Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association were, for a change,
unanimous in agreeing that mortgage interest rates
retreated the past week.
Mortgage application volume was …
Archive for September, 2006
Buyers have been hoping for it and sellers have been dreading it but
home prices have apparently started a long-expected
decline while existing home sales continued their five month slide.
…According to The New York Times, this was the first time
since April, 1995 that house prices were lower than reported the
same month one year earlier…
In an
article we reported some interesting mortgage lending information from
a recently released report of The Federal Reserve Board based on data
collected under the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
Today lenders price loans primarily on risk so that
differences in the creditworthiness of borrowers can mean different prices
for the same product. This flexibility in lending, however, carries a lot
of concerns about fairness. First, are borrowers being
shunted into high-priced loans based on discriminatory criteria such as
race or ethnicity?
This article is from Realtor.com�
If you have never looked at the referenced site, check out http://www.realtyofmarin.com
Because of the unique homes in Marin the values can be way off, but it is fun to look at.
Warren Carreiro
Marin County Real Estate Pulse
“Daily Real Estate News��|��September 20, 2006Zillow Asks Owners to Update Property Info
Consumers who notice their property data on Zillow.com isn’t accurate or up to date can now add more current information and post commentary to the Web site.
Seattle-based Zillow, which launched in February, provides estimated valuations and other property data on some 68 million U.S. homes.
“Opening up Zillow’s massive database and allowing home owners to contribute factual information and commentary will, over time, dramatically enhance the quality and relevance of Zillow,” says Rich Barton, Zillow co-founder and CEO.
Previously, Zillow allowed consumers to modify any home’s estimate via a private worksheet � adding in remodel information, additions, and choosing their own comparable transactions to calculate a more accurate value. Now, a home’s owner can choose to publish this information for anyone to see. They can also choose to keep it private, or to e-mail it to select others.
Barton says the change was made after Zillow received “loads of feedback” from home owners who said they wanted to be publish things they know about their own homes, but aren’t noted on the public records that Zillow uses to create its home valuations.
To use Zillow’s opened database, home owners must register under their own name and “claim” their home’s record through an online private verification process. All home owner-contributed information will be shown alongside Zillow’s existing data for that home.
� REALTOR� Magazine Online”
Here is a copy of a press release from BARIES I thought you would find interesting. I think it is great news.
Warren Carreiro
| BAY AREA REAL ESTATE INFORMATION SERVICES, INC. METROLIST SERVICES, INC. SAN FRANCISCO ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| September 22, 2006 |
THREE MLSs AGREE TO SHARE
REAL-TIME PROPERTY LISTING INFORMATION
“Quattro” will aggregate listing information for more than 40,000 real estate professionals.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA –– In a move considered to be a significant development for the real estate industry in Northern California, three well-known multiple listing services (MLSs) have agreed to share real-time property listing information for the benefit of the more than 40,000 real estate professionals they serve. The three MLSs are the Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS) in the North Bay, MetroList Services, Inc. (MetroList ®), serving the Northern California Central Valley and San Francisco Association of REALTORS®, (SFAR), serving San Francisco and the northern peninsula.
The information-sharing venture marks a milestone in cooperation between these three MLSs and will provide practitioners with one-stop Internet access to real-time property listing information covering a vast geographic area of Northern California, from Daly City northward to Marin, Sonoma and Napa Counties, and eastward to Sacramento over to the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The new information-sharing venture will greatly enhance the ability of real estate professionals to more effectively serve their clients in the areas served by the three MLSs.
“This MLS data share venture is noteworthy to the brokerage community because it will provide access to substantially more data in an efficient and easy-to-use manner,” said Matthew Borland, president of the SFAR and managing partner of Zephyr Real Estate.
Quattro, the name of the new service, will merge listing information from the three MLSs into a common data set and enhance the ability of real estate brokerages to download listing information from the three MLSs into their proprietary software programs. Individual real estate agents will benefit, as well, by no longer having to subscribe to three MLSs to access listing information for the geographical area served by Quattro. Through a mutual data access agreement, agents will be allowed full, real-time reciprocal access to the three MLSs, as well as access to Quattro, the merged data set, with only a single log-on required.
“Quattro is proof that individual MLSs in a short period of time can cooperate to enhance user services through reciprocal data access and sharing arrangements without spending endless hours attempting to solve issues related to ownership structures and governance,” said Tom Beede, president and CEO of MetroList Services, Inc.
Three Large Northern California MLSs Partner to Share Real-Time Property Listing Information Page 2
Rapattoni, the data service provider for the three MLS organizations, has been selected to develop the special software needed to facilitate the new service. “This is an entirely new approach to accessing, controlling and distributing the MLS data from multiple MLS sources” said Beede, “and the selection of Rapattoni to be our technology partner will play a key role in our effort.”
“The BAREIS organization is totally dedicated to the success of this effort,” said Darla Stever, chair of the board of BAREIS. “Changes in the market place have driven the need for expanded data for multi-regional brokers and agents, and diffusing the impact of traditional boundaries. We are keenly supportive of this project because it recognizes both the need to have a locally focused and customized MLS, and the need to have an expanded multi-regional data.”
As part of the effort, the three MLS organizations will be implementing the Rapattoni Secure Logon system. “With the blending of the data from over 40,000 agents, and opening access to three MLS systems to all users, securing access to the data becomes a major priority,” said Stever. “BAREIS will be the first MLS to roll out the Secure Logon process in late October, followed by MetroList and San Francisco.”
The power of Quattro will now provide real estate professionals with access to property listings in 14 California counties and more than 18 thousand square miles serving a population of 5.6 million people.
The new service offerings will be online and available to BAREIS, MetroList and SFAR subscribers by early 2007.
# # #
About Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS)
Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. was created on October 22, 1 997. The organizations that founded BAREIS are Marin Association of REALTORS®, Napa Association of REALTORS®, Northern Solano Association of REALTORS®, Solano Association of REALTORS® and the Sonoma County Multiple Listing Service. The Mendocino County MLS joined the effort in 2001, and the Coastal Co-op MLS in 2005. BAREIS now serves approximately 11,700 members in five counties: Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma.
About MetroList Services, Inc.
MetroList Services, Inc. is the largest multiple listing service in Northern California headquartered in Sacramento, the state’s capital. Formed in 1985 by the Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, the Placer County Association of REALTORS® and the El Dorado County Association of REALTORS®, MetroList’s ownership group has grown to include the Lodi Association of REALTORS® and the Yolo County Association of REALTORS®. MetroList acts as a seamless real estate information network serving more than 25,000 real estate professionals in seven counties: El Dorado, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Yolo.
About San Francisco Association of REALTORS® (SFAR)
The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® was founded in 1 905. It antedates both the National Association of REALTORS® and the California Association of REALTORS® and was active in the formation of both of these organizations. SFAR provides sophisticated business-related products and services to its more than 5,000 REALTOR® members in San Francisco and the northern peninsula.
Rapattoni, the data service provider for the three MLS organizations, has been selected to develop the special software needed to facilitate the new service. “This is an entirely new approach to accessing, controlling and distributing the MLS data from multiple MLS sources” said Beede, “and the selection of Rapattoni to be our technology partner will play a key role in our effort.”
“The BAREIS organization is totally dedicated to the success of this effort,” said Darla Stever, chair of the board of BAREIS. “Changes in the market place have driven the need for expanded data for multi-regional brokers and agents, and diffusing the impact of traditional boundaries. We are keenly supportive of this project because it recognizes both the need to have a locally focused and customized MLS, and the need to have an expanded multi-regional data.”
As part of the effort, the three MLS organizations will be implementing the Rapattoni Secure Logon system. “With the blending of the data from over 40,000 agents, and opening access to three MLS systems to all users, securing access to the data becomes a major priority,” said Stever. “BAREIS will be the first MLS to roll out the Secure Logon process in late October, followed by MetroList and San Francisco.”
The power of Quattro will now provide real estate professionals with access to property listings in 14 California counties and more than 18 thousand square miles serving a population of 5.6 million people.
The new service offerings will be online and available to BAREIS, MetroList and SFAR subscribers by early 2007.
# # #
About Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS)
Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. was created on October 22, 1 997. The organizations that founded BAREIS are Marin Association of REALTORS®, Napa Association of REALTORS®, Northern Solano Association of REALTORS®, Solano Association of REALTORS® and the Sonoma County Multiple Listing Service. The Mendocino County MLS joined the effort in 2001, and the Coastal Co-op MLS in 2005. BAREIS now serves approximately 11,700 members in five counties: Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma.
About MetroList Services, Inc.
MetroList Services, Inc. is the largest multiple listing service in Northern California headquartered in Sacramento, the state’s capital. Formed in 1985 by the Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, the Placer County Association of REALTORS® and the El Dorado County Association of REALTORS®, MetroList’s ownership group has grown to include the Lodi Association of REALTORS® and the Yolo County Association of REALTORS®. MetroList acts as a seamless real estate information network serving more than 25,000 real estate professionals in seven counties: El Dorado, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Yolo.
About San Francisco Association of REALTORS® (SFAR)
The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® was founded in 1 905. It antedates both the National Association of REALTORS® and the California Association of REALTORS® and was active in the formation of both of these organizations. SFAR provides sophisticated business-related products and services to its more than 5,000 REALTOR® members in San Francisco and the northern peninsula.
BAY AREA REAL ESTATE INFORMATION SERVICES, INC. METROLIST SERVICES, INC.
SAN FRANCISCO ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
FAST FACTS
Name of New Service Quattro
Quattro Property Listing County Coverage Area
| El Dorado Lake Marin Mendocino Merced |
Napa No. San Mateo Placer Sacramento San Francisco |
San Joaquin Solano Sonoma Stan islaus Yolo |
Population Served
5,604,138
(Population based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2005 population estimates)
Geographic Area 18,409 square miles
Real Estate Agents Served More than 40,000
CONTACT INFORMATION
BAREIS MetroList® San Francisco
Jim Branscombe Tom Beede James Fabris
President & CEO President & CEO Chief Executive Officer
(707) 575-8000 (916) 922-7584 (415) 431-8022
The Federal Reserve Board recently released the latest in a series of
occasional reports on mortgage lending based on data
collected under the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The
law, broadly amended in 1989 and several times since, requires most
mortgage lending institutions with offices in metropolitan areas to
disclose information about the geographic location, the income, sex, and
race or ethnicity of individuals applying for credit…
After a single “up” week, long term interest rates have
resumed the slow downward pattern that began the week ending July 20.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended
September recorded an average rate of 6.43 percent for the 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage. This is…
The following chart shows statistics from January 2006 through August 2006, month-by-month and compares them to the same months for 2005. I have also shown the aggregate for the months, both for 2005 and 2006, because sometimes looking at one month only does not really show the whole trend.
The one sure trend that shows is the number of sales are down.
| Marin County MLS 2006 Residential Real Estate Stats | ||||||
| For Homes Sold | 6-Jan | 6-Feb | 6-Mar | 6-Apr | 6-May | 6-Jun |
| Median Price in 1,000’s | 810 | 810 | 880 | 899 | 855 | 932 |
| Median days on market | 64 | 72 | 40 | 32 | 34 | 38 |
| Total units sold | 143 | 150 | 265 | 263 | 266 | 325 |
| 6-Jul | 6-Aug | |||||
| 850 | 890 | |||||
| 43 | 50 | |||||
| 230 | 298 | |||||
| Lets look at the same time period for 2005 | ||||||
| For Homes Sold | 5-Jan | 5-Feb | 5-Mar | 5-Apr | 5-May | 5-Jun |
| Median Price in 1,000’s | 825 | 813 | 860 | 865 | 875 | 900 |
| Median days on market | 45 | 29 | 26 | 29 | 27 | 29 |
| Total units sold | 209 | 148 | 307 | 338 | 325 | 367 |
| 5-Jul | 5-Aug | |||||
| 861 | 840 | |||||
| 30 | 36 | |||||
| 314 | 346 | |||||
| Now looking at the months combined. | ||||||
| For Homes Sold | Jan-Aug 05 | Jan-Aug 06 | ||||
| Median Price in 1,000’s | 860 | 876 | ||||
| Median days on market | 30 | 42 | ||||
| Total units sold | 2354 | 1940 | ||||
Two monthly housing market indicators have been
released so far this week, both relating broadly to home construction and
showing a continued slowing of the housing sector and a related loss of
builder confidence.
The results are too subtle (and also presented in an incredibly
confusing format) to determine if rate shock is starting to take its toll
on American homeowners, but, looking beyond the cheerful lead paragraph,
“The delinquency rates for mortgage loans …were down 2
basis points from the first quarter…” The National Delinquency Study
(NDS) released by The Mortgage Bankers Association this week is a little
disquieting.