Redding's Ups and Downs

From...Real Estate Insider New:  Harris Real Estate University...

"The question remains, given today’s guidelines what are the absolute bare-minimums to obtain a mortgage?

….and perhaps more interesting…how to obtain a mortgage immediately after a Short Sale..read on…

By far the easiest mortgage to obtain is a FHA loan:

1) 3.5 percent down payment, based on the purchase price of the home (e.g., $7,000 on a $200,000 home), or a gift of that same amount;

2) 3 percent to 6 percent of the purchase price, on top of the down payment, for closing costs, or a credit from the seller of the same amount; and

3) 640 FICO credit score — the middle score of those generated by the three credit bureaus (some banks will lend to borrowers with middle scores lower than 640, but will require more than the minimum down payment).

Lenders will want you to document income, asset and job history documentation, current paycheck stubs, two months’ bank statements and two years of W-2 forms or tax returns, and:

a minimum of two years have passed since the discharge of a bankruptcy;
a minimum of three years have passed since a foreclosure;
anywhere from zero to three years have passed since a short sale, depending on the circumstances surrounding the short sale."

Hope everyone had a great yesterday. Wow!  Redding is incredible.

In Shasta County, there were 274 listings that went pending in March, compared to 225 a year ago.  This is a 21.8 percent increase.

Pending sales also rose on a national level.  The national association of Realtors reported the Homes Sales Index was up to 94.1 compared to 89.5 in February.

According to the latest polls, distressed properties (short sales and foreclosures) made up 40% of all home sales in the month of March. 

Absorption rate is at 10.2 months and the average days on the market is 155.

Twenty eight homes priced from $140,000 to $160,000 sold in March in Shasta County compared to 19 a year ago.

According to the National Association of Realtors, a bill, introduced in the U.S. House this week, would impose a deadline of 45 days on lenders to respond to short sale requests.

As the leading advocate for home ownership and housing issues, Realtors^® want to help more home owners avoid foreclosure by facilitating a short sale when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home.  However, that can only happen if lenders and servicers approve short sale offers in a reasonable amount of time,” said NAR President Ron Phipps. “Streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers and the entire community.”