Bay Area home sales dipped more than usual between June and July, falling 13.9 percent, compared to an average decline of 6.8 percent for the Northern California market, the report shows. Sales dropped most sharply in the high-end real estate market, with $500,000-plus transactions down 25.4 percent on a month-over-month basis.

Luxury home sales were strong during the early summer in Marin County, San Francisco and the Napa Valley, Coldwell Banker reported. John Walsh, DataQuick president, attributes the fall-off in this sector to overall economic uncertainty caused by the debt ceiling debate.

While high-end buyers sat on the sidelines, first-time homeowners accounted for more sales in July than June, as measured by the proportion of government-insured Federal Housing Authority loans used to finance purchases. FHA loans, often secured by first-time buyers, were used in 22.4 percent of all Bay Area July purchases, compared to 20.6 percent in June.

San Francisco is not a budget housing market, with a median sales price of $550,000, according to the National Housing Conference. However, the annual income needed to finance a median-priced home in San Francisco declined 7 percent between 2010 and 2011, NHC recently reported. 

Article source: http://www.upack.com/press/article/real-estate-news/first-timers-drove-san-franciscos-housing-market-in-july-800578613

Today House Republicans will take up arms against a sea of government housing bailouts, voting to abolish the Federal Housing Authority’s (FHA) $14B Short Refi program and the $1B Emergency Mortgage Relief Program. Next week they will take up the $29B Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the $7B Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The argument is that none of these programs are working and that they are a waste of taxpayer dollars. The mortgage modification program, a particular thorn: “Not only is this a failing program, it’s a failing program that causes real financial pain to the very people it was set up to help,” writes Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on TARP, in a press release.

Administration officials have tried to defend the programs, admitting they haven’t performed as expected, but urging that they be given a longer life. “These programs are continuing to help people, and we don’t see that the critics are offering any alternatives,” said Tim Massad, Acting Asst. Treasury Secretary for Financial Security, on a conference call yesterday.

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Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/41889784?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS