VailBuzz

Home Owners Need Higher Mortgage Loan Limits

The drop in mortgage loan limits for conventional financing at the end of 2008 is hurting home sales and trade-up activity in higher price ranges across the country, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The latest existing-home sales data shows transactions under $400,000 are 3 percent below a year ago. However, sales of homes priced at $750,000 or more have declined a whopping 47 percent.

Outside of FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgages that do not have government backing are still experiencing a credit crunch. Buyers who need jumbo mortgages must pay interest rates nearly 2 percentage points higher than conventional financing; as a result, the high-end market is not moving.

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Real Estate Trends Today

One of the most important trends that is happening in real estate, as well as the banking industry and technology industry,  is consolidation. We have seen many major companies acquiring others and building larger conglomerates. Although this is happening around the country in record amounts, there are even more transactions of this nature with smaller companies merging with other small companies. 
 
It is also interesting to note the trend for individual agent businesses. Last year the biggest and best agents got even bigger and better, which follows a trend that has been building over the last decade. In the recently released LORE Top 200 Agent Report, it was noted that the top agents in the US actually increased their business substantially last year, in a challenging market where a record number of agents exited the business. The average increase was 10-12%, from 2006.  Bottom line:  top agents are grabbing more market share. It is now commonly said that 3% of the agents do 97% of the business.

Fannie Mae Launched Short Sale Program

Fannie Mae has launched pilot projects in Orlando and Phoenix intended to reduce foreclosures by pre-approving short sales – agreeing on a price and the loss the bank will take prior to a deal even being made. Fannie Mae hopes the program will improve the popularity of short sales with real estate agents, who now tend to shun such deals.

Property professionals initially welcomed short sales, but soon found the process to be a frustrating one. Thanks to squabbling about the sale price and slow approval times by the mortgage companies, many short sales often ended with no sale at all.

“Short sales have received such a bad reputation among real estate agents that, as a portion of the overall mortgage market, they have gone down,” confirms Tom Popik of the research firm Campbell Communications, whose November survey of realty practitioners found that agents had to wait as long as 8.1 weeks to receive a response from the lender on a short sale – nearly double the 4.5 weeks the process took earlier in the year.

Fannie Mae’s pilot program focuses on homes listed at less than the mortgage balance that carry a Fannie Mae-backed loan serviced by Countrywide Financial Corp.

If successful, the pre-short-sale pricing concept could be expanded to other geographical areas and additional lenders. There are concerns, however, about the program’s success, with real estate agents noting that property prices could decline before the pre-approval is issued.

New Year Celebration Ideas in Vail. Happy New Year!

New Years Eve is celebrated with fireworks and a street party in Vail Village as well as a torchlit ski down at Golden Peak. - 12/31/07
Beaver Creek - Fireworks display over Beaver Creek Mountain and Beaver Creek Village
Avon - 2nd Annual New Years Eve Masquerade Ball - Loaded Joes 9pm Tickets are $15 in advance and $25 at the door. Visit www.loadedjoes.com for more information.

Aspen/Snowmass
Aspen - Mezzaluna is having a New Years Event with special Menu. 6:30pm $60 per person. Visit www.mezzalunaaspen.com for more details

Aspen Recreation Center Children’s New Year’s Eve Party - $45 - $70 per child
Enjoy your New Year’s Eve out on the town while your child is having a blast using the Rec center’s pools, climbing tower, Ice Rink and youth center.
Visit www.aspenrecreation.com for more information.

Snowmass Village - New Year’s Eve party at the Silvertree Hotel - Gourmet dinner, live music, dancing. Click here to learn more.

Summit County
Breckenridge - The Cellar Wine bar - Special wine tasting menu - Visit www.thecellarwine.com
Fireworks at midnight on Breckenridge Mountain

IRS Announces Help With Refinancing

The Internal Revenue Service said it will try to make it easier for homeowners in financial straits to refinance or sell their homes.

The plan announced by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman would speed up a process where financially distressed homeowners may request that a federal tax lien be made secondary to liens by the lending institution that is refinancing or restructuring a loan.

Taxpayers will also be able to ask the IRS to discharge, or remove, its claim to a property in certain circumstances where the property is being sold for less than the amount of the mortgage lien.

“We need to ensure that we balance our responsibility to enforce the law with the economic realities facing many American citizens today,” Shulman said, stressing that “we don’t want the IRS to be a barrier to people saving or selling their homes.”

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Refinancing Possibilities Today

Mortgage rates today are the lowest in 45 years.  This is one of the times where you can really capitalize on refinancing your home.

Below is some immediate information about refinancing rates being advertised:

- primary residences (but 2nd home rates are very close behind)
- loan amounts of $417,000 or below
- must have at least 20% equity as determined by a new appraisal (so a $417K loan means your   property must appraise at least at $521,250) or you will be paying mortgage insurance.  
Condo’s may require a bit more equity to qualify depending on the condo questionnaire answers.
- FICO scores of 740 get the best rates (rates incrementally increase as your score gets lower per new Fannie Mae rules this year)
- The rates you hear on TV/Internet are usually charging on average 6/10th of a point no matter what they tell you in their print advertisements so be wary. 
- All loan programs are FULL Doc loans these days for qualification.  There are no low/no doc loans anymore.  This means 2 year’s tax returns for everyone just like the old days
or the net income average of the two years if you are self-employed.  If you are a W-2 employee, you are qualified on your current base rate
and average your variable income (commission, OT, bonuses, etc.) for the past two years.

Ski Economics and Peak Season Savings

Economic woes don’t have to mean foregoing ski vacations or Vail’s peak-season powder. The new economics of skiing have snow-hungry skiers searching for value-boosting perks like lift ticket and ski rental discounts, full kitchens for eat-in savings, complimentary fitness club passes and dining deals. Perhaps the best smart-money choice among Vail hotels, the Antlers at Vail (http://www.antlersvail.com/) offers all that and more with its “Value Vail” package. The five-night deal, available January 3 - 30, 2009, starts at $998 per person for four people in a two-bedroom condominium — including four-day lift tickets for all four skiers — for a 25% savings. Antlers at Vail guests will also enjoy free passes to Vail Athletic Club, a 20% discount on snowboard and ski rentals at Vail’s Performance Sports (http://www.performancesports.net), and a free dessert with a dinner entree at Vail’s award-winning Sweet Basil restaurant (http://www.sweetbasil-vail.com).

At the Antlers at Vail, condos ranging from studio suites up to four bedrooms are available with fully-equipped kitchens, fireplaces, outdoor balconies and free Internet access. Every room provides plenty of space to spread out and all the comforts of home, and free parking is provided for all guests in the hotel’s heated indoor garage. The Antlers is conveniently located 150 yards from the Vail Gondola and within walking distance of Vail’s numerous restaurants, galleries and shops; the free Vail town shuttle stops just footsteps away. The “Value Vail” package and other discounts are subject to availability, and some restrictions apply; for more information, call 1-800-843-8245 or visit http://www.antlersvail.com/.

Media Contacts: Rob LeVine, General Manager, Antlers at Vail, 970.476.2471; or Darla Worden, WordenGroup Strategic Public Relations, darla@wordenpr.com, 307.734.5335

Mortgage Rates Improve

Treasury’s new plan - 4.5% mortgage rates
 
Homeowners may soon enjoy mortgage rates as low as 4.5 percent if the Treasury Department has its way.  According to The Wall Street Journal’s on-line addition, the department is discussing a plan that would use Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to push banks to make mortgages available at more than a full percentage point below the current levels for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage.
 
The plan under review might lower rates to the 4.5 percent range and would be in addition to a program announced last week wherein the Federal Reserve will purchase up to $600 billion of debt either issued or backed by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.  That program is already having an effect on mortgage rates, which have dropped and caused investors to pay more attention to the stocks of banks and homebuilders.
 
Probably in response to the earlier new program and the lower rates, mortgage applications jumped a record 112.1 percent as seasonally adjusted over the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.  The Journal reported that the government would encourage banks to issue new mortgage loans at lower rates by offering to purchase securities backed by the loans at a price equivalent to the 4.5 percent rate, funding the program by issuing Treasury debt at 3 percent.
 
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Mortgage News Daily

New Luxury Home Design and Decor Trends

At a recent luxury home marketing conference sponsored by the Institute For Luxury Home Marketing, a nationally recognized interior designer, Kay Green, identified some new and persistent trends in housing decor and design. These emerging trends exist across homes of all price ranges in the United States. Let’s take a look:

• Non-colors are hot. White on white. Cream on cream. White on cream. You get the idea. It’s almost a layering of the neutrals.
• Blacks, whites, creams and grays are everywhere.
• Splashes of colors. In the non-color look, it’s becoming popular to have an accent wall or accent piece that introduces the only splash of color in the room. The splash could be pillows, a piece of art of furniture
• Faux finishes are out.
• Kids study areas are in. Imagine a full wall mini-office or extended peninsula near the kitchen where the kids use their computers and do homework. This affords parental assistance with homework and supervision while they are using their computers. 
• Oversized multi-function laundry rooms. Needs to have plenty of elbow rooms so as to stage the kids before leaving the house. Also, they’re great for messy tasks like craft-making.
• Spa baths. Still in.
• Outdoor architecture. Elaborate, functional relaxation areas are hot. Outdoor kitchens. Pergolas. Outdoor fireplaces

Vail Resorts Will Present Ever Vail Project

Vail Resorts Development Co. will present plans for the proposed Ever Vail project to Vail,Colorado officials at next Tuesday’s meeting.

Specifics about the $1.5-billion ski village in West Lionshead will be unveiled, and developers will also say why the project would benefit the community, Vail Town Manager Stan Zemler said.

The Vail Town Council, Planning and Environmental Commission and the Design Review Board will all be at the meeting, but no formal decisions are planned for Tuesday’s meeting.

The 11-acre project would include a gondola to Eagle’s Nest, condos, timeshares, a five-star hotel, a public parking garage, restaurants, stores, public parks, 100 beds of employee housing and a ski-maintenance facility.

The town approval process could take months, but the project could start as early as next summer and be finished by 2015.

The council may also make the decision to start publishing the town’s new and proposed laws on the Web instead of in the newspaper.

Law requires “publication of ordinances” when they are introduced and adopted, but the town reasons that “publication” does not have to mean print.

Last year, the town spent almost $20,000 publishing ordinances in the Vail Daily. The town council considered and then rejected the proposal earlier this summer to stop publishing new laws in the paper.

However, with recent budget cuts, town staff is recommending that the council reconsider.

Source: Vail Daily