Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has lowered the interest rates on mortgages offered under its first-time homebuyer program. A 3.50 percent 30-year fixed rate mortgage is available to homebuyers not needing assistance with  down payment and/or closing costs, while a 4.0 percent 30-year fixed rate mortgage is available to those buyers who do take advantage of cash assistance.  These rates are the lowest ever offered by MHDC.

 ”These record low rates offer Missourians an incredible opportunity to purchase their first home at an affordable cost,” said Greg Spurgeon, Single Family Homeownership Administrator for MHDC. “The historically low mortgage rates now available through MHDC will encourage sustainable homeownership and help support the state’s housing market.”

The MHDC Cash Assistance Loan allows qualified first-time homebuyers to borrow an additional amount, up to three percent of their loan, to use for down payment and closing costs.  MHDC will forgive this amount after the homebuyer has lived in the house for five years.  Having determined that the primary obstacle faced by many first-time homebuyers is the lack of a significant down payment, MHDC created the Cash Assistance Loan program to allow more Missouri residents to purchase a home, with the added result of stimulating the housing market. 

For first-time homebuyers not needing assistance with a down payment or closing costs, the Non-Cash Assistance Loan program provides a lower interest rate than is available elsewhere. Both the Cash Assistance and Non-Cash Assistance mortgages are funded primarily through capital, raised by the sale of MHDC’s mortgage revenue bonds in the municipal bond market and the U.S. Treasury New Issue Bond Program.

MHDC’s first-time homebuyer program experiences a lower foreclosure rate as compared to the industry average, as the program’s focus on providing sustainable housing mandates prudent underwriting practices, including requiring fully documented proof of income and issuing only fixed-rate loans. MHDC intentionally avoided the practices of subprime lending institutions that helped lead to the country’s recent housing market collapse.

To take advantage of these record-setting low rates, Missouri residents interested in purchasing a first home are encouraged to contact one of MHDC’s 50 certified lenders who are authorized to offer its programs, found at www.mhdc.com. MHDC’s establishment of this network of lenders allows homebuyers to apply for a mortgage through their local financial institutions.

In addition to its first-time buyer programs, Missouri Housing Development Commission provides financing for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing in Missouri, and administers the Missouri Housing Trust Fund to help prevent homelessness and to provide emergency housing assistance for very low-income Missourians.

Midwest shows strongest gains According to the National Association of REALTORS.

“10% Jump in September Existing-Home Sales
Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 10 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million in September from a downwardly revised 4.12 million in August, but remain 19.1 percent below the 5.60 million-unit pace in September 2009 when first-time buyers were ramping up in advance of the initial deadline for the tax credit last November.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the housing market is in the early stages of recovery. “A housing recovery is taking place but will be choppy at times depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium. But the overall direction should be a gradual rising trend in home sales with buyers responding to historically low mortgage interest rates and very favorable affordability conditions,” he said.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.35 percent in September from 4.43 percent in August; the rate was 5.06 percent in September 2009.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $171,700 in September, which is 2.4 percent below a year ago. Distressed homes accounted for 35 percent of sales in September compared with 34 percent in August; they were 29 percent in September 2009.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder said opportunities abound in the current market. “A decade ago, mortgage rates were almost double what they are today, and they’re about one-and-a-half percentage points lower than the peak of the housing boom in 2005,” she said. “In addition, home prices are running about 22 percent less than five years ago when they were bid up by the biggest housing rush on record.”

Read the full article from REALTOR Magazine

This is a great artlcle by Carla Hill of Realty Times.  “Are you on the search for a new home? Are you a first-time home buyer ready to enter the market? Then a buyers market is right where you want to be!“

Housing starts are up 25% from their bottom in April 2009. But they remain 74% below their peak in January 2006. Single-family housing starts are up 11% from their low point in January 2009, but down 78% from their peak in January 2006.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2010-09-21-housing-starts_N.htm

Housing Stats Report

The uncertainty about who legally owns foreclosed property grows.

“GMAC Mortgage and JP Morgan Chase have already halted foreclosure proceedings in 23 states, following allegations that workers the companies employed failed to follow the proper legal procedures in filing paperwork related to judicial foreclosure proceedings.”

“Attorneys general in California, Florida, Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina and Connecticut are also looking into lenders’ foreclosure procedures. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today asked the state’s Judicial Department to freeze all home foreclosures for 60 days.”

“Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has accused lenders of attempting to “concoct a chain of title they never had” in signing off on documents that supposedly demonstrated they had the right to foreclose.”

Read the full article from Inman News.