I ran the Journal Jog this morning. Stroller Division. Though my twins are now 3-y.o. and don’t really need to be carted around in a stroller, they still enjoy a nice scenic jog every now and then. We finished a respectable 7th place out of 25 or so strollerists. Not quite as good as last year’s 4th-place finish, but we (they, me) were all younger and lighter then.
The Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007
I’ve received no less than three appeals this week “strongly recommend[ing]” me to contact my Member of Congress to ask for his or her YES vote on H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007 as well as a YES vote on the Frank-Miller-Cardoza amendment.
These “Call to Actions” arrived in my mailbox from both the Nevada Association of REALTORS® as well as the president of the National Associations of REALTORS®.
Among other things this bill and amendment will:
- eliminate the 3% downpayment requirement on FHA loans for first time homebuyers
- raise the single-family FHA loan limits to 125% of area median home prices
- and permit the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to grant additional increases if required by market conditions.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but if distressed homebuyers can’t afford the homes they’re currently in, how does making it easier for first-time home buyers to purchase more expensive homes “return stability to the mortgage market”?
Cumulative Days on Market Field Update
The new interface to our MLS, “Paragon 4”, was installed this past week and with it came the eagerly anticipated “Cumulative Days on Market” and “Cumulative Days on MLS” fields. Recall I posted about this last month.
Anyway, currently it appears these new fields are displaying the same number of days shown in their non-cumulative counterparts. These identical numbers tell me that the CDOM and CDOMLS fields are not retroactive, meaning that the counts will begin now and continue to track going forward. Therefore the data in these new fields will become increasingly more meaningful as time goes on. At any rate I’m glad to see the new fields and will use them going forward whenever I report “Days on Market”.
Recent Comments Now Displayed on Reno Realty Blog
If you haven’t noticed yet, we’re now displaying the ten most recent comments on the left side of the blog. Scroll down and click on the comment of interest.
12 comments
—- “Maybe I’m missing something here, but if distressed homebuyers can’t afford the homes they’re currently in, how does making it easier for first-time home buyers to purchase more expensive homes “return stability to the mortgage market”?—-”
You aren’t missing anything. It is all a big con to make it APPEAR the government is doing something when in fact it cannot do anything.
We have a society based on immediate gratification. Save for a purchase – heck no. Scrimp and save to make a 10% down payment on a house. Heck no: surely someone will make you a 100% mortgage. Just a newly wed couple with college debt and no kids. Go buy a MacMansion: you deserve it.
One of my biggest wonderments is to watch the people buying big screen TVs at the end of April with their tax refund checks. Look at the TVs and then look at their children’s teeth. Something is just not quite right.
SJ
Guy posted:
“Maybe I’m missing something here, but if distressed homebuyers can’t afford the homes they’re currently in, how does making it easier for first-time home buyers to purchase more expensive homes “return stability to the mortgage market”?”
This has absolutely nothing to do with the best interests of the American public, and everything to do with the interests of big business. It’s nothing but a futile attempt, a hair of the dog strategy, to prop up a failing market by generating more buyers while socializing the risk of the loans (FHA = taxpayer takes it on the chin). It’s too little, much too late.
It is also a mirage. It will do nothing to address the problem that nobody still wants to talk about.
AFFORDABILITY.
The propeosed legislation does not sanction liar loans. People will still have to qualify. Qualify based on real, verifiable income. You know, like tax returns and paycheck stubs and employer statements.
So even if Mr. Valet Runner and can get a nothing down 125% LTV loan, he still has to demonstrate he can make the payments. Sorry, he won’t be able to “state” he makes $200,000 and get a loan for $750,000. If he can prove he makes $50,000, he can qualify for about $175,000.
Whole hell of a lot of good that will do him here in Reno.
But, if it gets one more buyer, somewhere, in to one more house, and some realtor, somewhere, makes a payday, of course the NAR supports it. There has never been a better time to buy.
RE: “This has absolutely nothing to do with the best interests of the American public, and everything to do with the interests of big business.”
I could not agree more.
I think most people now see the organizations’ motives clearly and are fed up.
A recent Harris poll finds “realtor” at the bottom of the respect chain, primarily because of the self-serving lies and antics of their representatives in state and national organizations.
http://tinyurl.com/2fh9zh (Freakonomics blog)
RE: “One of my biggest wonderments is to watch the people buying big screen TVs at the end of April with their tax refund checks. Look at the TVs and then look at their children’s teeth. Something is just not quite right.”
Thnk that’s bad? If you were house shopping here in ‘04 or ‘05 on any given night in any given realtor’s or builder’s office, you could see people driving up in 20 year old beaters, with fenders falling off, claiming - WITH A STRAIGHT FACE - they made $100K, $150K/yr.
And, for the most part, they were being written up for the sale, no questions asked.
Nice spelling and grammar RI. I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself, since you feel like you have to note every little typo I make.
Thank god 90% of the people that live in reno are not valet workers.
lmao great analysis
Consider this:
On the NNMLS tonight, in the price range of $350,000 to $360,000, a span of $10,000, there are 174 listings.
Really. You can look it up.
At exactly $350,000, there are 38 listings.
At exactly $359,000, there are 32 listings.
At exactly $360,000, there are 17 listings.
Between $359,001 and $360,000, a range of only $999, there are 32 listings.
So, if you are a seller looking to attract a buyer in the $350K to $360K range, you only have 173 listings to compete against.
To paraphrase the words of Diane Cohn, how can prices not possibly fall from here?
derrick, for crying out loud, please try to keep straight all the other posters that talk about you here.
I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, made a single comment about your spelling. I defy you derrick, I defy you, to cite one single post by me commenting on your spelling.
Come on, idiot, I’m waiting. Refer me to the post.
Oh come now, RI. Do you really want to get into a battle of wits with an unarmed man?
All I know about Derrick from his constantly self-adulating posts is that he, ostensibly, received a sum of money from his family, flipped a few properties in California and Florida, and then moved to Sparks and bought a track home which he improved with some pavers.
Derrick is one of those guys who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. He’s not worth the time.
“Born on third base and thinks he hit a triple?” Priceless SkrapGuy!
But I don’t think you’re giving Derrick enough credit.
He’s told us he’s made more than $1M in taxable income in a year [because he saved $250K in state income taxes] as a result of his family’s stock sales.
He’s told us he’s made more than $100K annually for the last three years on savvy public [i.e., unrelated to his family’s] stock purchases/sales.
He’s told us he doesn’t have a mortgage against his Spanish Springs South home [having overpaid several years ago, that means he must have had $400K or so to place down (BTW, can someone with more knowledge than I about the Assessor’s/Recorder’s web site verify any of this from public records?)].
He’s told us he spent an additional $50K out-of-pocket for upgrades he himself installed on his personal residence [which means he must be a McGiver as well].
And he’s told us he’s only 28 years old.
I wish I’d been born on third base!
Could one of you real estate gurus tell me how I can find out what houses are selling for on an individual basis instead of relying on the monthly market reports? Is there a way other than visiting the court house?
I buy used cars and drive them to death. Doesn’t say anything about my assets ‘cept I’m particularly frugal in that area.