Are you in the JUMBO home loan range? 

Do you want to refinance at historically low rates? 

Now is the opportunity!!!!

Purchase Scenario: 

            Price $1,000,000

            Fico Score 720+

            Full Document required (paystubs, W2, tax returns, asset statements)

            Single Family Residence

            Owner Occupied

            30% Down Payment

Apr (A.) 1^st 5.003% (B.) 1^st 4.154%

Payment Savings:  $430.76 per month. 

All long term JUMBO fixed rates have been priced high because of the financial crisis.  Many lenders have stepped into the market offering short term Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM).  The downfall is we do NOT know where rates will be in the near future when your ARM matures. 

The JUMBO home loan combo option is back and strong.  Take advantage of this opportunity before the opportunity is lost.  If you are looking to REFINANCE, please ask!

Please ask questions directly at 425.818.2078.

Thanks

The Mortgage Reel

Post from: The Mortgage Reel - Seattle Real Estate Preferred Correspondent Lender

Seattle Jumbo Mortgage Opportunities

King County home sales climb to 2-year high

 By Eric Pryne 

Seattle Times business reporter

Have house prices in the Seattle area hit bottom after a two-year slide?

If you’re looking for consensus on that question, keep looking.

Bears point to rising unemployment, increasing apartment vacancies and mounting foreclosure filings and predict still more price cuts.

Bulls say the simplest principle in economics – supply and demand – suggests a turnaround is imminent.

Both sides could find support for their arguments in statistics released Wednesday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The median price of a King County single-family home that sold in July was $384,000 – down 2.9 percent from $395,000 in June and down 13.7 percent from $445,000 in July 2008. No turnaround evident here.

But closed sales – which reflect demand – were up more than 10 percent from the same month last year, surging to their highest level since August 2007.

In Snohomish County the year-over-year increase was even greater, nearly 19 percent.

And the number of King County houses on the market – that’s supply – was down nearly 20 percent from July 2008, the fourth straight monthly double-digit dip.

Conventional economic theory dictates that when supply declines and demand increases, prices should go up – or at least stop dropping.

“If we’re not quite there [at the bottom] yet, I think we’re nearing it,” said Ron Sparks, managing vice president in the Bellevue office of Coldwell Banker Bain.

Perhaps prices aren’t rebounding just yet because buyers’ perceptions haven’t caught up with market realities, he said – just as stubborn sellers kept prices relatively high in early 2008 despite declining sales and growing inventory.

Market forces eventually prevailed: Median prices plummeted during the second half of last year.

The recent surge in sales is a positive sign, said Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University.

But he still expects prices will remain weak, and probably decline, in many market segments into next year.

Much of the activity has been fueled by the new $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time buyers, Crellin said – and that’s slated to expire Nov. 30. “Whether the market can be sustained without that remains to be seen.”

Plus foreclosures haven’t peaked in the Seattle area yet, as they have in some cities hit earlier and harder by the mortgage meltdown, Crellin added. Those properties could depress prices as they come on the market.

Foreclosure-research firm RealtyTrac reported last month that the number of Seattle-area households receiving at least one foreclosure filing increased 72 percent during the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2008.

Nationwide, the increase was just 15 percent.

It’s difficult to generalize about home-price trends, said Alan Pope, a Redmond real-estate appraiser and consultant. “You need to look not at the macro but at the micro,” he said. “Prices have probably stabilized in some markets – but not all markets.”

Prices most likely have hit bottom for moderately priced homes in close-in neighborhoods near job centers, Pope said.

But more declines still may loom for more expensive houses and neighborhoods, he added, in part because financing remains problematic for many prospective buyers.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service statistics for July indicate that sales were strongest in King County’s most affordable areas. Closings increased 54 percent year-over-year in Southwest King County, but less than 2 percent on the Eastside, where the median house sold for nearly twice as much.

In Seattle, relatively affordable neighborhoods like Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill experienced the biggest increases in sales.

Pending single-family home sales – offers accepted by sellers that haven’t yet closed – were up more than 19 percent in July from the same month in 2008, the fourth straight month of year-over-year increases.

Just what that means is less clear than it once was. Pending sales historically have been a reliable indicator of future market activity: The number of closed sales in a month usually was about 90 percent of the preceding month’s pending sales.

Lately, though, that hasn’t been the case. July’s closings in King County were about 71 percent of June’s pendings.

Professionals blame long delays in closing many “short sales” – sales for less than the seller owes on the home. They account for about 25 percent of King County’s pending sales, according to Windermere Real Estate.

Pending sales of condominiums in King County were up nearly 10 percent year-over-year in July, while closed sales dropped more than 9 percent, according to the listing service. The median sale price, $250,000, was down nearly 10 percent from July 2008.

In Snohomish County, the median price of a single-family home dipped more than 14 percent, from $350,000 to $299,990.

Some brokers said last month’s record high temperatures hurt their business, with some clients postponing open houses.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

Post from: The Mortgage Reel - Seattle Real Estate Preferred Correspondent Lender

Seattle Real Estate Sales Increase in King County

Revised February 17, 2009

Just signed and sealed…a $787 Billion Stimulus Plan made up of tax cuts and spending programs aims at reviving the US economy. Although the package was scaled down from nearly $1 Trillion, it still stands as the largest anti-recession effort since World War II.

Home owners and potential homebuyers stand to gain from key provisions in this stimulus plan. Here is what we know as of today…

Tax Credit for Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.

The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000.  Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

Additional Housing-Related Provisions

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization.  According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing—This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs.Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance—This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

More Help for Homeowners in the Future

Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.

According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.

While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be good for the housing industry as a whole. That’s because, assisting struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in turn, will help stabilize home prices.

The Economic Stimulus Plan is huge, and impacts a number of industries. I’ve highlighted some of the major provisions that may impact you now and in the future.

As always, we are committed to new and existing homeowners if you have any questions or would like to discuss how this may specifically impact you, we would be happy to, or you can add your comments and feed back below.   

We have also posted a break down in detail of the $8,000 tax credit.  Click here to be linked to the posting.

Post from: The Mortgage Reel - Seattle Real Estate Preferred Correspondent Lender

How current and future home owners of Seattle will benefit from the Stimulus Plan

Seattle Mortgage Reel wants to help spread the word for the Seattle Home Show taking place on February 14-22.  As the nation’s longest running and largest consumer home show, the Seattle Home Show offers Northwest residents a “one stop shopping” experience in home products and services.  Show attendees are looking for a wide range of home improvements from the smallest kitchen gadget to a complete home package to build on their lot.  Attracted by our informative and wide reaching marketing campaign, visitors come from the Puget Sound area, across Washington State and as far away as Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Taking advantage of the huge, 300,000-square-foot show space in the Qwest Field Event Center, the Seattle Home Show offers “Idea Street™,” a community of furnished and landscaped model homes.  These homes are toured by thousands of show visitors each day who see the latest in home appliances, building and design techniques and the most current trends in decorating.

www.seattlehomeshow.com

Seattle Home Show Hours:

Saturdays: 10:00 am to 8:30 pm
Sundays: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Monday-Thursday: 10:00 am to 7:30 pm
Friday: 10:00 am to 8:30 pm