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Monday, April 26, 2010
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21 comments:
Last week before the tax credit deadline.
How many of today's active's will get lucky and get snatched up?
Will those who dropped price get multiple bids to get them back to their initial lists? Will they at least be rewarded with getting those last scramblers or will the price drops be to no avail?
Will those sellers who remain clue in that remaining buyers didn't "take advantage" of the $8k because they can't afford to get what they want at today's prices? How many will delist and how many will drop their prices?
Interesting times. The big game of chicken.
Higher end thaw?
WaPo
Jumbo loans now only 5.8%? Wow. That's low.
Lots of DC-area specific information. Yes, it's just dug out of the MRIS, but it's accumulated over the January to March period which no one on here has done.
CNBC top 10 states for mortgage fraud
Virginia is #10 with a mortgage fraud index of 103, (100 would be the same percentage of incidents as total originations).
"The Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia area accounted for 4 percent of the country's mortgage fraud reports received." (unhelpfully they don't say the MFI here or the percent of originations or a ranking compared to other cities, although Chicago, LA and NY all are bigger chunks of the number of incidents).
MD's #6 with an MFI of 136. Is it just me or does that last set of TH's actually look as if it's really floating?
What do you think the downside risks are to buying a new home in a yet to be developed subdivision in this current macro housing market?
In this case, the builder has completed 2 homes, both have been sold and are occupied, however, most of the other proposed lots are undeveloped at this time - just slabs. The developer is building a couple of homes at a time and selling them prior to starting the next couple. This development isn't in the DC area (West Coast).
Jaime-
The problem with buying a new development is that if housing falls most people would be underwater, which causes the number of foreclosure and short sales to increase dramatically. If you buy into a established neighborhood even if housing falls some many people will still be above water.
There are only 19 homes over 800K in my zip that are on the market. One home sold pre-list in the upper 900's recently. Zero reo's or shorts.
But, wait for the crash....and that shadow inventory. I've seen exactly zip, zilch, zero vacant homes. So much for any shadow around here.
Va,
The WaPo article was essentially saying that the >$800k market was either getting better or poised to get better through the thawing both of sales and the mortgage markets.
(my initial post was with respect to my entry level market).
Hi All,
Park Place Condominium in Alexandria is a great buy. We have a new website and are located walking distance to the BRAC-133 site.
www.parkplaceva.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIp17y4-5AA&feature=player_embedded
Awesome. I would love to be lulled to sleep by the white noise of Shirley Highway right outside my window.
Add in the charm of 1960s apartment architecture combined with the privilege of paying a $688/month condo fee..hey, where do I sign???
PS-LOL at these reviews. Sounds like a nasty roach and mold problem as well as "nosy old people."
forgot the link!
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Alexandria-Park-Place-Condominium.html
Cara,
Been watching a lot of the properties we looked at. Some of them are selling. The next best property sold even faster to contract than us, which is impressive. They got list + seller subsidy, which too all intents and purposes looks like it was DPA, which is scary.
Several others have been 'temporarily' removed from the market. Others still sit, though most are at some stage of contract. Anything good seems to be moving fast. So if it hasn't moved, it isn't good. Drop the price. Last week for it, as you noted.
Xpovos,
DPA?
Harriet,
Did you want to remove the spam advertising post (not Meshell's :-))?
DPA = Down Payment Assistance.
The Anonymous,
Oooo, Thanks. Some mornings I'm less bright than others.
Xpovos,
Well money is fungible, so not having to pay closing costs does free up savings to be used for the DP. But without knowing how much they put down it's hard to say how scary it is. Actual DPA such that the seller subsidizes both the DP and the closing costs is not allowed anymore, so the buyer had to have _some_ minimal skin in the game. (I think. It's possible that there are still zero down VA loans).
VA_Investor: I have a feeling that if our current house hadn't sold, it would have gone REO.
During the closing, we were shocked to learn that the owners, whose mortgage should have been paid down almost half-way, as they had bought in the early 90s, instead had a mortgage that was several hundred $k more than the original purchase price. So, instead of owing $200k, they owed $500k (or was it $600k?). What upgrading they did do, although tasteful, can not remotely account for mortgage. As an added bonus, we've been getting phone calls from creditors looking for the previous owners.
That might sound like an anomaly, but after talking to the neighbors + recalling all of the houses I looked at in the area, I get the feeling that a lot of these upper middle-class folks are barely making it. They put up a nice facade, but I've seen too many places decorated with Walmart furniture.
Cara,
I've been off board a few days, so I missed the chance to respond.
What's really creepy (to me) is that the seller subsidy was exactly 3% of the list price.
We saw the house, it needed to be remodeled--but it was very livable if you liked that particular style. So barring anything major in the home inspection...
Xpovos,
Well and if they will be getting the $8k buyer credit it really could be no skin in the game. (although it will be months before they get that back even if they postponed filing their 2009 taxes or file a 1040X).
But for FHA loans these days, closing costs can easily be 3%. I think (but I could be wrong) that's also the maximum allowable seller subsidy for FHA. (6%?? is allowable for conventional, although one would think it was very uncommon).
In any case you were right, I forgot the potential $8k when thinking the buyer still had to have skin right now.
Have you closed yet btw?
Cara,
Friday. Yay! *panic*
Xpovos
Good luck!!! It will all be fine. Everyone involved at this point wants this to happen, it will all get done.
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