Real Estate and Real Life in the Wine Country

Rate & Market Update

September 28, 2007

This update is provided as a service to my Realtor and Affinity-Partners as a means of obtaining legitimate current interest rates. Rates
are quoted as a range due to variations in purchase price, loan amount, LTV, SRP, subordinate financing, escrow waiver, lock period,credit score, asset reserves, job history, etc. Rates quoted are based on FNMA and FHLMC national averages.

Due to the Internet and other available public information our clients have greater access now than ever before to interest rate quotesand mortgage financing information in general. More information makes for more knowledgeable clients and that benefits everyoneinvolved. My greatest concern recently has been the amount of inaccurate information that our clients have to wade through and that sometimes lures them into situations that cause great hardship for them and all parties in the transaction.The information below is intended to be a tool that allows you to more confidently submit contract offers and give your clients an idea of real market interest rates. Rates are subject to change, even during the same day. Please contact me to get the current interest rate.

Conforming Fixed Rate FHA Jumbo Fixed Rate

6.125% @ .875 pt(s).

to

6.25% @ 0.375 pt(s).

6.25% @ 1.0 pt(s).

to

6.5% @ 1.125 pt(s).

Call for Pricing

1-Year ARM Conf. 3/1 Fixed to ARM Conf. 5/1 Fixed to ARM

Call for Pricing

5.625% @ 1.0 pt(s).

to

6.375% @ 0 pt(s).

5.875% @ 1.25 pt(s).

to

6.5% @ 0 pt(s).

Conf. 7/1 Fixed to ARM Jumbo 3/1 Fixed to ARM Jumbo 5/1 Fixed to ARM

6.0% @ 1.25 pt(s).

to

6. 5% @ 0 pt(s).

6.625% @ 1.125 pt(s).

to

7.875% @ .375 pt(s).

6. 75% @ 1.25 pt(s).

to

7.125% @ 0 pt(s).

Jumbo 7/1 Fixed to ARM VA CHFA

6.5% @ 0.5 pt(s).

to

7.0% @ 0.125 pt(s).

Call for Pricing

Call for Pricing

Stated Income 100% Financing 95% Jumbo Fixed

6.125% @ .875 pt(s).

to

6.375% @ 0.125 pt(s).

100% LTV

Stated Value

*Call for Rates!

Call for Pricing

Market Commentary

(707) 528-2600, ext. 1264

(800) 800-8412, ext. 1264

Cell: (707) 694-6826

dbeeson@cal-bay.com

*CalPERS Certified

Denise Beeson

Stock futures suggest a bit of profit-taking today even though there is some good economic news. The market is focused on thef act that the core PCE deflator - the Fed’s favorite inflation measure - was up just 0.1% for August. That was in line with expectations, but is still a very good number. Further good news comes from the less noticed solid gain in personalconsumption expenditures of 0.6% (also 0.6% after inflation adjustment). This follows a solid 0.4% gain in July. Personal consumption expenditures make up over 70% of GDP, and these two good gains at the start of the quarter will assure a decent third quarter GDP number. The market is very focused on economic data as recession concerns persist. The next really big economic release will be the September employment data a week from today. Even so, the market tone is stabilizing.

-Briefing.com

   Today CENTURY 21 Northbay Alliance has an open house extravaganza. We have 72 of our listings open and there are prices to win. Each house has a drawing for $20,00 giftcard and there will be a Grand Prize Drawing for $ 300,00 giftcard for Best Buy.

I will be at 164 Cordoba Way, a great 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home in Foothill Estates. I will have a drawing for a Home Depot giftcard. I look forward to see you there! Combine it with a hike in Foothill park, you will have a lovely Sunday afternoon!.

See you there!

Mirjam

Aging in Place - Planning to stay in your home for the long haul.

One of the hottest topics for seniors and their families these days is “Aging in Place”. So the question is what are they talking about when people talk about “Aging in Place”.

If we look back in to the past and around the globe everyone used to stay in their own home, as they got older. If their children were not already living with them the children, grand children and neighbors made dinner, checked in on them and took them everywhere. The concept and practice of leaving your home and moving in to an assisted living facility, senior apartment complex or nursing home is for the most part a phenomenon of the modern Medicare Era. This practice of leaving your home as you get older really started to take hold in the United States in the 1960’s. Before that, people were “aging in place”.

In 2003, the National Aging in Place Council (NAIPC) was formed and organized to introduce the system of support for elders that help them stay in their own home safely. Professional care providers and senior advocates looked back in history and around the world to see what is it that supports people in fulfilling on that vision for their final years.

If we look back into history, we can also begin to see what the qualities and characteristics of service and support look like to help someone “age in place”.
Some of these common supports are: Family Involvement, Financial Planning, Safety Planning, In Home care and support, Advanced Health Care Directives, Social Support.

Get more information and meet local support providers:
Attend the Aging in Place Senior Expo at the Finley Community Center, 2060 West College Avenue, Santa Rosa.

Wednesday October 3rd, 2007  from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm.

Call Dave Carter at Sequoia Pacific Mortgage Co. 707-575-3220

The action of Bernacke hopefully will impact us all–borrowers, sellers and lenders. 

The Federal Reserve slashed the benchmark federal funds rate by a half-percentage point in a bold bid to buffer the economy from a housing slump and related financial market turbulence.The decision by the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee took the overnight rate down to 4.75 percent, its lowest level since May of last year. It was the first cut in
the interbank rate — the Fed’s main tool to influence the economy — since June 2003 and the first half-point reduction since November 2002.Financial markets had widely expected the Fed to lower overnight borrowing costs, but were split over whether the move would be a quarter-point or more-aggressive half-point.In a related move, the Fed also lowered the discount rate it charges for direct loans to banks by a half-point to 5.25 percent.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

The Fed weighed fresh data from Tuesday showing producer prices fell more than expected in August as energy prices dropped, while a core measure of inflation at the producer level rose slightly more than forecast.Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said late last month the central bank stood ready to act as necessary to limit damage to the broader economy from the housing slump and turbulence in credit markets nervous about a wave of mortgage delinquencies.Bernanke’s remarks were seen as opening the door to lower rates, and a report on Aug. 7 showing the economy shed jobs in August for the first time in four years was seen as cementing the case for cutting overnight borrowing costs from their current 5.25% level.The only question seemed to be how large a reduction may be in store. Through last week, federal funds futures markets showed investors saw a somewhat greater probability of a
half-percentage point cut in the overnight fed funds rate than a quarter-point.However, futures dealers trimmed their bets of aggressive action this week. Implied chances of a half-percentage point rate cut slipped to 40 percent after the producer price data suggested inflationary forces may yet be a factor in the central bank’s thinking.“Core PPI is a mild disappointment and highlights the tough spot the Fed is in right now,” said John Miller,  head of fund management at Nuveen Investments in

Chicago.Comments by Fed officials, even after the weak employment report showed housing-related woes taking a toll on the broader economy, suggested they hold differing views on the appropriate monetary tonic.San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen said there was evidence of “significant downward pressure” on the economy. In contrast, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said the economy “appeared to be weathering the storm thus far.”The last time the Fed lowered the bellwether federal funds rate was in June 2003, when it made the last of 13 reductions over two-and-a-half years that took borrowing costs to a
1958-matching low of 1 percent.Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, in recent interviews as reported yesterday by me promoting his memoir, said Bernanke’s Fed faces more risks from inflation now than he did during that rate-cutting spree.“We could ease without fear of stoking inflationary pressures,” he told Reuters Monday. “We couldn’t do that in today’s environment.”The Fed has held the federal funds rate, its main tool for influencing the economy, steady since June of last year. However, in mid-August it lowered the discount rate that governs direct Fed loans to banks in an effort to unfreeze credit markets unsettled by mortgage defaults.A cut in overnight rates on Tuesday would mark a sharp shift for the

U.S. central bank, which said after their last regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 7 that inflation remained their predominant concern.

The Fed’s policy-setting panel, however, said on Aug. 17 that tighter credit conditions had “appreciably” raised the risk that the economy could stumble badly.

Let’s wait and see……

Denise 

 

 

Good Morning!

Over the weekend I watched the interview with Allan Greenspan and Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes. Did you?How insightful and candid he was about  his 20+ years in the limelight of US financial policy. I was struck with his  comments especially about how intelligent Clinton was about economics and how profane Nixon could be in his daily conversation. He was particularly negative about Bush, et al and how they really surprised him by turning their backs on fiscal responsibility in exchange for political gain. We will look forward to Greenspan’s new book, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, www. allangreenspan.com

So with that preface, we await tommorrow’s announcement about the Fed’s cutting the federal funds  rate. Today we report from the Christian Science Monitor the following:

Fed Expected to Cut Interest Rates Tuesday
Christian Science Monitor (09/17/07) P. 2; Scherer, Ron
Many economists believe the Federal Reserve will institute the first cut to the federal funds rate in more than four years when it meets on Tuesday, with some anticipating a 0.25-percentage point cut and others a drop of 0.50 of a percentage point. A decline in the short-term interest rate, according to experts, will indicate that rising inflation is not as big a concern as an economic slowdown and likely will be made in response to a household survey revealing that 300,000 jobs were lost in August and that an average of 17,000 were lost per month since the start of the year. However, National City Corp. chief economist Richard DeKaser is worried the central bank could further weaken the dollar and impact inflation by cutting short-term interest rates. Experts do not believe such action would have much affect on mortgage costs, as they are tied to long-term interest rates.

With the current sellers market it’s wise to work with an agent who follows up after your home has been shown. This week I received feedback on one of the properties I am currently selling that the home had a strange smell. The agent was so kind to mention this. When you live in your home you are used to ‘the smell’, only when you come back into your home you will notice this or, when somebody else comes over to visit. After discussing this with my client, we came to the conclusion that is had to be the fact that she had fish for lunch.

A poll by Canadian real estate company Royal LePage shows that the odor of a home has a huge impact on buyers’ decisions about whether to buy a home. According to the poll, 53 percent of buyers said strong odors such as pet and cigarette smells had a stronger impact on their impression of a home than overall tidiness and cleanliness, strong wall colors or an outdated facade and landscaping.

Here are some tips for making sure your home has good scents:

• Don’t mask smells with candles or potpourri. Buyers will wonder what odor you are trying to hide.
• Keep the exotic spices and fish to a minimum when cooking the night before a showing.
• Work toward achieving a “clean” smell.
• Remove animals and litter boxes from the property.

Getting rid of repellent scents is the first step, but some staging experts also advise using “homey” smells to entice buyers. After all, who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly baked cookies or pie?

Some numbers, just for fun: as of this morning, there are 3285 active listings in Sonoma County and there are 422 properties in escrow or pending. That is quite a bit of inventory!

However, in the last 30 days, 445 properties did sell!

Have a great day!   

Understanding your score can help you to put your own rating into perspective. How does your credit score compare?

On MyFico I found some very interesting statistics: Based on the general population’s FICO® scores (as stated by the Equifax website), the percentage of the population scoring in each range is as follows:

According to Experian’s National Score Index for credit score stats, the average American credit score was 678 (as of 4/2006). Right now, the lenders have increased their best rates to people with scores higher than 720. So right now the lenders want you to be above average for the best rates when shopping for a mortgage.

And by the way….Even if you are not in the market to purchase a home, your credit score is used for a lot more: insurance, to rent a home, interest on a car loan etc.

Have a great day!

Mirjam de Rijk

Washington, DC will respond positively to the housing issue facing a lot of Americans. As I commented last month, I hope that some type of regulation occurs that will require mortgage brokers to be regulated in some fashion. Controls are in order when  some abuse the process that we all pay the piper.Well, the House as well as the Senate have legislation forthcoming that we all should seriously consider. Senator Dodd, who is also running for President, has the most comprehensive package that will go before the Senate when the session resumes. NO doubt it will be watered down by the time it gets to the House but it is vital that our legislators address this economic tsunami before it spills over into the other sectors of the economy. Let’s hope that Barney Frank can preserve as much as the Senate proposal as possible, See the comprehensive information provided by the Mortgage Lender’s Association today in their daily report. I hope you find it helpful and be sure to contact your legislator to support some action. Dodd to Introduce Mortgage Reform Bill

Today the Mortgage Broker’s Association reports that the Bush Administration is putting forth Housing Foreclosure Avoidance Proposals.It is too bad that those of us in the industry are paying the price for those unscrupupous few that mislead borrowers. It is very important to me that borrowers are fully aware of the Program terms prior to arriving at the title company to sign the documents to their loan. We find that unsuspecting borrowers are “sold” programs that they did not understand nor can now afford. Let’s see what the Administration can salvage from this terrible situation facing a lot of borrowers. Administration Announces Foreclosure Avoidance Proposals

The average American uses between 80 and 100 gallons of water per day. Not surprisingly, cutting back on your water consumption is necessary for the environment and it will save you money. With the lack of rain last winter we are feeling the “D” problem and it is important to save water. The Sonoma County Water Agency is a great resource for rebates and Conservation tips. The experts at www.earth911.org, an environmental resource network, have some tips to decrease your water usage so you don’t get soaked by your water and energy bills.

Indoors
The bathroom consumes the most water in the house, and a leaky toilet is often the culprit. To determine if you have a leak, drop some food coloring into the toilet tank. If that color appears in the bowl, you have a leak. Check for worn-out, corroded or bent parts. If your toilet handle frequently sticks in the flush position and the water is constantly running, replace or adjust the handle. And if your toilet is already in good working order, you can still conserve water by avoiding unnecessary flushing. Dispose of tissues and similar waste in the wastebasket instead.

To reduce water consumption even more, consider purchasing some of the low-flow products and attachments at your local hardware store. A low-flow model toilet can reduce your indoor water usage up to 20 percent, while an ultra low-flow shower head can save up to 2.5 gallons of water per minute.

Outdoors
Be careful not to over-water your lawn. Generally, lawns only need watering every five to seven days, and a heavy rainstorm might mean that you don’t need to water for a couple of weeks. Try to water during the early morning hours, which reduces evaporation. Micro or drip sprinklers and soaker hoses are the most water-efficient systems to use.

Have a great day!

Mirjam de Rijk