What About Mortgage Forbearance? What Happens?

 

Here's a nice article from Bankrate, dated last April, about what forbearance means.  First of all, somewhere, depending on the source, between 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 people (mortgages) are in forbearance now.  Forbearance offers the opportunity to avoid foreclosure, a worse evil that the banks do not want to repeat from the last recession. But the consumer should be as informed as possible. The CARES Act covered some plans for forbearance, but just know that even though this Bankrate article says "No, mortgage forbearance does not appear on your credit report as a negative activity," some people are experiencing credit problems.  They have found entries on their credit reports about having a forbearance, and as a result, some credit card companies are shrinking the amount of available credit for these customers.  Others are having a hard time getting loans due to their credit reports.  Nerdwallet advises consumers that unless the lender has agreed not to report forbearance (which can be a possibility) it will be reported to your credit bureaus.  So if you are, or have, participating in a forbearance, you might want to make an inquiry first to find out what your lender's policy is.  Having your credit cards impacted, and the ability to buy using them, is a difficult thing to undergo.  Your FICO score is built on several factors, including your debt percentage to your overall available line of credit.  If that available credit is pushed down, your debt ratio now goes up, and your FICO score could take a big hit as a result. 

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Infographics on Los Angeles and Orange County Housing Reports for July 2020

 For Orange County, existing house sales were up in July from last year, but in Los Angeles County sales were down by about the same amount.  In both counties, the number of active listings was down over 40% from last year.  And in both counties the median price increased over 4% and 6% from July, 2019.  

What is driving the upward price trend?  Lower inventory and continuing buyer demand for homes.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

The Pandemic Has not Lowered Prices, Nor Kept Buyers from Buying

 Realtor.com just came out with its study of the 10 hottest zip code markets in the U.S., based on turnover and number of views of the property.   (See links below.)

At the top of the list is Colorado Springs, followed by the rest which are located outside of California.  

But overall, the pandemic market has not lowered prices, nor kept buyers from buying.  

 Locally, zip code 90803 (Long Beach, Naples, Belmont Shore, etc.), one of the most expensive certainly in Long Beach and elsewhere, had an average sales price of $1,473,357 ending in July, but turnover has slowed somewhat for that price range, over 80 days average, 60 days median, on the market before going into escrow.  

By contrast, east Long Beach including Park Estates and Los Altos areas was a median of 10 days on the market, 27 average days on market, at average sales price of 870,877.

Going to west Long Beach,  to 90810, the average sales price was $519,045 and houses sold on average in 21 days,

 Going to north Long Beach, to 90805, the July average sales price was $539,559 with average days on market at 15 days.

 So with lower priced markets that are more affordable, the days on market is gradually shorter.

Overall, the entire City of Long Beach finished July with only 2 months supply of inventory, continuing the demand for more listings to accommodate the buyers who are looking and constantly competing with each other in this market.   Nearby cities of Cerritos, Bellflower, and Lakewood are in the same low inventory crunch, less than 2 months of inventory.

Compare the Long Beach prices (lower compared to other  coastal cities) to the hot zip codes in the Realtor.com study:   https://www.realtor.com/research/hottest-zip-codes-2020/ where the median list prices are under $644,000!!  And yet, buyers throughout Southern California are looking for sellers who want to sell.  

Will homes sales continue to defy expectations?  Here's more from chief economist Lawrence Yun with National Association of Realtors,  Defying Expectations

If you or someone you know is interested in selling, I can show you how to get your house on the market and get it sold.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996