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
Category: Banks
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
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
Interest Rates Hold Steady as New Home Purchases Fall
By Mike Colpitts Restrained by a weak U.S. economy and lower demand for new home purchases, mortgage interest rates held steady after moving just one-basis point last week, according to Freddie Mac. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage remained at 4.50%. The fixed 15-year loan narrowly edged up two basis points to 3.69%. New… Continue reading Interest Rates Hold Steady as New Home Purchases Fall
Foreclosures Drop, Despite Turmoil
By Mike Colpitts Foreclosure filings dropped 2% in May as banks and mortgage servicing companies experienced turmoil as a result of legal problems dealing with foreclosures. Filings fell a third from a year ago. Formal foreclosure auctions, the last step in the painful foreclosure process, however, were scheduled against 89,251 U.S. residential properties during the… Continue reading Foreclosures Drop, Despite Turmoil
Mortgage Interest Rates Suddenly Jump
By Kevin Chiu Pushed by weakening economic data, mortgage interest rates, already near historic lows, jumped slightly for the week to 4.50% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to Freddie Mac. The jump of only 0.01 came after rates dropped for eight straight weeks. But rates declined slightly on other loans for the week.… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Suddenly Jump
Glass-Steagall Should Be Re-Adopted, Survey Overwhelmingly Shows
The Glass-Steagall Act that was enacted at the height of the Great Depression to halt “improper banking activity” should be re-adopted to halt the possibility of another financial crisis, according to a new Housing Predictor survey. Respondents to the online opinion poll overwhelmingly support the act’s re-implementation. During the Great Depression when half of all… Continue reading Glass-Steagall Should Be Re-Adopted, Survey Overwhelmingly Shows
Record Low Mortgage Rates 8 Straight Weeks
By Mike Colpitts For eight straight weeks, mortgage rates have hit new record lows as uncertainty over the Eurozone combined with concerns over the U.S. economy unsettles financial markets. The Freddie Mac average for a 30-year fixed rate loan reached 3.67% last week. However, government officials in Spain asked for $100 billion to bail-out the… Continue reading Record Low Mortgage Rates 8 Straight Weeks
Housing Foreclosure Crisis Five More Years
By Mike Colpitts The foreclosure crisis, already the harshest to hit U.S. homeowners in history is projected to drag on another five years, and will include more than a total of 15-million mortgage holders, according to a new Housing Predictor forecast. More than 7-million homes have been foreclosed since the crisis started as a result… Continue reading Housing Foreclosure Crisis Five More Years
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