broker:

Carina Marchese
Center City Mortgage
267.238.5785

email Carina for today’s rate

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Energy Fair in Fishtown – Kensington

February 5, 2010 at 12:07 pm · Filed under Fishtown, Neighborhoods

Saturday Febuary 6th 10-2:00 Febuary 27th

Shissler Recreation Center St Anne Social Hall
1800 Blair St Memphis and Tucker Sts

Sustainable 19125: An initiative developed by the Partnership for a Green Community to make the 19125 zip code the greenest neighborhood in Philadelphia!

Get energy conservation and alternative energy resources!

-Free weatherization workshops
-Free city recycling bins and CFL bulbs
-Youth activities
-Snacks
-Prizes

Technorati: 19125, fishtown, kensington, green communities

posted by janice SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

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Changes Coming to FHA Loans

February 2, 2010 at 1:50 pm · Filed under First Time Home Buyers, For Home Buyers, Mortgage

If you are on the fence about whether to buy a home or not the new FHA changes that will be implemented this spring/summer may help you make up your mind.

If you have already decided to buy a home with a FHA loan now is the time to purchase before these changes go into effect. Remember you must be under contract by April 30th and settle by June 30th to also take advantage of the tax credit.

As banks have clamped down on mortgage lending, the FHA program has emerged as one of the few ways people can buy a home. A few years ago only 10% of home buyers utilized FHA insured financing, today that number is 40%. Unfortunately out of a total of 5.8 million loans ($750 billion) that are insured by the FHA more than half a million of the loans are seriously delinquent and heading toward foreclosure. In November the agency said its cash reserves had tumbled to .53% of its insurance guarantees, well below the 2% ratio mandated by Congress and the 3% ratio it had last fall. The fund covers losses on the mortgages the agency insures.

The new standards are meant to shore up the agency’s finances. However the agency also wants to make sure that the new rules don’t disrupt the housing market and don’t hurt FHA’s ability to assist the underserved.

We think that the new standards are not unduly restrictive and the FHA is doing its best to protect the taxpayer and do the least harm to the credit supply.

These are the main changes that will affect FHA buyers.

** Upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) will increase to 2.25% up from 1.75%. Contrary to reports, FHA will continue to allow the financing of the UFMIP.

** Borrowers with credit score below 580 will need at least 10% down.

** Minimum down payment will remain 3.5% for all other borrowers.

** Seller concessions to the buyer (money that seller credits to buyer for closing costs) will be reduced to 3% from 6%.