Fannie to Aid Underwater Loans

Home resales rise in W. Valley as prices are slashed
from The Arizona Republic, reports that according to a report from Arizona State University, home sellers in the West Valley have slashed their asking prices up to 30 percent since February, and the price cuts are spurring sales in Surprise, El Mirage and Goodyear. Jay Butler, director of realty studies at ASU's Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness, said although home resale activity has dropped in Glendale, Peoria and Avondale, it is only because fewer homes are for sale in those communities, since they have more established economies and infrastructures and less housing turnover. Butler added that in the West Valley, resale figures show that home values in the newest West Valley communities are still correcting while values in the more established municipalities closer to metro Phoenix have become more stable.

Fannie to Aid Underwater Loans
from The Wall Street Journal Online, reports that Fannie Mae is preparing to introduce a program of refinancing mortgages for people who owe more than the current value of their homes. A situation also known as being "underwater." Fannie's refinance plan would result in new loans of equivalent size, leaving the borrower underwater but giving him or her a lower monthly payment or at least a fixed rate. According to officials of Fannie Mae, the new program is limited to people who have kept up on their payments so far and whose loans are owned or guaranteed by the company. They say in some cases it makes sense to refinance such people if the new loan will reduce their interest rate or let them lock into a fixed rate rather than risking future upward adjustments. Jeff Hayward, a senior vice president at Fannie said, "We're saying to the consumer, 'You're not trapped any more.'" The program will allow refinancing loans of as much as 120% of the property value. Approximately 150,000 households could qualify for these refinancings, Fannie officials project.

Grand Opening For New Estrella Community
“A new William Ryan Homes community in the Estrella development is planning a grand opening Saturday. The housing project, called Greenspointe, is being built by William Ryan Homes. Four spec homes, at varying stages of construction, will be viewable Saturday. Greenspointe will have 60 sites, and homes will range from 1,900 to more than 2,815-sf." (Arizona Republic, May 10th)

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