Claudette's Blog

While some homebuyers have been complacent in taking their time to find a home to buy in Massachusetts, I recently noticed a trend of more and more homes quickly going under agreement.  This has been occurring with more frequency as home sales have unexpectedly surged.  

Sales had been expected to fall this season; however they have, jumped 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.72 million as of last month.  Here in the Northeast, sales rose 15.6% to an annualized rate of 740,000 units and are down 14.9% from a year ago

Nationally, the increase in sales  has been the largest increase since July 2003. 

The inventory of homes on the market is now approximately a 9.7 month supply which is still well below the 11.2 month supply in November. 

Although existing home sales remain at lows that have not been seen in more than a decade, economists have been buoyed by recent housing news which has helped to fuel the stock market this week. 

One of the factors that may be driving the escalation in sales is the record number of foreclosure properties which have encouraged bargain hunters to enter the market looking for their dream deals.  The discounts on foreclosure properties have also caused the regular housing inventory to lower its prices inducing an even deeper buyers' market. 

Record low mortgage rates have also been a motivating factor.  Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have remained below 5% this week, falling to the lowest level since mid-January and skimming all-time lows, according to a survey by Freddie Mac.

The latest report comes at the same time as the government has announced its plan to buy more than $1 trillion in assets - a move that is intended to drive rates on mortgages down further. 

Interest rates on mortgages hit an all-time low of 4.96% in January and have continued that trend, enticing homeowners to refinance and home buyers to enter the market.  In the wake of the Fed's announcement this week, rates are expected to fall even further.  These lower rates along with declining home prices are presenting more opportunities to home buyers.  

As entry-level buyers seek out bargains, move-up buyers are also searching for opportunities that may not come again soon.

Copyright 2009 - Claudette Millette, President, TheBuyersCounsel -  800-392-1446, E-mail    

The Obama administration recently announced details on its $75 billion plan to help 9 million homeowners. 

This plan may benefit more than 100,000 Massachusetts homeowners who have, up to now, been unable to refinance at current low rates due to falling property values. 

Under the new plan eligible borrowers with loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to obtain new mortgages at currently lower rates, regardless of the amount of equity they have in their homes.  Even homeowners who are somewhat underwater, that is, the value of their home is less than what they owe on the mortgage, may be able to refinance. 

The full details of President Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan are being referred to as "Making Home Affordable" and millions of homeowners are clicking into the government's new Web site, financialstability.gov, to find out if they qualify for refinancing under the plan. 

The basic qualifications 

• The home you want to refinance is your primary home.
• Your loan is controlled by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and must be a conforming loan.  You can call Fannie at 1-800-7FANNIE and Freddie at 1-800-FREDDIE or submit online form at Fannie or Freddie.
• You must be current on your mortgage payments (you haven't been more than 30 days late on your payments in the last 12 months.)
• Your loan-to-value ratios (LTV) should be above 80 percent but not more than 105 percent.
• You must have sufficient income to support a new mortgage.

There are a growing number of homeowners in Massachusetts who were sensible borrowers but their homes have plummeted in value.  In the face of any loss of income, they are at risk of foreclosure.  The current plan is a serious attempt to stop the wave of foreclosures and halt the decline in home values. 

According to The Warren Group, a quarter of a million borrowers in Massachusetts fit the profile of not having enough equity in their homes to refinance.  About half of them hold loans that are guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie.  Across the country, more than 8.3 million mortgaged properties are underwater, according to a report released by First American CoreLogic. 

The goal of the Obama plan is to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages.  The program is currently scheduled to run until June of 2010.

Related Articles:

Taking Advantage of the $8000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Massachusetts Prepares for its Share of the Stimulus Money

Massachusetts Housing Report

Update - $15000 Home Buyer Tax Credit Cut From Stimulus Bill

Copyright 2009 - Claudette Millette, President, TheBuyersCounsel -  800-392-1446, E-mail    

Learn More about Massachusetts Home Buyer Representation - Greater Boston and MetroWest Massachusetts -  Serving Massachusetts Home Buyers Since 1992 

  Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, Newton, Northborough, Framingham, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Westborough 

In a time when state and community budgets are being stretched beyond limits, is it a good idea to think about regionalizing public health services?  The MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation thinks so. 

In a preliminary stage of exploration, eight of the area's smaller towns have been invited to meet with officials to discuss the possibility of health care regionalization as a way to save money.  To add another spark to the discussion, a new state law has recently reformed how regional public health districts are to be created. 

Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, Sherborn, Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln and Weston have been asked to participate in a March 17 meeting to see if there is adequate interest in pursuing the possibility of regionalization.  It seems that in a time of state and local budget constraints, perhaps having one board of health for each town could be considered as overkill. 

Rather than having each individual town taking on the responsibility and expense of every health concern, the idea is to pool the efforts of a number of towns, particularly on matters such as restaurant inspections and nurse's services.  Another issue for consideration is how a regional health agency could have staff on call 24 hours every day of the year. 

Additionally, there are concerns about preventative kinds of activities such as smoking cessation and curbing substance abuse that could have positive effects and improve the public health. 

A law that was recently passed allows towns to join an existing regional health district which is something they could not do in the past.  It also gives local boards of health voting power on creating a regional district.  Previously, only Town Meetings could vote on the idea.  

At the present time, the longest standing multi-community collaboration is the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health (NABH) which was created in 1931 and serves fourteen municipalities located in the central part of the state. 

Perhaps it could serve as an example of something more to come.

While some home buyers have been spurred on by current prices in Massachusetts, low interest rates and a huge inventory, there is now another reason to pull the trigger on a home purchase this year. 

As of March 26, 2009 there is a new economic stimulus tax credit that is providing a great opportunity for first-time home buyers. 

A first-time homebuyer is defined as anyone or their spouse who has either never owned a home or has not owned a home for at the past three years.  

Although there is much debate about whether or not the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will actually stimulate the economy, this portion of the plan can help to make it more affordable for some homebuyers to get into the market. 

 Qualifications:

• To get the full credit you will need to live in the home for three years.
• Ownership of a vacation property does not disqualify you.
• The limit on your modified adjusted gross income is $75,000 for a single taxpayer and $150,000 for married couples. Above those limits some partial tax credits are available.
• You must use the home you buy as your principal residence rather than a second home or investment property.
• The home must be purchased between January 1 and December 1 of 2009.

Benefits:

• An $8,000 tax credit or $10% of the purchase price of your home.
• Unlike the previously offered $7,500 credit which was actually a low interest loan, the current tax credit does not have to be paid back. 

If you have been holding back from making a home purchase this is a chance to put $8,000 back into your  pocket in the process. 

Couple that with The Buyers' Counsel's 20% cash back rebate and you have further inspiration to check out what this current housing market has to offer. 

Copyright 2009 - Claudette Millette, President, TheBuyersCounsel -  800-392-1446, E-mail    

Learn More about Massachusetts Home Buyer Representation - Greater Boston and MetroWest Massachusetts -  Serving Massachusetts Home Buyers Since 1992 

  Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, Newton, Northborough, Framingham, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Westborough