Lendisphere

I’m still getting calls about it. 

“Carie, what’s up with the sweet new HUD program using the tax credit?”

And it breaks my heart.  When I hear the optimism on the other end of the telephone line, the naked joy about the prospect of down payment assistance for new buyers – it makes it very hard to smash all those hopes with the hard truth:  HUD’s new ML 2009-15 ain’t gonna happen.

Here’s how it started –  at the most recent NAR convention, HUD Secretary Donovan offered up a lovely idea:  that in the coming weeks, first-time home buyers would be able to borrow against their new $8000 tax credit they had coming, and use it to make their down payment!

Translation:  FREE MONEY!!

And, in fact, on Monday, May 11, HUD followed up this announcement with the issuance of Mortgage Letter 2009 -15 instructing lenders on how the program would work.

But in one of those quick government switcheroos with fingers pointing in every direction, by late in Tuesday evening , ML 2009-15 had been neatly and completely pulled.

Guess that makes HUD an Indian Giver.

Is it possible this real estate market might be barely inching toward recovery?  Could it be?

Real-Time Housing Report, published by Altos Research and Real IQ say, “We won’t be able to call a bottoming of the market until we see stability continue into the seasonally weak fall and winter months.”

But for now…the Real Time Housing Report is clear:  the prices of homes on the market are climbing, and inventory levels are falling.

The prices of properties listed for sale rose in 22 of 26 major markets in the month of April.

Add to that another little bit of happy news:  in that same month, they also report that inventory actually fell in 15 of the 26 major markets.

Add to all this happy talk a statistic from NAR’s “pending home sales index” — which is based on contracts signed in March.  That index increased 3.2% in March.   Hmmmmmmm.

So the question is:  are we there yet?  Are the property valuation clouds finally parting, or is this just a temporary fluctuation of the spring market and/or ultra-low interest rates?