The Mortgage Minute, 8/11/2023

Greg Williams Weekly Mortgage Report

Happy tidings Realtors, Brokers, Bankers, and Agents and welcome to this edition of the Mortgage Minute!

Home Prices continue upward march ?

Link:?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/25/sp-case-shiller-may-2023-home-prices-continue-to-climb.html

Home prices in May 2023 rose for the fourth straight month on the?S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index , but regional differences are widening.

The gains come despite a sharp jump in mortgage interest rates during the month.

Prices nationally rose 0.7% month to month, seasonally adjusted. The index’s 10-city composite gained 1.1%, and the 20-city composite gained 1%.

Prices nationally were still down 0.5% compared with May 2022, but they are just 1% below their June 2022 peak.

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Product of the Week:?First Horizon Homebuyer Grants in Florida!

Exciting news, we’ve enhanced the income limits for our Diversity Grant program!?We can now approve qualified clients making 140% of Area Median Income per year for our Diversity Grant program in conjunction with the Home Possible loan.?You do NOT have to be a first time home buyer to qualify for this program and it’s offered in numerous metropolitan areas across the state of Florida.?Check out this chart to see the list of eligible counties.

We can obtain a $5000-$6000 grant for eligible buyers to be used for down payment and closing costs purchasing an OWNER OCCUPIED single family residence (warrantable condos and townhomes are allowed).?Additionally, the Home Possible program generally carries lower rates than a standard conforming 30 year fixed loan, increasing you or your clients’ buying power.

Mortgage Tip

Gift funds (preferably from relatives like parents or spouses) are allowed on most of our programs and can be applied towards down payments and closing costs.?The donor should wire the gifted proceeds directly to the closing attorney to document proof of funds.?This is the preferred method as giving the funds to the buyer prior to closing requires bank statements from both parties showing the funds transferred.?During the lending process, most bank statements are generated on a monthly basis, making it difficult to document transfers in the middle of the month.??

Average Mortgage Rates vault to highest level since November 2022

????The average 30 year fixed rate rose to 7.19 this week from 7.11, approaching 12 month highs for the metric.?Persistent inflation has kept upward pressure on interest rates and the Fitch credit rating agency downgraded their rating on debt issued by the United States.?The Federal Reserve recently raised their Federal Funds Rate by 25 bps to the highest level in 22 years.?This current information is provided by the weekly rate survey from Mortgage News Daily.?

?Don’t forget about our enhanced grant program!

Sample social media post:

"Teacher friends, one of my favorite local lenders is offering $6k grants to eligible educators and other employees of the school system! You can use this for down payment and closing costs. I'd be happy to get your home search process going today and connect you with the lending team!"

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You can use our unique products and ENHANCED grants to market to market your listings.?If you’ve got listings in low or moderate income census tracts, most potential buyers would be eligible for at least $5k in grant funds which can be used to pay closing costs.?Our Home Start program works in conjunction with the grants and offers up to 100% financing with no PMI!?We’re happy to help determine the census tract for your listing, just give us a call and we’ll walk you through the process ??

We’re always looking for opportunities to engage with our communities, let us know if we can sponsor your group for a future event.?

Let’s sell some homes!

Have a great week!

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Greg Williams

AVP/Senior Mortgage Banker

404-457-4143 cell |?

2987 Clairmont Road, Ste 150

Atlanta, GA 30329

NMLS# 151412

https://www.firsthorizon.com/mortgage/greg-williams

Equal Housing Lender

We do Business in Accordance with Federal Fair Lending Laws

UNDER THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT, IT IS ILLEGAL, ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, SEX, HANDICAP, OR FAMILIAL STATUS (HAVING CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18), TO:

Deny a loan for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling, or to deny any loan secured by a dwelling; or

Discriminate in fixing the amount, interest rate, duration, application procedures, or other terms or conditions of such a loan, or in appraising property.