A source with the Securities and Exchange Commission told Reuters that the agency is looking into the practices of some of the nations mortgage servicers to see if any securities laws were violated. At this point, they have stopped short of calling it an “investigation” and also said that they are not targeting any specific [...]
Archive of posts tagged CNBC
Home Sales Plunge After Expiration of Homebuyer Tax Credit
No surprise here – Home sales have plunged after the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit. The reality of the tax credit is that it likely did very little to actually bring new buyers to the marketplace, but it did affect the timing of home purchase decisions. In other words, most people simply moved up [...]
Pros and Cons of Buying, Owning and Selling a Condominium
Many homebuyers like the idea of buhing and owning a condominium. In the Dallas area, condos have exploded in the last 10-15 years. Entire areas of downtown Dallas that used to be industrial and office buildings have been converted into condos. In fact, the uptown area of Dallas practically did not exist until after 2000 [...]
One Third of Homes Sold Were Foreclosures in Q1 2010
According to a report by RealtyTrac, one out of three homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 were foreclosures or distressed sales. Article from CNBC
President Obama Signs Three Month Extension on Homebuyer Tax Credit, But ONLY For Buyers Who Already Had a Contract Executed by April 30th, 2010
On July 1, President Obama signed a law that extended the deadline to close and obtain the homebuyer tax credit from June 30 to September 30, 2010. This has led to quite a bit of confusion among the public, many of whom think this extention means they have until September 30th to go find a [...]
Potential Losses Could Total More Than One Trillion from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Now that the U.S. Government (meaning US, the taxpayers) are on the hook for an “unlimited” amount of losses from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, how high might those losses go? Article from CNBC
Mortgage Delinquencies Falling Even as the Number of Foreclosures is Rising
LPS Applied Analytics, a company that keeps track of data related to mortgage delinquencies, reported a decline for two months in a row. The most significant decline was in the number of homeowners that were 30 days past due on their mortgage. Although the number of foreclsures nationwide has yet to stabilize, the fact that [...]
National Data on Housing Starts for March 2010 Shows Strength in Real Estate Market
The level of housing starts nationwide rose to their highest level since November of 2008, which was a 17 month high. Starts were 20.2 higher in March of 2010 than in March of 2009. The homebuyer tax credit almost certainly accounted for a significant portion of the increase, but I think it’s safe to say [...]
Are Mortgage Defaults Increasing Consumer Spending?
It may seem a bit counter intuitive, but after reading this article, I’m wondering if there isn’t some truth to this. When home buyers default on their mortgages, especially in situations such as an adjustable rate mortgage that suddenly increases to a payment that the home owner doesn’t stand a chance of paying, do they [...]
Federal Reserve Plans To Keep Short Term Interest Rates Low
The Federal Reserve announced recently that it plans on keeping its policy of low short term interest rates for the foreseeable future. The Federal Reserve controls two key interest rates called the Federal Funds Rate and the Discount Rate. They do not directly control mortgage rates, but keeping these rates low does have some indirect [...]
