Mortgage applications had been lower for much of the summer, and refinances continue to fall, but applications to purchase a home rose 2 percent last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

This, even as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $417,000 or less increased to 4.8 percent, the highest since April 2011. They are still down 6 percent in the past month. Mortgage rates, however, have been moving lower this week on weak economic data.

Higher home prices could also be hurting potential sales, as very low inventories continue to cause bidding wars from coast to coast. Inventories of existing homes are down significantly in most of the nation’s major housing markets.

(Read more: Map: Tracking the recovery)

San Francisco, for example is seeing some of the highest home price appreciation, as listings were down 29 percent in July year over year, according to the California Association of Realtors.

“More homes clearly need to be built in the West to relieve price pressure, or the region could soon face pronounced affordability problems,” Yun said.

Single family housing starts were down 2.2 percent in July month to month, as home builders still struggle to find finished lots and skilled labor. Underlying demand is running nearly twice the rate of housing completions, according to IHS Global Insight. Some home builders admit they are slowing production in order to gain pricing power.

(Read more: Home prices across the US defy gravity)

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100993579

For all the latest news on Facebook’s first day of trading, see MarketWatch’s special report on the company’s initial public offering.

Read more real-estate news in this week’s pages, including why lenders are asking borrowers for a mountain of paperwork when they apply for a loan, the latest on record-low mortgage rates and a Realty QA about a landlord who refuses to address a renter’s noisy neighbors.

To read more about the “Facebook effect” on San Francisco real estate, check out The Basis Point blog.

—Amy Hoak, Real Estate writer

Mortgage borrowers face litany of questions

As a home buyer or a candidate for refinancing, you’d expect to submit recent pay stubs and bank-account statements when applying for a mortgage loan. But a copy of your college transcripts? Or a decade-old divorce decree?Read more: Mortgage borrowers face litany of questions.

Landlord refuses to address noisy neighbor

In a recent column, you mentioned dispossessed homeowners sliding “all the way to the bottom of the ladder” to an apartment. Describes me perfectly!Read more: Landlord refuses to address noisy neighbor.

Another record low for fixed-rate mortgages

Fixed-rate mortgage rates hit yet another set of record lows this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.79% in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.Read more: Another record low for fixed-rate mortgages.

Foreclosure activity drops in April

The number of foreclosure filings in April fell to the lowest monthly total since July 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s most recent report, released Thursday.Read more: Foreclosure activity drops in April.

Skip the dorm, buy your kid a condo

Low real-estate prices—and sweet tax breaks—may make buying a condo preferable to student housing.Read more: Skip the dorm, buy your kid a condo.

Is now the time to buy your first house?

Article source: http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-18/finance/31758589_1_fixed-rate-mortgages-mortgage-rates-mortgage-delinquencies

Ideally, buyers would like to know that the market has hit bottom and that the value of what they buy won’t decline. Sellers, who will sell at a loss today, wonder if they should get out now or wait for a better market to sell.

When will that better market appear? It’s impossible to time the market. We’ll know that we hit bottom after the market turns around, not before. Some economists think this will take another two years; others expect a turnaround in five to six years.

Many economists think we’re at or close to bottom. However, it’s expected that the market will be rocky for some time. The market will change seasonally. For example, it’s typical for home sales to decline during the winter months.

House Hunting Tip: Good and bad news can affect whether buyers feel optimistic about homebuying. The fact that the conforming jumbo loan limit is likely to drop to $625,000 from $729,750 could spur home sales in higher-priced markets between now and September when the higher loan limit expires.

Interest rates have been fluctuating, but remain below 5 percent for conforming fixed-rate mortgages. Interest rates and affordability in general have a great impact on the strength of the housing market.

The news about the real estate market was discouraging at the beginning of the year as hopes of a solid recovery were dashed by declining home-sale volume and prices. Some economists even predicted that the housing market was headed for a double-dip recession, but this doesn’t look likely at this point.

March brought good news as home-sale volume nationally picked up 3.7 percent from February, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, the sales were primarily driven by investors buying cheap foreclosures.

Although investor purchases were up, the percentage of first-time-buyer purchases was down, possibly due to tough mortgage qualifying criteria, which are expected to become even more difficult going forward.

Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, points out that it’s difficult for buyers to trade up or down if they don’t have equity in their homes. According to CAR, about 25 percent of homeowners in the U.S. owe more than their home is worth. Appleton-Young believes the figure is closer to 31 percent in California.

As grim as the picture looks, it’s not the same everywhere. Residential real estate is a localized phenomenon. The San Francisco Bay Area is a good example. Although median prices are still lower than they were a year ago, the number of homes sold in the Bay Area in March was the best showing in four years. Sales volume was up 41.3 percent from February and up 0.2 percent from a year ago, according to MDA Data Quick.

However, within the Bay Area there was considerable diversity. Several higher-priced counties, which haven’t seen much activity until recently, saw gains. These included San Mateo County, where sales were up 8.6 percent, and Santa Clara County, up 3.9 percent. Both counties benefit from the Silicon Valley rebound. Jobs are necessary for a healthy housing market.

In Alameda County, home sales declined 7 percent in March. Even so, there are hot spots within the county. Select neighborhoods close to shops, transportation and good schools defied statistics with high buyer demand and over-asking-price sales.

The Closing: Keep an eye on trends, but focus on your local neighborhood when making decisions about buying and selling.

Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years’ experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of “House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide.”

Article source: http://www.lvrj.com/real_estate/no-way-to-time-market-123153123.html?ref=123