Eugene Oregon Real Estate Blog

Good Monday Morning!

The world has certainly changed since my last message.  We are all in a group effort to stop what could be a potentially devastating virus.  I just want to wish you, your family and friends my best during this difficult time.  If we all take precautions, we can shorten the time that this disease threatens us and interupts our lives.  I found this great video clip that I think will help all of us understand the importance of social distancing, washing hands, etc.  This video was created for kids, so if you have the opportunity, please share this and make sure that any children you know watch it.

Stay Healthy!!!!

Video Link: http://eugeneoregonhomesforsale.com/video/How-To-See-Germs-Spread-Coronavirus

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

793 Blackfoot Ave, Eugene, OR 

Price: $260,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 1.5    Sq Ft: 960

Wonderful classic home on large lot. New forced air heating system. New roof. New hot water heater. New pleated blinds. Living room has lots of natural light. Master bedroom has attached half bath. Kitchen has sliding glass door that leads to backyar...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

The recent Cornovirus scare is having a huge impact on our national economy and one of the effects is that the Fed has cut interest rates to help ward off the negative effects.  The following is an article from "Realtor.com" that expands on the recent Fed rate cut and the effect that it will have on mortgage interest rates.

The Federal Reserve just cut its benchmark interest rate — but don’t expect lower mortgage rates as a result.

The Fed made the rare move to lower the federal funds rate by a half-point to a range of 1% to 1.25% in between its regularly scheduled meetings. The central bank noted that the move was in response to the “evolving risks” the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak poses to the economy.

The novel coronavirus first emerged around Wuhan, China, late last year. As of Tuesday, there were 91,313 cases and 3,118 deaths worldwide. At least 105 people had contracted the virus in the U.S. as of Tuesday.

“The Fed is catching up,” said Holden Lewis, mortgage and real estate expert at NerdWallet. “Mortgages respond to market forces and not to the Fed. The Fed is actually following and not leading when it comes to mortgage rates.”

Mortgage rates have plummeted since the beginning of the year to the lowest average since 2016 as a result of market movements in response to the coronavirus. While the Federal Reserve adjusts short-term interest rates, mortgage rates fluctuate based on long-term bond rates.

In particular, mortgage rates in the U.S. roughly track the direction of the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The 10-year Treasury had fallen to all-time lows in recent weeks as investors fled to the safety of bond markets amid the downturn in equity markets. To that extent, the Fed was responding to the bond market’s recent movements with its decision to cut rates Tuesday, economists said.

“We’ll probably see the 10-year Treasury move lower ahead of any other future Fed moves,” said Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist at LendingTree.

Continued downward movement in the 10-year Treasury would normally signal downward movement in mortgage rates. Where they stand now, Treasury yields suggest that mortgage rates still have some room to move lower, said Rick Sharga, a mortgage industry veteran and president and CEO of CJ Patrick Company, a financial-services consulting firm. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see 30-year loans with 3.0% rates before things settle back down,” Sharga said.

But another question is emerging in the current low rate environment: Will lenders let mortgage rates go lower?

“A big question now becomes what kind of capacity lenders have,” Kapfidze said. “If you don’t have enough people to process the volume you’re getting in, you’re not going to lower rates to attract more volume.”

Current low rates have already caused a boom in refinance activity. And demand among home-buyers remains elevated, in spite of the short supply of homes for sale. As a result, lenders don’t need to give Americans much more incentive to apply for new home loans.

Those in the refinance market would be smart to lock in rates now, Kapfidze said. “Most lenders will let you relock at the lower rate” when you close the loan, he said.

One exception to the mortgage rates trend could be home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs. These are adjustable-rate loans based on the prime rate. As such, they are set to see a drop in interest rates, since the prime rate does closely follow the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate.

“HELOCs have been slowly falling in popularity, and over time the amount of HELOC debt has been gradually falling as people pay down their debts and fewer people take up the slack by borrowing them,” Lewis said. “This seems time for that trend to possibly reverse. The rates on HELOCs are going to be so tempting, especially for people who want to fix up their homes.”

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

93048 Templeton Rd, Junction City, OR 

Price: $750,000    Beds: 4    Baths: 3    Sq Ft: 3035

Quiet And Private House on 20.59 secluded acres with gorgeous valley and mountain views. 15+ acres second growth Fir with significant market value and 2+ acres of pasture. Gorgeous custom interior with hardwood floors, vault ceilings, views. 4 bay s...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

I hear many people say that they are waiting for the next downturn in housing caused by recession before they purchase a home or investment property.  This may not be a wise decision to wait for the next recession.  Housing prices may not be affected as they were during the past recession and higher mortgage interest rates could certainly offset any decrease in home prices.  The following article form "Realtor.com" talks about why waiting for a market downturn could be a potential mistake.

It’s unclear when the next recession will come. But a recent report argues that when it does the U.S. housing market is unlikely to adversely affected in any major way.

Researchers at First American Financial Services, a title insurance company, examined how the country’s housing market has fared historically during recessionary periods. Based on what’s happened in past recessions, the report argues that the next recession is unlikely to prompt a major downturn in housing.

“While the housing crisis is still fresh on the minds of many, and was the catalyst of the Great Recession, the U.S. housing market has weathered all other recessions since 1980,” wrote Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American and the report’s author. “In fact, the housing market may actually aid the economy in recovering from the next recession — a role it has traditionally played in previous economic recoveries.”

Using its own data along with information from Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtors, the report maps out how the housing market has traditionally fared in economic downturns. In most other cases, home price appreciation continued at an even pace, and existing-home sales growth only edged downward slightly, Kushi wrote.

So what made the Great Recession different? The housing boom that preceded the last recession was largely driven by an explosion in both home-building activity and mortgage credit. Home buyers were able to get mortgages with no documentation of their income and no down payment, and many loans had introductory 0% interest periods that made them cheap to start but more expensive as time wore on.

These homeowners were over-leveraged. “The housing crisis in the Great Recession was fueled heavily by the fact that job loss was paired with a significant share of homeowners who didn’t have much equity in their homes,” Kushi wrote.

And because developers constructed so many homes, their home values quickly sank when the bubble burst, exacerbating the situation further.

The growth in home prices seen during the current economic expansion has not been fueled by increased access to mortgage credit. Rather, it’s a simple reflection of supply and demand: Many Americans want to become homeowners, but the supply of homes available for sale is very low, pushing prices upward.

While this has made the prospect of buying a home unaffordable for millions of Americans, it has also meant that those who are homeowners have seen their home equity grow substantially in recent years. That decreases the likelihood that they would be underwater on their loan if home prices were to dip in a recession.

“Were we to have a recession, I’d argue housing would provide a cushion because the shortage of supply at the entry-level suggests builders could actually continue to build,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, told MarketWatch in December.

There still are red flags that homeowners should be on the lookout for when it comes to how a potential recession might affect the housing market. For starters, many Americans have taken out cash-out refinance mortgages on their homes as their home values have grown. That’s whittled away the equity these people have in their property, leaving them more vulnerable to owing more than their home was worth in the potential event the home prices drop.

Another issue: Many Americans who fell behind on loan payments and modified their mortgages in the wake of the recession to avoid foreclosure have since redefaulted. Were these people to lose their jobs in a recession, they could easily fall into foreclosure. Research has shown that foreclosures exacerbate economic downturns — and they can have a ripple effect through a local market, causing other homes to drop in value.

And at the local level, certain local housing markets could prove more resilient in the event of recession, depending on the strength of the local economy relative to what’s going on at a national level.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

3220 Crescent Ave #60, Eugene, OR 

Price: $240,000    Beds: 2    Baths: 2    Sq Ft: 2248

Sought after Summer Oaks 55 and over community on wonderful large view lot. Refrigerator, washer/dryer included. $817/mo space rent. Disposal, dishwasher, built in oven, stove top, gas heat, cool, hot water, Composition roof. Heat pump. Security sys...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

Today credit scores effect our lives more than ever before.  They determine our purchasing power and in many cases how much something is going to cost us.  Things are changing in the world of credit reporting and the following article from "Realtor.com" talks about the new changes.

Changes in how the most widely used credit score in the U.S. is calculated will likely make it harder for many Americans to get loans.

Fair Isaac Corp., creator of FICO scores, will soon start scoring consumers with rising debt levels and those who fall behind on loan payments more harshly. It will also flag certain consumers who sign up for personal loans, a category of unsecured debt that has surged in recent years.

The changes will create a bigger gap between consumers deemed to be good and bad credit risks, the company says. Consumers with already-high FICO scores of about 680 or higher who continue to manage loans well will likely get a higher score than under previous FICO versions. Those with already-low scores below 600 who continue to miss payments or accumulate other black marks will experience bigger score declines than under previous models.

The changes are an about-face from recent years, when FICO and credit-reporting companies made changes that helped increase scores for some consumers, such as removing some negative information, including civil judgments, from credit reports.

Credit scoring and reporting companies also recently started factoring in such information as bank account balances and utilities payments to help give consumers with limited credit histories a better shot at getting loans.

Those recent moves can help revenue-hungry lenders identify more creditworthy consumers and make it easier for them to be approved for loans. Average FICO scores have been rising steadily following some of these changes and an improving economy.

The U.S. consumer borrowing industry revolves around companies such as FICO, which help lenders decide whom to lend to. Credit-reporting firms including Experian PLC, Equifax Inc. and TransUnion collect data on consumers and compile it in consumers’ credit reports, which then determine their FICO scores.

The new FICO changes reflect a shift in U.S. lenders’ confidence in the economy, which has been expanding for more than 10 years. Consumer loan losses remain low compared with during the last recession, but consumer debts are at record highs, with many Americans forced to rely on debt to help fund their everyday lives.

Lenders in recent years had asked the credit-reporting and scoring companies to help them find more borrowers. But lenders are also trying to balance the need to expand loan volume with a rising concern about the longevity of the economic recovery and whether credit scores are making some consumers appear more creditworthy than they are.

“There are some lenders that see there are problems on the horizon in terms of consumer performance or uncertainty [about] how long this [recovery] is going to go,” said David Shellenberger, vice president of scores and predictive analytics at FICO. “We definitely are finding pockets of greater risk.”

On an earnings call last year, Capital One Financial Corp. Chief Executive Richard Fairbank warned that consumers across the industry might not be as creditworthy as their scores suggest.

Missed payments and most other negative information that would hurt a score typically roll off a report after seven years, which means lenders might not have insight into how a consumer fared during the crisis, he said.

The changes will affect new versions of the FICO scores. FICO updates its scoring model every few years to reflect changes in consumer borrowing behavior and performance. When it last announced such changes, in 2014, they were viewed as likely to help boost consumers’ credit scores.

Whether to adopt the new FICO scores will be up to lenders, which can generally decide which version of FICO to use or whether to use a competitor such as VantageScore. (There are some exceptions: For example, most lenders use a certain version of the FICO score to sell mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.)

One of the new versions, called FICO 10 T, will place greater weight on recently missed payments. Consumers who fall behind or stop paying their debts are likely to see their credit scores fall more with this model. Those whose last delinquency is at least a year old could see an improvement in their scores.

The changes are meant to partly offset the effects of settlements between credit-reporting firms and states that date to 2015. Those settlements, aimed at removing erroneous information from credit reports, resulted in Equifax, Experian and TransUnion removing most tax liens and judgments from reports.

Unlike previous FICO scores, 10 T will assess how consumers’ debt levels have changed during the past two or so years. FICO scores so far have reflected consumers’ balances during roughly the most recent month tracked. This change will place more weight on rising debt levels. Consumers who previously paid their credit-card bills in full but shift to carrying growing balances for several months will likely end up with a lower score. On the other hand, consumers who tend to increase card debt during a specific month each year and then pay it off quickly will likely experience a smaller drop in their score than they currently do.

The changes will likely hurt scores even more for consumers who have a high “utilization” ratio—for example, when credit-card debt is nearly equal to a consumer’s set spending limit—for a sustained period of time.

FICO for the first time will place more weight on personal loans in a way that penalizes some borrowers. For example, consumers who transfer credit-card debt to a personal loan but continue to rack up credit-card balances will likely experience a bigger drop in their credit scores.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

3220 Crescent Ave #60, Eugene, OR 

Price: $240,000    Beds: 2    Baths: 2    Sq Ft: 2248

Sought after Summer Oaks 55 and over community on wonderful large view lot. Refrigerator, washer/dryer included. $817/mo space rent. Disposal, dishwasher, built in oven, stove top, gas heat, cool, hot water, Composition roof. Heat pump. Security sys...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

Mortgage interest rates continue their trend down and remain extremely favorable. The current mortgage loan rates make this a highly opportune time to purchase a home.  They also make this a great time to sell a home due to buyer demand.  In fact, buyer demand is high and the inventory of homes for sale remains low.  This has created one of the best sellers markets that I have witnessed in over 30 years of selling Real Estate.  If you are thinking about selling your home this year, Don't wait for Spring/Summer!!!

The followng is a recent mortgage rate review.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.47% this week, remaining an alluring incentive for buyers who want to lock in some of the lowest borrowing rates in years.

“With mortgage rates hovering near a five-decade low, refinance application activity is once again surging, rising to the highest level in seven years,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This surge, coupled with strong purchase activity, means that total mortgage demand remains robust, reflective of a solid economic backdrop, and a very low mortgage rate environment.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 13:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.47%, with an average 0.7 point, rising slightly from last week’s 3.45% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.37%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.97%, with an average 0.8 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.81%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages:averaged 3.28%, with an average 0.3 point, falling slightly from last week’s 3.32% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.88%.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1805 Minda Dr, Eugene, OR 

Price: $525,000    Beds: 4    Baths: 3    Sq Ft: 2460

Don't miss this wonderful Ferry St. Bridge home! Great room concept w/ a spacious kitchen designed for entertaining. Stainless steel appliances & an over sized island w/breakfast bar. Main level master suite has a French door to a private deck. Layo...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

Nationally, home sale were up in January of 2020, home prices were up and mortgage interest rates were down.  This is a favorable start for 2020 and also a good indicator that the strong sellers market that we have been in is continuing.  These sellers markets don't last forever and if you are thinking about selling your home this year, don't wait for Spring.  By Spring we could see interest rates rise and also the competition for homes on the market will increase.  Right now the inventory of homes for sale is extrmemely low in the Eugene and Springfield area and buyer demand is high.  This is the perfect oppourtunity to sell your home quickly and at top dollar.

Video Link: http://eugeneoregonhomesforsale.com/video/This-Month-in-Real-Estate-February-2020

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1719 Belmont Ave, Hood River, OR 

Price: $650,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 2    Sq Ft: 2016

Large one level home in great neighborhood. Home is a slight cosmetic fixer. Basement not included in sq. ft. .84 lot that is potential for additional building sites. Potential for development. Composition roof is aprox. 5 years old...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

Good news for the housing industry.  December 2019 saw a rise in home sales nationally.  This is postive news that a strong economy may keep the housing market steady.  Here is an article from "Realtor.com" that talks about the recent market numbers.

Sales of previously owned U.S. Houses rose in December, a sign historically low unemployment and low mortgage rates are propelling the U.S. housing market as it enters a new year.

Home sales increased 3.6% in December compared with November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

Existing-home sales were up 10.8% in December from a year earlier. Total sales ended 2019 at 5.34 million, the same pace as in 2018.

Low joblessness is one factor supporting demand for home buying. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.5% in December, a 50-year low.

Further, borrowing conditions for homeowners are generally better than a year ago. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.65% as of Jan. 16, according to Freddie Mac, up slightly from September’s lows but below year-earlier levels.

One persistent drag on the housing market has been a dearth of inventory.

“We are facing this dire housing shortage,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “We need to build more.”

At the current sales pace, there was a 3.0-month supply of homes on the market at the end of December, compared with 3.7 in November and in December 2018. December’s inventory was the lowest for NAR records tracing back two decades. Limited housing stock has contributed to higher home prices, with the median sales price for an existing home in December up 7.8% on year to $274,500.

Inventory has been particularly tight at the cheaper end of the market, restraining sales. Inventory for homes priced below $100,000 declined 14.3% in December from a year earlier.

Some positive signs have emerged that suggest more inventory could soon flow onto the market. The National Association of Home Builders reported its housing market index, which measures industry confidence, remained near a two-decade high in January, and construction of new U.S. homes rose in December to the highest level since 2006, the Commerce Department said last week.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

3161 Dahlia Ln, Eugene, OR 

Price: $289,900    Beds: 3    Baths: 1.5    Sq Ft: 1344

Don't miss this well-kept & charming one-owner 60's ranch style home in a quiet Santa Clara neighborhood. Original hardwood floors in the bedrooms. Vinyl windows throughout & a ductless heat pump. Kitchen has a breakfast bar & is open to the family...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

Home values continue their climb in the Eugene and Springfield area and in many other parts of the country.  One of the results of these continued value increases is that many homeowners are realizing significant upticks in their home equity.  The following article describes the extent of the home value increases we have seen in many areas

Home sellers nationwide felt richer at resale in 2019. The average seller saw a home price gain of $65,500 on a typical sale, which is up from $58,100 the year prior, ATTOM Data Solutions reports in a new study. This marks the highest level since 2006.

That also represents a 34% average return on their investment compared to the original purchase price, which is also the highest average home seller ROI since 2006.

NAR: Home Sales Climb, Sellers Are in a Good Position

“The nation’s housing boom kept roaring along in 2019 as prices hit a new record, returning ever-higher profits to home sellers and posing even greater challenges for buyers seeking bargains,” says Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “But there were signs that the market was losing some steam last year, as profits and profit margins increased at the slowest pace since 2011. While low mortgage rates are propping up prices, the declining progress suggests some uncertainty going into the 2020 buying season.”

Homeowners in western states continued to see the highest returns. ATTOM Data Solutions’ researchers found that the metros with the highest home seller ROIs were in the following areas:

• San Jose, Calif.: 82.8%
• San Francisco: 72.8%
• Seattle: 65.6%
• Merced, Calif.: 63.2%
• Salem, Ore.: 62.1%

Meanwhile, overall home prices continued to rise in 2019. The biggest year-over-year increases in median home prices in 2019 were: South Bend, Ind. (up 18.4%); Boise City, Idaho (up 12.6%); Spokane, Wash. (up 10.9%); Atlantic City, N.J. (up 10.6%); and Salt Lake City (up 9.6%).

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1040 Bay St, Florence, OR 

Price: $290,000    Beds: 2    Baths: 2    Sq Ft: 1048

One of a kind Siuslaw River Bay frontage and within short distance to Florence Old Town. Sweeping views of the sand dunes, Siuslaw Bay and bay bridge. Watch the boats and fishermen through the front windows or the covered patio area. Condo is in exc...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

The New Year has brought a Real Estate market to the Eugene and Springfield area that remains strong.  Home sales remain strong and mortgage interest rates remain at extremely favorable levels.  Home prices are up, but seem to be leveling off.  All of this points to a market of opportunity for both home buyers and home sellers.  It is certainly a great market for home sellers as home inventories remain low and sales prices are at record high levels.  If you are considering a home sale this year, don't wait until Spring!!  January, February and March will be your months of oppurtunity this year.  There are lots of home buyers out there looking right now and the inventories (competition) will be at their lowest levels of the year.  This points toward being able to sell your home at top dollar in the fewest number of days.  

If you have a home in the Eugene and Springfield area and you are considering selling it this year, contact me. I would be happy to give you a free, no obligation look at your homes current value and what the market looks like for you.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

3704 Norwich Ave  

Price: $675,000    Beds: 4    Baths: 2.5    Sq Ft: 2873

Beautiful Home In Hidden Creek neighborhood, North Gilham. High ceiling living area. Natural lighting throughout. Spacious living room features gas fireplace & access to covered patio area. Dining room and separate eating area. Wet Bar and walk-in p...View this property >> 

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Good Monday Morning!

More homeowners are refinancing to take equity out through a cash-out tranaction. They’re then using the extra cash to pay down credit card debts, renovate their home, or even invest in a new home.

Over the past two years that has resulted in a large number of homeowners who are taking on higher interest rates via refinancing. Still, owners say that the mortgage rates are lower than what they would have to pay through a credit card or home equity line of credit.

Homeowner Paul Thompson was undeterred by the higher rates through a cash-out refi. He told The Wall Street Journal that when he purchased his Dallas home in 2015, he was able to get a mortgage at 4%. But at the end of last year, he refinanced at 4.625% and took out about $30,000 in equity from his home. He says the higher rate was worth it because it gave him extra cash to renovate an investment property next door.

But the greater use of cash-out refinancings has some economists concerned that homeowners will be tempted to use their homes like ATMs, as they were blamed on doing in the years leading up to the housing crisis. Consumers who struggle to pay their mortgages from a cash-out refinancing are at risk of losing their homes. On the other hand, the economists note, credit card debt is unsecured.

Still, others are quick to note that cash-out refinancings are well below pre-crisis levels.

Also, cash-out refinancings are becoming more enticing compared to home equity lines of credit. The Wall Street Journal reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has dropped at a much faster pace than HELOC rates this year. The two are based on different benchmark rates. For example, this fall, 30-year mortgage rates were nearly 3 percentage points lower than the average HELOC rate, according to Bankrate.com.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

Lot 2501 E 49th Ave  

Price: $125,000    Beds: 0    Baths: 0    Sq Ft: 4356

Level Lot. Few trees. Ready to build. Utilities available at street.....View this property >> 

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