Santa Clara County Real Estate sales for Single Family started in a slump this year. 556 Single Family sales is the lowest total since February 2008. Even the Median/Average Price took a dip both from last month and the same month from a year back. This is the 15th month in a row the median price for homes have been lower than a year before. Get all the statistics in the table below.

Santa Clara County Condominium Market Report:

Condo Sales too were off 38% from a month back, but up slightly from January 2011. The median prices too were up compared to last year. Find all the condo stats in the table below.

Remember Real Estate is very local in nature. So the county statistics may or may not reflect the activities in your neighborhood. Subscribe to our Santa Clara County Market Report to remain updated or contact me at 408.615.0655 to know more about how is the market in your neighborhood if you are interested in buying or selling.

New HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program), also called Obama Government Refinance Program is expected to be fully launched on March 17, 2012. Even though the program was announced in December, 2011 the lenders have been slow in offering this new and enhanced program to California homeowners with underwater mortgages. One of the reasons was that Fannie Mae hasn’t made changes to it’s internal underwriting system for these loans to be underwritten.

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In a recent announcement however, Fannie Mae mentioned that the necessary changes will be made to their system during the weekend of March 17, 2012. The biggest change is about the maximum Loan to Value Ratio to be allowed. This is what the communication says:

The maximum LTV (Loan to Property Value) ratio is being removed for  fixed-rate mortgages with terms up to 30 years.The maximum LTV ratio limits for all occupancy and property types are:

• No maximum LTV ratio for fixed-rate mortgage loan with terms up to 30 years.
• A maximum LTV ratio of 105% for fixed-rate mortgage loan with terms greater than 30 years up to 40 years, and for adjustable rate mortgage loan  with initial fixed periods greater than or equal to five years and terms up to 40 years.

If your current loan was closed on or before April 2009 and you have made your last 6 payments on time – you may qualify for much lower interest rates with the new HARP – Home Affordable Refinance Program. Call me at 408.615.0655 or email me at Shashank@ArcusLending.com and I can advise you of the next steps.

The Real Estate sales is expected to inch higher, while mortgage production volume is predicted to go down , according to economists at Fannie Mae.

The second half of the year should outpace the first six months in terms of growth, though fiscal policy and political uncertainty in Washington will likely drive consumer and business activity, the mortgage giant said.

Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan said -

Positive consumer activity and challenges in housing and the global economy will equate to moderate growth for the year. We’re entering 2012 with decent momentum, especially on the employment side, which is fostering positive household and consumer behavior. Unfortunately, we expect this momentum to slow as we move through the first half of the year.

This recently released report forecast total home sales to increase 3.5% to about 4.74 million in 2012 from 2011 with another 5% gain in 2013 to nearly 5 million. New home sales could jump 10.4% for 2012.

Mortgage originations volume in dollar terms could see a decline in 2012, largely on a steep drop in refinances. The Fannie report said total originations will fall to $1.01 trillion in 2012 from a predicted final 2011 tally of $1.36 trillion. Economists expected refinancing to plummet to $540 billion from $894 billion. I am not sure if Fannie Mae accounted for steep jump in refinances that new HARP 2.0 (Home Affordable Refinance Program) is expected to bring with it’s full launch in March 2012.

Purchase mortgages, however, will rise to $471 billion in 2012 from a estimated 2011 total of $464, according to the report.

Total single-family outstanding mortgage debt will likely drop 1.3% to $10.14 trillion in 2012.

I recently read an article on Yahoo! Real Estate talking about 5 cities that are ripe for a Real Estate rebound in 2012. The list was compiled by Forbes.com. I wasn’t surprised to see San Jose, CA making the list. Jump in New Home Construction, Better Employment and increase in migration is going to contribute to this rebound. San Jose Real Estate Market Report shows the city sold more homes in 2011 compared to 2010 even with a very low level of inventory – a stats not many city can boast of.

This is what Forbes had to say about the report:

The Golden State has gotten a lot of attention for its economic woes, but San Jose is a veritable oasis of prosperity. Employment in the capital of Silicon Valley is expected to expand 3.3% this year and it logged net in-migration in 2010 of 4,840 people. Job and population growth are fueling housing demand: New home construction in the area was up a whopping 97% in 2011’s third quarter compared with the year earlier.

All of the cities that made our list share one common factor: a relatively strong job market. “For real estate to do well you want to see two things: that incomes are growing rapidly like they are in a market like San Jose … and that the growth in jobs attracts other people to that market,” says Ingo Winzer, founder and president of Local Market Monitor. However, job growth should be looked at as a bullish housing indicator only if the unemployment rate is already relatively low – that suggests local companies are creating new jobs rather than rehiring for positions they cut during the recession.

Other Cities Included –

• Boston, MA
• Houston, TX
• Pittsburg, PA
• New Orleans, LA

If you are considering to buy in the San Jose Metropolitan area or the rest of California, I can help you get a free pre-approval. Apply Online or email me at Shashank@ArcusLending.com.

In an effort to continue stabilizing home values, Acting Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Carol J. Galante has today extended FHA’s temporary waiver of the anti-flipping regulations through December 31, 2012.

With certain exceptions, FHA regulations prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days.  In 2010, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, and later extended that waiver through the remainder of 2011.  The new extension will permit buyers to continue to use FHA loans to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales. It will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.

All other terms of the existing Waiver will remain the same.  The Waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to prevent the predatory practice of property flipping, in which properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers.  The Waiver continues to be limited to sales meeting the following conditions:

• All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.

• In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the Waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions and documents the justification for the increase in value.

• The Waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

You may also like to read – FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium goes up again

I am extremely delighted to report that National Mortgage Professionals Magazine has voted me as “Top 40 Under 40″ most influential mortgage professionals. In a rigorous process that involves nationwide voting and a review by the magazine judges – only the best in the country are chosen.

While selecting me as one of the winners, the magazine noted –

Shashank Shekhar is the chief Executive Officer of Arcus Lending, Author of the Blog LendingExpertBlog and author of 2 books on Real Estate. A Social Media expert, Shashank helps incorporate social media ideas in to his customer’s daily business plans and is always wiiling to help others in their advances of business and Social Media. Within 3 years of originating loans Shashank is closing more than $30 million in personal production in 2011 by building one of the strongest brands in the San Francisco Bay Area Region.

I would like to thank all the people who voted for me and all my clients and referral partners who played an important role in helping me get voted for such an important recognition. Here is the electronic copy of the Magazine that has a complete list of the award winners (some of whose I am honored to call my close friends).

Just few hours back, President Obama signed a bill reinstalling  the FHA Jumbo Limit back for several high cost counties in  California to $729,750 (from the recently reduced $625,500).  The bill comes into immediate effect, meaning FHA can start  insuring the $729,750 Loan Amounts right away. The restored  loan amount is good till Dec 2013.

Senate approved it 70-30, which was preceded by the House  passing the bill 298-121. The senate has earlier in the month  approved an amendment to the bill to restore the $729,750 loan  limits for FHA and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. But the Joint Appropriations Committee left the GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) out. That means conforming high balance limit (also called Conforming Jumbos) stayed at $625,500.

While the restoration of FHA High-Balance Limit is a great news for all the High-Cost counties in the country, especially California – leaving out Conforming Loans is a bit of a disappointment. In fact Rep. John Campbell R-Calif, did try to make a case on the house floor to reinstate the Conforming Loan Limits as well citing concerns that the Real Estate market is not healthy enough for the Government to take out its lifeline.

On the other hand FHA acting Commissioner Carole Galante didn’t seem happy at all that the FHA Loan Limits are being restored.  Galante said “We maintain its appropriate to take a step back on the loan limits”.

The restored FHA Loan Limits will impact many high-cost counties in California. In San Francisco Bay Area, Counties like Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and San Francisco will be eligible for the $729,750 FHA loan amount again.

If you are unsure of what the FHA Loan Amount Limit for your county is, you can check that here.

If you are looking to Refinance or Purchase a home using an FHA Loan, we are an approved FHA Direct Lender and can help you get the right loan at a great rate. Contact us at 408.615.0655 or email us at Info@ArcusLending.com.

If you are interested in reading more posts about FHA Loans, you can go to http://lendingexpertblog.com/category/fha-loans/

Guidelines Released for California New HARP 2 – Obama Government Refinance

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac today released the guidelines for the new expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), also called Obama Government Refinance program. Here’s 8 things you need to know:

1. The program starts on December 1st, 2011 and goes till December 31st, 2013.
2. The loan must be currently owned/serviced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Go here to find if your loan qualifies.
3. The loan must have closed before June 2009.
4. The program allows for unlimited LTV (Loan to Value Ratio). What that means is that it does not matter how much underwater you are on your mortgage, you may still qualify. This applies to loans with fixed rate mortgages with terms up to 30 years.
5. You can not have any late mortgage payments in last 6 months and no more than 1 late payment between 7-12 months.
6. You must receive a benefit in form of reduced mortgage payment or a more stable loan product like moving from ARM to a Fixed rate mortgage.
7. Property currently listed for sale are eligible for the new HARP.
8. You do not need to use your current servicer and can use any lender that offers this program which includes us.

Disclaimer – These are the official Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac guidelines. The lenders may have their own guidelines, called “overlays” where they may not allow some of the provisions of these guidelines.

Contact us at 408.615.0655 or Info@ArcusLending.com so that we can guide you in the right direction. And should you qualify we can offer a no closing cost loan option with industry leading customer service.

The expanded HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program), also called Obama’s Refinance Program is moving along. Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all released statements last week in support of HARP 2.0.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency had earlier announced the framework for the expanded HARP. Some of the guidelines include:

• The loan should currently be owned or serviced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• The loan should have closed before June 2009
• No double dipping – so if you have already availed of a HARP Refinance, you can’t do it again.
• You must not have missed any payments in last six months (since April 24) or have more than 1 missed payment in last year.
• Appraisal may not be required in some cases.

There are over 10 million homeowners underwater and this expanded HARP 2.0 will (at best) help only 10% of that. More specific guidelines are expected around mid to late November and it should be available for the homeowners at the beginning of December. I am particularly interested to see if all the banks would agree completely to the FHFA guidelines. Almost all the lenders have the tendency to have their own “overlays” on top of Government guidelines, which restrict financing to all eligible borrowers.

If you would like to know more about the program or if you would like to find out if you qualify, contact us at 408.615.0655 or Info@ArcusLending.com.

San Jose Real Estate Single Family Market Report

Both Median and Average Price went up for San Jose Single Family Market in October 2011 compared to September. But still remained lower compared to last year. However, number of sales was much higher than same month last year. The table below has more statistics:

San Jose Real Estate Condominium Market Report

Median Price for San Jose Condominiums remained almost the same compared to last month and also from the same month last year. Number of Condominium sales was up from last month and also from October 2010. The table below has all the statistics for Condo Sales in San Jose in October 2011:

Real Estate is extremely local. So check out here the real estate market report for San Jose neighborhoods. And if you are planning to Buy, Sell or Refinance and would like an estimate on the value of a house, contact me at 408.615.0655 or my email Shashank@ArcusLending.com.