By Mike Colpitts Loan limits on jumbo mortgages are scheduled to be slashed as a result of changes required in the Housing and Economic Act of 2008. However, the impact is expected to be limited by many lenders. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce mortgage limits on loans in the highest metropolitan areas of… Continue reading Jumbo Mortgage Rates to Feel Little Impact
Category: Florida
Florida housing market
Homeowners Stuck With High Mortgage Rates
The over-whelming majority of homeowners with underwater mortgages are stuck with high interest rate loans and are unable to refinance their mortgages, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic. Some 10.9 million home mortgages were in negative equity in the second quarter of the year, and another 2.4 million were close or within 5% of… Continue reading Homeowners Stuck With High Mortgage Rates
Bargain Hungry Home Investors Thin
By Kevin Chiu Like them or hate them the real estate market needs bargain hungry home investors to pick through foreclosures as scavengers to eventually clean-up the inventory. But the ranks of investors hunting for deals are thinning out as homes that need work become harder to re-sell. The distressed real estate market, high unemployment… Continue reading Bargain Hungry Home Investors Thin
Some Rising Prices Don’t Make a Recovery
By Mike Colpitts Rising home and condominium prices in isolated markets scattered across the U.S. rarely develop into a sudden real estate recovery, but demonstrate the differences of local housing markets. For the first time in years the average prices of homes and condos in Miami moved higher in July, showing that even in downtrodden… Continue reading Some Rising Prices Don’t Make a Recovery
Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
By Kevin Chiu At least two of the U.S. largest commercial banks are increasing the volume of short sales in efforts to increase their profit margins even as more homes bloat the inventory of properties that aren’t producing profits for the lenders. The transition hasn’t been an easy one for lenders in these wild days… Continue reading Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
Market May Lead Home Prices in Recovery
By Mike Colpitts Home and condominium prices soared higher for the first time in more than five years in Miami as existing sales in the metropolitan region rose at a rapid pace in July, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The spike in average home prices may signal a major turn around for the… Continue reading Market May Lead Home Prices in Recovery
Mortgage Fraud Strike Force Busts 27
By Mike Colpitts Twenty-seven South Florida residents were indicted on charges related to a series of mortgage fraud schemes after being arrested by the U.S. Mortgage Fraud Strike Force. The busts produced by the special task force now account for more than 500 arrests since it was started four years ago involving more than $620-million… Continue reading Mortgage Fraud Strike Force Busts 27
MERS Order May Provide Greater Transparency
By Mike Colpitts An order from the nation’s electronic registration company that halts banks and mortgage servicing companies from foreclosing on homes in MERS name may result in greater transparency for homeowners in foreclosure and could actually be of help to consumers. “I think it’s a good step in the right direction,” said National Consumer… Continue reading MERS Order May Provide Greater Transparency
Mortgage Defaults Surge Higher
By Kevin Chiu Mortgage defaults, the first step homeowners face in the foreclosure process, surged higher during the month of June demonstrating an increase in future anticipated foreclosures growing at the fastest rate in more than a year, according to Lender Processing Services, a real estate data supplier which tracks defaults. The surge in mortgage… Continue reading Mortgage Defaults Surge Higher
BP Oil Spill Triggers Major Home Value Loss
By Mike Colpitts A study of home sales in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida along the Gulf of Mexico shows that home values have fallen an average of 15% so far as a direct result of the BP oil spill. The devastating impact from the massive oil spill has also contributed to the growing foreclosure… Continue reading BP Oil Spill Triggers Major Home Value Loss