By Mike Colpitts Instead of reducing their role in the U.S. mortgage market as lawmakers assured voters, Congress has increased the government’s part in the home mortgage market, and is expected to keep a major portion of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae under government control for at least a decade. Under the agreement to extend… Continue reading Lawmakers Expand Role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
Category: Housing Market
Foreclosure Activity Drops 34% in 2011
By Mike Colpitts Court ordered moratoriums halting foreclosures produced a 34% drop in the number of homes entering the foreclosure process in 2011, according to foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac. The slowdown in activity came as lenders reviewed foreclosures in the pipeline after bank servicing employees admitted to making illegal forgeries on what is likely to be… Continue reading Foreclosure Activity Drops 34% in 2011
Record High Crop Prices Inflate Home Values
By Mike Colpitts Record high prices farmers are being paid for crops in the Mid-West are pressuring home prices, and are forecast to inflate home values as the real estate collapse moves closer to an end for part of the U.S. in 2012, according to the new Housing Predictor annual forecast. In all, a total… Continue reading Record High Crop Prices Inflate Home Values
Riskiest Real Estate Bet in 2012
By Kevin Chiu Vacation destination housing markets like Honolulu, posh Hilton Head, South Carolina or beautiful Miami Beach have challenges of their own, and they may be the real estate industry’s riskiest bet in 2012. Each hold traditional housing markets with year-round residents, but the condominium and vacation homes that are sought by vacationers and… Continue reading Riskiest Real Estate Bet in 2012
Money Trail Triggered Real Estate Collapse
By Mike Colpitts Following mostly decades of the appearance of propriety at the highest levels of U.S. government, an ugly money trail from special interest groups leads to members of Congress, which triggered the real estate market collapse. It’s been more than a year-and-a-half since President Barack Obama signed financial reform legislation into law. But… Continue reading Money Trail Triggered Real Estate Collapse
Mortgage Rates Jump for New Year’s
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates, already at their record all-time lows jumped slightly higher in time for New Year’s this week as lenders became weary about growing problems in international financial markets, according to Freddie Mac. The rate of a 30-year fixed rate loan rose to 3.95% from a record low 3.91% last week. The… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Jump for New Year’s
Real Estate Recovery Hard to Fathom
By Kevin Chiu Sometimes it’s hard to fathom. But there isn’t going to be a full-fledged recovery from this real estate crash for many years to come. For some reason a lot of people want to believe that things will somehow mercifully get better—and get better fast – like over night. Some areas of the… Continue reading Real Estate Recovery Hard to Fathom
Home Sales Jump Two Straight Months
By Kevin Chiu Home sales jumped for the second month in a row in November, increasing 4% after rising almost half as much the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors. The jump in sales accounts for an annual adjusted rate of 4.42 million existing homes sales. The rise also accounts for a… Continue reading Home Sales Jump Two Straight Months
Bankers Expect Growing Mortgage Delinquencies
By Mike Colpitts Bankers expect delinquencies on mortgages and most consumer loans to rise as the housing market remains troubled, according to a survey conducted for FICO. Nearly half of the bankers polled by the Professional Risk Managers International Association or 47% said they expect mortgage delinquencies to increase, while only 13% expect defaults to… Continue reading Bankers Expect Growing Mortgage Delinquencies
Home Prices Tumbled Less in 2011
By Mike Colpitts Home prices tumbled an average of 4.3% on a year-over-year basis through last November, according to real estate analytics firm CoreLogic. The company’s Home Price Index, released Monday, confirmed what other real estate research companies reported – that home prices fell less in 2011 than 2010. The Santa Ana, California based firm… Continue reading Home Prices Tumbled Less in 2011