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National Survey: Data on Home Buying Financing

feedproxy.google.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:50 GMT

Here is some national data on home buyer financing in October. This is from a survey by Campbell Communications (excerpted with permission) released today. Source: October Trends in Existing Home Sales, a presentation from Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey on Real Estate Market Conditions. Thomas Popik, Campbell Surveys Research Director, highlighted several key trends from the survey in October: Investor Purchases of REO Are Declining First-Time Homebuyers Largely Support the Market First-Time Homebuyers Dependent on FHA Financing If FHA Guidelines Get Tougher, Look for Large Impact Short Sale Inventory and Transactions Are Booming First-Time Homebuyer Traffic Is Starting to Ease Click on graph for larger image in new window. The first chart shows the type of financing used in...(read more)

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Geithner Not the First Treasury Secretary to Spar With Lawmakers

feeds.wsjonline.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:49 GMT

Thursday’s shouting match between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and lawmakers on the Joint Economic Committee raised eyebrows but Mr. Geithner isn’t the first Treasury Secretary to find himself publicly sparring with a Senator. In 2002, then-Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill got into a tense, emotional exchange with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd over, of all things, which of them grew up in a ditch. The volley began when Mr. Byrd suggested that Mr. O’Neill, who had come to Treasury from aluminum giant Alcoa Inc., was not looking out for the interests of those less well-off. Mr. O’Neill, his voice trembling, took issue with the “inference” in Mr. Byrd’s statement and said “”Senator, I started my life in a house without water or electricity, so I don’t cede to you the moral high...(read more)

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Back to Business: With F.H.A. Help, Easy Loans in Expensive Areas

feeds.nytimes.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:48 GMT

An effort by the F.H.A. to prop up real estate prices amid rising defaults has put taxpayers at risk....(read more)

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HUD Issues Final Condo Policy Decisions

www.mortgageprocessor.org — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:47 GMT

Written By: Stacey Sprain, Certified Ambassador Loan Processor (CALP) The anticipated guidance from HUD in regards to the final Condo Policy finally arrived last week in the form of two Mortgagee Letters. ML 2009-46B , which replaces the previously issued ML 2009-19 and ML 2009-46A which communicates additional temporary guidance on a number of topics. One thing I found very odd when first reading these bulletins was the reversal of the numbering. I find it makes much more sense chronologically to reverse them and read them as if ML 2009-46B is actually 46A and as if 46A is really 46B. So let’s go to 46B FIRST. December 7th remains the magical date for implementation of the new condo review and approval requirements. For cases pulled on and after December 7th, the condo project must either...(read more)

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Americans More Unhappy With Feds' Housing Fixes

www.businessweek.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:46 GMT

Trillions spent on propping up banks, buying mortgages, tax credits and new programs designed to lower payments and prevent foreclosures. And yet a new survey from Move Inc., the parent of Realtor.com, says Americans are growing increasingly dissatisfied with how Washington is handling the housing mess. The October 2009 survey found that the federal government’s approval rating by consumers on housing issues has slipped since March 2009. By a six-percent margin, Americans said they don’t think the government is doing enough to stabilize the housing market (48.2% compared to 42.2% five months ago). According to the survey, consumers still want low interest rates (31.4%) and action by the government to help homeowners prevent foreclosures (28.5%), the same two top priorities expressed by survey...(read more)

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Where Home Prices Are Suddenly Hot

www.businessweek.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:50:45 GMT

The real estate market continues to send mixed signals. Home sales are rising. They were up 11% in the third quarter from the same period last year to a 5.3 million-a-year annual pace. The sales are coming thanks to a lot of financial incentives. Thirty year mortgage interest rates remain near record lows at 5.1%. Uncle Sam continues to write $8,000 tax credit checks to first time home buyers. “The buying conditions this year are the most favorable on record dating back to 1970,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Nearly one-third of those sales though are foreclosed homes trading at distressed prices. They are dragging down prices nationally. The Realtors association reported today that prices fell in 123 out of 153 cities tracked in the third quarter...(read more)

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Expect tightening from the FHA

feeds.washingtonpost.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:35:23 GMT

For the past several years, the Federal Housing Administration has been the go-to financing resource for cash-strapped home buyers who can't come up with a big down payment. It has zoomed from barely a 3 percent market share to nearly 30 percent of home-purchase loans. But now, wildly popular......(read more)

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100% Mortgage Financing From USDA

www.cnbc.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:29:06 GMT

I didn't know about it either. Yes, the US Department of Agriculture has a program, instituted back in the 1940s, to assist in rural development, that has become extremely popular during these days of crunching credit. These are USDA-backed loans, so approved lenders can offer no-money down....(read more)

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Housing Back in the News

wallstreetpit.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:29:06 GMT

Two reports released this week remind us of the difficulties still confronting the residential real estate market. First, the consumer price index (CPI) showed continued moderation. Yes, the overall number was up 3.4 percent on a monthly annualized basis, and even the core measure ticked up 2.2......(read more)

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Unemployment Rate Increases in 29 States in October

feedproxy.google.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:42 GMT

From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 13 states registered rate decreases, and 8 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. ... Michigan again recorded the highest unemployment rate among the states, 15.1 percent, in October. The states with the next highest rates were Nevada, 13.0 percent; Rhode Island, 12.9 percent; California, 12.5 percent; and South Carolina, 12.1 percent. The rate in California set a new series high, as did the rates in Delaware (8.7 percent) and Florida (11.2 percent). The District of Columbia also set a series high, 11...(read more)

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A Few House Price Forecasts

feedproxy.google.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:41 GMT

From housing consultant Ivy Zelman commenting on the MBA Delinquency report in the NY Times U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Reach a Record High "I’ve been pretty bearish on this big ugly pig stuck in the python and this cements my view that home prices are going back down." From Bloomberg: Housing Recovery in U.S. Set Back to 2010 as Market Wanes “I don’t think the housing crisis is over,” Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Economy.com, said in a telephone interview. “I think we’re going to see another leg down.” From Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius in a note to clients: A Renewed Sag in the Housing Market (no link) "Our current working assumption is a 5%-10% drop in home prices through the middle of 2010. ... house prices and credit quality ... to weigh on the US...(read more)

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Five Things: The Ever-Sensational Looming Global Economic Collapse

www.minyanville.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:06:40 GMT

1. The Ever-Sensational Looming Global Economic CollapseThe word came down hard and fast late Wednesday evening "Société Générale has advised clients to be ready for a possible 'global economic collapse' over the next two years mapping a strategy of defensive investments to avoid wealth destruction." The headline was a bit more direct "Société Générale tells clients how to prepare for 'global collapse'." Later it was revised to include the word "potential " forming a more modest warning. But really the cat was already out of the bag. From there it took little time for mainstream US media outlets to ......(read more)

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House Attacks Fed, Treasury

feeds.wsjonline.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:59:52 GMT

Political frustration over Wall Street's rescue and high unemployment erupted in Congress, with one panel threatening tighter scrutiny on the Fed and another excoriating Geithner....(read more)

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Geithner Under Fire on Economy

feeds.wsjonline.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:59:52 GMT

Snowballing frustration about the economy and Wall Street bailouts burst into a political fracas, with lawmakers calling on Treasury Secretary Geithner to resign....(read more)

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More on FHA Loans

feedproxy.google.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:20:47 GMT

David Streitfeld at the NY Times adds some color: Easy Loans in Expensive Areas In January, Mike Rowland was so broke that he had to raid his retirement savings to move [to San Francisco] from Boston. A week ago, he and a couple of buddies bought a two-unit apartment building for nearly a million dollars. They had only a little cash to bring to the table but, with the federal government insuring the transaction, a large down payment was not necessary. “It was kind of crazy we could get this big a loan,” said Mr. Rowland, 27. “If a government official came out here, I would slap him a high-five.” ... For decades, most F.H.A. loans were in low-cost states like Texas and Michigan. ... The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 helped change that by temporarily doubling the maximum loan the F.H.A. insured...(read more)

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