What an amazing Superbowl! I hope you got to watch that historic game. Typically, January is slow for real estate activity, but things always start to pick up after the Superbowl.
The biggest real estate transaction happened in Washington with a new President in the White House. In just 3 short days of becoming the President, Trump was getting his hands into the mortgage industry. Trump's swift mortgage move angers real estate industry. This means fewer buyers in the market ahead.
I have several clients who have been waiting for months for more homes to come on the market. If you know anyone thinking about selling have them call me. I can give them an idea of what they can sell their home for, and potentially have a buyer for their property.
The Bay Area selling season has officially begun. As you can see from the chart below prices have actually fallen over the previous month, but based on the number of offers I am seeing on properties prices are going to rise. There is a lot of pent up demand for housing right now, and the thermometer on my graphic below is a representation of this strong demand. Interest rates have risen over the past 30 days, but the impact on prices is normally negligible.
Trump's swift mortgage move angers real estate industry.
Donald Trump may have made his fortune in real estate, but one of his administration's first moves has upset the state and national Realtors associations.
Shortly after the inauguration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development "suspended indefinitely" a planned cut in the annual mortgage insurance premium on home loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
What's not clear is whether the Trump team is signaling that it wants less government involvement in housing and mortgage markets or whether it was simply reacting to a move the Obama administration made on its way out the door.
The Obama administration announced the cut Jan. 9, and it was supposed to take effect on Jan. 27. It would have reduced the annual insurance premium on most new FHA mortgages to 0.6 percent from the current 0.85 percent. That quarter-point cut would have saved someone with a $500,000 mortgage $1,250 per year....
