Record Low Mortgage Rates Push Pick Up

By Mike Colpitts Driven by an increase in home purchases, mortgage applications picked up for the week as buyers took advantage of record low mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The sharp increase in home sales accounted for an 8.1% rise in mortgage applications after the holiday week placed by home buyers for… Continue reading Record Low Mortgage Rates Push Pick Up

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

Big 55 U S Housing Markets in Recovery

Chill the bubbly. More U.S. cities are forecast to inflate in home values in 2012 than in the past five years as communities in fifteen states move towards more stable housing markets with increasing home sales and higher values. These 55 cities are from states all over the nation and they have the ingredients to… Continue reading Big 55 U S Housing Markets in Recovery

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

Attorney General Moves to Recover Homeowner Damages

By Kevin Chiu Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is going after foreclosure attorney David J. Stern in state court in an aggressive effort to speed up the court case against the foreclosure kingpin. The state’s top prosecutor has filed a motion asking the Fourth District Court of Appeal to certify a decision that makes a… Continue reading Attorney General Moves to Recover Homeowner Damages

Mortgage Rates Equal Record Lows

By Mike Colpitts Mortgage rates are celebrating the New Year at their all-time record lows. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.91% to match its record low as Treasury bond yields remain near their lows with growing signs of improvement in U.S. manufacturing. It’s the fifth straight week that average rates have remained under 4.00% on… Continue reading Mortgage Rates Equal Record Lows

Lawmakers Expand Role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

By Mike Colpitts Instead of reducing their role in the U.S. mortgage market as lawmakers assured voters, Congress has increased the government’s part in the home mortgage market, and is expected to keep a major portion of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae under government control for at least a decade. Under the agreement to extend… Continue reading Lawmakers Expand Role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Foreclosure Activity Drops 34% in 2011

By Mike Colpitts Court ordered moratoriums halting foreclosures produced a 34% drop in the number of homes entering the foreclosure process in 2011, according to foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac. The slowdown in activity came as lenders reviewed foreclosures in the pipeline after bank servicing employees admitted to making illegal forgeries on what is likely to be… Continue reading Foreclosure Activity Drops 34% in 2011

Record High Crop Prices Inflate Home Values

By Mike Colpitts Record high prices farmers are being paid for crops in the Mid-West are pressuring home prices, and are forecast to inflate home values as the real estate collapse moves closer to an end for part of the U.S. in 2012, according to the new Housing Predictor annual forecast. In all, a total… Continue reading Record High Crop Prices Inflate Home Values