Myrtle Beach local banks are offering a fix 30 year home mortgage at 5.125
interest rate might even get a little lower. Now is the time to pick out the home you want so when the reate hit bottom you can lock in with a contract on your dream beach house.
Friday, December 5, 2008
1 in 10 American homeowners
A record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either at least a month behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September as the source of housing market pressure shifted to the crumbling U.S. economy.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday the percentage of loans at least a month overdue or in foreclosure was up from 9.2 percent in the April-June quarter, and up from 7.3 percent a year earlier.
Distress in the home loan market started about two years ago as increasing numbers of adjustable-rate loans reset to higher interest rates. But the latest wave of delinquencies is coming from the surge in unemployment.
Employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
"Now it's a case of job losses hitting more across the board," Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The U.S. tipped into recession last December, a panel of experts declared earlier this week. Since the start of the recession, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs.
Job losses are already having an impact in rising delinquency rates for traditional 30-year fixed rate loans made to borrowers with strong credit. Total delinquencies on those loans rose to 3.35 percent in September from 3.07 percent at the end of June, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
There were some modest signs of stabilization. The number of loans that entered the foreclosure process totaled 1.07 percent of all loans in the third quarter, flat from the second quarter.
Though that number likely reflects changes in state laws that delay or extend the foreclosure process and efforts to work out or modify loans that could still fall back into foreclosure.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday the percentage of loans at least a month overdue or in foreclosure was up from 9.2 percent in the April-June quarter, and up from 7.3 percent a year earlier.
Distress in the home loan market started about two years ago as increasing numbers of adjustable-rate loans reset to higher interest rates. But the latest wave of delinquencies is coming from the surge in unemployment.
Employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
"Now it's a case of job losses hitting more across the board," Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The U.S. tipped into recession last December, a panel of experts declared earlier this week. Since the start of the recession, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs.
Job losses are already having an impact in rising delinquency rates for traditional 30-year fixed rate loans made to borrowers with strong credit. Total delinquencies on those loans rose to 3.35 percent in September from 3.07 percent at the end of June, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
There were some modest signs of stabilization. The number of loans that entered the foreclosure process totaled 1.07 percent of all loans in the third quarter, flat from the second quarter.
Though that number likely reflects changes in state laws that delay or extend the foreclosure process and efforts to work out or modify loans that could still fall back into foreclosure.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
It's official, we are in a recession
The official announcement was made yesterday confirming that the country is in a recession. While the news of a recession is not surprising to anyone paying attention to the economy, November’s home sales may catch you a little off guard. Marc Fox pleasantly surprises us with the numbers for November and Allan Glass provides details to what exactly the recession is and why the announcement was finally made. Existing Home Sales Climb in West
By Marc Fox
“Sales of existing homes jumped in the Western region’s October 2008 stats according to the National Association of Realtors. Roughly 104,000 homes and condominiums were sold last month in the 13 western states. That represents a 41% increase from the same month last year and was a 6% increase from September’s statistics.”
Just Tell Us What You Want to Hear
By Allan Glass
“Most economists agree that a recession is “technically” when a country’s GDP sustains a negative growth factor for at least 2 consecutive quarters. The US GDP grew, although modestly, in the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2008 which means we really haven’t reached a recession as of yet. My feeling is that we’ve moved past the need for a technical definition. I also believe that most of the erratic movement in the stock markets and lack of movement in the real estate markets is due to a lack in acceptance that we are here everyone.”
By Marc Fox
“Sales of existing homes jumped in the Western region’s October 2008 stats according to the National Association of Realtors. Roughly 104,000 homes and condominiums were sold last month in the 13 western states. That represents a 41% increase from the same month last year and was a 6% increase from September’s statistics.”
Just Tell Us What You Want to Hear
By Allan Glass
“Most economists agree that a recession is “technically” when a country’s GDP sustains a negative growth factor for at least 2 consecutive quarters. The US GDP grew, although modestly, in the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2008 which means we really haven’t reached a recession as of yet. My feeling is that we’ve moved past the need for a technical definition. I also believe that most of the erratic movement in the stock markets and lack of movement in the real estate markets is due to a lack in acceptance that we are here everyone.”
National Association Of Realtors Four-Point Plan
Below is a list of the 4 point plan the National Association Of Realtors want to see happen in the next month
• Make the $7500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all buyers and eliminate repayment requirements. The credit's limited availability and repayment requirement severely limit the credit's use and effectiveness.
• Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. New rules for 2009 will reduce them. Now is not the time to limit mortgage affordability.
• Get the Treasury relief program back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to make below-market rates available and stabilize home prices.
• Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks have proved they have enough to do to simply manage the loan process. Banks should not manage home sales and purchases.
• Make the $7500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all buyers and eliminate repayment requirements. The credit's limited availability and repayment requirement severely limit the credit's use and effectiveness.
• Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. New rules for 2009 will reduce them. Now is not the time to limit mortgage affordability.
• Get the Treasury relief program back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to make below-market rates available and stabilize home prices.
• Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks have proved they have enough to do to simply manage the loan process. Banks should not manage home sales and purchases.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
out-of-state boaters a break on their property taxes
Horry County Council will meet Tuesday to decide whether to give out-of-state boaters a break on their property taxes.
Local marina owners say they're losing business, because the county boat tax law is not keeping up with other states and counties.
The marina operator says the word has gone out to boaters in northern states to avoid Horry County.
"The Web sites that deal with boaters that travel the Intracoastal Waterway, all the boating publications are telling boaters to bypass South Carolina because of this tax law," said Myrtle Beach-based marina consultant Gregg Smith.
Right now, northern boaters who want to spend their winters in Horry County have to start paying property taxes on their boats after being docked in the county for 60 days.
Each county is allowed to set its own time limits before taxes are assessed and some counties, like Beaufort, have already lengthened theirs to 180 days.
That's what marina operators want for Horry County, to give them a level playing field and keep boaters here.
"These folks spend thousands and thousands of dollars in our economy during the winter months when they're here and in these tough economic times, we sure don't need to see that stop," Smith said.
County Auditor Lois Eargle supports the change, but says it could cost the county $160,000 in lost revenue.
Smith said the loss will be even greater if the law isn't changed.
"In sales tax and groceries and all of those kinds of things that these boaters would buy, I would say that that $160,000 would be a small drop in the bucket for what the economy of Horry County will get by changing this law."
One marina operator says she's already lost 50 boats in the past six months because of the law.
Many residents are convenced that the County will show its leadership as it did last year with lowering taxes for residents.
The boat tax law passed first reading in November. If it passes Tuesday, it would need one more reading to become law.
Local marina owners say they're losing business, because the county boat tax law is not keeping up with other states and counties.
The marina operator says the word has gone out to boaters in northern states to avoid Horry County.
"The Web sites that deal with boaters that travel the Intracoastal Waterway, all the boating publications are telling boaters to bypass South Carolina because of this tax law," said Myrtle Beach-based marina consultant Gregg Smith.
Right now, northern boaters who want to spend their winters in Horry County have to start paying property taxes on their boats after being docked in the county for 60 days.
Each county is allowed to set its own time limits before taxes are assessed and some counties, like Beaufort, have already lengthened theirs to 180 days.
That's what marina operators want for Horry County, to give them a level playing field and keep boaters here.
"These folks spend thousands and thousands of dollars in our economy during the winter months when they're here and in these tough economic times, we sure don't need to see that stop," Smith said.
County Auditor Lois Eargle supports the change, but says it could cost the county $160,000 in lost revenue.
Smith said the loss will be even greater if the law isn't changed.
"In sales tax and groceries and all of those kinds of things that these boaters would buy, I would say that that $160,000 would be a small drop in the bucket for what the economy of Horry County will get by changing this law."
One marina operator says she's already lost 50 boats in the past six months because of the law.
Many residents are convenced that the County will show its leadership as it did last year with lowering taxes for residents.
The boat tax law passed first reading in November. If it passes Tuesday, it would need one more reading to become law.
significant portion of $700 billion helping struggling homeowners
President-elect Barack Obama signaled a clear desire Wednesday to use a significant portion of $700 billion in financial bailout funds to stanch foreclosures by helping struggling homeowners with their mortgages.
"The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes," he said.
Obama's stance represents a policy clash with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has resisted proposals to use the rescue fund to help guarantee reworked mortgages.
At a Chicago news conference to introduce New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his commerce secretary nominee, Obama said helping people pay their mortgages has to be a component of the rescue fund.
"We've got to start helping homeowners, in a serious way, prevent foreclosures," he said.
On Monday, Paulson said the administration was seeking to halt the record breaking number of foreclosures. But he did not drop his opposition to using the rescue fund for a program being pushed by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair. The FDIC plan would use the rescue fund to help back refinanced mortgages that would lower monthly payments.
Key congressional Democrats have also demanded that the financial rescue money be used to help homeowners.
Obama's comments came a day after the Government Accountability Office, in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package, concluded that the Treasury Department has no mechanisms to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions.
"We're seeing some areas where we can be doing better in making sure that this money is not going to CEO compensation, that it's protecting tax payers and that the taxpayers are going to get their money back," Obama said.
The auditors acknowledged that the program, created Oct. 3 to help stabilize a rapidly faltering banking system, was less than 60 days old and has been adjusting to an evolving mission.
But auditors recommended that Treasury work with government bank regulators to determine whether the activities of financial institutions that receive the money are meeting restrictions on executive pay, dividend payments and repurchasing of shares.
"Treasury also has no policies and procedures in place for ensuring that the institutions are complying with these requirements or that they are using the capital investments in a manner that helps meet the purposes of the act," auditors said.
In a response to the GAO, Neel Kashkari, who heads the department's Office of Financial Stability, said the agency was developing its own compliance program and indicated that it disagreed with the need to work with regulators.
Congressional Democrats quickly pounced on the findings.
"The GAO's discouraging report makes clear that the Treasury Department's implementation of the (rescue plan) is insufficiently transparent and is not accountable to American taxpayers," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank said Treasury's response comes "very close to telling the institutions that they will be free to use the funds as they wish."
"The bad news was confirmation by the GAO in its first report about the program that Treasury has no way to measure whether taxpayer funds invested in banks are being used in accordance with the purpose of the law to increase lending," Frank said. "The much worse news is Treasury's response that it does not even have the intention of doing so."
The GAO is one of three watchdogs that Congress has assigned to monitor the extraordinary $700 billion financial rescue package, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. A congressional oversight panel is scheduled to issue its report on Dec. 10. In addition, Congress created an inspector general's office to oversee the program, but the confirmation of veteran federal prosecutor Neil M. Barofsky to the post has been blocked in the Senate by a senator who remains anonymous under Senate practice.
"This report proves the immediate need for oversight of the taxpayer dollars being expended right now as part of TARP," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said in a statement. "Because of one senator's anonymous block on this nomination, three weeks have been lost _ a key element of the TARP oversight program is not in place."
Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a member of the Senate Banking Committee who opposed the bailout bill, has said he had "serious concerns" with Barofsky's nomination, though he has praised his experience. Bunning spokesman Mike Reynard would not comment on whether Bunning had placed the hold.
"The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes," he said.
Obama's stance represents a policy clash with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has resisted proposals to use the rescue fund to help guarantee reworked mortgages.
At a Chicago news conference to introduce New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his commerce secretary nominee, Obama said helping people pay their mortgages has to be a component of the rescue fund.
"We've got to start helping homeowners, in a serious way, prevent foreclosures," he said.
On Monday, Paulson said the administration was seeking to halt the record breaking number of foreclosures. But he did not drop his opposition to using the rescue fund for a program being pushed by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair. The FDIC plan would use the rescue fund to help back refinanced mortgages that would lower monthly payments.
Key congressional Democrats have also demanded that the financial rescue money be used to help homeowners.
Obama's comments came a day after the Government Accountability Office, in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package, concluded that the Treasury Department has no mechanisms to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions.
"We're seeing some areas where we can be doing better in making sure that this money is not going to CEO compensation, that it's protecting tax payers and that the taxpayers are going to get their money back," Obama said.
The auditors acknowledged that the program, created Oct. 3 to help stabilize a rapidly faltering banking system, was less than 60 days old and has been adjusting to an evolving mission.
But auditors recommended that Treasury work with government bank regulators to determine whether the activities of financial institutions that receive the money are meeting restrictions on executive pay, dividend payments and repurchasing of shares.
"Treasury also has no policies and procedures in place for ensuring that the institutions are complying with these requirements or that they are using the capital investments in a manner that helps meet the purposes of the act," auditors said.
In a response to the GAO, Neel Kashkari, who heads the department's Office of Financial Stability, said the agency was developing its own compliance program and indicated that it disagreed with the need to work with regulators.
Congressional Democrats quickly pounced on the findings.
"The GAO's discouraging report makes clear that the Treasury Department's implementation of the (rescue plan) is insufficiently transparent and is not accountable to American taxpayers," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank said Treasury's response comes "very close to telling the institutions that they will be free to use the funds as they wish."
"The bad news was confirmation by the GAO in its first report about the program that Treasury has no way to measure whether taxpayer funds invested in banks are being used in accordance with the purpose of the law to increase lending," Frank said. "The much worse news is Treasury's response that it does not even have the intention of doing so."
The GAO is one of three watchdogs that Congress has assigned to monitor the extraordinary $700 billion financial rescue package, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. A congressional oversight panel is scheduled to issue its report on Dec. 10. In addition, Congress created an inspector general's office to oversee the program, but the confirmation of veteran federal prosecutor Neil M. Barofsky to the post has been blocked in the Senate by a senator who remains anonymous under Senate practice.
"This report proves the immediate need for oversight of the taxpayer dollars being expended right now as part of TARP," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said in a statement. "Because of one senator's anonymous block on this nomination, three weeks have been lost _ a key element of the TARP oversight program is not in place."
Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a member of the Senate Banking Committee who opposed the bailout bill, has said he had "serious concerns" with Barofsky's nomination, though he has praised his experience. Bunning spokesman Mike Reynard would not comment on whether Bunning had placed the hold.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Bush administration ignored warnings of financial meltdown
The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.
"Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories," California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to U.S. regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job.
The Bush administration Bowing to aggressive lobbying _ along with assurances from banks that the troubled mortgages were OK _ regulators delayed action for nearly one year. By the time new rules were released late in 2006, the toughest of the proposed provisions were gone and the meltdown was under way.
In 2005, faced with ominous signs the housing market was in jeopardy, bank regulators proposed new guidelines for banks writing risky loans. Today, in the midst of the worst housing recession in a generation, the proposal reads like a list of what-ifs:
_Regulators told bankers exotic mortgages were often inappropriate for buyers with bad credit.
_Banks would have been required to increase efforts to verify that buyers actually had jobs and could afford houses.
_Regulators proposed a cap on risky mortgages so a string of defaults wouldn't be crippling.
_Banks that bundled and sold mortgages were told to be sure investors knew exactly what they were buying.
_Regulators urged banks to help buyers make responsible decisions and clearly advise them that interest rates might skyrocket and huge payments might be due sooner than expected.
Those proposals all were stripped from the final rules. None required congressional approval or the president's signature.
"Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories," California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to U.S. regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job.
The Bush administration Bowing to aggressive lobbying _ along with assurances from banks that the troubled mortgages were OK _ regulators delayed action for nearly one year. By the time new rules were released late in 2006, the toughest of the proposed provisions were gone and the meltdown was under way.
In 2005, faced with ominous signs the housing market was in jeopardy, bank regulators proposed new guidelines for banks writing risky loans. Today, in the midst of the worst housing recession in a generation, the proposal reads like a list of what-ifs:
_Regulators told bankers exotic mortgages were often inappropriate for buyers with bad credit.
_Banks would have been required to increase efforts to verify that buyers actually had jobs and could afford houses.
_Regulators proposed a cap on risky mortgages so a string of defaults wouldn't be crippling.
_Banks that bundled and sold mortgages were told to be sure investors knew exactly what they were buying.
_Regulators urged banks to help buyers make responsible decisions and clearly advise them that interest rates might skyrocket and huge payments might be due sooner than expected.
Those proposals all were stripped from the final rules. None required congressional approval or the president's signature.
Planning And Zoning Commission Meeting
Town of Surfside Beach
Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting held on the first Tuesday monthly, beginning at 6:30 p.m in Council Chambers.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
time:6:30 PM
Town of Surfside Beach
115 US Highway 17 North
Myrtle Beach, SC 29575
Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting held on the first Tuesday monthly, beginning at 6:30 p.m in Council Chambers.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
time:6:30 PM
Town of Surfside Beach
115 US Highway 17 North
Myrtle Beach, SC 29575
fewer South Carolinians on the road for Thanksgiving weekend
Although gas prices are plummeting, fewer South Carolinians are expected to journey over the river and through the woods this Thanksgiving weekend.
AAA Carolinas says the troubled economy will mean the first drop in Thanksgiving holiday travel in six years.
The motor club expects 526,000 South Carolinians to travel more than 50 miles by road this weekend, down about 8,000 from last year.
About 73,000 South Carolinians are expected to fly, a decline of about 7,000 from a year ago.
AAA President David Parsons says the decline might be a bit smaller than otherwise because Thanksgiving is still a holiday people want to spend with family and friends.
Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson says troopers will have checkpoints around the state, hoping to crack down on speeding and reduce traffic deaths.
Local Myrtle Beach gas prices are presently around $1.63 per gallon.
AAA Carolinas says the troubled economy will mean the first drop in Thanksgiving holiday travel in six years.
The motor club expects 526,000 South Carolinians to travel more than 50 miles by road this weekend, down about 8,000 from last year.
About 73,000 South Carolinians are expected to fly, a decline of about 7,000 from a year ago.
AAA President David Parsons says the decline might be a bit smaller than otherwise because Thanksgiving is still a holiday people want to spend with family and friends.
Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson says troopers will have checkpoints around the state, hoping to crack down on speeding and reduce traffic deaths.
Local Myrtle Beach gas prices are presently around $1.63 per gallon.
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