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More Americans Confident they can get Mortgages

marshfieldmatters — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:48:28 +0000

By Kerri Ann Panchuk • December 10, 2012 • HousingWire.com

The housing slowdown may have been accompanied by an inability for potential homeowners to obtain mortgages, but the latest Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows movement on the mortgage consumption-front.

For the month of November, 51% of survey respondents said it would now be easier to obtain a mortgage. This larger vote of confidence suggests tighter lending standards may be easing enough to grant more credit access.

Overall confidence in housing is up somewhat, with 14% of those interviewed believing home prices will go up in the next 12 months, a four-percentage point hike from the previous month. Twenty-three percent of survey respondents believe it’s a good time to sell a home, up 5-percentage points from October.

This is the highest rating of confidence since the survey’s inception more than a year earlier, the GSE said. In addition, 67% of the survey respondents said they would buy if they had to move in the near future.

The Fannie Mae November survey, which is the result of 1,001 interviews with Americans, concluded that consumer attitudes towards the economy and housing market are improving.

Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae, noted that 11 of the national housing survey indicators evaluated by Fannie Mae are “at or near their two-and-a-half-year highs.” About 44% of Americans believe the economy is now on the right track, and only 50% say it’s on the wrong track, which is 25-percentage point decline over the past year. The small gap between those two indicators suggests more improvement in overall economic confidence.

The number of survey respondents who foresee an increase in mortgage rates jumped 4 percentage points to 41%.

Respondents expecting home prices to fall over the next year rose by 4 percentage points to 14% over the previous month, while the number who expect home prices to go up over the next 12 months edged up to 37%.

Americans also seem more confident in their own financial situations, but remain worried the fiscal cliff will put them in worse shape next year. 18%, up 5 percentage points, felt that their personal financial situation would get worse over the next 12 months.

56% of respondents expect their household expenses to remain the same when compared to a year earlier.

kpanchuk@housingwire.com

Survey Shows More Reason to Buy Than Rent

kbargers — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:58:14 +0000

Survey Shows More Reason to Buy Than Rent Daily Real Estate News (Monday, May 07, 2012)… Thirty-thre

3 Questions you must Answer when Buying a Home

marshfieldmatters — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:27:58 +0000

Posted: 17 Apr 2012, KCM Blog

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. And some of that advice is probably negative. Why buy now with prices still falling? Don’t you realize real estate is no longer a good investment? Don’t you know that people who bought six years ago lost their shirt? We understand the concern your friends and family have. However, let’s look at whether or not now is actually the perfect time to buy a home.

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. What are the experts recommending?

In the last 120 days, many experts have said that buying now makes sense. This list includes: John Talbott, Christopher Thornberg and Warren Buffett.

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?

This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010. They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2016. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to remain relatively flat in 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2016.

Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: you want to buy low and sell high. This decision should not only be a financial one however.

That leads us to our third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money: A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education A place where you and your family feel safe More space for you and your family Control of the space

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason you decide to purchase or not.

Bottom Line

Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.
Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” …… click LIKE to receive real estate info and whats happening in Marshfield.

Americans more likely to Buy, Not Rent, According to GSE Survey

marshfieldmatters — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:15 +0000

04/09/2012 By: Esther Cho, DSNews.com

According to the March 2012 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, 48 percent of Americans who responded expect rental prices to increase, and the expectation is that prices will rise by 4.1 percent over the next 12 months, the highest number recorded to date and an increase from the 3.5 percent recorded in February.
Also, 33 percent of respondents expect home prices to go up over the next 12 months, a 5 percent increase from last month. Americans project prices will go up by 0.9 percent over the same time period.

With expectations for an increase in rental prices and the value of homes, a large percentage, 73 percent, said now is a good time to buy, a 3 percent increase from last month, while only 14 percent said it is a good time to sell.

If respondents were going to move, 66 percent they would buy a home, while 30 percent of respondents said they would rent.

“Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes,” said Doug Duncan, VP and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that homeownership is a more compelling housing choice.”

Americans are also showing optimism about their finances, with only 12 percent thinking their personal financial situation will worsen and 44 percent expecting improvements.

Though, when it comes to the economy, the respondents were more pessimistic, with 58 percent of respondents who said the economy is on the wrong track, and 35 percent who said the economy is on the right track.

Those who expect to see mortgage rates go up increased by 5 percent, at 39 percent, while 48 percent expect rates to stay the same, down 2 percent from February.

The survey represents a national sample of 1,000 respondents aged 18 and older, polled between March 1, 2011 and March 28, 2012.

Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” …… click LIKE to receive real estate info and what’s happening in Marshfield.

Americans More Optimistic About Housing, Economy

kbargers — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:14:27 +0000

Article by: Fannie Mae Americans More Optimistic About Housing, Economy Americans’ concerns over hou

Consumer Sentiment Improving, Fannie Mae Survey Shows

marshfieldmatters — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:25:22 +0000

02/08/2012 By: Esther Cho, DSNews.com

Respondents from a Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for January 2012 expressed expectations for home prices to increase by 1 percent over the next 12 months, and most Americans continue to expect no change in mortgage rates.

This marks the fourth month in a row consumer expectation was positive.

“The Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates low beyond 2014, extending their prior time frame of mid-2013 announced in the summer, appears to have been reflected in the rising share of consumers expecting the rate to remain near record low levels for another year,” said Doug Duncan, VP and chief economist for Fannie Mae.

“At the same time, consumers expect home prices to rise over the next year, extending the streak of rising home price expectations to four months. If the employment market continues to strengthen, it is unlikely that the Fed

will be able to keep its low interest pledge for long, and a more meaningful housing recovery may not be far behind if consumers are faced with the prospect of rising mortgage rates and home prices amid increased job security,” said Duncan.

The Fannie Mae survey polled 1,000 Americans through a telephone interview to assess attitudes towards different areas of the mortgage industry, including owning and renting, rates, homeownership distress, and the economy.

Homeowners and renters interviewed were asked more than 100 questions to track attitudinal shifts, and the survey was conducted between January 9 and January 27, 2012.

Survey Highlights

*The percentage of respondents who said the economy is on the right track was at 30 percent, an 8 percent increase since last November. The percentage who said the economy is on the wrong track was at 63 percent, a 6 point decrease since last November.

*While 51 percent of respondents expect home prices to stay the same, 28 percent said they expect prices to rise, which is a 2 point increase since last month. Sixteen percent said they expect prices to decline.

*Forty-four percent of respondents said their personal financial situation will get better over the next 12 months, as opposed to the 41 percent who said it will stay the same.

For more information on the survey, go to www.fanniemae.com/portal/research-and-analysis/housing-monthly.html?

Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” ….. click LIKE to receive real estate info and what’s happening in Marshfield.

3 Questions You Must Answer Before Buying a Home

andreacueny — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:40:24 +0000

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. And most of that advice is probably negative. Why buy now with prices still falling? Don’t you realize real estate is no longer a good investment? Don’t you know that people who bought five years ago lost their shirt?

We understand the concern your friends and family have. However, let’s look at whether or not now is actually the perfect time to buy a home.

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. Why should I buy if house prices are still depreciating?

In an article last week CNN Money reported:

“You can kiss those record lows goodbye,” said Greg McBride, chief economist for Bankrate.com.

Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates, a provider of mortgage information said that the market reached a new plateau.

“I don’t think we’re going back to a 50-year low anytime soon without an economic collapse,” he said. “Rates will probably never revisit those levels.”

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?

This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010. They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2015. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to soften until 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2015.

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education

A place where you and your family feel safe

More space for you and your family

Control of the space

Bottom Line

The COST of a home will probably remain relatively unchanged even if prices continue to depreciate. Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

There’s more great information in this article from The KCM Blog. Please read the entire article on three questions you must answer before buying a home.