A strong January for Naperville single family home sales

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We are seeing a lot of numbers lately on this housing trend or that particular statistic on a national or regional basis and those are all well and good, but as always, here we look at what is happening to prices and sales activity for single family homes in Naperville. All statistics used in these reports come directly from Terradatum Inc. Their source is reported multiple listing service transactions. After an interesting 2009, how did 2010 start? Let’s look:

Sold Homes: The average price for a single family home in Naperville sold for $444,261 in January 2010. That is an increase of 16.1% from the January 2009 average price of $382,554. Median prices were relatively flat at $371,750 vs $366,500. The gap between average and median price is typically around 12%. This month it is around 16%. That type of increase is only going to be caused by a wider range of prices above the median – an indicator that the upper levels of the Naperville housing market are starting to move. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the coming months.

The number of units sold is also up for January 2010 vs January 2009 at 44 vs 40 or a 10% increase. Homes under contract had a much sharper increase to 78 from 61 for the same period one year ago; an increase of 28%.

As always, if you want more detailed information or to look at the numbers on a more hyper-local level (zip code or subdivision) simply Order your free Market Report or drop me an email.

FHA Loan Programs and Limits

UPDATE: 01/19/2010 – Things just got a little tighter in the FHA arena. Check out this post from mortgage professional Dan Green for the details on new downpayment and MIP requirements:

Even in today’s tighter credit markets, there are programs available that assist home-buyers in obtaining mortgages with low down payment requirements. FHA loans are issued by lenders, but insured by the FHA. There are unique advantages and benefits that are only available with FHA (the following is quoted):

• Easier to Qualify – Because FHA insures your mortgage, lenders are more willing to give loans with lower qualifying requirements so its easier for you to qualify.
• Less than Perfect Credit - Even if you have had credit problems, such as bankruptcy, its easier for you to qualify for an FHA loan than a conventional loan.
• Low Downpayment - We have a low 3% downpayment, and that money can come from a family member, employer or charitable organization. Other loans don’t allow this.
• Costs Less – Many times, FHA loans have competitive interest rates because the loans are insured by the Federal Government. Always compare an FHA loan with other loan types.
• Help You Keep Your Home – The FHA has been around since 1934 and will continue to be here to protect you when the others walk away. Should you encounter hard-times after buying your home, FHA has many options to help keep you in your home and avoid foreclosure.

There are limits to the amount that can be borrowed under this program and they vary by county. There is a chart to the right that allows you to see for your county, what the current limits are. If you have further questions drop me an email or use one of the buttons to the right to get in touch. Thoughts and comments are always appreciated.

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Standardized Good Faith Estimate & Updated Settlement Statement (HUD-1)

Effective today, January 1, 2010 several new procedures and forms go into effect, courtesy of Housing and Urban Development, that, in theory will allow home buyers who are obtaining mortgages to better understand and compare their options.  In theory, this will allow them to obtain better loan terms, lower interest rates, and lower closing costs. Copies of both forms are below.

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One of the big benefits is the standardized Good Faith Estimate. In the past, each lender used their own form/format to deliver pertinent information to the loan shopper. Obviously this could lead to making comparisons more difficult than necessary. Now each lender will be using the same forms and as result borrowers will be able to make value comparisons much more easily, and potentially, secure better terms.

Additionally, there are new requirements on lenders as to make sure that quoted amounts do not change between estimate and closing. In fact, some of the items cannot change without affecting the closing date. There are others that can change within certain percentages.  As a borrower this gives you some certainty that preciously may not have been there.

Listed below are additional resources for more information. As always, feel free to give me a call 630.542.7732 or email me to discuss this or any other topic further.

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