Get Pre-approved Before You Make an Offer

Considering the number of mortgage companies large and small that have gone out of business in the past three years and considering the dramatic tightening of mortgage credit standards, it is really no surprise that more and more listing Realtors and Sellers are insisting that a buyer be pre-approved for a loan before making an offer.

Getting pre-appoved for a mortgage before you start looking for houses usually does not take a lot of time and is smart for a number of reasons:

You know what your upper price range is.

You are made aware of any issues with your credit prior to making an offer.

Your offer will get more attention from listing Realtors and from Sellers.

Getting a pre-approval for a home loan is generally as easy as providing a loan officer your personal information, employment information, and asset information. The loan officer will review your credit history and will determine what type of loan you qualify for. If you have good credit, are able to make a down payment and are able to verify sufficient income, the pre-approval process can usually be completed same-day. Once, the loan officer has verified that you are pre-approved, he or she can generate a pre-approval letter with specifics such as loan amount and interest rate. Realtors will usually want to have a copy of this letter when they submit an offer to listing Realtors or to Sellers.

Sponsored by Affordable Homes Oklahoma

Morgan Stanley Raises $2.5 Billion for Real Estate

"April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, seeking profits amid the decline in real estate values, raised an additional $2.5 billion for a global property fund that will invest part of its assets in U.S. mortgage debt.

About half of the new money in the Special Situations Fund III will be spent in the U.S., Spain and the U.K., as well as other developed markets in Europe and Asia, said John Carrafiell, joint global head of real estate investing for Morgan Stanley. The rest will be invested in emerging markets.

Morgan Stanley, like Blackstone Group LP and Lone Star Funds, is raising money to take advantage of a drop in asset prices following the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. The second-biggest U.S. securities firm plans to invest $30 million to $100 million of equity per investment, mainly in commercial property assets including offices, hotels, stores and industrial buildings. "
Full Article by Hui-yong Yu


Sponsored by Oklahoma Insurance Solutions

Mortgage Applications Fall

According to a weekly survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage application volume fell by 14.2% for the week ending 04/18/2008. The main force driving the decrease is most likely the recent increase in interest rates. Fixed rates increased approximately 25 basis points. Refinance application volume was hit the hardest, suffering a 20% decline and purchase applications were the least affected, with a 6.4% decline.
Full Article

Sponsored by Oklahoma Insurance Solutions

Altus Oklahoma New Home Builder Still Strong Dispite Housing Market
April 23, 2008
Dallas, TX (WiredPRNews.com) —

Full Article
In the onslaught of the crumbling housing market crisis that has frightened many home buyers, Sheryl Homes Inc., a new home builder in Altus, Oklahoma is not deterred and even more than that, they have expanded and rolled out a new addition of homes.

For over 25 years, Ron and Sheryl Willingham have made a living out of helping familes finally obtain they dream home they have always wanted. Sheryl Homes Inc. is one of the finest home builders in the state of Oklahoma within close proximity to Altus Air Force Base. With a strong foundation of business and real estate ventures and a keen knowledge of the area as residents, the Willinghams strive to provide top notch customer service from start to finish of the home buying process. Having recently expanded their addition called Laurel Homes 7th, the company states that buyers can enjoy “a custom home at a custom price.”

In keeping everything local, Sheryl Homes Inc derives the most value and the best price for all contractor work assuring that buyers will not have to pay inflated prices for haphazard work. According to the Sheryl Homes website, “We create ‘Quality Homes with A Personal Touch’ by using local contractors and purchasing materials locally whenever possible. Most contractors have been a part of our team for an average of five or more years, with many over 10 years of service. We use the same contractor teams on each home to ensure accuracy and consistency of quality.”

Sponsored by Oklahoma Insurance Solutions

Market Snapshot---Lawton, Oklahoma

Lawton Real Estate Market update

Active Lisings---------1046

New Construction-----147

Pending Contracts-----514

Sold in April-----------125

Months of Inventory---8.5

Avg List Price-----$122,729

Days on Market--------135

Avg Sold Price-----$119,572

Sponsored by Oklahoma Insurance Solutions

Edmond, Oklahoma in CNN Money's Top 100 Places To Live

CNNMoney.com's 100 Best Places to Live and Launch 2008---Full Article

CNNMoney.com recently ranked Edmond Oklahoma in the top 100 places to live. Cities that made the top 100 "combine a great business environment with alluring leisure offerings. We looked at economic conditions such as local taxes rates alongside natural beauty - and easy access to museums, hungry gamefish, and more." (Direct quote from article)

Edmond ranked 93rd and is the only Oklahoma city to make the list. Edmond is a relatively new community in north Oklahoma City that has some of the most luxurious new homes in Oklahoma.

Sponsored by Oklahoma Insurance Solutions

Oklahoma Real Estate--Safe Market

WASHINGTON, April 08, 2008 -

Existing-Home Sales to Stablize Before Upturn in Second Half of 2008-- Full Article from NAR Pressroom.


According to a recent forecast by the National Association of Realtors, Oklahoma Real Estate can expect steady growth in 2008. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that there will continue to be wide variations in regional housing market conditions. “Some parts of the country that can expect improvement include the Northeastern region and the oil-patch states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas,” he said.


Yun's national predictions are positive, overall. “Existing home sales could start to show a sustained increase within a few months, unless there are some additional economic problems or excessive inflationary pressure,” he said. “We’re looking for essentially stable sales in the near term, before higher mortgage loan limits translate into more sales in high-cost markets. The wider access to affordable credit should increase sales activity notably this summer as pent-up demand begins to be met.”


Existing-home sales are likely to rise from an annual pace of 4.9 million in the first quarter to 5.9 million in the fourth quarter. With relatively weak activity in the first part of the year, existing-home sales for all of 2008 are forecast at 5.39 million, increasing 6.6 percent to 5.74 million in 2009.
“Exceptionally weak home sales related to jumbo loans problems will depress home prices in the first half of the year, but steady liquidity improvements in the conforming jumbo-loan market will help prices recover in the second half of the year,” Yun said. The aggregate existing-home price will probably ease by 1.4 percent to a median of $215,800 for all of 2008 before rising 3.7 percent to $223,800 next year.


New-home sales are projected to fall 25.7 percent to 576,000 in 2008 before rising 4.6 percent to 602,000 next year. Housing starts, including multifamily units, are estimated to drop 26.3 percent to 999,000 this year, and slip another 0.5 percent to 994,000 in 2009. The median new-home price will probably fall 3.6 percent to $238,400 in 2008, and then rise 4.0 percent next year to $247,800.

Sponsored by Oklahoma Insurance Solutions