Category: Housing Market

Mortgage Reductions Crucial to Economic Recovery

By Kevin Chiu Troubled by an economy with a series of problems, the U.S. needs to face reality that its financial system is so problematic that mortgage principal reductions for homeowners at risk of default are the only route to getting the nation’s economy back on track. The rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage… Continue reading Mortgage Reductions Crucial to Economic Recovery

Home Buying Picks Up

By Mike Colpitts Ushered in by near record low mortgage rates, evidence of a pick up in home buying is beginning to develop as the annual spring home buying season turns into high gear, with an increase in home purchase applications for mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The announcement is good news for… Continue reading Home Buying Picks Up

Credit Scores May Open Door on Mortgages

By Mike Colpitts In the first sign that mortgage lenders may be loosening their grasp lending to home loan borrowers, approved loan credit scores are declining. Applicants for home mortgages approved during the month of April averaged 745 on their FICO scores, a five point decline from two months earlier, according to Ellie Mae. The… Continue reading Credit Scores May Open Door on Mortgages

States Rip Off Foreclosure Victims

By Mike Colpitts Almost $1-billion targeted to victims of banking foreclosure fraud is being ripped off from foreclosure victims to be used to pay for other programs for states facing serious financial deficits. The nation’s largest five banks agreed to pay a $25 billion settlement as part of their agreement to settle allegations of illegal… Continue reading States Rip Off Foreclosure Victims

U.S. Treasury Bonds Extend Record Low Mortgage Rates

By Mike Colpitts Treasury bonds recovered slightly Monday after reaching all-time record lows, sending mortgage rates to record low levels. The recovery, however, does little to boost sentiment over the U.S. economy, which could be damaged from contagion in Europe. Worries over the Greek debt crisis and economic turmoil other places in the Euro-zone trouble… Continue reading U.S. Treasury Bonds Extend Record Low Mortgage Rates

2013 Arizona Housing Market

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

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