Fed officials call for a more community-focused approach to solve the mortgage crisis

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.

Fed officials call for a more community-focused approach to solve the mortgage crisis

Secondary Market

Friday, 03 September 2010 15:49

By elizabeth Martinez

Miami, FL- On a meeting attended by fed officials on Thursday, two top U.S. Federal Reserve officials proposed that a more community-focused approach be taken to work on solving the foreclosure crisis.

Sandra Pianalto, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, stressed the U.S. central bank feels a "great sense of urgency" in getting the housing situation back on track.

"A healthy housing sector is critical both to the overall economy and to a sustainable economic recovery," she told a conference on neighborhood stabilization strategies.

In addition, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren agreed with Pianalto in that one-size-fits-all remedies don't work for fighting foreclosures. A more careful approach needs to take place in order to trully address the needs of everyone invovled in this crisis.

"Rather than treating the symptom -- the high REO problem -- we need to better understand how to resolve the more general problems in communities that lead to higher concentrations of REOs and exacerbate the effects of high REOs," Rosengren said.

Furthremore, Rosengren said that more state and federal revenue sharing focused on providing flexible funds could help local governments target the pressing needs in their communities, be it a lack of teachers or police.

“The longer houses remain vacant, the more damage is done to these communities, with dropping property values and increased crime,” both Fed officials said.

"In many low-income communities, decades of progress have been wiped away during the past few years," Pianalto said. The problem of large numbers of real-estate owned properties in the Cleveland Fed's district "is severe, resources are limited, and the need for assistance is immediate," Pianalto said.

To break the "destructive cycle" of the foreclosure crisis, policies must "target multiple points of the breakdown in the housing market," she said.

“The Fed, which has sponsored 280 foreclosure-related events across the U.S., will continue to support community leaders and policy-makers through research and outreach,” she added.

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