By Mike Colpitts The economic damages caused by Hurricane Irene as it barrels in on the Atlantic coastline forecast to make landfall in North Carolina could hit as high as $35 billion, according to insurance estimates made prior to the storm even making landfall. However, as scientific modelers race to come up with a dollar… Continue reading Hurricane Irene May Hit $35 Billion in Damages
Category: Sales
Home Sales Fall to 15 Year Low
Home purchase mortgage applications fell to a 15-year low as applications for new loans tumbled this last week, despite the drop in mortgage rates to all time record lows, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The bankers’ combined mortgage index dropped 2.4% from the previous week. Refinancing surprisingly fell 1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis.… Continue reading Home Sales Fall to 15 Year Low
Super-Star Robert De Niro Sells Home
By Mike Colpitts Academy award winning super-star Robert De Niro, who has played a financial mobster in the movies perhaps more than any other actor is putting his Manhattan home up for sale after nearly four decades. The New York native didn’t make the decision to place his townhouse on the market lightly. De Niro… Continue reading Super-Star Robert De Niro Sells Home
Lending Rises as Mortgage Rates Drop
Boosted by a surge in refinancing, lending applications rose for the week as mortgage rates hit a new low for the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to an average 4.32% from 4.37% last week, setting a new low for 2011 on fully executed mortgage contracts.… Continue reading Lending Rises as Mortgage Rates Drop
Investors Buying Fewer Homes
Investor purchases of homes and other residential properties fell for the third month in a row in July, according to the Campbell Inside Mortgage Finance Housing Pulse Tracking Survey. The survey said investors accounted for just 19.6% of U.S. home purchases during the month, down from 23% in April. Despite higher sales of existing homes… Continue reading Investors Buying Fewer Homes
Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
By Kevin Chiu At least two of the U.S. largest commercial banks are increasing the volume of short sales in efforts to increase their profit margins even as more homes bloat the inventory of properties that aren’t producing profits for the lenders. The transition hasn’t been an easy one for lenders in these wild days… Continue reading Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
Homeowners Flock to Fixed Rate Mortgages
As a result of the foreclosure crisis and risky lending practices consumers have witnessed over the last decade, homeowners are flocking to fixed rate mortgages in mass, according to Freddie Mac. Fixed rates accounted for 95% of refinancing based on the giant lenders’ new quarterly report for 2011. Fifty-five percent of borrowers who had an… Continue reading Homeowners Flock to Fixed Rate Mortgages
Should U.S. Become Biggest Landlord
By Mike Colpitts Under a proposal the Obama administration is making, the U.S. federal government would become the nation’s biggest landlord by renting out almost 250,000 foreclosed homes Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration currently own. The proposal could make the Federal Housing Finance Agency, started by the Obama administration to administer… Continue reading Should U.S. Become Biggest Landlord
Market May Lead Home Prices in Recovery
By Mike Colpitts Home and condominium prices soared higher for the first time in more than five years in Miami as existing sales in the metropolitan region rose at a rapid pace in July, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The spike in average home prices may signal a major turn around for the… Continue reading Market May Lead Home Prices in Recovery
Low Mortgage Rates Drive Few to Buy
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates are at near record lows again for the first time since last October when rates hit an all-time record low, but the lower rates seem to be doing little other than driving some homeowners to refinance their mortgages. Built up anxiety over troubles with the U. S. economy, consumer debt… Continue reading Low Mortgage Rates Drive Few to Buy