Category: Real Estate

Study: Greener Neighborhoods Make for Healthier Babies

Study: Greener Neighborhoods Make for Healthier Babies

 

Pregnant women living in “green” neighborhoods are more likely to deliver healthier babies, suggests a new study from researchers at Oregon State University and the University of British Columbia.

What makes a neighborhood green: the presence of trees, leaves, grass, and other greenery. Mothers who live in such greener spaces are more likely to deliver at full-term and have babies born at higher weights compared to mothers who live in urban areas that aren’t as green, according to the study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

“This was a surprise,” says lead author Petty Hystad, an environmental epidemiologist at the College of Public Health and Human Services at Oregon State. “We expected the association between greenness and birth outcomes to disappear once we accounted for other environmental exposures, such as air pollution and noise. The research really suggests that greenness affects birth outcomes in other ways, such as psychologically or socially.” Researchers controlled for factors such as neighborhood income, exposure to air pollution, noise, and neighborhood walkability.

Between 1999 and 2002, researchers tracked more than 64,000 births in Vancouver, British Columbia. They found that when mothers lived in greener neighborhoods, pre-term births were 20 percent lower, and moderate pre-term births were 13 percent lower for infants. The study also found that infants from greener neighborhoods tended to be of a healthier weight: They weighed 45 grams more at birth than infants from less-green neighborhoods.

Why the link to healthier pregnancies and green neighborhoods? More research needs to be done to determine if green space opens the door to more social opportunities and enhances a woman’s sense of belonging in the community, or if it has a psychological effect in reducing stress and depression, Hystad says. The study also was not clear on what type of green space is most beneficial to pregnant women, but Hystad says that adding a planter to a patio or a tree to a sidewalk wouldn’t make a large difference in birth outcomes.

The study is one of several recently that shows the health benefits of green space, Hystad says.

“We know a lot about the negative influences, such as living closer to major roads, but demonstrating that a design choice can have benefits is really uplifting,” says the study’s senior author Michael Brauer of the University of British Columbia. “With the high cost of health care, modifying urban design features, such as increasing green space, may turn out to be extremely cost-effective strategies to prevent disease, while at the same time also providing ecological benefits.”

Source: Oregon State University

I read this article at: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2014/09/11/study-greener-neighborhoods-make-for-healthier-babies?om_rid=AACmlZ&om_mid=_BUEfE1B88XY4RJ&om_ntype=RMODaily

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Call us at: 650-568-5522 Office: 650-365-9200

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ Office BRE# 0149900

 

Home Prices Cooling Slightly…

I had to share this article from the SF Chronicles Kathleen Pender.  On that note – I can feel the shift in the market as I type this.  July is coming and vacations are happening – and suddenly the mad house of the Spring market is settling down.  Can you believe – some homes only received 1 offer.  But let’s not forget – all we need is one offer per house.  So enjoy this article – I would love to hear your thoughts!

-Sabrina Caton

 

Home Prices Cooling Slightly by Kathleen Pender

 

Although it might not seem like it in San Francisco, the overheated housing market seems to be cooling off.

It’s not that home prices are falling, they are just rising at a slower pace.

This week S&P/Case-Shiller reported that its 20-city home price index rose “only” 10.8 percent in April compared with April of last year. That was a smaller increase than the 11.6 percent analysts were expecting, and substantially lower than in previous months. All 20 metro areas except Boston saw smaller year-over-year price increases.

The rate of appreciation has been declining every month since November, when prices rose 13.7 percent over the previous year. In March, the increase was 12.5 percent.

Prices “are coasting back into a more normal situation,” said David Blitzer, a managing director with S&P.

The same pattern holds in the San Francisco metro area, which also includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Mateo counties.

Year over year, prices rose 18.2 percent in April, compared to 21.2 percent in March and 25.7 percent in September.

Blitzer expects this trend to continue, in part because there has been a drop-off in the number of corporations buying houses to rent out. He predicts that by the end of 2014, year-over-year price increases will be in the 4 to 7 percent range.

The Case-Shiller report confirms other signs that suggest the real estate market is losing momentum.

Asking prices for homes nationwide rose 8 percent year-over-year in May, their slowest rate in 13 months, Trulia reported this month. Asking prices tend to lead sales prices by about two months, making them a good early warning signal.

“In the markets with the most extreme rebounds, there has been a clear slowdown in price gains. That is a good thing. That is happening even before we have gotten back to a housing bubble,” Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko said.

Despite the sharp increase in prices, Trulia estimates that homes nationwide were still undervalued by 3 percent in the second quarter of 2014, compared with 5 percent undervalued in the first quarter and 8 percent undervalued a year ago.

At their extremes, homes were 39 percent overvalued in the second quarter of 2006 and 15 percent undervalued in the fourth quarter of 2011.

To determine whether a particular market is over- or undervalued, Kolko looks at factors such as its price-to-income ratio, price-to-rent ratio and prices relative to its own long-term trends.

Even though prices in San Francisco are astronomical, the market was only 6 percent overvalued relative to its long-term fundamentals in the second quarter. Nine other cities were more overvalued, including San Jose (11 percent) and Oakland (10 percent).

Stan Humphries, chief economist with Zillow, said he expects “a substantial moderation in home value growth” as the market transitions from one fueled by ultra-low interest rates and tight inventory to one fueled by household formation and income growth. Although the latter is more organic and sustainable, it’s also slower-growing than the former.

Zillow’s price index, which has wider geographic coverage than Case-Shiller’s, indicates that prices nationwide rose 5.4 percent in May compared to May of 2013. “Our forecast is that home prices over the next year will rise 3 percent,” Humphries said.

In San Francisco alone, Patrick Carlisle of Paragon Real Estate said, there was no evidence of a slowdown in April or May. “This is the most ferocious spring I have ever seen,” said Carlisle, who has been tracking the market since the late 1980s. “In May, 29 percent of all sales (in San Francisco were) 20 percent or more over asking,” he said.

“I’m seeing some signs of a slowdown in June. Inventory is starting to pick up for the first time in a long time,” he said, “and the percentage of listings under contracts is going down a little bit.”

But the market typically slows down in June, and there are no data yet for sales that closed in June.

It’s too soon to say whether the June slowdown is merely seasonal or reflects “buyer exhaustion or some sort of shift in the market,” Carlisle said.

Moody’s upgrades California: Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday raised California’s credit rating by one level to Aa3, its fourth-highest grade, from A1.

Before the upgrade, Moody’s had California rated one notch higher than rival agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. Now, it has California rated two steps higher.

This is the fist time Moody’s upgraded the state’s general obligation bond rating since 2006. The last time it was at its new level, Aa3, was in May 2001, says Moody’s spokesman David Jacobson.

S&P upgraded the state to single-A from A-minus in January 2013. Fitch Ratings raised its rating to single-A from A-minus in August.

As strengths, the report cited California’s large and diverse economy, high wealth, improving liquidity and governance improvements leading to on-time budgets for the past three years. It also cited “significant improvement in budget deficits through revenue surges and conservative measures to rein in spending.”

As “challenges,” it cited the state’s highly volatile revenue structure (which is heavily dependent on tax revenue from high-income people and capital gains), governance restrictions such as the supermajority needed to raise taxes, lack of reserves for a rainy day and its reliance in the past on one-time fixes to close budget gaps.

Even after the upgrade, California “is still on the lower side for states,” Jacobson said. Two other states, Arizona and Connecticut, have the same rating as California, Aa3. Only New Jersey and Illinois have lower ratings.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Net Worth runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail: kpender@sfchronicle.com Blog: http://blog.sfgate.com/pender Twitter: @kathpender

 

I read this article at:  http://www.sfgate.com/business/networth/article/Housing-prices-cooling-slightly-5579655.php

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Email Sabrina & Susan at:  Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522  Office:  650-365-9200

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

 

7 Ways to Reduce Stress During a Move…

Having just sold my home last year, I remember the hair pulling stress of packing and moving and working and living.  Enjoy this article from Trulia.  And always get a friend to help you pack your kitchen!

 

7 Ways To Reduce Stress During A Move

 

Congratulations! You decided to accept that new job offer in another city, found the perfect apartment or finally closed on the home of your dreams. And while you’re excited about taking that next step, you’re facing a huge frustration: You need to pack all your belongings into boxes, and lug it into another home.

Moving is crazy and stressful. But there are ways to survive the process without prematurely growing (more) grey hairs.

Here are seven ways to manage your stress before, during, and after you’ve boxed up your whole life.

#1: Purge.

Clutter is stressful. Minimize the junk that’s clogging your closets, and you’ll automatically breathe a sigh of relief. Clear the clutter from your home by organizing things you no longer need into three piles: Sell, Donate, and Toss.

Put big-ticket or valuable items in the “sell” pile. Then snap some photos and list them on eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook. (Alternately, if the weather’s nice, hold a massive yard sale.)

Score a tax deduction by donating non-saleable items to Goodwill or any other local thrift stores. Or brighten a friend or family members’ day by giving them your old hand-me-downs.

Throw away or recycle any items that are so far gone, even thrift stores wouldn’t accept it.

Here’s the most fun part: Eat through the contents of your refrigerator and pantry. Spend the weeks prior to your move creating “oddball” meals based on whatever happens to be in your cupboards. And don’t forget to drink all your booze!

#2: Clear Your Calendar.

The most stress-free way to tackle the rest of your packing is by blocking off a chunk of time in which you can focus exclusively on that single task. Find a babysitter who can watch your children. (Or save money by asking a friend or family member to watch your kids, and promise to return the favor in the future.)

Request a day off work, or clear your schedule for the entire weekend. You’ll achieve more by packing continuously for several hours than you will by packing in short bursts of time.

If possible, bribe some of your friends to help. Promise that you’ll buy them dinner and drinks, or offer some other treat, if they’ll donate a few hours of their time to helping you pack and move.

#3: Accumulate Boxes.

For several weeks prior to your move, start accumulating a stack of newspapers and boxes. You probably read your news electronically, but don’t worry – print newspapers still exist, and you can usually pick up free copies of community newspapers outside your local grocery store. (Think of those tabloid-layout weeklies that list what’s happening around town.)

Ask your friends if they have any extra boxes from their previous moves. Or visit local grocery stores and retail outlets, walk to the back (where the employees unpack the inventory), and ask if you can walk off with a stack of boxes. CostCo and Trader Joes’ both keep a steady supply of boxes in-store.

If you’re willing to splurge, however, you might decide to buy boxes from shipping and packing stores, or your local home-improvement store. The benefit to buying boxes is that they’ll all be a standard size (they’re usually sold in 3-4 sizes, ranging from small to large), which makes them easier to stack and load.

#4: Plan.

Don’t start packing without a strategic plan. One of the most efficient ways to pack your belongings is to methodically move from room-to-room. Pack everything in the family room, for example, before moving onto the bedroom.

Keep one suitcase per person in which you store the items that you’ll need to immediately access, such as clean underwear, socks and a toothbrush. In other words, “pack a suitcase” as if you’re going on vacation, and then pack the rest of your home into boxes.

Clearly label each box based on the room from which it was packed. This way, when you unload boxes into your new house, you know which room you should deposit each box into – “bedroom,” “kitchen,” etc.

#5: Protect Your Valuables.

The last thing that you need is a nagging concern in the back of your mind that you can’t find your wedding ring and passport. Those worries will stress you out more than almost any other aspect of moving!

Store your valuables in a well-guarded location, such as on your person (inside of a money belt that’s worn around your hips, as if you were traveling), inside your purse (which you’re already trained not to lose), or in a bank safe-deposit box.

#6: Build Yourself Ample Time and Deadlines

Nothing is more stressful than knowing that you can only start moving into your new home at 8 a.m., but you need to be out of your apartment at 12:00 noon that same day.

Avoid this situation by building yourself ample time to make the transition. Yes, this means you may need to pay “double rent” or “double mortgages” for 2 weeks to one month. But this will allow you the benefit of time — and that will work wonders on your stress levels.

In addition, though, create mini-deadlines for yourself. Promise yourself that you’ll pack up one room per day, for example, or that you’ll unpack for 2 hours per night after you move into your new home. This will prevent you from lingering in limbo for too long.

#7: Delegate.

Finally, the best way to reduce stress is by outsourcing and delegating. Use online resources like TaskRabbit and Craigslist to search for people who can help you pack and move. Before they leave, ask them to help assemble furniture and get the big stuff done first.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work. And when you’re moving, you need as many hands on-board as you can get.

 

I read this article at: http://www.trulia.com/tips/?ecampaign=cnews&eurl=tips.truliablog.com

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Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.  

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ Office BRE# 0149900

Law Requiring Water-Conserving Plumbing Fixtures is in Effect

Law Requiring Water-Conserving Plumbing Fixtures is in Effect

Just a re-reminder, state law calling for the replacement of older plumbing fixtures with water-conserving ones went into effect on January 1 of 2014. The law says that when improving a property (based on certain standards and thresholds), new water-conserving toilets, showerheads, faucets and urinals must be installed before the local building department will issue a certificate of final completion and occupancy. The plumbing fixtures that will need to be replaced are: any toilet manufactured to use more than 1.6 gallons per flush; any showerhead manufactured to have a flow capacity of more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute; any interior faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons of water per minute and any urinal manufactured to use more than one gallon of water per flush. Homeowners with questions about their individual fixtures are urged to contact their city or county building department.

 

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ Office BRE# 0149900

Buying a House Solo? Here are some tips…

3 Next-Gen House Hunting Tips for Singles

The American household has changed – big time. More and more, people get married later in life, if at all. Many even go from married to single and back multiple times throughout their lives. This all means that more and more people are buying homes while single. Many unmarried folks are buying homes to live in on their own, while others are looking for homes to live in with their children, parents or other partners – past, present and future.

If you’re embarking upon the process of buying a home on your own, here are a few things to factor into your thought process and your action plan:

1. Solo doesn’t necessarily mean condo. A decade or two ago, many single house hunters were automatically directed toward low-maintenance condos and townhomes. And truthfully, some singles still enjoy the tax and financial advantages of ownership without the responsibilities of caring for lawns, roofs and other so-called “single family home” features they have no use for.

That said, the descriptor of a detached, standalone property as a “single family home” is woefully out of date. Many single people are electing to purchase detached homes for a number of reasons. Chief among them include:

  • Needing the square footage to allow their household to expand to include future partners, future children, adult children, or even elderly parents
  • Needing extra rooms (or even extra apartments!) to rent out, do hobbies in or run a home business from, and
  • Having the outdoor space for dogs, cats, horses and vegetable gardens, oh my!

If you are dreaming of a life in more of a home than your friends and family members think you can handle and you can well afford the home of your dreams, don’t be daunted. Reach out to other people in your circle of friends who are single and own either single family homes or condos and townhomes to get a sense for their experience. If you decide to go with a condo, make sure you read the HOA disclosures thoroughly and that you understand what you’re getting for your HOA dollars. (Hint: HOA dues often cover expenses you would pay out of pocket otherwise, like waste management fees, landscaping, building insurance and even roof and window maintenance.)

But if you do decide to go the single family home route, make sure you ask your circle (and your agent) for referrals to the contractors, gardeners and handyfolk who can make home maintenance on your own much more doable. It takes a village to maintain a home over the long run. So get a village!

2. Pay extra close attention to home inspections and home warranty provisions. Much of what’s scary about solo home ownership are the seeming risks around things that could go wrong. The most common such fear is a valid one: What happens if something goes wrong with the house? With just one income, it can be frightening to think of how rapidly a lemon of a house could rock your entire financial world.

There are a couple of tools you can build into your transaction that can massively mitigate just this risk. First, your home inspections. Most people think of home inspections as almost pass-fail: if they reveal devastatingly expensive issues, they back out of the deal. But if they don’t surface any fatal flaws, the deal is on.

Single home buyers should view their home inspections as the opportunity to spend a few more hours in the home, discovering its warts and all, before they move forward with the deal. Take special care to attend your inspections in person, ask the inspector to show you the issues they find while they’re on site. Read the reports and get any follow-up inspections or repair bids before your contingency period runs out. That way, you’ll have a concrete idea of the financial exposure to repairs that are needed right now while you can still either (a) negotiate to get the seller to chip in or (b) back out of the deal without penalty, if you need to.

The second tool is a largely underrated one: your home warranty plan. Most buyers get one, and often sellers pay for it. But what many buyers don’t realize is that (a) they can pay to upgrade the plan so that the warranty company will cover a wide assortment of future home repairs, and (b) they can and should renew their home warranty plan annually, in the future. Having the ability to ring up the home warranty company and spend $50 for a service call when your water heater, furnace, or plumbing goes on the fritz can dramatically reduce the fear factor of solo home ownership.

3. Consult with legal and financial pros before you buy with a relative, friend or partner. Buying a home with a friend, a parent, a sibling or even a life partner can seem like the cure for what ails a single person’s home buying situation. Namely, it injects additional financial resources, allows you to buy a pricier (read: larger, nicer, better located) property than you could on your own, and even positions you to have help making hard house hunt decisions and maintaining the place going forward.

Co-buying has big benefits, but it also poses some serious questions – questions that a lawyer, tax advisor or financial planner can help you anticipate and resolve, in advance, to avoid conflicts later. If you decide to go the co-buying route, make the investment of time and money up front to get some professional advice about how to structure the transaction and the financial relationship. Doing so, and reducing the agreement to a clear, professionally-drafted written contract that is recognized by and filed on record with the relevant state and local governments can go a very long way toward helping you avoid later damage to the interpersonal relationship with your co-buyer.

BUYERS: Did your status as single or married factor into your house hunting decisions? If so, how? If not, why?

I read this article at:  http://www.trulia.com/tips/2014/03/3-next-gen-house-hunting-tips-for-singles/?ecampaign=cnews&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Ftips%2F2014%2F03%2F3-next-gen-house-hunting-tips-for-singles%2F

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.  

Email Sabrina & Susan at:  Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522  Office:  650-365-9200

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Connect with us professionally at LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6588013&trk=tab_pro

Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

 The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

Open House Saturday 1:30-4:30 – 25 Southgate Street in Redwood City

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Open Saturday March 22, 2014 from 1:30-4:30 by The Caton Team

From curb appeal to the interior this charming 3 bedroom home boasts timeless architecture & design elements built in 1937 on a 7800 SF lot and offering 1420 SF of living space Natural light beautiful beam ceiling refinished hardwood floors elegant trim and molding freshly painted good sized remodeled kitchen w/granite counters and breakfast bar formal living room w/fireplace separate dining room

Offered at $998,000 by Diane Viviani with Prudential California Realty
25 Southgate Street Redwood City CA

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.  

Email Sabrina & Susan at:  Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522  Office:  650-365-9200

Want Real Estate Info on the Go?  Download our FREE Real Estate App:  http://thecatonteam.com/mobileapp

Visit our Website at:   http://thecatonteam.com/

VISIT OUR NEW INSTAGRAM PAGE:  http://instagram.com/thecatonteam

Visit us on Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabrina-Susan-The-Caton-Team-Realtors/294970377834

Yelp us at: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-caton-team-realtors-sabrina-caton-and-susan-caton-redwood-city

Or Yelp me:  http://www.yelp.com/user_details_thanx?userid=gpbsls-_RLpPiE9bv3Zygw

Connect with us professionally at LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6588013&trk=tab_pro

Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

http://ajourneythroughhomeownership.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ Office BRE# 01499008

Adjustable Rate Mortgages – Making a Comeback

When I read this article, I knew I had to share it. After the real estate bust – so many people turned conservative. But now with prices steadily rising on the San Francisco Peninsula – we’re seeing the adjustable rate mortagage make a comeback – enjoy this article…

Adjustable-rate mortgages regain popularity as prices, rates rise
In November, 11.2% of homes bought with loans carried adjustable-rate mortgages. That’s double the rate of a year earlier.

When Michael Shuken recently bought his family’s first home, a four-bedroom in Mar Vista, his adjustable-rate mortgage helped them stay on the pricey Westside.
For now, his interest-only loan costs him about 35% less per month than a 30-year fixed mortgage, he said. But he’ll have a much bigger monthly bill in 10 years, when the loan terms require him to start paying off principal at potentially high rates.
“What is going to happen if I can’t restructure my loan and extend it? Are interest rates going to be 7%, 8%?” the 43-year-old commercial real estate broker said. “The home is big enough for me to grow into. The question is, will I be able to?”
Adjustable-rate mortgages, which all but vanished during the housing bust, are again gaining popularity. Home prices and interest rates rose last year, and adjustable mortgages can help keep the monthly payment affordable — at least temporarily. Such mortgages offer a lower initial rate, but that rate can rise over time with market changes.
More homeowners in Southern California were willing to take that risk last year. In November, 11.2% of homes bought with loans carried adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs. That’s double the rate of the same month a year earlier, according to San Diego-based research firm DataQuick.
“You saw a big swing in people taking adjustable versus fixed rates” when prices and rates shot up last year, said John Ciolino, a senior loan consultant with Luther Burbank Mortgage.
With interest rates expected to rise this year, the proportion of ARMs could increase further.
“Generally, as rates increase ARMs become more popular,” said Guy D. Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance.
Last week, lenders offered, on average, a 3% interest rate for a 5/1-year ARM — which means a borrower receives that rate for five years, before the loan starts to adjust annually with the market. That’s compared with 4.48% for a 30-year fixed loan, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Mortgage brokers say borrowers who plan to move after a few years, or those with considerable, but irregular, income could be well-suited for an ARM.
“A big percentage of my clients are freelance employees in entertainment,” Ciolino said. “So they are going job to job, and they are concerned with having a higher mortgage payment.”
ARMs have been most popular in the region’s higher-priced communities, such as Newport Beach, La Jolla and Pacific Palisades.
That’s a contrast to last decade’s housing bubble, when lenders flooded working-class communities with extremely risky mortgages. One such product — known as the option ARM — allowed borrowers to pay even less than the interest owed, swelling the size of the loan as unpaid interest was added on to principal.
In the first three quarters of 2006, the 16 ZIP Codes with the most ARMs were all in relatively affordable, working-class communities in the Antelope Valley and Inland Empire, according to DataQuick. Many borrowers bet home prices would continue to rise, allowing them to easily refinance or sell before the first adjustment. Many got burned when home prices plummeted, preventing any refinancing.
It’s unclear whether such thinking has changed, but the loans have. The crash stung lenders as well, making them skittish about offering the riskiest products.
Largely gone are option ARMs and loans with very low “teaser” rates that quickly exploded into payments that borrowers couldn’t afford. Lenders during the bubble years also qualified borrowers based on teaser rates, increasing the likelihood of default.
“The ARM products that remain in the marketplace today … are really venerable, long-dated products,” the most popular of which is the 5/1-year ARM, said Keith T. Gumbinger, vice president of financial publisher HSH.com.
New federal regulations taking effect this month should further curtail some of the riskier ARMs, including interest-only products and those with balloon payments.
Adjustable-rate loans may work for some buyers, such as a family in which one parent will return to work after staying home with the kids, said Gary Kalman, an executive vice president with the Center for Responsible Lending.
“I don’t think the product, in and of itself, is inherently a bad product,” he said.
Of course, rates could adjust downward in favorable market conditions. But ARMs are still riskier than fixed-rate loans — especially when rates remain at historical lows but are expected to rise.
Shuken, the Mar Vista borrower, says he understands the risks. He plans to pay down some principal before such payments are required, he said. And he’ll start planning years before the interest rate adjusts to either restructure the loan or sell the house.
“If people aren’t thinking about that,” he said, “they need to.”

By Andrew Khouri
I read this article at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arm-loans-20140102,0,3920478.story#ixzz2pdrofw8K

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San Mateo County Median Home Sale Price in January 2014 up 42.8% over January 2013

Now this put a smile on my face – great news for homeowners on the San Francisco Peninsula!!!!

San Mateo County Median Home Sales Price in January 2014 up to 42.8% over January 2013

In January 2014 the median sale price for a single family home in San Mateo County was $992,500 compared to the median sale price from January 2013 of $695,000. Year over year that’s a greater than 42% increase.

WOW – now that is great news – right from the source – MLSlistings.com

Curious what your home is worth in today’s market – contact The Caton Team – we would love to prepare a customized market analysis on your home and share its worth with you!

Thinking about selling?  Now is the time to start getting into gear – The Caton Team is here to help!  There is much to do before the For Sale sign even makes it to the lawn – and with our tried and true marketing plan, we can smooth out the process.  Let us know how we can help!

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Email Sabrina & Susan at:  Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522  Office:  650-365-9200

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The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

 

New Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage rules to reduce buyer purchasing power

New Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage rules to reduce buyer purchasing power

A New Year’s gift from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: higher mortgage rates!

Fannie and Freddie recently announced a 10-point increase in the guarantee fee paid by lenders for loan commitments, effective on mortgages with commitment dates on or after April 1, 2014. The fee isn’t directly charged to homebuyers, but you can bet lenders are going to pass the extra cost along in the form of higher interest rates.

Plans to increase Fannie and Freddie’s guarantee fees have been loosely imminent since 2012. Still, the implementation of higher fees comes at a bad time for California’s housing market, which is still reeling from:

▪ a mid-2013 hike in mortgage rates that continues to hold on; and
▪ too-high home prices, brought about by rampant speculation in 2013.

Of course, Fannie and Freddie’s reasons for raising fees is sensible: they want more money to offset the risk associated with their business of guaranteeing home loans (made all the riskier in the aftermath of the housing crash and following foreclosure crisis). More money means becoming independent of U.S. taxpayers sooner. But their timing is questionable.

Buyer purchasing power is at an all-time low as of December 2013. Homebuyers qualify for 10.4% less principal when purchasing a home with the same income compared to a year ago, due to higher mortgage rates alone.

This is not only bad news for homebuyers in 2014, but it’s just another headwind facing California’s slow, bumpy plateau housing recovery.

Congressman Mel Watt, who replaced Edward DeMarco as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) earlier this week, is pushing to delay the increases until later in the year. If he’s successful, he’ll kick the can down the road a ways – but it’s coming.

What can agents do with this news?

First, educate your homebuyer and seller clients about the coming rise in mortgage rates. Knowing that rates will rise in the coming year may give them a needed push to buy or list before the rate hikes arrives and reduces buyer purchasing power further.

Second, caution your homebuyer when the inevitable temptation to turn to adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) arises. ARMs are not for everyone, though the low teaser rates they offer lure homebuyers to look past their drawbacks. Generally, buyer incomes cannot keep up once the teaser rate expires and the new ARM rate increases – and it’s just the beginning of the next 30-year cycle of climbing mortgage rates.

Interest Rates we cannot control – and it is frustrating to see our clients purchase power diminish with each increase. We are not kidding when we say the market is constantly changing. If you are on the fence about buying, come in and chat with us. The Caton Team is happy to answer questions and simply help you make the right decision. Because we cannot control interest rates increasing, or demand increasing, but you have control over your finances and the ability to work your dream into a reality.

I read this article at: http://journal.firsttuesday.us/new-fannie-maefreddie-mac-mortgage-rules-to-reduce-buyer-purchasing-power/31671/

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at: Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522 Office: 650-365-9200

Want Real Estate Info on the Go? Download our FREE Real Estate App: http://thecatonteam.com/mobileapp

Visit our Website at: http://thecatonteam.com/

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

Flood Insurance Update…

Flood Insurance Update
The Senate plans to vote on legislation that would create a 4-year “time out” for both impacted home buyers and future increases on “grandfathered” properties. The Senate Majority Leader has promised the sponsors a vote on S. 1846 Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act which would delay any increases for 4 years; they are currently negotiating the number of amendments and amount of debate time.  The bill is expected to come up the week of January 27 if not sooner, and will require 60 votes to move forward.  NAR issued a call for action and is urging every senator to vote yes.