In what's been dubbed the "robo-signing" scandal, JP Morgan Chase and Co. has joined GMAC Mortgage in temporarily halting foreclosure proceedings in judicial foreclosure states, following allegations that workers the companies employed failed to follow the proper legal procedures in filing paperwork demonstrating that the lenders had the right to foreclose.
In the past, such allegations -- often brought by attorneys representing homeowners in disputed foreclosure proceedings -- have mostly delayed, not stopped foreclosure proceedings.
But the robo-signing allegations could affect other lenders who rely on a paperless loan registration system developed for the industry by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS), slowing foreclosure proceedings in courts nationwide.
Click Here to Read: Chase Puts Hold On 56,000 Foreclosures...
Luxury Hong Kong Home Sells For Record 36 Million US Dollars
Hong Kong - A Hong Kong home has sold for a record 280 million Hong Kong dollars (36 million US dollars) as property prices in the wealthy city boom and fears of a bubble proliferate, a news report said Tuesday.
The ocean-view, three-storey, 395-square-metre property on Repulse Bay Road last changed hands in 1998 for less than 5 million US dollars, the Hong Kong Standard reported.
The price of the home, called Sunbeam House 5 and sold by the son of a property developer, makes it Hong Kong's most expensive home in terms of price per square meter, the newspaper said.
Click Here to Read: Luxury Hong Kong Home Sells For Record 36 Million US Dollars...
The ocean-view, three-storey, 395-square-metre property on Repulse Bay Road last changed hands in 1998 for less than 5 million US dollars, the Hong Kong Standard reported.
The price of the home, called Sunbeam House 5 and sold by the son of a property developer, makes it Hong Kong's most expensive home in terms of price per square meter, the newspaper said.
Click Here to Read: Luxury Hong Kong Home Sells For Record 36 Million US Dollars...
CEDIA 2010 Wrap Up: New Trends In Home Theater
Green home automation, 3D projectors and iPad remote apps all took center stage at this year’s annual CEDIA custom electronics trade show.
Click Here to Read: CEDIA 2010 Wrap Up: New Trends In Home Theater...
Talk Is Cheap for Fannie and Freddie
When it comes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the most likely course of action over the coming year might end up being inaction. Not that you would know, listening to the Obama administration or its Republican opponents. Both are preparing plans to overhaul the mortgage giants and housing finance.
The administration says it will have proposals ready by January. Its revamp may include some form of continued backstop for mortgage-finance. Republicans in their "Pledge to America" last week, meanwhile, called for an end of the "government takeover" of Fannie and Freddie and a "shrinking of their portfolios."
For all the talk, paralysis may be more likely, especially if elections change control in Congress. And secretly, this may be just what politicians from both parties prefer.
Click Here to Read: Talk Is Cheap for Fannie and Freddie...
The administration says it will have proposals ready by January. Its revamp may include some form of continued backstop for mortgage-finance. Republicans in their "Pledge to America" last week, meanwhile, called for an end of the "government takeover" of Fannie and Freddie and a "shrinking of their portfolios."
For all the talk, paralysis may be more likely, especially if elections change control in Congress. And secretly, this may be just what politicians from both parties prefer.
Click Here to Read: Talk Is Cheap for Fannie and Freddie...
Squatters Moving Into Upscale Neighborhoods
On the big screen, actor Randy Quaid may be best known for his mooching, move-in-and-never-leave character “Cousin Eddie” from National Lampoon's "Vacation” films. Last weekend, he allegedly followed his own Hollywood script.
Quaid and his wife, Evi, were arrested Saturday after they were found living in a guest house on a million-dollar, Montecito, Calif., property Quaid once owned. While Quaid claims his name remains on the deed, the actor and his wife were jailed until they were able to post $10,000 bail.Click Here to Read: Squatters Moving Into Upscale Neighborhoods...
Home Sales Up; Prices Down
Home sales along the Wasatch Front are up dramatically so far this year, but what happens now that a federal buying incentive of up to $8,000 is expiring?
Certainly, the federal tax credit — along with low mortgage rates — played a leading role in pushing up sales of single-family homes in the first quarter. Although prices continued to fall, sales in Salt Lake County rose by 15.3 percent and condo sales by nearly 27 percent, compared with the same period in 2009.
Exactly how many of the buyers of 1,716 homes and 350 condos that changed hands in the first three months will claim or have claimed the credit isn’t known, but it could have been as high as a third, said Bill Heiner, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, which issued its home-sale report Tuesday.
Click Here to Read: Home Sales Up; Prices Down...
Certainly, the federal tax credit — along with low mortgage rates — played a leading role in pushing up sales of single-family homes in the first quarter. Although prices continued to fall, sales in Salt Lake County rose by 15.3 percent and condo sales by nearly 27 percent, compared with the same period in 2009.
Exactly how many of the buyers of 1,716 homes and 350 condos that changed hands in the first three months will claim or have claimed the credit isn’t known, but it could have been as high as a third, said Bill Heiner, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, which issued its home-sale report Tuesday.
Click Here to Read: Home Sales Up; Prices Down...
$305M 'Fire Sale' On Safra's Ex-Digs
Two British speculators made a killing on one of the world's most expensive homes, despite its dark past.
Reclusive developers Christian and Nick Candy sold an over-the-top, luxury apartment in Monaco for $305 million, in a deal that reportedly netted them a profit of about $291 million.
The buyer is believed to be a Middle Eastern sheik.
Read more: $305M 'fire sale' on Safra's ex-digs...
Reclusive developers Christian and Nick Candy sold an over-the-top, luxury apartment in Monaco for $305 million, in a deal that reportedly netted them a profit of about $291 million.
The buyer is believed to be a Middle Eastern sheik.
Read more: $305M 'fire sale' on Safra's ex-digs...
Short Sales Not Having Intended Effect On Real Estate Market
Homeowners who are strapped with a mortgage loan that is higher than their home's value often turn to short sales to rid themselves of debt and avoid foreclosure. Although this is a popular option for both individuals and lenders to reduce their financial loss, homeowners are finding the process may pose additional obstacles.
Click Here to Read: Short Sales Not Having Intended Effect On Real Estate Market...
Click Here to Read: Short Sales Not Having Intended Effect On Real Estate Market...
Will There Ever Be a ‘Tidal Wave’ of REO Listings?
Today’s Outlook column looks at how bank-owned foreclosures and other involuntary home sales will govern the pace of home price declines over the coming months.
Banks and other companies that sell REO, or real-estate owned, properties are typically faster to reduce prices than traditional sellers, so they tend to speed along any price correction. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the share of distressed sales—including foreclosures and short sales, where banks approve a sale for less than the amount owed.
While that share is rising—Barclays estimates that it jumped to 30% of all sales in July, from 22% in June—there’s nothing to suggest, at this point, that a tidal wave of foreclosures will hit the market.
The reason: banks are taking greater steps to avoid foreclosures, including loan modifications and short sales, where a home sells for less than the amount owed.
Click Here to Read: Will There Ever Be a ‘Tidal Wave’ of REO Listings?...
Banks and other companies that sell REO, or real-estate owned, properties are typically faster to reduce prices than traditional sellers, so they tend to speed along any price correction. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the share of distressed sales—including foreclosures and short sales, where banks approve a sale for less than the amount owed.
While that share is rising—Barclays estimates that it jumped to 30% of all sales in July, from 22% in June—there’s nothing to suggest, at this point, that a tidal wave of foreclosures will hit the market.
The reason: banks are taking greater steps to avoid foreclosures, including loan modifications and short sales, where a home sells for less than the amount owed.
Click Here to Read: Will There Ever Be a ‘Tidal Wave’ of REO Listings?...
Why You Should Blame Your Grandparents For The Mortgage Crisis
The current mortgage crisis in the US is more severe than any since the 1930s. So it makes good sense to examine the origins, impacts, and consequences of that last great mortgage crisis great mortgage crisis – indeed many commentators have made a direct comparison between the two (see for example Eichengreen and O'Rourke 2010). The case for examining the last great crisis is especially pronounced given that the US Secretary of the Treasury has just asked Americans to “consider the challenge of how to build a more stable housing finance system” (Geithner 2010).
Yet we should be humble in taking up this challenge. We are after all reforming a mortgage system that was built on a framework that Depression-era policymakers forged in response to their own crisis. One of those policymakers was Henry Hoagland, who described the situation he faced in 1935 as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board thus:
[A] tremendous surge of residential building in the [last] decade…was matched by an ever-increasing supply of homes sold on easy terms. The easy terms plan has a catch…[o]nly a small decline in prices was necessary to wipe out this equity. Unfortunately, deflationary processes are never satisfied with small declines in values. In the field of real-estate finance… we have depended so much upon credit that our whole value structure can be thrown out of balance by relatively slight shocks. When such a delicate structure is once disorganized, it is a tremendous task to get it into a position where it can again function normally. (Hoagland 1935)
This column looks back over the terrain that Hoagland described by examining how the residential mortgage market worked before 1930 and how it was changed by crisis and policy in the 1930s. It turns out that this history lesson provides some fresh perspective on today’s mortgage crisis (see my accompanying paper, Snowden 2010, for more details).
Read more: Why You Should Blame Your Grandparents For The Mortgage Crisis...
Yet we should be humble in taking up this challenge. We are after all reforming a mortgage system that was built on a framework that Depression-era policymakers forged in response to their own crisis. One of those policymakers was Henry Hoagland, who described the situation he faced in 1935 as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board thus:
[A] tremendous surge of residential building in the [last] decade…was matched by an ever-increasing supply of homes sold on easy terms. The easy terms plan has a catch…[o]nly a small decline in prices was necessary to wipe out this equity. Unfortunately, deflationary processes are never satisfied with small declines in values. In the field of real-estate finance… we have depended so much upon credit that our whole value structure can be thrown out of balance by relatively slight shocks. When such a delicate structure is once disorganized, it is a tremendous task to get it into a position where it can again function normally. (Hoagland 1935)
This column looks back over the terrain that Hoagland described by examining how the residential mortgage market worked before 1930 and how it was changed by crisis and policy in the 1930s. It turns out that this history lesson provides some fresh perspective on today’s mortgage crisis (see my accompanying paper, Snowden 2010, for more details).
Read more: Why You Should Blame Your Grandparents For The Mortgage Crisis...
A Downside of Short Sales
STRUGGLING homeowners have found some refuge in short sales, in which lenders allow borrowers to escape foreclosure by selling a home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Government programs offering incentives to both parties will push the number of short sales to 400,000 this year from 100,000 in 2008, according to CoreLogic, a financial consulting firm.
But the jump in short sales has also given rise to a new form of fraud — which, as a recent study by CoreLogic suggests, could undermine the burgeoning practice.
Fraudulent short sales take many forms, but Frank McKenna, the vice president for fraud strategy at CoreLogic and one of the report’s authors, says one arrangement is more common than others.
Click Here to Read: A Downside of Short Sales...
But the jump in short sales has also given rise to a new form of fraud — which, as a recent study by CoreLogic suggests, could undermine the burgeoning practice.
Fraudulent short sales take many forms, but Frank McKenna, the vice president for fraud strategy at CoreLogic and one of the report’s authors, says one arrangement is more common than others.
Click Here to Read: A Downside of Short Sales...
Resale Fees That Only Developers Could Love
REBECCA AND TRENT DUPAIX of Eagle Mountain, Utah, spent a year searching for their dream home. The couple, who have five children, considered 15 to 20 houses before finding “the one.”
They were thrilled when they closed on a $227,000, rock-and-stucco home with five bedrooms and two and a half baths in March 2009.
But four months later, when a local television reporter was doing a story on housing taxes in their subdivision, the Dupaixs discovered that their sales contract included a “resale fee” that allows the developer to collect 1 percent of the sales price from the seller every time the property changes hands — for the next 99 years.
Click to Read: Resale Fees That Only Developers Could Love...
They were thrilled when they closed on a $227,000, rock-and-stucco home with five bedrooms and two and a half baths in March 2009.
But four months later, when a local television reporter was doing a story on housing taxes in their subdivision, the Dupaixs discovered that their sales contract included a “resale fee” that allows the developer to collect 1 percent of the sales price from the seller every time the property changes hands — for the next 99 years.
Click to Read: Resale Fees That Only Developers Could Love...
Obama Awards Utah $5 Million To Stabilize Communities
Five million dollars in grants, intended to reverse the effects of foreclosures in local communities, will be headed to Utah, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday.
The funds will provide emergency assistance to help Utah communities acquire, redevelop or demolish foreclosed properties.
"These grants will support local efforts to reverse the effects these foreclosed properties have on their surrounding neighborhoods," said Secretary Shaun Donovan. "We want to make certain that we target these funds to those places with especially high foreclosure activity so we can help turn the tide in our battle against abandonment and blight."
Click Here to Read: Obama Awards Utah $5 Million To Stabilize Communities...
The funds will provide emergency assistance to help Utah communities acquire, redevelop or demolish foreclosed properties.
"These grants will support local efforts to reverse the effects these foreclosed properties have on their surrounding neighborhoods," said Secretary Shaun Donovan. "We want to make certain that we target these funds to those places with especially high foreclosure activity so we can help turn the tide in our battle against abandonment and blight."
Click Here to Read: Obama Awards Utah $5 Million To Stabilize Communities...
Utah Remains Among Highest In Surge Of Foreclosure Filings
The number of Utah households facing foreclosure jumped by 75 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, much higher than the 16 percent increase nationally, a new report shows.
Nearly 10,800 households in the state, or one in every 88 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, said RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that tracks filings. The firm said Utah has the fifth-highest rate of foreclosure filings of all states, behind only Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California. The Beehive State has been in the top tier for much of the past year.
Nationally, more than 900,000 households, or one in every 138 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, which ranges from a homeowner being warned he or she is behind on their mortgage to a bank taking possession. Across the country, more homes were taken over by banks and scheduled for a foreclosure sale than in any quarter going back to at least January 2005, when RealtyTrac began reporting the data, the firm said. Experts say it’s a sign that banks are starting to wade through the backlog of troubled home loans at a faster pace, according to the report.
Click Here to Read: Utah Remains Among Highest In Surge Of Foreclosure Filings...
Nearly 10,800 households in the state, or one in every 88 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, said RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that tracks filings. The firm said Utah has the fifth-highest rate of foreclosure filings of all states, behind only Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California. The Beehive State has been in the top tier for much of the past year.
Nationally, more than 900,000 households, or one in every 138 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, which ranges from a homeowner being warned he or she is behind on their mortgage to a bank taking possession. Across the country, more homes were taken over by banks and scheduled for a foreclosure sale than in any quarter going back to at least January 2005, when RealtyTrac began reporting the data, the firm said. Experts say it’s a sign that banks are starting to wade through the backlog of troubled home loans at a faster pace, according to the report.
Click Here to Read: Utah Remains Among Highest In Surge Of Foreclosure Filings...
10 Market Facts for Uncertain Times
Although the economy is soft and consumer confidence remains low, new data from the National Association of REALTORS® shows positive signs for the future. To help REALTORS® interpret current economic data and address clients’ concerns, here are 10 key facts to understand about today’s market.
1. The economy is growing, though slowly.
2. The private sector is finally creating some jobs.
3. Consumer confidence remains low, though clearly off bottom.
4. The 30-year mortgage rate is at generational lows.
Click to Read: 10 Market Facts for Uncertain Times...
1. The economy is growing, though slowly.
2. The private sector is finally creating some jobs.
3. Consumer confidence remains low, though clearly off bottom.
4. The 30-year mortgage rate is at generational lows.
Click to Read: 10 Market Facts for Uncertain Times...
Alabama Association of Realtors Receiving $15M For Lost Income
Three months of negotiations ended favorably Friday for the Alabama Association of Realtors, which received $15 million from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility for emergency payments to real-estate licenses of oil spill-related lost income.
“We want to thank Gov. (Bob) Riley for all of his hard work on behalf of all real estate licensees so they can file claims,” said Keith Kelley, president of the Montgomery-based association.
Kelley also thanked independent claims czar Kenneth Feinberg for “seeing the true hardships facing real estate licensees on the coast due to the oil spill.”
Click Here to Read: Alabama Association of Realtors Receiving $15M For Lost Income...
“We want to thank Gov. (Bob) Riley for all of his hard work on behalf of all real estate licensees so they can file claims,” said Keith Kelley, president of the Montgomery-based association.
Kelley also thanked independent claims czar Kenneth Feinberg for “seeing the true hardships facing real estate licensees on the coast due to the oil spill.”
Click Here to Read: Alabama Association of Realtors Receiving $15M For Lost Income...
Utah Panel Pushing For Energy-Efficient Homes
Utah’s Uniform Building Code Commission is poised to push the Legislature to mandate that new houses be more energy-efficient.
But a key group is already pushing back.
Homebuilders say the new standards would unnecessarily jack up the prices for new houses, while conservation advocates counter that they would save energy — and homeowners’ money.
The commission last month approved the new code on a 5-2 vote but will take a final vote after a public hearing Wednesday.
Click Here to Read: Utah Panel Pushing For Energy-Efficient Homes...
But a key group is already pushing back.
Homebuilders say the new standards would unnecessarily jack up the prices for new houses, while conservation advocates counter that they would save energy — and homeowners’ money.
The commission last month approved the new code on a 5-2 vote but will take a final vote after a public hearing Wednesday.
Click Here to Read: Utah Panel Pushing For Energy-Efficient Homes...
Paramount Chief Sells in L.A. For $21.5 Million
Paramount Chairman and CEO Brad Grey has sold his Pacific Palisades home for $21.5 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The buyer was Jordan L. Kaplan, CEO of Douglas Emmett, a real-estate investment trust. The home initially listed about a year ago for $29.9 million, but most recently asked $24.5 million.
Click Here to Read: Paramount Chief Sells in L.A. For $21.5 Million...
Click Here to Read: Paramount Chief Sells in L.A. For $21.5 Million...
An Ad Man's $35 Million Pitch
Jerry Della Femina has spent his life selling everything from Pan Am to Meow Mix. But the advertising executive hasn't yet succeeded with his latest pitch: his sprawling East Hampton estate, which officially hit the market for $40 million last spring.
Last month, Mr. Della Femina dropped the asking price to $35 million. He said he isn't all that surprised the house hasn't yet sold. Perched on a dune on a mansion-lined stretch between East Hampton's Main Beach and Georgica Beach, the 8,500-square-foot European villa-style house on 1.7 acres overlooks the ocean. Neighbors include Martha Stewart, who on a recent Friday was walking three dogs nearby alongside a row of neatly trimmed hedges.
Known for his ad copy, Mr. Della Femina said pitching high-end real estate is not what he does. "I don't even really talk to the real estate people, it's their job," he said.
"In this price range, you don't exactly have open houses," added his wife, Judy Licht.
Click Here: An Ad Man's $35 Million Pitch...
Last month, Mr. Della Femina dropped the asking price to $35 million. He said he isn't all that surprised the house hasn't yet sold. Perched on a dune on a mansion-lined stretch between East Hampton's Main Beach and Georgica Beach, the 8,500-square-foot European villa-style house on 1.7 acres overlooks the ocean. Neighbors include Martha Stewart, who on a recent Friday was walking three dogs nearby alongside a row of neatly trimmed hedges.
Known for his ad copy, Mr. Della Femina said pitching high-end real estate is not what he does. "I don't even really talk to the real estate people, it's their job," he said.
"In this price range, you don't exactly have open houses," added his wife, Judy Licht.
Click Here: An Ad Man's $35 Million Pitch...
Paying Off the House in 15 Years
A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate--even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.
Between January and June, 26% of homeowners who refinanced chose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to data from CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. During all of 2009, 18.5% of borrowers who refinanced opted for a 15-year term.
What's prompting the shift to shorter loans? Historically low interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages.
Homeowners are doing the math and realizing that rates have fallen enough so the increase in payment between a new 15-year mortgage and their current loan is no longer unbearable for their budgets, says Bob Walters, chief economist at online lender Quicken Loans.
Click Here to Read: Paying Off the House in 15 Years...
Between January and June, 26% of homeowners who refinanced chose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to data from CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. During all of 2009, 18.5% of borrowers who refinanced opted for a 15-year term.
What's prompting the shift to shorter loans? Historically low interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages.
Homeowners are doing the math and realizing that rates have fallen enough so the increase in payment between a new 15-year mortgage and their current loan is no longer unbearable for their budgets, says Bob Walters, chief economist at online lender Quicken Loans.
Click Here to Read: Paying Off the House in 15 Years...
Government to Deploy Broader Mortgage Aid
The Obama administration on Tuesday will launch its most ambitious effort at reducing mortgage balances for homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth.
Officials say between 500,000 and 1.5 million so-called underwater loans could be modified through the program, the first initiative to target homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but are at risk of default because they have no equity in their homes. Some experts are warning, however, that the same knots that tied up prior initiatives could do so again.
Under the new "short refinance" program, banks and other creditors that write down mortgages to less than the value of the property can essentially hand off the reduced loan to the government. The process involves refinancing borrowers into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
Click Here to Read: Government to Deploy Broader Mortgage Aid...
Officials say between 500,000 and 1.5 million so-called underwater loans could be modified through the program, the first initiative to target homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but are at risk of default because they have no equity in their homes. Some experts are warning, however, that the same knots that tied up prior initiatives could do so again.
Under the new "short refinance" program, banks and other creditors that write down mortgages to less than the value of the property can essentially hand off the reduced loan to the government. The process involves refinancing borrowers into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
Click Here to Read: Government to Deploy Broader Mortgage Aid...
David and Victoria Beckham Sell £18 Million Beckinham Palace
David and Victoria Beckham purchased a 7-bedroom mansion in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, dubbed the Beckinham Palace, in 1999 – but they’re now having it appraised in the hope of selling it.
The celebrity couple is looking at unloading the property in the hope of looking for a brand new home in what has been, until now, their home away from home, Los Angeles.
Admittedly, as per reports cited by the British publication the Daily Mail, the two are set on moving to the US for good, which is why they no longer deem it necessary to keep the fancy Palace.
To see this happen, they’ve already had a real estate agent have a look at the 24 acre property, sources say.
Click Here to Read: David and Victoria Beckham Sell £18 Million Beckinham Palace...
The celebrity couple is looking at unloading the property in the hope of looking for a brand new home in what has been, until now, their home away from home, Los Angeles.
Admittedly, as per reports cited by the British publication the Daily Mail, the two are set on moving to the US for good, which is why they no longer deem it necessary to keep the fancy Palace.
To see this happen, they’ve already had a real estate agent have a look at the 24 acre property, sources say.
Click Here to Read: David and Victoria Beckham Sell £18 Million Beckinham Palace...
Another Home Buyer Tax Credit?
Just when I thought the housing market was finally being left to correct on its own, I'm starting to hear talk regarding yet another home buyer tax credit. From HUD to the hedge funds, it sounds as if it is gaining steam yet again. This one could involve not just first time/move-up buyers, but a credit for buyers purchasing foreclosed properties or short sales (when the bank allows you to buy a home for less than the value of the outstanding mortgage).
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, appearing on CNN's State of the Union this weekend, didn't rule out another tax credit. He did say it's "too early to say," but then added that "we're going to be focused like a laser on where the housing market is moving going forward, and we are going to go everywhere we can to make sure this market stabilizes and recovers."
Click Here to Read: Another Home Buyer Tax Credit?...
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, appearing on CNN's State of the Union this weekend, didn't rule out another tax credit. He did say it's "too early to say," but then added that "we're going to be focused like a laser on where the housing market is moving going forward, and we are going to go everywhere we can to make sure this market stabilizes and recovers."
Click Here to Read: Another Home Buyer Tax Credit?...
Surprise! Banks Help More Homeowners Than Obama
Remember how everyone complained that banks weren't doing enough to help troubled borrowers?
Well ...
Banks have realized that foreclosing on home after home after home may not be in anyone's best interest -- least of all their own. So they've ramped up the number of loan modifications they're handing out to their delinquent clients.
Banks are doing nearly twice as many modifications under their own foreclosure prevention initiatives than under the Obama administration's signature Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP.
Click Here to Read: Surprise! Banks Help More Homeowners Than Obama...
Well ...
Banks have realized that foreclosing on home after home after home may not be in anyone's best interest -- least of all their own. So they've ramped up the number of loan modifications they're handing out to their delinquent clients.
Banks are doing nearly twice as many modifications under their own foreclosure prevention initiatives than under the Obama administration's signature Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP.
Click Here to Read: Surprise! Banks Help More Homeowners Than Obama...
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Conflict of Interest? ABC 4 investigates judges' ties to Bank of America
"They're foreclosing illegally here in Utah.” Those were the words of St. George Attorney John Christian Barlow spoken in early June. Barlow at the time had appeared before a Federal Judge arguing that the banking giant, Bank of America, was foreclosing illegally in the State of Utah. The Southern Utah Attorney believed that because B.O.A. was not a registered business or corporation in the state, they lacked authority to do business here.
Barlow had succeeded in getting a 5th Circuit Court Judge to agree with him. As a result, the judge imposed an injunction on all Bank of America foreclosures. Weeks later, the case went before a Federal Judge where B.O.A. argued that they were regulated by federal, not state laws. Federal Judge Clark Waddoups heard the case, and threw out the injunction therefore Bank of America’s foreclosure company (ReConTrust) was allowed to foreclose once again.
Click Here to Read: Conflict of Interest? ABC 4 investigates judges' ties to Bank of America...
Barlow had succeeded in getting a 5th Circuit Court Judge to agree with him. As a result, the judge imposed an injunction on all Bank of America foreclosures. Weeks later, the case went before a Federal Judge where B.O.A. argued that they were regulated by federal, not state laws. Federal Judge Clark Waddoups heard the case, and threw out the injunction therefore Bank of America’s foreclosure company (ReConTrust) was allowed to foreclose once again.
Click Here to Read: Conflict of Interest? ABC 4 investigates judges' ties to Bank of America...
Obama Ready To Sink Millions More Into Housing To Stem Foreclosures
The Obama administration, seemingly at a loss for fresh solutions to jump-start the nation's moribund economy plans to sink millions more dollars into the housing market to help unemployed homeowners keep their homes by providing refinance assistance.
Appearing on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan indicated the additional mortgage aid is in response to atrocious July housing statistics. "The July numbers were worse than we expected, worse than the general market expected, and we are concerned," he said.
Click Here To Read: Obama Ready To Sink Millions More Into Housing To Stem Foreclosures...
Appearing on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan indicated the additional mortgage aid is in response to atrocious July housing statistics. "The July numbers were worse than we expected, worse than the general market expected, and we are concerned," he said.
Click Here To Read: Obama Ready To Sink Millions More Into Housing To Stem Foreclosures...
UPDATE: Home Builders Rise As Investors Bet Worst May Be Over
Shares of home builders rose Tuesday, shaking off data showing existing-home sales fell to their lowest level in 15 years, as investors bet the worse-than-expected number may be a bottom.
The National Association Of Realtors reported earlier Tuesday that home resales dropped a record 27.2%--nearly twice as much as analysts had expected--to an annual rate of 3.83 million in July. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected existing-home sales to fall by 14.3% to an annual rate of 4.6 million.
The data spurred losses in the broader markets, giving investors another reason to worry about the health of the economy. Though home-builder shares immediately fell following the data, they quickly turned higher. Analysts said investors in the sector were likely expressing optimism the number will rebound in August.
Among the largest gainers, Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH) recently traded 2.8% higher to $16.83, while KB Home (KBH) rose 2.7% to $10.06. Lennar Corp. (LEN) was recently up 2.4% to $13.03, while Ryland Group Inc. (RYL) increased 2.6% to $16.17. The sector has seen widespread losses in the past year, with Meritage down 25% and KB Home off 43%.
Click Here to Read: UPDATE: Home Builders Rise As Investors Bet Worst May Be Over...
The National Association Of Realtors reported earlier Tuesday that home resales dropped a record 27.2%--nearly twice as much as analysts had expected--to an annual rate of 3.83 million in July. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected existing-home sales to fall by 14.3% to an annual rate of 4.6 million.
The data spurred losses in the broader markets, giving investors another reason to worry about the health of the economy. Though home-builder shares immediately fell following the data, they quickly turned higher. Analysts said investors in the sector were likely expressing optimism the number will rebound in August.
Among the largest gainers, Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH) recently traded 2.8% higher to $16.83, while KB Home (KBH) rose 2.7% to $10.06. Lennar Corp. (LEN) was recently up 2.4% to $13.03, while Ryland Group Inc. (RYL) increased 2.6% to $16.17. The sector has seen widespread losses in the past year, with Meritage down 25% and KB Home off 43%.
Click Here to Read: UPDATE: Home Builders Rise As Investors Bet Worst May Be Over...
Still Rising: Spec Houses Worth $20 Million
Enzo Morabito, a luxury real estate broker in New York's Hamptons, saw a line of people at his open house on Aug. 29. The property was a new, $25.95 million spec home by Michael Davis Design & Construction at 232 Parsonage Lane in Sagaponack, N.Y.—the country's most expensive small town, according to Businessweek.com. By the end of the day, more than 75 people had passed through the mansion. "That is an extraordinary turnout," says Morabito, executive vice-president of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Bridgehampton, N.Y. Equally surprising, given the tough environment for builders: This is Michael Davis' biggest and most expensive house ever.
Amid concerns about unemployment, an uneven housing rebound, and difficulty getting financing, some elite developers continue to build ultra-luxury homes on spec—for sale on the open market, not for an owner. Some cost even more than the residences they built during the housing boom. In high-end markets such as the Hamptons, Beverly Hills, Calif., Palm Beach, Fla., and Aspen, Colo., a number of new spec houses have entered the market this year in the $20 million range. A few are asking for far more.
Click Here to Read: Still Rising: Spec Houses Worth $20 Million...
Amid concerns about unemployment, an uneven housing rebound, and difficulty getting financing, some elite developers continue to build ultra-luxury homes on spec—for sale on the open market, not for an owner. Some cost even more than the residences they built during the housing boom. In high-end markets such as the Hamptons, Beverly Hills, Calif., Palm Beach, Fla., and Aspen, Colo., a number of new spec houses have entered the market this year in the $20 million range. A few are asking for far more.
Click Here to Read: Still Rising: Spec Houses Worth $20 Million...
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