U.K. February House Prices Decline Annual 17.7%, Halifax Says

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Mortgage loan applications have increased 23% this last week due to record low rates.

Orlando, FL (MBNews.org) -- Historic record low have encouraged many homeowners to refinance according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

We have seen refinancing activity climbed 26.4% just this week week ending January 13, to its highest level since early August, the MBA reported. Meanwhile applications for new mortgages climbed 10.3% week-over-week.

Time to buy a house? Home prices have fallen and mortgage interest rates are lower than they have ever been.

Miami (MBNews.org) — Time to buy a house? Home prices have fallen and mortgage interest rates are lower than they have ever been.

A recent report from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, titled “Housing: A time to buy,” written by David Kelly and David Lebovitz, made the case for why a home may be a wise purchase. Read more: Mortgage rates plunge beyond expectations.

Although the U.S. housing market remains extremely depressed, we believe that given current valuations and demographic dynamics, now may be the time to consider an investment in housing,” the report said.

Goldman, Two Firms Agree on Foreclosure-Signing Practice

Goldman Sachs will compensate some home loan borrowers for wrongful foreclosures under an agreement reached with a New York state banking regulator.

The agreement, which New York financial services superintendent Benjamin Lawsky reached with Goldman [GS 112.16 -4.06 (-3.49%) ] and Ocwen Financial [OCN 13.28 -0.52 (-3.77%) ], contains several measures to strengthen the oversight of foreclosure proceedings.

It also will allow Goldman's planned sale of its Litton Loan Servicing LP unit to continue.

U.S. asks Bank of America to report back up plans if conditions worsen

The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to sue "more than a dozen" major banks for billions of dollars over alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities sold before the housing bubble burst, the New York Times reported late Thursday.

U.S. asks Bank of America to report back up plans if conditions worsen

U.S. regulators have pushed Bank of America Corp. to show what measures it could take if conditions worsen for the Charlotte, N.C., lender, according to people familiar with the situation.

U.S. regulators have pushed Bank of America Corp. to show what measures it could take if conditions worsen for the Charlotte, N.C., lender, according to people familiar with the situation. Read more...

More Americans at Risk of Foreclosure

The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure is rising, reflecting the U.S. economy’s continued struggles.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday that 8.44 percent of homeowners missed at least one mortgage payment in the April-June quarter. That figure, which is adjusted for seasonal factors, rose 0.12 percentage point from the January-March period. Read more...

New York AG Kicked Off Foreclosure Probe Panel

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said late yesterday that his New York counterpart, Eric Schneiderman, had been removed from the executive committee working on a multistate foreclosure probe – and potential settlement – with U.S. banks.

U.K. February House Prices Decline Annual 17.7%, Halifax Says

Secondary Market

Thursday, 05 March 2009 00:00

In the three months through February, prices declined 17.7 percent from a year earlier, the most since the survey began in 1983, the mortgage lender said today in a statement. From January, prices fell 2.3 percent to 160,327 pounds ($228,000). That’s more than the 2 percent drop that was the median of 14 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.

The Bank of England may announce plans to buy assets to stimulate the economy as the lowest interest rates in three centuries fail to contain the recession. The economy contracted at the sharpest pace since 1980 in the fourth quarter and joblessness reached the highest since Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party came to power in 1997, intensifying the yearlong property slump.

“Continuing pressures on incomes, rising unemployment and the negative impact of the dislocation of the financial markets on the availability of mortgage finance are likely to mean that 2009 will be another difficult year for the housing market,” Martin Ellis, an economist at Halifax, said in the statement.

Consumer confidence held close to the lowest since at least 2004 last month, Nationwide Building Society said yesterday. The U.K. economy contracted 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter, the most since 1980, as consumers cut spending.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc last month posted the biggest corporate loss in British history and announced it will cut more than 2,000 jobs. The government has had to take a controlling stake in the company and guarantee assets to prevent its collapse.

U.K. policy makers will reduce the benchmark interest rate by a half-point today from the current 1 percent, according to the median forecast of 60 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The decision will be announced at noon in London.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

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