It is not raining foreclosures in the Greater Raleigh Area!

We wanted to take a moment to address the foreclosure market in the Wake County area and dispel some common myths about this niche. 

The February 2009 issue of the TARR Report, a Triangle Area Residential Realty Report that studies data from the Multiple Listing Service, Realtor.com and Wake County Revenue Department, shared that foreclosed or financial institution owned homes only account for only 2.5% of our homes for sale. This is a considerably low percentage compared to other metros and only further supports the fact that foreclosures are not taking over our market. 

• Out of $8,500 residential homes currently for sale in Wake County only 225 are classified as foreclosed or bank owned.
• Over the past 13 months, 4.5% of Wake County’s closed homes have been title transfers from the Trustee to the financial institution.
• White Oak township (Apex and Western Cary) has seen the least amount of foreclosure activity where as the Little River, Eastern Wake, St. Mary, Garner and Mark Creek townships have the majority amount of foreclosure activity.
• These stats do not include short sale or other distressed property sale situations.

Information to have on hand for the Affordable Home Program

Hi Friends,

 

We are passing along some valuable information on the Home Affordable Initiative. If you feel like you have a friend, family member or co-worker who might benefit from this program during these difficult economic times, then use the list below from Debbie Sheets with SunTrust as a resource for getting started. Please know that any lender can do a Home Affordable Initiative Loan also known as a DU Refi Plus.  Loan modification’s where the homeowner is currently delinquent and/or experiencing hardship must be done by their specific loan servicer. 

 

Items to Gather for Home Affordable Initiative Loan

 

·         2 recent pay stubs for all persons currently on the loan

·         2008 federal tax return, all pages & schedules for all persons currently on the loan

·         Type of property (manufactured, townhouse, condominium, etc…)

·         Do you have a second mortgage or home equity on the home?  If so provide a copy of the most recent statement.  We need this information regardless of balance.

·         Do you have Mortgage Insurance on your loan? 

·         Do you currently occupy the home as your primary residence?

·         If SunTrust does not service your loan please provide the name of your servicer as well as their customer service contact number.

·         Have you been more than 30 days late within the last 12 months on your primary or secondary mortgage?

·         Do you have additional mortgages outside of the ones on your primary home?

·         Go to www.suntrustmortgage.com/dsheets & apply on line.  For any items you do not know just enter “Do not know”.  I will call you to fill in the blanks.

 

Please write the answers to your questions on this document & return fax to 1-866-458-2942 along with all requested documentation.  You do not need a cover page. 

 

SunTrust Mortgage will begin to review applications for the Home Initiative Loan beginning April 4, 2009.  Prior to that date we are unable to give you an answer as to qualification or approval. 

 

Applicants who return all the above documentation & complete an application on-line will be considered on a first come first serve basis.  If information is missing you will be contacted.  The review process begins once we have all information.  This process allows us to help as many people as possible.

  

Debbie Sheet, Mortgage Consultant

Debbie.Sheets@suntrust.com

919-616-2868 or 252-756-3912

 

 

Loan Modification & Foreclosure Help for Raleigh Area

Loan Modification & Home Affordable Program

 

If you are trying to make your home mortgage affordable, behind on payments or even facing foreclosure, then consider reviewing the information below about Obama’s Home Affordable Program.  On April 4^th many mortgage service providers like SunTrust and Wells Fargo will begin reviewing applications for the affordable initiative.  Here are some highlights of the programs:

 

Loan Refinance Program:

 

Under this program homeowners can refinance home loans that Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae own or guarantee.  The program can help people who are currently making their loan payments, have stable income and have a higher loan to value ratio due to declining market values.

 

If you don’t know if you have a government sponsored loan (GSE) then call or visit:

 

• 1-800-7FANNIE or www.fanniemae.com/homeaffordable
• 1-800-FREDDIE or www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure 

Loan Modification Program:

 

This program allows loan modifications for homeowner-occupants who are having a hardship, in default or close to defaulting on their loan. The entity that services the loan must be the one to preform the modification, especially if you are in default. So contact your lender to start the process.

 

Visit our special blog posting for information to have on hand for when applying for the Affordable Program.

Visit this site http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/  for more information about eligibility and program details.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Plus Another $2,000 Credit

Interested in understanding how to increase your first time home buyer tax credit (FTHB) by $2000.00?  Here is information how you can claim up to $10,000 in tax credits your first year of home ownership and up to $2,000.00 every year after.

Through the efforts of the Recovery Act, a first time home buyer has the potential to qualify for another $2000.00 tax credit by applying for the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC).  This program is serviced by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

This credit is for first time home buyers only, which means no home ownership in the past 3 years by the applicant. If you are married, both spouses must meet this requirement.  This certificate will allow you to claim a portion of your mortage interest as a credit against your tax liabilities. This a huge savings over the length of your loan. Think about it!!

Here are a few highlights:

There are income limits to the MCC .
You can qualify for the MCC and not the FTHB tax credit.
The maximum amount you can get a year is $2000.00.
You can claim 20% of the interest you pay on your mortgage as a credit on your federal income taxes.
This a dollar for dollar tax credit.
Only a certified NCHFA Lender can assist you with the application and certificate.
You must apply before you close on your first home!

For more information on the is tax credit visit: North Carolina Housing Finance Agency

$8,000 first time home buyer tax credit

Here are the summary details for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit:

• Maximum credit amount of $8000.00
• Any single family residence including condos, co-ops, and townhouses can be used as the principle residence.
• Buyer can get refund for unused credit amount when tax return is filed.
• First Time Buyer only.
• Buyer can use North Carolina Housing Program Funds in conjunction with tax credit (contact Lender for details).
• Credit does not have to be repaid if home is purchased between Jan 1-Dec 1, 2009
• If home is sold within 3 years of purchase, entire credit amount must be paid back. Applies to homes only purchased in 2009.
• Tax credit ends December 1, 2009.
• For additional details, visit this site.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Update

If you are following the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program we have great news!  

The $819 billion stimulus packaged passed by the House on Jan. 28 would eliminate a requirement that the $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers be repaid over a period of 15 years.  We will update our blog as additional details are released. 

Raleigh: Fix Housing First – Proposed Home Buyer Tax Credit

Friends,

For those of you considering a home purchase over the new few months, you might be interested in this proposed stimulus package. It differs greatly from the first time buyer tax credit.

 The National Association of Homebuilders has representatives in Washington DC pressing for passage of a proposed bill, “Fix Housing First”.  Here are two summary points to their proposal:

 (1)  The federal government would offer a tax credit of between $10,000 and $22,000 (depending on locale) to anyone closing on the purchase of a home, new or resale, by December 31, 2009.  The credit would not have to be repaid, which is a major upgrade from a tax credit passed last summer; and

 (2)  The government would provide a federally-subsidized 30 year fixed rate mortgage of 2.99 for all home purchases, new and resale, closing by June 30, 2009.  After that, the rate would be 3.99 for purchases closing by December 31, 2009.

Watch the featured video from the National Association of Homebuilders via our VodPod on the right side of the blog or visit Fix Housing First.  If you want to support this effort, then take action and tell Congress by emailing your Senators today. 

 

Raleigh honored by Bizjournals’

Raleigh is esteemed again as a city that can weather the current economic storm! Recently captured by msnbc.com is a study from Bizjournals’ that exposes which cities will endure our existing recession best.  Raleigh, which is ranked #2, is listed as one of three metros that is “entering [this] slow period with [the] most positive momentum”, writes G. Scott Thomas.  For the full story from msnbc.com click here.

In response to the N&O article “5 reasons for housing crash.”

Dear Friends,

Perhaps many of you noticed the headline in the News and Observer this week highlighting “5 Reasons for Housing Crash”.  We’d like to address this article in our blog today and share with you a more positive perspective from the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® and Stacey Anfindsen.

By Stacey Anfindsen in response to the News & Observer:

Stacey Anfindsen Shares More Accurate Depiction of Market and Five Reasons Not to Panic Over Local Home Prices

In response to the main headline in the 10/27/08 N&O, I am presenting facts to contradict the headline, which is yet another attempt to scare local readers by using data from selected national sources. The writer states five reasons; crashing home prices, investor speculation, complex investments, job losses and repeat delinquencies. I will respond to each of these to provide some local perspective.

 1)  When analyzing our market, I look at data from the counties of Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston. Within this market, the average closed price of all housing is up 8% and the average closed price of resale housing is up 6%. House price appreciation, which compares the two most recent sales prices of the same house , is an area where the Triangle outperforms the national market. Our current rate of house price appreciation in the Triangle is just over 4%. This rate beats the state (+3.6%) and national rates (-4.5%).

 2)  The Wake County Revenue Department reported +/- 21,000 closed sales within the past 13 months. Roughly 5% of these sales were purchased by buyers from out of town, a huge difference compared to the 20% rate nationally.

 3)  It is almost impossible to track what percentage of local purchases were made via the subprime loan mechanism. Per the FHFA mortgage metrics survey for the second quarter of 2008, 17% of all outstanding mortgages in the U.S. are rated as subprime. Therefore it would be hard to argue that a majority of house purchases were made via this mechanism.

 4)  Job losses are real both nationally and locally. The Raleigh/Cary/Durham MSA did not have a workforce increase comparing 8/08 with 8/07 for the first time since the 8/01 versus 8/00 period.

 5)  The mortgage metrics survey reveals some additional information regarding the national mortgage market. They surveyed over 30 million outstanding loans in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac system and found that 98.6% of these loans were rated as current. They also state that foreclosure proceedings were initiated on 432 homeowners per day during the second quarter, a big difference from the 2,700 per day figure stated in the lead paragraph.  There are currently +/- 14,000 listings within the four county area in TMLS. Roughly 3% of these listings are classified as foreclosure, bank or corporate owned. I have been tracking the residential market within the Triangle for over 20 years. The foreclosure market has always accounted for a very small percentage of activity.

Our current market can be summed up with my version of the good, the bad and the ugly;

The Good

·         Third quarter closings were the 6th highest in history

·         Current supply of 8 months is lower than national current supply of 11 months

·         Average house price appreciation is superior to state and national rates

·         Average re-sale sales price +6%, average overall sales price +8%, average list price +2%

·         Houses priced correctly have sold in an average of 55 days

The Bad

·         Overall inventory grew 7%, making 2 consecutive months of less than 10% growth

·         Withdrawn listings increased 2% compared to 9/07

The Ugly

·         29 consecutive months of inventory growth, 20 consecutive months of lower pending sales

·         63% of all price points have an oversupply of housing product

·         9/08 expired listings were 227% higher than 9/07 expired listings

 A survey of Wake County house purchases where the house was purchased and then re-sold within the past 12 months reveals a median percent per gain of 0%. I think that is pretty impressive compared to what is happening in the national market.

 As we have seen during 2008, our local market is not immune from happenings in the national market. Our biggest challenges during the fourth quarter of this year and into next year are to grow the workforce and cut down on the number of price points with an oversupply of housing.

Wake County Stats

Here are recently released statistics on Housing, the Economy, Education, Population, Transportation and Land Development. For more information visit the Wake County Planning Department’s website.

 Population

Current Wake County 2008 Projected Population:

868,121

 Wake County Projected Population:

2009 – 902,152

2010 – 933-727

2011 – 961,739

  WC Newcomers Projection:

2008 – 97 (Per Day)

2009 – 93 (Per Day)

2010 – 87 (Per Day)

 U.S. Census Estimates:

2007 – 832,970

2007 – 106 (Per Day)

  Housing

2006 Housing Units:

325,712

2006 Vacancy Rate:

9.5%

2006 Household Size:

2.58 people/household

2006 Housing Density:

392 units/square mile

2007 January Residential Average Property Value:

$186,410 (County)

•-          $222,550 (High)

•-          $98,243 (Low)

Education

2007-2008 Wake County Public School System 20^th-Day Membership:

134,002

2007-2008 Number of Schools

WCPSS – 153

Charter Schools – 14

2008-2009 WCPSS 20^th-Day Student Projection:

140,443

2006 Adult Population with B.A. or Higher:

45.6%

2007 Wake Tech Enrollment:

57,000

Economy

2006 Median Family Income:

$78,369

2006 Median Household Income:

$60,903

2006 Population Below Poverty Level:

9.1%

2007 Unemployment Rate:

3.4%

May 2008: 3.8%

2006-2007 Tax Base:

28% Commercial

72% Residential

Transportation

2007 Registered Vehicles:

706,000

2006 Average Commute Time:

23.4 minutes

2006 Commuters:

Drive Alone – 85.6%

Public Transit – 1.3%

Carpooled – 10.7%

Walked – 1.4%

2006 Working From Home:

21,606

2007-2008 April TT Bus Riders Increased:

+20.5%

Land Development

Wake County Proper:

857 square miles

2008 Municipal Jurisdiction in Wake County:

443 square miles

2008 County Planning Jurisdiction:

414 square miles

2007 New Building Permits:

Residential – 10,384

Commercial/Industrial – 595

2006 New Permits: 11,695

2006-2007 % Change: -6.5%