Foreclosure filings up or down? Whose report is right?
Feb. 21, 2012 Miami, FL - Mortgage Lending News: If you were paying attention on Thursday, you saw two different stories about the housing market: The Mortgage Bankers Association said delinquencies and foreclosures fell in the fourth quarter of 2011 while RealtyTrac said foreclosure filings rose in January.
One simple way to account for the difference: They’re looking at different points in time. But it’s also worth noting that the reports are generated using two different methodologies.
Reverse mortgages on the rise.
Feb. 21, 2012 Miami, FL - Mortgage Lending NewsConverting home equity into cash has been a challenge for homeowners since the real-estate downturn, but a growing number of lenders are quietly reviving a loan for seniors that does just that: the reverse mortgage.
Reverse mortgages allow homeowners who are at least 62 years old to draw down on their home's equity in exchange for cash in several ways, including one lump sum, a line of credit or monthly payments.
Mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies hit three-year low
Feb. 16, 2012 Miami, FL - Mortgage Lending News: The percentage of mortgages at least one payment past due fell in the fourth quarter of 2011 and fewer loans entered the foreclosure process, reflecting improvement seen in the economy, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Thursday.
The current housing crisis may determined this year's election.
Feb. 17, 2012 Miami, FL - Mortgage Lending News:The housing market has never been a major factor in a presidential election. Sometimes, the topic has hardly garnered more than a passing mention by either political party.
Right now, housing is not yet a front-and-center issue for President Obama or any of the Republican presidential hopefuls. But no less than five national surveys indicate that the issue is a top-of-mind topic among voters. Granted, the polls were undertaken by real-estate-centric organizations — Realtor.com, the National Association of Home Builders, HouseLogic, Yahoo Real Estate and Trulia. But the unanimity of their findings underscores just how worried current and future owners are about their homes.
JP Morgan Chase, and UBS are threaten to be downgraded two levels by Moody's.
Feb. 16, 2012 Miami, FL - Mortgage Lending News: UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Morgan Stanley’s credit ratings may be cut by as many as three levels by Moody’s Investors Service, which is reviewing 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (C) are among companies that may be downgraded by two levels, Moody’s said in a statement, adding that the “guidance is indicative only.” Moody’s today cut some European insurers’ ratings based on risks stemming from the region’s sovereign debt crisis.
Federal Housing Administration will exhaust its reserves next year.
Feb. 16, 2012 Miami, FL - Mortgage Lending News: The Federal Housing Administration will exhaust its reserves over the coming year, according to budget projections released Monday, which would require a Treasury infusion for the first time in its 78-year history.
But Obama administration officials said more recent developments, including fines that will go to the FHA from last week's $25 billion mortgage settlement with five major banks, could cover any shortfall and obviate the need for taxpayer funding.
San Francisco officials finds foreclosures riddled with errors
An audit by San Francisco county officials of about 400 recent foreclosures there determined that almost all involved either legal violations or suspicious documentation, according to a report released Wednesday.
Anecdotal evidence indicating foreclosure abuse has been plentiful since the mortgage boom turned to bust in 2008. But the detailed and comprehensive nature of the San Francisco findings suggest how pervasive foreclosure irregularities may be across the nation.
The improprieties range from the basic — a failure to warn borrowers that they were in default on their loans as required by law — to the arcane. For example, transfers of many loans in the foreclosure files were made by entities that had no right to assign them and institutions took back properties in auctions even though they had not proved ownership.
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Investors may be tempted to play off that theme, positioning themselves for the moment when home buyers come back in droves. But that’s a trickier proposition than it sounds. This housing market has been anything but predictable. And the pain inflicted during the housing recession has left deep scars, making it difficult for many people to pin their money to the belief that housing could soon be on the mend. Plus, any recovery may be slow. That’s because while prices are down and financing is attractive, it’s harder for people to qualify for mortgages. The high unemployment rate has dealt a blow to household formation, and other would-be buyers simply can’t muster the confidence to buy a home. Moreover, many homeowners are underwater on their mortgage and won’t be able to sell their home, let alone buy a new one, anytime soon. Read more: Why you can't get the lowest mortgage rates. “My own read of the tea leaves is [a housing recovery is] going to take a while, and there isn’t an obvious place to invest to play that theme,” said Craig Leupold, president of Green Street Advisors, a real-estate and real-estate investment trust research firm. Home, sweet home Any brave souls willing to make a bet on the return of the residential real-estate market right now might first look at home builders and the home-improvement stores as places to invest. Builders have slashed volume in recent years, and are on track to sell 313,000 new homes this year — far fewer than in 2005, when 1.28 million new homes were sold. In fact, builders have pulled so far back on creating inventory during the downturn, it’s possible the market could run out of existing inventory faster than expected once housing gets back on track, said Eric Landry, director of industrial sector research for investment research firm Morningstar Inc. Read more: New U.S. home sales rise as prices tumble. To contact the editor: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Dina Montoya, Editor Mortgage Lending News, LLC http://www.mortgagelendingnews.com
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| Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 19:52 |
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