Distressed home sales in which the lender cooperates to cut the amount of principal owed are likely to increase in 2010, but the number of “short sales” is unlikely to have any real impact on the housing market, according to a new Housing Predictor study. The small number of short sales that are actually approved… Continue reading Short Sale Madness
Will the U.S.A. Go Broke Over the Housing Bust
By Mike Colpitts As 2010 gets underway the sort of money that it will take the U.S. economy to get back on track is beginning to dawn on people. The $1.8-trillion commitment the Treasury Department is making to buy up securities and bonds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a bail-out of record proportions.… Continue reading Will the U.S.A. Go Broke Over the Housing Bust
Treasury Keeps Housing on Life Support
In a massive action to keep the housing market on government life support, the Treasury Department pledged to provide unlimited financial assistance to the largest insurers of home mortgages, troubled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The move, announced on Christmas Eve with members of Congress already on their way home out of Washington, D.C. for… Continue reading Treasury Keeps Housing on Life Support
Markets on the Mend in Time for Christmas
By Kevin Chiu It’s the season of comfort and joy, Christmas trees and Santa Claus flying down the chimney. All of us wish for World Peace. We hope for a New Year that will be better than 2009 when the World’s financial system nearly blew up on Wall Street. In the face of all the… Continue reading Markets on the Mend in Time for Christmas
Million Dollar Housing Question
Will Markets Ever Really Recover? By John Hines Economist It’s the million dollar question, and it’s a heated topic of conversation after years of turmoil in the nation’s housing markets — Will housing markets ever recover? The question is talked about and debated around water coolers, business offices and even corporate board rooms and seems… Continue reading Million Dollar Housing Question
Housing Crisis Price Tag
Housing Crisis Price Tag $40,000 Per Person By Mike Colpitts The government’s independent Office of Management and Budget estimated that the Savings and Loan Crisis cost every man, woman and child in the U.S. $10,000. The current economic crisis is much larger with at least five times the number of troubled properties. A new Housing… Continue reading Housing Crisis Price Tag
No Hurry for Those at Risk of Foreclosure
Senator Jack Reed D-Rhode Island Senator Dick Durbin D-Illinois Senator Sheldon Whitehouse D-Rhode Island No Hurry for Those at Risk of Foreclosure By Mike Colpitts Two months after the proposal to force bankers to work with homeowners at risk of foreclosure was introduced in Congress the bill is bogged down in committee. A House Financial… Continue reading No Hurry for Those at Risk of Foreclosure
Housing Recovery on the Way
Powered by the highest number of home sales in more than two years, the housing market appears to be on the road to recovery – at least to some consumers. First time buyers pushed to close purchases before the looming government deadline expired for an $8,000 tax credit. Rock bottom priced triggered a flood of… Continue reading Housing Recovery on the Way
Forty-Eight States in Taxing Turmoil
Forty-eight of all 50 U.S. states are in economic turmoil as a result of the housing bust and the financial crisis. States have laid-off employees, slashed budgets and cut back on services, including schools and emergency services such as police and fire department personnel. “Forty-eight states are in budget crisis,” according to New York Governor… Continue reading Forty-Eight States in Taxing Turmoil
Market Bottom: They Just Don’t Get It!
By John Hines Economist The bottom of the real estate market is a fleeting place that has seen the initial stages of recovery tease markets in the worst hit areas of the country, including California, Florida and Nevada. As home sales rise, bankers hold off on making foreclosures and keep lending standards so high that… Continue reading Market Bottom: They Just Don’t Get It!