The most recent home sales data indicate a solidifying of the local housing market’s condition after several years of both declining sales and prices.

 
After two years of falling prices, prices held steady for the third consecutive quarter in 2009 Q4. The typical Philadelphia home rose in value by 0.5% on a quality- and seasonally- adjusted basis this past fall, according to the latest analysis by Econsult economist Kevin Gillen [pdf]. From the housing market’s peak in 2006 to the recent trough of last winter, the average Philadelphia home had fallen in value by a total of 10.5%. But with the market’s apparent stabilization in the latter part of 2009, the average Philadelphia home has recovered 3.5% of its lost value, thereby reducing its total loss to only 7% since the bursting of the national housing bubble several years ago.

Download the report and Kevin’s commentary.

Price changes across the city’s neighborhoods were essentially flat, with slight increases in some neighborhoods being offset by slight decreases in others.

Center City / Fairmount +1.6%
West Philadelphia +1.5%
Lower Northeast Philadelphia +1.2%
Upper Northeast Philadelphia  +0.8%
Northwest +0.1%

 University City -13.1%
South Philadelphia -0.6%
Kensington/Frankford  -0.4%
Northwest Philadelphia -0.1%

Philadelphia’s housing market continues to significantly outperform other major U.S. cities during the current economic downturn. 

According to Case-Shiller MacroMarkets’ composite house price index, house prices have fallen by an average of 30% in the ten largest U.S. cities since the bursting of the housing bubble, compared to only 7% in Philadelphia. Of the twenty largest cities in the U.S., all but one (Dallas) have experienced more severe house price declines than Philadelphia.

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Technorati: housing market, philly housing, buyers market, appreciation by neighborhood

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

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%

Potentially Related Post: Here’s That Damn Question Again: Should you Rent or Buy in Philly Right Now?

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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!

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

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Carina Marchese
Center City Mortgage
267.238.5785

email Carina for today’s rate

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%.

Potentially Related Posts:
7 Facts About FHA Mortgages
What’s a Perfect Loan for a Philly 1st-Time Home Buyer
Applying for a FHA Loan

Technorati: fha loans, philly home buying, changes to fha loans, 1st time home buyers

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

The IRS gets the final say when it comes to who gets to claim the homebuyer tax credit, who does not, and under what circumstances.

There are some little-known interpretations that most loan officers, real estate agents and even tax advisors don’t know about.

The IRS have made a feeble attempt to update some of the First Time Home Buyer FAQs posted on their website but if it’s anything like the last extension, it will take them a while to do a full update.

In the meantime here are some important facts:

When a First Time Home Buyer buys a 2-4-family home, and occupies one of the units as their personal residence, they are only allowed to claim 10% (or $8000 max) of the unit they OCCUPY–not the entire sales price. Example: If the FTHB bought a duplex for $120,000 and the units are identical, the “cost basis” is $60,000 and the tax credit they can claim would be $6,000.

Income limits are based on ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.

Income CAN Exceed $125,000 (single) and $225,000 (married) by up to $20,000 and FHTB & Long-term Residences can still get a partial tax credit based upon a “MAGI (modified adjusted gross income) formula” created by the IRS

New Construction – the “date of purchase” is considered the “date” the FTHB OCCUPIES the property–not the closing date or the start-or-construction date.

FIND YOUR PHILLY HOME AND GET YOUR TAX CREDIT  

Technorati: philly home buyer, ist time home buyer, tax credit, irs tax credit

posted by carolyn  REALTOR, Ecosociate™by Ecobroker International 
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Todays Mortgage Rates:

30 Yr Fixed – 5% (.5 point) / 5.125% (0 points)

15 Yr Fixed – 4.25% (1 point) / 4.5% (0 points)

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

7 yr ARM – 4.375% (1 point) / 5% (0 points)

FHA 30 Yr Fixed – 4.875% (1 point) / 5% (0 points)

FHA 5Yr ARM – 4.25% (1 point) / 4.75% (0 points)

Investment – 5.375% (1 point) / 5.5% (0 points) – at least 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

Mortgage Bonds are jumping higher this morning as they break free and continue to attempt a “get-away” from the sharp downward trending channel they’ve been trading within since late November. Stocks rallied sharply higher yesterday, with the Dow and S&P 500 both reaching their highest closing levels in more than fifteen months- but so far this morning, Stocks are taking a bit of a breather, which is benefitting Bonds.

And here is an interesting talking point- history shows that since 1973, a big gain on the first trading day of January has been a positive sign that Stocks will show positive gains for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, the market is still fragile, which means any negative surprises could take the wind out of the sails quickly and make it touch for stocks to eke out significant gains for the year overall.

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

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Carina Marchese
Center City Mortgage
267.238.5785

email Carina for today’s rate

US real estate prices have fallen dramatically over the past year, but it looks like Philadelphia real estate has managed to buck the trend. A new report, recently released by Zillow, highlights places that had the biggest year-over-year price increases during the third quarter. 

Philadelphia had 3 of the country’s best performing zip codes. 

#14: 19104 with Year-over-Year Price Growth of 13.5% 

#3: 19148 Year-over-Year Price Growth: 16.9% 

and drumroll please… 

# 2: 19145 Year-over-Year Price Growth: 19.1% 

Related Posts: 

Passyunk Square: It’s Not Always A Buyer’s Market. If a House is Hot, Bid Quickly 

Technorati: philadelphia homes for sale, newbold, passyunk square, south philly, affordable homes

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

Mixed news on sales, prices.

The most recent home sales figures suggest a slowing in the momentum of the housing market’s attempt to recover from its current slump.

Following the first quarterly increase in citywide house prices after two years of falling prices, the typical Philadelphia home rose in value by a scant 0.2% on a quality—and seasonally—adjusted basis this past summer, according to the latest analysis by Econsult economist Kevin Gillen{pdf}. Following on the heels of a robust increase of 6.8% this past spring, Philadelphia house values seem to still be struggling to regain the value they lost over the past two years. With these losses in value netted against these two recent increases, the typical Philadelphia home has lost 8% of its value since the bursting of the national housing bubble over two years ago.

Download the report and Kevin’s commentary.

Price changes across the city’s neighborhoods were mixed, with increases in some neighborhoods being offset by decreases in others:

South Philadelphia +7.0%
West Philadelphia +6.4%
 University City +2.6%
Center City/Fairmount +0.7%
Lower Northeast Philadelphia +0.2%

 Northwest Philadelphia -4.4%
Kensington/Frankford -2.1%
Upper Northeast Philadelphia -0.7%
North Philadelphia -0.4%

Philadelphia remains in far better shape than most other major U.S. cities. According to Case-Shiller MacroMarkets’ composite house price index, house prices have fallen by an average of 32% in the ten largest U.S. cities since the bursting of the housing bubble, compared to only 8% in Philadelphia. Of the twenty largest cities in the U.S., all but one (Dallas) have experienced more severe house price declines than Philadelphia. And, according to the research firm IHS Global Insight, the typical Philadelphia home is now considered to be under-priced by 2%.

Also See: Philadelphia Housing Considered Under-Value 1st Time Since 2003

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Technorati: housing market, philly housing, buyers market, appreciation by neighborhood

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

Todays Mortgage Rates:

30 Yr Fixed – 4.5% (1 point) / 5.75% (0 points)

15 Yr Fixed – 4.125% (1 point) / 4.25% (0 points)

5 yr ARM – 3.625% (1 point) / 4% (0 points)

7 yr ARM – 4% (1 point) / 4.375% (0 points)

FHA 30 Yr Fixed – 4.5% (.25 point) / 4.75% (0 points)

FHA  5 yr ARM– 4.% (1 point) / 4.375% (0 points)

Investment – 5% (1 point) / 5.25% (0 points) – at least 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

FIND YOUR PHILLY HOME AND GET YOUR TAX CREDIT  

Technorati: tax credit extended, 1st time home buyer, philly home buyer

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