Fannie Mae Soars to Record Profits

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported $17.2 billion for net income in 2012, its largest annual profit ever, The Wall Street Journal reports. The housing market’s recovery is leading to fewer loans going bad, which is in turn helping Fannie see rising profits. Timothy Mayopoulos, Fannie’s chief executive, said he expects Fannie to “remain profitable for the foreseeable future.” In the fourth quarter of 2012, Fannie posted a $7.6 billion profit. That’s compared to one year earlier, in which the mortgage giant posted a net loss of $2.4 billion. Fannie officials say they expect to post a large gain for earnings in the first-quarter of 2013, which it will report next month. Fellow government-sponsored enterprise, Freddie Mac, also reported its own record profit for 2012: $11 billion last year. Fannie and Freddie have received $187.5 billion from the U.S. Treasury when taxpayer bailout money was needed to keep the GSEs afloat as distressed properties were surging. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now send nearly all their profits to the U.S. Treasury. “As a result, they have gone from being a major drain on the government’s coffers to a significant potential source of revenue,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Source: “Fannie's Windfall Blurs Debate Over Its Fate,” The Wall Street Journal (April 2, 2013)
  • Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike

    Glendale
    The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.

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  • Inlet Cove is near Fort Belvoir and Potomac Mills

    Inlet Cove outside Belvoir
    Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene

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  • Pending Home Sales on an Upswing

    home inspector
    Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…

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  • A Good Time to Buy a High-End Home

    Station Square
    Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…

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  • Who is today’s homebuyer and why are they buying?

    Nesbitt Realty 703 765 0300
    The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…

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Foreclosed Home Owners Are Back and Want to Buy Again

Home owners who once lost their home to foreclosure have returned to the market, eager to buy once again.  Foxy and Fred These “boomerang buyers” could make up a large number of the future housing market, considering their numbers. Since the housing crash, 4.8 million borrowers have lost their home to foreclosure and 2.2 million did a short sale, according to RealtyTrac data. As these borrowers get their finances in shape, repair their credit scores, and save up for a down payment, they’ll be looking to buy again, but their struggle will be over when they’ll be eligible to buy again. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require those who once defaulted on their mortgages to wait five years and have a minimum of a 680 credit score and a 10 percent down payment. If they don’t have all that, they’ll have to wait seven years to qualify again. By seven years, a foreclosure is removed from a person’s credit report. But if a defaulter can show the foreclosure was due to a hardship -- like losing a job or illness -- the wait may be reduced to three years, CNNMoney reports. And some home owners have even be able to buy again after just two years of losing their home to foreclosure. For example, one Palmdale, Calif., couple says that after losing their home to foreclosure due to an illness that made it difficult for one spouse to work, they were able to buy again after two years. During those two years of being sidelined by the housing market, they made sure to pay all their bills on time, repair their credit score, and get their finances back in shape. They were able to qualify for a Veterans Administration-backed loan. "[After bankruptcy], foreclosure is one of the things that hits your credit score the hardest," says Anthony Sprauve, a spokesman for FICO. For example, foreclosures and short sales can decrease a credit score by anywhere from 85 to 160 points. Source: “Boomerang buyers return to market after foreclosure,” CNNMoney (March 11, 2013)
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  • Julie Nesbitt

    Julie Nesbitt
    Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.

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  • Enjoying Winkler Botanical Preserve

    We had a great time walking the trails. 

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  • Don’t take chances with real estate.

  • REDUCED: 7202 Churchill Rd, McLean

    Open House, Sunday, 1-4 BIG PRICE DROP! 7202 CHURCHILL ROADMcLean, VA 221016 Bedrooms5.5 Bathrooms6,752 SF $1,695,000

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  • Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services

    Fairfax County
    Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…

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