Qualified residential mortgage rule

Media Contact: Jenny Werwa / 202-383-1193 

WASHINGTON'S (August 28, 2013) — The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Gary Thomas:

"The re-proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage rule announced this morning is a victory for homebuyers and the future of homeownership in this country. This version of the QRM rule will give creditworthy buyers access to safe and affordable loan products without overly burdensome downpayment requirements.

"The new standards, which align with those applied to Qualified Mortgages, are stringent enough to protect consumers from unscrupulous lending practices while also creating new opportunities for private capital to reestablish itself as part of a robust and competitive mortgage market.

"Realtors® were among the most vocal opponents of the first QRM rule proposed in April 2011 because it would have denied millions of creditworthy Americans access to the lowest cost and safest mortgages. We applaud the regulators for removing the 20 percent downpayment requirement and for adopting reasonable credit and debt-to-income standards.

"In addition to the main proposal that we support today, regulators introduced an unfavorable alternative that would require buyers to put 30 percent down to qualify for a QRM loan, a restrictive measure that dramatically favors the wealthy. Research shows that it would take the average American more than 25 years to save enough money to buy a modest home with a 30 percent downpayment.

"Realtors® will continue to oppose any regulation that requires unreasonably high downpayments from consumers. We are committed to working on behalf of America’s hardworking families to ensure that anyone who is able and willing to assume the responsibilities of owning a home has the opportunity to pursue that dream, now and into the future."

Morris Hagerman is a local real estate agent with Real Estate One in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He serves Berkley and the other Woodward 5 communities, including Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Huntington Woods.  Hagerman is also a member of the Berkley/Huntington Woods Area Chamber of Commerce.  You can contact him by phone at 248-854-8440, email at morrishagermanproperties@gmail.com or visit his web page.

State equalized property values rise

State equalized property values rise in Metro Detroit
detroitnews.com  by Gary Heinlein

Metro Detroit’s seven-county area experienced its first increase in state equalized value of properties in six years, according to a report released Monday — a small but lagging sign that the region’s economy continues to recover.

SEV — or half of the market value a city assessor assigns to property — increased 0.2 percent this year, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments said. It’s another sign that the region’s economy is improving, the group said.

“The growth of total SEV is definitely good news for a region that suffered a great deal in the recent collapse of the real estate market,” SEMCOG Executive Director Paul Tait said in a statement.

By contrast, property taxable value — the main tax base for municipal governments — fell 0.2 percent, according to SEMCOG. About 60 percent, or 141 communities in Southeast Michigan, experienced gains in property taxable value this year, the group said.

“The trend local governments have faced for several years of declining local property taxes appears to be over,” Tait said. “Local governments must, however, continue their efforts to make the most efficient use of tax dollars to deliver the highest possible quality services to residents.”

David Sowerby, portfolio manager at Loomis Sayles investment management firm in Bloomfield Hills, said even a small increases in real estate values is good news for the region.

“It is interesting SEMCOG is seeing an increase in SEV for Metro Detroit,” Sowerby said. “But it certainly has been at least a one-year-plus experience that real estate values have been leading the economic recovery in Metro Detroit.

“There are lagging indicators — and there are lagging, lagging, lagging indicators, and SEV is one of those,” Sowerby explained.

The SEV rise “bodes well” for the future for collection of property taxes, but that won't necessarily be felt immediately, he said, and maybe not for at least another year.

The number of communities losing more than 10 percent of taxable value declined to six this year, down from 24 last year. More significantly, 141 communities gaining value is up from 27 communities that do so last year.

Improvement in taxable value was uneven.

Oakland County’s Lyon Township Oakland led with a 5.2-percent increase, while Monroe County’s Luna Pier saw a 16-percent SEV drop.

Pontiac lost 15 percent. Other older communities also experienced significant losses, officials said.

detroitnews.com  by Gary Heinlein

Morris Hagerman is a local real estate agent with Real Estate One in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He serves Berkley and the other Woodward 5 communities, including Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Huntington Woods.  Hagerman is also a member of the Berkley/Huntington Woods Area Chamber of Commerce.  You can contact him by phone at 248-854-8440, email at morrishagermanproperties@gmail.com or visit his web page.

The process of buying a new home

Purchasing a new home is not something we do everyday. So, it may be confusing and have issues that create concern. Even if you have purchased one in the past, laws and regulations change almost daily. With the help of a real estate professional, the process can be smooth.

Here are clear and practical steps for making a home purchase. Watch for more details on each subject in following posts.

Step One: Loan pre-approval
Before you begin to shop for a home, enhance your buying power by getting Pre-Approved or Prequalified. Don't know the difference? Watch for following posts to provide details. (Here is a link for details on getting pre-approval.)

Step Two: Learn the Market
Drive around the areas that you would like to live.  Take a look at the neighborhoods to find those that appeal to you, but be realistic.  Research the cities, the business and schools on line.

Step Three: Choose a Real Estate Professional
Select an experienced real estate professional to help you through the home buying process. Make sure it is one that is familiar with the locale that you are considering.  Start looking at houses in your price range and that fits the profile of the new home you would want.  Make sure you spend a little time at this, unless of course you have to move for some reason.  The more you look at the better you will feel about the home that will be right for you.

Step Four: Make the offer
Through your real estate professional make an offer on a house that you like.  The agent you are working with will provide you with comps from the area that help you craft an offer that is right for the house.  Keep in mind your mortgage limit established by your preapproval, your down payment and the closing costs.  Make sure you include the right to inspect the home by a qualified inspector.  This will cover you both from purchasing a home that has major problems or give you an idea of the cost of repair if you proceed with the purchase.  If you follow the outline in the offer, it also allows you to get out of the agreement if there are big problems with the house.

Step Four: Secure Your Mortgage
This is when you return to the lender you were preapproved for a mortgage.  The lender will want a copy of all the paper work so they can begin their work to get the mortgage approved for that house.

Step Five: The closing
Relax with the knowledge that you have two teams working to make your purchase as easy as possible. The closing team will get everything in order and be clear and precise with the paperwork. Also, a real estate professional that will be reviewing the documents to make sure they are correct. 

Step Six: Move in and enjoy the home of your dreams.

Morris Hagerman is a local real estate agent with Real Estate One in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He serves Berkley and the other Woodward 5 communities, including Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Huntington Woods.  Hagerman is also a member of the Berkley/Huntington Woods Area Chamber of Commerce.  You can contact him by phone at 248-854-8440, email at morrishagermanproperties@gmail.com or visit his web page.

Home price increase across the nation

New York, July 30, 2013 – Data through May 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed increases of 2.5% and 2.4% for the 10- and 20-City Composites in May versus April. Dallas and Denver reached record levels surpassing their pre-financial crisis peaks set in June 2007 and August 2006. This is the first time any city has made a new all-time high. The 10- and 20-City Composites annual returns rose slightly from April to May as they posted the best year-over-year gains since March 2006. All 20 cities increased from May 2012 to May 2013 and from April 2013 to May 2013.

Morris Hagerman is a local real estate agent with Real Estate One in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He serves Berkley and the other Woodward 5 communities, including Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Huntington Woods.  Hagerman is also a member of the Berkley/Huntington Woods Area Chamber of Commerce.  You can contact him by phone at 248-854-8440, email at morrishagermanproperties@gmail.com or visit his web page.