By Mike Colpitts The downturn in the U.S. residential housing market is approaching five years, which arrives in just one week with the start of June. Housing markets in California and Florida were the fist to feel the impact of the slowdown that resulted from a combination of Wall Street shenanigans and bankers creative financing… Continue reading Housing Downturn Reaches Year Five
Category: Wall Street
Real Estate Agent Falls from Grace
By Kevin Chiu His model like good looks and Southern California sun tan are near trademark, but millionaire real estate agent John McMonigle has fallen from grace, losing his fortune and amassing $50 million in debts. The luxury home salesman appeared in bankruptcy court depressed after selling personal assets, including his Newport Beach condominium and… Continue reading Real Estate Agent Falls from Grace
Home Sales Forecast to Grow
By Kevin Chiu Home sales, the bread and butter of the U.S. real estate market are forecast to grow by 125,000 to 200,000 additional residential units by the end of 2011 over last year. The increase, projected by Housing Predictor is due to near record low mortgage rates and the lowest home prices in many… Continue reading Home Sales Forecast to Grow
Interest Rates Hit New Low in 2011
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage interest rates hit a new low for the year declining to 4.61% on a 30-year fixed rate loan, a slight 0.02 margin lower from a week earlier, while the rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage also dropped to a new low in 2011. The heavily watched Freddie Mac averages have… Continue reading Interest Rates Hit New Low in 2011
Mortgage Rates Shoot Up As Applications Rise
By Kevin Chiu The volume of home mortgage applications for refinancing and purchases rose slightly higher for the week as mortgage rates took an abrupt jump. The rate on a fully executed 30-year fixed rate loan shot up 0.09 for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey. Mortgage rates had been on a… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Shoot Up As Applications Rise
Mortgage Rates Fall Two Weeks
By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates fell for the second consecutive week as spring time weather gripped most of the nation to provide a boost for the home buying season, according to Freddie Mac. The rate on a fixed rate 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.71% from 4.78% the previous week. The rates on a 15-year fixed… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Fall Two Weeks
Government Finds Foreclosure Oversight Needed
By Mike Colpitts Nearly three years after problems arose plaguing the U.S. in the foreclosure crisis, government regulators have found that federal agencies oversight of foreclosures has been limited, fragmented and needs to be corrected, according to the agency charged with investigating U.S. banks. In what has become the largest financial swindle in American history,… Continue reading Government Finds Foreclosure Oversight Needed
States Outlaw Extra Home Sale Charges
By Kevin Chiu Washington State became the twenty-fifth state in the country to outlaw extra home sale charges to the new owners of homes for 99 years. The action means that half of all U.S. states have now outlawed private transfer fees by adopting new state laws prohibiting their collection. But a federal effort to… Continue reading States Outlaw Extra Home Sale Charges
Mortgage Interest Rates Move Higher, Despite Job Gains
By Mike Colpitts Despite improving news on the U.S. job market, mortgage interest rates moved higher for the fourth straight week as home buyers became increasingly reluctant to make a move, according to Freddie Mac. The improvement in job gains is having little impact on the housing market. The rate on a 30-year fixed rate… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Move Higher, Despite Job Gains
Foreclosure Crisis Triggers S&P Credit Downgrade
By Kevin Chiu Standard and Poor’s long term credit downgrade of the U.S. economy is directly impacted by the foreclosure crisis, which has cost tax payers $148-billion to bail-out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae so far. But S&P analysts expect “extraordinary official assistance to large players in the U.S. financial sector” to be made to… Continue reading Foreclosure Crisis Triggers S&P Credit Downgrade