Mortgage Rates Drop Again

The average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.00 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.44 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage was down to 4.47 percent while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.03 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages decreased slightly this week, with the average 1-year ARM inching down to 5.37 percent and the 5-year ARM slipping to 4.54 percent.

Mortgage rates are significantly lower than one year ago. This time last year, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.92 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,188.83. With the average rate now 5.00 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,073.64, a savings of $115 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 5.00% -- down from 5.06% last week (avg. points: 0.44)
15-year fixed: 4.47% -- down from 4.48% last week (avg. points: 0.29)
5/1 ARM: 4.54% -- down from 4.58% last week (avg. points: 0.33)

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.
source: PR Newswire, bankrate.com

To check today's rates in the DFW market (as of this writing, lower than the national averages above for credit scores of 720 or higher), apply for a loan, and for APR disclosure, please visit  http://www.continentalamerican.com/rates.html

Holiday Giving--Vogel Alcove

Since 1987, the Vogel Alcove has been providing free exemplary child development services to the Dallas area’s youngest victims of poverty: very young homeless children.


The Vogel Alcove is the only comprehensive early childhood education program in the city of Dallas whose primary focus is to provide free services for homeless children who face multiple developmental risks.

Because of the Alcove’s 22-year legacy providing quality, licensed childcare and social services for children victimized by homelessness, 18 area affiliated homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and housing programs depend on the Alcove to provide services to the homeless families at their shelters.

Please consider giving a donation of a $25 holiday card to friends or family (image above) to benefit homeless children in Dallas.

Giving Tree House a Whole New Meaning

Whole Trees Architecture in Wisconsin uses materials that lumber companies consider scrap – weed trees, also know as ‘managed forest thinnings’ to create rooms and furnishings that maintain the integrity of the wood/tree, look beautiful, and are said to be stronger, structurally, than wood planks.  The results are beautiful displays of locally sourced and sustainably managed materials.

Photo: Whole Trees Construction and Architecture

New Landscape Rating System Released

A partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Botanic Garden today released the nation's first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative led by the partners developed the rating system out of four years of work by dozens of the country's leading sustainability experts, scientists and design professionals, as well as public input from hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations, to create this missing link in green design. The announcement took place at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington.

"While carbon-neutral performance remains the holy grail for green buildings, sustainable landscapes move beyond a do-no-harm approach," said Nancy Somerville, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA. "Landscapes sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, restore habitats and ultimately give back through significant economic, social and environmental benefits never fully measured until now."

"We are facing unprecedented environmental challenges such as water scarcity and climate change that require fundamental changes in the way that we interact with the land," said Susan Rieff, executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. "This voluntary rating system and guidelines cover all aspects of working with outdoor spaces of all sizes, and provide information for designing landscapes that go beyond beauty to actually improving ecosystem health and the health of communities for generations to come."

"Landscapes can give back," said Holly H. Shimizu, executive director of the United States Botanic Garden. "We believe that as these guidelines become widely used, not only will they be as transformative to the landscape industry as LEED was to buildings, but more than that, they will allow built landscapes to be regenerative like natural landscapes, and assist in mitigating some of the most pressing environmental issues we face today. We need to acknowledge our landscapes' value, treasure them and cultivate them sustainably and responsibly. The need is urgent, the time is now and these guidelines, when used correctly, are the tools."

The rating system works on a 250-point scale, with levels of achievement for obtaining 40, 50, 60 or 80 percent of available points, recognized with one through four stars, respectively. If prerequisites are met, points are awarded through the 51 credits covering areas such as the use of greenfields, brownfields or greyfields; materials; soils and vegetation; construction and maintenance. These credits can apply to projects ranging from corporate campuses, transportation corridors, public parks and single-family residences. The rating system is part of two new reports issued from the Initiative, "The Case for Sustainable Landscapes and Guidelines" and "Performance Benchmarks 2009," both available for download at http://www.sustainablesites.org/.

To test the rating system, the Sustainable Sites Initiative opened a call for pilot projects in conjunction with the release of the rating system. Any type of designed landscape is eligible, so long as the project size is at least 2,000 square feet. The call will remain open until Feb. 15, 2010, and the initiative will work with and oversee the projects during the two-year process. More information about the pilot projects is available at www.sustainablesites.org/pilot.

Happy Veteran's Day

Thanks to our American veterans for your service to our country.  Please call my lending division at 214-361-1191 or click here to learn more about the VA loan program.

Tax Credits, Foreclosures Likely to Affect Winter RE Market

Foreclosures Expected to Significantly Increase Inventory in 2010, But Possible Tax Credits Could Help Spur Demand, According to Q3 2009 Zillow(R) Real Estate Market Reports

Editor's Note:  Data for Dallas/Fort Worth and the state of Texas were not included in this study...I don't know why. I'm including the report, though, to show that home values appear to be stabilizing across the country.  You can read the entire study here.The percent of American single-family homes with mortgages in negative equity fell to 21 percent in the third quarter, down from 23 percent in the second, as home values stabilized in the short term and more underwater homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure, according to the third quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.



"The decline in the percentage of homeowners with negative equity is a positive sign, and is directly attributable to the stabilization of home values from the second quarter to the third," said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. "It is also attributable to many homeowners who were previously underwater on their mortgage losing their homes to foreclosure.


"The next several months will be critical to the housing market. Previously, we'd been expecting to see increasing foreclosure rates during the real estate market's slow winter season, a confluence of events that would likely drive inventory up and prices down. But now, with the extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and a new $6,500 credit for some repeat homebuyers, we could see a bump in demand that could partially offset the increased supply of foreclosed homes on the market. The credits are likely to bring continued stabilization in prices over this period, versus the price declines that we almost certainly would see otherwise. Whether this stabilization will be sustainable after the tax credits expire, however, is yet to be seen. Some of the demand that we are buying with tax credits we are also borrowing from the future, and will likely have to pay for later in the form of weaker-than-normal demand."


SOURCE Zillow.com

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension/Expansion

Today, President Obama is expected to sign the 2010 homebuyer tax credit extension, which will extend the current $8,000 tax credit for married couples on binding contracts written by April 30, 2010, and closed by July 1, 2010. 

Current homeowners selling their current home and buying another principal residence can receive up to $6,500 in tax credit, so long as they used their current home as a principal residents consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years..

There are income and purchase price limits to eligibility, so please review this link from the National Association of REALTORS Government Affairs Division for details.  As always, you're always welcome contact me for further information.

Homebuyer Tax Credit Update

The U.S. House and Senate have both passed the law containing the amendment to extend and expand the home buyer tax credit. President Obama is expected to sign the bill tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 6)

Check back for details about the extension on Friday!

Picturesque Prestonwood

During a photo safari of Prestonwood this morning, I was once again reminded what a lovely area this is--even in the fall.

all photos copyright Brava Realty

Still No Vote on Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension

Contrary to what you might have heard through the grapevine, as of this writing, Congress still has not voted on proposals to extend or expand the tax credit for homebuyers.


“I think the first-time home-buyer credit is a great example of funding that’s helped to stabilize the housing market and should be extended,” Jared Bernstein, chief economist to Vice President Joe Biden, said on Bloomberg television. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner gave his support yesterday.


Lawmakers announced plans last week to attach the tax-credit proposal to a pending bill on the unemployment benefits. The $8,000 tax credit, enacted earlier this year as part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package, is set to expire at the end of November.


The proposal would extend the credit until April 30 and expand it to allow higher-income Americans and some who already own homes to qualify for the break.

Homebuyers who have lived in their prior residences for at least five years may receive a credit of $6,500 under the plan, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. Also, couples earning as much as $225,000 and individuals as much as $125,000 would qualify for the extended break, Baucus said. That’s up from a $75,000 limit for individuals and $150,000 for couples.

“The success of the American economy is closely tied to the success of the housing market; by helping to stabilize the housing market, the homebuyer tax credit has helped to shore up the economy as it begins to recover,” said Baucus, a Montana Democrat. “This would enable an even greater number of potential homebuyers to take the credit.”


Lawmakers said they want to prevent home sales from slipping as the economy struggles to recover from the worst drop in home prices since the Great Depression.

More than 1.2 million borrowers have claimed $8.5 billion of the $13.6 billion set aside for the homebuyer tax credits this year, according to the Treasury Department. The Obama administration, in endorsing the extension yesterday, said the credit has helped stabilize the nation’s housing market.

The tax break “brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices,” Geithner said in a statement.

The measure would require those receiving the tax break to remain in their new homes for three years and they would have to repay the credit if they don’t.

Those buying homes worth more than $800,000 wouldn’t be eligible for the credit, said Baucus. Lawmakers also said they won’t extend the break beyond the new April 30 deadline.


“The American people should understand this -- and the affected industries -- this is the last extension,” said Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who cosponsored the plan. “Tax credits like this only work by creating the sense of urgency to take advantage of them.”

Election Day 11/3 Vote FOR Props 2, 3, 5

Across the state, tomorrow’s ballot will include eleven propositions for amendments to the Texas state constitution. These proposed amendments must be approved by Texas voters in order to become law. It is important that we each understand the issues and process for amending our state constitution. These are important to homeowners, so please vote! 


To ensure that tax appraisals in Texas are fair to property owners and uniform from county to county, the Texas Association of REALTORS urges Texans to vote FOR propositions 2, 3, and 5.


Here are brief explanations of what these amendments will actually do:

Proposition 2 will require county appraisal districts to value a home as a home. Currently, appraisal districts can use the "best and highest use" method to value a residence based on its potential use. For example, a residence in a neighborhood zoned for mixed use could be appraised at a higher amount for its possible use as a commercial property.

Proposition 3 gives the state the ability to make sure appraisal methods are consistent throughout the 254 Texas counties.


Proposition 5 will make it acceptable for two adjoining appraisal districts to combine their boards of equalization if they wish—an option that rural counties may find attractive.

For brief layman's explanation of these propositions written by an attorney from Texas Association of REALTORS, please click.

Here is an overview of all 11 proposed amendments from the Texas Legislative Council.