Category: 2011 Housing Market

Freddie Mac Unloads Foreclosures Paying Closing Costs

By Mike Colpitts Troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac is making a new effort to unload its bloated inventory of foreclosed homes paying home buyers closing costs. The government backed lender, which has been bailed out by tax payers at a cost of more than $148-billion with its sister lender Fannie Mae is making the offer… Continue reading Freddie Mac Unloads Foreclosures Paying Closing Costs

Home Affordability Vital To Ownership

By Kevin Chiu Gone are the days of being over-extended as a result of easy “Liar Loans” with borrowers qualifying for mortgages in today’s housing market at restrictive borrowing standards. Lenders are qualifying mortgage applicants with much lower home affordability ratios and higher credit scores. Millions of homeowners find themselves over extended and unable to… Continue reading Home Affordability Vital To Ownership

Home Remodeling Shows Rebound

By Mike Colpitts Home remodeling is moving into a rebound as spring flowers begin to bloom. The National Association of Home Builders Remodeling index reached 46.5 in the first quarter, marking its highest level since 2006, and the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies is predicting remodeling to rebound in 2011. Retail sales at… Continue reading Home Remodeling Shows Rebound

Home Sales Forecast to Grow

By Kevin Chiu Home sales, the bread and butter of the U.S. real estate market are forecast to grow by 125,000 to 200,000 additional residential units by the end of 2011 over last year. The increase, projected by Housing Predictor is due to near record low mortgage rates and the lowest home prices in many… Continue reading Home Sales Forecast to Grow

Interest Rates Hit New Low in 2011

By Mike Colpitts Mortgage interest rates hit a new low for the year declining to 4.61% on a 30-year fixed rate loan, a slight 0.02 margin lower from a week earlier, while the rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage also dropped to a new low in 2011. The heavily watched Freddie Mac averages have… Continue reading Interest Rates Hit New Low in 2011

Foreclosures Fall Seven Straight Months, But Still at Crisis Level

By Kevin Chiu Hampered by internal bank and mortgage servicing company delays, foreclosure notices fell to a 40 month low in April, declining 9% from the prior month and 34% from a year ago. The slowdown represented the seventh straight month of delays in the foreclosure crisis as a result of the moratorium put in… Continue reading Foreclosures Fall Seven Straight Months, But Still at Crisis Level

Mortgage Rates Shoot Up As Applications Rise

By Kevin Chiu The volume of home mortgage applications for refinancing and purchases rose slightly higher for the week as mortgage rates took an abrupt jump. The rate on a fully executed 30-year fixed rate loan shot up 0.09 for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey. Mortgage rates had been on a… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Shoot Up As Applications Rise

Homeowner Associations May Hit Record Lawsuit Volume

By Mike Colpitts Homeowner and condominium associations straddled with high debt in the real estate crash are resulting in at least thousands of member-owners refusing to pay monthly fees, and may reach record lawsuit volume in U.S. courtrooms. The development was determined during a routine Housing Predictor survey of markets monitored across the nation. The… Continue reading Homeowner Associations May Hit Record Lawsuit Volume

Survey Finds Congress Should Force Banks to Modify Mortgages

Congress should force bankers to modify mortgages for homeowners who are in trouble on their home loans instead of foreclosing, a new Housing Predictor survey has found. It’s been a subject of debate since the housing mess started more five years ago in many regions of the country, and especially since foreclosures hit record all-time… Continue reading Survey Finds Congress Should Force Banks to Modify Mortgages