Category: Housing Market

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

Home Mortgage Debt Drops $1.2 Trillion

By Mike Colpitts Home mortgage balances have dropped $1.2 trillion since the start of the U.S. financial crisis in 2008, according to Equifax. The deleveraging of mortgages has come as a result of the record breaking U.S. foreclosure crisis and consumers paying down household debt. Home mortgage losses taken by banks and investors, including institutions… Continue reading Home Mortgage Debt Drops $1.2 Trillion

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

Best Real Estate Housing Markets Through 2016

The best housing markets forecast for the next five years are composed of 10 cities scattered from Washington State to Florida. These 10 U.S. cities are projected by Housing Predictor to have the highest probability of appreciating the most for all cities in the nation through 2016. Most of the best real estate markets are… Continue reading Best Real Estate Housing Markets Through 2016

Hostage Taker Triggers Latest Real Estate Office Violence

By Mike Colpitts A man who violently shot up a real estate office in Valparaiso, Indiana threatening to shoot employees last week before taking his own life, is only the latest hostage taker to blame real estate agents or bank employees for financial problems. A series of separate violent out-breaks across the U.S. over the… Continue reading Hostage Taker Triggers Latest Real Estate Office Violence

Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Lows Five Weeks Straight

By Mike Colpitts U.S. Treasury bonds hitting their lowest levels in all-time history sent mortgage rates to record all-time lows again this week. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to an average of 3.75% in the Freddie Mac survey. It was the fifth straight week that mortgage rates hit new record all-time lows. The rate… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Lows Five Weeks Straight

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