Market Overview for Maricopa County January 2012

Maricopa Cty							JANUARY	2012
1 MONTH OVERVIEW				# of Expired & Cancelled listings	--------------------1 month averages----------------------
Price range 1,000s	# of Active listings	# of Pendings & AWC	Pending Ratio		# of Closings Last month	Average List Price of Sold Homes	Average Sold Price	List to Sales Price Ratio	Days on Market (Agent)	Days on Market (Cumul)
0 - 99,999	2,776	6,494	233.9%	596	2,179	$ 63,423	$ 62,868	99.1%	70	77
100,000- 124,999	1,024	2,003	195.6%	152	655	$ 113,411	$ 111,563	98.4%	75	84
125,000- 149,999	1,177	1,872	159.0%	160	624	$ 137,836	$ 134,609	97.7%	73	84
150,000- 174,999	872	1,276	146.3%	117	481	$ 161,886	$ 158,299	97.8%	87	98
175,000- 199,999	1,004	950	94.6%	95	371	$ 186,845	$ 181,348	97.1%	78	90
200,000- 224,999	564	606	107.4%	62	200	$ 214,146	$ 209,085	97.6%	75	85
225,000- 249,999	762	609	79.9%	83	244	$ 237,024	$ 240,372	101.4%	76	96
250,000- 299,999	1,153	831	72.1%	139	303	$ 275,799	$ 266,020	96.5%	83	94
300,000- 349,999	832	451	54.2%	86	184	$ 328,014	$ 315,147	96.1%	92	102
350,000- 399,999	750	352	46.9%	78	132	$ 379,119	$ 363,724	95.9%	94	101
400,000- 449,999	465	198	42.6%	54	63	$ 427,023	$ 407,176	95.4%	73	85
450,000- 499,999	414	150	36.2%	38	60	$ 476,113	$ 458,191	96.2%	112	121
500,000- 749,999	1,032	353	34.2%	101	104	$ 613,326	$ 577,549	94.2%	111	138
750,000- 999,999	602	122	20.3%	35	54	$ 852,713	$ 800,007	93.8%	169	199
1 million +	1,198	117	9.8%	80	59	$ 1,711,706	$ 1,542,501	90.1%	263	319

 

Home Affordable Refinance Program 2.0

Homeowners can start applying for the government's revamped refinancing program today. But much like the first time around, experts say many borrowers will see it as too little too late.

 

 

The program is intended to help borrowers who owe significantly more on their home than what it's currently worth. It expands on the original Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, which was created to help borrowers who owe up to 105% of their home's market value to refinance their mortgage, and was later expanded to those who owed up to 125%.

 

This newest incarnation, dubbed HARP 2.0, removes the 125% cap, allowing borrowers who are deeply underwater to get a new mortgage at a lower interest rate and with more affordable monthly payments. To qualify, borrowers must have either a Freddie Mac- or Fannie Mae-backed mortgage.

 

While experts say the new HARP will help more borrowers -- roughly 11 million homeowners are underwater, according to data and analytics firm CoreLogic -- they point out its limitations.

There may be delays

For starters, the whole process could take months. Lenders who underwrite mortgages manually can start processing refinancing applications this month, say spokespeople from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But those who depend on an automated software system to underwrite mortgages must wait until updates are made, says Brad German, a Freddie Mac spokesman. (Many lenders rely on the automated system.)

Those lenders won't be able to start processing applications and delivering loans until at least early February for Freddie Mac-backed mortgages and until March for Fannie Mae-backed mortgages.

 That's not the worst of it, say experts: Some borrowers might not be able to qualify at all
The program requires that borrowers have missed no more than one payment during the past year and none during the past six months, says Keith Gumbinger, vice president at HSH Associates, a mortgage-data firm. If they don't meet this criterion, they'll have to wait until they do in order to qualify.


Also, borrowers who've already refinanced through HARP are ineligible. "It's a nice little step, but (it's) not really going to get the housing market restarted," says Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, whose members include attorneys that represent distressed homeowners.


What's more, the program is entirely voluntary. Lenders are not required to refinance mortgages for underwater homeowners. (The government doesn't provide incentives for lenders to participate in HARP.)


Many homeowners who qualified for the existing HARP program were turned down because lenders were unwilling to take on that risk, says Gumbinger. Lender resistance may also derail some borrowers' attempts to refinance under HARP 2.0. It's up to each lender to determine whether they'll participate in the program. (Freddie Mac lists participating lenders on its website.)


That said, experts say some aspects of refinancing will get easier. For example, borrowers who apply to the same lender to whom they make their monthly payments won't have their credit scores checked, they point out, and won't be required to provide documentation proving their income. The lender will simply call the borrower's employer to confirm job status. That could come as relief for borrowers who've recently experienced a pay cut or a ding to their credit score. (Estimate your credit score for free.)


Is it worth it? Gumbinger points out that qualifying homeowners stand to save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan by refinancing to a lower rate. However, the program does not reduce mortgage principal, so even after successfully refinancing, borrowers will still remain underwater, he says.

Market Overview for Maricopa County December 2011

Total Market Overview  

Maricopa County							DECEMBER	2011
1 MONTH OVERVIEW				# of Expired & Cancelled listings	AVERAGES
Price range 1,000s	# of Active listings	# of Pendings & AWC	Pending Ratio		# of Closings Last month	Average List Price of Sold Homes	Average Sold Price	List to Sales Price Ratio	Days on Market (Agent)	Days on Market (Cumul)
0 - 99,999	3,199	5,952	186.1%	826	2,762	$ 64,859	$ 63,968	98.6%	81	88
100,000- 124,999	1,183	1,745	147.5%	194	798	$ 113,436	$ 111,827	98.6%	79	91
125,000- 149,999	1,315	1,535	116.7%	184	737	$ 137,627	$ 134,997	98.1%	74	87
150,000- 174,999	996	1,105	110.9%	146	539	$ 162,733	$ 158,692	97.5%	72	82
175,000- 199,999	1,036	797	76.9%	146	471	$ 188,346	$ 182,659	97.0%	88	97
200,000- 224,999	623	461	74.0%	84	240	$ 212,904	$ 206,879	97.2%	79	89
225,000- 249,999	784	532	67.9%	106	283	$ 237,514	$ 230,218	96.9%	81	96
250,000- 299,999	1,194	694	58.1%	157	373	$ 275,856	$ 267,203	96.9%	102	117
300,000- 349,999	784	379	48.3%	100	191	$ 325,308	$ 315,365	96.9%	82	85
350,000- 399,999	711	269	37.8%	87	189	$ 376,577	$ 364,090	96.7%	91	102
400,000- 449,999	481	142	29.5%	50	73	$ 424,665	$ 409,980	96.5%	74	81
450,000- 499,999	386	126	32.6%	57	85	$ 475,937	$ 452,130	95.0%	105	118
500,000- 749,999	995	249	25.0%	110	151	$ 594,676	$ 569,116	95.7%	124	142
750,000- 999,999	571	112	19.6%	64	54	$ 857,337	$ 788,250	91.9%	204	224
1 million +	1,089	114	10.5%	96	66	$ 1,794,429	$ 1,567,323	87.3%	229	271