Home Sales Rise as Housing Recovery Gains Momentum

By Mike Colpitts Driven by declining home prices and low mortgage rates, home sales rose for the sixth time in the past eight months in March as the housing market makes inroads toward gaining momentum in its recovery. Sales of existing homes increased 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1-million in March, but… Continue reading Home Sales Rise as Housing Recovery Gains Momentum

Foreclosure Crisis Triggers S&P Credit Downgrade

By Kevin Chiu Standard and Poor’s long term credit downgrade of the U.S. economy is directly impacted by the foreclosure crisis, which has cost tax payers $148-billion to bail-out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae so far. But S&P analysts expect “extraordinary official assistance to large players in the U.S. financial sector” to be made to… Continue reading Foreclosure Crisis Triggers S&P Credit Downgrade

Why New Homes Aren’t Selling

By Kevin Chiu There’s no understating that over the last few years the housing market has shifted away from sellers, and is much better for buyers. There are several different factors why housing markets change, but unfortunately the financial crisis driven by mortgages gone mad is the largest reason why new homes aren’t selling strongly.… Continue reading Why New Homes Aren’t Selling

Hard Money Lending at Record Clip

By Mike Colpitts Despite home prices continuing to decline in much of the U.S., hard money lenders are funding home mortgages at the highest rate on record as nervous homeowners attempt to hold on to their homes. Banks and conventional mortgage lenders are rejecting refinances and new home purchases at alarming rates. Source Capital Funding,… Continue reading Hard Money Lending at Record Clip

Feds Slam 14 Banks in Robo Signing

By Kevin Chiu The federal government has announced formal enforcement sanctions against 14 banking organizations addressing a serious “pattern of misconduct and negligence” in the robo signing scandal. The deficiencies, announced jointly by the Federal Reserve, Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision requires banks and mortgage servicing companies to make corrections… Continue reading Feds Slam 14 Banks in Robo Signing

Federal Investigation Sought Over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

By Mike Colpitts Life long consumer crusader Ralph Nader is requesting a federal investigation to determine whether U.S. officials made misleading statements related to the financial health of failed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the governments two mortgage giants, which have been bailed-out by tax payers at a cost topping $150-billion so far. The political… Continue reading Federal Investigation Sought Over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Quick Fix for the Housing Market

By Bobbi Nicolai Far too many Americans are being held hostage by banks, and their agents, collecting on student loans. If the U.S. government were to forgive student loans, all of those funds would be released back into the economy. People who are barely making ends meet would have hundreds of dollars more available each… Continue reading Quick Fix for the Housing Market

Refinances, Home Purchases Dive

By Kevin Chiu Mortgage applications took a sudden reverse, dropping nearly 7% from a week ago as homeowners stopped applying for refinances and home buyers turned increasingly leery about the marketplace, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The drop-off indicates a further dive in home purchases. The slowdown in mortgage applications shows that weakness in… Continue reading Refinances, Home Purchases Dive

Hardest Hit Housing Cities Pain Grows

By Mike Colpitts The gambling capital of the U.S., Las Vegas posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with populations of more than 200,000 in July, but housing foreclosures are spiking in the majority of other top 20 hardest hit housing cities. The gap is shrinking between the gambling mecca and major cities… Continue reading Hardest Hit Housing Cities Pain Grows

Former Mortgage Head Guilty in $2.9 Billion Fraud

By Kevin Chiu The former chairman of a mortgage corporation, once one of the 25 largest in the U.S. has been convicted by a federal jury in a $2.9-billion fraud scheme that drove Colonial Bank and its lending empire, Taylor, Bean and Whitaker out of business and into bankruptcy. The scheme is believed to be… Continue reading Former Mortgage Head Guilty in $2.9 Billion Fraud