In several states, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering home buyers foreclosed homes with only a $100 down payment, in trying to unload some of its inventory. The incentive runs until October 2012.

To qualify, purchasers must be an “owner-occupant,” intending to live in the property and not rent it out. They also will have to qualify for Federal Housing Administration financing, and have to offer the full list price for the home.

Some additional eligibility requirements:

• The home purchased must be a HUD home. Visit the HUD Homes For Sale Web site for a list of homes.
• Buyers must use a HUD-registered real estate broker or agent in order to get the incentive.
• The property must be purchased “as-is.”

Also, home buyers must request the offer and it needs to be written in the contract in order to get it. For more information about the program and a list of states offering the HUD $100 incentive, visitRealty Times.

Source: “Get a HUD Home for $100 Down,” Realty Times (Nov. 10, 2011)

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/11/10/buy-hud-home-for-only-100-down#.Tr1R6hNB2Ac.email

Improving housing affordability mixed with low mortgage rates means that home owners are paying a lot less for their monthly mortgage payment than they did just a few years ago. In fact, they’re paying nearly 40 percent less on their monthly mortgage payment than home owners paid in 2006.

According to Fiserv, the monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced single-family home today is $700 — a drop of close 40 percent from 2006, when it was $1,140 .

“Housing affordability has improved dramatically because of declines in both prices and mortgage interest rates,” David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, said in a statement. “Nationally, purchase mortgage payments now account for only 13 percent of monthly median family income, the lowest percentage on record (since 1971), and compared to 23 percent in the first quarter of 2006.”

Source: “Monthly Mortgage Payment Almost 40% Cheaper Than 2006,” HousingWire (Nov. 9, 2011) and Fiserv

More borrowers are taking advantage of record low interest rates. Mortgage applications increased 10.3 percent last week over a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

The purchase index, a gauge of future home buying, increased 4.8 percent while refinancing activity jumped 12.1 percent from the previous week to its highest level in a month, MBA reported.

“Treasury rates dropped last week, as renewed turmoil in Europe once again led to a flight to quality, and 30-year mortgage rates dropped to their second lowest level of the year,” Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/11/10/falling-rates-send-mortgage-apps-soaring-10#.Tr1Tb_Zdu-I.email