The Palo Alto real estate market

Mortgage, Real Estate No Responses »
Jan 052011
The most expensive real estate in the Bay Area
Image by Jose C Silva via Flickr

The Palo Alto real estate market, part of the larger Bay Area housing market, saw a generally lackluster performance in the month of November, despite a lower rate of foreclosures. According to statistics from MDA DataQuick, the number of home sales in the San Francisco area remained constant relative to October 2010 and actually declined substantially compared to November 2009. In addition to lower sales volume, the median sales price also declined, a result of fewer high-priced properties being purchased. In the month of November, 6,111 properties were sold throughout the Bay Area, compared to 6,122 in October and 6,878 in November 2009. The season drop between October and November is an expected decline, but the year-over-year weakness reflects continued uncertainty in the overall real estate market. In terms of average purchasing price, that figure also declined relative to last month and last year. While the median price was $383,000 in October 2010 and $387,000 in November 2009, it was down by about one and two percent, respectively to $380,000 in November 2010. While this number is well above the low of $290,000 in March 2009, it is drastically below the market’s high of $665,000.

The number of foreclosures in the Bay Area, including Palo Alto, decreased relative to the same time last year. According to a report from the Contra Costa Times, this decrease can largely be attributed to a seasonal decrease in foreclosure levels, as well as the fallout of the so-called “robo-signing” scandal. A report from Realty Trac indicated that there were 5,609 Bay Area properties at some point in the foreclosure process during the month of November 2010. This was a drop of 8.4 percent from October’s figures, and a decrease of almost eleven percent compared to November 2010. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that this temporary slowdown will carry over to the next tracking period. Despite this, the number of completed foreclosures in the region was down by more than one third compared to both last month and last year. This means that fewer Palo Alto and Bay Area homes for sale were on the market because of bank auctions.

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Posted by admin at 9:00 pm Tagged with:

Zero Down Home Loans

Mortgage No Responses »
Sep 182010

People who are buying their very first home may or may not have a lot of money to put down on it, but they are even more motivated to make this big decision due to the buyers’ market being so appealing. Others just want a bigger home because their current one may be feeling a little cramped; these people may discover that when they sell their old home, they will not be left with the 20 percent down payment for the new home. Today’s market has an increasing amount of potential buyers that need to acquire home loans that don’t ask for any money down. Due to demand for these types of loans being so high, the availability of them is low. This makes homebuyers feel defeated and want to give up, but there is hope.

If an individual is a United States Military veteran, then he or she may be eligible to receive a VA zero down home loan. People who have served their country can expect to have access to certain perks, and this loan is no exception. A VA home loan has great rates, and there is not any private mortgage insurance associated with them.

For the rest of the people who have not served their country they will be required to pay a minimum of 3.5% on a FHA loan. They will also have to finance Private Mortgage Insurance. If certain banks or mortgage companies are used, the deposit required may range from 5 to 10 percent, but you should be prepared to deal with significantly higher rates. These institutions will most likely also require PMI and will be stricter about your income requirements. The purpose of the PMI is to protect the lender from the risk that comes along with lending out an amount that is 80 percent or higher of the cost of the home.

There are two main aspects of a PMI Hawaii, the first being the loan to value. As the amount of money you plan on putting down decreases, your monthly PMI payments will increase. The second aspect of a PMI is your credit score. The better a person’s credit score is, the lower their monthly payment will be.

Before you apply for a loan it would be beneficial to have your finances organized. An individual should already know where they will be getting the money for their down payment, they should know their credit score and have a copy of it, and have a budget already set that will be affordable to them and their financial situation.

Posted by admin at 1:13 am
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