Current Market Alert

Rising Home Prices, Increased Interest Rates - What Options do Home Buyers have in 2022?
Rates are going up and so are home prices.  Don't get caught (like the Fed) with your pants down. Strategies going into this previous weekend and week. It's changing fast!

Being competitive isn't strategic, it's a must. Competitive offer tactics can include:
appraisal gap insurance
short closing timelines
waiving inspection items
strong loan approval
Here are some loan approval options to make your offer stand out.
Prequalification is the very first and most common step with online and box lenders. This is the bare minimum.
Pre-approval submitting the loan documentation to the lender.
A pre-approval letter gives the listing agent and seller confidence that what you say you make is what you make, and what you say you have is true.
10 Day Close Earnest money guarantee loan approval through the Rueth Team.You can keep shopping, but once approved and no changes to your status, the Rueth Team will guarantee your earnest money.
Sellers want the best experience selling so they can turn around and buy their next home. 
Tune in to this short and helpful episode. Learn more about this offer Nicole covers here >

Interest rates are at an all-time low which means a lower monthly payment. But how much? If you are thinking of purchasing a home for $400,000 with 15% down at 4.25%, between taxes, mortgage interest, insurance, and principal, your monthly payment would be around $2,125. BUT that same home purchased at 3.25%, that would lower your payment to about $1,900. What are you going to do with that saved $225/month? If you put that saving BACK into your home, you'd pay off your mortgage 6 years earlier. This would also save you $41,000 in interest. Listen to the rest of this 3-minute tip to get more information.

The economy is finding it's footing as people move from safer at home to back to work.. as restaurants and stores begin to open and some sort of new normal takes shape. Real estate is bouncing back with a resurgence in demand and opportunities ... even in this "recession". The nation as a whole is suffering shortages, and demand is ramping up so prices are going up and up! Key indicators suggested before pandemic there would be higher demand, but because unemployment has skyrocketed, the market dropped in April. But get the full story here.
 
Nicole Rueth The Rueth Team of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 750 W Hampden Avenue, Suite 500 Englewood, CO 80110 303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com

Forbearance GREAT News for Your Clients.  You've heard me talking about how brutal the consequences were for taking a forbearance. It was something the designers of the Cares Act did not foresee. It took FHFA 6 weeks to figure it out. But they finally did. Listen to find out how the 12-month waiting period just got reduced to zero or three months and a quick summary of the four options for exiting a forbearance and their timing updates.

Forbearance .. how to get in, get out, and the 12 month waiting period There have been more questions than answers when it comes to forbearance. Banks and servicers are making it oddly easy to get into forbearance making it seem like even if you don't need it, it's the right thing to do. But is it? It can affect your ability to get a lower interest rate or purchase a home for 12 months, locking you OUT of the market. Parents, sellers.. I'm talking to you as well. There are consequences the Cares Act did not think through. Listen to find out how to get in, get out, and more about the 12 month waiting period!

The numbers are stacked against us yet we keep charging forward. Real estate agents celebrated last night when Governor Polis announced they could do showings starting on Monday the 27th. Is it back to business as usual? Not even close. Take a look at these numbers
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiments is down 11.7% to its lowest level since December 2016 - University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Index was 101 in February, 89.1 in March and 71 in April.. down to its lowest level since 2009
NAR surveyed its members and 90% of them noted home buyer interest is down. 44% of them said the drop was more than 50%
MBA Purchase applications are down 35%
Unemployment is up to 17% based on last week's jobless numbers and will probably be over 20% when we get the updated number on Thursday
And finally, homeowners taking advantage of the forbearance plan is up to 2.9 million homes or 5.5% of the originations.

FHFA Director Mike Calabria, said today that they were going to "pause" on setting up any kind of liquidity facility for conventional loans. Unlike Ginnie Mae, which last week, set up a liquidity facility for government-backed loans...FHA, VA, USDA loans. Ginnie Mae said they were going to help support the Servicers of these loans to pay investors, property tax, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance for borrowers who couldn't make their payment
Typically, Servicers are able to handle changes in the market and handle a situation where a small percentage of borrowers don't make their payment. But, they are NOT able to withstand the magnitude of borrowers seeking Forbearance. if 25% of all mortgage holders take advantage of Forbearance, that could cost the Servicers up to $25 BILLION a month. No Servicer is set up to handle that massive amount of liquidity needs to satisfy investors, property tax and homeowners insurance.

FHA is NOT Dead; Forbearance is NOT Forgiveness, and this Market of the Moment is all about Liquidity
After spending hours reading the 880-page Stimulus Package that rolled out on Friday; as well as the Ginnie Mae Letter proposing a Pass-Through Assistance Program (PTAP) I have come to a few conclusions. Let's start with FHA. FHA is NOT Dead! I have heard too many rumors around this from lenders and Realtors alike. Just as many other loan products, FHA has to change in this environment but it is not going away. FHA loans with FICO scores under 660 have historically high default rates. Add to that our current mortgage forbearance environment with homeowners out of work; Servicers are not able to continue paying investors (as they are required to do by Ginnie Mae) when they have no money coming in (i.e. no mortgage payment revenue). This servicer crunch is the essence of the Ginnie Mae letter setting up a PTAP. The relief this provides is to be determined. So in the meantime, lenders and servicers have to protect themselves by shrinking the credit box.. i.e. higher credit scores and lower debt to income ratios. Second, Forbearance is NOT Forgiveness; it also isn't deferment.

This episode followed the first portion of the new Agent Ignite Coffee Talk series on Friday mornings. This week questions poured in including these topics:
Forbearance, Unemployment claims, HELOC rates, FHA loans, investor rates, furloughed limitations in qualifying, COVID-19 addendums, rate locks, jumbo loans. Listen to this episode of The Double Comma Club.