GREAT NEWS!!

Fannie: 'Recovery Is Here'; Inman News

11% growth in home sales forecast for 2010
The deepest and longest recession since the Great Depression appears to be over, Fannie Mae economists say, projecting sales of new and existing homes will jump 11 percent next year and that national home prices will stabilize, remaining essentially flat.
The mortgage guarantor's monthly housing forecast projects 5.96 million home sales in 2010, with sales of existing homes growing by 10 percent, to 5.46 million. New-home sales are expected to rebound even more sharply in 2010, growing by 24 percent to 498,000.
"It appears that the economic recovery is here," Fannie Mae economists Doug Duncan and Orawin Velz said in a report summarizing their economic and mortgage forecasts, although they expect it will be weak compared to previous recoveries from deep recessions.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 3.5 percent annualized pace in the third quarter, following five declines in the prior six quarters, they noted, but growth is likely to moderate in the final three months of the year before strengthening in late 2010.
The first-time homebuyer tax credit helped boost third-quarter home sales, which also led to a jump in real estate brokerage commissions, Duncan and Velz said in their report.
A 23.3 increase in the annualized rate of residential investment (home sales) in the third quarter was the largest in more than two decades, although it came from "extremely depressed" levels, the report said. Real residential investment was contributing to economic growth again, adding 0.5 percentage points to third-quarter GDP growth.
But a survey of consumers in October showed the percentage of respondents indicating that "jobs are hard to get" hitting a new high for the downturn. In their economic forecast, Duncan and Velz said they expect the unemployment rate to average 10 percent next year, up from 9.3 percent this year and 4.6 percent in 2007.
Their housing forecast projects that housing starts will surge by 35 percent next year, from a recent historic low of 462,000 projected starts in 2009 to 624,000 next year.
Fannie Mae expects national home prices will stabilize next year, with the median resale home price remaining essentially unchanged at $170,800. That's a 0.2 percent decline from 2009 and a 22 percent decline from 2007.
The median price of a new home is expected to fall by nearly 2 percent from this year to next, to $208,400 -- a 16 percent decline from 2007.
Although new-home sales fell in September after five consecutive months of increases, the months' supply of new homes was unchanged at 7.5 months. New-home stocks have fallen steadily since May 2007, and are at the lowest levels since 1982, Duncan and Velz said in their analysis.
Other data indicate "a substantial excess supply of housing." The homeowner vacancy rate grew to 2.6 percent during the third quarter -- still below the 2.9 percent level reached at the end of 2008 but well above the long-term average of 1.7 percent.
At 11.1 percent, the third-quarter rental vacancy rate was the highest since record-keeping began in 1965. That has depressed rents, which along with stagnating wages relieves pressure on the consumer price index, and that should in turn allow the Federal Reserve to keep short-term interest rates on hold until late 2010, the Fannie Mae economists project.
Mortgage originations are expected to plummet 29 percent next year from 2009 levels, to $1.34 billion, as mortgage rates rise and this year's refinancing boom comes to an end.
Fannie Mae projects $1.3 billion in mortgages will be refinanced this year, accounting for two-thirds of mortgage originations by dollar volume. Only about half the volume in refinancings is expected next year, as many who are eligible to refinance will have already done so. Also, interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgages are expected to rise from an average 5.07 percent this year to 5.42 percent in 2010.
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit a record low of 4.78 percent in April, largely due to the Federal Reserve's purchases of up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities in a temporary program that's scheduled to end in March 2010.
With purchase-loan volume expected to climb 13 percent in 2010, to $733 billion, refinancings will make up less than half of the total dollar volume of mortgage loans.
Applications for adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans are expected to account for 8 percent of loan requests next year, up from 5 percent this year but significantly less than the 20 percent market share ARMs caputured in 2007, when the financial crisis began.

VOTE TODAY!

TODAY IS THE RUN-OFF FOR OUR CITY ELECTIVES.

PLEASE VOTE! I'M NOT IN THE CITY...SO I'M COUNTING ON YOU!

SOUTH CAROLINA FALL 2009 HOUSING MARKET QUARTERLY REPORT

The Center for Real Estate in the Moore School of Business at the University of South
Carolina’s Moore School of Business is excited to introduce its newest publication:
South Carolina Housing Market Report.
This publication provides on-going objective economic analyses focused exclusively on the
home building and real estate industries in South Carolina.
The focus of this publication will be on current national- and state-level economic
conditions, how these conditions affect the housing industry both nationally and in South
Carolina, and what current and historical conditions imply about the outlook for the South
Carolina housing industry.
South Carolina Fall 2009
Housing Market Quarterly Report
Written by Joseph C. Von Nessen, Ph.D., // Division of Research, Moore School // Contact: Joey.VonNessen@moore.sc.edu
1.
South Carolina
Housing Market Quarterly Report
The recession is most likely over. Most economic indicators suggest
that we are now in a period of economic growth.
The banking industry is just beginning to absorb the losses from
defaulting commercial real estate loans, which will make future
loans of all kinds harder to acquire. Thus, despite the fact that the
residential real estate market is showing signs of recovery, the
recovery will be slow because of the increased difficulty for the
home-building industry to obtain loans.
The high U.S. and South Carolina unemployment rate is expected
to persist for the remainder of 2009 and into 2010. Nevertheless,
this is not an indication of a deteriorating overall economy. High
unemployment generally lingers through the initial stages of
economic recovery and is usually one of the last signs of recovery
from a recession.
Additional foreclosures and increased housing vacancy rates
are likely to accompany high unemployment. This will lead to
additional inventory and reduced housing prices at the national
level. South Carolina, however, has experienced house price
appreciation throughout 2009, an increase in permit activity, and
only small increases in foreclosure rates. These facts suggest not
only that South Carolina is a relatively stable housing market,
but also that much of the excess inventory has been eliminated.
In turn, South Carolina will be spared from some of the national
consequences of additional foreclosures.

FOR MORE ON THIS MARKET REPORT, PLEASE JUST E-MAIL ME.

PENNY BOLING

PRESIDENT

MAKING HOMES AFFORDABLE

Highlights of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, or “Making Homes Affordable” program include:
• Refinancing mortgages.
• Creating a $75 billion homeowner stability initiative to help those who are struggling to afford their mortgage payments, but cannot sell their homes because home prices have fallen.
• Strengthening confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
To qualify, borrowers will have to provide their most recent tax return, two pay stubs, an “affidavit of financial hardship” and proof that the loan was made before Jan. 1, 2009, and that the single-family mortgage does not exceed $729,750. Borrowers can only have their loans modified one time.
The loan restructuring program, for which the government said up to 4 million borrowers are expected to qualify, will run through 2012.
The up to 5 million borrowers with mortgages held by the government-controlled mortgage finance entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be eligible to refinance through June 2010. Below are two link to these programs please share this information with your agents.

Home Saver by Fannie Mae

Hope Now supported by HUD

RINGING THE BELL!

WOW.....We rang the bell 10 times yesterday! Yes, 10 sales recorded in one day! Recession? Not in our Company!

Questions & Answers regarding the Tax Credit

NAR Frequently Asked Questions
Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes
National Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Division
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20001

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on the changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit

Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who
meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.
Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a
new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and
am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If
President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for
the new $6500 tax credit?
Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment
(when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The
provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.
Question: I am a firsttime
homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I
entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered,
however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the
time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?
Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill.
The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase,
which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement,
you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you're within the phaseout
range).
Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I
have found a home with a nonnegotiable
price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any
of the $6500 tax credit?
Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount
above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an
absolute ceiling.
Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting
since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the
other eligibility tests?
Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you
will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000
and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in
the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and
occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The
keyword here is "consecutive." As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he
did since 3 years doesn't impact eligibility.
Question: I am an eligible firsttime
homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on
November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the
extension date affect me?
Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as
if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30
(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.

The single best predictor of overall excellence is a company's ability to attract, motivate, and retain talented people. ~Fortune magazine

I had to post the Walk the Talk Inspiration for today. It just says what we are here at Century 21 Boling.

With 70 sales for October, we've got it together. An awesome team of Associates and Staff.