The supply of newly-built homes for sales plummeted in April, a positive indicator for the South Orange County housing market as we head into the summer months.

It's no wonder that homebuilders are breaking new ground at the fastest clip in 2 years.

At the current sales pace, the nation's complete supply of new homes would be sold in just 5 month's time. That's more than double the pace of a year ago.

Also, as more good news, in terms of total housing units, the government reports that New Home Sales topped one half-million homes sold for the first time since May 2008.

It's a similar spike as within the Existing Home Sales data released earlier this week.

But before we declare the housing market "repaired in full", we have to consider a few of the reasons why home sales are charting so strongly.

The first reason is the federal homebuyer tax credit's April 30 expiration. In order to claim up to $8,000 in tax credits, home buyers must have been in mutual contract for a property before May 1. There is no doubt this contributed to a run-up in sales, especially among first-time home buyers.

The second reason is that mortgage rates have remained exceptionally low, defying expert predictions. Low rates don't sell homes, but they do make monthly payments easier to manage for households torn between renting or buying.

And, lastly, March and April's new home sales may have been buoyed by aggressive discounting on behalf of homebuilders. As compared to February 2010, April's average new home sale price was lower by 13 percent. That's a sharp drop in a short period of time.

For now, though, homes are selling, supplies are dropping, and buyer interest is high. It's no wonder builder confidence is soaring.

Because of strife in Greece, Spain and North Korea, conforming mortgage rates are back to all-time lows. They're at levels not seen in 50 years.  For homeowners that missed the Refi Boom of November 2009, it's a second chance.

In this well-presented, 3-minute video from NBC's The Today Show, you'll get tips getting low rates and choosing the best time to lock in.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Why were the experts wrong about rates moving higher this summer?
• How much money can you save with a 1 point drop in your interest rate?
• Should you buy a bigger home now that rates have fallen?

The advice in the piece is matter-of-fact and centered.  There is no cheerleading and the message is honest. Mortgage rates are low and they likely won't stay that way.  If you've been thinking about a refinance, talk to your loan officer as soon as possible.

Sales of existing homes rose in April, buoyed by an expiring home buyer tax credit and exceptionally low mortgage rates.

As compared to March, April's Existing Home Sales rose by 410,000 units nationwide -- the second straight month of large gains. An "existing home" is a home resold by a prior owner (i.e. not new construction).

It's a solid report for housing overall, with rising sales suggesting that the real estate market's recovery is ongoing. However, the data presented a mixed message.

According to the National Association of Realtors®, although the number of homes sold ticked higher in April,  so did the supply of existing homes for sale, too.

Sellers are now listing homes faster than buyers can buy them.

After adding another 0.3 months of supply in April, resale home supply is nearly two full months larger than at November 2009's low-point. This put downward pressure on home prices.

Furthermore, because 49% of April's buyers were first-time buyers and the tax credit has since ended, we can expect that sellers will continue to outweigh buyers in the months ahead.

It presents an interesting opportunity for June's home buyers. Mortgage rates are still at their lowest levels of the year -- despite expert predictions to the contrary -- and homes remain affordable. Plus, in a lot of markets, home values have started to creep higher.

There's good values and good rates but neither should last long. For the next few weeks, real estate may be in its 2010 sweet spot.

If you were thinking of moving in September of this year or later, consider moving up your timeframe.

While the demand for mortgage loans to purchase a new home has declined following the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, mortgage applications overall, increased last week as home owners looked to refinance. Mortgage rates have reached their lowest levels since March and many homeowners are looking to refinance their mortgage loans. While falling home prices have reduced the popularity of refinancing to tap into home equity, low mortgage rates have drawn the attention of borrowers looking to reduce their interest payments.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported an increase in the number of applications for mortgage loans. The first week of May saw just under a 4 percent jump in applications from the previous week. With U.S. fixed rate mortgages hovering close to 5 percent, many homeowners jumped at the opportunity to refinance into lower mortgage rates. And with home prices starting to stabilize, the housing market is beginning to return to business as usual.

In the past few years homeowners have seen tremendous volatility in the housing market, including some of largest declines in home prices in recent memory. Falling home prices have wiped out an unprecedented amount of U.S. homeowner's equity, shaking up the mortgage business. With home prices showing more stability, borrowers and lenders can once again be confident that once a home is refinanced its value will most likely not fall below the mortgage balance. Some borrowers have even chosen to do cash-in refinances, putting more equity into their home to qualify for lower interest rates.

Mortgage Rates Remain Incredibly Low.

Despite the Federal Reserve ending it mortgage purchasing program, mortgage rates remain low. The Mortgage Banker Association reported that they were as low as 4.96 percent for the first week of May. While above the 4.76 percent they were this time last year, the sub 5 percent rates are still historically low. Many homeowners have been waiting for rates to once again dip down and as the trend of increased mortgage loan applications indicates they are swooping in to take advantage.

In some lower price ranges, because values have nudged up over the last year, some homeowners who couldn't refinance a year or two ago, now can - at historically low fixed rates! Look into it with your favorite loan person - I can recommend a couple of good ones.

DataQuick’s homebuying stats for April are out, and they show a real estate market still on the mend with sales of all residences of 2,669 — that’s up 11.60% in a year and the best April in 3 years. Median selling price was $430,000 — up 13.2% in a year. Also …

Slice Price Yr. ago Sales Yr. ago Houses $505,000 +17.4% 1,704 +9.7% Condos $299,000 +16.6% 877 +18.7% New $629,500 +32.8% 88 -11.1% All O.C. $430,000 +13.2% 2,669 +11.6%

• $430,000 median selling price that is still 33% below June 2007’s peak of $645,000.
• The most recent median is 16% above the cyclical low hit in January 2009 at $370,000 — a current bottom that was -43% below the peak.
• Prices fell on a year-over-year basis from Sept. 2007 through August. (Worst at -31.5% in August 2008.)
• Single-family homes resell for 31% less than their peak pricing (June ‘07) while condos sell 36% below their peak in March 2006. Builder prices for new homes are 27% below their February ‘05 top.
• Single-family homes were 69% more expensive than condos in this period vs. 68% a year ago. From 1990-2008, the average house/condo gap was 57%.
• 2,669 residencessold in April vs. 1997-2006 monthly sales average of 4,304 per month.
• Builder’s new homes sales were 3% of all residences sold in the period vs. 4% a year ago. From 1990-2008, builders did 15% of the selling.

May 18th, 2010,  by Jon Lansner  of the Orange County Register

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On the first Friday of every month, the U.S. government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report. 

More commonly called "the jobs report", Non-Farm Payrolls is a major market mover. The number of working Americans is directly tied to the health of the economy which, in turn, drives the stock and bond markets.

In general, when jobs numbers improve, it's good for stocks and bad for mortgage bonds. It follows, therefore, that conforming mortgage rates in California rise because rates always move opposite of mortgage bond prices.

Conversely, when jobs numbers worsen, it tends to be bad for stocks and good for mortgage bonds.  Mortgage rates fall.

Today, markets are behaving a bit differently.

Despite 290,000 jobs created in April 2010 -- nearly twice the expected amount -- and a 40 percent upward revision of March's numbers, mortgage rates are essentially unchanged. 

In a normal environment, rates would be higher.  Today is not normal.

Today is a departure because, for all of the jobs report's import to Wall Street, it's less important to markets than what's happening in Greece right now.

Greece is struggling to meet its debt obligations and its citizens are rioting.

Until a debt solution for Greece is made that sticks, unrest in the region will drive safe haven buying both domestically and abroad. U.S. mortgage bonds will gain on that movement because mortgage bonds are "safe", and mortgage rates will fall.

Indeed, this is exactly what's been happening since the start of April. Mortgage markets have been rallying for 5 weeks.

So, today's jobs news is terrific for the economy and mortgage rates should be rising because of it.  But, they're not. Consider taking advantage -- lock in a rate.

There is an interesting phenomenon going on, even while doom & gloom bloggers predict gigantic Tsunami’s of foreclosures heading our way. The following is excerpted from an article out of Texas this week.

“Every week, new home sellers are hitting the market, basing their initial asking prices on recent contracts, sales, and other active listings, and influencing active market prices.  And what does this have to do with foreclosures?  It provides a glimpse into housing market psychology.

Homeowner Henry down in Texas is underwater in his mortgage, or at a minimum, feels some personal economic strain.  He’s trying to determine if he’s in a walk-away situation or not, with his decision metrics at least partially based on his local housing market conditions.  As Henry starts to see active houses sell quickly, get multiple bids, and fetch a decent price, he starts to think – “Hey – maybe the market’s not so bad.  Things are starting to sell at a good price.  I’m going to hang on for another couple of months.  I don’t really want to move anyway, and if the market is improving, I can start to gain back some of that on-paper loss.”  Aggregating this behavior and market psychology yields fewer delinquencies and foreclosures in the short run.

Looking at delinquencies rates and housing market conditions in 2009, the peak in delinquencies were exactly correlated to the trough in home prices.  As the 2009 housing market strengthened and prices accelerated through the Spring, delinquencies fell simultaneously.

And speaking of Texas, Steve Brown of the Dallas Morning News published “Dallas-Fort Worth home foreclosure filings drop 12%” today in which he writes:  Home foreclosures have turned lower for next month’s forced sales.  The 4,861 Dallas-Fort Worth homes scheduled for foreclosure in May represent a 12 percent decline from year-earlier totals. And foreclosure filings are down 21 percent from the recent peak in March, Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said Thursday.  His article also provides some local data points of foreclosure rates by county in the Dallas Metro area. 

Home foreclosures have turned lower for next month’s forced sales. The 4,861 Dallas-Fort Worth homes scheduled for foreclosure in May represent a 12 percent decline from year-earlier totals.  And foreclosure filings are down 21 percent from the recent peak in March, Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said Thursday. 

Let’s take a look at active housing prices for these counties.  The two markets with the largest decline in foreclosure filings (a good thing) – Dallas and Tarrant County – have housing markets with median ask prices that hit an trough point in March (when foreclosure filings were higher) and are seeing an clear increase each week in the Prices of New Listings.” ( End of excerpt.)

This is a big reason why you shouldn’t be paying as much attention to dire warnings from doom & gloom bloggers, about huge waves of new foreclosures on the horizon.  As distressed homeowners – especially in the lowest price ranges - see their local markets improving, they are far more likely to hang in there, instead of giving up and going through a credit destroying foreclosure.

And because in some areas – such as my Orange County – the lower price ranges have actually increased in value by over 10% in the past 14 months, many who were considering a short sale can now actually have an equity sale, which has even stronger demand ( read higher prices.) from today’s throngs of willing buyers.  If you are a homeowner who thinks that you’re underwater, you just might have another think coming.

April 30th, 2010, · posted by Jeff Collins of the Orange County Register
 

A lot of last-minute homebuying decisions were made Friday as buyers rushed to qualify for a federal tax credit that expired that day.

Buyers needed to have a signed contracts in hand to get a credit of $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers. They also must close escrow by June 30.

“I think there’s definitely some last-minute scurrying around,” said Tustin agent Charles Folcke. “I’m sure that if some offers are accepted (this weekend), agents are going to backdate it.”

“Lots of quick decisions (were) made this week from our fabulous last-minute type of folks,” added Huntington Beach agent Vivian Young. “I’ve been showing property for lots of clients the entire month to quickly get them under contract before the month ends.”

Broker Steve Thomas of Altera Real Estate reported that the number of deals signed increased 6.2 percent from two weeks ago and 10 percent over the past month.

“Buyers are pushing their way into escrow, but I think the momentum will carry even after the expiration,” Thomas said.

Coto de Caza agent Bob Phillips spent part of Friday dashing from Santa Ana to Capistrano Beach, then to a listing agent’s office to get a signed contract to an East Coast bank in time for its approval.

His clients got outbid Thursday, after offering $11,000 over the asking price on a bank-owned home. His cell phone rang at 6 a.m. Friday with news that the top bidder got cold feet and backed out.

He had to drive to both clients’ work places to get their signatures, then dash over to the listing agent’s office for the bank’s approval.

“I am now going to drive to Dana Point to open the escrow before they close at 5 p.m.,” he said Friday. “It has been an exciting day.”

Several agents noted that buyers stopped looking at homes listed as short sales, or selling below what’s owed the bank, since lenders typically are pokey in responding to offers.

Thomas and others predicted that the $200,000 set aside for the California tax credit likely will be exhausted in a month, rather than in the seven months allotted for it.

“There is still a lot of confusion about the California tax credit, which will last about a minute,” Thomas said. “The first 17,500 lucky first-time home buyers win and everybody else is going to be upset.”