Home sale slows in May

On new home sale reported by commerce dpt: Sales of new single-family homes plunged 33% in May to a record-low level. Sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000, the lowest since records began in 1963. April's sales pace was revised down to 446,000 compared with the 504,000 originally reported. March's sales were also revised lower.

For existing home: The National Association of Realtors said sales fell 2.2 percent month over month to an annual rate of 5.66 million units from an upwardly revised 5.79 million-unit pace in April.

Foreclosed properties and short sales accounted for 31 percent of transactions last month, the Realtors group said, with first-time buyers representing 46 percent.
Despite the weak sales, the supply of previously owned homes on the market fell 3.4 percent to 3.89 million units. The national median home price rose 2.7 percent from May last year to $179,600, the highest level since July.

Mortgage rate at record low

You can get jumbo conforming 30yr fixed at 4.875% for no fee, no cost; or 4.75% for a bit fee. 5/1 ARM at 3.75%.

Strategic Defaulters: New Trend in Mortgage Defaults

More and more homeowners who can pay their loans but opt not to. They live in their home FOR FREE without paying mortgage,while they are in the process of foreclosure or short sale. We call them: strategic defaulters --they are "more than we have ever experienced before."

The foreclosure process is taking 13 to 14 months, and so there's over A YEAR of FREE RENT.

31 percent of foreclosures in March were deemed to be "strategic default"!!

我今年年初有一个short sale，于芸芸offer中好不容易拿到。 等了n久, seller从third party那里听来可以free rent, 竟然就不卖了！free 住几个月，对financial 情况不太好的short sale卖家还是很难抗拒的～所以，short sale还是能不沾就不沾吧。 变数实在太多了！