David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com With forbearance plans coming to an end, many are concerned the housing market will experience a wave of foreclosures similar to what happened after the housing bubble 15 years ago. Here are a few reasons why that won’t happen. There are fewer homeowners in trouble this time After the last housing crash, about 9.3 million households lost their homes to a foreclosure, short sale, or because they simply gave it back to the bank. As stay-at-home orders were issued early last year, the fear was the pandemic would impact the housing industry in a similar way. Many projected up to 30% of all mortgage holders would enter the forbearance program. In reality, only 8.5% actually did, and that number is now down to 2.2%. As of last Friday, the total number of mortgages still in forbearance stood at  1,221,000. That’s far fewer than the 9.3 million households that lost their homes just over a decade ago. Most of the...

David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to offer COVID-19 forbearance to qualifying multifamily property owners as needed, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). However, this will be subject to the continued tenant protections FHFA has imposed during the pandemic.  This marks the fourth extension of the programs, previously set to expire Sept. 30, 2021. On Oct. 1, 2021, FHFA will allow Fannie and Freddie to continue offering COVID-19 forbearance to qualified multifamily owners, unless otherwise instructed by the FHFA. "Given the uncertain nature of this pandemic, FHFA is taking further action to protect renters, property owners and the mortgage market," said FHFA Acting Director Sandra L. Thompson. Property owners with Fannie and Freddie-backed multifamily mortgages can enter a new or, if qualified, modified forbearance if they experience a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Property owners who enter i...

  David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com Are the housing markets adjusting back to pre-COVID seasonal patterns? Recent data from realtor.com®'s latest   Weekly Housing Trends Report,   for the week ended Sept. 4, suggests a more stabilized market.   Key findings:   - Median listing prices increased 8.3% YoY—the sixth consecutive week of single-digit price growth.   - The U.S. median listing is still near July's record-high of $385,000, however.   - New listings decreased 8.1%—the first dip in nine weeks.   - Total active inventory was just 24% lower than last year, improving over August's 25.8% YoY decline.   - Days on market decreased by 12 days YoY, but has increased in 10 of the past 12 weeks.   The takeaway:   Even with new listings down, the inventory gap compared to pre-COVID levels has decreased significantly, realtor.com® reports, as more new sellers have entered the market so far in 2021 than last year. Additionally, whi...

  David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com There has been a lot of discussion as to what will happen once the 2.3 million households currently in forbearance no longer have the protection of the program. Some assume there could potentially be millions of foreclosures ready to hit the market. However, there are four reasons that won’t happen. 1. Almost 50% Leave Forbearance Already Caught Up on Payments According to the  Mortgage Bankers Association  (MBA), data through March 28 show that 48.9% of homeowners who have already left the program were current on their mortgage payments when they exited. 6% made their monthly payments during their forbearance period 7% brought past due payments current 6% paid off their loan in full This doesn’t mean that the over two million still in the plan will exit exactly the same way. It does, however, give us some insight into the possibilities. 2. The Banks Don’t Want the Houses Back Banks have learned lessons from the crash ...

  David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com This year will be remembered for many reasons, and optimism is one thing that’s been in short supply since the spring. We’re experiencing a global pandemic, social unrest, an economic downturn, and natural disasters, just to name a few. The challenges brought on by the health crisis have also forced many homeowners to reevaluate their space and what they need in a home going into 2021. So, experts are forecasting that next year is one in which we can be optimistic about real estate for three key reasons. 1. The Economy Is Expected to Continue Improving Tim Duy from the  University of Oregon  puts it this  way : “There is nothing fundamentally ‘broken’ in the economy that needs to heal…there was no obvious financial bubble driving excessive activity in any one economic sector when the pandemic hit…With Covid-19 cases surging again, it is understandably hard to look optimistically to the other side of this winter…Don’t let th...

David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com The 2020 housing market was full of surprises. Despite a health pandemic impacting nearly all segments of everyday life, real estate was resilient. Realtor.com® recently released its 2021 housing forecast, predicting that inventory will make a slow and steady comeback, providing buyers with much-needed relief. However, increasing interest rates and prices will continue to pose a challenge on affordability throughout the year.     Here's the forecast breakdown for 2021:   Mortgage Rates : Up to 3.4 percent by year-end Existing-Home Median Price Appreciation : +5.7 percent Existing-Home Sales : +7.0 percent Single-Family Home Housing Starts : +9 percent Homeownership Rate : 65.9 percent   These are the key housing trends, according to realtor.com®:   - Millennials continue to drive the market while Gen-Z become market players - Affordability becomes growing obstacle - Inventory starts slow road to recovery - Suburbs to shi...

David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com In today’s real estate market, the buzz is all about how it’s a great time to sell your house. Buyer  demand  is high, and there simply aren’t enough homes available to buy to meet that growing need. This means  now is the time to make a  move  so you can close the deal on your ideal terms. Even in today’s strong sellers’ market, there are homeowners who are choosing not to sell due to ongoing concerns around the health crisis, financial uncertainty, and life in general. According to  Zillow , here are the top three  reasons  homeowners who are thinking of selling sometime in the next three years are  not  putting their houses on the market right now: 34% - Life is too uncertain right now 31% - Financial uncertainty 25% - COVID-19 health concerns If you identify with any of these, you’re not alone. Whether it’s the future of your employment situation or simply being uncomfortable having guests in...

David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com By Nia Duggins Consumer protection and fraud prevention continue to be critical during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Technology is an integral part of daily life as more people are working remotely, engaging in distant learning, purchasing products and services online, and conducting financial business virtually, including real estate transactions. Unfortunately, there are criminals who are using this time of crisis to harm others by engaging in identity theft, spoofing, phishing scams, imposter scams, and more. While many of the tactics that criminals use remain the same, the pandemic has changed the nature and scope of some of the scams.   Government imposter scams that prey on the hardships many are facing are on the rise due to government assistance that was provided in the various federal stimulus bills. These types of scams occur when criminals contact individuals posing as government agents from various federal and state agencies...

David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com Real estate continues to be called the ‘ bright spot ’ in the current economy, but there’s one thing that may hold the housing market back from achieving its full potential this year:  the lack of homes for sale . Buyers are actively searching for and purchasing homes, looking to capitalize on today’s historically low interest rates, but there just aren’t enough houses for sale to meet that growing need. Sam Khater,  Chief Economist  at  Freddie Mac,   explains : “ Mortgage rates have hit another record low  due to a late summer slowdown in the economic recovery…These low rates have ignited robust purchase demand activity…However, heading into the fall it will be difficult to sustain the growth momentum in purchases because the  lack of supply is already exhibiting a constraint on sales activity .” According to the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), right now, unsold inventory sits at a 3.1-mon...

  David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com By Jameson Doris VA loans are having a record 2020. Although the process of obtaining one has slowed in some areas of the country, demand has never been higher. According to mortgage lender  Veterans United Home Loans , the VA loan program backed more than 865,000 loans so far this year.   The previous record was set  in 2017 , when the VA loan program backed some 740,386 loans. This year, that number has been surpassed dramatically, as we're not even through Q3.   "Veterans and military members across the country are capitalizing on historically low interest rates and turning to their home loan benefit in record numbers," Chris Birk, director of education at Veterans United Home Loans, tells Housecall. "This is already the biggest year in the loan program's history."   For veterans with stable income and employment, this has been a remarkable window to buy, to tap into equity or to lock down lower housing costs, ...

David Deem 714-997-3486 Dave@DeemTeam.com One of the biggest surprises of 2020 is the resilience of the residential real estate market. Lawrence Yun,  Chief Economist  of the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), is now forecasting that  more homes  will sell this year than last year. He’s also predicting home sales to  increase  by 8-12% next year. There’s strong evidence that he will be right. ShowingTime , a leading showing software and market stat service provider for the residential real estate industry, just  reported  on their latest  the ShowingTime Showing Index : “Home buyer traffic jumped again in July, recording a  60.7 percent  year-over-year increase in nationwide showing activity.” That means there are 60% more buyers setting appointments to see homes than there were at this same time last year. The number of potential purchasers was also up dramatically in every region of the country: The Northeast was ...