FHFA's New Guidelines for Short Sales

The FHFA has announced that all existing short sale programs will now be consolidated into one standard program. This short sale program is being issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in hopes of providing clear guidelines for mortgage servicers that will allow them to quickly and easily qualify eligible borrowers for a short sale. These new guildlines are going into effect on November 1, 2012. Any homeowner who has a mortgage through one of the GSE's will be allowed to sell their home in a short sale if they experience an eligible hardship such as the death of a borrower, divorce or loss of job. These reasons will not require further approval from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac which helps to prove their commitment to streamlining these types of programs that help homeowners avoid foreclosure. It helps to stabilize communities and the economy.

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Outlook for the Housing Market in 2012

As of December 2011, unemployment rates fell to their lowest level in three years with the addition of 200,000 jobs. This means good news overall for the real estate market since the country's economy is beginning to improve. This recovery is essential for the housing market and it is expected to continue throughout 2012. As we reported earlier, the Fed has announced that interest rates will not be raised until 2014 in the hopes of continuing in this economy recovery. The interest rates are currently at historic lows and are expected to stay that way to ensure a slow but steady rise by the end of the year. Therefore, taking out a mortgage is a very affordable thing at this time.

Predictions for the 2012 housing market include these continued low interest rates as well as the stabilization of home prices. This should lead to an increase in home sales: roughly 12% of existing homes and 74% of new homes; and there will also be a rise in inventory mostly due to increased foreclosures throughout the country. Distressed properties will make up about half of all home sales. There will also be an improved short-sale process so we can further avoid foreclosures. Homeownership rates are expected to continue to fall. Foreign and domestic investors will be likely to buy 25% of homes. And there will be an increased reliance on real estate agents in 2012. We will continue to report on these matters to see if these predictions pan out over the next year.

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Fed White Paper: "The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations"

The Federal Reserve wrote a report addressing the current problems in the US housing market. They say that it doesn't cover everything but it is to serve as a "framework for thinking about certain issues and tradeoffs that policymakers might consider."

It discusses the American economy, the unemployment rate, housing foreclosures and more. They may push the government-owned mortgage buyers to rent out the homes they own as a possible way to improve the housing market.

Read all about it by clicking on this link here.

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