If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS requesting that you file a “tax refund request,” do not fall victim to this identity theft scheme.
Numerous people are receiving unsolicited email informing them that a $9,390.55 IRS tax refund is due to them if they complete a tax refund request form. The email code will be forged to appear as if it originated from a trusted source, usually the IRS or an IRS tax preparer, but viewing the “message header” or “message source” will reveal its origin to be something else, and the link will not lead to a trusted domain, but one controlled by identity theft criminals.
If you file a tax return and a refund is due, you will automatically receive your refund. You will never be contacted by the IRS, and there is no tax refund request form. Never disclose personal information to any unsolicited inquiry, as compelling as the story may be.
If you have questions or concerns about any IRS tax refund you may have due, you should access the official IRS “Where’s My Refund” online application at the following destination: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html.
Calif. median home price: November 2011: $280,960 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county November 2011: Marin: $736,410 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county November 2011: Madera: $103,330 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: November 2011: 109.8, an increase of 11 percent compared with the prior year.
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 1/5/2012 30-yr. fixed: 3.91% fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 3.23 fees/points: 0.8% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.80% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)
HUD and the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury released the December edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard this week. Data in the Scorecard show some subtle improvements in the market over the past year, but underscore fragility as the overall outlook remains mixed. For example, new and existing home sales rose compared with the prior month and remain higher than a year ago, and homes are more affordable than they have been since 1971. Median-income families today have nearly double the funds needed to cover the cost of the average home. However, home prices showed a slight dip from the prior month and remain below year ago levels.
The December Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:
- More than 5.5 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of November 2011 – including more than 1.7 million HAMP trial modification starts and more than 1.1 million FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions.
- Nearly 910,000 homeowners have received a HAMP permanent modification to date, saving an estimated $9.9 billion in monthly mortgage payments. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than 2.6 million proprietary mortgage modifications through November.
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The Wall Street Journal
Just as in 2011, in 2012 many will be trying to figure out where housing is headed. While the housing market didn’t worsen in 2011, it also didn’t stabilize either. This year, the story will be about local markets. While many housing markets rose and fell together, they’re recovering at difference paces so talking about housing on a national level is not beneficial.
Making sense of the story
- Confidence and jobs: Housing is more affordable than it has been in decades, but many would-be buyers are worried about buying today if prices are going to be lower tomorrow. Still, others don’t want to buy a house until they have more evidence that they’re not going to get laid off or see their hours cut back.
- Foreclosures: Banks and other mortgage investors own around 440,000 foreclosed properties, but there’s another 3.4 million loans in foreclosure or serious delinquency, according to estimates by Barclays Capital. Because banks are faster to cut prices to unload inventory than are traditional sellers, home values can fall further as the share of distressed sales rises.
- Rents: If low mortgage rates aren’t enough to give urgency to would-be buyers, rent hikes could accelerate buyers’ decisions to take the plunge
- Mortgage credit and rates: It’s still hard for many buyers to get approved for a mortgage because banks are demanding lots of documentation of borrowers’ incomes.
- Regulation: Many analysts don’t expect Congress to make major changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the election year, but several major regulatory changes could significantly reshape the future of the lending landscape in 2012.
- Meanwhile, the regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie is revamping the way that mortgage companies are paid for collecting loan payments. This could lead to a broader shakeup in the mortgage industry that ultimately influences how much borrowers are charged for mortgages and how banks handle loans that fall into delinquency.
Read the full story
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/01/05/five-issues-for-housing-in-2012/
U.S. homes are expected to lose more than $681 billion in value during 2011 – 35 percent less than the $1.1 trillion lost in 2010 – according to analysis of a recent Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.
The bulk of the total value lost during 2011 was in the first half of the year. From January to June, the U.S. housing market lost $454 billion. From July to December, Zillow projects residential home value losses will total a significantly lower $227 billion.
Regionally, only nine out of 128 markets showed gains in home values during 2011.
The majority (92 percent) of markets analyzed for the report showed home value losses for 2011. The biggest home value losses, in terms of total dollars lost in 2011, were in the large MSAs of Los Angeles (down $75.5 billion), New York (down $44.8 billion), and Chicago (down $41.7 billion). The large overall losses were due to the high number of homes in these metro areas, along with decreases in median home values.
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