Posts Tagged ‘mortgage’Foreclosures Sting Even Best BuildersBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Foreclosure: It’s not just for those “subprime” people anymore. Besieged by collapsing home prices and frightened banks scrounging for cash, even the real-estate industry’s brightest stars are finding there’s no place to hide. According to the New York Times, small and mid-size homebuilders who thrived during [...] Congress Forces Mortgage ModificationsBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. The road to over-regulation has begun. In an effort protect struggling homeowners, Senate Democrats are advocating new bankruptcy laws that allow judges to alter mortgage terms, known as a “cramdown,” during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. Lawmakers hope the new rules will prevent foreclosures, help borrowers [...] 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 [...] Fannie, Freddie Knew About Risks, Ignored ThemBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Unprecedented. Unpredictable. Unparalleled. Extraordinary. These are the adjectives offered by mortgage industry executives defending their relative innocence in the collapse of the housing industry. Conditions, they argue, deteriorated so rapidly and in such unpredictable ways they couldn’t possibly batten down the hatches fast enough. As it [...] 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 [...] Housing Perspective: October Existing Home SalesBy AUSTIN NELSON Existing home sales fell again in October, reversing gains seen in September. The National Association of Realtors, or NAR, released October existing home sales data today, which show decreases in units sold as well as median sale price across the country. The annual price decline was the worst on record, continuing the [...] Down Goes DowneyBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Looks like all those option adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) weren’t such a good idea after all: 1% teaser rates and loans that grow, rather than shrink, over time just aren’t meant for questionable borrowers buying overpriced homes. Newport Beach-based Downey Savings (DSL), the fifth largest originator of [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Do Loan Modifications Work?By ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. With millions of homeowners falling behind on their monthly payments, one in 6 underwater, and countless more struggling to keep up, politicians and banks alike are jumping on the loan modification bandwagon. A modification – or “mod,” as it’s known in the industry — is simply the [...] Crisis in Prime Mortgages on HorizonBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. The private sector is actively engaging the mortgage crisis with the first broad-based, systemic attempt to prevent foreclosure. Both Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan (JPM) are attempting to help hundreds of thousands of troubled homeowners with massive loan modification efforts. Regulators and bank executives are operating [...] JPMorgan Tackles Troubled MortgagesThis post first appeared on Minyanville. The mortgage bailout parade marches on. Just days after rival Bank of America (BAC) announced plans to modify hundreds of thousands of mortgages, JPMorgan (JPM) released details of a homeowner rescue plan of its own on Friday afternoon. Following its takeover of both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, JPMorgan’s inventory of [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: What’s My Mortgage Worth?This post first appeared on Minyanville. As the debate rages about whether or not we’re finally approaching a floor in home prices, let’s examine the value of another asset: The mortgage. When considering a home-buying transaction, buyers (and sellers) typically worry most about the value of the house. Lenders, on the other hand, are much [...] Housing Perspective: August Case-Shiller Home Price IndexThe S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is out today, showing a continuation of the downtrend in property values. Data from August — two full months before the financial crisis spun out of control — shows weakness across the country: Prices fell in August for the 25th consecutive month Prices in 10 major markets plunged a record [...] Housing Perspective: September New Home Sales DataNew Home Sales rose unexpectedly in September, but prices continue to fall. According to Bloomberg: Purchases increased 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 464,000 Median sale price decreased to a four-year low The median price declined 9.1 percent from a year earlier to $218,400 The supply of homes fell to 10.4 months from 11.4 [...] Banks Beware: Here Come the LawsuitsThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Despite the Armageddon-esque financial turmoil of recent weeks, one thing about America hasn’t changed: If you really want someone to do something, sue them. They lined up in droves: Cities, counties and states sued the pants off Countrywide for its shady lending practices. California, Illinois and Florida all alleged [...] Fannie, Freddie Jump on GrenadeThis post first appeared on Minyanville. For anyone wondering where the billions of dollars in worthless mortgage-backed securities will wind up, look no further: The mirror. Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), the formerly quasi-public, now taxpayer-owned mortgage behemoths, are stealthily sopping up the worst of the structured mortgage debt Wall Street churned out [...] So, You Want to Fix the Housing Market?This post first appeared on Minyanville. Yesterday, I criticized Washington’s $700 billion financial bailout plan for missing the point. It fails to address the root of the problems facing the housing market and, by extension, the rest of the economy: Negative equity or a homeowner owing more on his house than it’s worth. On The [...] Washington Continues to Ignore Root of Housing ProblemThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Some say the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. By that measure, voters should load up on straitjackets this November and drag everyone in Washington off to the nuthouse. Despite overwhelming evidence that we’re in the middle of a [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Realtors Try Used-Car Salesman TacticsThis post first appeared on Minyanville. That glitzy McMansion you’ve always wanted may finally be within reach. Or not. If nearly 3 years of home price declines, historically low interest rates and a relentless media barrage of half-truths from the National Association of Realtors haven’t been able to stabilize home prices, it’s doubtful a gimmicky [...] Morgan Stanley Latest Band-Aid Over Fannie, Freddie’s Bullet HoleThis post first appeared on Minyanville and our sister site Dawn Patrol. It looks like all those short-sellers might have been on to something. Freddie Mac (FRE), the beleaguered mortgage giant that was just weeks ago on the brink of collapse, released second quarter results this morning that were nothing short of abysmal. Along with [...] Housing Inventory Eases, But No Recovery In SightThis post first appeared on Minyanville, and our sister site, Dawn Patrol. Another month, another attempt to use a single data point to foretell the bottom in the housing market. On the same day the Case Shiller Home Price Index reported the fastest drop in home prices on record (again), the Wall Street Journal released [...] New Countrywide Suit Tries To Foreclose ForeclosuresThis post first appeared on Minyanville. When Bank of America (BAC) agreed to buy Countrywide, it didn’t just take on a mountain of questionably valued mortgage-related assets. It also took on huge legal liability. San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who has a penchant for punitive lawsuits that rarely result in much more than a [...] Don’t Be a Hero, Wait it OutThe San Diego Union Tribune reports that San Diego home prices have fallen over 25% in the past year, reaching levels not seen since mid-2003. The median home price in San Diego County now sits at $370,000. Monthly sales volume is down 12.3% from this time last year. These numbers are a stark reminder of [...] Gas Prices Effects On the HomeThis post first appeared on Minyanville. I came upon an interesting report out from Deutsche Bank on the effect high gas prices are having on home prices. Below are some highlights: Gas prices are up 167% in the last five years, 32% in the last year. Monthly gas expenditure is up to $519 in June [...] |