December 2006 Newsletter

I wish you happy holidays and a Prosperous New Year. 2006 was a fantastic year, the economy was strong, GDP is growing, inflation is under control, and the fed doesn't feel the need to raise interest rates. The big predicted drop in home prices never happened, and buyers are coming back, afraid more that demand may come back and make home buying harder.

As always I thank you for your business and your referrals. 100% of my business in 2006 was from you, your family, friends and colleagues. I look forward to working with you again this year.

1. Real Estate Update

2._Conforming loan limit to remain at $417,000 for 2007

3. My own personal Geocoder - Or how to map customer base on a map easily.

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1. Real Estate Update
by Sunil Sethi

Transactions are happening despite the holidays. During this time of the year the buyer's who are looking tend to be more serious. They'd have to be, otherwise there are so many other things one could be doing duirng this time of year. Like shopping, take a winter vacation or staying inside on these cold winter days.

Many sellers are taking the strategy to put off listing their property till February, which might result in a flood of properties coming to market in February.

If you are planning on buying or selling in 2007 contact me now so we get strategizing on how to bring your listings to market.

Latest Housing Stats:  Apple Appraisal Statistic s Page        Bay East Stats Page

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2. 2007 Conforming Loan Amount set at $417,000
-No Change from 2006
By OFHEO

Washington, DC – Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Director James B. Lockhart today announced the maximum 2007 conforming loan limit for single-family mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will remain at the 2006 level of $417,000 for one-unit properties for most of the U.S. 1

The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that an Enterprise can buy or guarantee. By law the maximum conforming loan limit is based on the October-to-October change in the average house price in the Monthly Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB). The FHFB reported the decline in the average price was $501, or 0.16 percent, from $306,759 in October 2005 to $306,258 in October 2006. This is the first decline in the MIRS since 1992-93.

OFHEO announced November 15 it would keep the limit at 2007 levels if there was a decrease in October-to-October house prices and would defer that decline for one year.

“This amount is in keeping with OFHEO’s recent announcement of an orderly and transparent process for any downward adjustment,” said Lockhart. “We made this decision so as not to disrupt the end-of-the-year pipeline of mortgages or the market for mortgage-backed securities,” said Lockhart.

OFHEO also stated previously that additional guidance for the 2008 limits would be issued early next year. 1 Higher limits apply to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as to properties with more than one unit. See link to letters to Enterprises on page 2.

Conforming Loan Limit Percentage Increase 2007 $417,000 0 2006 $417,000 15.9% 2005 $359,650 7.8% Prior to this year’s decrease, the average increase in the FHFB survey over the previous five years was 8.8 percent.

OFHEO assumed responsibility for establishing the conforming loan limit with a February 2004 guidance. The conforming loan limit is based on the FHFB monthly survey and not OFHEO’s quarterly House Price Index (HPI), which will be released November 30.

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3. My Own Personal Geocoder

If you're in marketing, you've probably wished at some point the ability to upload your customer records in to a database, and have it map their address so you could  visually see where the concentration of your customer bases were. Well now there's a relatively easy and free way to do this. Check it out at: http://www.batchgeocode.com/

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Remember: FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS BUY OPTIONS ARMS

What's Happening in Fremont, Newark and Union City  About Fremont

Cities served: Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, Castro Valley, San Francisco, Oakland, Pleasanton, Diamond Bar, Temecula, San Diego, Los Angles, La Jolla, Sacramento, Fullerton, Brisbane, Menlo Park, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Sherman Oaks, Tracy, Livermore, Dublin, Pomona, Walnut Creek, Berkeley, San Leandro, Milbrae, Petaluma, Ontario, Marin, Manhattan Beach, San Mateo, San Ramon, Fremont, Newark, Union City.

Fremont based, Realtor, Mortgage Broker, MBA, CPA
SMA Financing is a Real estate broker, California Department of Real Estate, License #0117376

(c) 2003-2006 all rights reserved, Sunil Sethi.