U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan recently unveiled HUD’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposal. This year The President’s Budget provides a roadmap for accelerating economic growth, expanding opportunity for all Americans, and ensuring fiscal responsibility. The Budget adheres to the 2015 spending levels agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Act and shows the choices the President would make at those levels. But it also shows how to build on this progress to realize the nation’s full potential with a fully paid for $56 billion Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative, split evenly between defense and non-defense priorities. Read HUD’s proposed FY 2015 budget here.

“This year’s budget presents a unique opportunity for HUD to work within the frame of the Bipartisan Budget agreement while continuing to build ladders of opportunity for all Americans” says Donovan. “This funding will continue to help strengthen and stabilize our nation’s housing market while putting our economy back on the right track and helping those in most need.”

HUD’s budget is an essential component of the President’s vision of investing in the things we need to grow our economy, create jobs, increase skills training and improve education – while continuing long term deficit reduction.

The budget focuses on four key principals:

• Driving Economic Growth by Increasing Access to Credit and Strengthening the Federal Housing Administration;
• Providing Opportunity by Restoring and Increasing Assistance to Vulnerable Families;
• Creating Growth and Opportunity through Key Initiatives; and
• Ensuring Fiscal Responsibility and Increasing Efficiency.
• While the President’s request makes critical investments to speed economic growth — growing neighborhoods of opportunity through Choice Neighborhoods and providing access to credit through FHA—it also includes new savings proposals and some very difficult choices we would not have made in a better fiscal environment.

The housing market and the broader economy shivered at the end of 2013 as weather-related factors held consumers back and generated production delays. These impacts should prove temporary and our forecast remains positive for housing and home building for the year to come. Indeed, reports from January suggest some improvement over disappointing December data.

New home sales in January, as estimated by the Census Bureau and HUD, were up 9.6 percent over the December pace, coming in at 468,000 seasonally adjusted annualized rate. This pace is 2.2 percent higher than the January 2013 measure. The month-supply measure of inventory fell to 4.7, with the count of new homes for sales standing at 184,000. Only 45,000 of those were completed, ready-to-occupy new homes.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a measure of existing home sales that is determined on a contract basis similar to new home sales, was up marginally January (0.1 percent) after a 5.8 percent decline in December. Despite the January reading, the pace of existing home sales has slowed significantly, with the most recent PHSI down 9 percent year-over-year. The NAR measure for existing home sales was down 5.1 percent in January and was 5.1 percent lower compared to a year prior.

The combination of weaker starts and sales was due to some weather delays but also reflects some slackening of housing demand at the start of 2014. Nonetheless, the overall pace of residential construction remains positive. According to the Census, private residential construction spending – measured on a put-in-place basis – was up 1.1 percent from December and 14.6 percent from one year ago. The January reading marked the third consecutive month of increase.

March is Fraud Prevention Month. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has consistently been a leader in the fight against mortgage fraud and offers the following tips to protect yourself from becoming a victim of mortgage fraud.

Misrepresentation of Information

Mortgage fraud occurs when someone deliberately misrepresents information in order to obtain mortgage financing that would not have been granted if the truth had been known.

This can include:

• Misstating one's position or inflating one's income or length of service at their job; 
• Misstating employment status (ie. salaried/full time versus contract, part time, hourly or commission-based or self-employed); 
• Misrepresenting the amount and/or source of the down payment; 
• Purchasing a rental property and misrepresenting it as owner-occupied; 
• Not disclosing existing mortgage and/or debt obligations; 
• Misrepresenting property details or omitting information in order to inflate the property value; 
• Adding co-borrowers who will not be residing in the home and do not intend to take responsibility for the mortgage.

Markets in 59 out of the approximately 350 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI), released recently.

This represents a net gain of one from the previous month.

The index’s nationwide score held steady at .87. This means that based on current permits, prices and employment data, the nationwide average is running at 87 percent of normal economic and housing activity. Meanwhile, 32 percent of metro areas saw their score rise this month and 84 percent have shown an improvement over the past year.

“Despite the cold weather that has constrained economic and housing activity across much of the nation this winter, markets are returning to normal levels,” says NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. “As the job and housing markets continue to mend and the onset of spring releases the pent-up demand for new homes, this will bode well for the remainder of 2014.”

“The strong energy sector is at the forefront of the recovery and centered in many small and mid-sized markets in Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Wyoming,” says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “In fact, these four states account for eight of the top 10 markets on the LMI and 45 percent of the markets that are at or above normal.”

It used to be that a homeowner who decided to rent out his home rather than sell did so as a last resort—usually because it was time to move to a new house and there was a need for some sort of income, so renting was preferable to letting an empty house sit.

During recent years, due to economic and lifestyle trends, industry insiders have seen an increase in the single-family rental market, and this is one area that real estate professionals needed to pay attention to more carefully.

As of the beginning months of 2014, the economy appears to be in recovery mode and the housing market seems to be correcting itself, with home prices beginning to rise and credit loosening for entry-level homebuyers.

Still, more homeowners are finding value in renting out their homes rather than selling. A real estate agent can help find quality renters who will not hurt the value of the home down the line.

That says, Homes.com has compiled five ways that a real estate pro can better promote rental listings.

1. Internet Marketing: Just as with any property listing, visuals are often the key to generating interest in a rental home and with 90 percent of consumers starting their search online (National Association of Realtors), it’s imperative that you have a presence there. Prospective renters want to see photos of all the rooms, the exterior and even nearby places in the community. Highlight all of the best features with bright photos and videos and create a visual experience that will have them banging down the door to see.

More modest gains are likely this year, according to the most recent Kiplinger Letter forecast. The national average of appreciation in home values is up 4 percent-4.5 percent, compared with a gain over 11 percent in 2013.

The top stated reason for this increase is rising mortgage rates, will increase by 5 percent or so for 30-year fixed rate loans by the end of the year. Another possible is that fewer investors are offering all-cash deals, with bargain prices and interest rates fading away.

“Building will get a bump this year with just over 1 million new houses started in 2014, the first time starts have passed the 1 million mark since 2007,” says Kiplinger Letter’s Associate Editor Gillian White. “Sales of new homes will also be a bright spot, with 16 percent growth this year, just shy of 2013’s substantial performance.”

Another prediction: More existing homes will go up for sale, as price hikes pull homeowners out from mortgages that are underwater, making them more willing to sell. Sales will climb by 4 percent, but inventory won’t be as tight.

The Kiplinger letter forecasts that new-home building will accelerate again, helping to offset the construction drought of 2008-2012. Keep an eye out for housing starts this year to climb by 15 percent and top 1 million for the first time since 2007.

The more things you have, the more you have to take care of. And in this case, the more that you have to store that gets in the way of finding the things that you actually use. Periodically, you need to go through every closet, drawer, cabinet and storage area to get rid of the things that are just taking up space in your home and your life.

Every item requires the decision to retain or remove. Consider these questions as you examine each item:

• When was the last time you used it?
• Do you believe you’ll use it again?
• Is there a sentimental reason to keep it?

MBA estimates that sales of new single-family homes were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 543,000 units in January 2014, based on data from MBA’s Builder Applications Survey.

“While the big jump may appear to conflict with other data, such as MBA’s purchase application index and NAR’s existing home sales data that point to a weak market for existing homes, our Builder Application Survey estimate is consistent with reports of homebuilder sentiment that show strength in the market for new homes,” says Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economist.  “It is also worth noting that the significant January increase also followed a particularly slow pace of sales in November and December.”

The estimated 543,000 unit sales pace for January was an increase of 35 percent from December’s pace of 402,000 units.  On an unadjusted basis, the MBA estimates that there were 38,000 new home sales in January 2014, a 36 percent increase from the level of 28,000 units in December 2013.  The new home sales estimate is derived using mortgage application information from the BAS, as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors.

Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 27 percent relative to the previous month.  This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates up slightly for the second week in a row.

"Mortgage rates crept up further following the uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield as minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting indicated little possibility of a pause in the central bank's reduction of bond purchases,” says Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. “Housing starts in January fell 16 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 888,000 units, below consensus forecast. Permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000 in January, also below consensus."

According to the survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.33 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 20, 2014, up from the previous week when it averaged 4.28 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.56 percent. 


Results reveal that the 15-year FRM averaged 3.35 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.33 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.77 percent. 


Fannie Mae announced recently that homebuyers may receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance when they purchase a HomePath® property in 27 states during the FirstLook™ period. During the FirstLook period, owner-occupant or public entity buyers are able to submit offers on HomePath properties, giving them the opportunity to purchase homes without competition from investors. Fannie Mae recently announced the extension of the FirstLook period from fifteen days to twenty days.

“This incentive will provide more opportunities for families to find a property to call home,” says Jay Ryan, Vice President of REO Sales. “Our goal is to sell as many HomePath properties as possible to owner-occupants who will stabilize neighborhoods and help the housing recovery.”

To be eligible for the incentive, the initial offer must be submitted between February 14, 2014 and March 31, 2014, and close on or before May 31, 2014. The incentive will offer qualified buyers up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price to pay closing costs. In many cases, buyers could use these savings to buy down their interest rate through upfront points, resulting in additional savings over time. Buyers can work with the lender of their choice to determine if this is an option.

Prospective buyers can search for properties and easily identify how many days remain on a property’s FirstLook period by visiting www.HomePath.com. Each qualifying property will be identified by the sales incentive icon. HomePath properties offer buyers a wide selection of options, including single-family homes, condominiums, and town houses.

For more details on the program, visit www.HomePath.com.