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When it comes to housing data, sometimes you have to look past the headlines. December’s Housing Starts data offers a terrific illustration of why. Each month, the Census Bureau tallies Housing Starts for the month prior. A “housing start” is a home on which construction has started. The Housing Starts report is separated by property…. Read the rest »
“Interview with the Experts” series: Carl White, Simon White, Walter Wofford, and Jeff Armstrong on Marketing “It’s MARKETING that makes you money…” claims Carl White in this brief but powerful panel discussion. Listen to these experts… and tell us if you agree or not… One of the highlights of the 2011 Noteworthy Convention was the…. Read the rest »
by AndrewHA . President Barack Obama said Thursday the mortgage finance practices that led to the economic meltdown were "immoral, inappropriate and reckless," but not necessarily illegal, making it difficult to punish key players, specifically in the subprime debacle. Obama made those statements after a reporter asked the president during a news conference why the administration…. Read the rest »
by YardSale A new refinancing surge for underwater homeowners will not happen unless the U.S. government moves the risk of buying back the mortgage should it default from the old lender to the new one, according to one expert. Laurie Goodman, a senior analyst at Amherst Securities Group, will detail how the government could allow…. Read the rest »
Home sales have heated up, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. More homes are going under contract this summer than went during the winter or spring seasons. Many of these homes are scheduled for late-August/early-September closings. If your home is among them, plan ahead. Like for the rest of the U.S. workforce, Labor Day is…. Read the rest »
by The Library of Congress PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (PMT: 16.50 +1.91%) today reported net income for the second quarter more than doubled from a year earlier as the valuation of its loan portfolio rose. The REIT’s net income leaped to $ 30.2 million from $ 13.3 million in the three months ended June 30,…. Read the rest »
The United States is projected to reach its legal $ 14.294 trillion debt limit today. The limit was set by Congress February 12, 2010. The U.S. Treasury may not issue new debt beyond the debt ceiling. Since April 2011, Congress has debated ways to remain below the nation’s $ 14.292 trillion borrowing limit. The debate…. Read the rest »
by The Library of Congress Although the drop in default rates shows promise, the amount of shadow inventory still creates a dark loom over the future of housing prices, according to latest results from Standard & Poor's U.S. Residential Performance Index. The shadow inventory of unresolved distressed properties is currently at an estimated $ 405…. Read the rest »
A strong spring season helped home values recover, says the government. According to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s Home Price Index, home prices rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.4 percent from April to May. It’s the HPI’s second straight increase, and puts the monthly index at its highest point since January 2011. As a home seller ,…. Read the rest »
by echiner1 Mortgage Bankers Association CEO David Stevens sent a letter to House leaders Thursday urging lawmakers to extend the elevated conforming loan limits for government-backed mortgages. In 2008, Congress allowed Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee or buy mortgages worth as much as $ 729,750 in most neighborhoods. The…. Read the rest »
by MidCentArc For the second month in a row, less than half of the nation's homeowners think their home is worth more than the amount they still owe on their mortgage. While that’s up from June’s all-time low of 45%, it is just the third time this finding has fallen below 50% since late 2008,…. Read the rest »
Silver Anniversary Series In this 52-minute interview with real estate investor Walter Wofford, you’ll hear about the creative strategies he’s using in his family business to turn one profitable seller finance deal after another in the current market. Walter’s specialty is using seller financing to buy and then re-sell houses in the Jackson, Mississippi…. Read the rest »
by * starrynight1 Zillow Inc. [[ Z]] priced its initial public offering of 3.46 million shares of common stock at $ 20 per share. The shares were scheduled to begin trading Wednesday on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The price is higher than its original range of $ 12 to $ 14 share, which it raised…. Read the rest »
Silver Anniversary Series “Interview with a top Broker/Investor” It’s not often that you hear about someone who comes out of the gates like Gerald has in the past two years. We’ll let the numbers do the talking… In our recent interview with Gerald, he shared the business model that has enabled him to achieve spectacular…. Read the rest »
As home buyers , we tend to research homes a lot. We look at square footage; at upgrades; at landscaping; at community statistics; and, at every other “number” on which we can get our hands. But those are just statistics. What about the home’s “feel”? In this 5-minute piece from NBC’s The Today Show, you’ll…. Read the rest »
by guest contributor George Antone, author of The Wealthy Code Recently, I was sitting in Denny’s with a friend of mine discussing how an average employee can become wealthy. The premise was that the employee does not want to quit their job until he/she has enough money or cash flow to do so. We came…. Read the rest »
by guest contributor George Antone, author of The Wealthy Code I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about LEVERAGE, and we talked about the two ways to wealth. When you think about it, with all that’s out there, getting to your financial goals boils down to one of TWO types of…. Read the rest »
UPDATE: Due to the response, George has agreed to do several free training sessions on “How to create passive cash flow by becoming a private lender.” Space for these free training calls is limited. Register now: Afternoon training session (East Coast) Evening training session (East Coast) Evening training session (West Coast) When you think…. Read the rest »
“How to buy by the gallon and sell by the shot…” After the recent webinar with Sal Buscemi on investing in and brokering what he calls “bulk assets” (i.e. bulk REOs and non-performing notes), we got many, many questions about the process Sal uses in his business. In response, Sal sat down and made a…. Read the rest »
by slight clutter Fannie Mae’s gross mortgage portfolio dropped at a compound annualized rate of 16.4% in January, according to the latest monthly report from the government-sponsored enterprise. The company’s book of business also fell at a compound annualized rate of 1.1%. At Jan. 31, the GSE’s gross mortgage portfolio balance hovered at $ 769.9…. Read the rest »
by The Library of Congress Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., the largest U.S. mortgage firms, said they may face fines or enforcement actions from regulators amid investigations into foreclosure procedures. The probes may also lead to “significant legal costs,” Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America said yesterday in its annual report to…. Read the rest »
by Julie70 SunTrust Banks found problems in 4,000 active foreclosure cases during an internal review of its practices, the bank said Friday in a regulatory filing. Atlanta-based SunTrust said it found “technical issues” in fewer than 15 percent of active cases. The filing said some employees signed foreclosure documents without personally verifying the loan information. [...]…. Read the rest »
Not all housing reports are sunny, it seems. In its monthly New Home Sales release, the U.S. Department of Commerce showed a 13 percent drop-off in annualized new construction sales between the months of December and January. It’s the biggest one-month drop in New Home Sales since May 2010. In addition, the supply of new…. Read the rest »
Home resales rose another 2.7 percent last month, according to the National Association of REALTORS® monthly Existing Home Sales report. An “existing home” is a home that’s been previously occupied and is not considered new construction. The number of existing homes sold on a rolling 12-month basis is now at its highest point since May…. Read the rest »
by Chewy Chua What’s next for default servicing attorneys, property appraisers, home preservation experts and other mortgage servicers as they prepare for an onslaught of federal reforms and a backlogged foreclosure inventory? That’s the question on the minds of many mortgage servicing professionals who attended this year’s MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo in…. Read the rest »
by Tambako the Jaguar The Ventura County Superior Court in California found attorney Michael T. Pines in contempt of court Wednesday for helping his clients Jim and Danielle Earl break back into their home after the foreclosure was ruled legitimate. In January 2010, Conejo Capital Partners, an investment firm based in California, purchased the home…. Read the rest »
Annualized Single-Family Housing Starts dropped 1 percent in January to 413,000 units nationwide, it’s lowest reading almost 2 years. A “Housing Start” is defined as a home on which construction has started. Now, if you had only seen the Housing Starts story in the headlines today, you wouldn’t have known that single-family starts fell at all. It’s…. Read the rest »
by State Library of New South Wales collection Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, or MERS, told its members Wednesday not to foreclose on residential mortgages in its name. The electronic registry of mortgage records built by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the nation’s major lenders more than a decade ago has been under increasing fire by…. Read the rest »
by ANDY LEDDY Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2010, and accounted for the second largest sector of bankruptcy filings. Filings increased 8% to 438,913 from almost 407,000 a year prior, according to U.S. Court System data. The 9th Judicial District, also one of the hardest hit regions during the…. Read the rest »
by mescon Although California home sales overall dipped during 2010, the more high-end home sales — those sold for $ 1 million or more — climbed upward for the first time in five years. Last year, 22,529 homes sold for $ 1 million or more, up 21% from 18,621 in 2009 and the highest since 2008,…. Read the rest »
Foreclosure activity is slowing. According to foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosure filings dropped 17 percent on an annual basis last month. Monthly filings ticked higher 1 percent after a combined 23 percent decrease through November and December 2010. The phrase “foreclosure filing” is a catch-all term, comprising default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. January…. Read the rest »
by onkel_wart Bank of America (BAC: 14.29 -0.97%) said Friday it will no longer originate reverse mortgages as it continues to shake up its core business. A reverse or Home Equity Conversion Mortgage allows the borrower, who must be at least 62 years old, to convert a portion of the equity in the home for…. Read the rest »
Mortgage lending appears to be loosening. At least for now. In its quarterly survey of member banks, the Federal Reserve asks senior loan officers around the country whether their “prime” residential mortgage guidelines had tightened within the last 3 months. A prime borrower is one with a well-documented credit history, high credit scores, and a…. Read the rest »
In December, home sales reached an 8-month high, recovering from the losses of last summer. Market momentum is positive , but that doesn’t mean every home is selling quickly — only some of them are. So, if you’re a home seller and want (or need) to get your home sold quickly, take a listen to…. Read the rest »
I was 22 years old when I decided to go into mortgage sales. I was finishing an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and had decided that I didn't want to go to law school as I had originally intended. I didn't have rich parents, and had never made any significant money, so [...] HousingWire
by Michel Filion Fannie Mae expanded its multifamily mortgage-backed structured finance product availability Monday. The government-sponsored enterprise introduced “Guaranteed Multifamily Structures,” or Fannie Mae GeMS. GeMS include delegated underwriting and servicing of mortgage-backed securities megas, DUS real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) and syndicated DUS megas. Megas are groups of Fannie mortgages pooled together according…. Read the rest »
by zachstern Whether they like it or not, the nation's banks control most of the country's shadow inventory, according to a report Friday from Morgan Stanley. Even more, properties in imminent default are typically cheaper homes with prime mortgages. The analyst adds that their findings buck conventional wisdom that these homes are either concentrated in…. Read the rest »
by ANDY LEDDY North Texas auction house Hudson & Marshall hosted property sales for more than 250 real estate-owned homes in Atlanta over the weekend, 95% of which received bids. Principal David Webb said that auctions are becoming a more viable way to purchase a home because of the amount and quality of the inventory…. Read the rest »
A federal judge ruled that a group of investors suing Ally Financial's (GJM: 23.30 +0.91%) Residential Capital unit and Royal Bank of Scotland over mortgage-backed securities losses did not qualify for class action status and must file independently. The New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund, Vacations Fund and the Boilermaker Blacksmith National Pension Trust sued both…. Read the rest »
by New York Public Library Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems has officially announced the retirement of President and CEO R.K. Arnold, with Paul Bognanno serving as interim President and CEO until a replacement is named. MERS had no comment Friday when asked if Arnold was leaving. Arnold joined the company at its inception nearly 15 years…. Read the rest »
by dalylab Safeguard Properties, in conjunction with default servicing industry veteran Brandon Kirkham, recently launched a new company that streamlines communication between mortgage servicers and code enforcement officers. Compliance Connection, which is based in Plano, Texas, is an online network where servicers can connect directly with municipalities across the country to address code enforcement issues….. Read the rest »
Existing Home Sales surged 12 percent last month, closing 2010’s housing market with strength. An “existing home” is a home that cannot be categorized as new construction; a resale. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, seasonally-adjusted, annualized Existing Home Sales figures climbed by more than a half-million units in December as compared to November. It’s…. Read the rest »
by ANDY LEDDY Fannie Mae will increase the maximum allowable fee servicers can pay Maryland foreclosure attorneys to $ 1,300 from $ 950 for mortgage loans referred to them on or after Feb. 1. The fee change applies to whole mortgage loans, participating pool mortgages and others bundled into mortgage-backed securities serviced in special servicing….. Read the rest »
Each month, in conjunction with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Census Bureau releases its New Residential Construction report. The report is comprised of several sections, one of which counts the number of homes that have “broken ground” nationwide. They’re called “Housing Starts” and, by most measures, they faded quickly as 2010 came…. Read the rest »
Homebuilder confidence held firm for the second straight month this month, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The monthly Housing Market Index registered 16 out of a possible 100. January’s reading is three points higher than the 2010 low-point, set in September, and in-line with last year’s average reading. According to the NAHB,…. Read the rest »
by The Library of Congress For the first year since the financial crisis began, annual foreclosure auction filings in California, Arizona and Nevada declined. ForeclosureRadar, which tracks foreclosure data on the West Coast, reported 338,999 foreclosure starts in California in 2010, down 33% from one year prior. Arizona filings fell 18% to 119,790, and Nevada…. Read the rest »
Mortgage markets worsened last week on a turn-around in sentiment across the Eurozone. The sort of “safe haven” buying that had buoyed mortgage bonds since the New Year dissipated, and mortgage rates resumed climbing. Last week marked the first week since the end of 2010 that mortgage rates have risen, breaking a 2-and-a-half-week rally. Conforming…. Read the rest »
by THE Holy Hand Grenade! Ernst & Young appointed Mark Grinis to lead the firm's global team that services real estate investment funds. Grinis is currently a senior partner in Ernst & Young's real estate practice in New York. He also leads the firm's real estate distressed services team. In his new position, Grinis succeeds…. Read the rest »
