RSW Sets Record Quarter

Bob Vaughan

According to an article published by the News Press “Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) scored record growth in the first quarter of 2016, including a 7.5 percent year-over-year increase in passengers for March. In March alone, the Fort Myers airport served 1,269,961 travelers, making it “the single-largest month for passenger traffic in our 33-year history,” said Bob Ball, executive director for Lee County Port Authority. The passenger count trifecta is especially significant because, for the airport, 2015 “was the best ever,” Ball noted.”

With such high demand in the beautiful SWFL market, property values are strong and homes are selling fast. Interest rates are still at extremely low levels, so now is the time to finance the purchase of your dream home. We have extremely low interest rates and we offer great products including: VA mortgages, FHA mortgages conventional mortgages and jumbo mortgages. For a free consultation on real estate mortgages in Fort Myers, Collier County, Charlotte County or the SWFL market, call us today.

Non-bank Lenders Increasing Market Share

Andy Davis

A recent CNBC report indicated that the mortgage markets are becoming less profitable for the big banks. The article reports a quarterly drop of 25 percent in origination’s for JP Morgan Chase; Citi’s origination’s were down 17 percent; and Wells Fargo decreased 14 percent.

Foreclosure Numbers Down

Andy Davis

Recent foreclosure numbers suggest that the housing market has improved significantly. The November 2015 delinquency rate is the lowest since December 2007.

Referral Partners Matter

Andy Davis

With a rising real estate market and chances of finding a bargain a lot tougher, first time home buyers are having more trouble finding the right home for them. One thing that everyone agrees on is that having a mortgage lender or broker who has a reputation of closing loans fast helps when the seller is in a multiple offer situation.

Renters Want to Own

Andy Davis

A recent survey from the National Association of Realtors revealed that 83 percent of all renters want to own a home and 77 percent believe that home-ownership is part of their American Dream. The top two reasons for not currently owning are affordability of housing and flexibility of renting.

Make Sure to Shop for Low Interest Rates

Andy Davis

A recent survey revealed that the majority of loan applicants don’t compare interest rates when buying a new home. If you, a client, or someone you know is looking for a residential mortgage loan make sure they call D&V Home Mortgage as we are approved with the lowest rate lenders in the nation.

What does the Fed Interest Rate Hike Mean for Mortgage Rates?

Bob Vaughan

It had been nearly a decade since the Federal Reserve increased the target rate and seven of those years had been spent near zero percent. This historical length of accommodative monetary policy all came to an end on Wednesday, December 16th, when the Fed announced a quarter of a point increase to their target rate, increasing it to .50%.

Mortgage interest rates don’t directly follow the fed funds rate and are not expected to shoot up in the short term, but experts are calling for a 1% – 1.5% increase over the next 12 months. The average homebuyer isn’t quite aware of how low mortgage loan interest rates really are right now. According to CNBC, sixty-seven percent of prospective homebuyers surveyed by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a network of real estate brokerages, categorized the level of today’s mortgage rates as “average” or “high.” The current rate of 4 percent on the 30-year fixed is less than 1 percentage point higher than its record low; this is drastically lower than the 18% the market saw in the 1980’s.

So is now the time to get a mortgage loan? Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae may have put it best: “The rule for when is it time to buy is always the same: given your household budget and where current interest rates are, if it makes good financial sense to take out a home loan today, then today is the day to do it.”

 

 

Having the Nicest Home on the Block a Challenge

Andy Davis

Home buyers are wise to take careful note of the houses around them before they make an offer on that picture-perfect home. Buying the most expensive house in the neighborhood isn’t always the best strategy. Sure, they’ll have bragging rights, but your buyers may need to be informed about some challenges during resale. After all, unloading the priciest home on the block and seeing an increase in equity isn’t easy. “A lot of buyers forget a home is an investment,” says Brendon DeSimone, a real estate expert and author of “Next Generation Real Estate.” “The world changes. Things happen fast. People transfer, people lose their jobs. Now imagine yourself as the seller of that home.” With the nicest home on the block, home owners who do any upgrades – even minor – may be doing a larger mismatch between their home and the surrounding homes.

By considering the home as an investment, buyers will look at homes that leave some room for improvement and that will allow them to build equity and hopefully even pay it off when they do sell. DeSimone actually recommends to his clients buying the worst house in the best neighborhood. “You can add value on your own,” he says. “If you’re choosing between an awesome house in a crappy location and an awful house in a great location, I would choose the latter.” Improvement doesn’t need to entail a total renovation either. DeSimone says just regular maintenance, refreshing the paint, and making minor repairs that the previous owner ignored could add to the home’s value.

Source: Realtor.com 

Fannie Mae Survey Reveals Consumers Unaware of Requirements to Qualify for Mortgage

Bob Vaughan

A recent survey performed by Fannie Mae on a significant number of consumers revealed there is large gap in consumer knowledge when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage loan. Of the consumers interviewed, 40% did not know the minimum down payment required to qualify for a loan, 54% did not know the minimum credit score required and 59% didn’t know the maximum back-end debt to income ratio. “There is a significant lack of understanding about minimum mortgage qualification criteria not only among consumers in general but, more importantly, among renters who plan to purchase a home within the next five years” according to Fannie Mae. It is extremely important to know the guidelines and requirements when looking to get financing, or are working towards improving your situation for financing in the future. If you don’t know the correct guidelines today, how can you know how to prepare for the future? Call us today so we can answer any questions you may have about the mortgage loan process and help you get on the right track.

FHA/VA Still Dominates High-LTV Lending

Bob Vaughan

In December, the Data & Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services looked at high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage loan products (greater than 95% LTV), in light of the GSEs’ reintroduction of high-LTV products at the end of 2014 (3% down conventional loan), coupled with the 50-basis-point reduction in FHA annual mortgage insurance premiums earlier this year. Despite the renewed availability of GSE high loan-to-vale products, the data from the company’s latest Mortgage Monitor Report shows that high-LTV lending is still primarily the province of the FHA/VA. “High-LTV purchase mortgage originations are up 20% in the third quarter over last year,” said Black Knight Data & Analytics Senior Vice President Ben Graboske. “That’s compared to an approximately 13% increase for the purchase market overall. High-LTV products now account for 23% of all purchase originations.”

What’s particularly interesting in today’s market is how heavily the high LTV lending is dominated by FHA/VA. Back in 2007, the GSEs made up over 45% of high-LTV mortgage loan purchase originations, while FHA/VA lending made up roughly one-third of mortgage loan purchase originations. “Since 2009, FHA/VA products have made up over 90% of high-LTV purchase originations every year, and the same is true in 2015, even with the GSEs having reintroduced their own 97% LTV products,” said Graboske. “In fact, those products have accounted for less than 3% of all high-LTV originations so far this year.”

“As we reported last month, recent increases in purchase lending have been driven primarily by higher-credit-score borrowers, and these high-LTV products are no exception,” said Graboske. “We’ve seen average credit scores on high-LTV FHA/VA loans rise six points from last year to 706. Of course, scores for GSE and portfolio high-LTV loans are roughly 35 points higher still.”

The market has experienced annual declines in high-LTV mortgage lending among 620-660 credit scores for each of the past six months even though overall high-LTV purchase volumes have risen in each of those months, which may be attributed to tightening credit, said Graboske, or it may be that the FHA’s reduced annual mortgage insurance – which FHA estimates will reduce borrowers’ mortgage payments by $900/year – has enticed some higher-credit borrowers into those FHA mortgage loan products.