Rigid Land Use Spiked Home Prices

By Mike Colpitts Rigid land use restrictions contributed to the housing bubble burst and still play a major role driving home values lower, according to a new study conducted by a Washington, D.C. think tank. “The majority of losses in the housing crash were overwhelmingly concentrated in metropolitan areas with restrictive land development regulations,” said… Continue reading Rigid Land Use Spiked Home Prices

Hawaii Passes U.S. Toughest Foreclosure Law

By Kevin Chiu Hawaii lawmakers followed hard hit Nevada to become only the second state in the nation to approve one of the toughest foreclosure consumer aid laws in the U.S., passing the bill as the legislature closed its latest session. Senate Bill 651 is touted as a windfall for consumers, requiring mortgage lenders to… Continue reading Hawaii Passes U.S. Toughest Foreclosure Law

Record $1 Billion Real Estate Auction

By Mike Colpitts A leading real estate auction company will put $1-billion in commercial property and notes up for auction, marking a new record for the largest real estate auction in U.S. history. The Las Vegas event illustrates the enormity of the real estate auction business selling-off assets for banks and mortgage service companies handling… Continue reading Record $1 Billion Real Estate Auction

Hardest Hit Housing Cities Pain Grows

By Mike Colpitts The gambling capital of the U.S., Las Vegas posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with populations of more than 200,000 in July, but housing foreclosures are spiking in the majority of other top 20 hardest hit housing cities. The gap is shrinking between the gambling mecca and major cities… Continue reading Hardest Hit Housing Cities Pain Grows

Mortgage Fraud Led By California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada

By Mike Colpitts Mortgage fraud is blamed for trillions of dollars in failed loans in the U.S., especially in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where incidents have been the highest and foreclosures make up the largest volume of troubled homeowners, according to federal authorities. But state and federal law enforcement agencies are encountering major problems… Continue reading Mortgage Fraud Led By California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada

Mortgage Interest Rates Drop on Japan Fears

By Mike Colpitts Interest Rates on home mortgages dropped as a result of investor worries over the disaster in Japan and fears of contagion over financial markets falling across the world. Mortgage rates showed a drop across all types of loans offered to home borrowers, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Drop on Japan Fears

Half of Homeowners Qualify for New Mortgage

By Mike Colpitts Only about half of all homeowners would qualify to buy a new mortgage under current more restrictive mortgage lending guidelines. In the U.S. 54% of homeowners with a mortgage would qualify to put 20% down from the sale of their present home, according to Core Logic, which researches the mortgage industry. The… Continue reading Half of Homeowners Qualify for New Mortgage

U.S. Flooded in Underwater Homes

By Mike Colpitts More than one out of four homes in the U.S. with a mortgage is in or near negative equity as the nation is flooded in underwater homes, according to a major real estate research firm. The data indicates a declining number of homeowners with mortgages that are upside down on their homes… Continue reading U.S. Flooded in Underwater Homes

Paying Homeowners Money to Stay Works

By Mike Colpitts A former Wall Street banker, who started a company to save homeowners with mortgages from foreclosure has enrolled just short of 10,000 borrowers in its RH Reward program that is paying cash rewards to hurting homeowners. The plan works with banks and other financial institutions, including hedge funds to work with upside… Continue reading Paying Homeowners Money to Stay Works

Underwater Homeowners Numbers Surge

By Mike Colpitts The number of homeowners underwater on mortgages reached 11.1 million during the final quarter of 2011, representing 22.8% of U.S. residential properties, according to real estate data firm CoreLogic. The increase marks a surge of 400,000 mortgage holders who are upside down on mortgages from the previous quarter. Declining home values in… Continue reading Underwater Homeowners Numbers Surge