David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer | Fairway Independant Mortgage Corporation

Home Building Expected to Rise in 2015

Blog, Loan, Mortgage Lynnwood Mortgage Loan January 22nd, 2015 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

With 2015 well underway, the National Association of Home Builders is looking forward at the coming year. Strong employment, low interest rates, and the greater availability of mortgage loans are making for a very good outlook for the real estate world, as pent-up demand continues to be released across the country.

Though the Millennial generation continues to be hampered by poor wage growth and crippling student debt, this generation is starting to reach the low 30’s. More and more of this key demographic are getting ready to get comfortable and invest in real estate, which should fuel the housing market in the coming years.

With this in mind, NAHB is expecting a rise in homebuilding for 2015. Their forecast shows single-family home production rising 26% to 804,000 units. In terms of multifamily projects, the anticipation is 358,000 building starts, representing a 2% increase over 2014. Sales of new homes for single families is expected to reach 564,000, a 29.3% gain over last year, while residential remodeling is expected to rise by 3%.

Extending Foreclosure Protection for the Military

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan December 23rd, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

During the Iraq war, many reservists and members of the National Guard were called into action, forcing them to walk away from full-time jobs in favor of their military commitments. Unfortunately, this would frequently mean taking a significant pay cut. By the time they were done with their duties abroad, they would often come home with severe financial hardships, frequently struggling to keep up payments on their mortgage loans.

In response to this problem, many people have been pushing to grant additional foreclosure protection to current and past members of the military. Currently, such homeowners are protected by the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, which was incorporated in 2008. This legislation forbids banks from foreclosing on a military member for a period following his or her return from active duty, provided that the mortgage loan in question was issued before said duty. Originally, this period was nine months. In 2012 it was lengthened to a full year.

Since this act was scheduled to expire at the end of this year, there has recently been a movement in Congress to put an extension on this protection. On December 11th, the Senate passed this extension by a unanimous vote. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, who have yet to act.

Mortgage Rates Return to 2014 Lows

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan December 15th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Mortgage rates have been edging slowly downward this month, enough to bring the average rate to one of the year’s lowest levels. As of December 10th, the most prevalently-quoted 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down to 3.875. Aside from some fleeting instances of particularly low rates that were seen during the turbulent morning of October 15th, these are the lowest rates we have seen for over half a year.

The strength in the current mortgage market can be attributed to weak activity in oil and the stock market. Though neither of these are directly connected to the housing market, there does tend to be a correlation between low stock activity and low mortgage rates. Generally speaking, when the stock market lags, the bond market picks up a bit. The bond market then sees some improvement, which raises prices and pushes rates lower.

Luxury Home Sales Remain Strong in Seattle

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer December 8th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

With all of the changes taking place in the real estate market, one might think that buyers would be increasingly less inclined to spring for luxury homes. However, despite rising prices and shifts in buyer attitudes, the sales of homes above $1 million have remained strong in Seattle and throughout the country.

This is according to a report from Redfin, which demonstrates that luxury home sales were up by nine percent in the third quarter of 2014, despite the 1.2 percent drop in home sales as a whole, compared to the third quarter of 2013. The market for such homes has been particularly strong in Seattle, which came in at number eight on Redfin’s list of top cities for luxury home sales.

Some cities, particularly those which were most attractive to foreign real estate investors, were not as lucky. It would seem that overseas investment in luxury homes is beginning to wane. Fortunately, it would seem that domestic buyers are currently up to the task of making up the difference for much of the nation.

Predicting the Impact from Future HELOC Loan Resets Time to Refinance?

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer December 1st, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

by MPA | Nov 26, 2014

The majority of home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were originated at the peak of the home equity boom between 2004 and 2006, so the concern now is the oncoming wave of defaults when the estimated $190 billion in HELOC loans reset between the fourth quarter and 2017.

The fear is that payment shock will not only cause a wave of defaults, but that it also may impact bank balance sheets and the mortgage markets where HELOCs are concentrated. Unlike the first-lien market when banks sold off most of the credit risk, more than 85% or $580 billion worth of HELOC loans are on bank balance sheets, and nearly 50% of them are located in California, Florida, and New York. So, should the market brace itself for the big storm of the reset, or are the fears unfounded?

Should you have a HELOC that was originated in 2004 – 2007 the time is now to Refinance by going to the David Haley Mortgage website and applying now! If you need more info on David Haley, check out his Testimonials or try out his Mortgage Calculator. With home values on the rise, it is time to take advantage of the current market trend! Call David Haley today to see what your true Blended Mortgage Rate is.

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Could Obama’s Immigration Plan Stimulate the Housing Market?

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer November 24th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Immigration reform has been a big deal for the Obama administration recently, with ambitious new legislation being put into place to protect many undocumented immigrants from deportation. Though there remains some controversy around the president’s plan, the housing industry could likely look forward to a healthy and robust future if Obama gets his way.

The fact is that Hispanics, which represent the greatest portion of the immigrants who can look forward to benefit from the new legislation, also represent a significant part of the housing market’s future. At present, one out of every four Millennials is of Hispanic origin. As the largely white Boomer generation settles into their permanent homes, it is this younger and larger generation that is going to be driving most new home purchases throughout the coming years.

Meanwhile, statistics show that Hispanics are trending towards homeownership more rapidly than other racial groups. Hispanics are expected to be the driving force behind 180,000 to 220,000 new homeowners every year up to 2020, and then even more into the following decade. This could account for over 55.5 percent of new homeowners through the end of this decade.

It is therefore that a revamped immigration system designed to accommodate reasonable and hard-working immigrants could very well translate into a significant boon for the country as a whole. By allowing more incoming Hispanics to qualify for mortgage loans and achieve their dreams of homeownership, we can look forward to a thriving real estate market well into the future.

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MMIF Returns to Solvency

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer November 17th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

As the economy continues to improve, more good news is coming into the housing market. Though forecasts as recent as 2012 were grim for the future of the Federal Housing Administration’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, HUD recently announced that the MMIF has returned to solvency a full three years ahead of schedule. As of Monday, it was reported that the Fund was up nearly $6 billion dollars in value from the same time last year. Meanwhile, its capital ratio jumped from negative .11% to a positive .41%.

HUD is attributing this impressive growth to the aggressive policy actions put into place over the past five years. Since the onset of the financial crisis, the FHA introduced tougher standards for their underwriting, recovery strategies, loss mitigation policies, and insurance premiums. This has resulted in a drop of delinquency rates in the agency’s portfolio of 14%, and a 16% improvement in recovery rates over the previous year.

Going forward, the FHA hopes to maintain this strong trend and continue to be a valuable asset to the housing market. To do so, the agency plans to continue improving transparency and certainty in regards to their loans. Meanwhile, with mortgage insurance premiums at an all-time high, the FHA hopes to find a way to achieve a proper balance that will maintain their sustainability while simultaneously serving the borrowing public.

Fannie Mae Says: “Good Time to Sell!”

Blog, Fannie Mae Lynnwood Mortgage Lender November 10th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

The October National Housing Survey is in, and the outlook is good. Overall, it would seem that we are seeing a continuation in the trends that have been marking an improving economy throughout the past months. Between improving mortgage conditions and personal economic situations, it would seem that it is finally a good time to sell.

The percentage of survey respondents who expected home prices to go up in the coming year dropped to forty-four, down one point from the previous month. The percent who expect home prices to go up also dropped one point to seven percent. It would seem that we can probably expect prices to remain more or less the same for a while.

As far as mortgage rate projections go, respondents who expect them to go up jumped from forty-five percent to forty-eight percent, while those who expect them to stay the same dropped from forty-five to thirty-eight.

A big factor that’s going to be tipping the market in favor of sellers is going to be the improving economic situation for potential buyers. An increasing number of people expect their personal financial situations to improve over the coming year, which means more people looking to move up. This all adds up to favorable conditions for home sellers.

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Baby Boomers Ignoring Common Mortgage Wisdom

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan November 3rd, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

The importance of planning for your retirement in your real estate investments has been discussed at length in the past. As you grow old, it’s often a good idea to downsize to a smaller home in order to eliminate any remaining mortgage loans for the rest of your golden years. However, according to a survey from the Demand Institute, a surprising number of Baby Boomers are going against conventional wisdom.

The survey found that many retired people are content to stay put in the homes they spent their lives in, even if they are too big or ill equipped to fit their needs. A full sixty-three percent of Baby Boomers have no plans to move from their homes, most of them having lived in their current homes for more than the past ten years. Though some of these people need to stay in place due to financial hardship or other situations out of their control, eighty-five percent are choosing to remain where they are.

Meanwhile, of the Boomers who do plan to move, many are declining to downsize. About fifty-eight percent of the Boomer population surveyed said that they want to have at least as much home as they currently have, if not more. A full forty-six percent of people apparently intend to upsize their homes into something better when they move.

Unfortunately, this is all adding up to an increase in debt. Baby Boomers are more burdened by debt than previous generations at the same stage of life. Since 1992, the balance of their mortgage loans has risen 142%. Boomers are therefore advised to carefully consider their finances going into retirement, and just how much they need out of a home in their golden years.

Underwater Mortgages a New Low

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan October 27th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

The financial crisis saw many unfortunate homeowners go underwater with their mortgage loans. With the economy improving, though, and the Fed working to save these imperiled homes, negative equity is dropping across the country. According to RealtyTrac, as of the third quarter of 2014, the percentage of American homes with underwater mortgage loans dropped to fifteen percent.

These new figures represent the lowest result RealtyTrac has reported since it began tracking underwater mortgages in the beginning of 2012. At this time, underwater home loans in America were dancing dangerously close to the thirty percent range. The number peaked in the second quarter of 2012 with twenty-nine percent. Meanwhile, equity-rich homes are slowly rising as well, representing roughly twenty percent of all home loans. We can therefore see that significant progress has been made.

Unfortunately, we still have some way to go. Negative equity in this country still exceeds one trillion dollars. Further, RealtyTrac says that an additional sixteen percent of mortgages are in danger of falling underwater. The real estate market therefore looks to the future for further recovery.

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