Park City Mortgage News

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE...The housing recovery may be proceeding slowly, but things are definitely not at a standstill. Earlier this year, an industry rent vs. buy index found it is more affordable to buy than rent a two-bedroom home in 72% of America's 50 biggest cities. In fact, renting was less expensive than buying only in New York, Kansas City, San Francisco and Seattle. And in 10 of the cities where renting was relatively affordable versus ownership, people felt buying may still be a financially sound long-term decision.

A recent consumer study showed people are getting the message. With home prices now at such affordable levels, 62% of those surveyed said buying in today's market is a good investment over the next 10 years. The most popular

The U.S. House and Senate yesterday restored FHA loan limits to the level they were at before they were allowed to expire at the end of September. As a result, the limits will rise to 125 percent of the area median home price from 115 Percent, up to a  maximum $729,750, from $625,500. NAR estimates that several hundred counties where FHA loan limits fell at the end of September will now rise back up to the previous level.

“The reinstated loan limits will help provide much needed liquidity and stability to communities nationwide as tight credit restrictions continue to prevent some qualified buyers from becoming home owners and the housing market recovery remains fragile,” said NAR President Moe Veissi in a statement released last night.

President

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE...Last week, more signs appeared that things are coming our way in housing. Wednesday the Census Bureau reported that the nation's home ownership rate moved up in the third quarter to 66.1%, slightly ahead of the prior quarter. Some commentators feel the three-year decline in home ownership might be starting to bottom out. Home ownership may have been encouraged by rising rents, with the vacancy rate now up to 9.8%.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) chimed in with a forecast that existing home sales should be up 1% this year, then up another 4.3% next year. Although the median price will fall slightly this year, it's predicted to rise 2.6% in 2012. New home sales, after dropping 4.7% this year, are projected to

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE...What didn't make sense last week was the way the media reported the latest housing data. Housing Starts were UP a strong 15% in September, hitting a 658,000 annual rate. But the media chose to emphasize that the gain was mostly from multi-family starts which shows a big trend toward renting. Actually, multi-family units also include condominiums, which do make sense for first time buyers who don't have to deal with selling. The media also skimmed over the data that single-family starts were UP almost 2% for the month and starts overall are UP over 10% versus a year ago.

Then, Existing Home Sales came in 3% lower for September. The media reports by and large neglected to mention that this slight monthly drop followed a big

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE...One result we care a lot about is a turnaround for new homes. We haven't attained it quite yet, with New Home Sales down 2.3% in August, at a 295,000 annual rate. This keeps them in the territory they've occupied since May 2010, but there were some good signs in the report. The inventory of new homes for sale fell to its lowest level on record. At the same time, the inventory of homes not yet started went up the most it has in nearly five years. Some economists say this may indicate home building is close to turning back up.

The FHFA index of prices for homes bought with conforming mortgages went UP 0.8% in July after a 0.7% hike in June. This key home price index is up 7.4% annually over the last three months, the fastest