Arizona’s real estate market took a major hit after the housing bubble burst in 2007. From that year until 2012, Arizona home prices fell 49.0 percent. In fact, with the exception of Nevada, the state may have suffered the most during the recent economic recession. According to RealtyTrac, the state continues to suffer the second-highest… Continue reading 2013 Arizona Housing Market
Category: Housing Market
Lenders Should be Forced to Cut Mortgages, Poll Shows
For the second time, respondents to a Housing Predictor poll say that banks and other mortgage lenders should be forced to reduce mortgage principal and cut loan payments for underwater homeowners. Respondents to the online poll were in favor of principal reductions by a resounding 60% of those polled. The remaining 40% said bankers should… Continue reading Lenders Should be Forced to Cut Mortgages, Poll Shows
‘Psycho Character’ Commits Home Foreclosure Scam
By Mike Colpitts Millions of homeowners are suffering through foreclosures, but this guy takes the CAKE! It’s right out of the classic Alfred Hitchcock horror movie Psycho. In a truth is stranger than fiction tail, a Brooklyn man dressed up as his dead mother and “channeled her” to commit real estate fraud in an effort… Continue reading ‘Psycho Character’ Commits Home Foreclosure Scam
Bank of America Increases Short Sale Payments
By Ryan Jackson Bank of America, which has performed more foreclosures than any other single U.S. lender is raising the amount of money it pays delinquent homeowners to agree to a short sale. The program will pay any where from $2,500 to $30,000 in relocation assistance to qualifying mortgage holders. The program is hoped to… Continue reading Bank of America Increases Short Sale Payments
Home Purchases Jump Two Weeks
By Mike Colpitts Led by a jump in conventional mortgage applications, home purchases rose for the second week in a row signaling a positive turn for the U.S. housing market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly index. Pushed by record all-time low mortgage rates, buyers turned out to take advantage of the historically low… Continue reading Home Purchases Jump Two Weeks
Mortgage Rates Drop to Historic Lows
By Mike Colpitts In a record breaking move, mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level in U.S. history this week as rates paid for Treasury bonds pushed rates lower. The rate on a conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to an average of 3.79%, four basis points below last week’s all-time record low, according to… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Drop to Historic Lows
Higher Credit Score or Else No Mortgage
By Mike Colpitts A federal study is finally showing what millions of Americans applying for mortgages have known for months. A 720 credit score on the Fair Isaac Credit Index (FICO) is likely to get home mortgage applicants a loan. Anything under that level is probably going to be rejected, according to a new study… Continue reading Higher Credit Score or Else No Mortgage
Home Sales Jump in April
By Mike Colpitts Existing home sales jumped for the first time in three months in April, rising 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.62 million units, and are 10% higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home prices also showed some improvement. However, homes listed on the market for… Continue reading Home Sales Jump in April
Shock Hits with Fannie Mae Profit
By Ryan Jackson Mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported a profit for the first time since it was taken over in a forced government seizure four years ago. The first quarter profit may be a shock to bankers who depend on the mortgage financier, but does little to replace the $116 billion the government has spent… Continue reading Shock Hits with Fannie Mae Profit
State Launches $75 Million Home Demolition Program
By Mike Colpitts Ohio has lead the nation demolishing homes that have been left abandoned in hard hit neighborhoods in the U.S. real estate collapse. The state’s attorney general is now taking the program to an aggressive new level to demolish up to an estimated 100,000 vacant homes. The funds for the program are provided… Continue reading State Launches $75 Million Home Demolition Program