Housing market helped by low mortgage rates but hurt by high inventory

SACRAMENTO, CA – April 16, 2008 - According to a widely watched indicator of the health of America’s residential real estate market, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, homes for sale in the United States fell more than 10% in value from June 30, 2006 to December 31, 2007.

Federal attempts to jumpstart the housing market

The Federal Reserve and Congress are attempting to jumpstart the housing market with low interest rates and legislative rescue proposals, but many market watchers say that time will be the only real cure. The Federal Government is attempting to increase the size of the loans that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may purchase from mortgage issuers in order to allow these lenders a way to free up capital and re-lend it to other prospective home buyers.

According to Freddie Mac the average rate for a 30 year home mortgage loan is 5.88%. A year ago the figure was 6.22%. Despite these attempts to help the housing sector there are reportedly 4.5 million homes for sale in the US in March of 2008. This large inventory of homes for sale has roots in the large numbers of foreclosure houses that are owned by banks as real estate owned (REO).

Focus on California real estate

In California alone, according to RealtyTrac (see http://www.RealtyTrac.com), the number of homes in some stage of foreclosure proceedings increased more than 20% in March. This figure represents approximately 65,000 houses or 1 in each 200 homes.

Another company that counsels homeowners facing foreclosure, TheHomeBuyingCenter.com (see http://www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com), reported that they are receiving hundreds of requests for assistance every week from homeowners who are looking for a way to sell their house quickly. Company president Patrick McGilvray said, “we help homeowners and home buyers nationwide who want to buy or sell a home by providing them with access to real estate investors eager to buy houses in their area as well as a complete range of real estate services such as agent referrals, foreclosure homes for buyers, and corporate relocation services.”

McGilvray commented that the central valley cities of California such as Stockton, Modesto, and Sacramento are still reeling under the strain of falling home prices. He said that this is the result of unrealistic house prices that went to ‘absurd’ levels primarily because of the easy availability of adjustable rate mortgages and generally unrealistic housing prices that were not supported by people’s incomes. “There is, unfortunately, more pain ahead for American homeowners, but we’re a strong country and will get through it.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif –OBSNews.com- April 8, 2008 – In the Sacramento Valley cities of Sacramento, Stockton, and Modesto many first time home buyers are buying houses fast not from builders or homeowners, but rather from banks and other lenders who have foreclosed on a house.  The Central Valley of California is one of the places hardest hit by foreclosures in the wake of the collapse of the US housing bubble, and consequently there are many thousands of homes for sale in the local real estate markets in the region.

For prospective home buyers looking to find a great deal on real estate in the Sacramento area the ticket can be a house that has been taken back by the lender.

“We help people buy and sell houses in our backyard and all across the nation.  Many people come to our site because they want to buy a foreclosure house or sell their house to a real estate investor,” said Patrick McGilvray, J.D., president of Sacramento-based www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com.  “There are some important things to watch out for though when buying or selling houses in this kind of market.  It’s important to have experts on your team who know the local market and can help you avoid some pitfalls.”

The subprime mortgage crisis is nearing its end say some experts but mortgages are still hard to come by for borrowers who don’t have great credit scores.  But, for credit worthy borrowers now is a great time to buy.

SACRAMENTO, California – (OBSNews.com)  A startup independent online news company, www.OBSNews.com has created a YouTube.com channel (go to www.OBSNewsTV.com to be directed to the channel) to help promote their brand of independent internet media coverage.  In the grandest traditions of Silicon Valley’s garage start-ups the company was the brainchild of two internet entrepreneurs Manny Fernandez and Patrick McGilvray, J.D. 

The company was created in the Fall of 2007 to help gain media attention for McGilvray’s family’s lawsuit against a large concrete company who had dumped hundreds of tons of concrete rubble and rebar on the family’s land (see www.obsnews.com/hanson.htm).  The site soon mushroomed into a news destination.

Recently the OBSNews team covered the California Democratic Party statewide convention held in San Jose at which the supporters of presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pled their cases for the cameras with passion.

SACRAMENTO, CA –OBSNews.com- April 8, 2008 - People looking to buy or sell real estate in Sacramento, California and across the nation are looking for deals and banks and other lenders are often the place to look. Bank owned homes, also known as REOs are coming on the market in record numbers and prospective homebuyers are sometimes having to bid higher on properties just to buy a house. This is reminiscent of the housing market in California’s Central Valley years ago.

Real estate investors are buying houses again in the Sacramento Valley because prices have fallen significantly from their peak in 2006. While many prospective homebuyers are having trouble qualifying for loans there is still an increase in home sales in many parts of the region.

“One of the greatest things about our company is that we’re a nationwide network of real estate investors who still say, “we buy houses” but we’re also a resource for home buyers who want great deals on foreclosure houses either from investors directly or from banks,” said Patrick McGilvray, president of Sacramento real estate solutions company, www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com. Our investors across the nation report that in many areas they feel prices have hit bottom and they are actively buying to hold or to resell to first time homebuyers.

The housing market may, as a whole, have somewhat further to fall in terms of average house prices, but there is considerable good news for buyers who want to find discounted houses to buy for the long term. The key in this market, say real estate experts like McGilvray, is to get prequalified for a loan, preferably a government FHA loan or other type loan that has a fixed interest rate. Once that step has been taken there are plenty of deals for the savvy buyer.

Self-Funded Startup Seeks Outside Investment Capital to Propel Growth Plans

SACRAMENTO, Calif.–OBSNews.com–TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, a start-up online real estate brokerage, announced it has decided to seek outside investors to provide the company with additional access to growth capital. Analysts estimate that in 2007 more than $50 million was invested in real estate related businesses on the internet by angel investors, private equity companies and venture capitalists.

Citing this record growth in funding for online real estate businesses such as Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin Patrick McGilvray, J.D., president of www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, said of his company’s vision: “We’re not just seeing this market cycle in real estate now. We’re looking 5 years down the road and are looking for the right partners to join us to provide growth capital and mentorship. We’re looking to grow our team and make up for things we lack in our company’s structure.”

TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, founded in 2006, is on the verge of entering into an exclusive referral relationship agreement with an undisclosed national real estate franchise brokerage company. The company distributes home seller listing leads that do not fit an investor’s criteria and leads of home buyers seeking to buy foreclosure properties and bank owned or REO (real estate owned) properties in exchange for a commission split upon closing.

According to the National Association of Realtors 80% of people who buy or sell a house in the US use the internet to obtain information about their house buying or selling needs. The NAR also reports that 23% of web surfers eventually work with an agent they found on the internet.

McGilvray indicated that the company, which started as a referral source for real estate investors, now focuses the bulk of its operations on referring home sellers and prospective home buyers to work with top real estate agents across the United States.

Median home prices in the Central Valley have dropped to 2004 levels – or further, according to figures compiled by DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, a real estate information company.

But the president of a Sacramento company that matches distressed homeowners with investors and prospective buyers says this could be a signal for buyers to re-enter the market.

Patrick McGilvray, president of the Web-based company TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, a unit of Online Broadcasting Systems Inc., says the drop in prices means more average workers will be able to afford home ownership.

Gone are the sky-high prices of 2005, he says, and in their place are homes in the Stockton, Modesto and Sacramento areas priced as low as $100,000. Sellers are more realistic about asking prices, he adds.

“What we’re seeing out there is a return to sanity in terms of housing prices relative to people’s incomes,” he says.

Mr. McGilvray says a key to success in today’s market for buyers is to be pre-qualified for a mortgage before they start home shopping. He says this allows buyers to move quickly when they spot the right property.

Mr. McGilvray talks about the Central Valley housing market in today’s CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the link below to listen or to download the MP3 audio file to your computer or iPod.

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/mcgilvray.mp3

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=8215

Stockton, Calif -OBSNews.com- Median home prices in the Central Valley of California have dropped to levels not seen since 2004 according to DataQuick Information Systems. In Stanislaus County median home prices have fallen to just over $250,000. This figure is down more than $100,000 compared to February of 2007 median prices. In San Joaquin County, the drop was even more pronounced with a drop of more than $130,000 to settle at $275,000. Merced saw a drop in median price of $95,000 and average price of $225,000

“The good news is that buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, are excited to buy houses with prices falling so much,” said Patrick McGilvray, J.D., president of Sacramento-based www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com. He continued, “Our network of investors are still saying “We buy houses” and we are helping hundreds of homeowners across the nation buy foreclosure homes, bank owned or REO homes, and short sale homes. We’re helping sellers sell houses fast, we’re helping banks get rid of their inventory of houses, and we’re passing on the savings to consumers who are looking for a great deal on a foreclosure home at below-market prices.”

While underwriting standards for lending on homes has made mortgages more difficult to obtain, especially for so-called subprime borrowers, there is a lot of interest from the federal government and lenders designed to get the housing market moving again. This includes efforts to help counsel homeowners about their refinance options on their homes as well as government-sponsored attempts to help lenders get troubled loans off their books.

The Central Valley of California has been one of the nation’s most hard-hit areas by the foreclosure crisis. While this distinction has resulted in a lot of pain for homeowners, it has also set the stage for incredible buying opportunities that will allow working families the opportunity to buy again.

According to McGilvray there are dozens of homes in good condition as low as $100,000 throughout Stockton, Modesto, and the Sacramento areas. He says that investors and buyers are excited to have the opportunities to work with motivated sellers of single family homes as well as lenders who are much more realistic about selling homes at fair prices considering the market conditions. He predicts that we are on the verge of price stabilization, but that we may have to wait a while before homes start regularly increasing in value. But, for the long-term homeowners or investor this should not be a problem.

One of the keys for buyers, according to McGilvray, is to be pre-qualified for a mortgage before they start searching. “Nothing can be more frustrating for a buyer to see the home of their dreams slip away because they didn’t do their homework and get qualified and have money available to close quickly. We help people qualify for mortgages and find their dream homes every day throughout the country. It’s nice to know we’re a part of the solution to America’s housing troubles,” he added.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif –OBSNews.com - The battered housing market in the United States has gotten some good news from Washington recently. On Tuesday of this week the Federal Reserve cut key interest rates down to 2.25%. This rate cut, and predicted further cuts in the future, may help American home buyers and sellers who want to buy or sell a house, but favorable results for mortgage borrowers are not expected overnight.

Following the rate cut, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced on Wednesday that it would ease capital requirements on Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). By cutting the so-called surplus capital requirement to 20% from 30% the government estimates that this will free up almost $200 billion US for the two companies to purchase more mortgage loans and package them into securities.

The hoped-for outcome of these moves is to give mortgage lenders a way to sell their loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who will then package them into mortgage backed securities to be sold to investors. Once this has been done, so the theory goes, the lenders will then be able to lend their newly freed up capital to other borrowers such as homeowners and small businesses. Refinancing out of so-called subprime mortgages or other home loans with unfavorable rates or provisions into new loans with more borrower-friendly terms is also a hoped for outcome.

Foreclosure expert and real estate broker Patrick McGilvray, J.D., president of Sacramento-based www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, commented “Even though mortgage rates are slightly higher today compared to a month ago the recent actions of the federal government, this week’s news should be good news for homeowners who are looking to sell their houses. Prospective home buyers, who already have great opportunities to buy houses in foreclosure or those taken back by lenders, should begin to see banks become more willing to lend money as the regulatory changes are taken into account by the market.”

Economists, despite the recent government attempts to spur growth, see some downside risks in the Fed’s actions to the strength of the dollar which has weakened substantially compared to foreign currencies over the past five years. Foreign investors can get higher interest rates on their money in Europe and other countries around the world than they can in the US. Despite this, the Federal Reserve in its Tuesday statement indicated that the main impetus for the .75% rate cut was that “the outlook for economic activity has weakened further,” and that financial markets are “under considerable stress.”

SACRAMENTO – The American housing market continues to see climbing foreclosure rates on single family homes with California, Florida, and Nevada showing the highest rates.  According to California-based www.RealtyTrac.com 223,651 homeowners in the United States were late on their mortgage payments in February of this year.  This figure represents an almost 60% increase from the same period last year when 139,922 homeowners were late on payments.

Other states that were hardest hit by foreclosures according to RealtyTrac were Texas, Ohio, and Michigan.  In many states across the US real estate investors are no longer buying houses at the auctions that are usually on the steps of the county courthouse at the end of  foreclosure proceedings.  This situation is caused because of falling home equity levels and as a result banks and mortgage lenders are being forced to take back houses themselves.  Lenders are then forced to try to sell these bank-owned properties, or REO (short for real estate owned), on an already crowded market.

“We buy houses and help homeowners by giving them an investor’s opinion as to the current market value of their house,” said Patrick McGilvray, president of www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com.  He continued, “If [homeowners] have some equity left in the house then an investor in our nationwide network may be able to buy their home for a cash purchase.  If not, our team members counsel our customers as to their best available options which may include working with a real estate agent to get their house sold quickly via a traditional listing agreement or a short sale listing agreement,” said

McGilvray said that many properties are still being bought and sold, and the key to selling a home in this market is pricing it well below comparable homes in the same local market.  Other steps to help homeowners avoid foreclosure include well-publicized programs led by government agencies, lenders, and consumer groups that try to modify existing loan provisions and create new repayment plans.

For people who want to buy real estate now may be a great time if they are realistic about the market conditions and have their financial houses in order.  Falling home prices have become a fact of life in California, Florida, and many other parts of the nation.  While this may be good news for buyers and not so good news for sellers there are still some hurdles to overcome for prospective home buyers.

Return to sanity

Mortgage lenders are still willing to lend money to people who want to buy a house, but they are demanding larger down payments and higher credit scores.  Gone are the days when anyone with a pulse and an identification card could buy a house with no money down.  Now lenders are asking that homeowners come up with at least 5% of the purchase price as a down payment and are more closely looking at how much borrowers can prove that they earn.  Most responsible lenders suggest that home buyers pay no more than 30% of their income 

Understand your local market

Every real estate market is unique and location is still the most important factor in determining a home’s market value.  Before buying a house it is important to make sure that you will actually want to live in the neighborhood your house is in for years to come.  Websites like www.Zillow.com and www.Trulia.com can provide plenty of free information about neighborhoods before people seek out more specialized assistance. 

Real estate agents are still a valuable resource

Despite the many tools available on the internet designed to give information to consumers many home sellers and buyers still find enormous value in working with an experienced and licensed real estate agent.  Having the right agent on your team who has specialized local knowledge can help buyers and sellers avoid costly mistakes.  It is wise to interview several agents and gauge their experience level no matter what your individual real estate goals may be.

Deals on foreclosure houses

“Make sure that you know what kind of house you are buying,” urges Patrick McGilvray, J.D., a foreclosure expert and president of www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, a nationwide real estate company that helps people sell their houses to a network of investors and locates foreclosure and bank owned homes (REOs) for buyers.  “There are lots of great homes at great prices available from banks and from individual sellers across the nation.  Buyers do need to be careful though about the house they are buying and not pay full retail prices in what is most likely still a declining real estate market.”