Northern California Fair Housing Groups Awarded $2.2 Million To Help Fight Discrimination

April 30, 2010 SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today presented over $2.2 million to several fair housing

organizations to help fight housing discrimination in Northern California. John Trasviña, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, made the grant presentations to Bay Area Legal, California Rural Legal Assistance, Fair Housing of Marin, Greater Napa Fair Housing Center, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates, Project Sentinel, Pacific News Media and Fair Housing Council of Central California (see attached list below for project descriptions).

Earlier this year, HUD awarded $26.3 million to 98 fair housing organizations and other non-profit agencies in 37 states and the District of Columbia to assist people who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination.

"In 2010, the fight for fair housing across America continues. The organizations we are funding are respected and trusted groups that emerged from a very competitive process," stated John Trasviñna, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity. "They will help HUD enforce the law and educate the public about their rights and responsibilities under the law."

The grants announced today are funded through HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and will be used to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and the housing industry about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act, and work to promote equal housing opportunities.

Borrowers Who Refinanced In First Quarter Will Lower Their Interest Expense An Aggregate $2 Billion Over The Coming Year

April 28, 2010 McLean, VA – In the first quarter of 2010,

one-half of borrowers who refinanced their conventional loan lowered their mortgage interest rate by at least 16 percent according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly Refinance Report. The new interest rate was 0.9 percentage points or more below the old rate for one-half of borrowers.

“Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages during the first quarter remained low, averaging 5.0 percent in Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey®,” noted Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The median interest-rate savings for borrowers who refinanced their conventional loan in the first quarter was 0.9 percentage points. Refinances were about three-fourths of originations during the first quarter. In total, the lower rate translates into about $2 billion in interest savings for these borrowers over the first 12 months of the new loan.”

Further, 72 percent of borrowers who refinanced kept their loan balance largely unchanged or reduced their loan balance outstanding as a result of the refinance. This latter group, who placed “cash-in” to their home as part of the refinance, represented 18 percent of all borrowers who refinanced during the first quarter. “Cash-out” borrowers, those that increased their loan balance by at least 5 percent, represented 28 percent of all refinance loans; the cash-out shares recorded over the last two quarters were the lowest since the analysis began in 1985.

In the first quarter, about $9 billion in home equity was cashed out by homeowners when they refinanced their conventional prime-credit home mortgage, the smallest quarterly inflation-adjusted amount in ten years, since the third quarter of 2000. The main causes of the decline in cash-out refinance were reduced home prices and tighter underwriting standards for loan-to-value ratios. Among the refinanced loans in Freddie Mac’s analysis, the median appreciation of the collateral property was a negative 4 percent over the median prior loan life of 4.0 years.

These estimates come from a sample of properties on which Freddie Mac has funded two successive loans, and the latest loan is for refinance rather than for purchase. The analysis does not track the use of funds made available from these refinances.

Livability.com Names Beavercreek, OH One of America’s Best Places to Live

Livability.com has named Beavercreek, OH one of the best places to live in America, citing its wealth of green space,

strong economy and exceptional schools as some of its best features. Beavercreek Realtor Rhonda Chambal reports that interest in Beavercreek, Ohio homes has been increasing steadily over the past few years.

(PRWEB) April 29, 2010 -- Beavercreek, Ohio is now officially one of America’s best places to live, according to Livability.com who have included the suburb in their list of the exceptional cities in North America. This is not the first time that this Dayton area city has been recognized for its standard of living, however – in 2007, CNN/Money Magazine also named Beavercreek one of the 100 “Best Places to Live” in the country.

“Beavercreek’s many recent accolades show that more and more people are beginning to realize what many residents here have long known,” says Realtor Rhonda Chambal, “and that is that the city offers an excellent quality of life and a wealth of options, whether in employment or in Beavercreek Ohio homes for sale. (http://www.rhondachambal.com/beavercreek-ohio-home-for-sale-s4359.html)”

Located just a few minutes southeast of Dayton, Beavercreek is part of Greene County and is home to a population of approximately 40,000. Livability.com lauds its “acres of green space,” as well as its proximity to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and its “top-ranked school district.” The presence of Wright-Patterson contributes directly to the city’s current growth, with many high-tech companies having set up shop here in order to be near the base.

“There is a steady stream of families relocating to Wright-Patterson,” says Chambal, “and so there is also a continuous demand for Beavercreek Ohio homes (http://www.rhondachambal.com/search-for-beavercreek-ohio-homes-s4358.html). While the base is the primary draw, however, the area does have many other strong points that make it an attractive place to move to – whether for civilians or businesses in non-military-related industries.”