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December 2006 Newsletter
I wish you happy holidays and a Prosperous New Year. 2006 was a fantastic
year, the economy was strong, GDP is growing, inflation is under control, and
the fed doesn't feel the need to raise interest rates. The big predicted drop in
home prices never happened, and buyers are coming back, afraid more that demand
may come back and make home buying harder.
As always I thank you for your business and your referrals. 100% of my business
in 2006 was from you, your family, friends and colleagues. I look forward to
working with you again this year.
1. Real Estate Update
2._Conforming loan limit to remain at $417,000 for
2007
3.
My own personal Geocoder
- Or how to map customer base on a map easily.
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1.
Real Estate Update
by Sunil Sethi
Transactions are happening despite the holidays. During this time of the year
the buyer's who are looking tend to be more serious. They'd have to be,
otherwise there are so many other things one could be doing duirng this time of
year. Like shopping, take a winter vacation or staying inside on these cold
winter days.
Many sellers are taking the strategy to put off listing their property till
February, which might result in a flood of properties coming to market in
February.
If you are planning on buying or selling in 2007 contact me now so we get
strategizing on how to bring your listings to market.
Latest Housing Stats:
Apple Appraisal Statistic s Page
Bay East Stats Page
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2. 2007 Conforming Loan Amount set at $417,000
-No Change from 2006
By OFHEO
Washington, DC – Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Director James
B. Lockhart today announced the maximum 2007 conforming loan limit for
single-family mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the
Enterprises) will remain at the 2006 level of $417,000 for one-unit properties
for most of the U.S. 1
The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that an
Enterprise can buy or guarantee. By law the maximum conforming loan limit is
based on the October-to-October change in the average house price in the Monthly
Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB). The
FHFB reported the decline in the average price was $501, or 0.16 percent, from
$306,759 in October 2005 to $306,258 in October 2006. This is the first decline
in the MIRS since 1992-93.
OFHEO announced November 15 it would keep the limit at 2007 levels if there was
a decrease in October-to-October house prices and would defer that decline for
one year.
“This amount is in keeping with OFHEO’s recent announcement of an orderly and
transparent process for any downward adjustment,” said Lockhart. “We made this
decision so as not to disrupt the end-of-the-year pipeline of mortgages or the
market for mortgage-backed securities,” said Lockhart.
OFHEO also stated previously that additional guidance for the 2008 limits would
be issued early next year. 1 Higher limits apply to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the
U.S. Virgin Islands as well as to properties with more than one unit. See link
to letters to Enterprises on page 2.
Conforming Loan Limit Percentage Increase 2007 $417,000 0 2006 $417,000 15.9%
2005 $359,650 7.8% Prior to this year’s decrease, the average increase in the
FHFB survey over the previous five years was 8.8 percent.
OFHEO assumed responsibility for establishing the conforming loan limit with a
February 2004 guidance. The conforming loan limit is based on the FHFB monthly
survey and not OFHEO’s quarterly House Price Index (HPI), which will be released
November 30.
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3. My Own Personal Geocoder
If you're in marketing, you've probably wished at some point the ability to
upload your customer records in to a database, and have it map their address so
you could visually see where the concentration of your customer bases
were. Well now there's a relatively easy and free way to do this. Check it out
at: http://www.batchgeocode.com/
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Remember: FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS
BUY OPTIONS ARMS
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