Joelle Lewis

December Market Action Report

lewisjo — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:25:53 +0000

In December, sales activity showed a bit of an improvement compared to a year ago. Closed sales were up 52.6% compared to December of 2008, pending sales rose 40.9%, and new listings rose 11.9%.

However, when compared to November 2009, closed sales fell 16.1%, pending sales dropped 14.1%, and new listings fell 15.8%. The median sale price is also down 10%.

If you are ready to be a homeowner, now is your time. The Portland area is seeing some of the best interest rates in 30 years, amazing prizes, and up to $8,000 in tax credit to spend freely.

Click HERE to view the full report

New Year, New Law

lewisjo — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:42:09 +0000

Along with the new year, comes a new law: the House bill 2377, or as we know it “Oregon’s hands free law”. Under this long overdue law, drivers must use a hands free device for their mobile phone while operating a vehicle. This comes after the astounding report by Oregon’s State Department of Transportation that between 2003 and 2008, more than 1,660 crashes involving drivers on cell phones occurred, including 21 fatalities.

To read more about the hands free law click HERE

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program

lewisjo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:00:23 +0000

Since the nation has been having trouble in the housing and real estate markets, the government has decided to take steps towards making homes more affordable. The first step was the home buyer tax credit and the extension of the credit.

The government has now taken a new step to lower payments for distressed homeowners and those who are having trouble paying their mortgage. The new program is known as the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA), which is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Here are some of the HAFA’s benefits:

Borrowers will receive $1,500 in relocation expenses from the U.S. Government
Loan Servicers will receive $1,000 from the US Government per transaction that they process
2nd lien holders will receive up to $3,000 of the sale proceeds for releasing their liens
1st lien investors can receive up to $1,000 from the US Government for “signing off” on payments that subordinate lien holders
Borrowers must be “fully” released” from any and all further liability

The program will not take effect until April 5th, 2010 and is expected to run until December 31st, 2010.

November Market Action Report

lewisjo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:59:01 +0000

The November Market Action Report is in and we have good news: sales activity has increased compared to November 2008. Closed sales were up 72.4% compared to November 2008 and pending sales rose 19.9%. Sale price for November 2009 was down 11.4% from last year.

With the extension of the stimulus, 2010 promises to be an active market.

Click HERE to view the full report

U.S. Treasury Sets Guidance to Simplify Short Sales

lewisjo — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:55:05 +0000

This will certainly change everything. We will find out if this moves forward in 10 days….dare to dream….

Click HERE to view the full article

Mortgage Rates Fall Sharply

lewisjo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:30:25 +0000

As if the extension of the first time home buyer tax credit wasn’t good enough, mortgage rates are down over 2 points from last year. This may just create the perfect scenario for new buyers….

According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was at 4.83% this past week, which is down from 4.91% last week. And….even further down from a year ago at 6.04%.

The best deal of all is a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. The average rate on a 15-year fix fell to 4.32%, the lowest on record.

Pending Home Sales Rise for the 9th Straight Month

lewisjo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:20:49 +0000

This just in: the Business Journal just announced that the National Association of Realtors estimates that pending home sales for existing homes are on the rise for the 9th straight month. The Business Journal also claims that the housing market will stabilize by next summer.

Compared to a year ago, pending homes sales were up 3.1%, which was the biggest annual increase on record.

Oregon Foreclosure Rates

lewisjo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:52:25 +0000

The Portland Tribune recently posted an interesting article on Oregon’s foreclosure rates and according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, Oregon’s foreclosure rates are well below the national level. Oregon has the 31st highest rate in the nation of mortgage foreclosures or loans that are three months past due.

Another interesting fact is that Oregon has a lower-than-average number of homeowners with subprime loans, but a higher-than-average number of homeowners with alternative loans.

Click HERE to view the full article

October Market Action Report Continues to Show Promise

lewisjo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:51:32 +0000

The October Market Action Report is in and the numbers continue to show positive numbers.

Overall inventory on the market was at its lowest point since August of 2007 (the month of the national sub-prime mortgage meltdown). Sales activity continued its upward pace compared to last October. Pending sales were up 64% compared to October of 2008 and closed sales rose 37.1%. New listings were down 4.5%

The 64% jump in pending sales is the largest same-month increase since February of 1996. The 2,009 closed sales this October was the highest total, also since August 2007 and its 37.1% same-month increase is the largest since January of 2005.

Compared to September 2009, closed sales increased 11.6% (2,009 vs 1,800), but pending sales dropped 9.1% (2,079 vs 2,286).

Click on the image to view the full report

Congress Extends First-Time Home buyer Tax Credit

lewisjo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:06:58 +0000

Congress has decided to extend the first time home buyer tax credit!

The new law will extend the $8,000 credit for first-time buyers for sales contracts entered in by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30. New portions of the law include a $6,000 credit for owners of existing homes who are purchasing a new principal residence and a $6,500 tax credit if they have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight.

Additionally, the income eligibility has been raised to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.

The expansion of the tax credit is supposed to generate 180,000 additional home sales in the coming year.