I am off on vacation but I thought I would send out this interesting article on the migration of our youth.  Doesn’t seem like things have changed much.

The FDIC board of directors today approved a final rule to raise the appraisal thresholds for commercial real estate transactions from $250,000 to $500,000 — an increase from the original proposal, which called for the appraisal threshold to be raised to $400,000. The threshold for loans secured by 1-to-4 family residential properties will remain at $250,000; however, residential construction loans secured by multiple 1-to-4 residential properties would be considered CRE transactions. The final rule must now be approved by the Federal Reserve and the OCC; once approved by the agencies, it will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

ABA has supported an increase to the CRE appraisal threshold, noting in previous comments that doing so would provide immediate relief to banks that are currently struggling with a shortage of certified appraisers — particularly in rural areas — and long appraisal turnaround times. For more information, contact ABA’s Sharon Whitaker.

FDIC Board Approves Appraisal Threshold Increase for CRE Transactions

WASHINGTON, DC – The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) fell 3.7 points in February to 85.8, reversing last month’s increase. The decline can be attributed to decreases in five of the six HPSI components. The net share of respondents who said now is a good time to buy a home decreased 5 percentage points compared to January. Additionally, the net share who reported that now is a good time to sell a home decreased 2 percentage points. The net share who said home prices will go up in the next 12 months decreased 7 percentage points in February, while the net share of consumers who said mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months also decreased 7 percentage points. Americans expressed a weakened sense of job security, with the net share who say they are not concerned about losing their job decreasing 2 percentage points. Finally, the net share reporting that their income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago increased 1 percentage point. …continue reading the rest of this post: Housing Confidence Falls, Remains Volatile

I don’t know about the rest of you, but Southern California home prices are out of control.  Just my 2 cents.  Very entry level homes surged over $700k in my neighborhood.  Small 3/2 1200sf +/-

Now on to the article below:

Home prices increased in January, but the increase was even more pronounced among entry-level homes, according to the latest Home Price Index and HPI Forecast from CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider.

Home prices increased 6.6% from January 2017 to January 2018, and increased 0.5% from December to January, the report showed.

“Entry-level homes have been in particularly short supply, leading to more rapid home-price growth compared with more expensive homes,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said. “Homes with a purchase price less than 75% of the local area median had price growth of 9% during the year ending January 2018.” …continue reading the rest of this post: Shortage of entry level homes causes appreciation jump in January

MCLEAN, VA–(Marketwired – Feb 22, 2018) –  Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS^®), showing the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing for the seventh-consecutive week.

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.40 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending February 22, 2018, up from last week when it averaged 4.38 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.16 percent.
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.85 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.84 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.37 percent.
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.65 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.63. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.16 percent.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Mortgage Rates Continue Upward Climb

The use of technological alternatives to traditional residential property appraisals is likely to expand in the coming months and years, yet it could bring new risk to the mortgage industry, or so says a new report from Moody’s Investors Service.

Currently, most appraisers are currently in their late 50s. And those who are in the field aren’t mentoring a lot of trainees due to the lack of compensation and benefit, along with lender restrictions.

These problems are leading those in the housing industry to look for alternative solutions involving technology to solve the problem.

In November of last year, Freddie Mac announced it is planning a controversial new mortgage process that would not include appraisals, and would replace them with a free alternative valuation system. …continue reading the rest of this post: Appraisal alternatives pose new credit risks