Rising Flood Insurance Rates Sinking Sales in Florida

Rising Flood Insurance Rates Sinking Sales in Florida

A big hike in flood insurance rates has forced home buyers to recede from the market in some areas, drastically hampering home sales, according to...

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Home competition down nationwide, up in Seattle

Competition to buy homes declined last month in most areas, but not Seattle.

In fact, Seattle posted the biggest increase out of 22 U.S. markets in the share of listings attracting multiple offers, from 49.2 percent in August to 57 percent in September, Seattle-based online real estate firm Redfin reported. That said, Seattle is still behind San Francisco, Orange County, Los Angeles and Boston for the overall percentage of listings with competition.

Across all 22 markets, the share of homes with multiple offers was 58.3 percent in September, down from 60.5 percent in August and 62.7 percent a year earlier. Competition peaked at 76 percent of listings in March.

"The bargaining power that sellers had earlier this year is gone," Marshall Park, Redfin's Washington, D.C., market manager, said in the report.

Homes sold for an average of 0.4 percent below asking price, but 1.4 percent above asking price in the Seattle area. San Francisco was the only other market where sales prices topped asking prices.

The report also showed the varying ways people make their offers more enticing in different areas. Waiving the financing contingency, for instance, is relatively popular in San Francisco but unseen in Seattle, where winning bidders are more likely to include a personal cover letter to sellers. Pre-inspections are common in Seattle and San Francisco, but not elsewhere.

Click through the gallery above to see more details on the most competitive markets.

Read more real estate news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.

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Fannie and Freddie Overhaul Mortgage Insurance Master Policy Requirements

by Jann Swanson

 

Fannie and Freddie Overhaul Mortgage Insurance Master Policy Requirements

 

Dec 2 2013, 12:22PM

 

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed a major overhaul of their master policy requirements for private mortgage insurance the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today.  The changes meet one of FHFA's 2013 Conservatorship Scorecard goals for the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), aligning their individual policy requirements.  The changes are the first made to the master policies in many years FHFA said

 

Private mortgage insurance is required of borrowers who provide less than a 20 percent downpayment on a home purchase.   While the premiums are paid by the borrower, the insurance covers losses for the lender or the loan's owner should the homeowner default on payments.  Mortgage insurance master policies specify the terms of business interaction between seller-servicers and mortgage insurers.  FHFA said the GSEs have worked with the mortgage insurance industry to identify and fix gaps in the existing master policies and the new policies will, among other things, facilitate timely and consistent claims processing.

 

The changes include a requirement that the master policies support various loss mitigation strategies that were developed during the housing crisis to help troubled homeowners and establishes specific timelines for processing claims, including requests of additional documentation.  The changes also seek to address a frequent source of complaints from homeowners, setting standards for determining when and under what circumstances the mortgage insurance must be maintained or can be terminated.  The changes are also designed to promote better communication among insurers, servicers, and the GSEs.

 

"Updating the mortgage insurance master policy requirements is a significant accomplishment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco. "The new standards update and clarify the responsibilities of insurers, originators and servicers and they enhance the insurance protection provided to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which ultimately benefits taxpayers."

 

The changes will be incorporated by mortgage insurance companies into new master policies which will be filed with state insurance regulations for review and approval.  FHFA said it expects the master policies will go into effect in 2014. 

 

Andrew Bon Salle, Fannie Mae's Executive Vice President, Single-Family Underwriting, Pricing, and Capital Markets said of the changes, "Mortgage insurers are an important part of the mortgage finance system and these changes help lay the foundation for a stronger system going forward. These updates will help us better manage our credit risk, which we believe will ultimately benefit Fannie Mae, mortgage insurers, homeowners and taxpayers."