Real Estate News Headlines: March - April 2010

The following headlines and news items were compiled from a number of authoritative sources and industry experts including Freddie Mac, REALTOR® Magazine Online, the National Association of Realtors, Realty Track and the Wall Street Journal. The next news update is scheduled to be released in mid-May 2010.

IRS: Homeowners that use a Short Sale to Avoid Foreclosure Won't be Taxed

A 2007 federal law that exempts from income taxes any debt forgiven on a primary residence, said Luis Garcia, an IRS spokesman in Detroit. Under this law, Garcia said, debt forgiven in the calendar years of 2007 through 2012 is not subject to federal taxes. The short sale has to be on a primary residence and has a limit of $1 million for a single filer and $2 million for married filers.

Source: Grand Rapids Press | Posted: 04/23/10 at 00326 EDST

Renting vs Buying

Revisiting rent vs buy David Leonhardt today revisits the great rent vs buy debate — something I was talking about on All Things Considered just this weekend. He’s also updated the excellent NYT rent vs buy calculator, which he uses to agree with Dean Baker that the point at which it makes more sense to buy than to rent is probably closer to 15 than to 20, if you’re looking at the ratio of house price to alternative annual rent.

Source: Reuters | Posted: 04/23/10 at 0330 EDST

Freddie Mac's Weekly Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS®)

Freddie Mac's Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) is conducted on Mondays through Wednesdays with results reported on Thursdays. The survey is based on responses from 125 lenders to determine the average rates and points charged by each lender for their 30 and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, 5/1 hybrid amortizing adjustable-rate and 1-year amortizing adjustable rate mortgage products. The mix of lender types used for the survey is approximately proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type of lender commands in the marketplace nationwide. This include thrifts, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies.

The survey is based on conventional conforming mortgages with a loan-to-value ratio of 80 percent for first-lien prime mortgage notes. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products are indexed to constant-maturity U.S. Treasury rates. Lenders are asked to provide initial coupon rate, points and the margin on ARM products.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey is relied upon heavily by the public and mortgage industry in gauging market conditions and has evolved into the most representative and reliable source of regional and national mortgage rate trends.

For a breakdown of U.S. Regional Mortgage Rates, you may wish to visit the Official Freddie Mac website.

Archived Articles

For Gilbert Real Estate news, look no further than Rick & Jennifer LeForce, your Gilbert Arizona realty experts!