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More changes from FHFA guidelines
FHFA is now allowing rental history to be included for qualifying purposes on buyers. This is new and in the process of being implemented. Here is how it could work: the borrower’s must be be...
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New Trend in Home Ownership…
A recent Wall Street Journal article documented an interesting new trend in home buyer demographics. First-time home buyers are now pooling financial resources with non-family members – friends and...
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Changes to Flood Insurance – Part 1
On October 1, FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) began offering “more equitable and risk-informed rates.” The press release states that NFIP’s new pricing methodology delivers “rates that...
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Seniors are holding on to their homes
Several factors contribute to the squeeze on inventory levels. Over the past several months, I’ve covered a lot of them. In several posts, I mention how Baby Boomers continue to hold onto their homes...
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Many can still benefit from a refinance
Mortgages rates are higher now than their all time lows. This doesn’t mean everyone has missed the window of opportunity. Sure, rates are higher, but they are still very low. Overall, about 20% of...
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Changes to Flood Insurance – Part 2
Since we covered flood insurance basics in the last post, now we can focus on changes to the flood insurance program. The current flood insurance pricing methodology has been used for 50 years. The...
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New 2022 conforming loan limit
Over the past two years, we’ve witnessed housing prices jump due to limited inventory along with the high demand for homes. One good thing coming out of this is a higher conventional loan limit. Just...
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Rents continue to rise
Rent prices are surging in the US. Since January of this year, the national median rent increased over 15% according to the latest National Rent Report from Apartmentlist.com. Rents aren’t slowing...
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FHA Loan Limit Rises for 2022
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced the increased FHA mortgage limit for 2022. In the new year, the FHA limit will go to $471,500 for single family homes in Metro...
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Generational competition
A new analysis by Zillow shows millennials and baby boomers—two of the biggest generations in U.S. history—are both in the market for homes. While we know millennials will be out in force buying their...
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Winter housing market remains hot
Expect this winter to be hot for the housing market. There may not be a jump at the Spring housing market in 2022 as the Spring market could be starting now! “Compared to other past winter seasons,...
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Stricter Condo Underwriting Guidelines – Part 1
The underwriting guidelines for condominiums have long been more rigorous than for single-family homes and townhouses. Ultimately, mortgage lenders consider condos to have greater risks than other...
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Stricter Condo Underwriting Guidelines – Part 2
Now that we have reviewed the key pre-2021 condo HOA underwriting standards, it’s time to review the updates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now requiring HOAs to answer the following new questions:...
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2022 Housing Market
It’s a new year…. we so looked forward to 2021 being better than 2020 (it didn’t seem to be in a lot of ways), so here is hoping 2022 will be better! For the month of February, I am starting a series...
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Less bidding wars
There is a drop in the number of homes receiving multiple offers. Redfin reported 60.3% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition, unchanged from September but down from a pandemic...
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More people staying put
Last year I discussed seniors holding onto their homes longer than previous generations. It seems this trend moved into Generation X too. According to AARP’s newly released Home and Community...
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Purchase process normalizing (maybe)
A survey from National Association of REALTORS® shows fewer buyers are willing to waive any (or all) contingencies when purchasing a home. This is a really good thing as buyers should not feel...
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Atlanta Inflation and Home Affordability
Two recent Wall Street Journal articles focused on inflation impacts here in the Atlanta metro area and in the overall housing market. The first article noted that the Atlanta area recorded the...
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Debunking Mortgage “Conventional Wisdom”
I read a recent post that included the phrase “First Time Borrower’s Guide,” and it compelled me to challenge the “conventional wisdom” documented therein. Here is my professional mortgage lender’s...
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Planning to Own a Home
A recent Wall Street Journal article focuses on the rising cost of home ownership and how the hyper-competitive home buyers’ market can make buying a home more risky than ever. I have always...
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