Home Sale Prices On The Rise!

The S&P Case-Shiller Index for April, released Tuesday, showed both month-to-month and year-over-year increases in seasonally adjusted metro Atlanta home sale prices. The increase, nearly 1 percent from March, came after the index had dipped to its lowest level since November 2000. The year-over-year increase was slight, with a gain of a quarter percent over April 2009. Nationally, the 20-city Case-Shiller Index showed seasonally adjusted prices up one-half percent in April from March, while up 4 percent from April 2009.

Is this good news?

Yes! The quarter percent increase is the first positive year-over-year movement the Atlanta index has seen since September 2007. Even if the index stays flat month-to-month in May, the annual improvement will follow into next month’s data.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Change in FANNIE MAE guidelines: Underwriting Borrowers with a Prior Foreclosure

Fannie Mae has issued Announcement SEL-2010-08, Underwriting Borrowers with a Prior Foreclosure, to modify the waiting period that must elapse before a borrower is eligible for a new mortgage loan after a foreclosure. A seven-year waiting period after a prior foreclosure will apply for all borrowers, unless the foreclosure was the result of documented extenuating circumstances, which requires a three-year waiting period with additional eligibility requirements.