Category: 2011 Housing Market

Mortgages Fall as Interest Rates Climb

By Kevin Chiu Mortgage applications fell after interest rates moved higher for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The climb in mortgage rates came with a drop in refinancing as homeowners looking to obtain new mortgages wait for lower rates. At the same time, Fannie Mae has revised its mortgage origination forecast for… Continue reading Mortgages Fall as Interest Rates Climb

Banker Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison

By Mike Colpitts The former owner of one of the largest privately held U.S. mortgage lending companies and Colonial Bank was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $38.5 million for his part in a massive $2.9 billion fraud scheme that drove his bank and mortgage company into failure. Lee B.… Continue reading Banker Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison

Rent Prices Jump on Housing

By Mike Colpitts Rental rates for homes and apartments are rising and it appears rent prices are accelerating, according to a survey by an online real estate search firm. The report, issued by HotPads.com reveals that rental listing prices have increased an average of nearly 7% in the last year. Listings on studio and 5-bedroom… Continue reading Rent Prices Jump on Housing

Foreclosure Victims Offered New Credit

By Mike Colpitts Former homeowners who have defaulted on their home mortgages and suffered through foreclosure are increasingly receiving offers of credit to obtain credit cards, auto loans and all sorts of other loans. However, the offers of new credit to the foreclosure victims come with a high price. The offers arrive in the mail… Continue reading Foreclosure Victims Offered New Credit

Courts May Decide Housing Market Future

By Mike Colpitts Hundreds of lawsuits winding their way through courtrooms in the U.S. could ultimately determine the future of the housing market in America. A major case involving the attempted foreclosure of a home in Utah could produce a court precedent on which other cases could stand. Courts are hearing cases over foreclosure challenges… Continue reading Courts May Decide Housing Market Future

Illegally Foreclosed Should Be Compensated

Homeowners caught up in the banks robo-signing scandal that have illegally been foreclosed should be compensated financially by the banks that foreclosed on their homes to settle differences, according to an over whelming majority of respondents in a new Housing Predictor opinion poll. The survey shows that despite the blame Americans place on some homeowners… Continue reading Illegally Foreclosed Should Be Compensated

Investor Purchases Rack Up

By Mike Colpitts Investors shopping for a deal are purchasing more than one-in-five residential properties in the U.S. and make up the second largest share of home purchasers right behind first time buyers. The rise in investor purchases has been developing over the last year as home values and the prices on all sorts of… Continue reading Investor Purchases Rack Up

Banks Mortgage Servicers Penalized

By Mike Colpitts Nearly four years after the foreclosure crisis began to make inroads to wreck the U.S. economy and mortgage lenders started foreclosing on homes without proof of ownership, the U.S. Treasury is finally taking action to withhold payments to three of the nation’s largest banks as a way to penalize their mortgage servicing… Continue reading Banks Mortgage Servicers Penalized

Manic Positive Side of Housing Mess

By Kevin Chiu In what seems like the manic side of the housing mess, young couples are sometimes finding themselves as the lucky beneficiaries of the foreclosure crisis. Take Adam and Lindsey Blackmon of Newport News, Virginia for example. The couple wasn’t even shopping for a home when they couldn’t help but notice a two-year… Continue reading Manic Positive Side of Housing Mess