Category: Tools

By Mike Colpitts For the second week in a row mortgage rates climbed higher as bank foreclosures hit a new milestone, according to Freddie Mac. The average interest rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage ticked higher by two-one-hundredths of a percent to 4.37% for the week. The rise in rates may signal an… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Tick Higher

Bankers foreclosed on 95,364 residential properties in August, the highest monthly total since Realty Trac has been following foreclosures, and about 2% higher than the previous peak of 93,777 bank repossessions in May 2010 as growing unemployment triggered the increase. August formal foreclosures were up 25% from year ago levels, the ninth straight month where… Continue reading Unemployment Triggers Foreclosure Rise

Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s troubled mortgage giants is expanding its program for owner occupants to buy a home before investors. The program is set to launch Friday, giving buyers preferential treatment over investors. The program “supports Freddie Mac’s mission to stabilize communities and foster affordable home ownership opportunities by giving home buyers 15… Continue reading Freddie Mac Launches Owner Occupant Buyer Program

By Kevin Chiu There is more federally assisted housing in New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina struck than before the storm, yet the population of the Greater New Orleans area has been cut in half, according to a new report. Some 38,000 households still have no place to call home. The New Orleans metropolitan… Continue reading Disturbing Failures Five Years after Hurricane Katrina

Applications for refinancing and home purchases both cooled off last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. It was the second straight week that applications to refinance mortgages have slowed down. Refinances declined 10.8% from the previous week after months of increasing demand for refinancing as homeowners took advantage of near record all-time low mortgage… Continue reading Refinances Cool Off Second Straight Week

By Mike Colpitts A tough economy is leading owners of condominiums to increasingly walk away from condos, leaving ownership maintenance costs to those left behind. The trouble is forcing condo associations to foreclosure on more owners even before lenders do as a result of lost revenues. The efforts are an attempt to recoup maintenance costs… Continue reading Crisis Slams Condo Associations

Permanent mortgage modifications under the government’s Making Home Affordable Program increased 65%, and refinances rose 30% in the second quarter, according to a government report. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backed programs now account for halting more than 1-million foreclosures. The data was released as part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s second quarter… Continue reading Modifications and Refinances Halt 1-Million Foreclosures

A new opinion poll just completed by Housing Predictor shows that a large majority of respondents feel that the U.S. housing market is on the verge of collapse. The online survey was completed Monday morning as more signs developed showing that the troubled economy is having difficulty making strides towards improvement. Some 60% surveyed said… Continue reading Housing Market on Verge of Collapse

By Mike Colpitts A coalition of more than 600 organizations is calling on the Obama administration to order mortgage lenders to reduce loan principal on mortgages at risk of foreclosure. “A civilized country cannot embrace an economic policy that ignores human suffering,” said John Taylor, National Community Reinvestment Coalition president and CEO. “We can’t just… Continue reading Coalition Urges Mortgage Reductions

By Mike Colpitts The housing market has been artificially manipulated for decades. When the Federal Reserve began setting the prime interest rate in 1947 the Fed intentionally or unintentionally started tinkering with housing prices. Since then there has been no “free market” in mortgage rates. Forget political differences and agendas. The prime rate is the… Continue reading Case to Force Housing Recovery