Join us Thursday for a Rally and Council Meeting. Let your voice be heard! Contact your council members this week as well. RallyThursday, 5:30 PM, City Hall Steps25 Dorrance St., Providence.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The foreclosure crisis in Rhode Island eased a bit in April, May and June, according to numbers made public Thursday morning by the Mortgage Bankers Association. (more…)

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Homeowners, Business Owners and Candidates speak out about the tax increase at the first Providence Apartment Association meeting held at Nara Lounge on August 24th, 2010.
Please visit: http://providencelandlordsassociation.web.officelive.com/default.aspx to show your support and contribution!

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I have always found it amusing that new introductions and “what do you do?”’s in Providence are always met with looks of suspicion no matter what I say. “Attorney,” always receives the stereotypical reaction: I am left having to prove that I am not an egotist, swindler, or disparager. I get the worst of it, however, when I tell them that I am a “real estate broker.” Respect flies out the window. While I have grown accustomed to this now, such bad reactions to my profession are alarming yet unfortunately justified. (more…)

Providence, Rhode Island

By Philip Marcelo

Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — The City Council Wednesday night narrowly voted to approve a $284-million tax levy for the fiscal year that started July 1, a proposal that increases the rate by 25 percent and repeals a break for some non-owner-occupied multifamily dwellings.

But Mayor David N. Cicilline has promised to veto the plan, a move that the council says might prevent the city from sending out tax bills on time. (more…)

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By Philip Marcelo

Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — The City Council on Monday issued preliminary approval to a 25-percent increase in residential property taxes and the elimination of a tax break for absentee landlords, despite a warning from Mayor David N. Cicilline that he would veto the proposal if it’s given final passage later this week. (more…)

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Can you afford a 25% increase in your property tax rate next month?   How about an 88% retroactive increase?

The city of Providence thinks you can. On July 14th, the Providence City Council’s Finance Committee voted to increase the property tax rates for residential and commercial property and eliminate the homestead exemption for owners of 1 – 5 non-owner occupied properties, (July 16th  and July 20th articles in the Providence Journal).  The full City Council will vote on July 26th. (more…)

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Amid all the double-dip discussions in the housing market is an odd ray of hope on the high end.

With little to no fanfare, it appears jumbo loans are not only getting cheaper, they’re getting easier to obtain.

After several years of stagnation in high-end housing, thanks to the disappearance of the jumbo market, things are moving yet again.

A quick check on Bankrate.com shows the 30-year fixed jumbo at around 5.50 percent, and Citibank last week reported applications for jumbos up 30 percent just over the last 60 days.

“It is the overall weak economy driving the 10 year lower, which is the proxy for most mortgage loans,” says FBR’s Paul Miller. “This is still probably the best of the best getting loans at these low rates, but Jumbo activity is still very, very low.” Miller says it’s good for the market, but only “marginally better,” as banks are desperate to find good loans to put on their books.

But how long will it last? Probably only as long as investors remain nervous about the economy.

“Preliminary signs of life in the secondary market are a good indication that the narrower spread between jumbo and conforming loans will stick around,” says Bankrate.com’s Greg McBride. “However, the level of mortgage rates will hinge more than anything on the demand for Treasuries.”

Bank of America tells me that applications and fundings for jumbo loans rose over 10 percent from May to June. They say they’ve always been the leader in jumbos, which could be why Citi is getting more aggressive.

“We’ve maintained a pretty aggressive stance in jumbos, even as market guidelines have tightened,” says Vijay Lala, Bank of America’s Product Executive [BAC  13.40  -0.37  (-2.69%)   ] . He cites 80 percent LTV’s and “going to full documentation underwriting.” Obviously the overall market has shrunk, he admits, given the absence of any real secondary market now; banks must therefore keeps these loans in their portfolios.

“We feel comfortable where we’re lending today,” adds Lala, “and we’re looking forward to a secondary market to come back, which will be good for the stabilization of the market.”

Lenders did see a bump from the home buyer tax credit, not that the credit ($8000 for first timers and $6500 for move-up buyers) would matter on an expensive home purchase, since there are price and income limits, but it helped some move-up buyers to sell their homes and in turn buy more expensive homes.

Mortgages

30 yr fixed 4.63% 4.80% 30 yr fixed jumbo 5.44% 5.59% 15 yr fixed 4.09% 4.46% 15 yr fixed jumbo 4.98% 5.23% 5/1 ARM 3.67% 3.54% 5/1 jumbo ARM 4.18% 3.68%

Find personalized rates: Bankrate.com

The bottom line is that while volume is up in jumbos, it’s nowhere near where it was even before the housing boom, and banks are still looking for borrowers with pristine credit and good-sized down payments. Still it’s good news for the middle and high end of the housing market, which has been close to dead for the last few years.

In May, sales of $1 million+ homes were up 77 percent from a year ago. Now remember, those homes are still barely 1.7 percent of the total housing market, so that is going to be an extremely volatile number, given the tiny sample, but it’s still a good number.

Lala says Bank of America has been talking actively with investors, and he says the quality of jumbos it has originated in the last few years “is second to none.” The big barrier is still anxiety over home price stabilization. I asked Lala when the secondary market for jumbos would come back?

“That’s the billion dollar question,” he replied.

Questions?  Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.com

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/38310197/

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Washington, July 01, 2010

The National Association of Realtors® today commended Congress for timely passage of two bills to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. Both bills, strongly supported by NAR, had cleared the House earlier and were passed by the Senate last night. They now head to the president for his signature. (more…)

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