Posts Tagged ‘FED’Editorial: Regulators Delay Bursting of Commercial Real Estate BubbleThis post first appeared in the November edition of Cirios Trends: Getting to the Bottom of the Housing Market This piece first appeared on Minyanville. By Andrew Jeffery Reality, it appears, is a dish Washington believes is best served, never. Late Friday evening on October 30th, long after most Americans had shut off their computer [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: The Fed Loses the Mortgage-Rate Battle?This post first appeared on Minyanville. Despite the best efforts of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, the free market is winning the battle over mortgage rates. Tens of trillions of dollars in support for the financial system can’t change the stark reality: Giving out home loans remains risky business. Borrowers looking to take [...] Sayonara, SECBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. The horses, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, llamas, ostriches, dromedaries and rhinos have all left the barn, yet the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) still thinks it should be minding the door. In light of its woeful inability to perform even the simplest of tasks — [...] Mortgage Rates Still Not Allowed to Return to NormalBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Despite Herculean efforts, the Federal Reserve is losing its battle to keep mortgage rates at all-time lows. As fear that we’re headed for imminent collapse slowly wanes, investors’ appetite for risk is coming back. This renewed confidence has helped buoy stocks, and the major equity indices [...] Fed Jumps on Loan Modification BandwagonBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” – and you certainly can’t fault lawmakers for a lack of persistence in trying to stem the epidemic foreclosures plaguing America’s housing market. Sadly, they insist on trying the same failed strategies over and over again. For [...] Falling Rents Signal DeflationBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. In recent months, headlines have been popping up noting that rents – finally – are beginning to follow home prices into the abyss. Since the housing market began to crumble, would-be homeowners were forced to become renters, keeping demand for rental units relatively strong even as home prices [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Rich Get Stuck in Subprime SlimeBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. From expansive estates in the Hamptons to mansions on the Malibu cliffs, the rich are watching their vast real-estate wealth evaporate before their eyes. Perhaps no market epitomizes the ultimate surrender of high-end real estate than the island of Manhattan, where housing prices had held relatively stable [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: The Other Side of the Rock-Bottom MortgageBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. It’s wishful thinking that artificially low interest rates alone are enough to rehabilitate the housing market. The mortgage industry has undergone a swift and ruthless downsizing over the past 18 months. While a necessary part of the corrective process, the market is ill-equipped to handle the onslaught of [...] Housing Perspective: December Home Builder SentimentBy RYAN TAYLOR It’s still a lousy time to be selling new homes. The National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, shared its sentiment index for December, which remained at a record low of 9. The index is based on 426 residential developers nationwide; a reading below 50 reflects negative sentiment. In addition to the [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Treasury Tries to Re-Inflate Housing BubbleBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is hoping he’s found the magic bullet to solve the US housing market’s seemingly never-endless woes. He hasn’t. By throwing around the weight of recently nationalized mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), the Treasury Department is considering a plan [...] |