Archive for November, 2007
First-time Buyers With Subprime Mortgages May Get Relief With CHFA
November 9th, 2007 categories: Real Estate Market
The Connecticut Housing & Finance Authority is offering to help some borrowers with sub-prime loans by refinancing their adjustable rate mortgages into 30-year, fixed rate loans. Starting December 1oth, CHFA will begin taking applications.
I don’t know the particulars of the program, other than it is geared towards first-time buyers of owner occupied housing, so if you have an adjustable rate mortgage and want to refinance, you will want to call the hotline at 860-571-3500.
According to the Hartford Courant, CHFA expects to initially help about 300-400 people. That doesn’t seem like a lot but it is when you think about how many people typically get CHFA loans - only 4,000 last year.
Related to this story, the New York Times has an interactive map on their website of percentage of subprime mortgages by county nationwide.
Also related, CHFA’s interest rate is currently 6%.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Hebron, CT Residential Real Estate Sales for 2007
November 7th, 2007 categories: Real Estate Market
Everyone is talking about housing prices in Connecticut. Here’s a look at the numbers for single family homes in Hebron.
Sales Price Is Important, But So Is Square Footage
The often reported sales prices and the comparison between one month to another or year to year do not take into consideration the size or type of house sold. For real analysis, I think its important to look at the the sales price, the original list price and the median square footage for homes sold in any given month.
If you look at Hebron’s sales, you’ll see that month to month, there were fluctuations in sales price. However, is that caused by a softening market or the fact that the median square footage for houses sold was not the same month to month?
| Discussion: No Comments »
Now for Some Good News…And a Little Perspective - The Market and Economy
November 2nd, 2007 categories: Real Estate Market
It’s Friday and I could use some good news. How about you?
This morning the Labor Department announced that employers added 166,000 new jobs to the economy in October, which is more than twice what was forecast.
The gross domestic product, GDP, is also stronger than economists have been predicting. At 3.9%, the GDP is the broadest measure of the nation’s economic activity.
From the Wall Street Journal:
In remarks following the GDP report, Edward Lazear, chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, noted, “It is really quite remarkable that during a quarter when we had housing-market issues, when we had a credit situation in the beginning of August, despite that, we still ended up with nearly 4% growth.”
| Discussion: 5 Comments »
