Lots of Upgrades

Legislative Update for January 22, 2010

No new thoughts of my own Just passing along great information.

You are receiving this email because of your affiliation to the Arizona Association of REALTORS®   Volume I / Issue XIV January   Governor Addresses Legislature Arizona Governor Jan Brewer delivered her first State of the State Address to a joint session of the Arizona Legislature on Monday, January 11, and setting a tone for her administration indicated that the State is "open for business." In her 37-minute speech, the Governor reiterated her continuing focus on creating additional revenue for empty state coffers by continuing her call for an increase in Arizona's statewide sales tax, telling the audience and listeners on radio and internet that "We must raise some additional revenue." In recognition of the continuing severe economic recession plaguing the nation and Arizona, the Governor pledged an investment of $10 million for job training, the assembly of a team of state agency officials to target eliminating regulatory red tape and announced an upcoming business summit to identify opportunities for creating additional job growth across the state. The overall news from the state's Chief Executive remained bleak with the confirmation that Arizona continues to face a roughly $4.5 billion budget shortfall between this fiscal year and next. Election Year Positioning The upcoming fall primary and general election ballots are serving as a background for officials and the issues they are currently facing. In Governor Brewer's legislative address, there were a number of references and admonitions meant for partisan posturing and in some cases specific candidates. Since the speech, State Treasurer Dean Martin has announced his candidacy in the Republican primary to challenge the incumbent Governor. Sitting front row at the address was Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard who is positioning himself as the Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate. House Minority Leader David Lujan will be running for AG to succeed Goddard as the Democratic candidate for that office. All 90 Senate and House seats will be up for election and the 50th Arizona Legislature in 2011 will feature a number of new faces as many current Senate and House members decide to pack it up and go back to private life in their districts. Shadegg to retire, many elected officials jump in race Congressman John Shadegg announced on Thursday that he would not be seeking a re-election this fall. Shadegg represents Arizona's 3rd Congressional District, which covers north Phoenix and rural communities north of the city. Shadegg has been a lead conservative voice in House, and is in his 8th term as a congressional representative. Since his announcement, many elected officials have announced or plan to announce this week their intentions of running for the congressional seat. See list below. Congressman John Shadegg announced on Thursday that he would not be seeking a re-election this fall. Shadegg represents Arizona's 3rd Congressional District, which covers north Phoenix and rural communities north of the city. Shadegg has been a lead conservative voice in House, and is in his 8th term as a congressional representative. Since his announcement, many elected officials have announced or plan to announce this week their intentions of running for the congressional seat. Representative Sam Crump(R)- Has announced and is planning to remain in the legislature during the race. Representative Adams Driggs(R)- Is expected to announce this week he intentions in seeking the CD3 seat.   Visit RALLiNOW.com for all the latest legislative information. Contact Legislative and Political Affairs Arizona Association of REALTORS® 255 E. Osborn Rd., Ste. 200  •  Phoenix, Arizona 85012 www.aaronline.com Telephone: (602) 248-7787  •  Fax: (602) 351-2474 Copyright © 2009 Arizona Association of REALTORS®. All rights reserved.     You have received this message because you have subscribed to a mailing list of Arizona Association of Realtors. If you do not wish to receive periodic emails from this source, please click below to unsubscribe. http://www.votervoice.net/link/unsub/c/azar41888A2745052.aspx

 

HUD WAIVES 90 DAY FLIPPING RULE TO SPEED THE SALE OF FORECLOSED PROPERTIES

HUD TAKES ACTION TO SPEED RESALE OF FORECLOSED PROPERTIES TO NEW OWNERS

In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities
where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today
announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage
insurance and allow for the quick resale of foreclosed properties.  The
announcement is part of the Obama administration commitment to addressing
foreclosure.

The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one
year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner.

To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of "flipping" where
properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers,
this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general
conditions:

* All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between
the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales
transaction.  

* In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more
above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the
lender meets specific conditions.

* The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home
Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM - Reverse Mortgages) for purchase program.

Specific conditions and other details of this new temporary policy are in
the text of the waiver, available on HUD's website at:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip2010.pdf

Mortgage Rates Rise at Year End

Interesting News today form Kathleen Gillis, MBA   She is a Prescott Arizona Mortgage pro that is great to work with.

 

 

The final two weeks of December have not been kind to mortgage rates. Stronger than expected economic data, comments from Fed officials, and a stock market rally all were negative for mortgage markets, and mortgage rates moved higher during the period. Heading into December, mortgage rates were close to record low levels, but a combination of factors caused them to increase throughout the month. First, an improving economic outlook, which is good news for the country, is negative for mortgage markets because it generally leads to higher inflation. Second, the government already will need to issue an enormous amount of debt to pay for its spending, and it now looks more likely that additional expenditures are on the way for job creation and health care bills. Higher yields are required to attract investors to purchase the extra debt, pushing up yields for competing investments such as mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Finally, the Fed is winding down its $1.25 trillion MBS purchase program, reducing demand for mortgage investments. With mortgage rates that are still historically low, high levels of affordability, and the homebuyer tax credit, the housing sector outlook for 2010 is for improvement from 2009. According to projections from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), sales of existing homes are expected to increase by more than 10% next year. In addition, housing starts will rebound sharply from extremely low levels, and median home prices will move a little higher. Forecasts from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and from Fannie Mae are generally consistent with the outlook from the MBA.

 

Also Notable: November Existing Home Sales jumped to the highest level since February 2007 Weekly Jobless Claims declined to the lowest level since September 2008 Geithner said that it's reasonable to expect "positive job growth" starting in spring The Fed purchased $15 billion in agency MBS during the week ending 12/23

 

 

Week Ahead The biggest economic event next week will be the important Employment report on Friday. As usual, this data on the number of jobs, the Unemployment Rate, and wage inflation will be the most highly anticipated economic data of the month. Before the employment data, the ISM manufacturing index will be released on Monday. Pending Home Sales, a leading indicator for the housing market, will come out on Tuesday. ISM Services and the minutes from the December 16 Fed meeting will be released on Wednesday. Construction Spending and Factory Orders will round out the schedule. In addition, the Treasury will announce the size of upcoming auctions on Thursday. Kathleen Gillis, MBA    CNN Mortgage, Inc.    AZ BK #0901814

 

This is not the opinion of Brad Bergamini, Realty Executives Northern Arizona or any of its affiliates.  This post is for informational purpose only and is not guaranteed and does not render as legal advice.  Buying and selling Real Estate in Arizona or Prescott Arizona is a serious task and should be consulted with personally with Realtor or Real Estate Attorney.  Please visit my website for contact information

http://bradbergamini.com