Builder forgets to install elevator in 47 story skyscraper in Spain

Excerpt:

In what will surely go down in history as one the greatest architectural blunders, the town of Benidorm in Alicante, Spain, had almost completed its 47-story skyscraper when it realized it excluded plans for elevator shaft.

The InTempo, a 47-story building in Alicante, Spain, has had its construction fraught with problems, including allegations of fraud from both customers and suppliers, who are owed $3.3 million.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/builders-forgot-elevator-shafts-finished-skyscrapper-article-1.1422685 

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What you need to earn to afford a home in these 27 cities

Excerpts:

Slumping home prices and lower interest rates helped drive home ownership costs lower in all but one of the country's 27 largest cities last quarter, according to a ranking by HSH.com.

That's good news considering that home prices have outpaced incomes for several years now, making it increasingly difficult for people to earn enough to afford owning a median-priced home, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com.

Of course, where you live also makes a huge difference. In Pittsburgh, you can earn just under $32,000 a year and be able to afford a median-priced home, while in San Francisco you need to make more than four times that amount, HSH.com found

Lowest median home price: Pittsburg - $135,000, need $31,716 salary

Highest median home price: San Francisco - $742,000, need $742,900 salary

http://money.cnn.com/infographic/real_estate/what-you-need-to-earn-to-afford-a-home/

for lots more info, including an analysis of each city, go to

http://www.hsh.com/finance/mortgage/salary-home-buying-25-cities.html 

My comment: median home prices in my city are lower than San Francisco, but not much. I guess there would be a lot more appraisals done in cities with lower priced homes. Plus, lower GLA adjustments for CU, maybe under $25 per sq.ft. ;> How does the cities where you appraise rate? Check out the very interesting comments at the end of the article.

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More than 1 in 3 Home Sales All-Cash; Declining Slowly

Excerpt:

The share of all cash sales continue to fall in December along with the volume of distressed property sales. CoreLogic said on Monday that 35.5 percent of total home sales in December were all cash, down from 38.5 percent from December 2013 and 0.5 percent lower than just a month before. The share of cash sales has fallen year-over-year since January 2013, making December the 24th straight month of declines.

Cash sales peaked at 46.5 percent of all sales in January 2011 and are now about half-way back to the average that existed prior to the housing crisis - approximately 25 percent.  CoreLogic projects that should cash sales continue at the December rate of decline these sales should be back to that quarter-share level by mid-2017.

My comment: very few all cash sales get appraisals. Sometimes savvy buyers request them. The fewer the all cash sales, the more appraisals are needed.

Click here to see graphs, which states have the most all cash sales, etc.

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/03092015_corelogic_cash_sales.asp 

New FHA 4000.1 handbook tidbits -

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House for sale set to explode when light switch is turned on

Excerpts:

Investigators in two Massachusetts cities were seeking the renters of a house for sale that was intricately wired to explode and cause "significant destruction" if someone had simply flipped a light switch, police said Tuesday night.

"It took some work to put it in there," said Wells, who described the mechanism as involving wires meticulously snaking through several rooms from a gallon container of an incendiary substance, which was "secreted inside the house," to a particular light switch.

"We believe the intention was that if someone had flipped the light switch on where it ended, the device would have exploded," he said.

My comment: Wow!! Be careful out there... especially with disgruntled tenants on a sale!!

Thanks to Douglas R. Doudna for posting this online!!

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/massachusetts-house-sale-was-rigged-explode-police-say-n329601

WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOU HAD ANY CRAZY, WEIRD OR SCARY EXPERIENCES WHEN APPRAISING? POST YOUR COMMENTS AT WWW.APPRAISALTODAYBLOG.COM!!

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Mortgage Apps Rise at Fastest Pace in 2 Months

 Excerpt:

Stoked by the lowest interest rates in several weeks the volume of applications for mortgages to both purchase and refinance homes increased by the largest percentages during the week ended March 20 than at any time since early January.
 

Check out the very interesting graphs at:
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/03252015_application_volume.asp 
 

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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, go to www.mbaa.org

Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my printed newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample issue send an email to info@appraisaltoday.com requesting a sample issue. Or call 800-839-0227, MTW 8AM to noon, Pacific time.

Mortgage Applications up 9..5% in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 25, 2015) - Mortgage applications increased 9.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 20, 2015.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 9.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 9 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index increased 12 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5 percent from one week earlier to its highest level since January 2015.  The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 5 percent compared with the previous week and was 3 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 61 percent of total applications from 59 percent the previous week.  The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.8 percent of total applications.The FHA share of total applications decreased to 13.3 percent this week from 14.3 percent last week.  The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.1 percent this week from 10.3 percent last week.  The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.8 percent this week from 0.9 percent last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.90 percent, its lowest level since February 2015, from 3.99 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from  0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.89 percent, its lowest level since January 2015,  from 3.94 percent, with points decreasing to 0.25 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.71 percent, its lowest level since January 2015, from 3.74 percent, with points increasing to 0.21 from 0.12 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.22 percent, its lowest level since February 2015, from 3.28 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.97 percent, its lowest level since January 2015, from 2.99 percent, with points decreasing to 0.38 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.  Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, REITs, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA's Web site: www.mba.org .