Fear of Inflation Easing

Bloomberg reports that the mortgage-bond yield has dropped five days in a row.

June 17 (Bloomberg) — Yields on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage securities declined for a fifth day, tracking a drop in rates on benchmark U.S. Treasuries and suggesting further declines in borrowing costs for new home loans.

Fears of inflation may be declining leading to the fall in long term borrowing costs:

Treasuries and so-called agency mortgage bonds rallied after a government report showed the cost of living rose less than forecast in May. The mortgage-bond yields are down from 5.07 percent on June 10, the highest level since the Federal Reserve announced plans to buy home-loan bonds in November.

There were some stats on the CPI as well:

The consumer price index increased 0.1 percent in May after no change a month earlier, capping the biggest 12-month decline since 1950, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Economists forecast consumer prices rose 0.3 percent, according to the median of 75 projections in a Bloomberg News survey.

Read the full article here.

The decreasing rates mean more cashflow for the investors Brewer Caldwell works with on a daily basis. We are buying homes at the Maricopa County Courthouse every day for prices not seen since the nineties.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

Household Equity Lowest Since 1952

You must read this article from Tim Cavanaugh with Reason.com.

Our national average for equity in single family homes is 20.4%.

There is no room for refinancing home mortgages on the large scale we saw in the past. That is unless prices appreciate quickly.

Make sure to read the commentary on social engineering detailing the costs and benefits of encouraging more home ownership.

Here are some more charts illustrating home equity as a percentage of GDP.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

Craigslist Destroys Newspaper Profits

There is a great chart up at Silicon Insider today.

The chart shows revenues for Craigslist vs. MSM Newspapers. It shows free advertising offered by Craigslist has helped lead to the decline in classifieds revenue for newspapers.

I know from my own experience that my brokerage used to spend thousands of dollars each month on local newspaper ads. We now spend much less using paid websites and also utilize the free advertising offered on Craigslist.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

Junk Fees

Inman News started a 3 part series on “junk fees” charged by brokerages. Their plan is to lay out the “legal, ethical and competitive issues involved in charging such fees.”

My brokerage charges a $195 lease administration fee to each tenant at the beginning of their lease. My research of other property management companies in town reveals that similar fees are charged or the companies make a portion of the security deposit non-refundable. Another common name for these junk fees is a cleaning deposit. There were some management companies out there that did not have any such fees and of course investors without management companies do not have the extra fees.

I dislike having to charge the fees because it makes my job of renting homes harder but the decision is out of my hands. I am an employee and my broker wants the fees collected.

It will be interesting to see how the case in question pans out and the implications of any ruling on Phoenix real estate business.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

$15,000 Tax Credit

Check out this article from Joe Weisenthal.

Apparently Johnny Isaacson and Christopher Dodd are proposing to increase the housing credit to $15,000.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

30 Year Rates Climb Again

Here is another fugly looking mustard seed from Bloomberg News:

June 4 — Fixed U.S. mortgage rates jumped to the highest level this year, signaling the Federal Reserves plan to lower borrowing costs has stalled.

Our out of control spending has erased any efforts by the Federal Reserve to maintain low rates in hopes of growing out of this recession.

Treasury yields are climbing as investors anticipate a greater supply of government debt being sold to fund federal spending. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was 3.54 percent yesterday, compared with 3 percent on March 17, the day before the Fed announced its plan to boost mortgage-backed bond purchases and to buy Treasuries.

Bond investors are ignoring efforts of the Federal Reserve.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note and Fannie Mae mortgage bonds are higher than they were before the Federal Reserve said March 18 that it would buy as much as $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities to help drive down borrowing costs.

Glad to see my tax dollars at work.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

Law Protects Renters From Foreclosure

MSNBC had a news story from the AP today about a new law being signed by President Obama. The law allows tenants to stay in a home for up to 90 days after a foreclosure auction. They are also entitled to stay in the home for free. Read the whole article here.

There are some missing facts in this article. Is it an Executive Order? What is the name of the law? Was there a vote in congress? Does this only apply to Fannie and Freddie loans? I am unsure on these questions but will update everyone with any new facts I can find.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

CityNorth in the News Again

The Arizona Republic had a new story on this often reported development in north Phoenix. CityNorth developers found out today that Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s have both pulled out of their preliminary agreements to be anchor tenants for phase II. The newspaper reports that phase one restaurants are doing well so far but there are still the court battles looming over the development. The court proceedings concern the parking garage and subsidies from the City of Phoenix. Read the AZ Republic story here.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

Free Government Money

The truth is often funnier than fiction.

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com

Jim the Realtor

Here are a collection of funny and informative videos of REO homes and foreclosures. Check him out today.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JimtheRealtor

Travis J. Bohling
Brewer Caldwell Property Management
480-212-7041 (Direct Line)
480-212-7042 (Fax)
Travisb@brewercaldwell.com