Mortgage borrowers find it a bit easier to qualify

NEW YORK – May 13, 2015 – Lenders continue to loosen standards on home loans. Government and jumbo programs saw the most easing, while conventional conditions tightened.

At 122.0, the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) was higher than it's been in at least four years, and possibly five years based on a historical graph.

An increase in the index – which provides a standardized quantitative index solely focused on mortgage credit – indicates that lending standards on home loans are loosening.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the index based on data from Ellie Mae Inc.

March 31, 2012, has been established as the base period, with an index of 100.

The index was up for the third consecutive month from 121.4 in March.

As of April 2014, the index was 113.8.

"The increase was driven by new offerings of FHA's 203K home improvement program, new VA offerings, and new jumbo products," MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni said in a written statement. "The increase was partially offset by some investors tightening underwriting criteria on conventional cash out offerings."

But while the trend has been improving, credit standards remain nowhere near levels during the pre-crisis go-go years – with the index estimated to have been approximately 880 in 2006.

The Government MCAI rose 1.1 percent from March, the best month-over-month improvement of any loan type.

A 0.8 percent rise was recorded for the jumbo index, while credit standards on conforming loans eased 0.2 percent.

The only category to tighten was conventional, with that index contracting 0.6 percent.

Copyright © 2015 Mortgage Daily. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Agents tinker with the timing of an open house

 
CHICAGO – April 21, 2015 – To make their open houses stand out, some real estate pros veer from the traditional weekend afternoon by opening their listings' doors at night. As the weather warms up and days stretch out, some agents host open houses on weekday evenings. Twilight open houses usually occur at dusk, about 4 to 6 p.m., and sometimes later.

Twilight open houses became more popular after the housing crisis as real estate pros were looked for new ways to catch potential buyers' attention and compete against a backdrop of many other homes for sale at the time. But now, some agents say they use twilight open houses for some of their most unique listings.

A Chicago brokerage, @properties, specializes in twilight open houses as full-scale, invitation-only events. For example, the brokerage held a twilight open house when 20 energy efficient homes in a new development in Skokie were for sale. The brokerage paid for a bartender and caterer to try to lure more potential buyers after work to the twilight open house. It worked: About 100 people showed up and four homes sold.

Kelly Evans with RE/MAX Estate Properties in Redondo Beach, Calif., says she holds twilight open houses occasionally but reserves it for unique properties. Unlike traditional open houses, buyers aren't as likely to just follow a yard sign and show up, she says. In fact, most potential buyers who see an open house sign on a weekday or evening many times assume an agent had a weekend open house and just forgot to remove the sign.

To avoid confusion, agents say with a twilight open house usually make it an invitation-only event on a weeknight, making it an offer for a special viewing to current clients, past clients, an entire building or neighborhood.

"I don't use it very often. It's very property-specific," Evans told realtor.com. "It's only for that house that has panoramic views, or there's a harvest moon – something to draw people in."

Source: "At the Twilight Open House, a Novel Approach to Home Sales," realtor.com® (April 3, 2015)

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