Home Sales Increase in March, Rates Continue to Rise

Originally posted on www.cffunding.com/index.php/news/ on April 22, 2014

In a recent post on the Insights blog, Corelogic Senior Economist Molly Boesel shared that home prices have increased by 10 percent year-over-year as of March 2014. CF Funding is glad to see positive equity return to homeowners as home prices rise. The sales pace is now 5.17 million, which is 31.5 percent higher than February’s pace of 3.93 million. This is to be expected as home sales rise in the Spring as weather improves. In comparison to previous years, however, the jump was high, as the average increase from February to March is 27 percent.

As CF Funding shared last week on their website, single-family home starts grew in February, and the Insights Blog confirms this trend as “improvement in March home sales were led by newly constructed homes which increased by 24 percent, followed by re-sales which increased by 19 percent.” Improvements in the amount of distressed sales were also evident, as last year’s 20.4 percent is now reduced to 13.7 percent. REO sales and short sales were also down, with short sales accounting for only 3.8 percent of total sales in March. According to Boesel, “REOs typically sell at a larger discount compared to healthy sales than do short sales… the more recent shift away from REO sales is a driver of improving home prices.” She emphasizes that distressed sales will never reach a level of 0, but ideally could return to pre-crisis lows of about 2 percent.

The state with the largest amount of distressed sales was Michigan, at 29.7 percent. Illinois was second with 25.9 percent, followed by Nevada, Florida, and Georgia. CF Funding is happy to share that California saw a large decrease in distressed sales in March, with a 17.4 percent drop. Unfortunately CF Funding’s hometown of Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights was reported with the highest amount of distressed sales in March of 25 Core Based Statistical Areas (based on population).

In other mortgage news today, mortgage rates continue to rise, as Mortgage News Daily reported that “rates pushed into their 2-week highs yesterday, but are still well under the levels seen in the first week of April.” The most frequently quoted rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage was about 4.5 percent, making today’s rates about .02 percent higher. These rates can be compared to 2014’s lows of about 4.25 percent and highs of about 4.625 percent.

For more information about home price and interest rates, follow CF Funding Corporation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cffundingcorp or contact a loan specialist today at (888)344-4080.

NAHB Compares Energy Savings to Age of Homes

In a recent blog post by the National Association of Home Builders, homes which are 4 years old or less were compared with older homes in regards to energy and routine maintenance costs. Of course, it is generally expected that older homes will have more maintenance costs. However, CF Funding was surprised to learn that 73 percent of new homeowners spend only $25 per month or less on routine maintenance. This is compared to the 26 percent of all homeowners who spend over $100 on maintenance costs.

The study compared information from the American Housing Survey (AHS) dating back to 2009. As seen in the chart on the left, the majority of homeowners in new homes pay much less on average for routine maintenance than the average homeowner.

Homeowners who are stuck in a decision between a higher-priced new home (less than 4 years old) and a less expensive older home should consider the facts. Not only do most new homeowners spend less than 25 dollars per month on routine maintenance, but the AHS also reported that new homeowners saw major savings in energy costs. Electricity costs for the average homeowner totaled about 81 cents per square foot per year, while newer homes averaged about 68 cents per square foot. Even lower electricity costs were seen in homes with piped gas, where homeowners spent about 50 cents per square foot per year.

Other utilities were reported similar results: while water bills averaged 28 cents per square foot per year, new homeowners saw average costs of 22 cents. The median trash bill for homeowners was 15 cents per square foot per year, and newer homes had a medium price of 13 cents. Not only do homeowners with properties less than 4 years old save on energy costs, but insurance costs can also be reduced, as the median property insurance for newer homes was 31 cents per square foot as opposed to the national average of 39 cents per square foot. According to the NAHB, “These reduced expenditures represent one of the many reasons that the current system of appraisals needs updating to reflect the flow of benefits that come from features in a new home.” Many of the benefits the NAHB is referring to may be seen in Green homes. As CF Funding reported in February, green homes have significantly contributed to the home construction market over the past few years and green homeowners frequently reported lower utility costs and better insulation. The lender is happy to see reduced energy costs for new homeowners as the quality of green home building continues to improve.

Both new and old homebuyers will need financing to support home purchases in 2014. Those who are home shopping this spring should contact CF Funding Corporation for a free preapproval and competitive interest rates on mortgage loans. CF Funding loan specialists are rated 5 stars on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cffundingcorp and on Yelp at http://www.yelp.com/biz/cf-funding-naperville

Leading Markets Index Shows Housing Market Improvement

The National Association of Home Builders released their Leading Markets Index (LMI) yesterday, revealing that “recovery continues to spread” as 59 metro markets nationwide returned to (or exceeded) their normal levels of housing activity. CF Funding is happy to share that the nationwide average is at 88 percent of normal economic and housing activity, based on current permit, price, and employment data. As CF Funding mentioned yesterday in the lender’s daily news feed, consumer attitudes are increasing per the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, and 68 percent of respondents said it is a good time to buy a home. The LMI confirms these consumer attitudes to be true, as the market continues to recover.

According to the NAHB, 28 percent of metro areas (out of 350 nationwide) saw their score rise this month and 83 percent of them have shown improvement over the past year. Chief Economist David Crowe shared an optimistic perspective, “It’s a promising sign to see areas like Los Angeles and San Jose joining the top ten largest MSAs showing a recovery. We still expect 2014 to be a strong year for housing and to aid in the overall recovery. The job market continues to mend and with that we will see a steady release of pent up demand of buyers.”

One continuously promising metro is Baton Rouge, LA, which scored 1.42 (42 percent better than its normal market levels). Honolulu, Oklahoma City, and Austin also topped the list. As the weather improves this Spring, CF Funding expects to see more metro areas reaching and exceeding their normal economic levels.

In other housing news, The Bureau of Labor Statistics has shared employment data revealing an increase in construction employment. The most recent report showed a 2.6 percent increase nationwide for February on a year-over-year basis. 73 percent of states had year-over-year increases as of February. Corelogic stated recently on their blog, “94 percent of states had increases in construction employment [during the housing boom], but that share fell to zero in the depths of the housing and financial crisis in 2009… while these year-over-year increases look tepid, they are strong when compared to the period of double-digit increases in construction employment from January 2009 to March 2010.” The state of Florida showed the largest year-over-year increase this February, improving by 11 percent. West Virginia showed the least improvement, with a 6.5 percent decrease in construction employment.

For more daily mortgage news, follow CF Funding on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cffundingcorp. CF Funding is now licensed in the state of Florida ! See all states where our services are available on our Facebook page or visit www.cffunding.com.

Foreclosures Down 35 Percent from Last Year

CF Funding is happy to share that foreclosures and shadow inventory continue to decrease, according to the February 2014 National Foreclosure Report by Corelogic. Foreclosure inventory is down 35 percent nationally from last year, and less than 1.9 million mortgages are in “serious delinquency.” CF Funding has shared previously that “foreclosures have decreased 31 percent nationally from December 2012 to December 2013” and “the U.S. has now seen over two years of declines in foreclosure inventory.” The lender hopes to see this trend continue into the rest of 2014.

The number of completed foreclosures in February 2014 was 43,000, which is down 15 percent in comparison to February 2013. February’s foreclosures are also down 13.1 percent in comparison to January 2014. As a point of comparison, Corelogic points out that “before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.” CF Funding hopes to see a continued decline to surpass previous foreclosure levels as the housing market improves. Fortunately, February marks the 14^th consecutive month of a 20 percent or more year-over-year decrease in the inventory of foreclosed homes.

The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory in the February 2014 report were New Jersey (6.2 percent), Florida (6.0 percent), New York (4.7 percent), Maine (3.4 percent), and Connecticut (3.2 percent). The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory were Wyoming (0.3 percent), Alaska (0.4 percent), North Dakota (0.5 percent), Nebraska (0.5 percent), and Colorado (0.6 percent). The state of Illinois currently has a foreclosure inventory of 2.7 percent (-1.8 percent from a year ago) and had 24,210 completed foreclosures in the past 12 months as of February. The serious delinquency rate for Illinois is 6.3 percent. 34 states have shown year-over-year foreclosure inventory decreases of more than 30 percent (with Arizona showing more than 50 percent declines).

CF Funding is very optimistic about the future of the housing industry, as Corelogic reported that “the 12-month sum of completed foreclosures is at [the] lowest point since December 2007 and has declined every month for the past 26 consecutive months.” Shadow inventory, defined as “properties that are more than 90 days delinquent, in foreclosure and held as real estate owned (REO) by mortgage servicers,” has decreased 22 percent from January 2013 to January 2014. Almost half of the current shadow inventory (about 1.7 million) are homes that are not yet foreclosed. As seen in the chart above, the shadow inventory has continued to decrease since about January 2011.

For more mortgage news and CF Funding updates, follow the lender on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cffundingcorp or on twitter at www.twitter.com/CF_Funding .

CF Funding Opens New Location, Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Plainfield

CF Funding is happy to announce the grand opening of a new location in Plainfield, IL. This family-owned mortgage lending company has been in business since March of 2000, and is proud of their A+ rating with the BBB for the past 5 years.

The firm offers both purchase and refinance mortgages, including
 conventional, FHA, VA and Home Affordable Refinance Programs (HARP). CF Funding works closely with each client to find the best solution for their needs. Clients of CF Funding have described the company’s loan officers as “extremely professional, helpful in overcoming barriers, creative in developing solutions to secure affordable financing, and very responsive to my questions and concerns.” The lender now has two locations in Illinois, but also provides services to clients in Colorado, Tennessee, and California.

Amanda Meath, branch manager at the new Plainfield location, is excited about the new opportunities that area residents will have to refinance, purchase a home, or consolidate debt. “We are extremely happy to be located in the heart of beautiful downtown Plainfield and I’m excited to put my 16 years of experience towards helping clients obtain the ultimate American dream of purchasing their own home!  I’m also excited to work with existing homeowners to refinance their current mortgage.  As a mortgage banker with the ability to also broker mortgages, CF Funding offers a vast majority of loan programs and I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge of the lending world to help homeowners manage their mortgage.”

According to John Kocher, President of CF Funding Corporation, “We have always looked out for the customer’s best interest and strive to get them the best mortgage rate possible. Expanding our business will allow more homeowners to save money and to achieve the goal of purchasing or refinancing a home.” The lender looks forward to the growth of the housing industry in 2014 and will continue to provide quality service in the years to come.

To contact CF Funding at their new location, visit 24113 Lockport St. Suite B East, Plainfield IL 60544, call (815)317-0589 to set up a consultation, or visit the lender online at www.cffunding.com.

Follow CF Funding on facebook at www.facebook.com/cffundingcorp or on twitter at www.twitter.com/CF_Funding ! 

UPDATE: Our PACC Ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the new location on Thursday April 10 at 4pm. Please join us to see what your new CF Funding location has to offer the Plainfield Community!