1 in 5 mortgages 'underwater'

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.

1 in 5 mortgages 'underwater'

Business: general

Wednesday, 04 March 2009 00:00

The dramatic decline in the housing market has hit Americans hard: 20% of people with mortgages owe more than their home is worth, according to a report released Wednesday.

More than 8.3 million U.S. mortgages were "underwater" as of December, said research firm First American CoreLogic. Three months earlier, 18% were underwater.

The phenomenon is exploding beyond bubble markets such as California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada, according to Sam Khater, senior economist for CoreLogic.

"As of December, home prices are declining in 75% of all metro markets, up from a third of those markets last March," Khater said.

Another 2.2 million homeowners are within 5% of negative territory, according to CoreLogic. These borrowers are prime candidates for refinancing under President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan.

Details on Obama's plan are expected to be released Wednesday. The administration has indicated that the plan will allow borrowers with between 80% and 105% loan-to-value ratios - near underwater and slightly underwater borrowers - to refinance their conforming loans, allowing many to lower their mortgage payments.

Anyone who is more underwater may qualify for a loan modification, where monthly mortgage payments would be reduced to 31% of gross income.

State totals: Of all the states, California has fared the worst. Homeowners in the beleaguered state lost more than $1.2 trillion in housing value last year, accounting for roughly half of the national decline.

California also led in the number of underwater borrowers: 1.9 million. It was followed by Florida (1.3 million), Texas (497,000), Michigan (459,000) and Ohio (435,000).

Those five states comprised more than 50% of the country's negative equity mortgages, the report said.

According to the CoreLogic report, home prices show little sign of stabilizing but declines in some of the worst-hit markets, such as the Central Valley of California, have recently lured buyers looking for bargains. But demand has not grown enough to boost prices, according to Khater.

"The supply must be whittled down more before prices can begin to stabilize," he said.

Outlook: As of the end of 2008, the total value of residential properties was $19.1 trillion, down $2.4 trillion from December 2007.

The report speculated that, over the next few months, the largest increase in underwater borrowers will come in states that have yet to record big home-price declines. The bubble states already have such high percentages of underwater borrowers and prices have fallen so far that only incremental increases should occur.

But the pace should quicken in states, such as New York, New Jersey, Montana and Hawaii, in which underwater borrowers still only account for fewer than 10% of all loans.

SOURCE: CNN

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