Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.
The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago.
Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.
However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability.
Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.
Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes “the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions.”
In contrast to a low of 74 percent reached in mid-2010, banks are now lending at 82 percent LTV.
While credit conditions may have loosened slightly, some potential homebuyers are still struggling with credit requirements. In fact, Capital Economics points out that in November 8 percent of contract cancellations were the result of a potential buyer not qualifying for a loan.
Additionally, Capital Economics says “any improvement in credit conditions won’t be significant enough to generate actual house price gains,” and potential ramifications from the euro-zone pose a threat to future credit availability.
Reported by - DS NEWS

Please use Zillow as a guideline and not a rule.
A lot of people look at it to determine values. Unfortunately, they do not update the listings as quickly as they should. So homes stay active well after they have sold. This seriously skews the findings.
If you ever want a more accurate understand what your home is worth, please call me & I'll be happy to help you.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Happy holidays struggling homeowners! Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several large mortgage lenders have pledged not to foreclose on delinquent borrowers during the Christmas season.

For homeowners with loans through Fannie Mae (FNMA, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FMCC, Fortune 500), the moratorium will run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2. During this time, legal and administrative proceedings for evictions may continue, but families will be allowed to stay in their homes, Fannie said in a statement.

"No family should have to give up their home during this holiday season," said Terry Edwards, an executive vice president for Fannie Mae.

Among some of the major banks that offer mortgage loans, Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) Mortgage said it will not evict anyone between Dec. 22 and Jan. 2. Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) will also suspend evictions during that period, but will not shut down its eviction machinery entirely.

The bank said it will observe the moratorium on foreclosed properties in its own portfolio but for loans it services for other lenders "foreclosure-related actions may still occur."

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) said that it would "avoid foreclosure sales or displacement of homeowners or tenants around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays."

However, that policy only applies to loans the bank itself owns. Like Wells Fargo, it will also honor the wishes of the owners of the loans it services, which could mean moving forward with certain foreclosures.

A holiday halt on foreclosures by the major mortgage lenders could affect tens of thousands of homeowners. An average of 89,000 foreclosure auctions a month have been scheduled this year, according to RealtyTrac. Once a home has gone through that process, eviction is the next step.

There could be a small handful of borrowers who might benefit permanently from the suspension, according to Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac.

Sometimes, albeit very rarely, a Christmas miracle will occur where a borrower finds the cash to get current on their mortgage again and keep their home.

For the overwhelming majority of borrowers in default, however, "[i]t's a temporary reprieve, a symbolic gesture to help people out during the holidays," said Blomquist.

Then, come the New Year, everyone gets back to business, including mortgage lenders.

Wilmington Trust's top investment management executive looked out from the Hyatt Regency podium at more than 400 executives who attended the Greater Baltimore Committee's sold-out Economic Outlook Conference and summed up his 2012 forecast in five words: "It's going to be okay." Maryland and the nation will not slide back into recession, said Sam Fraundorf, president of Wilmington Trust Investment Management. "That doesn't mean it's going to be perfect. As a matter of fact, it's going to be sluggish. It's going to not be terrific. But we're not entering a second recession."

Indicators that bode well for Maryland, according to Fraundorf, include:

• Maryland's employment picture. A higher percentage of Maryland's labor force is employed. Economic health in the U.S. today is "labor based." Labor earnings, personal income and consumer spending are major drivers of today's service-based economy.

• Personal income. Marylanders' personal income has grown at a much better rate than the national average since 2007.

• Worker productivity. The work output in terms of goods and services produced per Maryland resident is significantly greater than the national average. However, the nation's recent job growth rate since 2010 is "starting to slow" and Maryland's job growth is slower than the nation as a whole, according to Fraundorf. Maryland's employment growth rate so far in 2011 is a meager 0.2 percent, compared to 1.6 percent for the nation as a whole. With employment, "businesses are starting to take a pause. They're not laying off workers necessarily, but they're taking a pause," Fraundorf said. "They want to see consumption increase. They want to see top-line revenue and sales. Then, we'll talk about adding some more employees to the workforce." Overall, Maryland has lost about 110,000 jobs overall since the state's employment peak in 2007. Statewide, about 4,100 or so have been added back from the end of 2010 into 2011. Among the state's labor centers, Fraundorf sees the Baltimore region as a key to Maryland's jobs recovery. "Baltimore looks to lead Maryland through the next year or two years as part of the economic recovery," he said.

Fraundorf warned that "we've got a contraction going on in terms of federal spending." He noted that the Congressional "super committee" poses downside risk for Maryland.

Overall, Maryland's economic outlook for 2012 is "getting flat," said Fraundorf. "But flat doesn't mean a recession."

Rockville, MD – (October 20, 2011) – The following analysis of the Baltimore, Maryland, metro area housing market has been prepared by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), and is based on the September 2011 RBI Pending Home Sales IndexTM released today.

OVERVIEW
September 2011 home sales in the Baltimore metro area edged out the September 2010 totals by the thinnest of margins. September sales this year of $513 million were a 0.7% increase over September 2010 sales of $509 million. And total units sold this September of 1,873 were 1.35% higher than the 1,848 units sold in September 2010. However, new contacts written in September 2011 were 2,022, ahead of September 2010 by 11.9% and ahead of the last five year September average by 3.4%. Again please welcome Dawn to our family.

For the rest of 2011, year over year comparisons will continue to see the impact of last year’s tax credit. The tax credit incentive moved sales ahead of the seasonal buying cycle and sales which would have otherwise occurred in Q3 and Q4, were incented to go under contract by April 30, 2010 to receive the credit.

KEY TRENDS
September new listings reflected long term reduction in inventory. There were 3,234 new listings in September 2011, the lowest monthly level in ten years indicating the market continues to absorb excess inventory. The count of total active listings, including listings added prior to September 2010 but fully available, was 16,016 – 13.4% below the five year September average.

Detached and Attached Sale Prices
Year over year prices for detached properties increased 0.74% from a September 2010 average of $347,005 to September 2011 average price of $349,568. During the same time, average sale prices for attached properties (including townhouses, condo and coops) declined 8.33% in the September 2011 average sale price of $174,590, down from the September 2010 average sale price of $190,463.

Time to market a property increases
The average days on market prior to buyer and seller agreeing on terms increased 9.9% from the August 2011 level of 111 days to 122 day in September 2011. The year over year increase from September 2010 was 15.1% or 16 days. The average discount from original list price was 11.5% in September 2011, slightly higher than August 2011 level 11.0% and 1.5% higher than the discount in September 2010.

The RBI Pending Home Sales IndexTM is a two-year moving window on the housing market using new pending sales (signed contracts) and median sales price (closed sales). It provides unique insight into the state of the current housing market by measuring the number of new pending sales for each month through the most recent month. The results include new pending sales through and including September 2011. The market area includes: The City of Baltimore, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County in Maryland.

ABOUT RBI
RealEstate Business Intelligence, LLC (RBI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of MRIS. RBI is a primary source of real estate data, analytics and business intelligence for real estate professionals with business interests in the Mid-Atlantic region. The full monthly data report for all jurisdictions in the MRIS region, along with charts and graphics, can be found at www.rbintel.com/statistics. RBI is the only company in the Mid-Atlantic region that provides timely, online access to statistical information directly from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Visit rbintel.com or www.facebook.com/rbintel to learn more.

I would like to welcome Dawn Metcalfe to our team. Bio to come soon. We are very happy to have her working with us. She brings a strong sense of customer service, excellent follow-up and superior dedication to the table. Our team is focused on only working with agents that truly understand going over & above for their clients is the only acceptable course to take.

Again please welcome Dawn to our family.

When you work with the Vurganov Group, you are getting a team dedicated to MAXIMIZING your success in the real estate transaction, not just getting it done!

I hope you are enjoying our new site. As you know, we are looking to keep you informed on local trends, news & other info that will be helpful. I will try to ensure I have, by county, sales info to help you stay informed on current market trends. I will also try to ensue I provide you with updates on what the current mortgage rates are. We'll also be providing info on you groups Facebook page, Twitter & Linked in sites.

As we get our engine fired up we hope that you'll follow us to stay informed. If you ever have a question about anything we post &/or just want more info, just drop us an email. My team is here to provide you all that you need to stay informed.

Hope you all have a great Halloween!