Analysts predict more declines in housing demand

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.

Analysts predict more declines in housing demand

Top News

Tuesday, 31 August 2010 21:38

By Elizabeth Martinez

Miami, FL- “The recent bond rally is good news for the secondary market, but it may be an unsustainable trend, as analysts predict more declines in the housing industry, potentially sapping mortgage-backed bonds.“ Explains Jacob Gafney from housingwire.com.

The feeling among realtors, economists, and the public in general is that the housing market will keep looking down. Considering that attempts made through modification of loans, and tax credits, and other incentive provided by the government have not done a lot for the struggling homeowner, people have little hope in any future attempts to fix this mortgage crisis. The National Association of Realtors reported that home sales for July dropped 27% (3.83 million annually) to its lowest rate since NAR began tracking, after the homebuyer tax credit was introduced.

"The bottom line is that housing demand has dropped sharply due to sales being moved forward, still high unemployment, and tighter lending standards," said Econoday economist Mark Rogers. "This sector likely will remain soft until employment improves. However, sales likely will come off the anemic July pace as we get further away from this period of stolen sales."

Similar things have been said by analysts at JPMorgan in a research note from Abhishek Mistry, Edward Reardon, Asif Sheikh and John Sim.
Analysts from JPMorgan explained: "We maintain our bias towards 2006/2007 fixed-rate paper where the coupon helps offset market price volatility," they said. "This is on top of an aging delinquent-loan population that is expected to push severities even higher."

Similarly, Celia Chen, a senior housing economist for Moody’s Investors Service predicts that these imbalances in the market will continue until 2012. In her view, the impaired credit of consumers, mixed with a glut of supply, will weigh negatively on home-ownership demand. A self-correcting recovery lasting several quarters will likely reverse these trends moderately, she adds.

"In the meantime the lingering excess supply will weigh on house-price appreciation until supply and demand conditions are better balanced," Chen said. "While the national house price index will reach bottom early next year, price appreciation will be soft for the next couple of years."

Looking at the information available, and from what analysts are saying, it seems that the market will not start recuperating soon, and it might take a very long time before things start looking up again.

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