Here is a link to a video I came across today that talks about how most airline travel is down over 40%. It also gives tips on the best days of the week to fly and the best days and time of day to go online and buy tickets. I think all of us are itching for a vacation right now.
http://money.cnn.com/video/pf/2009/03/26/money.hd.0326.airfare.moneymag
Stetson Lowe - The Mortgage Insider See todays unbelievably low rates on my website @ www.utahloantips.com
Existing home sales increased by 5.1% in February to an annual pace of 4.72 million units compared to market expectations for a small decrease to a rate of 4.45 million. February’s gain was the strongest since July 2003 however; sales remain 4.6% lower on the year and are down 34.9% from their September 2005 peak. The rate of decline has slowed in recent months suggesting a bottom may be near. February’s gain was broad based with sales increasing in all regions of the U.S. The inventory of homes available for sale climbed 5.2% to 3.798 million which represents a 9.7 month-supply at the current sales pace. Home prices continued to plunge because of the high number of distressed sales. It is estimated that 40-45% of all home sales are foreclosures or short sales but up to half are first time buyers. The median price for an existing home fell 15.5% over the past year to $165,400 as the average price declined 13.4% to $209,700. While the upside surprise in sales figures last month was welcomed news it is a long road to recovery for the housing market. Inventories remain high and prices are depressed because of the distressed properties coming on the market. The NAR is hopeful that demand can be fostered through the $8000 first-time buyer tax credit and other economic stimulus programs that help create jobs.
Much of this is good news but with more and more home owners at risk each month of losing their home to foreclosure you can count on a Long Road to recovery for the housing markets. I don't want to be a doom and gloomer but in all reality our economy is in the tank and it doesn't correct itself or repair itself over night.
The good news is that Utah is predicted to be on the leading edge of the recovery. We were one of the last states to see home prices plummet so how fortunate we would be to be one of the first to find the bottom.
With $8,000 tax credit from the fed's combined with the $6,000 home run grant from the state of Utah you have $14,000 in free money (restrictions apply). Put that together with the lowest interest rates in 50 years and the lowest home prices in 10+ years and you have the makings of a strong push upwards in the housing market. Spread the word...
Stetson Lowe
Utah Mortgage Insider - Apply @ www.utahloantips.com
Many of you have heard about the $10,000,000 that the state of Utah has set aside in what is called the Utah Home Run Grant Fund. It will fund over 1600 grants valued at $6,000 per grant. These funds are going to be administered by the Utah Housing Corporation and will be available through approved brokers. Envision Lending is on the approved broker list so I will be doing my part to match home buyers up with these funds.
The $6,000 will be available to ANYONE buying a newly constructed home that has never been lived in. The money is a gift with no repayment required. Since there is only $10,000,000 allocated for these grants it is important for people to act fast.
I feel like this is a great thing that the state of Utah has put together and I applaud Governor Huntsman for singing it into action so quickly.
If you have been waiting on the sidelines because you did not have a down payment, wait no longer. I can match you up with a Realtor that will find you a home priced closed to $180,000. With an FHA loan your required down payment is 3.5% or $6300. With the Utah Home Run Grant of $6,000 that would leave you coming in with $300. If you cant come up with $300 then you are obviously not ready for home ownership, but if $300 works for you then this scenario could be a reality in just a matter of a few weeks.
More information can be found at Utah Housings official website www.utahhousingcorp.org
If you are looking to purchase a new home that has never been occupied And if you would like a $6,000 gift to be received at closing give me a call today at 801-655-5111.
Stetson Lowe
Utah Mortgage Insider - apply @ www.utahloantips.com
It was just recently announced that Fannie and Freddie were increasing the rate adjustments for borrowers with fico scores under 720 as well as all cash out refinance transactions, especially those that exceed 60% loan to value. Lenders were very quick to come out with the new hits included in their daily rate sheets, so don't be surprised to see the higher rates reflected if you have a score under 720 or are cashing out on a refinance.
In other fico score related news I have had almost all of my FHA lenders send word that they are no longer underwriting files with a fico score under 620 even if I receive an approve eligible finding from Fannie or Accept from Freddie.
It is sad that the pool of borrowers that we can lend to is continuing to shrink, but that being said it is a necessary correction in order to further protect the integrity or whats left of it of our US housing market.
Hey I have an Idea that may help as well. How about going after some of these builders that were doing the investment schemes and selling homes to straw buyers. Lets make sure they never ever build another home in Utah. Without this glut of inventory that was built under false pretenses an sold to investors (suspecting or unsuspecting) we would have a lot less homes to compete with on the market. Right now there is literally nothing selling that is not bank owned or in short sell. Ok there are some homes selling but the majority of the appraisal comps I am seeing on my appraisals that come back are listed as short sales or bank owned. That is the market right now.
I can't wait until it all sells off at what ever ridiculous prices they want to sell it for so we can get back to selling home at Market value.
Stetson Lowe - The Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com
Tonight as I sit here and unwind from yet another hectic day in the office I felt impressed to get out the laptop and share some insider mortgage insite. There is so much going around out there about the mortgage industry and today's economy but I am going to hit you plain and as simple as I can, and I will not patty cake you.
I had a very candid conversation today with an executive from a national bank. One of the biggest in the US today. It was interesting to hear his point of view and to see what we agreed on and to see what we admittedly disagreed on as well. One of the most interesting facts he brought to my attention today was in regards to the Fed's "setting the rate" so to speak in the bond market.
This is something that the government did in the student loan sector of the banking world some time ago and it has all but alienated all of the lenders from that industry so that now the government is the only player in the game. They are standing there holding the bag on almost all student debt today which makes the industry far less competitive and all but impossible to navigate for borrowers. You see it is not worth it for private investors and banks to play along with the government in a game that is rigged. One where it is hard to turn a profit and the red tape and bureaucracy force the lenders to spend more then they earn just to stay compliant.
This fiscal policy has failed miserably and yet the talking heads in DC seem to think that this same policy should be adopted in the mortgage industry as well. Yeah that usually works, if at first a policy doesn't succeed do it again in another industry?? Whatever...
Back to the Feds setting the rate. This is where they are basically buying coupons (bonds) at a certain rate no matter what the market is dictating that day or no matter what supply and demand are bearing. Essentially falsely inflating or deflating the rates for that day in an attempt to "set a target rate". It has been proven that our market is much more effectivein setting its own rates from day to day and from week to week then the government falsely trying to replace supply and demand. I'll take free and open markets any day of the week for a healthy economy. I am not saying that there is not a need for the government to sure up a badly damaged credit market, I just think they may be going about it the wrong way.
What I am seeing in the wholesale and retail markets is Banks so unsure what the feds next move is that they are loosing interest in the game all together. I believe that it was Chase that all but completely pulled out of the mortgage business at the end of January. They are "over it" so tospeak in all the games and tricks that the government is trying to pull. Basically saying "we are out" let us know when things get back to normal and then maybe if we feel like it we may jump back in at that point. Until then we can more then replace our mortgage income by buying up troubled banks for pennies on the dollar and then selling off their assets piece by piece making billions of dollars, oh and by the way we will take a multi billion dollar line of credit from the government to help us do this if they are stupid enough to give it to us.
We now have 28 major players left in the Mortgage Market. Just over 2 years ago there were over 200 lending institutions, private equity firms, insurance companies and more fighting over these bundles of loans....fast forward to today there are 28. Less demand means over abundance of supply, couple this with Fannie and Freddie changing their guidelines almost every single month and mortgage insurance companies announcing at the drop of a hat that they will no longer insure mortgages with this credit score or that loan to value and you have what we are facing today, banks that are so gun shy that they are going to get stuck with loans that are unsellable on the secondary market, uninsurable thereby making them unsellable, or with rates that are far to low to attract any buyers in a market that has had less and less interest domestically and internationally.
I hope that this has shed some light on what is really going on in the mortgage market today. Why yields are at or below all time lows yet the yield spreads are as large as they have been in a decade. And why underwriting times are longer and longer and why you hear it is harder to get approved today for a loan then even 2-3 months ago.
2003 was the largest mortgage origination year ever with over 4 trillion dollars in mortgages originated during that year alone. It is predicted that if rates stay low there will be a demand for 15 trillion dollars in mortgages to be originated between refinances and purchases this year (2009) in the US. That is 4 times the all time record and with only 1/10th of the banks actually funding loans compared to 2003. The numbers don't add up and something has got to give or we will see 4-5 month turn times to close a loan...it feels like a train wreck waiting to happen.
If I were the one setting policies I would see how we could make the mortgage market more attractive to investors with incentives, warranties and tax cuts. I certainly would not be competing with or falsely setting a market to the detriment of that market. Hey but that's just me.
The key to obtaining financing this year is going to be working with someone that will help you navigate through these treturous waters that are the mortgage industry today. I am here to help, so give me a call 801-318-4996 or email me at stetsonlowe@gmail.com and we can get the ball rolling right away.
Dedicated to giving you the inside scoop.
Stetson Lowe - The Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com
Its feast or famine these days in the mortgage business and right now I have been invited over to the biggest feast I have ever witnessed in my time in the business.
I truly appreciate all of the referrals you have been sending in and the email requests for Free Quotes. I have been truly blessed. But I am no dummy and my memory is longer then 5 minutes so I realize that this to shall pass. So in preparation for that I am continuing to educate myself and stay up to date as much as possible with all the new loan programs and market trends.
It is very apparent that FHA loans are going to come back in full force as a leader in home financing, it will be more important then ever to be originating FHA loans in Utah and staying compliant with all of the new FHA guidelines and codes. I have been spending any spare moment I can reviewing all of the fannie and freddie changes as well as the FHA guideline changes which can throw a wrench in your loan process if not addressed up front sometimes.
Government Auctioning Record Amounts of Debt
I have been looking into the bond auctions the last 2 weeks as interest rates have been on a Slow but steady incline. From what I can tell there are 2 main reasons for the increase in rates.
1. There is so much debt being auctioned off ($230 billion) in the last 2 weeks that even though the demand for these bonds is very good the supply is out weighing that demand.
2. Lenders have their little tails between their legs after being smacked in the nose with a rolled up news paper all last year at the end of every quarter and with each posted loss. This tail between their legs effect is causing lenders to be very conservative on their rate pricing. Typically the higher the rate the bigger the premium on the wholesale market, NOT True today. In fact a quick look at the rate sheet shows 6% paying roughly the same premium as 5.5% which is barely paying more then 5%. Don't get me wrong this flat pricing from what I have been told is not coming directly from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac they are still paying large premiums for the higher rates but the lenders are keeping those premiums and not passing them through to those of us on the wholesale level. They are trying to make up for a year and a half of losses here in the next few months. LAME.
Heres are Novel Idea for all of you lenders out there. Be fair, don't lend to people that can't afford their loans and you wont have the losses, then you wont have to penalize the mortgage brokers and the consumers with much higher rates then the present bond yields should be well, yielding. In my opinion right now there is 1 maybe 2 lenders that are still playing ball on a level playing field and not making todays borrowers make up for yesterdays borrowers short sells.
I'm not here to promote 1 lender over another but if you apply with me trust that your loan will be going to a lender that is rewarding you today for todays actions and not living or being stuck in yesterdays losses.
Lock in your loans. Call today and get started if you have not already. We have a new administration in office that is ready to spend a lot of money and to do that they are going to continue to auction off debt as fast as the printers can print it. Translation for you means bond yields can not come down until there is a supply issue in the bond market and that is not going to be anytime soon, so rates have no where to go but up for the short term.
Call me today to get started 801-655-5111 or email me @ stetsonlowe@gmail.com
Comments always welcome even if your wrong haha.
Stetson Lowe - Utah Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com
Hello everybody and thanks for all of your emails and phone calls inquiring about rates. Simply put, they are Amazing. There has probably never been a better time to lock in a low fixed rate on a refinance or purchase here in Utah or anywhere around the country (if your fortunate to still have equity in the area which you live).
I hope every one had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years celebration. By now you have all made your new years resolutions and are still sticking to them, good for you keep it up. I have hardly had a spare minute to breath but I have made some personal and business goals or resolutions that I am very excited about this year. Planning is the key, a wise man once said "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I truly believe that.
Just as the title to this post states, Don't Wait Until it is to Late Refinance Your Loan Now. Take action this year, don't be fence sitter guy who sits on the fence for so long waiting for the "perfect opportunity" that he ends up with nothing but an aching butt with slat prints firmly imprinted. Have the courage to take action, call me and fill out a loan application or visit my website www.refinanceinutah.com either way you can be well on your way to saving $1000's of dollars just by spending 15 minutes with me on the phone or on my site.
No one know's where the bottom is and if someone tells you they do run don't walk away from that person as they are just as full of it as Bernie Madoff the latest schemer to swindle billions, yes I said billions of dollars away from his unsuspecting investors. I have yet to meet someone that would be unhappy with a 4.875% 30 year fixed loan and if you meet that person let them know there are hot-lines for people who are that negative and cynical:)
From Saint George to Logan and everywhere in between I can take care of you and your family and friends with world class service.
Speaking of Saint George and World Class Service my family and I were fortunate enough to spend a few days down at The Inn at Entrada this last week for new years. If you ever get the chance to stay there Do It. We had a beautiful 3 bedroom casita. I loved the huge windows across the back that over looked the 16th hole of the Entrada Golf Course and behind that was amazing views of Snow Canyon and red rock buttes. It was a little piece of Heaven carved out and put in Santa Clara Utah. You can check out their website at http://www.innatentrada.com/ It was the perfect place to get away for a few days and go for some hikes, watch bowl games and eat really really good food. The warm cookies and mild delivered to your door each night is a nice touch too.
I will try and post some pictures from our trip in the next few days. I cant wait for the golf season to get started again up here and I know it will be here before we know it.
The Fed's are finally spending that money that they pledged (and I blogged about) back in July. They have changed the way they are using it though, initially they were going to buy troubled or bad MBS (mortgage backed securities) from banks to free up their balance sheets and liquefy some of their assets. After further review the ruling on the field is that they are now showing up to the bond auctions and buying their own bonds. They are actually bidding against the private sector from what I have been told in an attempt to inject more capital into the bond market, lesson the credit freeze and kind of artificially drive down the yields on these bonds thereby lowering long term mortgage rates and creating a refi boom which leads to home buying, remodeling, debt consolidation and ultimately creates jobs and spurs on the anemic economy.
This would be their attempt to make this recession as short as possible and try to help people stay in their homes and keep more foreclosures from hitting the market. We will have to watch and see what the long term will bring with this play. I know an artificial bubble of any kind is never good. We have all seen the .com bubble burst and most recently we witnessed the commodities bubble and more specifically the Oil bubble go POP. Is this bond market going to be the next bubble that literally over night pops like a balloon that floated up and hit my grandma's old asbestos ceiling? Proceed with caution and we all need to take advantage while we can.
2008 was not my year in the sporting world. The cougs ended the year by laying an egg that Mother Goose would be proud of, the Red Sox went down, the Jazz showed up to the playoffs with their bags packed in the back seat of the escalades and Ferrari's just waiting by the exits for their series to be over, OK I shouldn't include all the Jazz in that statement but I still have a bad taste in my mouth for the biggest dud C Booz. New England lost Tom Brady right out of the gates this season and they actually did better the rest of the year then I would have ever guest. The bitter sweet ending to the sporting year for me was watching and actually cheering at times for Utah while they were laying a whooping on Bama. My hats off to those guys for this season and for how they finished it off but I hope I never have to watch that again. A nice 2nd place finish in the Mountain West Conference would be just fine with me for the boys in Red. The one bright spot in the sporting world for me in 2008 was when the US Ryder Cup team layed a gold old fashioned butt kicking on the Europeans. That was as close to a championship that any of my teams made it to this year and I was pumped when Sergio plunked two in a row in the water when he was playing match play against Anthony Kim, that was euphoric for me.
I do have to give props to the US Basketball team for representing very well and of course to Michael Phelps who is the only swimmer I can still name off of that team and probably will be the only swimmer I will ever remember again in my life time, what he did was very Tigeresk don't you think? Maybe even more dominant?
I feel like 2009 is going to be a very very big year in my life and in many of our lives. We have a new President and for better or for worse he's there so I wish him the best. I don't envy him in anyway coming in to take over this mess but then again I don't think anyone in their right mind envy's Bush and all that he has had to take on in his 2 terms as President.
I hope America can use this time to take a step back and reevaluate ourselves as a country and as a people. I would love to see us all go back to when a hand shake was a deal. When your word was your bond and when everyone was looking out for their own best interest but never at the expense of another. I hope we are weeding out the Madoff's of the world right now and getting back to how it is supposed to be.
I can always hope....
Stetson Lowe - Utah Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com
It has been a long time since someone has been able to lock in a 5.25% fixed rate on a mortgage in Utah, but the wait is over. I have locked several loans in the last week at that exact rate. With the recession finally being officially called it seems investors had enough of the stock market and started pouring huge sums of money into the bond market which has paid out as much as 7% so far this year and gaining every day.
The government is even buying it's own bonds in an attempt to give some liquidity to the bond funds and lower yields that were stuck at an unnatural point much higher then where the market indicators show they should be.
We broke through that invisible floor last week when the government announced its pledge to spend up to 600 billion to purchase bonds and mortgage backed securities. That coupled with the recession call and continued economic weakness all have contributed to the bottom falling out of long term fixed rates.
If you are at or above 6% you can really save money by locking into one of these incredible 5.25% 30 year fixed loans or you can do as many of my clients have done and shorten your term to a 25 or 20 year loan while maintaining close to the exact same payment.
If you are considering home improvements, debt consolidation, or buying a home there really will not be a better time to lock in your low rate I can promise you that much.
Thanks for those of you that have called in and please if you haven't yet called give me a quick ring to see what we can do to save you money 801-655-5111. We can still get you closed by Christmas if you call me in the next few days and you wont have a January payment so it will give you time to catch up from the Christmas whirl wind of spending and fun.
Happy Holidays Everyone.
Stetson Lowe - Utah Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com - 801-655-5111
Here is a news clip that explains the market right now and applies fairly well to whats happening in Utah. The only part I would disagree with is when she says the bank are requiring assets right now, I just got 3 loans approved with showing $1 in their bank account, score and a good payment history is still what the banks are looking for the most.