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Home ownership and rental demand may both get an uptick as a large number of immigrants are expected to enter the United States and call it home by 2020, according to Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America study.

The number of foreign-born home owners will continues to grow each decade, according to the report. For example, the number of foreign-born home owners rose 800,000 from 1980 to 1990; by 2.1 million from 1990 to 2000; then by 2.4 million from 2000 to 2010.

The home ownership rate has particularly grown among the Hispanic immigrant population. In 1990, Hispanic immigrants had a 15 percent home ownership rate, which grew to nearly 53 percent in 2010. By 2020, Hispanics’ home ownership rate is expected to rise above 61 percent, according to researchers. California will be a top demand state!

The study makes projections to the year 2020 on the growth of U.S. home owner households headed by immigrants. Please review and provide your comments.

More at source: “Housing demand to grow as new immigrants arrive,” HousingWire (March 5, 2013)

Moves across county and state lines are falling, with the 2007-2009 recession blamed for changing Americans’ moving patterns, according to an analysis of census data through 2010. The Great Recession caused more Americans to move because they could no longer afford to remain where they were. That’s a big change in what traditionally motivates Americans to move — a bigger home or higher paying job, USA Today reports about the analysis.

Nine percent of Americans stayed local with their moves during 2007-2009 period — the highest in a decade. 

“Typically, over the last couple of decades, when Americans moved, they moved to improve their lives,” says Michael Stoll, author of the research and chairman of UCLA’s public policy department. “This is the shock: For the first time, Americans are moving for downward economic mobility. Either they lost their house or can’t afford where they’re renting currently or needed to save money.”

More than 23 percent moved for more affordable housing during the recession. Prior to the recession, that percentage stood at 20.8 percent. 

Also, prior to the recession, 41.3 percent of Americans moved in order to own a home or settle into a better neighborhood. However, during the recession, that percentage dropped to 30.4 percent. 

Source: “Americans on the Move Start Moving Down, Not Up; Setback in Upward Mobility Hits Blacks, Sun Belt Spots Hardest,” USA Today (Feb. 20, 2013)

Good news to share! Fixed-rate mortgages stayed mostly flat this week, remaining near their record lows and continuing to support housing demand and “translating into a pick-up in home prices in most markets,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. 

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 14: 

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.53 percent, with an average 0.8 point, holding the same average as last week. A year ago, 30-year rates averaged 3.87 percent. 
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.77 percent, with an average 0.8 point, also holding the same as last week. Last year at this time, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.16 percent.
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage: averaged 2.64 percent, with an average 0.6 point, rising slightly from last week’s 2.63 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.82 percent. 

Source: Freddie Mac

California’s potential first-time homebuyers (aged 25-34) numbered 5,404,486 in 2011. At the same time, the state’s homeownership rate stood at 55.3%. California homeownership has dropped steadily during 2012. It will level off around 2016 as a wave of now-tenants enter (or re-enter) the market as buyers.

California’s homeownership rate continues its fall in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Will the next wave of first-time homebuyers bring a sea change?

Please view data and charts at:   http://firsttuesdayjournal.com/will-first-time-homebuyers-save-californias-homeownership-rate/

Great news update to share! Interest rates for home mortgages continued to hover near all-time lows, keeping home buyer affordability high.

Freddie Mac reports the following averages in this week’s mortgage market survey:

•30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.55 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.59 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.12 percent.

•15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.86 percent, with an average 0.6 point, holding steady from last week’s average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.33 percent.

•5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.75 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 2.78 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.96 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

“Good News” to share with you! The number of home owners behind on their mortgage payments dropped to the lowest level in three years, according to a report of data from the fourth quarter of 2011 released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

“Mortgage performance is also improving faster than the overall economy,” says Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist. (We’re finding this is not true with some lenders.)

According to MBA, 7.6 percent of residential mortgages were at least 30 days past due on their payments in the fourth quarter of 2011. Last year, the percentage was 8.3, and the peak of 10 percent was reached in early 2010. Mortgage delinquencies usually hover around 5 percent in more stable markets. Let’s hope this trend continues.

Still, while the lower delinquencies serve as an important sign needed for a healing housing market, MBA still cautions that the number of loans in foreclosure remains high. About 4.4 percent of all loans were in foreclosure in the fourth quarter. The peak reached one year earlier was 4.6 percent.

Source: “Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Three-Year Low,” The Wall Street Journal (2/16/12)

Here’s the “good news” from the weekly mortgage market survey. Rates continue to hover at record lows, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage staying at the record low of 3.87 percent since the first week of February, Freddie Mac reports. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular choice among home buyers, has been below 4 percent for the past 11 weeks. 

A closer look at mortgages rates for the week ending Feb. 16: 

30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.87 percent, with an average 0.8 point, matching last week’s average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 5 percent. 

15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.16 percent, with an average 0.8 point, also matching last week’s average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 4.27 percent. 

5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.82 percent this week, with an average 0.8 point, dropping slightly from last week’s 2.83 percent average. Last year, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.87 percent. 

Source: Freddie Mac

A $25 billion mortgage settlement announced between major banks and state and government officials is supposed to bring aid to troubled home owners, but it could also bring a wave of new foreclosures, CNNMoney reports. 

During the year long negotiations, some banks slowed down repossessing homes, and now they may have a backlog of troubled loans on the books — loans that can’t be saved by the deal’s aid on refinancing or mortgage principal reduction. 

“The bottom line is that 2012 will see a lot of foreclosures that should have taken place in 2011 and didn’t,” Rick Sharga, executive vice president for Carrington Holdings, told CNNMoney.

Last year, foreclosure filings dropped 34 percent. This year, Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, estimates that new foreclosure filings will increase to between 2.2 million and 2.5 million compared to last year’s 1.9 million filings in 2011. 

The mortgage deal is aimed at helping home owners avoid foreclosure. One million struggling home owners may see their mortgage principal reduced as part of the deal. But the home owners must be able to afford new, lower payments. The banks will have no choice but to foreclose on home owners who stop making payments altogether or cannot afford a new payment structure on their loan.  

The backlog of foreclosures may not be all bad for the housing market, some experts say. We believe the “Short Sale” trend may come to the rescue? What do you think?

 Source: “Mortgage Deal Means More Foreclosures,” CNNMoney (Feb. 10, 2012)

Blame it on distressed sales for falling home values, according to CoreLogic’s December Home Price Index. From our analysis here in the Placerville, El Dorado County, California region we concur with this study. What are your thoughts?  

Home prices nationwide dropped nearly 5 percent from 2010 to 2011, but if you exclude distressed sales, prices dropped only by 0.9 percent, according to CoreLogic.

“Until distressed sales in the market recede, we will see continued downward pressure on prices,” Mark Fleming, chief economist of CoreLogic, told AOL Real Estate.

The states that saw home prices decline by the largest amounts since the housing peak are Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and California. All five states have a high rate of foreclosures too.

Please read more at source: “Distressed Sales Undercut Home Prices in 2011, Study Says,” AOL Real Estate (Feb. 2, 2012)

As the housing market continues to struggle for stabilization, many homeowners are turning to strategic default.  Almost 11 million homes are now underwater, according to Corelogic.  Around 3.5 million homeowners are behind in their payments and another 1.5 million homes are already in the foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac.

Aside from the moral quandary of whether strategic default is the right decision, there also are other factors we suggest be considered. Plus, obtain advice from professionals.

The borrowers’ credit scores will take a hit. According to FICO, someone with a 680 credit score would see their score decline anywhere between 85-100 points after a strategic default, and someone with a 780 credit score could lose 140-160 points.

Borrowers who are considering strategically defaulting on a house should look at it as a last resort, not a first option.  Financial troubles could be eliminated by refinancing, especially if the Obama administration’s program is implemented.

Each state has its own rules and regulations regarding foreclosures, which affect both the length of the process and what the borrower could be liable for in the end.

Other news from the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California at: www.sierraproperties.com or email: zteam4u@gmail.com