Wayne & Oakland County Real Estate

If you are applying for a mortgage to refinance or buy a home this aadvisory will help you determine whether you should lock your rate or let it float to possibly lower levels. As always the ultiimate decision is yours but here you will fiind financial market iinformation that will help you make a more informed decision.

Monday's bond market has opened in positive territory following some early stock weakness. The stock markets are mixed with the Dow down 49 points and the Nasdaq up a single point. The bond market is currently up11/32, but we will likely still see a slight increase in this morning's mortgage rates as a result of weakness in bonds late Friday.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today or tomorrow. There are only four pieces of economic data scheduled to be posted the rest of the week along with an after-hours congressional testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The first report comes early Wednesday morning with the release of January's Retail Sales report. This report is very important to the financial markets because it measures consumer spending. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data is watched quite closely. If Wednesday's report reveals weaker than expected sales, the bond market should thrive and mortgage rates will fall. However, a stronger reading than the 0.3% decline that is forecasted could lead to higher mortgage rates.

The week's least important data is December's Goods and Services Trade Balance report early Thursday morning. This report measures the U.S. trade deficit and can affect the value of the U.S. dollar versus other currencies, but it usually does not cause enough movement in bond prices to affect mortgage rates.

Mr. Bernanke will deliver the Fed's semi-annual testimony on the status of the economy late Thursday afternoon. He will be speaking to the Senate Banking Committee and market participants will watch his words very closely. The Fed Chairman is required to deliver this testimony twice a year, which is considered to be of extreme importance to the financial markets. We almost always see the markets move as a result of what he says during this testimony, but this time is being done after market hours. If he indicates that inflation is still a concern, the bond market will likely fall mortgage rates will rise early Friday as a result. But, if he says that inflation remains under control, we should see the markets rally and mortgage rates fall Friday.

Overall, look for Wednesday or Friday to be the most important days of the week. The Retail Sales report is a biggie and Mr. Bernanke's after-hours testimony Thursday is also very important to bonds and mortgage rates. This means that we are most likely to see the most movement in mortgage rates Wednesday or Friday. Throw in an early close Friday ahead of Monday's President's Day holiday, and we have the makings for an interesting week for bond traders and mortgage shoppers. Please proceed cautiously and maintain contact with your mortgage professional if you have not locked an interest rate yet.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

The Bittinger Team launched a new blog to keep their clients and the residents of Wayne and Oakland counties up to date on real estate in Canton, Plymouth, Northville, Novi, Livonia, Westland and the surrounding cities and townships in the Detroit Metropolitan suburbs.

Bittinger's Blog will be updated with new events that effect the real estate market in the local communities. It is expected to be updated several times a week with:

    * Mortgage and finance information

    * Property tax information

    * Foreclosure information

    * Home sales information in local communities

    * Home marketing tips for every home seller

    * Tips on changes toyour home that increase value

    * The very best houses that come on the market

    * The best web resources to use for home search

This is just a partial list of the resources available to you at The Bittinger Team's new real estate blog.

Visit and let us know what you think. If there is something we shold add let us know.

Looking for a website to do all your real estate for sale searching?

Go to www.bestmichiganhouses.com for the best search experience you can find.

No kidding, it is an easy to use tool that gives you complete control of all your search needs. You can save your searches, compare homes you are interested in, view the satellite shot of the homes and lots of large photos.

Try it and let us know what you think.

Feb 15, NAR Hails Passage of Stimulus Bill

The economic stimulus package that the U.S. Congress passed quickly last week is strong legislation,NAR (National Association of Realtors) says, and the association thanked President George W. Bush for his leadership and willingness to enact the legislation promptly. "We are pleased that both the FHA and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits have been increased in the legislation," says NAR President Richard Gaylord. NAR estimates that increasing FHA loan limits will help an additional 138,000 households achieve the dream of homeownership and will allow nearly 200,000 homeowners to refinance and potentially keep their home. NAR also estimates that increasing the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would permit as many as 300,000 families to enter the housing market, reduce foreclosures by as many as 210,000 and allow as many as 500,000 jumbo loan borrowers to refinance to lower cost loans, saving these people $274 to $411 a month. President Bush is expected to sign the package this week.

30-year fixed rate at 5.76%; 10-year Treasury yield at 3.81%

Friday, February 15, 2008

Inman News

Long-term mortgage interest rates rose again Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 3.81 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average climbed to 5.76 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate gained to 5.2 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate, however, dipped to 5.01 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was higher at 4.64 percent.

Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5.

In other economic news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 175.26 points, or 1.4 percent, finishing at 12,376.98. The Nasdaq was down 41.39 points, or 1.74 percent, closing at 2,332.54.

Stock figures are current as of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Fixed rate loans generally come with one of two options; the 30-Year Fixed and the 15-Year Fixed. If a borrower is planning on being in the same home for a long period of time, a 30-Year Fixed may be more attractive because it offers stability. The monthly payment will remain consistent over the life of the loan. If interest rates are at historic lows at the time the borrower is seeking to obtain financing, this is a good program to consider.

A 15-Year Fixed loan program offers the same stability, but the accelerated amortization schedule makes the monthly payment substantially higher. While the interest rate may be lower on this type of loan, the borrower must be willing to commit to a higher monthly payment. If the borrower wishes to retire in 15 years and be debt-free at that time, this loan program may be more suitable to the borrower's long-term needs.

It is also possible to make pre-payments on a 30-Year loan and reduce the life of the loan, as well as the overall interest payment, without committing to the higher monthly payment of a 15-Year program. As long as there is no pre-payment penalty associated with the 30-Year mortgage, pre-payment offers the borrower the latitude to make additional payments when it is affordable. If cash flow becomes difficult, this arrangement will not put the borrower in a compromising position.

RealtyTrac®, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its Year-End 2007 Metropolitan Foreclosure Report, which shows Detroit, Stockton, Calif., and Las Vegas documented the three highest foreclosure rates among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas during 2007.

According to the company, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

“As expected, the number of properties entering some stage of foreclosure in 2007 was up in the vast majority of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, with 86 metros reporting increases from 2006,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Most of the metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates were either cities like Stockton and Las Vegas, which experienced meteoric growth and unsustainable price appreciation over the past few years, or cities like Detroit, which are undergoing a more widespread economic downturn along with higher unemployment rates.”

California, Ohio, Florida and Michigan cities dominate top 20 metro rates. Fifteen of the metro areas with the top 20 metro foreclosure rates were located in four states: California with six, Ohio with four, Florida with three and Michigan with two.

Detroit registered the highest foreclosure rate among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, with close to 5% of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year - 4.8 times the national average and up from about 3% in 2006. A total of 72,616 foreclosure filings on 41,273 properties were reported in the Detroit metro area in 2007, up 68% from 2006. The other Michigan metro area with a foreclosure rate in the top 20 was Warren-Farmington Hills-Troy at No. 17.

With 4.866% of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year, Stockton, Calif., documented the second highest metro foreclosure rate. A total of 22,184 foreclosure filings on 10,608 properties were reported in the metro area in 2007, up 271% from 2006. Other California metros with foreclosure rates in the top 20 were Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 4, Sacramento at No. 5, Bakersfield at No. 6, Fresno at No. 14 and Oakland at No. 16.

Las Vegas posted the third highest metro foreclosure rate among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in 2007, with 4.228% of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. A total of 59,983 foreclosure filings on 30,375 properties were reported in the metro area during 2007, up 169% from 2006.

Cleveland’s 2007 foreclosure rate - 2.972% of households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year - ranked sixth highest nationally and was the highest of any Ohio metro area on the list. A total of 49,071 foreclosure filings on 27,848 properties were reported during 2007, up 112% from 2006. Other Ohio metros with foreclosure rates in the top 20 were Akron at No. 12, Dayton at No. 15 and Toledo at No. 19.

With 2.724% of its households entering some stage of foreclosure in 2007, Miami documented the eighth highest metro foreclosure rate, highest among Florida metro areas. A total of 51,662 foreclosure filings on 25,296 properties were reported in the metro area during 2007, up 106% from 2006. Other Florida metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 20 were Fort Lauderdale at No. 10 and Orlando at No. 20.

Other cities in the top 20 were Denver at No. 9, Atlanta at No. 11, Memphis at No. 13, and Indianapolis at No. 18.

The RealtyTrac Metro Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of foreclosure filings by metropolitan area, along with the total number of unique addresses entering some stage of foreclosure and percentage of total households entering some stage of foreclosure (foreclosure rate).

The household numbers are based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005 estimates of total housing units. Foreclosure filings include foreclosure-related documents in all three phases of foreclosure: Default - Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction - Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

Noel's family is originally from Cairo, Egypt and early this year we visited them. While there we toured a few of the most fantastic sights you have ever seen.

I have been going through our photos and decided to share a few that are extremely interesting.

Whenever you think of Egypt the first impression one usually envisions is the pyramids at Giza. These were among the wonders of the ancient world and when you walk up to them they are still a wonder. These were built around 2500 B.C. These are only a tiny fraction of the sights available to the traveler to Egypt.

What most don't know is there are at least 97 pyramids spread across the Egyptian and Libyan Desert. Having an insatiable appetite for knowledge of ancient civilizations I insisted on visiting many of the outliers.

This shot was taken in front King Djoser's Step Pyramid which was built about 200 years earlier than the Giza pyramids. It's distinction is this pyramid and the funerary complex surrounding it were the first buildings built in stone in the history of the world (one of many firsts associated with Egypt that I'll fill you in on later).  The architect for the Djoser complex was a genius name Imhotep. He was a scribe, engineer, architect, physician, and a dozen other things. Egyptologists have been searching for Imhotep's grave for centuries. He is in many ways more famous than most of the pharaohs.

Along with us (from left to right) were my sister Linda, Noel of course (she's always with me), My mother Flora, and our Friend Maryanne.

Where have you been that is very interesting. It would be cool to link to other favorite places of interest. Email me at leebittiinger@remax.net so I can post it.

Lee Bittinger

Mortgage interest rates for the week ended January 24 continued to fall and long term rates hit their lowest levels since the spring of 2004 according to the results of Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended January 24, 2008.

The survey showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) had an average interest rate of 5.48 percent with 0.4 point during the week compared to an average of 5.69 percent with 0.5 point a week earlier. One year ago the 30-year FRM stood at 6.25 percent. The January 24 number was the lowest the 30-year FRM has been since the week ended March 24, 2004 when it averaged 5.40 percent.

The 15-year FRM fell from 5.21 percent during the week ended January 17 to an average of 4.95 percent, the lowest mark since the week ended April 1, 2004 when it averaged 4.84 percent. Fees and points were unchanged at 0.4. During the same week in 2007 the 15-year averaged 5.98 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMS) dropped 27 basis points to 5.13 percent from the previous week. Fees and points were also down 0.2 to 0.4 point. The five-year hybrid was last seen at these levels during the week ended June 30, 2005 when it averaged 5.06 percent, although Freddie Mac only began reporting statistics for that product in January of 2005. At the end of January last year the 5-year averaged 6.0 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMS also fell 27 basis points to an average of 4.99 percent with points unchanged at 0.6. This is the lowest the one-year has been since October 27, 2005 when it averaged 4.91 percent. One year ago this product was at 5.49 percent.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist issued a statement accompanying the survey results which was a bit downbeat. "Economic news released last week," he said, "confirmed the weak condition of the housing market. Housing starts fell further in December to 1.006 million units, the slowest pace since May 1991. For the year as a whole, housing starts dropped nearly 25 percent, from 2006's level. This was the largest annual decline since 1980. New permits issued also fell to the lowest level since March 1993.

"When the Federal Reserve cut the target federal funds rate by three quarters of a percentage point, the action was extraordinary in both the magnitude and the timing of the rate cut: it is the largest cut since October 1984, and also the first time in more than six years that the Fed took such action outside of a scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The last time the Fed decided to ease the target federal funds rate in an unscheduled meeting was immediately after September 11, 2001. As a result, mortgage rates continued trending down for the fourth consecutive week across loan products."

The Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ended January 25 strongly and surprisingly contradicted Freddie Mac's findings. That survey found all three mortgage products it tracks had rate increases for the week with the one-year ARM at a higher average rate than either of the fixed-rate products for the second week in a row.

The 30-year FRM increased to 5.60 percent from 5.49 percent with points, including the origination fee, dipping to 1.06 from 1.07.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.04 percent from 4.96 percent, with points decreasing to 1.12 from 1.22.

The one-year ARM averaged 5.70 percent compared to 5.51 percent the previous week with points decreasing to 0.97 from 1.01.

Mortgage application volume increased 7.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week earlier and 10.5 percent on an unadjusted basis. The volume was 70.7 percent higher when compared with the same week one year earlier and apparently much of the increase was due to a surge in refinancing. Applications for the purpose of refinancing represented 73.0 percent of all applications compared to 66.0 percent one week earlier. Adjustable rate mortgages on the other hand dropped to an 8.6 market share from 9.3 percent the previous week.

Washington - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its top 10 tips for homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

"These guidelines will assist homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage and could be threatened with foreclosure," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "We want to encourage homeowners to take action and use every resource available so that they can get control of their finances and stay in their home."

If you are unable to make your mortgage payment:

1. Don't ignore the problem.

The further behind you become, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and the more likely that you will lose your house.

2. Contact your lender as soon as you realize that you have a problem.

Lenders do not want your house. They have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.

3. Open and respond to all mail from your lender.

The first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later mail may include important notice of pending legal action. Your failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court.

4. Know your mortgage rights.

Find your loan documents and read them so you know what your lender may do if you can't make your payments. Learn about the foreclosure laws and timeframes in your state (as every state is different) by contacting the State Government Housing Office.

5. Understand foreclosure prevention options.

Valuable information about foreclosure prevention (also called loss mitigation) options can be found on the internet at www.fha.gov.

6. Contact a non-profit housing counselor.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds free or very low cost housing counseling nationwide. Housing counselors can help you understand the law and your options, organize your finances and represent you in negotiations with your lender if you need this assistance.

7. Prioritize your spending.

After healthcare, keeping your house should be your first priority. Review your finances and see where you can cut spending in order to make your mortgage payment. Look for optional expenses-cable TV, memberships, entertainment-that you can eliminate. Delay payments on credit cards and other "unsecured" debt until you have paid your mortgage.

8. Use your assets.

Do you have assets-a second car, jewelry, a whole life insurance policy-that you can sell for cash to help reinstate your loan? Can anyone in your household get an extra job to bring in additional income? Even if these efforts don't significantly increase your available cash or your income, they demonstrate to your lender that you are willing to make sacrifices to keep your home.

9. Avoid foreclosure prevention companies.

Many for-profit companies will contact you promising to negotiate a loan work out with your lender. While these may be legitimate businesses, they will charge you a hefty fee (often two or three month's mortgage payment) for information and services your lender or a HUD approved housing counselor will provide for free if you contact them. You don't need to pay fees for foreclosure prevention help-use that money to pay the mortgage instead.

10. Don't lose your house to foreclosure recovery scams!

If any firm claims they can stop your foreclosure immediately if you sign a document appointing them to act on your behalf, you may well be signing over the title to your property and becoming a renter in your own home! Never sign a legal document without reading and understanding all the terms and getting professional advice from an attorney, a HUD approved housing counselor or trusted real estate professional.

To find out more about HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and their services, please visit www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm or call toll free (800) 569-4287 on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). The same number can give you an automated referral to the three housing counseling agencies located closest to you.