Thursday, September 29th, 2011On September 26, 2011, the Senate passed the Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 2608), which also includes a provision extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until November 18, 2011. Next week, the House is expected to approve this extension and has ensured that there will be no lapse in NFIP authority in the interim. [...]
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 A new rule originally published by the Federal Trade Commission and now transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau became effective August 19, 2011. The rule applies to mortgage information being provided to consumers. I imagine now many of you are thinking that you do not care because you do not do loans. Unfortunately the law is written so broadly that you may still be covered by its provisions. If you just tell a consumer that mortgage rates are about 4% you are probably ok. If you tell them mortgage rates are about 4% with 20% down for 30 years you are probably subject to the rule. Likewise if you provide a consumer a lender rate sheet or leave rate sheets laying out at your open house, you must comply with the rule. Not only does the new law require certain disclaimers be made to consumers, it also requires you to keep a copy of any notices or rate sheets you provide to consumers for at least two years. They need to be maintained within the broker’s record retention system so that they can be provided to regulators upon request. If you are particularly industrious and want to read the entire 22 pages of the rule you can go to the Federal Register and search for 16 CFR Part 321. NAR has published a two page Letter of the Law article which can be downloaded at www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/0811maprule?opendocument&login&Print=Yes. Without passing judgment, and in a spirit of love and hospitality, Loaves and Fishes feeds the hungry and shelters the homeless. They provide an oasis of welcome, safety and cleanliness for homeless men, women and children seeking survival services. Founded in 1983, they are governed by a Board of Directors selected from Loaves and Fishes and from the community-at-large. These people have demonstrated compassion and concern about the needs of the homeless and the indigent poor. Every fifth Monday of the month is the dedicated day for SAR and Masters Club Members to volunteer for the preparation or serving shift. Loaves and Fishes serves lunch every day of the year. As the volunteer coordinator, I organize the necessary 20 volunteers for each shift. March 23, 2011 was a milestone, as this organization served a total of six million meals since its inception. On August 29, 2011, we were really excited to prepare for and serve 900 guests for lunch. This was a very high number of guests but Sharon Gulliford, from Loaves and Fishes, said that the economy is creating a much stronger need for their services. Our next opportunity to volunteer will be October 31st. I invite you to contact me at SHarrold@GoLyon.com to reserve your spot to prepare or serve the lunch. This is a rewarding experience and a great time to meet and work with fellow REALTORS®. On September 8, 2011, the Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved the “Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act,” sending it to the full Senate for consideration. This is the Committee’s response to the NFIP reform bill H.R. 1309 passed by the House earlier this year. Similar to the House bill, this one would also provide [...]  Former Major League Baseball second baseman Steve Sax inspired SAR Members at the September Main Meeting. Sax’s presentation was a reflection of his book, “SHIFT – Change your Mindset and You Change your World,” in which he states that success is a choice based on your thinking, hard work and perseverance. Sax grew up in a lower middle class family with his parents and four siblings in West Sacramento. He had never been on a plane until he signed with the LA Dodgers. As a boy, he would watch Dodgers/Giants games with his dad and tell him he hated the Dodgers, that “even if they paid me a million dollars, I wouldn’t play for them. A lot changed in a decade. Sax was an LA Dodger for seven years and earned two World Series rings during his time with the team. From Sax’s experience, success is a matter of a positive mindset, endurance, effort and humility. He recounted his grueling schedule as a minor league player. Since he had no car, Sax walked an hour to practice. Practice was from 9:00am – 12noon; games from 1:00 – 4:00pm, followed by sessions with a defensive coach from 4:00 – 6:00pm. After walking back home, he would eat a bologna sandwich every night and do it all over again the next day. This August, sales increased 8.4% from 1,579 units sold in July to the current 1,711 units sold this month. Year-to-year, closed escrows were up 14.4% from the 1,496 units sold last August. 2011 SAR President Doug Covill commented “The numbers show it – sales are up. People are coming out and taking advantage of the low prices and historically low interest rates.” Making up the closed escrows this month were 642 REOs (37.5%), 411 short sales (24%) and 658 conventional sales (38.5%). These numbers have stayed relatively level month to month with REOs down only .2%, short sales up 5.7% and conventional sales down 3.5%. The median home sales price remained low, decreasing .6% to $165,000 from the $166,000 median sales price of last month. Compared with August 2010 ($186,000), the median sales price is down 11.3%. The $200,000 – $249,999 price range mode still accounts for a majority (14.6% or 249 units) of the 1,711 total sales this month, while homes under $100,000 totaled 325 (18.9%) units. Closed escrows from conventional financing (640 units or 34.4% of all sales) decreased 3.1%, while cash buyers (539 units or 29%) and FHA financing (543 or 29.2%) increased 4.3% and 4.6%, respectively. These numbers include the 153 condo sales this month. The average amount of days spent on the market (from list date to opening escrow) 64 days; the median DOM was 37. The Total Listing Inventory has been split up to more accurately display the current market. Active Listings numbered 3,907 properties and Active Short Sales Contingent showed 2,298. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made and are not entirely “active.” After breaking down Total Listing Inventory, we find that the Housing Market Supply figure is more accurately reflected. The Housing Market Supply figure for August was 2.3 Months – down 4% from last month. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the Active Listing Inventory (3,907) given the current number of closed escrows (1,711). Continue reading: Sales Volume Increases Late in Summer, Sales Price Ticks Down a Notch |
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