Where's the easiest place in the Baltimore area to sell a home for the full asking price? Catonsville, by one measure.
Real estate brokerage ZipRealty, analyzing the "hottest" and "coldest" ZIP codes in metro areas it tracks, said the average sales price in in 21228 was 99.9 percent of the average listing price during the last three months of the year. That's a difference of $257.
On the other end of the spectrum is 21216 in West Baltimore, where sellers got 87 percent of what they'd asked for. With an average list price of about $103,000, that's a difference of more than $13,000.
Sales price vs. asking price isn't the only measure of a market's health. Sometimes it's just a yardstick of how realistic sellers are being about what buyers will pay. But it's certainly one way to get at the push-and-pull of supply compared with demand.
Here's ZipRealty's full hot-and-cold list:
HOT:
1. Catonsville, 21228. Average listing price: $282,701. Average selling price: $282,444. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 99.9 percent.
2. Laurel, 20723. Average listing price: $319,093. Average selling price: $315,355. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 98.8 percent.
3 (tie). Laurel, 20724. Average listing price: $274,333. Average selling price: $270,062. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 98.4 percent.
3 (tie). Abingdon, 21009. Average listing price: $241,064. Average selling price: $237,295. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 98.4 percent.
5. Nottingham, 21236. Average listing price: $241,716. Average selling price: $237,644. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 98.3 percent.
COLD:
1. Baltimore, 21216. Average listing price: $103,211. Average selling price: $89,783. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 87 percent.
2. Aberdeen, 21001. Average listing price: $253,409. Average selling price: $236,710. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 93.4 percent.
3. Baltimore, 21215. Average listing price: $93,048. Average selling price: $87,131. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 93.6 percent.
4. Baltimore, 21209. Average listing price: $291,610. Average selling price: $273,266. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 93.7 percent.
5. Edgewater, 21037. Average listing price: $521,505. Average selling price: $489,545. Sales price as a percentage of list price: 93.9 percent.
HISTORY OF INTEREST RATES
HOW RATES HAVE TRACKED SINCE 1974
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
JANUARY 21, 2010 FHA ANNOUNCES POLICY CHANGES - PLEASE READ
Announced FHA Policy Changes:
1. Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending
o The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 50 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that the FHA can charge.
o If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP.
o The initial up-front increase is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and will go into effect in the spring.
2. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers.
o New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA's 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%.
o This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
3. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%
o This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
1. Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending
o The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 50 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that the FHA can charge.
o If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP.
o The initial up-front increase is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and will go into effect in the spring.
2. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers.
o New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA's 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%.
o This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
3. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%
o This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
FHA IS TALKING ABOUT SOME CHANGES
Recently the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has come under criticism due to the growing losses they are experiencing in their loan cash reserve funds. The main focus of this criticism is that FHA could possibly go the way of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac in terms of requiring a “bailout” to shore up the reserve funds. Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac purchase loan portfolios and in turn supply the mortgage market with funds to create new mortgages through lending institutions. FHA, on the other hand guarantees mortgages and when an FHA loan goes bad they experience a loss of funds when they step up to their role as a loan guarantee agency.
In order to “stop the bleeding” FHA is considering several changes that will have a negative impact on many FHA prospective customers.
1. Currently a buyer can qualify for an FHA loan and only make a 3.5% down payment. FHA is considering changing this to a minimum of 5%.
2. At this time a buyer may ask for up to a 6% in closing cost assistance. The 6% can be comprised of seller help, realtor credits, lender credits or grant programs like our CDA program. FHA is considering lowering that limit to 3%.
3. FHA is also considering increasing its minimum credit score for borrowers. It is currently around 580 but could be set at over 620.
Let’s look at what this could mean to today’s buyer of a $300,000 home with 3.5% down and 6% in closing assistance. This buyer can effectively purchase the home today for as little as $10,500 out of pocket upfront cost (not including appraisals and inspections). If all of the proposed changes were to be implemented the same buyer would need at least $24,000 to purchase the same home.
Time is of the essence on this new wrinkle. The faster you get into a contract on your home of choice the less chance you have of being caught up in these possible changes.. Let us know how we can help you.
In order to “stop the bleeding” FHA is considering several changes that will have a negative impact on many FHA prospective customers.
1. Currently a buyer can qualify for an FHA loan and only make a 3.5% down payment. FHA is considering changing this to a minimum of 5%.
2. At this time a buyer may ask for up to a 6% in closing cost assistance. The 6% can be comprised of seller help, realtor credits, lender credits or grant programs like our CDA program. FHA is considering lowering that limit to 3%.
3. FHA is also considering increasing its minimum credit score for borrowers. It is currently around 580 but could be set at over 620.
Let’s look at what this could mean to today’s buyer of a $300,000 home with 3.5% down and 6% in closing assistance. This buyer can effectively purchase the home today for as little as $10,500 out of pocket upfront cost (not including appraisals and inspections). If all of the proposed changes were to be implemented the same buyer would need at least $24,000 to purchase the same home.
Time is of the essence on this new wrinkle. The faster you get into a contract on your home of choice the less chance you have of being caught up in these possible changes.. Let us know how we can help you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
