Talk show host and comedian Jimmy Fallon, whose late night TV talk show is rising in the ratings is buying a 3,500 square foot estate in the Hamptons outside of New York City, where he hosts his nightly show. The former “Saturday Night Live” TV Weekend Update co-anchor is settling into his new digs in… Continue reading Comedian Jimmy Fallon Buys $5.7 Million Estate
Category: 2011 Housing Market
Mortgage Growth Stalls on Higher Interest Rates
A sudden increase in mortgage interest rates triggered a slowdown in loan applications for the first time in more than two months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. The index saw a fall in applications, bringing refinances to a stall. Mortgage rates rose sharply for the week on a 30-year fixed rate loan… Continue reading Mortgage Growth Stalls on Higher Interest Rates
Financial Crisis Criminal Conspiracy Unravels
By Mike Colpitts It was a criminal conspiracy in the making for nearly a decade before Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation came tumbling down long before the financial crisis came to a head. A high level Fannie Mae executive, Samuel Smith discovered a mortgage in January of 2000 that had been… Continue reading Financial Crisis Criminal Conspiracy Unravels
Huge Downgrade in US Housing Market
By Mike Colpitts Buffeted by high unemployment and weak consumer sentiment, housing markets are encountering sluggish home sales in the midst of what is typically the busiest home buying season of the year. Home sales should see an improvement towards the end of summer, but the average US home is projected to decline 7.1% in… Continue reading Huge Downgrade in US Housing Market
Time to Reinstate Glass Steagall
By Jeffrey Steinberg, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), with the backing of Reps. Walter Jones (R-NC) and Jim Moran (D-VA), has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives (H.R.1489) “Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2011,” which would reinstate the original 1933 Glass Steagall Act, that broke up the Depression-era “too big to fail” banks,… Continue reading Time to Reinstate Glass Steagall
Feds Launch Wipe Out Radon Gas Program
Almost 1 in 15 U.S. homes is infected with radon gas, one of the leading causes of lung cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which just launched a major program with eight other federal agencies to encourage homeowners to have their homes inspected for the silent killer. Radon gas exposure is the leading cause… Continue reading Feds Launch Wipe Out Radon Gas Program
Interest Rates Steady Four Straight Weeks
Lenders kept mortgage interest rates steady for the fourth week in a row as disappointing news on the economy held bond rates under 3%. The average rate on the bench mark 30-year fixed rate loan was 4.51%, up a single basis point from last week. Signs for an improvement in the U.S. economy were mixed.… Continue reading Interest Rates Steady Four Straight Weeks
Feds Extend Mortgage Rulemaking
By Mike Colpitts Five U.S. government agencies extended the time-frame to consider major changes to the nation’s mortgage financing system. The extension was announced one-day before time ran out for the government to consider changes offered by dozens of special-interest groups trying to sway Congress’ decision making on new Dodd-Frank financial reform rulemaking. The decision… Continue reading Feds Extend Mortgage Rulemaking
Home Prices Rising in Dakotas, Alaska, Texas
By Mike Colpitts In places where jobs are more plentiful and workers are in demand local economies are doing much better than the majority of the U.S. and many housing markets are beginning to even see home prices rise. North Dakota, which now produces the fourth largest amount of oil in the country, Alaska and… Continue reading Home Prices Rising in Dakotas, Alaska, Texas
HUD Launches Emergency Home Loans
By Mike Colpitts In a move that has been awaited more than a year, the Housing and Urban Development Department launched the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program to help unemployed homeowners at risk of foreclosure in 27 states. The program is slated to help only a small number of troubled homeowners during its life-span. The White… Continue reading HUD Launches Emergency Home Loans