Mortgage Purchase Applications Hit 6-Month High

Mortgage applications to purchase homes increased 14.4 percent last week on an adjusted basis compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.

The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 9.6 percent compared with the previous week and was down 7.4 percent compared to the same week a year ago.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, this is the highest Purchase Index recorded since the week ending May 7, 2010 in the middle of the tax-rebate push.

“The increase in purchase applications last week aligns with other incoming data suggesting that consumers are feeling somewhat more confident with their financial situation,” said Michael Fratantoni, the association’s vice president of research and economics.

“The level of purchase applications on a seasonally adjusted basis is now at its highest level since the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit,” Fratantoni concluded.

Interest rates were mixed, with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rising to 4.50 percent from 4.46 percent and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreasing to 3.83 percent from 3.87 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (11/24/2010)

Dallas-area home prices are largely unchanged, a U.S. agency reports

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas-area home prices were basically unchanged from a year ago in the third quarter, according to the latest U.S. government estimate.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency also said that Fort Worth-area prices were down 1.15 percent from a year ago in its report released Wednesday.

Nationally, prices were down 3.2 percent from third quarter 2009, the agency said. That compares with a 0.3 percent gain in the Dallas area.

The federal home price index is based on mortgages issued by government-sponsored mortgage companies – Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHA. That makes the data different from price reports that use a broader measure.

The National Association of Realtors reported recently that Dallas-Fort Worth area home prices were up 1.6 percent in the third quarter based on sales through the local Multiple Listing Service.

Texas, with its overall 1.1 percent rise, was one of the top states for home price gains in the third quarter, the FHFA said.

The biggest declines were in Idaho , which was down 9.8 percent, and Arizona, down 9.3 percent.

Among individual cities, Deltona-Daytona Beach, Fla., topped the list of losers at 15.68 percent, followed by Bend, Ore., with a 13.73 percent annual price drop.

The largest annual price increases were in Battle Creek, Mich., up 4.39 percent, and San Jose, Calif., 4.10 percent.

Mortgage Rates Rise Significantly

Mortgage rates increased again this week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate now 4.62 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.37 discount and origination points.

To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 4.02 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate soared as well to 5.24 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages also climbed higher, with the average 5-year ARM inching higher to 3.71 percent and the average 7-year ARM rising to 4.01 percent.

Mortgage rates jumped significantly this week, posting a second consecutive weekly increase since the Federal Reserve announced renewed measures to boost the economy. Worries that the Fed's quantitative easing program will spark higher inflation, coupled with stronger economic data on retail sales and weekly unemployment filings fueled the latest increase. Although mortgage rates have increased, they remain extremely low in a historical context and will not be an impediment to well-qualified borrowers for the foreseeable future.

The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was November 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.62 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,027.68, a savings of $214 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.

Why I'm jealous of today's homebuyers

By: Marty Kramer | Consumer columnist

When I bought my current home, nobody was talking about real-estate-market woes or foreclosure troubles or a struggling national economy. And yet, I'm a little jealous of buyers today.

The big story back then was the insane seller's market we were in. Time after time, my wife and I would look at a home hours after it came on the MLS only to learn it was already under contract.

Many houses sold before ever making it to the MLS. Bidding wars were common, and good properties fetched asking price or above. Seller concessions? Forget it.

My wife and I spent about seven minutes in the home we now own before telling our REALTOR® we would make an offer. Full price, of course. Even then, we worried someone would outbid us.

We asked the sellers if they could adjust the closing date so we wouldn't have to move twice. I don't know if they laughed at our request … they knew we had
zero leverage.

It all turned out well. My family is happy in our home, and we love our neighbor-
hood. Still, it would have been nice to have had more time, more choices.

Every real estate market has pros and cons. Right now, interest rates and housing inventory are extremely attractive. The market is pretty balanced, slightly favoring buyers in many locales. If your personal situation is favorable for purchasing a home, why hesitate? Hey, you probably can spend more than seven minutes in a home before deciding if you want to make an offer.

Well-Kept Yards Most Important Factor in Determining Neighborhood Safety

A new survey conducted by Relocation.com finds that 75 percent of Americans believe the most important factor in determining a neighborhood's safety is the up-keep of surrounding homes, especially the conditions of the front lawns, which trumps even Googling neighborhood statistics to get a feel for a community.

The latest Relocation.com survey finds that 74 percent of respondents indicated they would select a neighborhood based on "word-of-mouth" or its local reputation over any other reason, while 67 percent of the respondents say they pay attention to local crime reports and statistics as reported in the local media. Less compelling, according to the survey, are "a gated community with security patrols" and "proximity to a police or fire station" when determining the safety of a neighborhood.

"It's interesting to see how home buyers determine neighborhood safety based on the neighborhood's appearance and not as much based on police statistics or crime reports," says Relocation.com Chairman and Founder Sharon Asher. "Our findings suggest that some home sellers who are struggling to generate interest may want to go the extra mile and help their neighbors with landscaping needs in order to create buyer interest."

The Relocation.com survey was conducted in mid-October, 2010, in a continuing effort to provide information on lifestyle factors that drive moving and relocation decisions in the U.S.

Danny Force with Keller Williams Real Estate

Danny Force with Keller Williams Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Back on the Rise

Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages rose to 4.39 percent this week from 4.17 percent a week ago, and average interest on 15-year loans moved to 3.76 percent from 3.57 percent, said Freddie Mac.

Interest for five-year adjustable-rate mortgages jumped to 3.4 percent from 3.25 percent, meanwhile, and one-year ARMs held at 3.26 percent. Rates have climbed along with long-term Treasury yields as traders unloaded Treasurys purchased before the Federal Reserve announced a $600 billion bond purchase program.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times (11/19/10)

Top Tips to Winter-Proof Your Home

As winter sets in, there's nothing better than hibernating on the sofa with a good book or classic film. But having this spoiled by a home emergency can add a real chill to your winter warmth, especially if it's preventable.

We're all familiar with the issues winter forces upon us: the boiler breaking, pipes bursting or a break-in, which can make the harsh effects of winter far more severe.

Planning ahead now can help protect you against these potential problems. Here are some simple tips from John Lewis Insurance to prevent home emergencies from happening. Many of them are relatively quick and easy to do.

Quick fixes:
* Change the battery in your smoke detector or install them if you don't have any - it's a simple task that can save your life. And make sure you test them regularly.

* Inspect your roof for missing or cracked tiles. If repairs are needed, get them done as soon as you can.

* Vacuum the coils on the back of the fridge. This will help your fridge work more efficiently and will help you save money on your power bills.

* Turn your mattress regularly. We all spend more time in bed over winter - turning your mattress regularly will extend its life and ensure a more comfortable night's sleep.

* Get your boiler serviced. If you haven't had your boiler serviced this year, now is the ideal time to ensure it's in good working order.

More time needed:
* Oil your power tools and if you have a gas-powered lawn mower, drain the gas from it. They will survive the winter better and be in top shape for spring.

* Check all taps for leaks and locate the main pipe to the water mains. Pipes can burst if they freeze so if you leave home for more than a few days, ideally you should turn off the water and drain the pipes.

* Bleed your radiators by opening the valve until water appears - they will work more efficiently.

* The cold doesn't deter burglars so be sure to inspect your locks and any burglar alarms - and consider using lighting timers for that lived in appearance.

Worth the effort:
* It may take a day or two to sort out but cleaning your gutters properly will guarantee they won't get blocked or overflow.

* Trimming back trees is always recommended in the autumn.

* Clean out the garage before anything is stored that can get spoiled by the cold.

Finally, preparing an emergency kit is a great way to make those small and big emergencies as easy to handle as possible. This is what you should have at hand's reach:

* A small tool bag containing a torch, a roll of insulation tape, spare fuses, spare batteries and a screwdriver

* A radiator key

* A fire extinguisher if you have one, checked or recently replaced

* Important telephone numbers like the police, a trusted plumber, electrician, etc.

Mortgage Activity Logs Biggest Drop of the Year

Home loan demand fell 14 percent last week, as higher interest rates sent refinancing down 17 percent. This was the biggest drop of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.

Applications for mortgages to purchase homes fell 5 percent last week compared to the previous week on an adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, purchase applications decreased 8.2 percent compared with the previous week and were 11.3 percent lower than they were the same week a year ago.

Purchase applications had been on the rise for the previous three weeks, but “rates increased sharply last week due to stronger economic data and lingering uncertainty regarding the structure and impact of the Fed’s QE2 program. Mortgage applications … dropped in response,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.

Here are the average rates:

▪ 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.46 percent from 4.28 percent.

▪ 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.87 percent from 3.64 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (11/17/2010)

NAR Praises FHA's Increased Stability

The latest independent audit of the Federal Housing Administration shows the agency’s financial condition has improved from last year, when it announced its capital reserve fund had fallen below the 2 percent level mandated by Congress. The annual audit shows that the capital ratio for the single-family portfolio rose from 0.42 percent to 0.79 percent over the past year.

The audit, which calculates the financial condition of the agency’s insurance fund, also showed the mortgage insurance fund grew more than $1 billion in 2010 and reserves are expected to remain above $9.9 billion even if home prices were to fall further. The audit indicates that FHA will most likely not require a bailout now or in the future.

“As the leading advocate for home ownership, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® strongly supports FHA’s mortgage insurance programs,” NAR President Ron Phipps said. “FHA announced major changes earlier this year and took critical steps to strengthen and ensure its long-term financial soundness, and those efforts have paid off.”

FHA’s audit reflected a change in home values, and was not tied to excessive increases in defaults or unsound underwriting practices. In fact, the credit quality of FHA borrowers has increased significantly in the last several years; the average credit score for FHA customers has grown to 693, and less than 8 percent of the agency’s purchase borrowers this year had FICO scores below 620. The capital reserves are not FHA’s only reserve fund; FHA also has a cash reserve account separate from the capital reserve – and actual total reserves have grown to $33 billion.

“The future health of FHA’s reserve funds depends heavily on the direction of home values in the coming years. Home values have shown patterns of stabilization over the past 18 months, and in a recent independent survey, most economists expect modest home price gains over the next 3 years, so FHA’s reserves should steadily improve,” Phipps said.

FHA has played a key role in providing mortgage liquidity to qualified home buyers in recent years and has greatly increased its market share; according to the agency, FHA guaranteed nearly 40 percent of home purchases in the past year.

NAR is working closely with FHA to reassess and amend their lending policies so even more qualified home buyers can become home owners.

Source: NAR

3 Reasons to Sell a Home Soon

What do you tell a client who asks whether to sell a house now or wait? Steve McLinden, real estate adviser with Bankrate.com, offers these three good reasons not to wait, even though the holidays are approaching:

1. The market is improving. Most markets have either turned or are close to turning.

2. All real estate is local. Homes in great locations are always in demand.

3. Spring is coming soon. Many potential buyers are starting their online searches right after the holidays, making mid- to late February a great time to start marketing.

Source: Bankrate.com, Steve McLinden

Commercial real estate outlook improving

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

North Texas commercial real estate experts expect further recovery next year and say they hope the market will be mostly righted by 2012.

The same can be said of the economy.

“We made it through 2009 and are still here,” D’Ann Petersen, business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said Friday. “We are starting to see some positive signs.”

Petersen predicted “moderate economic growth next year” for the Dallas-Fort Worth area at a breakfast meeting sponsored by The Dallas Morning News.

The commercial property business will follow the economy’s lead. “It will lag any rebound,” Petersen said.

Moody Younger, who manages Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Dallas office, said he’s already seen a great change in business.

“In 2009, you could not find a deal,” he said. “Our revenues are twice what they were last year. In 2011, we will see a lot more.”

Office tenants are more willing to step up and sign a lease, he said.

“Office is leading us out of it this time,” said Younger, who predicts that D-FW office occupancies will be back in shape by 2012. “I think we will take off pretty fast.

“If you are a developer, by the end of 2011 you need to think about building.”

Petersen said jobs in the professional and business service sector have been among the fastest-growing, which will help the local office market and its 23 percent vacancy.

“We are starting to see some export growth, and that will help the industrial building sector,” she said.

The apartment market is considered the country’s strongest real estate industry. And Addison-based Behringer Harvard has been one of the top nationwide apartment investors over the last couple of years.

“When we started buying multifamily in 2008, we would be the only bidder,” Behringer Harvard president Robert Aisner said. “We are now seeing a huge amount of money that believes multifamily will lead the rebound.”

Aisner said his firm is looking at additional property buys.

“Hotels are getting an awful lot of interest,” he said. “If you can buy hotels now, you assume you are at the bottom.”

Total U.S. commercial property investment last year was about $50 billion, Aisner said. That’s down from $500 billion in 2007.

“It’s coming back but coming back slowly this year,” he said.

Herbert Weitzman, chairman and founder of Dallas-based Weitzman Group, said it will be “three years on the outside” before the D-FW shopping center market recovers from the recession.

North Texas has about 190 empty big box stores with more than 3 million square feet of space, he said. But the overall vacancy rate is still significantly less than it was in the late 1980s downturn.

“We think we are stabilized, and retail sales are getting better,” Weitzman said. “If you are creative and stay in business long enough, there will be some great opportunities.”

With retail construction at a virtual standstill, merchants are slowly filling up empty space – even sites that might have once been passed over. “We are filling up centers today that we couldn’t fill up in better times,” he said.

Most of the retailers that have made it through the down economy will survive, Weitzman said.

“We have bottomed out – that’s the good news.”

Realtors' report says Dallas-Fort Worth home prices rose slightly in third quarter

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices were up by a small margin in the third quarter, and most of the increase was probably due to more sales of higher-priced homes.

The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that median home sales prices in the D-FW area were up 1.6 percent from third quarter 2009.

The small gain here came as nationwide prices were basically flat, the Realtors said.

"Even with swings in home sales, prices this year have been changing very little from year-ago readings," Realtors' chief economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. The Realtors are forecasting flat home prices in the year ahead.

The just-released national data lines up with local figures that show median home prices in North Texas are up 1 percent year-to-date.

Of the 155 metropolitan areas that the Realtors track each quarter, 76 markets showed price declines.

Home sales in North Texas have slowed dramatically since federal housing tax credits expired at the end of April. But the bulk of the decline has been for lower- and moderate-priced homes. High-end home sales are still rising in many neighborhoods.

"Now that the tax credits have expired, we have seen a real drop-off in the activity at the lower end of the price spectrum," said Ted Wilson, a housing analyst with Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc. "As a result, the median price has climbed."

David Brown of MetroStudy Inc. agreed: "The average and median prices have increased over the last year because of the surge in sales of homes priced over $500,000."

Consumers are Paying Less on Monthly Payments Than Three Years Ago

Experian, a leading global information services company, released its insights on average monthly payments* of the top 25 metropolitan areas. The study found that nationally, consumers are paying $903 per month on their bills, which could include a combination of credit cards, auto loans and leases, and mortgages—a decrease of two percent in the last three years.

The study also reveals that Washington D.C., Seattle and Baltimore top the list with the highest average monthly payments with Washington D.C. coming in at 42 percent higher than the national average. Cities with the lowest payments include Cleveland, Tampa and Pittsburgh .

"The trend we're seeing is that consumers have lower payments, indicating both proactive deleveraging by consumers and tighter limits from lenders and certainly consumers are making fewer major purchases than they were a few years ago," said Michele Raneri, senior director of analytics, Experian. "There are many ways to manage and develop a positive credit score and good payment habits. Paying bills on time is generally the single most important contributor."

Below are some tips for your clients to take into consideration when making a major purchase:

* Get your credit report. Before approving your request for a home loan, mortgage lenders review your credit report. If you review your credit report in advance, you'll see yourself from a lender's perspective.
* Be prepared. When lenders review your credit report, they evaluate how much you already owe, how much unused credit you have available, how prompt you are in paying your debts and whether you've recently applied for new credit.
* Count your savings. To buy a house, you generally need a down payment in the range of 5 percent to 20 percent of your new home's purchase price, depending on your credit risk. You also need money for closing costs and be sure to set aside extra funds for emergencies. If you spend everything on your down payment, you're statistically more likely to lose your new home to foreclosure sometime in the future.
* Make your payments. How much you borrow, how much you owe and when you pay become a part of your credit history. When you apply for new credit purchases, other lenders will review this history. Late payments can stay on your credit report for up to seven years, can keep you from buying another house or can make it more expensive to buy a car. A good credit history proves that you manage your finances well. It lets you enjoy using credit at your convenience and at a lower cost.

Mortgage Applications Rise

Applications to purchase homes rose 5.5 percent last week compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.

On an unadjusted basis, purchases increased 3.1 compared over the previous week. This was the third consecutive week that purchase applications rose. They are at the highest level since May.

“The increases in purchase applications we have seen over the past couple of weeks align with the better than expected news from October’s employment report and other data indicating some improvement in the economy’s growth prospects,” says Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.

Mortgage rates held steady:

· 30-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 4.28 percent.
· 15-year fixed-rate remained unchanged at 3.64 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association

Real Estate Investing – Is It Possible To Still Make Money?

By: Tina Feston, Atlanta Realtor

Some people may wonder if it is even possible anymore to make money from real estate. The answer is an emphatic “Yes!” Like any other investment, the goal is to buy low and sell high, and by finding foreclosed properties that banks are anxious to unload, you can certainly do the “buy low” part.

The skill you need is to know how little you can pay, and know ways you can purchase distressed real estate while risking little or none of your own money. When people default on their mortgages, the process of foreclosure isn’t instant, or even quick. It is a long, protracted affair during which many legal steps must be followed. Look at it from the bank’s point of view: a borrower has defaulted on his or her loan, has stopped making payments, and pretty soon the bank is going to be stuck with a piece of property that they’re probably going to have a hard time selling. It is far from ideal for the lenders.

When lenders are buried in repossessed real estate and cars, it is a losing situation for them. Every day that a foreclosed house sits empty is a day that the grass grows, the mice get in, and the property values of surrounding real estate drop a little due to blight. Banks are faced with owning an undesirable property whose desirability will most likely continue to drop.

That’s why savvy real estate investors can step in and purchase property from lenders. Even if you only offer a fraction of the asking price, they may consider it, because they have a lot to lose by hanging onto the asset and not much to gain unless real estate in that particular area experiences some unexpected boost, such as a retail or industrial operation locating nearby.

In a slow housing market, obviously people are reluctant to buy real estate. But people still need a place to live, and real estate is the one of the few assets that we have a finite amount of. While some neighborhoods may not like having a rental property down the street, they’d much rather have a rental property than an abandoned, boarded up house that looks worse by the day.

If you are able to buy a foreclosed house for a great price at a decent interest rate, once you make any necessary repairs, you can rent it to one of those people who are averse to buying, and they will most likely cover your monthly mortgage payment and then some with their rent. You’ll be rescuing an undesirable property, making the neighbors happy, you’ll be providing someone a home, making them happy, and you’ll be taking the albatross of undesirable property off the neck of the mortgage lender, which will make them happy.

Successful investing in real estate doesn’t just happen when the market is going up rapidly. In fact, a stagnant or contracting real estate sector is a great time to get in on the ground floor of this type of investment. Business cycles come and go, there is only a finite amount of real estate on the planet, and the world’s population continues to grow. The question isn’t so much “if” real estate investments will pay off as “when” real estate investments will pay off. Successful investment in real estate, like any other worthwhile endeavor, will require brains and hard work, but done right, an investment in real estate can be a sound, long term asset that continues to pay off.

Home Sales Could Enter 'Virtuous Cycle'

Consumer confidence and business spending are key to whether the U.S. housing market will move into a virtuous or a vicious cycle in 2011, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told a packed audience at the Residential Economic Outlook Forum Friday in New Orleans.

After the downturn, the housing market has clawed its way back to a point of near stability, Yun said, with the pace of new foreclosures easing, sales moving toward historically normal levels and prices on a national basis gaining modestly.

At the same time, affordability remains strong. He said all of the price excesses from the housing bubble have been squeezed out. In San Diego, for example, buyers today would pay $1,564 a month in mortgage payments for a house that at the height of the boom would have cost them $2,833 a month.

The broader economy is also showing positive signs, with businesses enjoying strong profits, sitting on huge cash reserves, and even adding jobs. Yun predicts this positive trend to continue into 2011, with existing home sales reaching 5.5 million units, prices rising a modest 1 percent, and the U.S. gross domestic product increasing to about 2.5 percent.

“We are entering a virtuous cycle,” he said. But for the positive trend to continue, he added, businesses will have to start spending some of their cash to fuel job growth at a far greater pace than they’re doing now. Currently, businesses are adding jobs at a pace of about 100,000 a month. That needs to grow to about 400,000 a month for unemployment
to start shrinking.

The scenario will be far more negative if businesses continue to sit on their cash. In that case, sales will fall, inventories will rise, the high rate of foreclosures will resume, and the cost to the federal government of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will surge.

Federal Reserve Governor Thomas Koenig, who shared the data with Yun, said the Fed’s continued effort to spur the economy, most recently through a $600 billion bond buying program, is understandable given concerns over the slow pace of growth. But the continued subsidization of the market could unleash inflationary forces.

Yun said he sees possible evidence of inflation building, but it’s not visible now because the housing-cost portion of inflation measurements is holding down prices.

30-Year Mortgage Rates Inch Up

Freddie Mac confirms that average interest for 30-year fixed mortgages rose for the third consecutive week, bumping up to 4.24 percent from 4.23 percent a week ago.

The average 15-year rate for the week ended Nov. 4 was 3.63 percent, a drop from 3.66 percent.

Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc., says this week's Federal Reserve actions "aren't going to change the economy right away, but they should help keep mortgage rates low for quite some time."

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/05/10)

Preparing Your Home for the Cooler Months

This year has certainly flown by, and now, with the fall in full swing, it’s a great time to start prepping your home before winter strikes. From water leaks to the chimney, it’s better to be ready for the cold season…before it hits.

Here, State Farm offers up some fall maintenance tips for your home:

Check all window and door locks for proper operation
* Windows that can be opened by breaking the glass and unlocking them, are less effective deterrents to criminals. Check with the hardware store for window lock alternatives.
* All exterior doors should have deadbolt locks.

Make sure there are working nightlights at the top and bottom of all stairs
Other safety ideas for stairs:
* Tile and painted wood or concrete stairs can be slippery when wet or when a person's shoes are wet. Resurface the treads with slip-resistant strips near the stair nosing.
* All stairs of at least three risers should have a handrail.
* Do not store items on the stairs.

Have a heating professional check your heating system every year
Woodburning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.

Replace your furnace filter
Furnace filters need to be replaced frequently to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate properly.

Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tank is empty
By doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. At the same time, make sure you aren't storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.

Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean the flues and check your fireplace damper
Soot and creosote, which build up inside the chimney, can ignite when a fire is lit in the fireplace.

Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures
Bird nests on top of light fixtures are a fire hazard. Bird nests in chimney flues can prevent a proper venting of combustion gases and can catch fire from sparks. You should exercise great caution when working on your roof or consider hiring a qualified professional to take care of any work that needs to be done.

Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce heat/cooling loss
Check glazing for loose or missing putty or glazing compound. This will also help reduce water damage to the windows and door frames.

Make sure that the caulking around your bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water from seeping into the sub-flooring

Check for cracked or missing caulk around the base of your toilet, bath tub, and bathroom cabinets. Properly sealing gaps between your bathroom fixtures and flooring material can prevent damage.

Mortgage Purchases Rise

Applications to purchase homes rose 1.4 percent last week compared to the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.

On an unadjusted basis, purchases increased 0.2 percent last week compared to the previous week, but were down 28 percent compared to the same week a year ago.

Overall, mortgage application volume declined 5 percent over the last week on a seasonally adjusted basis because refinances decreased 6.4 percent.

Interest rate changes were mixed.
Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.28 percent from 4.25 percent, while the average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.64 percent from 3.67 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (11/03/2010)

Housing Starts Rise in September

Spending on construction rose 0.5 percent in September with home building and government projects leading the way, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday.

Spending on home building rose 1.8 percent, but the increase was offset by spending on commercial construction, which dropped 1.6 percent. Overall, non-residential construction was at the lowest level since January 2005.

Housing starts rose 0.3 percent in September, the Commerce Department said, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units – still low, but improving.

Source: Bloomberg, Courtney Schlisserman (11/01/2010)

3 New Anti-Foreclosure Strategies

Here are three programs that are considered promising replacements for the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which has failed to stop foreclosures.

· Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be encouraged to refinance loans for some 30 million borrowers with high-interest rate mortgages. The new mortgages would be folded into a new round of mortgage-backed securities issued by the government-sponsored finance firms.

· The right-to-rent plan would offer delinquent borrowers an option of renting their foreclosed homes at a market rate for five years. At that point, owners turned renters would have another chance to buy their homes at market value. It’s a compromise. Borrowers lose their homes, but lenders have to accept lower payments.

· Mortgage cramdowns give a bankruptcy judge the right to consider all of a borrower’s debts and create a solution that would force all interested parties, including holders of mortgage debt, to compromise.

Sales volume of Texas homes down in third quarter, flat year-to-date

According to the Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today, the volume of real estate sales in Texas decreased in the third quarter of 2010, but was essentially flat year-to-date, due to an early peak in the market driven by the expiration of federal homebuyer tax credits.

For the period of July through September 2010, sales of existing single-family homes decreased 20% to 48,625 compared to the same quarter of the prior year. Year-to-date, home sales are esentially flat at 158,699, down less than one percent compared to 2009. The median price home in Texas remained virtually unchanged in 2010-Q3 at $152,000, and the months of inventory of Texas homes edged upwards to 8 months.

Bill Jones, chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®, commented on the results, "If you view these results only within the third quarter, they appear discouraging. However, the expiration of homebuyer tax credits distorts the picture. When evaluated on a broader year-to-date basis, it becomes clear the market is performing consistently compared to 2009. It's also encouraging to see how Texas real estate is holding its value."

Chairman Jones continued, "This year, Texas is withstanding the economic storm that has ravaged other parts of the country, in large part because the leaders of our state made the protection of private-property rights a priority. As we approach the upcoming legislative session, it's important for lawmakers to continue to support public policies that keep Texas on the leading edge of the economic recovery."

The Texas Association of REALTORS® works in partnership with lawmakers to promote policies that protect property rights and homeowners throughout the state. Currently, Texas ranks 41st out of 50 states in homeownership. Electing lawmakers who advocate on behalf of Texas homeowners is crucial to opening the path of homeownership — and the wealth-building opportunities it creates — for more Texans.

Jim Gaines, Ph.D., an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, noted, "This is a difficult time to compare statistics because we're comparing two very different markets — one with substantial support from the federal government in the form of tax credits and one without that support. Thus, year-to-date sales volume is a more meaningful figure to evaluate the current condition and that is still on pace with 2009."

Gaines added, "Although it's hard to predict where the market is headed, if you look at the long-term trends that determine real estate growth, Texas is in a good position. As a state, we are still adding population and we've experienced positive employment growth since almost the first of the year, which is key to rejuvenating our economy overall."

The Texas Quarterly Housing Report is issued four times a year by the Texas Association of REALTORS® with multiple listing service (MLS) data compiled and analyzed by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.