Westlake Village Real Estate Blog

The Obama administration unveiled its long-awaited white paper titled “Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market,” which proposes solutions to revamping the nation’s mortgage system. The Administration’s intent is to wind down the federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to curtail the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). To help reduce the government’s role in mortgage funding, the white paper focuses on a series of short steps to increase fees and down-payment requirements which will make government loans less attractive and allow banks to compete in offering loans without government guarantees.

To get that ball rolling HUD has already announced an increase in the FHA annual mortgage insurance premium of 0.25% effective April 18, 2011That increase would take the annual premium from 0.90% to 1.15% and increase a borrower’s monthly payment by $60 on a $300,000 purchase.

The second step would take effect Oct 1, 2011 with the plan to lower the ceiling on jumbo conforming loan limits in high-cost markets from $729,750 to $625,500.

Whether you are buying or selling a home within the FHA price range, take note. These changes will reduce the number of buyers who can qualify.

I’d like to thank Brownie Stanisch, at Prospect Mortgage, once again for this information.

If you want to follow the trends, just follow the headlines. In the past two weeks we have seen headlines pointing to a more positive real estate market. From the Huffington Post and other news outlets, 30-Year Mortgage Rates Top 5%. Why is this positive? As interest rates creep up, sooner or later home buyers begin to notice. The sentiment that there is no hurry, that an even better deal will be there tomorrow, begins to slip away. As this article points out, if interest rates rise from 5% to 6% and the price of a home drops from $500,000 to $450,000, the actual cost of the home over 30 years will be $90,000 higher.

From the LA Times, California Luxury Home Sales Jump 21% (even the wealthy like a bargain). And the Wall Street Journal, Cash Buyers Lift Housing, cites data from the National Associations of Realtors indicating 28% of home sales last year were all-cash deals – double the rate in 2008.

Finally, from the LA Times again, Now May Be the Time to Buy a Home. Says the usually pessimistic economist Christopher Thornberg, principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, “Certainly, we’re pretty sure we’re at the bottom” for home prices, as quoted in the luxury home sales article.

What does it all mean? If you are a home buyer, it may be time to step up to the plate. Stories of homes selling in multiple offers are not uncommon. This means you could soon find yourself paying both a higher interest rate for your mortgage and a higher price for your home.

If you are a seller who is buying up, now may be the time to pick up that dream home. And if you are selling because of a personal or financial situation, don’t wait for prices to rise dramatically unless you have a lot of time. During the 1990s, in the LA area,it took 9.5 years for home prices to regain their 1990 peak.

Since SNÖ arrived in North America in 2009, it has been featured in VIE magazine as a top gift pick by The Film Festival and NBC and has sponsored the Miss Universe 2010. SNÖ of Sweden, a leading jewelery maker, recently won the beautiful business award, as well as 2010’s exporter of the year award. With representation in over 1,600 retailer locations, Kingo Couture has finally brought this coveted jewelery line to North America.

SNÖ of Sweden originated in northern Sweden. Founder Lena Jonsson Näslund designs the simply made Scandinavian-style jewelery. Nature’s own materials and colors are woven into a design with a stylish touch. SNÖ of Swedens works almost exclusively with semi-precious stones such as onyx, rose quartz, cherry quartz, jade, clear rock crystal, smoked crystals and cultivated freshwater pearls. The materials are linked by chains of coated silver and titanium plated copper and/or iron base which is nontarnished. All jewelry is nickle tested.

SNÖ of Sweden releases four new collections per year, which makes each collection highly desirable since it’s only available for a few months. Check out some of their handiwork at www.kingo.ca.

Soon, Westlake Village will have a venue at well. Wood Ranch resident Anette Manninen represents the line. If you are interested in purchasing a piece or selling it in your store, contact here at anette@kingo.ca.

Now on YouTube!

Come see this lovely one-story home on Sunday, 2 PM to 4 PM. With a large yard, high ceilings, upgraded kitchen and flooring, and a three-car garage, it offers easy living in a quiet neighobhood close to the 23 freeway and the 118. Reduced to $579,000. Take a look:1890 AutumnPlace.com.