Monday, June 22, 2009

May 2009 Monthly Market Report for Albuquerque area

Monthly Highlights• Single-family, detached homes sales increased 4.4% from the previous month. (page 5)• The average sales price of single-family, detached homes in the SWMLS market area is at its highest since October 2008. (page 8)• The days on market for single-family (detached) homes dropped for the third consecutive month. (page 8)• For the second time this year, Pending homes sales for Rio Rancho single-family, detached homes exceeded the previous month and the previous year’s (May 2008) totals. (page 11)
Read the full May 2009 Monthly Market Report

How to Use the Tax Credit with FHA Loans

US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a program that allows borrowers to use the first-time homebuyer tax credit for a down payment or closing costs on a FHA-insured mortgage. Currently, 10 state housing finance agencies, INCLUDING NEW MEXICO, offer a product buyers can use that will effectively monetize the tax credit for down payment purposes. For information on how a first-time homebuyer can use the tax credit for a down payment in New Mexico, please consult the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority webpage: use the tax.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Home Sales Up for 3rd Consecutive Month

Record low mortgage interest rates boosted NAR's forward-looking pending home sales index 6.7 percent in April to 90.3 from a reading of 84.6 in March, and is 3.2 percent above April 2008 when it was 87.5. "Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market, too," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The index in the Northeast shot up 32.6 percent to 78.9, and in the Midwest it rose 9.8 percent to 90.4. In the South it slipped 0.2 percent to 93.0, and in the West it rose 1.8 percent to 94.8. Read more

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Economy

NAR: Existing-Home Sales Jump
April home sales rose 2.9 percent from the prior month, with markets in the Northeast and West showing the strongest gains. Read more from NAR's latest housing report. Read more >

Home Prices Fall in First Quarter; Pace of Decline Lessens Considerably
RISMEDIA, June 1, 2009—U.S. home prices fell in the first quarter of 2009 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally-adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI). The previously announced, but revised January and February indexes showed increases in house prices, which were Continued

Almost Half-Million First-Time Buyers in First Quarter

Some 455,000 first-time buyers took advantage of low prices and interest rates to close transactions in the first quarter of the year, latest NAR statistical data show. Anecdotal evidence suggests the first-time buyer tax credit played a role in bringing out buyers, too. Other data show that the large number of distressed sales continues to hold down prices, with 134 of 142 markets tracked by NAR showing price declines for the quarter. Total state sales activity for the quarter put sales on a 4.59-million unit sales pace. Read more from the latest issue of Real Estate Insights.

Tax Credit Guidance for FHA Loans

In his speech at the National Association of REALTORS® Housing Summit on May 12, 2009, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a program that allows borrowers to use the first-time homebuyer tax credit for a down payment or closing costs on a FHA-insured mortgage. The details of the program were announced in Mortgagee Letter 2009-15. Government entities and instrumentalities of government may provide a second mortgage. Currently, 10 state housing finance agencies (including New Mexico) offer a product buyers can use that will effectively monetize the tax credit for down payment purposes. Get information on New Mexico’s programs at housingnm.org. Read the HUD Mortgagee Letter. For information on FHA contact Jerry Nagy at 202.383.1233, jnagy@realtors.org.

10 Best Places to Live and Work

Where’s the best place to hide during this economic downturn?
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine evaluated U.S. cities for their growth potential, analyzing their ability to hold onto jobs even if the economy softens further. With assistance from Kevin Stolarick of Martin Prosperity Institute, the magazine concluded that cities where there are a lot of white-collar jobs are surviving the downturn better than areas where much of the workforce is employed in manufacturing or service jobs. Stolarick says these creative-class jobs tend to help generate new businesses and that increases the vibrancy of the areas where they hold sway. This employment analysis combined with data about income growth and cost of living led Kiplinger’s to choose these 10 cities as the best places to live and work in today’s challenging economy:

1. Huntsville, Ala.
2. Albuquerque, N.M.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Charlottesville, Va.
5. Athens, Ga.
6. Olympia, Wash.
7. Madison, Wis.
8. Austin, Texas
9. Flagstaff, Ariz.
10. Raleigh, N.C.

Source: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance (07/2009)