Indy Home Marketing - February 2010 Newsletter

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February, 2010 Newsletter

Volume 4, Number 2


GO COLTS...

			FHA ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO BOLSTER RESERVES In October 2009, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that its capital reserve fund had fallen below the congressionally mandated level of two percent. The drop in re-
	serves has led Congress and the Administration to call for changes to strengthen FHA. Until recently, FHA insured loans were used by less than 5 percent of all homebuyers. However, tighter credit, more stringent down payment requirements, and fewer conventional loan alternatives have resulted in much greater use of FHA financing—estimated by the National Association of Realtors^®(NAR) to now be the mortgage choice for almost 40 percent of buyers. Continued

	It's almost Spring House Cleaning Time Again... Cleaning your home is a never a fun task and one that homeowners don’t often look forward to. How- ever, the following 9 tips will help you make the most of your clean- ing so that you aren’t spending all
	your free time trying to keep your house neat and clean. 1. Plan ahead and prioritize. Decide must-do, can-do and can- wait. The bathrooms, kitchens and wherever people will eat, for example, make the must-do list, while an upstairs bedroom that no one should see can wait. Continued


		RECIPE OF THE MONTH Na Cho Nachos (Lighter Nachos) Here's a perfect Super Bowl party snack for you and friends cheering our Colts to victory in Super Bowl 44! Recipe courtesy: FineLiving

INGREDIENTS:

•	4 whole-wheat flour tortillas	•	1 tomato, diced
•	Juice of lime wedge	•	Sprig of cilantro
•	Guacamole (recipe follows)
•	1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt or light sour cream
•	2 green onions, sliced on an angle
•	1 teaspoon taco seasoning
•	1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
•	1 1/2 to 2 cups low-fat spicy pepper jack cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Cut each tortilla into 10 wedges.
Spread wedges evenly on sheet pans and bake until nicely
crisped, about 5-8 minutes. Set aside. Arrange chips on an
ovenproof platter. Top the chips with black beans and jack
cheese and place in the oven until cheese is completely
melted, approximately 8 minutes.

Remove chips from oven and top with taco seasoning, toma-
toes, green onion, guacamole and Greek yogurt or light sour
cream. Squeeze a wedge of lime over top and garnish with
a sprig of cilantro.

GUACAMOLE:

•	1/2 jalapeno, seeded	•	1 avocado
•	1/4 bunch cilantro leaves	•	1 garlic clove
•	1/2 lime, juiced	•	1/4 onion
•	Salt

Place all ingredients for guacamole in a food processor. Pro-
cess on high until smooth. Season with salt.

METRO INDIANAPOLIS BOARD OF REALTOR^®STATS REFLECT
CONTINUED AREA HOUSING MARKET WOES

Although statistics recently released by the Metropolitan Indiana-
polis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) reflected a forth-quarter sales
volume increase of 27% (primarily attributable to the First-Time
Home Buyer Tax Credit), the results still weren't enough to put
the year's overall sales numbers in positive territory. Continued

FHA (continued)

On January 20th, the FHA announced major changes to ensure
its long-term financial soundness and balance its three funda-
mental objectives:

1. Financial soundness of the FHA insurance fund – ensuring that
its capital ratio returns above 2 percent,

2. Fulfilling its mission of serving borrowers not adequately served
by the private sector, and

3. Facilitating the recovery of the housing industry and the over-
all economy.

National Association of Realtors representatives have met with
FHA Commissioner David Stevens on several occasions to dis-
cuss the state of the housing market and to underscore FHA’s
invaluable role. By all accounts the new changes are a victory
for home buyers. FHA has carefully balanced the need to make
financial reforms with the need to keep FHA available to a large
segment of consumers. This is evident by retaining the 3.5 per-
cent minimum down payment requirement and allowing the
up-front mortgage insurance premium to be financed.

Changes will effect borrowers:

• The up-front mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) will in-
crease to 2.25 percent up from 1.75 percent. Contrary to re-
ports, FHA will continue to allow the financing of the UFMIP.

• Borrowers with a credit score below 580 will be required to
have at least a 10 percent down payment. The minimum down
payment will remain at 3.5 percent for all other borrowers.

• FHA will seek legislative authority to increase the annual
premium (currently capped at .55 percent). Over time, in-
creasing the annual premium may allow FHA to reduce the
up-front premium.

• Seller concessions will be lowered to 3 percent from 6
percent.

FHA is an integral part to the continued recovery of the real
estate industry and the overall economy. NAR will continue to
work with FHA, the Administration, and the Congress to ensure
FHA can fulfill its mission while providing for the safety and
soundness of the insurance fund. NAR is committed to assisting
FHA as they balance risk management with creating home
ownership opportunities across the country.

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It's almost Spring House Cleaning Time... (continued)

2. Divide and conquer. Do something each day so that each task
doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

3. Freshen up the front. First impressions are lasting impressions,
so clean around the entranceways and sweep porches and walk-
ways. Vacuum or wash that welcome mat.

4. Clean from top to bottom. Because dust settles, it’s best to
dust furniture or wash walls before cleaning the floors.

5. Make house cleaning a family affair. Assign tasks to every-
one who’s old enough to do something. Doing it together gets
the whole family involved in an activity that ultimately contri-
butes to the well-being of all family members.

6. Group similar chores together. For example, vacuum all the
rooms that need vacuuming so you’re not taking the vacuum
cleaner out for one room, putting it back, then taking it out
again for another room.

7. Make it as enjoyable as possible by playing whatever music
that gets you and your family pumped up and moving.

8. Remove or organize clutter to make each room easier to
clean.

9. Clean first thing in the morning, if possible. Dust and cobwebs
are more visible in daylight. You can sometimes open windows
to release the smell of cleaning products and let fresh air in.
Also, a morning start—with time left over to do something you
want to do—won’t leave you feeling like you’ve spent the
entire day cleaning.

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METRO INDIANAPOLIS BOARD STATS... (Continued)

Total sales volume for 2009 was 7% below '08's figures. How-
ever, on a positive note, the continuing sales volume drops seen
over the past 3 years appear to finally be reversing. Additionally,
central Indiana has continued to maintain its property values far
better than most areas of the country... with median values
for '09 just 1 percent below the previous year's figures.

NATIONAL OVERVIEW

The most recent National Association of Realtors^®(NAR) housing
forecast (issued in December of '09) was rather rose-colored. Be-
low are a few highlights by Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist:

• A home buyer survey shows first-time buyers accounted for a
record 47 percent share of home sales over the past year, up from
41 percent in the 2008 survey. The share has risen steadily since
a cyclical low of 36 percent in 2006.

• Given the success of the first-time buyer tax credit to date, and
the need for qualified buyers to continue to absorb inventory that
will include additional foreclosures over the coming year, we are
hopeful about the impact of the expanded tax credit because it
will stabilize home prices.

• With expansion of the tax credit to additional buyers through
the middle of next year, and no major unforeseen events impacting
the economy, home prices should recover between 3 and 5 percent
in 2010, but with wide geographic differences.

• Existing-home sales are forecast to rise 13.6 percent to 5.69 mil-
lion in 2010. Yun noted however, “A steady draw down of inventory
will help home values to turn positive in 2010, but risks such as un-
employment remain in the economy."

• New-home sales are projected at 549,000 in 2010. Housing starts,
including multifamily units, should grow to 752,000 in 2010.

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will rise slightly from 2010's
average of about 5.5 percent to 5.8 percent by the end of 2010.

• NAR’s housing affordability index set a record in 2009, averaging
30 percentage points higher than 2008. However, it's expected
decline from the record highs in 2010, but continue to remain at
historically attractive levels for home buyers. Return to Top