December 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

And Thank God 2007 is behind us !

Unfortunately here is the December update…

 Buyers

http://www.realtor.org/pac.nsf/pages/marketfacts
 Buyers

http://www.realtor.org/Research.nsf/files/07AnnualResForum.ppt/$FILE/07AnnualResForum.ppt
 Mortgages

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.20

11/21/2007 percent .The 30-year FRM has not been lower since the
week ending May 10, 2007, when it averaged 6.15
percent.”

"Continued market concerns about weaker economic

growth and further declines in the housing market have
kept mortgage rates low over the last few weeks,"
according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist at the
mortgage finance giant.
 Mortgages

10/25/2007
 Appraisals

11/3/2007
Real estate appraisers all over the country
defended themselves in the wake of a suit
filed last week against eAppraiselT, a
subsidiary of First American Corp., by New
York’s attorney general, saying they had
bowed to pressure to inflate prices.

"Pressure on appraisers reaches pandemic

proportions," says David Hutton, senior
editor at October Research Corp., the Ohio
company that conducted the study. "The
New York lawsuit ... may be just the tip of the
iceberg."
 Appraisals

11/2/2007
The action by Mr. Cuomo, who began issuing subpoenas
to appraisal companies earlier this year, may embolden
Washington to pass legislation on the issue. Rep. Paul E.
Kanjorski (D., Pa.) last month introduced a bill to improve
federal oversight of appraisals and establishes tougher
penalties for compromising appraiser independence.
 Mortgages

10/2007 About 40 percent of banks said they tightened terms

for prime mortgages in the prior three months for
people with the best credit records. That was up from
about 15 percent in the previous survey in July.

About 60 percent of banks said they tightened

standards on home mortgages classified as
"nontraditional," up from 40 percent in the previous
survey.
 Mortgages

More U.S. banks are tightening lending

standards on residential mortgage loans

Source: Federal Reserve

2002 2007
 Price

10/30/2007
"Six months ago people were more optimistic that we have
hit the bottom of the housing market. We haven't hit the
bottom yet," he said. It's going to "take a while to work our
way through this.“
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
 Price

10/31/2007

“The fall in home prices is showing no real signs of a

slowdown or turnaround," says Robert J. Shiller, co-
creator of the index and chief economist for
MacroMarkets LLC.
 Crisis

11/16/2007

"We have not seen a nationwide decline in housing like this

since the Great Depression," declared Wells Fargo CEO
John Stumpf at a Merrill Lynch banking conference in New
York.
 Crisis

11/7/2007
5. Cut prices and construction - "The market will only hit
bottom after builders cut construction and sellers slash
prices," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's
Economy.com.

8. Don't cut rates, cut inventory by any means possible

–"Artificially stimulating demand is what got us into trouble
in the first place," he says. Instead, cutting supply is crucial
says Glenn Kelman, CEO and president of Redfin, who
points out that rates are already very low.
 Inventory

11/06/2007
Foreclosures
 Foreclosures

11/16/2007 “On average, in each quarter from now until the end of
next year, monthly payments for more than 400,000
subprime mortgages are scheduled to undergo their first
interest rate reset,” Federal Reserve Board Governor
Randall Kroszner said.
“That number is up from roughly 200,000 per quarter
during the first half of 2007. Delinquencies and
foreclosures are therefore likely to continue to rise for a
number of quarters.”
Foreclosures
 Price

11/24/2007
The projected supply of foreclosed homes is equal to about
45% of existing home sales and could add four months to the
supply of existing homes, says Dale Westhoff, a senior
managing director at Bear Stearns.

Foreclosed homes typically sell at a discount of 20% to 25%

compared to the sale of an owner-occupied home, analysts say.
 Price
Financial adviser Bert Whitehead is the author of "Why
Smart People Do Stupid Things With Money."

His advice: Ditch all emotional hangups -- and unload your property
now. "If you really want to sell your house, you have to cut deep," Mr.
Whitehead says.
 Price

City Listings %Price Change

10/30/2007
Los Angeles 111,269 45.9
Chicago 82,839 40.8
Miami 79,154 38.1
Tampa 58,601 42.3
Phoenix 54,536 47.1
Washington 52,854 46.8
Dallas 47,097 35.9
Boston 43,158 48.4
Sacramento 40,195 51.4
Houston 39,332 36.7
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/06/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Price

11/2007
 Income and Price

Income Home Price

250

200

150

100

Source: NAR
50
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

“Substantially lower house prices are required to re-establish housing

affordability and stimulate sales.” – Mark Zandi, Moody’s
 Foreclosures

If you think now is the time to start to pick up bargains in real estate,
the following is a list of several banks, and the links to their REO
sites:
Bank of America (BAC)
BB&T (BBT)
Downey Savings (DSL)
Fannie Mae (FNM)
Freddie Mac (FRE)
GMAC (GJM)
Sallie Mae (SLM)
HSBC (HBC)
U.S. Bancorp (USB)
Wells Fargo (WFC)
Zions Bank (ZION)

http://seekingalpha.com/article/
54961-11-places-to-find-foreclosed-real-estate?source=d_email