Foreclosures Jump Resumes After Robo-Signing Slowdown

By Mike Colpitts Foreclosure starts rose for the first time in more than two years in May, signaling a resumption of formal bank repossessions of homes with mortgages in default after months of slower foreclosures. Initial filings were lodged against 205,990 U.S. residential properties, according to RealtyTrac. The increase accounted for a 9% hike in… Continue reading Foreclosures Jump Resumes After Robo-Signing Slowdown

Shadow Inventory Declines, But Still Looms

By Mike Colpitts The shadow inventory or the number of homes that lurk uncounted by banks and other mortgage lenders in the abyss of the troubled housing market is shrinking as banks offer more troubled homeowners, including landlords short sales for the first time since the U.S. housing crisis started. Estimates of the shadow inventory,… Continue reading Shadow Inventory Declines, But Still Looms

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

Home Prices Fall Almost 5% in 2011

By Mike Colpitts Home prices fell nearly an average of 5% last year as a result of a troubled U.S. economy, decaying consumer sentiment, high unemployment and a foreclosure crisis that is running out of control, according to real estate research firm Core Logic. The company’s December Home Price Index showed an average 4.7% decline… Continue reading Home Prices Fall Almost 5% in 2011

Homeownership Falls Seventh Year

Troubled by a record foreclosure crisis and an economy hinging on an economic collapse, homeownership fell for the seventh straight year to the lowest level in more than a decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The drop in the nation’s homeownership rate is evidence that government programs to increase the number of homeowners only… Continue reading Homeownership Falls Seventh Year

Home Sales to Soar in 2012

By Mike Colpitts Home sales are already picking up in many areas of the U.S. and are forecast to increase even more in 2012 as pent-up buyer demand plays a critical roll in the housing market recovery. Improving market conditions in the Mid-West and Upper Northern regions of the country are expected to spread into… Continue reading Home Sales to Soar in 2012

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

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 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