Monday, March 23, 2009
Stocks surge on bank plan, rise in home sales
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is getting the good news it wants on the economy's biggest problems: banks and housing. Investors reignited a two-week rally Monday, cheering the government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books as well as a report showing a surprising increase in home sales. Major stock indicators jumped more than 5 percent including the Dow Jones industrial average, which soared more than 400 points.The Treasury Department's bad asset cleanup program would tap money from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund and also involve help from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the participation of private investors.
The government's announcement was what the market had waited weeks to hear. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had announced an outline of the program last month but provided few details then about how it would work, leading to a poor reception in the markets.
Meanwhile, the housing report released Monday was overwhelmingly positive for the markets even though it showed a decline in home prices in February. Investors are embracing any sign that a glut in homes for sale may be easing.
The market had received another dose of housing good news last week on the troubled industry as housing starts for February came in much better than expected.
Collapsing home prices and the damage they have caused banks are at the center of the economy's current problems and are a major focus for the stock market. Banks have sharply curbed lending after becoming weighed down with loans that have gone bad, especially mortgages.
Investors had been largely disappointed in the government's efforts to date to restore the banks to health, but finally seemed encouraged by the long-awaited announcement Monday of details for the government's bad loan cleanup plan.
"The actions that we're getting from a policy standpoint are very helpful in removing the sand from the gears," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments. "That is going to be good for the financials."
The plan seeks to draw in private investors, including big hedge funds, to participate by offering billions of dollars in low-interest loans to finance the purchases. The government will share the risks if the assets fall further in price.
Shares of the country's largest banks, which have been pounded in recent weeks over concerns about their ability to weather the crisis, soared on Monday. Citigroup Inc. jumped 17 percent, and Bank of America Corp. added 18 percent.
Even banks regarded as more sound posted big advances. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 18 percent, while Wells Fargo & Co. rose 17 percent.
In late afternoon trading, the Dow rose 405.06, or 5.6 percent, to 7,684.34.
Broader stock indicators also surged. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 42.34, or 5.5 percent, to 810.88, crossing the psychological milepost of 800. The Nasdaq composite index rose 42.34, or 5.5 percent, to 1,531.94.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 24.79, or 6.2 percent, to 424.90.
More than 10 stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a moderate 1.14 billion shares.
Source: AP via Google
Labels: Market Info
posted by Monica Ruggieri at 3/23/2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
New market data shows that the combined short sales and foreclosures are taking up nearly 50% of our market share. This, in turn, is driving our local sales prices down by up to 40%. For investors and homebuyers, this is good news: Undervalued properties are ripe for the taking!
posted by Monica Ruggieri at
3/22/2009
Mortgage Rates Sink to Lowest Level in Decades
Rates on 30-year mortgages plunged to a record low Thursday after the Federal Reserve launched a new effort to prop up the flailing housing market.The national average rate on 3D-year fixed mortgages was 4.94% on Thursday, according to financial publisher HSH Associates, down nearly a quarter point from a day earlier. That's the lowest on HSH's records, which date to 1979.
For borrowers with stable jobs and good credit, it represents an opportunity to refinance at the lowest rates in decades. But people with less-than-perfect credit are likely to pay higher rates.
Interest rates have drifted lower since November, when the Federal Reserve pledged to buy up mortgage-backed securities in an effort to bolster the long-suffering housing market.
Earlier Thursday, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to 4.98% this week, down from 5.03% last week.
It was the lowest since the week of Jan. 15, when it was at 4.96%, the lowest point in the history of Freddie Mac's survey, which goes back to 1971.
Freddie Mac's survey included rate quotes taken before the Fed said Wednesday that it would pump $1.2 trillion into the economy in an effort to lower rates on mortgages and other loans and loosen credit.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.61%, down from 4.64% last week, Freddie Mac said.
Rates on five-year adjustable mortgages fell to 4.98%, compared with 4.99% last week. Rates on one-year adjustable mortgages rose to 4.91% from 4.8% last week.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. Nationwide, the average fee for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages was 0.7 point last week.
Source: AP via LA Times posted by Monica Ruggieri at 3/22/2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
First-Time Homebuyer Credit
A tax credit is available for first-time homebuyers under the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If you buy a home between
January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009, you may be eligible to
receive a tax credit for 10% of the purchase price of your home—
up to $8,000. Program highlights include:
■ Any individual (and if married, their spouse) who has had no
ownership interest in a home during the last three years is eligible
■ Full credit for single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000
($150,000 on a joint return); partial credit for incomes up to
$95,000 ($170,000 joint return)
■ Applies to the purchase of a single-family home (including condos,
townhomes, etc.) that will be used as a principal residence
■ Homebuyers can reduce (or even eliminate) their income tax
liability for the year of purchase by claiming the credit on their
tax return
■ If the home is sold before 3 years, the first-time homebuyer
(who is now the seller) must pay the IRS the entire amount of
the tax credit at closing
Labels: Buyers
posted by Monica Ruggieri at 3/18/2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Dover Shores Neighborhood Sales for 2008
Labels: Comps
posted by Monica Ruggieri at 3/14/2009
Sold in 3 weeks!
Labels: Sold Listings
posted by Monica Ruggieri at 3/14/2009
