SoCal Home Price Data & more

Sorting out confusing, enticing mortgages from the Arizona Republic, reports that the Federal Reserve Board recently partnered with the Office of Thrift Supervision to revise the Consumer Handbook on Adjustable-Rate Mortgages, or the CHARM booklet. The revised booklet explains the many adjustable-rate mortgages, from interest-only to option-payment loans. Mortgage loan officer Amy Swaney of Scottsdale-based Premier Financila Services called it one of the best explainers on adjustable-rate mortgages she has seen so far. "A lot of the new adjustable-rate mortgages aren't right for everybody, but they do work for many people who understand and plan for the," said Swaney, who is also the past president of the Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association. Go to www.federalre serve.gov/pubs/arms/arms_ english.htm and look for the adjustable rate mortgage booklet. But, do people really read anything. Loans are "sold" and rarely "bought". Stay tuned.

Annexation will double Goodyear size from the Arizona Republic, reports that Goodyear is working out the details with Scottsdale-based Montage Holdings to pay for vital city services and infrastructure in the proposed 95 square-mile annexation area referred to as the Sonoran Village Planning Area near Mobile, south of Goodyear. Montage holds more than 10,000 acres in the area and plans on developing a self-sustaining community that would be considered a village of Goodyear. Plans call for an employment corridor, a town square, a regional mall and more than 30,000 homes. Montage would pay upfront for police and fire services, solid waste and sanitation services, fire and ambulance service, a building for city offices and a road connecting Rainbow Valley Road to Arizona 238. "It's Goodyear's policy to require that growth pays for growth," said Harvey Krauss, Goodyear's community development director. Once the population in the area fills in and new residents start generating tax revenue, it is likely that Montage would be reimbursed for a large amount of the upfront costs. Developers hope to have the annexation completed by May.

Fed says Western housing 'deteriorated'
Here's what the Fed's San Francisco unit thinks about Western real estate in the "Beige Book" – a report on regional economic conditions that comes out eight times a year. O.C. is in the Fed's 12th District, based in San Francisco. (DISTRICT MAP HERE) This regional real estate recap is the first for 2006 (ENTIRE REPORT HERE) ...

Pittsburgh's Commercial Market Exhibits Signs of Strength from The WSJ
reports that despite some glimmers of hope, real estate here is unlikely to take off. Investors are still passing on this former industrial region, given its below-average job growth and shrinking population.

SoCal Home Price Data: $300K = Low Income Housing
on Jan 18th, 2007 in Market Overview by Tim Iacono