By Mike Colpitts Bank assisted short sales or homes that sell at less than what is owed on a mortgage are overtaking foreclosed homes lenders put on the market. The development doesn’t come as a surprise to those involved in the real estate industry. Rather, they expected the transition as part of the U.S. housing… Continue reading Short Sales Overtaking Foreclosures
Category: Banks
Foreclosures Jump Resumes After Robo-Signing Slowdown
By Mike Colpitts Foreclosure starts rose for the first time in more than two years in May, signaling a resumption of formal bank repossessions of homes with mortgages in default after months of slower foreclosures. Initial filings were lodged against 205,990 U.S. residential properties, according to RealtyTrac. The increase accounted for a 9% hike in… Continue reading Foreclosures Jump Resumes After Robo-Signing Slowdown
Shadow Inventory Declines, But Still Looms
By Mike Colpitts The shadow inventory or the number of homes that lurk uncounted by banks and other mortgage lenders in the abyss of the troubled housing market is shrinking as banks offer more troubled homeowners, including landlords short sales for the first time since the U.S. housing crisis started. Estimates of the shadow inventory,… Continue reading Shadow Inventory Declines, But Still Looms
Record Lows Drive Mortgages to Sizzle
By Mike Colpitts Driven by record low mortgage rates, applications for new mortgages soared to their highest level since 2009 as consumers applied for refinancing and new home mortgages in growing droves, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance applications jumped by a sizzling 19% from the previous week, and purchase applications also climbed 12.8%… Continue reading Record Lows Drive Mortgages to Sizzle
Mortgage Rates Make Incredible Drop
By Mike Colpitts Despite yields being paid to investors on U.S. Treasury bonds rising, mortgage rates dropped for the eighth straight week to another historic all-time low. The rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage fell to an incredible average of 3.67%, down from last week when it averaged 3.75%, according to Freddie Mac. The 30-year… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Make Incredible Drop
Refinances Soar Three Straight Weeks
By Mike Colpitts Fueled by record low mortgage rates, refinances soared for the third straight week as consumers applied for new home mortgages to take advantage of lower mortgage payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The jump in refinancing, which rose 5.6% for the week ending May 18, is being sparked by the lowest… Continue reading Refinances Soar Three Straight Weeks
Former Police Officers in Group of 26 Pleading Guilty in Fraud Scheme
By Mike Colpitts Four retired Las Vegas police officers and two real estate agents are among a group of 26 people who have pled guilty to federal charges related to a major fraud scheme involving a dozen Nevada condominium complexes. Federal prosecutors say the conspiracy was bank rolled with more than $8 million funneled through… Continue reading Former Police Officers in Group of 26 Pleading Guilty in Fraud Scheme
Healing Real Estate Market Behind the Numbers
By Ryan Jackson The bread and butter of the housing market, single family home sales rose just 3% in April to 4.09 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Although the increase represents an improvement for the U.S. housing market, it shows a healing upturn in the pace of sales going into the… Continue reading Healing Real Estate Market Behind the Numbers
Former Homeowners Not Applying for Aid
By Mike Colpitts More than 4-million former homeowners whose homes may have been foreclosed illegally by the nation’s largest banks have received letters from the U.S. government asking them if they would like their foreclosures to be reviewed. But so disillusioned by the banking industry and their own situations, the over-whelming majority have failed to… Continue reading Former Homeowners Not Applying for Aid
Home Buying Picks Up
By Mike Colpitts Ushered in by near record low mortgage rates, evidence of a pick up in home buying is beginning to develop as the annual spring home buying season turns into high gear, with an increase in home purchase applications for mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The announcement is good news for… Continue reading Home Buying Picks Up