Want to buy a home but worried about your job? Well there is a possible solution.
CAR Housing Affordability Fund Mortgage Protection
What is it?
The Mortgage Protection Program offered by the California Association of Realtors provides a combination of involuntary unemployment, accidental disability and accidental death insurance protection for qualified first time home buyers.
What are the benefits?
Through the program, first time home buyers who lose their jobs or become accidentally disabled may be eligible to receive up to $1,500 a month for up to 6 months to help make their mortgage payments. A qualified co-buyer can also participate in this program for a reduced monthly benefit of up to $750 a month for up to 6 months. In addition, the program offers a one time $10,000 accidental death benefit.
How much does it cost?
It cost the home buyer absolutely nothing!
Who qualifies for the program?
First time home buyers who haven’t owned a home in the past three years, they open and close escrow between 4/2/09 and 12/31/09, purchase a primary residence, are represented by a California Realtor and must be a W-2 employee not self employed.
The current market offers a variety of low-priced, move in ready homes as well as properties that are in need of significant repairs. One thing they have in common is the people they attract: Investors. As home prices dropped over the last year, Sacramento has seen a steady rise in the percentage of cash sales. Statistics retrieved from the Metro List MLS data base show that 25.1% of sales in May 2009-467 units-were purchased with cash. Compared with last month, where April had 503 cash sales (accounting for nearly 28% of all sales) there is a 7.2% decrease. May’s cash only sales, however show a 158% increase from the 181 cash only sales (10.2%) of May 2008.
May’s statistics continue a trend; however, that has showed little movement in three months. Sales records for the last three months have shown 1,725 sales in March, 1,707 sales in April and 1,733 sales in May. From April to May, there was a 1.5% increase in sales. The 1,733 single family home sales this month is a 4.8% increase from the 1,654 sales of May 2008.
The median sales price made an unexpected move, increasing 7.7% from $167,000 in April to $180,000 this month. This increase marks the largest month to month median sales price increase recorded by the Association. Compared year over year, the $180,000 median sales price is 21.8% below the the $230,250 median price of may 2009. The total listing inventory also dropped year to year from 7,902 listings, a 35.9% decrease. This lowered inventory figure also drops the Housing Market Supply figure from 6.5% to 3.9 months in April to 2.9 months in May. Compared with last year, this figure is a 39.6% decrease from the 4.8 months recorded May 2008. This represents the amount of time-in months-it would take to deplete the total listing inventory given the current rate of sales. According to MLS data, the average home spent 55 days on the market before selling and measured just over 1,699 square feet.
All in all, it is a very active market right now with multiple offers on properties and a lot of the buyers have cash!
