Jenny's Guide to Home Loans: Dallas Morning News - D-FW foreclosure filings dow...

Jenny's Guide to Home Loans: Dallas Morning News - D-FW foreclosure filings dow...: Dallas Morning News Wednesday, October 20, 2013 "total foreclosure filings for the D-FW area so far in 2013 are at the lowest level i...

Dallas Morning News - D-FW foreclosure filings down 49% over last year

Dallas Morning News
Wednesday, October 20, 2013

"Total foreclosure filings for the D-FW area so far in 2013 are at the lowest level in almost a decade."
Foreclosure Listing Service CEO, George Roddy said this week "I think we are now running at normal numbers.  I can't think of anything that will bring it back up high."

Here are area postings on residential properties scheduled for foreclosure auction in November and change from a year  ago:

• Dallas County: -46%
• Tarrant County:  -49%
• Collin County:  -55%
• Denton Coutny: -53%
• D-FW area:  -49%

(Source: Foreclosure Listing Service)

This shows the strength of the economy in D-FW and surrounding areas.  Great time to be a Realtor!

Time Magazine Cover: THE UNITED STATES OF TEXAS

Front Cover of Time Magazine Oct. 28 Issue:  THE UNITED STATES OF TEXAS, Why the Lone Star State is America’s Future.

This article is an excellent reference for all Realtors in Texas.  Here are a few pointers from the article that are worth mentioning:

“The real reason Americans are headed to Texas is much simpler.  Migrants are being pushed (and pulled) by the major economic forces that are reshaping the American economy as a whole: the hollowing out of the middle class, the increased costs of living in the U.S.’s established population centers and the resulting search by many Americans for a radically cheaper way to live and do business."

“Along with the affordable housing and a warm climate, newcomers are drawn by the notion that in the case of Texas, jobs are plentiful.  Texas’ unemployment rate is currently 6.4% - high for Texas but below the national rate of 7.3%.”

“Over the past 20 years, more than 4 million Californians have moved to Texas, according to Weinstein.  “That’s two cities the size of Houston,” he notes.

“Jed Kolko, chief economist for San Francisco – based real estate website Trulia, says that from 2005 to 2011, 183 Californians moved to Texas for every 100 Texans who moved to California. “Home prices, more than any other factor, cause people to leave,” Kolko says.

“IT’S NOT JUST CHEAP LIVING that draws people to Texas.  It’s also jobs.  In the past 12 months, Texas has added 274,700 new jobs – that’s 12% of all jobs added nationwide and 51,000 more than California added.   In a Moody’s Analytics study, seven of the top 10 cities for projected job growth through 2015 will be in Texas.   Four Texas cities topped the list:  Austin, McAllen, Houston and Fort Worth.”

“In fact, from 2002 to 2011, with 8% of the U.S. population, Texas created nearly one-third of the country’s highest paying jobs.”

“From 2001 to 2012, the number of lower-middle-income jobs in Texas grew by 14.4%, and the number of upper-middle-income jobs grew by 24.2%.  If you look at the U.S. without Texas over the same period, the number of lower-middle jobs grew by an anemic 0.1%, and the number of upper-middle jobs shrank by 6%.  …… If you pull Texas out of the puzzle of the United States, the rest of the country falls down!”

My parents and I are originally from Taiwan.  They moved to Texas in the 80’s to seek better opportunities and a better future for me and my brother.  Although I love being Chinese and fortunate enough to experience dual cultures, I know my parents made the right choice.  I am able to give my children the kind of opportunities and education my parents worked so hard for.  

Reference: Time Magazine / October 28, 2013

Article by: Tyler Cowen

THIS WEEK'S ECONOMIC REVIEW / Why is the mortgage interest rate going up?

Economy Review This Week 09/12/2013

Employment figures were a key newsmaker last week, and whether or not the news was favorable depended on the eye of the beholder. Specifically, the economy added 169,000 in August, which put the unemployment rate at 7.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. This was little changed form July, but the lowest since December 2008. On the face of things, that’s good news, but it skirts the issue of people who have given up looking for work, which is described by the labor-force participation rate. For August, the percentage of working-age people either working or looking for work, dropped to 63.2 percent from 63.4 percent in July. This was its lowest rate since 1978. Ignoring the participation rate and going by the 7.3 percent rate, the number of unemployed Americans totaled 11.3 in August, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or longer) hovered at 4.3 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 37.9 percent of the total unemployed population. The number of Americans involuntarily employed part time for economic reasons, such as their hours were cut or they were unable to find full-time work dropped by 334,000 to 7.9 million in August. While the monthly unemployment scenario’s progress was unclear at best, more recent employment scores were more upbeat, with first-time claims for jobless benefits remaining at a five-year low. First-time claims for unemployment insurance filed during the week ending Aug. 31 dipped to 323,000, a decline of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 332,000, according to last week’s report from the Employment and Training Administration. The four-week moving average was 328,500, a drop of 3,000 from the prior week's revised average of 331,500. The total number of unemployed Americans covered by jobless benefits during the week ending Aug. 24 dropped to 2,951,000, a loss of 43,000 from the previous week's revised level of 2,994,000, the Administration also reported. The four-week moving average was 2,979,500, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's revised average of 2,997,500. Switching gears to real estate news, construction spending during July notched up 0.6 percent over June’s revised rate of $895.7 billion to hit an annual rate of $900.8 billion, the Census Bureau reported last week. Compared to last year, July’s rate was 5.2 percent over July 2012’s rate of $856.3 billion. Spending on private construction hit an annual rate of $631.4 billion in July, which was 0.9 percent higher than June’s revised June estimate of $625.6 billion. Residential construction hit an annual rate of $334.6 billion in July, which was 0.6 percent over June’s revised estimate of $332.7 billion. Finally, in international trade, the trade gap widened in July with exports of $189.4 billion and imports of $228.6 billion creating a trade deficit of $39.1 billion, which was up from $34.5 billion in June, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis jointly reported last week. July exports were down $1.1 billion from June’s exports of $190.5 billion, while July’s imports were $3.5 billion higher than June’s imports of $225.1 billion. This increase in imports was due to a combination of increased crude oil prices as well as consumer spending on goods from overseas, which could point to an improving economy, according to some analysts. This week, we can expect: Monday — Consumer credit for July from the Federal Reserve. Wednesday — July wholesale inventories from the Census Bureau. Thursday — Initial jobless claims for last week from the Employment and Training Administration; August import and export prices from the Census Bureau; and August budget from the Treasury Department. Friday — August retail sales totals and July business inventories from the Census Bureau; and August producer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Am I in the right market condition to purchase a home?"

The basic question that every prospective buyer asks: "Am I in the right market condition to purchase a home?"

I started in the finance industry working for a large national bank and I've seen the real estate and mortgage markets change many times over.  So my answer to this question is, "Are you in the right financial condition to purchase a home?"

In first 6 months of 1994, when I just started my working career, the average mortgage rate at the time was 7.25%.  In Dec. 2001, my husband and I closed on our current house at around 7% for a 30 year fixed rate, which was the national average.  In Dec. 2002, we refinanced our house at 5% for a 15 year fixed rate, which was considered the historical low at the time. Afterwards, we saw the rate just kept dropping.  Did we make the right choice based on market condition?  Probably not, but we made financial choices that were good and right for us. 

As reported on The Dallas Morning News yesterday, under "Your Money" Section: Mortgage rates rose this week, Freddie Mac said in it's latest report, with lenders offering a 30-year fixed home loan to solid borrowers at an average of 4.57 percent - up from 4.51 percent last week and a full percentage point higher than a year ago. The average 15-year rate rose from 3.54 percent to 3.59 percent.

Our economy has gone through the recovery and the government says the economy is in the building phase.  Our GDP is up, auto sales are experiencing growth it hadn't seen for a long time,  and the unemployment rate has steadily dropped, so inevitably we will see interest rates rise again.  Still the current interest rate is very low compared to what my parents had to pay when they bought their house (around 9% in the late 80's).  Overall, we are in a very good economic period, so regardless of market condition, sit down with an experienced loan officer and go through your budget analysis.   It's not about the market, it's about investing in your future.  

Reference from The Dallas Morning News printed on Sept. 6, 2013. 
Reference from www.mortgage-x.com
http://www.mortgage-x.com/general/historical_rates.asp