Chill the bubbly. More U.S. cities are forecast to inflate in home values in 2012 than in the past five years as communities in fifteen states move towards more stable housing markets with increasing home sales and higher values. These 55 cities are from states all over the nation and they have the ingredients to… Continue reading Big 55 U S Housing Markets in Recovery
Category: Housing Market
Tougher Sanctions on Banks Proposed
By Kevin Chiu U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is calling for tougher sanctions on banks abandoning homes they foreclose on leaving tax payers on the hook to maintain properties, and tougher standards to prevent evictions of families. “Too many Wall Street banks are walking away from too many Ohio Main Street communities,” said Brown. “And… Continue reading Tougher Sanctions on Banks Proposed
Attorney General Moves to Recover Homeowner Damages
By Kevin Chiu Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is going after foreclosure attorney David J. Stern in state court in an aggressive effort to speed up the court case against the foreclosure kingpin. The state’s top prosecutor has filed a motion asking the Fourth District Court of Appeal to certify a decision that makes a… Continue reading Attorney General Moves to Recover Homeowner Damages
Mortgage Rates Equal Record Lows
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates are celebrating the New Year at their all-time record lows. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.91% to match its record low as Treasury bond yields remain near their lows with growing signs of improvement in U.S. manufacturing. It’s the fifth straight week that average rates have remained under 4.00% on… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Equal Record Lows
Lawmakers Expand Role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
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
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