for access to spreadsheets, please see http://www.fredanlyan.com
Hello Everyone,
An extremely interesting--one might even say historic--- week in the real estate industry. The Federal Government moved to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage finance giants which, together, are estimated to own or guarantee over half of the estimated $5 trillion or so of home mortgages in the US. The immediate effect was to stabilize mortgage rates, which dropped up to half a percentage point upon news of the action. Some expect further reductions of as much as another half a point. Investors in the stock of the two financial giants were in a position to suffer due to the now-diluted value of their holdings. The wider, long-term effects of the unprecedented action are unknown and the subject of much speculation, but is widely believed that the resultant calming of the financial markets bodes well for the continued availability of mortgage funds to homebuyers---some fear at great expense to taxpayers. For the full story, there are many artciles available by "Googling" "Fannie and Freddie takeover. What does it mean to you?" This reference courtesy of Andrew Grossman and Andy Kristen at Princeton Capital 415-464-3322.
Best of these articles is probably the Sep 7 New York Times piece, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/business/08consumer.html
Business Week also had a good article on September 8 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2008/09/what_does_the_f.html
Marin County housing inventory up slightly in the week ending Sep 9, with 82 new Single Family Residence (SFR) and 24 new Condo listings. Percentage in contract up again from the week before, now 32.72% overall for condo's, a welcome turnaround for owners from the lows of just a few months ago. At this point, condo's are approaching the 35% in contract level at which the market would be considered a "strong sellers'" market. This was achieved through the pain of substantial price reductions, but it is, nonetheless, heartening to see some renewed strength in the market. SFR's percentage in contract held roughly steady at 21.79%, a buyers' market, with the upper end lagging, but the under-$1million segment still relatively hot at 29.7% in contract---technically a sellers' market. Varies considerably by city, town, and even neighborhood, so be sure to check with a knowledgeable local real estate professional. Sellers--- please remember, overpricing the one key mistake to avoid!
Savvy buyers still looking for bargains and overpriced listings still sitting.
Year-to-date unit sales continue to make progress vs. this time last year, with condo's @ -22.2% and SFR's at -25.2%. Last week's figures were -23.5% and -25.9% respectively. The last several weeks have seen continuing steady progress in narrowing these gaps. Look for continued activity and progress in the weeks between now and the start of the Holidays.
More next week. Until then, best wishes to all,
Fred
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment