Pushed by near record low mortgage rates, applications for home purchases and refinances made a solid rise for the week, indicating more home buying activity than many analysts thought was developing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The composite index, a combination of both refinancing and home mortgage applications rose 5.4% for the week. Purchase… Continue reading Purchase and Refinance Loan Applications Rise
Category: Banks
Bank Lending Projected to Improve
By Kevin Chiu Bank lending should improve in commercial real estate in the next year, positioning U.S. investment property to deliver attractive returns once again, according to a leading independent non-profit real estate and education organization. Stephen Blank, Urban Land Institute’s fellow for real estate finance says that mortgage financing should finally begin to show… Continue reading Bank Lending Projected to Improve
First Housing Markets Likely to Recover
By Mike Colpitts When it comes to housing markets that are the most likely to recover first, the key ingredient above any other is jobs. Unemployment has been the highest it has been for two years in decades and the political football surrounding employment is the most heated topic today. Despite higher profits for employers,… Continue reading First Housing Markets Likely to Recover
Homeownership Falls to Decades Low
By Kevin Chiu Homeownership has fallen to 66.9%, the lowest level on record in more than a decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau as a result of rising foreclosures and mortgage holders walking away from loans they can no longer afford. The same annual study found that there were 1.9-million vacant homes listed for… Continue reading Homeownership Falls to Decades Low
Poll Shows Home Prices to Rise
Home prices are expected to rise in the next one to four years by a large majority of Americans, according to a new Housing Predictor survey. The opinion poll found that nearly two out of three respondents feel that housing prices will start to go up within one to four years. The online poll shows… Continue reading Poll Shows Home Prices to Rise
Whistleblowers Explode Foreclosure Crisis
By Kevin Chiu Working at a feverish pace to keep up with a record volume of foreclosures, bankers, attorneys and bank servicing companies have allegedly broken laws to foreclose on at least tens of thousands of homeowners. But only over the last six months have the sorted details of the four people that have made… Continue reading Whistleblowers Explode Foreclosure Crisis
Poll Shows Housing Rebound Delayed
A rebound in the housing market is certain to be delayed a number of years as a result of mortgage lenders implementing foreclosure moratoriums, according to a new Housing Predictor poll. But more than two-thirds of all respondents feel that the delay will be four years or less. In fact, the largest percentage or 42%… Continue reading Poll Shows Housing Rebound Delayed
Giant Mortgage Lenders to Get $363-Billion in Bailouts
By Mike Colpitts As much as $363-billion in mortgage-backed security purchases may be required to bailout troubled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the government sponsored mortgage giants from growing debt due to the foreclosure crisis, according to a government report made public today. The projection was made by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government… Continue reading Giant Mortgage Lenders to Get $363-Billion in Bailouts
Mortgage Rates on Way Up
Mortgage rates rose slightly for the first time in five weeks, increasing to an average of 4.21% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to Freddie Mac. The rise represents a small .02 increase from last week for borrowers paying 0.8% in discount points. However, the increase was up from 4.19% last week, which was… Continue reading Mortgage Rates on Way Up
Cash is King in Real Estate
By Mike Colpitts Low home prices coupled with a tight economy have produced a rare set of events to trigger the highest number of cash home sales that many real estate agents remember in decades. In San Francisco, agents estimate that “around 15%” of all sales are paid in cash, while “more than 32%” are… Continue reading Cash is King in Real Estate