Weekly News Round-Up
Let’s start the morning off with two articles in yesterday’s SF Chron. There was a smallish sidebar mention on page D2 about in-house appraisers, “Deal Bars Lenders from Using Own Appraisers.” Having worked for an independent real estate appraiser years ago, I never could understand the wisdom of allowing banks to have their own staff of appraisers. What better way to make a house appraise at a price conducive to a loan? A loan they will probably later sell anyway. Not such a good idea in my book, so this is a long time coming. For a more in-depth article on this subject, you can check out the NYTimes story “Fannie, Freddie Agree to New Appraisal Standards.”
Second is the report that fixed mortgages will decline yet again, as pronounced in “Freddie Mac Predicts Mortgage Rates Will Dive This Year.” The subtitle gives us hope and sadness at the same time: Company forecasts U.S. 30-year fixed mortgages will dip to an average of 5.5% for 2008—but won’t spur market recovery. I do like the notion of 5.5%, since I am thinking about refinancing, but I’d rather see the market recover, in all honesty.
The NYTimes has a cool interactive map of the U.S., designed to give you general home prices across the nation and how they have performed over the last 20 years. Charlotte (NC), Portland, and even Seattle seems to be faring pretty well, Tampa and Miami appear to be hardest hit among those cities listed, while Phoenix and Las Vegas had huge upspikes in 2004, ’05 and ’06, that are now plunging. By scanning over the map you can see the graph change and are so much more aware of how things have come and gone.
And just as I am in the planning stages of a kitchen renovation, Seeking Alpha has to burst my bubble (and try to dash my hopes of granite countertops) by giving us “Homeowners Feel the Pain of Over-Improvement Syndrome.” Tom Iacono makes a great case to delay any improvements, and to make many homeowners rue the ones already done.
Over at Orange County Sweet Digs, Julie Lance wrote a nice piece titled “Tips for Home Buyers: Just Chill Out for a Minute.” If you are in the market, check out the wisdom set down in helpful bullet points. And if you are in the mood for a chuckle, Carol Hian of San Diego Sweet Digs wrote a post on “If A House Could Talk.”
On a final note. if the US housing crisis has got you thinking about moving, you might want to consider the suburbs in Sydney, Australia. I hear they have been in a real estate slide since 2004, and prices are down 40%. Change of scenery at a bargain!
Recent Sweet Digs Posts:
Oakland Price Reductions: Focus on Crocker Highlands
