U.S. home sales climb

U.S. home sales climb at fastest pace in 10 monthsBy Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. made goods rose in February for the first time in seven months and new home sales rebounded, government reports showed on Wednesday, suggesting the economic downturn might be easing a bit.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 3.4 percent to $165.6 billion in February, the biggest gain since December 2007, after a 7.3 percent plunge the prior month.

In another report, the department said sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes rose at their fastest pace in 10 months in February.

The data are the latest in a series of recent economic reports indicating the downturn in the economy, after a brutal fourth quarter, may be moderating.

"This is consistent with the data that we've seen for January and February, reflecting the fact that the pace of the decline in the U.S. economy has stabilized somewhat from the significant decline seen in November and December," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at the Bank of New York Mellon, in New York.

U.S. equity indexes extended gains after the new home sales data, while U.S. Treasury debt prices fell and the U.S. dollar was lower against the euro.

SLOW DOWN IN PACE OF DETERIORATION

Recent data, including retail sales and housing, have pointed to some signs of a slowdown in the pace of the economy's downturn. The U.S. economy slipped into recession in December 2007.

New durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 3.9 percent in February, the largest gain since August 2005, the Commerce Department said. Orders for machinery soared 13.5 percent in February, the biggest increase since March 2004.

(Additional reporting by Julie Haviv in New York; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

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Government Help For Current Homeowners

Source:  HUD "Making Home Affordable"

What is “Making Home Affordable" all about? 

Making Home Affordable is part of President Obama's comprehensive strategy to get the housing market back on track. Through the Making Home Affordable Program, up to 9 million American families may be eligible to refinance or modify their loans to a payment that is affordable now and into the future. 

Homeowners Who Pay Their Mortgage on Time

Eligible borrowers who are current on their mortgages but have been unable to take advantage of today's lower interest rates because their homes have decreased in value, may now have the opportunity to refinance. Through the Home Affordable Refinance Program, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow the refinancing of mortgage loans that they own or that they placed in mortgage backed securities.

Beginning April 4, 2009, borrowers whose loans are owned or securitized by Fannie Mae may also apply through any Fannie Mae approved lender.  That's me!

 

Are You Eligible? 

Use the following link to determine eligibility.

http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/refinance_eligibility.html

 

Frequent Questions

http://www.financialstability.gov/docs/borrower_qa.pdf

Rates Below 5%

Bonds skyrocket on Fed's $300B pledge

Bond prices spike after Federal Open Market Committee says it will purchase long-term Treasurys over the next six months.

By David Goldman and Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writers

Last Updated: March 18, 2009: 5:19 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasury prices surged Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve said it would buy up to $300 billion in long-term Treasurys - a move the central bank has hinted at for months.

By 4:46 p.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note had plummeted more than 0.5 percentage points to 2.499% from 3.01% late Tuesday, the largest single-day drop since Oct. 20, 1987.

The 30-year long bond skyrocketed 5 points immediately following the announcement, while the yield, which moves opposite to price, tumbled. At one point, the price surged more than 7 points before easing.

Many interest rates on various forms of debt are tied to long-term Treasury yields, including 10-year mortgage rates. The Fed has been exploring all of its options in an effort to lower interest rates after it lowered its rate to a range of 0.25% to 0%.

First Published: March 18, 2009: 7:55 AM ET

Housing starts unexpectedly surge

Government report shows construction of new homes jumped 22% in February.

By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Last Updated: March 17, 2009: 9:32 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Initial construction of U.S. homes unexpectedly surged in February, after falling for eight months, according to a government report released Tuesday.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 last month, up 22% from a revised 477,000 in January, according to the Commerce Department. It was the first time housing starts increased since June, when they rose 11%.

Economists were expecting housing starts to decline to 450,000, according to consensus estimates compiled by Briefing.com. Still, starts are down more than 47% from February 2008, when over 1.1 million new homes broke ground.

New construction of single-family homes, considered the core of the housing market, increased 1.1% to an annual rate of 357,000 versus 353,000 in January.

February's increase was driven by a nearly 80% increase in construction of multi-family homes. New construction of buildings with 5 or more units increased surged 80% to 212,000 from 118,000 in January.

Applications for building permits, considered a reliable sign of future construction activity, rose 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 547,000 last month. Economists were expecting permits to fall to 500,000.

While the surge in new construction was a welcome sign for the nation's battered housing market, analysts warned that the increase could be short lived.

"With new home sales still falling and the months' supply at a record, there is no reason for homebuilding to rise," wrote Ian Sheperdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in a research note. "This is a temporary rebound, not a recovery."

New home construction surged in the Northeast, jumping nearly 89% last month. Starts also increased in the Midwest and the South.

In the West, where the housing market was overbuilt in the boom years and where there is a glut of foreclosed homes, starts declined nearly 25% versus the previous month.  

Fast, Secure Online Prequals

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Here It Is

www.SecurePrequal.com

Simply direct your clients to SecurePrequal.com.  We'll get your answers within 24 hours or less.

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Cell: 317-501-3467

$8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit for 2009

The tax credit at a glance:

The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.  A 1st time home buyer is defined as an individual who has not owned a home for the previous (3) years.

The tax credit does not have to be repaid.  It is a credit, not a deduction against taxable income.

The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

The fact that the credit is refundable means that the home buyer credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no federal income tax liability to offset. Typically this involves the government sending the taxpayer a check for a portion or even all of the amount of the refundable tax credit.

For example, if a qualified home buyer expected, notwithstanding the tax credit, federal income tax liability of $5,000 and had tax withholding of $4,000 for the year, then without the tax credit the taxpayer would owe the IRS $1,000 on April 15th. Suppose now that the taxpayer qualified for the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. As a result, the taxpayer would receive a check for $7,000 ($8,000 minus the $1,000 owed).

Click HERE for more details

Consumer credit: Surprise $1.8 billion jump

Consumer borrowing showed a surprise rise in January, snapping a three-month decline and signaling that households may have started to loosen their purse strings.

Total consumer borrowing rose by $1.8 billion to $2.564 trillion in January, according to the Fed. That's an increase from a revised $2.563 trillion in December.

Economists were expecting consumer credit to fall by $5 billion in January, according to a consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com.

Unexpected Fall in Jobless Claims

According to the Associated press, See Article Here, jobless claims experienced an unexpected fall this past week. The Labor Department expected 650,000 new claims. Actual claims came in at 639,000.

Obstacles are Always Opportunities in Disguise!

March madness begins.  Welcome to the Spring Season!  How can you create a strong pipeline and get closings this season? You can be successful.  It does not matter if you are a listing agent, a buyer's agent, a loan officer or a combination of all of them!

Today I'm going to review a basic idea, "Marketing 101".   

Determine Your Client's Need and Give Them a Way to Satisfy the Need

First things first.  Who is your client?  Is your client the home buyer, the home owner, a company that refers clients to you or a person who refers clients?  It may be all of them.  Here's where Marketing 101 comes into play.

#1  What is the need, or the problem, your client has?  

#2  What can you do to help solve the problem?

Obstacles are Always Opportunities in Disguise!

Example

Here's a fresh approach that was introduced to me several years ago.  I am a mortgage banker and I want to do loans.  I want real estate agents to refer borrowers to me.  Therefore, the real estate agent is my client.  I believe that most agents wish to increase their sales.  Think about how you can adapt the idea for your referral partners.  

"I am a different type of mortgage banker.  I believe that if you are going to help build my business by referring your clients to me, that I am obligated to help YOU build your business.  That is what I do.  I help you build your business.  I have an ongoing supply of individuals who wish to purchase homes.  I need to match those individuals with trusted referral partners."

Who are your potential or existing referral partners.  How can you help build their business? Concentrate on solutions and not the problem.