Princeton Rentals $2000-$4000
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Home Prices are rising and down payments are falling!
CoreLogic released their Home Price Index Report for September 2013 this week with some very interesting and positive trends for the residential marketplace: Home prices increased by 12% in September 2013 (year over year); the 19th consecutive month of year over year home price gains. Home prices increased 0.2% month over month from August (0.3% excluding distressed sales data) The Home Price Index is at the highest level since May 2008 Home prices are projected to rise year over year in October 2013 as well “September marks the unofficial five-year anniversary of the start of the housing crisis” according to Dr Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at CoreLogic. “The five-year home price appreciation for all homes in the nation was 3.4%. While there is still room for improvement, the HPI is at the highest level since May 2008”.
Down with Down Payments
High end borrowers no longer need large down payments to get a mortgage. As the non-conforming market has rebounded and become more robust for the first time since 2007, more options are becoming available to the Jumbo buyer: 90% LTV to $850,000 on a 30 year Fixed Rate mortgage. Only 10% down.80% LTV to $4,000,000 on a 5/5 ARM. For the high end borrower, the ability to finance a $5M purchase with a $4M mortgage -> financing this deep has not been available for quite some time and as always, low down payment options are available to conforming borrowers as well with low (Fannie, Freddie, FHA) as well as no (VA, USDA) down payment options where applicable.
Searching for a home in Princeton? Here is a list of homes new to the market:
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Princeton Homes for Sale Year over Year View…
Did you know that the supply of available homes in Princeton is down nearly 40% from 2011? True! If you have every thought about selling your home in Princeton now may be the time! Contact us for details!
656 Prospect Ave, Princeton, NJ
Enjoy this charming and fully updated 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath colonial in desirable Riverside location opposite Carnegie Lake. An inviting foyer introduces the traditional floor plan with front to back formal living room with fireplace and a formal dining room. The cozy family room is carpeted and light filled. Access to the deck and yard is through the French doors in the living room or from the extended new and bright kitchen which includes a farmhouse sink, white cabinets, huge pantry, granite counters and new stainless steel appliances. The first floor also has a powder room. Upstairs, three bedrooms share a renovated hall bath while the master bedroom has two closets, a master bath with tub shower and with views of Carnegie Lake. The walk-up attic is a nice surprise providing office space with lots of customized shelves and additional storage. Throughout the property is an English garden which is ready to bloom. Hardwood floors, wood doors and moldings throughout the house are some of the special features, as well as the proximity to the lake, schools, town and transportation.
Take a look at the rest of the Princeton Homes for sale in this price range:
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National Home Prices up 9.7% in January 2013
The CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) showed that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year over year basis by 9.7% in January 2013 compared to January 2012. This change represents the biggest increase since April 2006 and the 11th consecutive monthly increase in home prices nationally. On a month over month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 0.7% in January 2013 compared to December 2012. The HPI analysis shows that all but two states, Delaware and Illinois, are experiencing year over year price gains.
Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased on a year over year basis by 9.0% in January 2013 compared to January 2012. On a month over month basis, excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 1.8% in January 2013 compared to December 2012. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.
The number of American homes that end up in foreclosure has started to decline, a welcome development that partly reflects an improving housing market.
But a look at data that tracks distressed home sales reveals another reason why foreclosures are becoming less prevalent: More homeowners are turning to short sales where they sell their homes for less than what they owe in mortgage debt and the bank typically eats the difference.
In the past, short sales were rare. Now they are becoming increasingly common in part because lenders, homeowners and real estate agents have become more experienced at marketing and pricing the properties, and because short sales are considered a more efficient way than foreclosure to sell underwater properties.
The shift is helping the housing market pare the backlog of distressed mortgages while cutting the amount of time vacant homes sit empty. That has helped keep home prices firm in the improving real estate environment.
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Pending home sales rose in January and have been above year-ago levels for the past 21 months, according to the National Association of Realtors
The Sequester Effect and the Mortgage Sector
Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services
Much has been written about the automatic, across the board budget cuts contained in the Budget Control Act of 2011, otherwise known as “Sequestration,” but many critical questions remain regarding official interpretations of the legislation and how it will actually be implemented on an agency by agency basis. These include questions as to exactly which governmental spending accounts are or are not subject to sequestration, how deep the percentage reduction will be in the accounts that are subject to sequestration, how much latitude agencies have in selecting the specific expenditures that will be cut, and what the offsetting expenditures will be in implementing the proposed cuts.
Various estimates of the across the board cuts that would be required in programs subject to sequestration range between 8.5% and 10% for fiscal year 2013, with some going as high as 13.3%. But sequestration would impact different programs across the government in very different ways. With government grant programs such as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the impact can be estimated with some degree of precision. Others are not as easy to project. A great question is how will this impact the mortgage banking sector? Although mortgage bankers aren’t (yet) worried that the sequester will hammer applications, the Federal Housing Administration could be in for some adjustments. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and Ginnie Mae could be forced to furlough thousands of employees if sequestration spending cuts go into effect as scheduled on March 1.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan warned lawmakers recently that cuts in several agency programs, including the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program, would leave HUD short on staff and slow the delivery of services to numerous families, individuals and communities that rely on these programs.
Many of the 9,000 HUD employees in 81 field offices across the country would be subject to forced leave and other personnel actions, although sequestration plans are still under review, Donovan said. On the other hand, Ginnie Mae will also be hit by spending cuts, though not as significantly as HUD. An estimated $2 million would be cut from the agency’s Mortgage Backed Securities Loan Guarantee Program under the sequestration rules.
We will keep a watchful eye on this as the day progresses.
National Home Prices Heading Up….
The national median existing single-family home price showed the strongest year-over-year increase in seven years during the fourth quarter, according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In addition, the median price rose in 133 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas based on closings in the fourth quarter compared with the same quarter in 2011.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said all the conditions for strong price growth are at play. “Home sales are on a sustained uptrend, mortgage interest rates are hovering near record lows and unsold inventory is at the lowest level in 12 years,” he said. “Home sales are being fueled by a pent-up demand and job creation, along with still favorable affordability conditions and rents rising at faster rates.”
Separately, NAR’s national annual Housing Affordability Index rose to a record high of 193.5 in 2012. An index of 100 is defined as the point where a median-income household has exactly enough income to qualify for the purchase of a median-priced existing single-family home, assuming a 20 percent downpayment and 25 percent of gross income devoted to mortgage principal and interest payments. For first-time buyers making small downpayments, the affordability levels are relatively lower.
“The housing affordability index shows that the national median income of families was almost double the income needed to buy a median-priced home in 2012, so most buyers are able to stay well within their means,” Yun said. “Even with rising home prices, conditions are expected to stay very favorable with the index averaging 161 in 2013, which would be the third best on record.”
There’s never been a better time to buy a home!
Financial Benefits to owning a home…
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Owning a home invokes more than a sense of pride and freedom. It is also a long-term investment opportunity. With tax season here, it is a great time to speak to your tax advisor about the tax advantages associated with homeownership.
Some of the items you should plan to discuss include the following tax breaks commonly available to homeowners.
- Mortgage interest deduction: Interest you pay on a mortgage of up to $1 million – or $500,000 if you’re married filing separately – is deductible when you use the loan to buy, build or improve your home.
- Prepaid interest deduction: Points you paid when you took out your mortgage is 100 percent deductible in the year you paid them.
- Property tax deduction: You can deduct the real estate property taxes you pay each year, as well as any property taxes paid at the time you closed the purchase of your house.
- Mortgage insurance premium deduction: If you had to take out private mortgage insurance, the premium on that insurance can be deducted, as long as your income is less than $100,000 (or $50,000 for married filing separately).
Speak to your preferred tax professional for advice and more specifics about how these deductions and credits could lower your tax bill.
Looking to buy a home in Princeton? Take a look at these great Princeton properties:
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Positive Housing News…
Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services
On Monday, we received yet another positive housing price measure for 2013, learning from the National Association of Realtors that the national median existing single family home price was $178,900 in 4Q, up 10.0% from $162,600 in 4Q2011, the strongest year over year price increase since the 4Q 2005.
The median existing single family home price rose in 133 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist who in the past has commented about lending standards being too restrictive, said all the conditions for strong price growth are at play. “Home sales are on a sustained uptrend, mortgage interest rates are hovering near record lows and unsold inventory is at the lowest level in 12 years,” he said. “Home sales are being fueled by a pent-up demand and job creation, along with still favorable affordability conditions and rents rising at faster rates. Our population has been growing faster than overall housing stock, so supply and demand dynamics are very much at play.”
Yun added that more housing construction is needed to relieve some of the pressure in the market and keep home prices from overheating.
Update on the Market: We continue to see the 10 year Treasury yield at the highest levels since early 2012 as the yield topped 2.00% again this morning. Combined with that is continued MBS to Treasury widening (essentially, Mortgage Backed yields are trading even wider to Treasuries, exacerbating the rate issue). We are seeing cash flow into Equities and the Dollar (the Dollar/Yen trade is a money maker right now), with the negative recipient of the trade being all classes of Fixed Income (particularly Mortgage Backed Securities). With that said, we are still seeing 30 year Mortgages with a 3 handle, and 15 years still beginning with a 2 in most cases, as the spring market beings to get its legs.
Youth Leading the Housing Charge
Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services
Millennials and Generation X Americans reportedly place a higher value on homeownership than their older counterparts, a survey found.
While 96% of the survey respondents said homeownership was important, it was ranked as “very important” by 77% of those between 25 and 34 and 78% of those between 35 and 44. The survey was conducted between Dec. 5 and Dec. 15 with the sample consisting of people between 25 and 64 who either recently bought or sold a home or they said they were considering buying or selling a home. Millennials and Generation X, about 85 million people strong, face a unique opportunity in US housing; they are generally optimistic about homeownership and, by nature, share a strong sense of community.
As important, many were not impacted by the real estate downturn and are looking at today’s buying opportunities with keen interest. Right now, 63% of those surveyed said they had a favorable or somewhat favorable perception of the residential real estate market right now, with younger people more likely to have a favorable opinion than older ones.
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What is driving the bond market selloff over the past couple of weeks?
Investors seem to have turned to offsetting factors that encourage risk taking, thus “profit taking”/selling of safe U.S. Treasuries and Mortgage Backed Securities with the reallocation of those funds into higher risk assets: Corporate and Junk Bonds, Hedge Fund Allocation, and Equities in general -> the Dow Jones alone is up a whopping 6.5% in the first 5 weeks of 2013.
U.S. economic data is improving month over month, fears over China’s economy deteriorating are fading and the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program deters investors from attacking the sovereign debt market in Spain and Italy. All those factors have contributed to more global economic confidence, and with that, a reallocation of investment funds.
