Jamie Schou Real Estate

The New York Times – The Senate passed the financial regulation bill today, which will impact home buyers and lending guidelines. Chief among the changes impacting consumers is the creation a consumer bureau at the Federal Reserve and the requirement that lenders ensure a borrower is able to repay a home loan by verifying income, employment, and credit history.

Under the financial regulation bill, at least two categories of mortgages likely will see a dramatic decrease in their availability: interest-only loans and stated-income loans. Both loan types likely would fall short of the government’s definition of “qualified” mortgages and therefore be avoided by many in the lending community.

The bill also severely limits the industry practice known as “yield spread premiums,” which in many cases incentivized mortgage brokers and loan officers to sell higher-interest loans to borrowers. The reform bill will no longer allow commissions earned by mortgage brokers and loan officers to be linked to the interest rate, but rather the loan amount. Once the bill takes effect, the total commission and additional fees charged by lenders and others in the mortgage process will be limited to a maximum of 3 percent of the loan amount, not including the real estate commission.

If you are looking to purchase property in the Tahoe/Truckee market, I can help with everything from finding the right property to connecting you with the best mortgage professionals in the business. To help you get started sign up for my free listing notification system, or view all area listings. 

Jamie Schou
Direct – 530-798-1393
jschou@kw.com

Over the weekend we had 35 new listings come onto the market, comprising of 5 land listings, 3 condos, 1 commercial building, 1 mobile home and 25 single family homes. Prices are ranging from $79,000 for a lot near Lake Almanor to $4,250,000 for a five bedroom lakefront home in Dollar Point. Of the new listings, 1 is bank owned and 4 are in the short sale mode. There were 13 properties going into contract over the weekend, along with 7 short sale properties awaiting bank approval with accepted contracts. The 13 new purchase contracts were comprised of 9 single family homes, 2 condos, 1 lot and 1 commercial building.

Half of the new listings in the past week came on over the weekend. Of the 59 new listings in the past week, 12 are bank owned or short sales. There were 9 short sale properties with accepted contracts awaiting bank approval in the past week and of 17 new escrows in the past week, none were bank owned or short sales. In the week’s closed escrows, 4 of the 22 sold properties were bank owned. Single family homes made up half of the sales, with 11 of 22 closed escrows. Sales were split with 9 in the Lake Tahoe Basin, 9 in the Truckee area and 4 north of Truckee. Prices for the single family homes ranged from $235,500 for a 2 bedroom home in Kings Beach to $895,000 for a 5 bedroom home in Tahoe Donner. Sale prices on average are at 94% of list price, which has been the average for the past few months now.

The market is active right now with buyers out there looking for the best deal while taking advantage of historically low rates; I believe there are excellent opportunities for buyers looking to take advantage of current market conditions. You can view all area listings HERE. I have the experience and knowledge to help you negotiate the best deal in today’s market. Give me a call to help you find the Tahoe/Truckee property of your dreams.

Jamie Schou
Direct – 530-798-1393
jschou@kw.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The experts expected home sales to drop once the homebuyer tax credit lapsed at the end of April, but the depth of the decrease was shocking. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales fell a whopping 30% in May. Their index, which measures signed sales contracts but not closed sales, plunged to 77.6 from 110.9 in April. It’s even off 15.9% from a year ago when the nation was barely emerging from the recession.

“The pending home sales report is a disaster,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst for Weiss Research. “Sales fell off a cliff after the tax credit expired. It’s the biggest monthly decline ever and the index is at its lowest level since NAR began tracking it in 2001.”
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist downplayed the damage a bit. According to him, customers rushed into deals to claim the credit, borrowing from May sales. Once the economic recovery comes into full swing, housing markets will heat up.

“If jobs come back as expected, the pace of home sales should pick up later this year,” said Yun, “and reach a sustainable level of activity given very favorable affordability conditions.”

Those conditions include much lower home prices and extremely favorable mortgage interest rates. The question is when — or if — the job market will ever bounce back.
“We’re not creating jobs,” said Larson. “The housing problems now are being driven by broad economic problems.”

While this article reflects nation-wide statistics, here in the Tahoe/Truckee market where first-time homebuyers taking advantage of the tax credit made up only a small percentage of buyers overall, we did not see the dramatic drop in sales. This difference highlights the need to have a professional with local knowledge on your side when deciding to buy or sell real estate. I would be happy to help you with any of your real estate needs, just give me a call.

Jamie Schou
Direct – 530-798-1393
jschou@kw.com

We had a very active listing weekend in the Tahoe/Truckee real estate market with 64 new listings coming onto the market, comprising of 9 land listings, 7 condos, 1 business listing, 3 shared ownership opportunities, 42 single family homes and 1 boat slip. Prices are ranging from $49,000 for a shared ownership fraction at Old Greenwood to $12,000,000 for a lakefront home at Lake Tahoe in Carnelian Bay. Of the new listings, 1 is bank owned and 3 are in the short sale mode. Of the 5 properties going into contract over the weekend, only 1 is bank owned. 5 short sale properties are awaiting bank approval with accepted contracts. The five new purchase contracts were all for single family homes.

Half of the new listings in the past week came on over the weekend. Of the 128 new listings in the past week, only 11 are bank owned or short sales. There were 10 short sale properties with accepted contracts awaiting bank approval in the past week and of 17 new escrows in the past week, only 3 are bank owned. In the week’s closed escrows, 12 of the 32 sold properties were bank owned or short sale listings, just about the same as last week. Single family homes made up the bulk of the sales, with 21 of 32 closed escrows, five of which were in Tahoe Donner. Prices for the single family homes ranged from $105,000 for a 3 bedroom home in Portola to $4,850,000 for a 5 bedroom estate on the Truckee River.

We are seeing an increase in listings with many great prices; I believe there are excellent opportunities for buyers looking to get into the market right now across all market segments. You can view all area listings HERE. I have the experience and knowledge to help you negotiate the best deal in today’s market. Give me a call to help you purchase the Tahoe/Truckee property of your dreams.

Jamie Schou
Direct – 530-798-1393
jschou@kw.com