Mortgage loan applications have increased 23% this last week due to record low rates.
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.
Read more...
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.
Read more...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.
Read more...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.
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.
Read more...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 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.
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Almost a third of properties on sale are now owned by banks, and as foreclosures - American for repossessions - continue, prices are being pushed down and driving an expansion in this niche market. In Long Island one real estate company has set up tours of foreclosed homes to bring in the buyers. Punters on the hunt for a bargain are ferried around in a little bus to various foreclosed properties. Buyer's market The Long Island Foreclosure Tours started operating earlier this year.David Farrell is one of the partners. "Every day you see an increase in the share of the market that is foreclosure business and that is why we started this and got involved," he says. These are vacant houses that the banks need to sell and any buyer who is looking for a deal is looking for a foreclosure." This is a growing market, and there's not many of those to be had in the present climate. As a result of the increase in foreclosures, the banks now own almost a third of the homes on sale in America. It's a buyers market, if you have the money. Moving up One of the clients on the bus is Andrew Hutchinson. He sees this as an opportunity to move up in the world. "With foreclosures you can find an area better than the area you live in now, and you can upgrade. Taxes might be a little bit higher, but you might have a house that you wouldn't be able to afford prior to this." One of the homes on the tour is a sprawling building with an outhouse. It's set on an expensive road in the neighbourhood. Last year houses around here were worth over $1.2m (£783,000). The bank bought this back for just over $1m. It's now listed at $699,000,a drop of almost 50%. The bank has had to bear a considerable loss. That's the irony; at the lower price, the former owners may have been able to afford the mortgage and stay in the property. Both the government and banks are working to staunch the flow of foreclosures, and keep owners in their homes, but critics say it's too little too late. Help for owners In another part of New York, there's a seminar in the Bronx to help owners stay in their homes. At the public library, organisations wait for people to turn up. No one comes. A local official explains advertising budgets have been cut because of the crisis, and there was no money to spread the news. Rebecca Gamez was there. She's from the Neighbourhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (Nedap), a New York non profit organisation. "I think there definitely needs to be a push at the national level to make homeowners a priority, for those who are facing foreclosure to stay in their homes," she says. "I think that at the national level the government should be pushing banks and lenders to work with home owners, and get them into affordable mortgages so they can stay in their homes for the long term." Flashlight tours In the meantime, the tour continues around the houses. As winter approaches they've started doing after work tours in the dark, which means the properties are being viewed by flashlight. There are five properties on this list. Mr Hutchinson shrugs his shoulders and says he feels bad for those who lost their home, but this is an opportunity. "Unfortunately due to the economy; foreclosed homes, you might say, are an economic change for some people and a benefit for other people," he says. "So we feel maybe we can get some good out of it for ourselves, some good comes out of the bad." Last month half of the homes bought were foreclosures. That's hardly enough to stabilize the market, but it does show that as prices fall, there is a market out there willing and able to buy. SOURCE: BBC.News
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