Jeffrey Tung's Real Estate Blog » hardships http://jefftung.net Realty World - Success Plans, Inc. Serving you since 1986 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:24:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Mixed messages http://jefftung.net/2011/11/04/mixed-messages/ http://jefftung.net/2011/11/04/mixed-messages/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:46:39 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=569 In the past few weeks the real estate market showed multiple signs of a rebound of some sort.  In 20 metropolitan areas prices rose 0.2% in August but were still down 3.8% year over year.  This may all change soon.  In September, pending sales were down 4.6%.  Could this be another beginning of a triple dip?  With Freddie Mac requesting for another $6 billion of your tax money and holding about 60,000 REOs from the market, which will take approx. 15 years to sell off, I don’t think our country’s rebound in a lot of areas will happen anytime soon and hope that the triple dip is not too severe.

Some help is on the way.  The Federal Housing Financing Agency is trying to help change the market.  They are making a few changes to the Home Affordable Refinancing Program to attract more borrowers and stimulate the mortgage industry and helping more homeowners.  The National Association of REALTORS are also concerned with the state of our real estate market and has a 5 point plan that could get us out of this triple dip situation and stabilize the market.  With any change, it will take a while for the changes to make a difference.  Let’s hope that it won’t be too long.

]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/11/04/mixed-messages/feed/ 2 Foreclosures are up in the third quarter!! http://jefftung.net/2011/10/24/foreclosures-are-up-in-the-third-quarter/ http://jefftung.net/2011/10/24/foreclosures-are-up-in-the-third-quarter/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:11:37 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=564 There has been more then 610,000 foreclosures last month and represents a 1% increase then the previous quarter.  On average it took 336 days to complete the foreclosure process nation wide.  New York took 986 days to complete the process while Texas only took 86 days.  Wow, Texas seems to be doing something different. 

President Obama is expected to help struggling homeowners with their mortgage payments.  The Wall Street Journal reports,  ”The administration’s plan is expected to eliminate “appraisals and extensive underwriting requirements for most borrowers” who are up-to-date on their mortgage and want to refinance at a lower rate”.  This should help those who have been keeping up with their payments and were looking for assistance in avoiding foreclosure. 

While most the country is having foreclosure problems, there are areas that are still doing well.  These areas are the most expensive areas in the United States.  The economy today doesn’t seem to hurt these types of properties.  In fact, it seems to have increased the sales activity  in this  price range.

]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/10/24/foreclosures-are-up-in-the-third-quarter/feed/ 7 How is your house doing? http://jefftung.net/2011/09/17/how-is-your-house-doing/ http://jefftung.net/2011/09/17/how-is-your-house-doing/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:03:06 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=546 In many areas in the nation, there are areas that are cheaper to buy a home then to rent.  You now can find a home for $100,000 in New York and through out the country including Hawaii. 

It may seem like some areas have not been affected by the economy but that is not true.   The properties that sell really quickly are usually the cream of the neighborhood.   

The Bay Area has been hit as well but not as bad as other areas.  It will be a while before we get out of this mess.

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/09/17/how-is-your-house-doing/feed/ 2 How much is your home today? http://jefftung.net/2011/09/09/how-much-is-your-home-today/ http://jefftung.net/2011/09/09/how-much-is-your-home-today/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:42:50 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=541 The economy has driven our home values down and there is no end in site.  Many areas in the nation has experienced major price reductions.  Not all areas have been hit but California has 6 areas that had the largest drop in value out of the top 10 areas nationwide.   The prices have decreased more then 60% from 5 years ago.  This situation will not get any better anytime soon due to the 1,000,000+ foreclosures that the banks are holding this year and another 1,000.000+ foreclosures in next 2 years.  It will take a few years to sell off all of the phantom inventory before any appreciation can be realized in these areas.    

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/09/09/how-much-is-your-home-today/feed/ 1 Senate proposing to make financing harder http://jefftung.net/2011/05/29/senate-proposing-to-make-financing-harder/ http://jefftung.net/2011/05/29/senate-proposing-to-make-financing-harder/#comments Sun, 29 May 2011 19:47:21 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=518 The Senate is proposing to change the FHA down payment to 5% and decrese the loan limits.  Why make it harder to qualify for a loan when FHA is critical in providing affordable financing to help decrease the growing foreclosed properties.  Currently the nation’s largest lending institutions own more then 872,000 homes which is twice that of 2007.  It will take 400 days for lenders to foreclose on the home and 176 days to sell it.  This will make our recovery even slower.  Although financing isn’t the only factor to a recovery, it is one of the most important factor to decrease the ever growing inventory.

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/05/29/senate-proposing-to-make-financing-harder/feed/ 0 Keep Your Home California http://jefftung.net/2011/04/10/keep-your-home-california/ http://jefftung.net/2011/04/10/keep-your-home-california/#comments Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:23:13 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=490 The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) is administering $2 billion in federal funds for borrowers who are at risk of losing their homes.  Borrowers who took out loans after January 1, 2009 are eligible for 4 different programs as long as the property is a primary resident, meet income requirements, and face a documented financial hardship.      

The four programs are the following:

  • The Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMA) which will help homeowners with their mortgage payments.  
  • The Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program (MRAP) which provides funds for  homeowners who have fallen behind in their payments
  • The Transition Assistance Program which provides relocation assistance
  • The Principal Reduction Program (PRP) which provides funds to reduce the outstanding principal balance.

GMAC, Guild Mortgage, CalHFA, and California Dept. of Veterans Affairs are the organization that offers all 4 programs.

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/04/10/keep-your-home-california/feed/ 0 Is the market really turning around? http://jefftung.net/2011/03/06/is-the-market-really-turning-around/ http://jefftung.net/2011/03/06/is-the-market-really-turning-around/#comments Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:44:27 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=459 In January, pending home sales declined however, the data is based on contracts signed in January not closings.  According to Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, “The housing market is healing with sales fluctuating at times, depending on the flow of distressed properties coming on the market,” he said.  He expects the recovery will be a straight upward path because there is still an elevated level of shadow inventory of distressed homes and interest rates are still historically low.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, there are plenty of signs that the housing market finally bottoming out.  If investors and buyers continue to take advantage of the most affordable housing in decades, prices will probably bottom out in 2011.   

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/03/06/is-the-market-really-turning-around/feed/ 0 Foreclosures are up http://jefftung.net/2011/02/17/foreclosures-are-up/ http://jefftung.net/2011/02/17/foreclosures-are-up/#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 01:28:14 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=419 Lenders have foreclosed on 78,133 properties in January, which is up by 12% from the previous month but it is 11% less then a year ago.  Although there has been an increase in default notices, auctions, and bank repossessions in January, it is encouraging to know that the increase is 17% less then a year ago. 

5 states are responsible for more then 50% of the nation’s total foreclosure activity; California, Florida, Michigan, Arizona and Illinois.  Nevada was the hardest hit state with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation.  Bank repossessions increased 16% from December which is more then  5 times the national average.  Even though we are seeing more foreclosures, they are less then what it was a year ago.  Let’s hope that this is a good sign that we might be on the right track to recovery.   

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/02/17/foreclosures-are-up/feed/ 0 Home sales rebound in 49 states http://jefftung.net/2011/02/11/home-sales-rebound-in-49-states/ http://jefftung.net/2011/02/11/home-sales-rebound-in-49-states/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:19:02 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=415 During the 4th quarter of 2010,  over half of the metropolitan areas have experienced price gains from a year ago, but the rest of the areas did not.  NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun is encouraged by the trend and says the sales in the last quarter of 2010 has absorbed much of the inventory including distress properties.  This could be a good sign that we may be recovering.  With the continued improvement of the market and more jobs become available, the market will be back to normal. 

Interest rates have been a big factor in sustaining the sales of homes.  Last year we have seen interest rates at its all time low, but the rates have been inching up.  This is a reaction to the housing recovery that we might be experiencing.  We may never see rates lower then 5% in the future.  In my 30 years of working in this industry, I thought I would never see interest rates lower than 6%, but it did happen.  If you’re planning to finance a purchase or refinancing an existing property, you may want to do it now before the rates go sky high.

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]]> http://jefftung.net/2011/02/11/home-sales-rebound-in-49-states/feed/ 1 More foreclosures are coming http://jefftung.net/2011/02/04/more-foreclosures-are-coming/ http://jefftung.net/2011/02/04/more-foreclosures-are-coming/#comments Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:35:01 +0000 Jeff Tung http://jtung.blogs.rwnetwork.com/?p=410 Have you been hearing about the looming wave of foreclosures coming?  Well, it’s slowly coming to the market place.  With the economic problems we are facing, it is taking a toll on everybody.  We are still not out of our crisis.  Some areas in the country are really going through hard times.  California is so lucky, we have four cities out of eight, that ranks as the most miserable cities in the United States.   Let’s hope that things don’t get any worst!!!

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