Colorado HOME Alliance - News Room
Legislative Alert
****HOME Alliance wishes to thank Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD) for being a crucial source for news from other parts of the country. HADD is one of the country's premier grassroots organizations defending homeowners rights. We urge all HOME members to learn about and support this worthwhile organization: www.hadd.com
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RECENT NEWS STORIES
What's going on here in Colorado and around the Country
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
- Colorado: Beazer Homes Pulling Out of State - Atlanta-based Beazer Homes, one of the most troubled home builders in an ailing industry, is pulling out of Colorado.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/03/beazer-homes-pulling-out-of-state/
- Colorado: Lake Granby Subdivision Subject of Lawsuit - T
Eighteen property buyers filed a civil complaint in 14th Judicial District Court on Friday against developers and those associated with the sale of certain lots in a subdivision near Lake Granby.
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20080602/NEWS/119041517
- Could 50% of All Homes End Up in Foreclosure? - Just how bad could the housing bust get? How about half of all urban homes being in foreclosure?
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjun08/foreclosure6-08.html?ref=patrick.net
- In the Wake of Home Crisis: Buyer Education - Concerned by foreclosures but keen to take advantage of sliding home prices, a growing number of prospective buyers in the United States are signing up for a different kind of class: home-buyer education.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2843971220080604
- Don't Raid Retirement Savings to Pay the Mortgage
- Don't Raid Retirement Savings to Pay the Mortgage
hhttp://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/105183/Don't-Raid-Retirement-Savings-to-Pay-the-Mortgage;_ylt=AkK4YWOVVD0yJWlshh1_Nxy7YWsA?mod=retirement-401k
- Sliced, Diced' Mortgages More Likely to Default, Offit Says - Most of the 5.85 million subprime mortgages in the U.S. are in danger of defaulting in the next 12 months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aQkxaf9vldvE&refer=realestate
- Toll Bros. CEO: Housing Recovery Still Years Away - Toll Brothers CEO says housing in 'depression' and recovery may be 2 or 3 years away
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080604/toll_brothers_housing.html?.v=2
- Homebuilders Offer Bleak Outlook, Book Huge Losses - Homebuilder D.R. Horton said Tuesday the industry could face tough times until 2010, and underscoring that point, Toll Bros. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. each reported a second-quarter loss.
- Bernanke Blames Saving Glut for Housing Bubble -
In yet another long winded and self serving speech, Bernanke blames everyone but the Fed for the housing and credit bubbles. Not once did he mention interest rate policy at the Fed. However, he did blame foreign investors and "the global savings" glut for contributing to the problem.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/06/bernanke-blames-saving-glut-for-housing.html
- Hovanian Reports Huge Loss - [T]he company reported a net loss of $340.7 million, or $5.29 per share, for the quarter that ended April 30. This compared with a loss of $30.7 million, or 49 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/06/hovnanian-reports-huge-loss.html
- Mortgage Applications Hit 6-Year Low as Rates Surge: MBA - Applications for mortgages stumbled to their lowest level in six years last week as rates on fixed-rate mortgages surged
http://www.housingwire.com/2008/06/04/mortgage-applications-hit-6-year-low-as-rates-surge-mba/
- Fed's Bernanke Sees Inflation Risk Rising - Speaking at a Harvard commencement address, Bernanke said overall inflation is significantly higher than he would like, but less than the 1970s-style stagflation.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/642008_Bernanke_Inflation.asp
- Downsizing the American Home-During the housing bubble, KB Home priced out first-time homebuyers by building bigger. Its new, more modest model provides a glimpse of what the return of the housing market may look like.
- Credit Expansion and Borrowed Time - According to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, the most important cause of our current housing bubble was a massive credit expansion. An overly accommodative U.S. monetary policy from the second quarter of 2002 through the third quarter of 2006
- Foreclosure Scams Lurking In Your Area - Delinquent homeowners looking to break free from default notices are getting tricked by brokers promising to save them from foreclosure, only to make off with thousands in fees or what home equity is left.
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/promo/foreclosure-scams-lurking-in-your-area.html
- Another Builder 527 - A beautiful thing about this country is that a poor boy can grow up to be a billionaire. Then he can give hundreds of thousands of dollars to influence elections -- legally, mind you -- and no one will notice.
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/06/carl_lindner_and_a_littlenotic.html
- Wall Street Says -2 + -2 = 4 as Liabilities Get New Bond Math - Leave it to Wall Street to profit from its own distress.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a2ppBYA0ELaU&refer=home
Monday, June 2, 2008
- Colorado: Construction Defect Suit Hurts Condo Sales- Owners with units for sale in the towering Beauvallon building at East 10th Avenue and Lincoln Street are struggling to sell their units because a lawsuit against the developer is dissuading potential buyers and hanging up financing for anyone still interested.
- Foreclosures Weighing Heavier Than Ever On Prices
- They are blights on neighborhoods, they often are sold off in “short-sales,” where lenders sell the home for less than the mortgage, and they are often left in a horrid state of disrepair, thereby lowering prices even further.
- Alt-A Borrowers Looking More Subprime Than Prime - Further signs of the vulnerability of the “not quite prime” mortgage sector emerges in Fitch Ratings’ decision to revise its ratings methodogy for mortgage securities backed by Alt-A mortgages. Indeed Fitch suggests Alt-A borrowers are starting to look more subprime than prime.
- Lenders Asking Builders, Developers to Pay Down Loans - A recent snapshot of builders and developers in a special survey by the NAHB Economics Group has found that acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) credit has tightened since last year.
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-06-02/Front+Page/index.html
- Hooked on Debt - We believe that the United States and its households must reduce their dependence on foreign capital as soon as possible or suffer Iceland's sad experience. The alternative is a massive default and, even worse, higher inflation.
- It's Only Going to Get Worse - Everything you always wanted to know about the housing crash, but were afraid to ask.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/170jdcim.asp?ref=patrick.net
- Home Prices, Consumer Confidence Continue to Plunge - Falling home prices, plunging consumer confidence, and a modest upward revision to first quarter real economic growth highlighted the week's economic reports.
- The Trouble in Housing Trickles Up
- Last week, a new report showed that house prices nationwide were off 14.1 percent from a year ago, while the Commerce Department said sales of new homes remained near their lowest levels since 1991.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/business/01town.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Congress to Hold Hearing on Safety After NYC Crane Collapses - A Congressional subcommittee said today it will hold a hearing on construction safety across the U.S. after a May 30 crane accident in New York that killed two workers and earlier fatal incidents in New York and Las Vegas.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=axJOug3lEW.s&refer=realestate
- Home Prices Fall in 23 U.S. Cities as Defaults Rise - Home prices fell in 23 U.S. metropolitan areas in March, led by Sacramento and San Diego, as rising foreclosures prolonged the housing recession.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=a1GftpGS76j4&refer=realestate
- Cheap Chic: Home-Price Erosion Hits the $5 Million-Plus Market - A slice of the good life -- the really good life -- has gotten a lot more affordable lately.
- Loan Workouts Hit Recod in April - Bush-backed Hope Now reports progress; Congress says it's not enough
- Foreign Interest in U.S. Homes Growing - Dollar, real estate slump make American property appealing to foreigners
- Number of Foreclosed Homes Keeps Rising - Lenders Cut Prices To Jump-Start Sales As Inventory Grows
- Construction Spending Declines in April - Construction spending declined in April for residential, but increased to for non-residential private construction.
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/06/construction-spending-declines-in-april.html
- Real Price Declines Swamping Nominal Home Price Trends: First American - “Two thirds of all states now show year-over-year real estate declines according to this latest LoanPerformance HPI release,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic.
- A Tale of Two Housing Markets: There’s REO, and Then There’s Everything Else - Proving that even within a single local housing market, sales trends can be more complex than they might otherwise seem, new data is suggesting that distressed assets can move housing markets — when prevalent enough.
- Credit Hurricane to Make Landfall - A very sobering article
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/MER-GS-P-lehman-CFC-countrywide/index/a/17398
- Fed's Lockhart Says Economy Still Faces Uncertainty - Too Soon to "Breathe Easy" - Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart (non-voter) said the U.S. economy continues to face significant uncertainty and risks, but that he expects an improvement in growth in the second half of the year.
- Housing Affodability Back to Pre-Bubble Levels - Study shows formerly overvalued markets in California, Nevada and Arizona are seeing prices come down substantially.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/02/real_estate/home_price_valuations/index.htm?postversion=2008060217
- Foreclosures Cost Lenders, Homeowners, the Community, and You Big Bucks
- The cost of a foreclosure, it turns out, is pretty staggering and we wonder why lenders and the investors they represent aren't jumping at a solution, any solution, that would allow them to avoid going to foreclosure whenever possible.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/622008_Foreclosure_Costs.asp
- Lenders Foot the Bill for Abandoned Homes - Foreclosed homes that lie vacant and rundown need their lawns mowed and their yards cleaned up. Cities say taxpayers shouldn't have to bear that burden.
- Home Builders Err on ‘Smart Growth’ - HBA representatives have twisted the meaning of “smart growth” to serve their own interests, essentially arguing against any standards that might reduce the potential density of some developments.
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=105150&sid=5&fid=1
Friday, May 30, 2008
- Colorado: Court Rules Against Homebuilder PAC- The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that a political committee representing the Colorado Association of Home Builders wrongly failed to report financial contributions from members in a series of television ads that targeted Colorado Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/05/26/daily40.html
- Colorado: Appeals Court Reinstates Richmond Claims Against Subcontractors - According to court records, the case stemmed from homebuyers' complaints of basement water intrusion in Richmond-built homes. The builder said it made repairs to defects in about 3,000 homes.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/05/26/daily34.html
- Economists React: ‘Little Indication’ of Housing Bottom - The "experts" weigh in.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/05/27/economists-react-little-indication-of-housing-bottom/
- Hope Now Mortgage "Workouts": Numbers Not Fantastic - New numbers today from the alliance formed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to save troubled borrowers.
- First Housing Bust, Now Baby Bust - Is the recession causing a birth dearth?
- Inflation - Wary Fed Looks Ahead to Rate Increases - Federal Reserve
policy makers warned on Wednesday that interest rate increases might be needed before too long to curb inflation, even as the United States struggles with a weak economy
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-usa-fed.html?ref=patrick.net
- Lose Homes, Pay More Tax - Some of the biggest losers in the real estate slump are not purchasers of mansions they could not afford. They are buyers of second homes — or third ones, for that matter — who are sitting on a tax time bomb.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/business/30tax.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Foreclosure Phil - Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm.
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/07/foreclosure-phil.html?ref=patrick.net
- We're Nowhere Near the Housing Bottom - States where sales, construction and prices rose most during the lax lending era will take longest to recover, analysts say. Many are located in the West, such as Arizona, Nevada and California.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hale-stewart/were-nowhere-near-a-botto_b_103827.html
- Not So Fast On New Home Sales
- Revised vs. unrevised numbers
http://seekingalpha.com/article/79496-not-so-fast-on-new-home-sales
- Dropping a Brick - House prices are falling even faster than during the Great Depression
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11453745&ref=patrick.net
- "Liar Loans" Live Up To Expectations - The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Countrywide estimated that its liability for such claims rose to nearly $1 billion as of March 31, 2008. Countrywide took a first-quarter charge of $133 million for claims that have already been paid. The loan disputes allege bogus appraisals, inflated borrower incomes, and other misrepresentations made at the time the loans were originated. Demands from loan buyers include Fannie Mae, who claimed in a recent conference call that it was attempting to review every loan that defaults and force lenders to buy back loans that failed to meet promised standards.
- Consumer Confidence at 28-Year Low - Consumer confidence fell to a 28-year low in May as inflation expectations soared, according to a survey released on Friday that presents a dilemma for the Federal Reserve.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080530/bs_nm/usa_economy_sentiment_dc;_ylt=ApKxnGKJtd.LtgbH5XtHMe_v5rEF
- Newly Delinquent Outnumbering Those Catching Up by Two to One - Newly delinquent mortgage borrowers outnumbered people who caught up on their overdue payments by two to one last month, a sign that nationwide efforts to help homeowners avoid default may be failing.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arGQ_rKO2ai8&refer=home
- KB HomesCEO Predicts 10% Futher Drop in Home Prices - Bloomberg Video
- Fed's Kohn Says Financial Regulations Should Be Strengthened - Fed Vice-Chairman Donald Kohn said it was unclear how much strengthening of the U.S. financial regulatory system was needed, but that the need for reforms was evident.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/5302008_Financial_Regulation.asp
- Arbitration: Why Do Card Companies Almost Always Win? - Many Say the Deck Is Stacked Against Consumers in Credit Card Disputes
- Housing Crisis Legislation Likely - Despite motion, amount of relief is still uncertain
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/BUSINESS/805290320\
- Bad Omen for Banks? - News from KeyCorp suggests U.S. banks' loan losses may worsen. Is the credit crisis hitting a second, even scarier phase?
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/may2008/pi20080528_223289.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5
- The Meltdown Lowdown - This week in economic news: House prices continue to plummet, speculation is probably not to blame for high gas prices, and new corruption is exposed in the mortgage industry.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_meltdown_lowdown_052908
Thursday, May 29, 2008
- Realtors Settle Anti-Trust Charges
- Settlement opens listing database, may lower commissions
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/realtors_antitrust.html
- Did Wall Street Wreck The Economy?
- While consumers face skyrocketing gasoline prices, the economy is struggling to overcome the wave of foreclosures caused by the subprime meltdown and collapse of the housing market. Could the two economic misfortunes have a common thread?
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/wall_street.html
- Home Prices Across the Nation - An interactive map of the 20 largest home markets - including Denver.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/28/business/20071031_HOUSING_GRAPHIC.html#
- Mon Ousted from TOUSA CEO Post - Antonio B. Mon, president and CEO of the financially troubled TOUSA for nearly six years, will relinquish both titles within the next 30 days. He will be be replaced by John R. Boken, the company's chief restructuring officer since January, when the company filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
http://www.builderonline.com/business/mon-ousted-from-tousa-ceo-post.aspx
- The Fading of the Mirage Economy - Suddenly, it seems, we're getting hit from all directions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28housing.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
- The Housing Capital Trap Snaps Shut - Examining how the capital trap snapping shut in housing will affect the middle class, which relies so heavily on home equity for its wealth--and for the past six years, for its spending.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay08/REcapital-trap.html?ref=patrick.net
- Housing Market Shows No Signs of Life - The housing market cannot improve until the supply and demand picture does and these numbers are pretty ugly.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/79291-housing-market-shows-no-signs-of-life
- Lenders, Borrowers Discuss Bad Loans - NPR Broadcast Story (Audio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90864867&ref=patrick.net
- Tumbling Prices Dog U.S. Housing Market - The fog of misery enveloping the American housing market has thickened with the sharpest drop in property prices for 20 years, leaving households in worst hit cities facing the prospect of their homes almost halving in value over a year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/28/useconomy.subprimecrisis?ref=patrick.net
- Is it Better to Continue Renting or Buy a House?- As with many financial decisions (e.g., invest in stocks or bonds?, whether or not to use leverage?, whether to continue to hold a stock or sell it now?), much can be said about the choice between renting and buying a house, although we only really find out tomorrow if we truly are making the right decision today.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/79333-is-it-better-to-remain-a-renter-or-buy-a-house
- US Economy: The Worst Is Yet to Come - Since the U.S. economy showed positive growth for the last quarter, some commentators in the business press are saying that we are not necessarily going to have a recession, or that if there is one it will be mild. This is a bit like the proverbial story of the man who jumped out of a window 60 floors up, and then said “so far, so good,” as he passed the 30th floor.
- In Housing, the Strong Turn Weak - America’s home-buying season, when for-sale signs sprout like dandelions, is shaping up to be even worse than expected this year, with prices falling, sales slowing and few signs of a turnaround emerging.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28housing.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
- March S&P/Case-Shiller Figures - Denver down 5.04% over last year
http://seekingalpha.com/article/79014-march-s-p-case-shiller-figures?source=patrick.net
- Fed to Make Fresh Batch of Bank Loans - The Federal Reserve
announced Thursday that it will make a fresh batch of short-term cash loans available to squeezed banks as part of an ongoing effort to ease stressed credit markets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_credit_crisis;_ylt=Aoke1bUyeyFDcU4pLBzh7CHv5rEF
- Credit And Borrowers: Saving Your Status is Not Always Fair - I was moderating a panel of two governors and an economist today on the foreclosure crisis. It was much of the usual stuff until Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell made a bold proposal.
- Choosing Bankruptcy to Stay Afloat - Despite Tighter Rules, More Strapped Americans Seek Debt Relief
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052703330.html
- The Squeeze of the Middle Class - For a generation of workers finding it ever harder to afford homes of their own, the American dream seems to need readjustment.
- Alt-A Problems Grow, While Subprime Takes Turn for the Worse - The 2007 vintage isn’t the only Alt-A vintage facing problems, of course: 19.3 percent of borrowers with loans originated in 2006 were more than 60 days delinquent at the end of April, a jump of nearly 10 percent from March. Cumulative losses percentages for 2006 vintage
http://www.housingwire.com/2008/05/28/alt-a-problems-grow-while-subprime-takes-turn-for-the-worse/
- Foreclosures a Bigger Political Issue Than You Think - “We still have two million more people that need to go through this process. That’s like the entire town of Tampa going through foreclosure.”
- Investors Press Lenders on Bad Loans - Buyers Seek to Force Repurchase by Banks;
Potential Liability Could Reach Billions According to scientific research, even the President is more popular than Binding Mandatory Arbitration.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121193306681924605.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
- Real Estate Overcharges: A Dollar Here, a Million There… - In the buyer's market that is the aftermath of the sub-prime mortgage mess in New York and other cities, it will be interesting to see just how active will be the purveyors of fraudulent real estate fees and overcharges, as the market attracts property-hungry opportunists like bees to honey.
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/10674/real-estate-dollars-become-millions.html
- Financial Winners & Losers: KeyCorp - Defaulting Homebuilders sends stock plunging
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
- Home Prices: How Low Can You Go? - Important graphic representation of individual cities
http://seekingalpha.com/article/79116-home-prices-how-low-can-you-go
- The Bottom of the Home Market Looks More Distant - The national index showed that prices fell 14.1% from a year earlier — the biggest drop in 20 years. Sales of foreclosed properties are pushing down prices, especially in weak markets such as South Florida, Nevada, Southern California, Arizona and Rhode Island.
- Picking a Bottom in the Housing Market - Or Not
- There's an old trading aphorism that is worth following for both veteran fund managers and market neophytes: picking bottoms gives you stinky fingers.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/79162-picking-a-bottom-in-the-housing-market-or-not
- Housing Prices Fall 14.1% in Sign of Continuing Slump - America’s home-buying season, when for-sale signs sprout like dandelions, is shaping up to be even worse than expected this year, with prices falling, sales slowing and few signs of a turnaround emerging.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28home.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- U.S. MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Fell 4.6% Last Week
- Mortgage applications in the U.S. last week dropped to their lowest level in a month, reflecting less refinancing as interest rates rose.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aoiAMzK7ndEI&refer=realestate
- 4 Reasons Housing Won't Recover Quickly - More foreclosures possible, thanks to a broken mortage lending system
- Foreclosure Sales Increasing - Buyers Snatch Up Foreclosed Properties After Big Price Cuts
- U.S. Economy: Confidence Falls as Home Values Decline - Confidence among American consumers fell in May to the lowest level since 1992 as the two-year housing slump showed no sign of bottoming.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aW4IIi.Q0Bm0&refer=home
- NAR Tells Public All is Fine; In Private Says "Cut, Cut Cut!" - So the NAR is saying in public that all is fine, and prices have bottomed. But in REALTOR magazine, they're telling the 6%'ers to cut the prices fast
http://housingpanic.blogspot.com/2008/05/so-nar-is-saying-in-public-that-all-is.html
- A Lot of Bubbles in the Last 37 Years - Dr. Ben Steil's idea that a "fiat currency bubble" may be much more important (and more dangerous) than any asset bubble makes more sense with each passing day
http://themessthatgreenspanmade.blogspot.com/2008/05/weve-sure-had-lot-of-bubbles-in-last-30.html
- Home Sales Post Unexpected Increase in April - Home sales post unexpected increase in April but remain near lowest level in 17 years
- 81% of Americans Hate BMA: Survey - According to scientific research, even the President is more popular than Binding Mandatory Arbitration.
- Another Way to Get Fooled in toBMA - Remember, the Better Business Bureau is a BUSINESS orgnization NOT a consumer protection orgnization
- Banks Miss an Easy Housing Fix- Lenders say they want to help troubled homeowners, but they are delaying deals that could save everyone - including the lenders themselves - a lot of time and money.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/28/real_estate/short_sales_long_waits/index.htm?postversion=2008052807
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
- Colorado: Garfield County Sees Increase in Foreclosures - Colorado - Garfield County Public Trustee Bob Slade isn't concerned with the increase in foreclosures the county has seen in the first quarter of 2008, but it's still a little early in the year.
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080521/VALLEYNEWS/611723078
- Colorado: Foreclsoure Rates Soar in Adams County - A foreclosure report released last week by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs had bad news for the state in general and Adams County in particular.
- Colorado: Telluride Taxes Drop as Home Sales Slow - When real estate sneezes, Telluride catches a cold.
http://www.telluridenews.com/news/x2118743189/Taxes-drop-as-home-sales-slow
- Home Prices Down and Unsold Listings Way Up - It was the eye-popping 10.5% jump in the inventory of unsold homes. The number of homes available for sale jumped to 4.55 million at the end of April, representing an 11.2-month supply at the current sales pace. There was a 10-month supply of homes at the end of March.
- Expert Sees "Long, Painful End' For Stubborn Housing Downturn - "This is going to be another difficult spring," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think we are at the beginning of the end of the housing downturn, but it is going to be a long and painful end."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/26/expert-sees-long-painful-end-for-stubborn/
- Watch Out! Home Prices Are Headed Even Lower
-
The National Association of Realtors' existing-home sales report for April, released Friday, showed that sales fell 1 percent—slightly above consensus estimates—from March and are now down nearly 18 percent from last year's levels. At the same time, total housing inventory climbed nearly 11 percent. Median existing-home prices are now 8 percent below April 2007 levels.
- 2007 Worst Ever Vintage for Subprime Loans - Early reviews of the 2007 vintage of Subprime, Alt-A and Prime Jumbo residential mortage-backed securities indicate it will be the worst ever in terms of delinquencies, judging from Standard & Poor’s latest assessment. The delinquency rate on Alt-A RMBS, for example, is four times as high as the 2006 vintage at the same stage of seasoning.
- Mortgage-Bond Guru Hit by Loan Bust - Lewis Ranieri is credited with inventing mortgage-backed securities two decades ago, and recently he sounded warnings about mortgage risks. Yet he couldn't save his own company from getting tangled in the real-estate loan bust.That's alarming -- not just for investors in his small Franklin Bank Corp., but for anyone hoping the credit crisis would end soon.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/may/26/all-business-mortgage-bond-guru-hit-by-loan-bust/
- Housing Discrimination Complaints Rise - The federal government is filing fewer housing discrimination charges even as consumer complaints against landlords, real estate agents and mortgage brokers have risen steadily.
- U.S. Recession Still Probable: Greenspan - Speaking to the Financial Times from Washington, Greenspan said he believed "there is a greater than 50 percent probability of recession."
- Housing Bill Helpful But No Panacea - Congress looks set to throw the U.S. housing market a multibillion-dollar lifeline that may demand more sacrifice than mortgage lenders and investors are willing to make to save distressed borrowers from foreclosure.
- US and UK Housing Bear Market Trends - The housing bear markets continue to bite into economic activity as the US heads for recession this year and the UK during 2009.
- Struggling Homebuilders Find Unexpected Saviors - The precipitous slide in home values and a glut of unsold properties are pushing U.S. home builders to the brink of insolvency, but a posse of unexpected saviors could help keep the companies out of bankruptcy court until home buyers return.
- May Consumer Confidence Falls to Near 16-Year Low - A private research group says that soaring gas prices and weakening job prospects left shoppers gloomier about the economy in May, sending a key barometer of consumer sentiment to its lowest level in almost 16 years.
- Foreclosures in Military Towns Surge at Four Times U.S. Rate -
Foreclosures in U.S. towns where soldiers live are increasing at a pace almost four times the national average, according to data compiled by research firm RealtyTrac Inc. in Irvine, California.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=awj2TMDLnwsU&refer=realestate
- The Giant Pool of Money - A special program about the housing crisis produced in a special collaboration with NPR news. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the turmoil on Wall street? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.
- Skipped Dues Crunch HOAs - Delinquent fees at condo and homeowner associations have become an outgrowth of the mortgage crisis. Housing cooperatives, in a squeeze because of unpaid fees from struggling homeowners, are scraping to pay for landscaping, maintenance, pools, recreation centers and other amenities.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-05-26-condo-fee_N.htm?csp=34
- Plenty of "For Sale" Signs but Not Many Sales - One economist says end of housing downturn will be a long, painful one
- Home Prices Plunge 14.1% in 1st Quarter - Record Crash- Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller study shows record decline for housing prices in first three months of 2008.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/27/real_estate/home_prices.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008052709
Monday, May 26, 2008 - God Bless Our Veterans
- Colorado: States Housing Market Fares Better Than Rest of the Country - Home prices in Colorado generally fared much better than the U.S. market as a whole during the first quarter of 2008, according to an index considered to be the most comprehensive.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/22/state-fares-better-than-us-on-home-prices/
- Is For Sale by Owner Right for You? - Although the data vary, sellers who aren't affiliated with an agent clearly represent a significant chunk of the overall market today.
- Affordability: Is it A Sign Of The Housing Bottom? - I think the affordability factor is the best news I’ve heard in this housing market in quite a while, but I worry about the supply and demand theory.
- Realtors Complain Lending Limits Hurting Recovery - More than 4.5 million unsold homes clog the market
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/home_sales.html
- Housing's False Bottom - Economic advise from Zippy the Pinhead
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay08/false-bottom5-08.html?ref=patrick.net
- FDIC’s Bair: Foreclosure Aid Is ‘Train Wreck’ - Efforts to stem the record tide of U.S. foreclosures are a “train wreck,” hampered by a lack of resources and the continued deterioration of the real-estate market, a federal banking regulator said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/05/21/fdics-bair-foreclosure-aid-is-train-wreck/?ref=patrick.net
- Did We Learn Anything Over the Past Two Years? - What is Fannie thinking?
- Freddie Mac Suffers Bout of Temporary Insanity
- How long does the word ``temporary'' mean? The accountant who wants to stay employed knows the right answer: ``How long do you want it to mean?''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aLklP1rkra7w&refer=patrick.net
- More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings - News that Moody’s might have made such mistakes emboldened the company’s many critics and sent its stock price tumbling. Its shares closed down 15.9 percent, to $36.91, their biggest one-day decline in almost a decade.
- How Low Interest Rates Fueled the Housing Bubble But Can't Stop the Bust - The standard propaganda is that low interest rates are wonderful because business can expand cheaply, hiring more well-paid workers, Mom can bake more apple pies and it's Morning in America, blah blah blah.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay08/low-rates5-08.html?ref=patrick.net
- Subprime Mortgage Lessons from the Used Car Lot - Subprime loans pay a premium for a specific reason; they require extra care
http://seekingalpha.com/article/78813-subprime-mortgage-lessons-from-the-used-car-lot
- Moody's Falls Most Since 1999 on Ratings Error Probe - Moddy's Corp.
plunged the most in nine years after the ratings company said it is conducting ``a thorough review'' of whether a computer error caused it to assign Aaa rankings to debt securities that later fell in value.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adTqUJU3rbKE&refer=patrick.net
- Survey: Homeowner Sentiment Darkens in May - Twice as many Americans expect the value of their homes to fall in the next 12 months than a year ago, while price rises in the next five years will fail to keep pace with inflation, according to the results of a survey.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080523/bs_nm/usa_economy_umichigan_dc;_ylt=An64vymTC_PrWtKUj3W0W.nv5rEF
- Plenty of "For Sale" Signs - But Where Are the Sales? - Another difficult year predicted for slumping housing industry with rebound still months away
- Accounting Regulators Probe Subprime Cases - Accounting regulators have enforcement investigations under way stemming from the subprime mortgage debacle, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chairman Mark Olson said Wednesday.
http://www.smartmoney.com/breaking-news/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20080521-000838-1455
- Even the Ritzy Homeowners Are Feeling the Fall - Video from Barrons- No one is immune.
http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/player.asp?guid={42714FEB-95F4-4FBD-8B2E-D09439B6132D}
- A Nation of Borrowers - Using credit cards and retirement funds to get by.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20080525_A_nation_of_borrowers.html
- Bought But Can't Hold - Commentary: Put your house on the market now? Are you nuts?
- Why It's a Bad Time to Buy a House: High 'Real' Mortgage Rates, Record Inventories
- Because home prices are depreciating, the "real" mortgage rate for homebuyers is about 15% - Good Video
- Bank Failures to Surge - IndyMac, Corus, UCBH under pressure as credit crunch slows economy
- UBS Falls After Saying More Mortgage Losses Possible - The
European bank hardest hit by the U.S. subprime contagion, fell the most in more than two months in Swiss trading after saying it may face more losses from mortgage securities.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a865nkH0FS7A&refer=home
- Subprime Delinquiencies Continue to Climb - S&P: Delinquencies among subprime mortgages from 2005 through 2007 continue to rise
- Home Price Index Posts Biggest Loss in 17 Year History - US home prices fall 3.1 percent in first quarter in largest drop on record
- Bribery, Kickbacks, Indictments, Ratergate - Fraud, greed, and market tops go hand in hand like clockwork. We saw that in housing, we are seeing it other places as well
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/05/bribery-kickbacks-indictments-ratergate.html
- Fallout From a Bailout
- How the Bear Stearns Intervention Will Haunt the Fed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/21/AR2008052102429.html
- Exisiting Homes: Months of Supply Vs. Real Prices - Here is a graph of existing home Months of Supply vs. quarterly Real Case-Shiller National house prices since Jan 1994.
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/05/existing-homes-months-of-supply-vs-real.html
- New Poll: Americans Say "No Thanks" To Binding Arbitration - A new national opinion poll shows widespread disapproval of binding arbitration provisions in consumer contracts and overwhelming support for the Arbitration Fairness Act now pending in Congress.
http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2008/05/new-poll-americ.html
- Condo Market Continues To Decline - The Multifamily Condo Market Index (MCMI) continues to reflect a contracting market – the 15.2 index value for current market conditions in the first quarter of 2008 is roughly half the 29.6 value from a year earlier.
- Foreclosure Crisis Update - Although the number of loan modifications rose rapidly in the last six months, the number of foreclosures has risen even faster. While hundreds of thousands have already lost their homes, there are millions in the foreclosure pipeline who could still be helped. What else do the numbers tell us?
http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2008/05/foreclosure-pre.html
- Home Prices Post Record Decline - A government study finds home prices fell 1.7% in the first quarter of 2008. California, Nevada see sharpest drop.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/22/real_estate/ofheo_report/index.htm?postversion=2008052211
- Senator Feingold Argues for Consumers' Rights - Senator Feingold has demonstrated an impressive understanding of the problems that arbitration poses for consumers
http://citizen.typepad.com/watchdog_blog/2008/05/on-friday-dmi-p.html
- In Search of a Fix For Jumbo Loans - The new jumbo loans that were supposed to get the real estate market moving haven't done the trick. A congressional hearing on Thursday examines why.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/22/real_estate/jumbos_weighed_down/index.htm?postversion=2008052315
- Builders Tout No-Money Down, Adjustable Mortgages - Highlighthing their desperation to sell houses, builders are bringing back the gimmicks - mortgage rates that start low, help with down payments, zero out-of-pocket expenses - that helped fuel the housing bubble before its spectacular bust.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200805221117DOWJONESDJONLINE000741_FORTUNE5.htm
- Housing Rescue: Help, but for How Many? - Sponsors of the Senate's bipartisan mortgage bill say it will help 500,000 people. But an Oct. 1 start date means many homeowners could be out of luck.
- Home Sales Dip; Prices Fall Sharply - Realtors' group says April sales by homeowners declined by 1%, while inventory jumped 10% and home prices tumbled another 8%.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/23/real_estate/existing_home_sales/index.htm?postversion=2008052312
- Banks and Builders Hit the Skids ... Again! - Bank of America, National City, and American International are all at 52-week lows. Countrywide Financial and Wachovia are almost there, too.
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/Issues.aspx?Banks-and-Builders-Stocks-are-Value-Traps-1807
- Buffett Sees "Long, Deep" Recession - The United States is already in a recession and it will be longer as well as deeper than many people expect, U.S. investor Warren Buffett said in an interview published in German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080524/bs_nm/buffett_us_recession_dc
- FBI: Corporate, Mortgage Fraudsters Actively Threaten Your Financial Future - While the Federal Bureau of Investigation can claim success against all manner of fraud in the US, the number of cases and the shear volume of lost money is obviously a tidal wave that is only barely held back.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
- Colorado: Metro Housing Market Gets D-Minus - But analyst sees bottom this year, then a rebound
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/20/metro-housing-market-gets-d-minus/
- Countrywide CEO Mozilo's "Disgusting" Email Reply: OOPS! - Angelo Mozilo has done it. He hit “reply” instead of “forward” on the computer. For most of us, the mistake usually results in a “DOH!” and perhaps and explanation and/or apology, but Mozilo’s is now resulting in an online slam-fest.
- Senators Reach Agreement on Housing Bill - A bill that would support affordable housing, prevent foreclosures, and create a stronger regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cleared a major hurdle yesterday when the two key senators involved finally found a proposal they could both accept.
http://www.builderonline.com/business/senators-reach-agreement-on-housing-bill.aspx
- Economic Tide is Rising for Repo Men - So many people have so many things they can no longer afford. This is an excellent time to be a repo man.
- The New York Times Still Doesn't Understand the Housing Crisis - Someone has to get these folks a program so they can follow the housing crash. The problem in the housing market is falling prices.
- Soaring Foreclosure Numbers Mean More Prey for Vulture Funds - Banks Desperate to Unload Distressed Properties Turn to Private Equity Firms
- Four Overlooked Homeownership Costs
- Let's take a look at the four most overlooked items that tend to be a burden to all homeowners and examine how these costs can be minimized.
http://biz.yahoo.com/investopedia/080514/2387.html?.v=patrick.net&.pf=real-estate
- Fannie CEO Sees Steep Home-Price Drop - Fannie Mae's CEO told shareholders Tuesday that the housing market is "about halfway through" its crisis and home prices could fall as much as 25 percent before the worst is over.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g0l00gOvEhC1X6A1Os36NGOqi7pAD90PJ8OG0?ref=patrick.net
- Senate Panel OKs Housing Rescue Bill - Bipartisan package gains wide support in committee
- IRS Issues Guidance on Loan Modifications - In clarification that market participants said will further embolden servicers to modify mortgages that are likely headed for trouble, the Internal Revenue Service on Monday outlined the tax effects on securitized mortgages that have been modified to avoid foreclosures.
http://www.housingwire.com/2008/05/20/irs-issues-guidance-on-loan-modifications/
- Crackdown on Foreclosed Kids? - Districts from Florida to California are hiring private investigators, creating anonymous tip lines and imposing penalties when they believe people have registered at false addresses. The measures often are spurred by parents who feel they pay a premium in property taxes to get their children into good schools.
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/05/crackdown-on-foreclosed-kids.html
- Holes in the Roof - Can Congress shape a housing bailout that does more good than harm?
- Impac Mortgage Reports Loss of $2B for 2007 - Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., a real estate investment trust, said late Tuesday it lost $2.05 billion in 2007 because of rising loan-loss provisions.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/21/ap5033354.html?partner=alerts
- Low-Income Renters to Pay for Housing Bailout - Unfortuantely this is no joke. This appears to be the latest gem to come from our leaders in Congress.
- Homes Are Biggest Bargain Since 2004 - Falling prices opened up home buying for many more Americans.
- Foreclosures Mean Opportunity for Habitat - The foreclosure crisis that has forced thousands of families from their homes has given something good to the nation's best-known housing charity: Cheap properties for sale in communities around the country.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080519/ap_on_bi_ge/foreclosure_habitat
- Reverse Mortgages: Beware the Come-ons - The loans can help you tap the equity in your house. Just don't get tripped up by greedy salespeople.
- Court Looks Askance at Builder's Mandatory Arbitration Clause - The relationship between builders of new homes and buyers of new homes is a multi-faceted one. In many cases there are exemplary stories of customer service and quality performance. Sometimes, though, there can be tensions and disagreements. In even the best of cases, there can be an awareness – as with buyers and sellers of resale homes – that the relationship between the parties may be adversarial. Even if there is no conflict at the time, both parties know that things may change down the road.
- "Green" Can Be More Than a Slogan - Building green requires more than a few solar panels.
- Home Buying Experts Warn - Builder Loan Fine Print Could Cost You Thousands
- The home loan packages offered by builders are often touted as being very convenient. But when it comes to evaluating the true benefits the picture is often quite different, according to the home buying specialists at the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/news/economy/dodd_shelby_deal/index.htm?postversion=2008051922
- Is Fraud Part of TOUSA's Bag of Tricks? - Florida-based homebuilder Tousa last July improperly used $1 billion in assets to secure a $500 million credit line from Citigroup and Wells Fargo
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/carlyle-blackstone-miffed-at-bankrupt-homebuilder/
- Home Sick - Greedy lenders, naive buyers, and sinking home values have driven millions into foreclosure. What it means for you, your community, and your own financial health.
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/home-sick/article57836.html
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
- Colorado: Trying to Buy a Foreclosed Home in a Flooded Market- With so many foreclosures available in the housing market, it should be easy to pick up a good deal. But a lot of frustrated buyers are walking away from their dream homes because time is not on their side.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=92044&ref=patrick.net
- Spring a Bust for Housing Market - Even the builder's association knows it's true.
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-05-19/Coast+to+Coast/index.html
- Post-Subprime Economy Means Subpar Growth as New Normal in U.S. - A normal U.S. economy is likely to look a lot different, and worse, after the credit crisis is over and financial markets settle down.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aVZRne8kZBGI&refer=patrick.net
- Housing Woes In U.S. Spread Around Globe - The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices swooning from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even parts of northern India.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04EFDB173AF937A25757C0A96E9C8B63&ref=patrick.net
- No Bottom in Sight: Home Prices to Fall Another 10-15 Percent - VIDEO - The current downturn is "much more serious" than past housing declines, Smith says, predicting another 10%-15% downside, on average, for national home prices over the next 6-to-12 months before any recover begins.
- Significance of the Housing Compromise - This is good news for the housing market, the economy, and the stock market.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/78001-significance-of-the-housing-compromise
- Banks Keep $35 Billion Markdown Off Income Statements - Banks and securities firms, reeling from record losses resulting from the collapse of the mortgage securities market, are failing to acknowledge in their income statements at least $35 billion of additional writedowns included in their balance sheets, regulatory filings show.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=patrick.net&sid=ajTu.H_velzQ
- FDIC: Fights US Housing Market Deflation with Inflation - "Too many unaffordable mortgages are causing a never-ending cycle – a whirlpool of falling house prices and limited refinancing options that contribute to more defaults, foreclosures and the ballooning of the housing stock."
- Credit Crisis Will Extend Into 2009, Oppenheimer Says - The U.S. credit crisis will extend into and even beyond 2009 as banks will write off more than $170 billion of additional reserves by the end of next year, according to Oppenheimer & Co. estimates.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auq3s_xEc9BI&refer=home
- Mary Had a Little Lamb and a Jumbo Mortgage - Once upon a time, there lived a King who granted each subject enough money to make his home his castle.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aXf.l14aZp4U&refer=home
- Dodd, Shelby Agree on $300 Billion Mortgage-Insurance Measure - The proposed legislation would a create a Federal Housing Administration program to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages for struggling borrowers after loan holders reduce principal. The Banking Committee is scheduled to debate and vote on the plan today.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aU326QIxnbTo&refer=realestate
- Megabubble Waiting For New President in 2009 - 'Numbers racket' exposes potential disaster for economy, markets .
- Squaters Get Comfy in Abandoned Homes - Squatters are moving into foreclosed homes and posing as tenants so they can live in comfort until the bank either goes through the eviction process or bribes them to leave.
- Most Appraisers Asked to Inflate Home Values - Some of the appraisers polled even expressed concern about losing a job if they didn’t provide a value to the client upfront, before the appraisal was ordered.
http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/most-appraisers-asked-to-inflate-home-values/
- The Housing Bust is Over
(Really?!? - Ed.) - At least that was the headline on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal earlier this month when Cyril Moulle-Berteaux, a managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York made his case that the housing market is hitting bottom right now.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/5192008_Housing_Crisis_Over.asp
- Senate Deal Stuck on Mortgage Aid - Plan would let government back loans for at-risk borrowers. Key lawmakers reach compromise: Taxpayers will not be on the hook if loans go bad.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/news/economy/dodd_shelby_deal/index.htm?postversion=2008051922
- A Bailout That Wouldn't Cost You a Dime - There's a way to keep buyers in their homes that's simple and fair, but lenders have persuaded Congress to set it aside.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/ThisBailoutWouldntCostYouADime.aspx
- Overview: Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 - The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, yesterday announced they reached an agreement on legislation entitled “The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008,”
Monday, May 19, 2008
- Colorado: Longmont Home Sales Ahead of Ntional Trends- As the real estate industry continues its tough slog through 2008, local home sales seem to be faring better than national trends, in terms of both prices and the number of homes being sold.
http://www.timescall.com/tcBusiness/business-story.asp?ID=8784
- Colorado: Boulder Lenders Shedding Foreclosed Homes - Banks and mortgage companies looking to shed their foreclosed properties accounted for more than 8 percent (72) of Boulder County's 871 first-quarter existing homes sales in 2008, according to public records.
- Fannie's New Down Payment Policy: Hoping Promise Comes True - At face value, I thought wait a minute. How can Fannie actually be relaxing standards in today’s mortgage environment? But it’s not that simple. Let me go back a bit:
- 5 Key Housing Stats - Examining the housing market.
http://www.mybudget360.com/5-key-housing-stats-examining-the-us-housing-market-in-may-2008/
- A Piggyback in a Poke - Would you invest money — at a very low interest rate — to finance mortgage loans made to risky borrowers who put no money down? What if you knew the company that made most of the loans had gone bankrupt because so many of its loans had turned bad almost immediately?
http://www.gazette.com/articles/foreclosure_36360___article.html/county_first.html
- Continued Weakness Seen in Housing Data - U.S. consumers won't really feel comfortable until home values stop falling. They could be in for a rough year because there's no sign that home-price declines are letting up.
- Builders Feel Glum - The spring selling season seems to have vanished from this year's calendar. Just ask home builders. Their confidence in the housing market slipped again in May, falling one point to a reading of 19, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).
http://www.builderonline.com/business/builders-feel-glum.aspx
- The Meltdown Lowdown
- Barney Frank's Bailout Mostly Benefits Banks.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_meltdown_lowdown_051508&ref=patrick.net
- Fed's Direct Loans to Banks Climb to Record Level - The Federal Reserve's direct loans of cash to commercial banks climbed to the highest level on record in the past week as money-losing lenders increasingly turn to the central bank for funds.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aur2QcWbKf2U&refer=patrick.net
- Don't believe Paulson: S&L 2.0, the Bank Failure Redux - Now, for those banking CEOs, homebuilder CEOs (ex. Mr. Hovnanian), monoline CEOs and government officials (ex. Mr. Paulson), who claim that the worst is behind us - I can smell you guys!
- The Home Start Numbers Are Not a Positive - Anybody in the residential real estate biz can tell you that rentals compete with sales. Sales boom, rentals suffer. Rentals suffer, sales boom. Unless you have an overall crappy macro scene, then everything can suffer some.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77629-the-home-start-numbers-are-not-a-positive
- Fannie's New Watchdog - Paulson says it's time for a 'world-class' regulator, but don't expect to see action till the housing market recovers.
- Hoping the Housing Crisis Is Over - Certainly the numbers look good for April, relative to the past. Housing starts jumped more than 8% last month, the strongest since last October. Meanwhile, new permits issued for building houses advanced nearly 5% last month--the highest since December 2006. In both cases, the actual numbers exceeded the consensus forecast by a healthy margin
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77620-hoping-the-housing-crisis-is-over
- FDIC’s Bair Warns of Greater Housing, Credit Woes - Federal policy makers need to “come to grips” with the reality of the housing market and embrace broader, more aggressive proposals to prevent the growing number of foreclosures, a top banking regulator said Friday.
- Credit Crunch Fallout Not Over Yet: Buffett - The fallout from the global credit crisis is not over yet, U.S. investor Warren Buffett said on Monday.
- Is the Recession Off? Housing Holds the Key. - So is the U.S. recession off? So far, so good -- or at least not so bad. However, there are still quite a few dark clouds on the horizon.
- You Owe More Than You Think - Long-term federal obligations nearing $500,000 per household
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/05/19/20080519redink0519.html
- Senate, Bush Need to Act on Bill to Help Homeowners - After more than two years of declining home prices and rising foreclosures, Congress has finally come up with a proposal that could keep hundreds of thousands of borrowers from losing their homes.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080518/news_1b18dean.html
- $1M Mortgage Mess: No English? No Income? No Problem!
- How a single mother in public housing got a million in mortgages
http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1094770
- Barbarians at the Vault - Modern finance is under attack. Yet the banking system has done much better than it is given credit for
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11376185
- The Scars of Losing a Home
- It’s easy to take a stern view of this spectacle. The arguments go something like this: Foreclosure is not the end of the world. There are valuable lessons to be learned from such a life experience. After all, we live in a capitalist economy that thrives on the sanctity of contracts. The founders of our nation put the contract clause into the Constitution to make it clear that people need to live up to the documents they sign.
- The Real Alternative To Walking Away Is A “Back Door Cram Down” - Banes won't reduce the principal amount down to fair market value to save a homeowner. They just won't do it.
- Fannie Mae: Treading in the Underwater Market - Fannie Mae Announces Single National Down Payment Policy; Replaces Policy Regarding Markets Where Home Prices are Declining
- Beazer Restates Financials From '03-'06; Posts $400M Loss for '07
- Beazer
which is under criminal and civil investigations for its lending practices, has restated several years of earnings and posted a $411 million loss for 2007.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/05/12/daily30.html?jst=b_ln_hl
- UBS $100 Billion Wager Prompted $24 Billion Loss in Nine Months - Shareholders say Ospel and his fellow managers took a profitable Swiss bank and wrecked it on the shoals of structured finance and subprime mortgages.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=a3sm9FOrsWcg&refer=finance
- As Congress Debates Housing, Bush Administration Touts Current FHA Program -
As Senate leaders continue to hash out a housing rescue proposal expected to reach a key committee vote later this week, officials in the Bush administration are touting the growing success of a Federal Housing Administration program launched last August. Called FHASecure, housing officials last week said that the product has helped 200,000 homeowners refinance their mortgages and avoid foreclosure.http://www.housingwire.com/2008/05/19/as-congress-debates-housing-bush-administration-touts-current-fha-program/
- Steep Drop in Home Prices May Help Economy - The bottom should be hit faster, experts say. But the U.S. may have to lean on other sectors for a recovery.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-housing19-2008may19,0,4215131,full.story
- Atlanta Fed's Lockhart Says U.S. Slowdown to Have Global Impact - Speaking at a conference on Saturday, Dennis Lockhart, Atlanta Fed President (non-voter) said inflation levels were 'elevated' and that a slowing U.S. economy would have global repercussions
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/BIZ/805150468/1361
- Need a New Mortgage? Call Uncle Sam - The Bush administration says it has the answer to the housing crisis: a program offering cheaper loans. It has helped many people, but critics say it's not enough.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/real_estate/FHASecure_saves/index.htm?postversion=2008051909
- Can You Pass the Home-Buyer's Fiscal Fitness Test? - As real estate's busiest months begin, potential buyers are challenged to understand both the opportunities and risks of home purchases in markets that have yet to stabilize
- Fed Taskforce Investigatges Fraud - Federal authorities are trying to determine if lenders or Wall Street firms went beyond recklessness to actual fraud.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080517/RE/80517016/1076
- 10 Points to Consider in Homebuilding - In constructing a new home, the parties often spend considerable time considering the look, size, feel and amenities. Too often, builders and owners fail to consider terms that should be included in a contract. The following list identifies 10 points that should be addressed in any construction contract for a new home.
Friday, May 16, 2008
- Colorado: Foreclosures Hit Ritzy Homes Too - Douglas County latest casualty of market in Q1
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/15/colo-foreclosures-continue-rise/
- Colorado: Foreclosures up 15% Statewide - The number of home foreclosures in Colorado jumped 23 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year.
- Colorado: Weld County's Mortgage Ratge Second Highest in State - New foreclosure filings in Colorado were up by 23 percent during the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, with Weld County having the second-highest rate in the state with one filing for every 102 households.
- Colorado: Pueblo Forclosures Level Off - Pueblo's foreclosure rate is leveling out, according to a state housing report.
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/05/16/business/local/doc482d0fe032f3f723601819.txt
- Colorado: El Paso's Foreclosures Jump - El Paso County had one of the state's biggest increases in foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2008 when compared with the same period last year, according to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/foreclosure_36360___article.html/county_first.html
- Colorado: Larmier Countty Foreclosure Rate Low (Relatively!) - Report: Larimer doing better than other counties
- Housing Starts: The Numbers Are A Joke And Not A Funny One - Housing starts and permits up in April?? Why don’t you just stick a fork in the housing market and call it cooked! It’s not just counter-intuitive; it’s downright ridiculous.
- Beazer Files 1st and 2nd Quarter Financials - Losses appear to be widening for Beazer Homes, which filed quarterly financial reports for its first and second quarters of fiscal 2008.
http://www.builderonline.com/business/beazer-files-financials.aspx
- Judge Rejects Countrywide's Arguments - Directors and officers of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (CFC.N) must answer shareholder accusations of insider trading and failure to monitor lending practices that led to the company's collapse, a federal judge in California has ruled, the New York Times reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080515/bs_nm/countrywide_dc_1?ref=patrick.net
- Sen. Feingold’s Op Ed on Arbitration - Protecting the right to a day in court By Russ Feingold
- Ex-Fed Chief Warns That ’70s-Style Inflation Is Possible - Former Fed Chief Volker
warned on Wednesday the United States could face a 1970s-style period of skyrocketing inflation if investors lost confidence in the buying power of the dollar.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/business/15joint.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Foreclosures Prove Loan Modification Isn't Working
- U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 65 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in April from a year earlier as mortgage industry efforts to modify loans fell short.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77499-foreclosures-prove-loan-modification-isn-t-working
- Wall St.'s Crime Wave - Will culprits pay for the mortgage crisis?
- How to Default on Your Mortgage and Stay in Your House - But what's bad for bondholders might be good for homeowners.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77603-how-to-default-on-your-mortgage-and-stay-in-your-house
- Luxury Foreclosures - Growing Number of Affluent Homeowners Can No Longer Afford Their Mortgages
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051403698.html?ref=patrick.net
- Redlining Redux - New Mortgage Industry Policy Could Charge Borrowers Higher Fees by Zip Code
- Mortgage Providers Fail to Pass on Interest Rate Cuts to Borrowers - “It is now five weeks since the last base rate cut and still 24 lenders (25%) have not announced their intentions with regards to their standard variable rate (SVR). Of those lenders that have done so, 20 (28%) have announced a cut of less than 0.25%. Even more disappointingly is the fact that those lenders which have passed on the smallest cuts offer some of the highest SVR rates.
- Surprise Rebound in Housing, Outlook Still Shaky - Construction of new homes posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April. While it was a rare spot of good news for the housing market, analysts said it's far too soon to declare an end to the prolonged slump.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy;_ylt=Apt0zowEmoiTetBN2q79VUHv5rEF
- Mortgage Bailout Infuriates Tenants (And Steve Forbes) - 'Angry Renter' Web Site Has Grass-Roots Look, But This Turf Is Fake
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121090164137297527.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
- Real Estate Market's Dealmakers Far Apart on Price, Mack Says - Global real estate markets are frozen because buyers and sellers remain far apart on price and aren't ready to concede values won't return to levels achieved in 2007, Apollo Real Estate Advisors LP senior partner William Mack said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aC08CjbNnzyI&refer=realestate
- U.S. Builders Broke Ground on Fewest Houses Since '91 - Construction of U.S. single-family houses in April dropped to the lowest level in 17 years, even as building of condominiums and townhouses rebounded.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=azqS_xhB_4E4&refer=home
- Is Debt Thaw on Borrowed Time? - "Most of us are anticipating two steps forward, one step back and carefully watching where the markets can handle ... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121077220908491827.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
- Senators Get Closer to Deal on Housing Aid - Bill would tighten oversight on companies, could help stave off foreclosures
- Alice in Housing Land - Lewis Carroll call your office.
- Understanding the Stats - Housing starts rebound; Sinlge-Family starts lowest since 1991
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/05/housing-starts-rebound-single-family.html
- Rise in Housing Starts Unlikely to Begin a New Trend - The unexpected 8.2% rise in housing starts is welcome news but it seems unlikely to be the beginning of a new trend, economists say.
- Builder Confidence Edges Downward In May - Home builders remained considerably downbeat as market conditions continued to erode in May, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today.
- Pulte CEO: 'Worst Housing Market in Decades' - "This is one of the worse housing markets we've seen in decades," said Richard Dugas, Jr., the company's president and CEO. He was speaking to a couple dozen of Pulte's investors at the home builder's annual shareholders meeting held Thursday morning at The Community House in Birmingham.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/BIZ/805150468/1361
- Fannie Lowers Downpayments - The government-sponsored mortgage financier says it will require between 3% and 5% for all loans it guarantees.
- Three Things That Won't Help End the Foreclosure Crisis - Falling home prices, rising foreclosures rates, and a slowing economy have created a perfect storm for U.S. homeowners.
- Elusive House Bill Inches Forward - Key members of Senate Banking Committee try to hash out proposal to offer help for at-risk homeowners and overhaul how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac are regulated
- Pulte Tries to Reassure Investors - Home builder touts steps taken to solidify status amid protest
ice mortgages are central to whether or not efforts to prevent foreclosures work. But their role is shrouded in mystery.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/BIZ/805160342
Thursday, May 15, 2008
- Colorado Back on Top-10 List for Mortgage Fraud - It is unfortunate that Colorado is back on the top-10 list, but the state is aggressively dealing with the problem, said Evan Dryer, spokesman for Gov. Bill Ritter.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/14/fbi-colo-mortgage-fraud-hot-spot/
- Colorado Fifth in April Foreclosures - One in every 349 Colorado households received a foreclosure filing in April, nearly 1.5 times the national average, according to the company that tracks foreclosure data nationwide and sells foreclosure data.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/14/colorado-fifth-april-foreclosures/
- CONSUMER CREDIT CRISIS SHOWING UP IN THE CARDS - The money drain from high food and gas prices is causing consumers to fall behind on home-equity loans at Bank of America - at an even faster rate than the bank forecast only three weeks ago.
- Colorado: Understanding Mortgage Foreclosures in Denver - Report from the City and County of Denver's Office of Economic Development
http://www.milehigh.com/resources/custom/pdf/MortgageForeclosuresInDenver_Mar_2008_Final.pdf
- Misery Rising: Government Stastics Are Misleading, Inaccurate - According to a report on CNN Money, many of the official statistics the U.S. Government is using are inaccurate, which is in-part hiding the grim realities underpinning the economy. One such flawed indicator is the aptly name Misery Index. economy is about to get much worse.
- What Garage Sales Tell Us About Our Economy - As people struggle to put food on the table, a wave of second-hand goods is sweeping the nation.
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=5110.3394.0.0&ref=patrick.net
- Home Price Erosion Will Continue
- the decline in home prices even through the first quarter is a fraction of what we can expect to observe over time.
- Small Banks Next in Line for Credit Crunch - “There is no pill to take away the credit gluttony. People hate hearing the solution. It will take time and a lot of hard work and a radically new lifestyle. There is no credit market liposuction.”
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77316-small-banks-next-in-line-for-credit-crunch-housing-tracker
- Paulson Should Act to Stop Dollar Slump, Americans Say in Poll
- A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll found that 76 percent of Americans think the government should do something to halt the falling dollar.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aT7i1zS2tRN0&refer=patrick.net
- A Generation in the Red - Bush’s tax rebates won’t do much to help us younger, debt-laden working stiffs.
- Get Ready to Short Homebuilders - I’m going to explain my favorite short-sale. Be warned, if you, like the Wall Street CEOs, believe that the “worst is over” in terms of the US credit contraction and housing bust, you should stop reading now.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77352-get-ready-to-short-homebuilders
- The Incredible Shrinking House - Soaring fuel costs, environmental concerns and aging baby boomers mean the American dream home is a lot smaller than it used to be.
- Recovery From Worst Housing Slump Since 1930s Comes With Angel
- When he goes door to door to negotiate lower payments for homeowners or pay them to move so he can sell the house, he's speeding up the recovery by establishing a price for the homes and flushing out the least reliable borrowers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=acNLJ7FGT15U&refer=realestate
- Mortgage in Trouble? How Congress Wants to Help - Should Uncle Sam insure mortgages? That's the big debate. But the devil is in the details and nobody is talking about them. Here's how the plan would work.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/13/news/economy/fha_expansion_101/index.htm?postversion=2008051312
- Economic 'Misery' More Widespread - Americans are feeling a lot more economic pain than the government's official statistics would lead you to believe, according to a growing number of experts.
- Foreclosures Climb 65% as Loan Workouts Fall Short
- U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 65 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in April from a year earlier as mortgage industry efforts to modify loans fell short.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adsUTJJ8e6WY&refer=home
- Flood of Foreclosures Prove Loan Modification Isn't Working - "Loan modification isn't working," Rheingold said. "It's extremely difficult for a homeowner to talk to a servicer and even if they do, it's hard to get the servicer to change the terms. You get voice-mail hell, they don't return calls, you can't get a live person on the phone."
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/05/flood-of-foreclosures-prove-loan.html
- Banks Show Elevated Reluctance To Lend
- There is an elevated amount of reluctance from banks to lend, according to Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, speaking Wednesday at the Boston Fed's Basel II conference on New Challenges for Operational Risk Measurement and Management.
- Investment Banks Need to Be Regulated - There is a need for investment banks to be regulated like commercial banks, according to former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker testifying before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday morning.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/5142008_Investment_Banks_Regulation.asp
- HOME MORTGAGE HIJINKS - The home mortgage default and foreclosure figures are in for February. The Bush Administration was not anxious to release them. The figures don't look good. The home mortgage crisis has become contagious. It's spreading from the subprime home market into the prime loan market.
- Toll CEO: Fourth Estate Razes Real Estate
- Blaming the media for the fractured state of your business
is lamer than the retail industry's fallback excuse of too hot/cold/rainy/dry weather. It is also an indication that your troubles are far from over.
- Housing Rescue Stokes Partisan Split - GOP pushes back against Dodd bill to expand government role in helping at-risk borrowers and tighten control over big mortgage players.
- Beazer CEO's Total Compensation Cut 75% in 2007 - Amid ongoing criminal and civil investigations into its lending practices, Beazer paid its top executive $7.5 million in total compensation in 2007.
http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/05/12/daily47.html
- Why More Homeowners Aren't Getting Help - The firms that service mortgages are central to whether or not efforts to prevent foreclosures work. But their role is shrouded in mystery.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/15/real_estate/servicers_who_are_they/index.htm?postversion=2008051503
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
- Colorado: As Dues Dry Up, Denver Neighbors Pay - Here's another consequence of the troubled housing market: Some homeowners associations are running low on cash.
- Home Prices: Glass Still Seems Half Empty - The Realtors tend to see the glass half full, that is, that 1/3 of the nation’s top 149 metro markets are still showing price increases year-over-year. But for those of us living in the other 2/3, we probably see the glass half empty.
- Colorado: Median House Prices Drop - Median home prices fell across much of Colorado and the nation during the first three months of this year, a real estate trade group reported today.
- Home Foreclosures: Crisis Is Only Getting Deeper - It’s another record in the real estate market, and it’s not a good one.
- Democrats Face Rescue Backlash - Some Voters Oppose Having to Bail Out Homeowners at Risk
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121055001830383807.html?mod=residential_real_estate&ref=patrick.net
- Did Bear Stearns Fall Or Was It Pushed? - How insider trading saved JP Morgan and looted taxpayers
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_ellen_br_080513_did_bear_stearns_fal.htm
- Regulators Under Fire for Ignoring Red Flags - Today, federal regulators are on the firing line trying to explain why they were seemingly asleep at the switch and failed to crack down on the abusive loans that led to the worst housing bust and financial collapse in modern times.
- Watching the Watchdog - Commentary: Public trust eroding, bit by bit
- Foreclosure Hike Tied to Single-Family Permit Drop in Most States - Rising foreclosure rates show a strong correlation with declining single-family housing permits, according to NAHB Study (Duh! - Ed.)
hhttp://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-05-12/Front+Page/3.html
- What Causes Foreclosures? - Your gut instinct may tell you it is not being able to make the mortgage payments. Even though we have been inundated with media coverage about this (i.e. impact of rate resets on ARMs), the truth is: This is not the primary reason for foreclosures at all.
http://wallstreetexaminer.com/blogs/ducalion/?p=127&ref=patrick.net
- Housing Bill Passes One Week After Builders Visit Capitol Hill - The homebuilders take credit for passing the Federal Housing Bill.
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-05-12/Front+Page/index.html
- The Housing Bust and Lending: The Worst Is Yet to Come - It's worth recalling how few people buy houses for cash. The entire edifice of home ownership rests on debt--buyers being able to borrow large
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay08/six-trends.html?ref=patrick.net
- One in Four Struggle to Pay Mortgage or Rent - The economic downturn is starting to impact people across the country. A new survey shows that people are urgently borrowing money—from friends, family and charities—to cover everyday living expenses. If consumer spending is about to collapse, the economy is about to get much worse.
- Appraisal Shake-Up Sparks Ire - A major legal brawl is breaking out over how homes are appraised, at what cost and by whom. The outcome could directly affect the price you pay for your next home and the amount of mortgage money you can obtain.
- The Housing Bust: a Statistical Portrait - Some data points that help depict what has happened (Very revealing and VERY scary - Ed.)
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/flowchart/2008/4/4/the-housing-bust-a-statistical-portrait.html
- John Hussman: Home Price Erosion Will Continue - Note that the decline in home prices even through the first quarter is a fraction of what we can expect to observe over time.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77092-john-hussman-home-price-erosion-will-continue
- FHA Chief Criticizes Rescue Plan
- While most government officials scratch and claw for more authority, Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery is pouring cold water on a housing rescue plan that would make his agency the linchpin of an expanded federal effort to keep people in their homes
- NAR Home Sales Report Shows Some Nasty Declines - The NAR metropolitan home sales report for Q1 came out Tuesday morning, and showed some nasty declines. For the most part, falling home prices accelerated sharply in the first quarter
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77208-nar-home-sales-report-shows-some-nasty-declines
- What Will Happen to Your Money When Your Bank Fails - Small banks and big banks alike are on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to all of the bad loans that have been made over the past few years. Although most people assume that their money will be safe if their bank fails, history has shown that may not be the case. Find out if your cash is at risk here.
- 2009 Home Price Forecasts: Up or Down? - Colorado projected to be down 10.8% a year from now.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77231-2009-home-price-forecasts-up-or-down
- Libor Set for Overhaul as Credibility Is Doubted - The benchmark interest rate for at least $347 trillion of derivatives and 6 million U.S. mortgages is set for its biggest shakeup in a decade on concern that banks misquoted their true borrowing costs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=az3eSerjPuDA&refer=patrick.net
- Bank of America Sees Higher Home Equity Losses - Bank of America
on Tuesday increased its forecast for expected losses from home equity loans, citing the deteriorating U.S. housing market.
- Freddie Mac Sees Risks to Home Prices Ahead, CEO Says - There are more risks to U.S. home prices on the horizon, the chairman and chief executive of Freddie Mac
- Freddie Mac Reports Loss, Sees More Housing Weakness - Mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac on Wednesday reported a first-quarter loss on expenses related to "challenging" housing and credit-market conditions, as its chief executive predicted more housing weakness would hurt the company's bottom line this year.
- Greenspan Sees U.S. House Price Bottom in '09 - U.S. home prices will likely bottom out in early 2009 after the market absorbs excess inventories, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told audiences in Asia
- Housing Prices Tumble in Two-Thirds of U.S. Cities -
The median price for a single-family home in the U.S. dropped 7.7 percent in the first quarter, the biggest decline in at least 29 years, as values tumbled in two- thirds of U.S. cities, the National Association of Realtors said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2uYZYltj_Zw&refer=home
- Gut Check: Foreclosure's Fallout - As housing crisis deepens, how is it affecting your community?
- Toll Brothers Revenue Drops as Housing Slump Persists - The
largest U.S. luxury-home builder, reported its eighth consecutive quarterly decline in revenue as demand for new homes tumbled.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aXawW2Zwjv1E&refer=news
- Toll Bros: Tough Times in Housing Sales - Toll Bros. Inc., of Horsham, said today that times were still tough for the housing market and that preliminary results showed 30 percent lower sales for home building in its fiscal second quarter, which ended April 30.
- Results from Piecemeal Housing Plans Leave Doubts About Effectiveness - Even as the House of Representatives passed two housing rescue bills and the Senate wrestles over a bill of its own, criticism is raining down on those remedies to the housing crisis that are already in place.
- U.S. Foreclosures Rise 65 Percent as Vacated Homes Add to Glut
- U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 65 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in April from a year earlier as rates on adjustable mortgages increased and vacated homes added to a glut of unsold homes
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adsUTJJ8e6WY&refer=home
- FBI Releases New Mortgage Fraud Report - Read the report to see the newest trends in crime and fraud.
- Standard Pacific Hit by Q1Loss
- Standard Pacific Corp. officials blamed declining home prices and increased sales incentives, in part, for $192.3 million in pretax impairment charges that contributed to a $216.4 million net loss for the quarter.
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/05/12/standard-pacific-hit-q1-loss
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
- Rubenstein Says `Enormous' Bank Losses Unrecognized - U.S. and European banks and financial institutions have ``enormous losses'' from bad loans they haven't yet recognized and may have a harder time wooing sovereign-fund rescuers, Carlyle Group Chairman David Rubenstein said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aozdYkg4RG3A&refer=patrick.net
- NAR's Lawrence Yun Continues to Mislead on Housing - NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun continues to prove he's lost in the woods. I'm sure most of you who have followed the real estate market recall his long list of ridiculous predictions. Do you remember when he claimed house prices would rebound in 2007? His quotes continue to supply stand-up comedians with new material.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76981-nar-s-lawrence-yun-continues-to-mislead-on-housing
- New Mortgage Crisis Looms - Steep price declines and interest-rate resets will have even prime borrowers simply walking away from their mortgage obligations.
http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_slate.aspx?cp-documentid=6914731&ref=patrick.net
- Housing Prices Tumble in Two-Thirds of U.S. Cities - The median price for a single-family home in the U.S. dropped 7.7 percent in the first quarter, the biggest decline in at least 29 years, as values tumbled in two- thirds of U.S. cities, the National Association of Realtors said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=arfjFulEBNJ0&refer=realestate
- Home Prices Take Biggest Price Dip - EVER! - Single-family home prices dropped 7.7% in the first quarter in the largest year-over-year decline since the National Association of Realtors began reporting prices in 1982.
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/080513/051208_q12008_home_prices.html
- Jumbo Loans Coming With Jumbo Price Tags - In spite of government efforts to make jumbo loans more affordable, prices remain high
http://housingdoom.com/2008/05/13/jumbo-loans-jumbo-price-tags/
- No Down Payment? No Problem - Still ! - Loophole still allowing risky mortgages by disguising money as a gift
- Frank-Dodd Proposal Makes Sense - White House Veto Would be Reckless - The Barney Frank and Chris Dodd proposal for an effective 'nationalization' of a good part of the distressed mortgages is the only sensible proposal that would start to tackle the vicious circle of falling home prices, rising defaults and foreclosures and growing mortgage losses for financial institutions.
- Median Home Prices Drop - National average falls 7.7 percent in first quarter of 2008
- Toll Brothers Revenue Drops as Housing Slump Persists
- The
largest U.S. luxury-home builder, reported its eighth consecutive quarterly decline in revenue as demand for new homes tumbled.
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=apR_.CkFEhi8&refer=realestate
- GRIN and Bear It - The skewering of the American consumer (JULS) continues unabated. Now comes even more evidence from the AARP that the Great “unreported” Inflation (GRIN) is rapidly emptying out pocketbooks like a thief in the night.
- Tool Belts for Hire as Remodling Jobs Ebb - Industry analysts predict no turnaround until 2009 at the earliest
- The New Mortgage Rate Calculus
- Borrower, beware: The current credit crisis will transform how homes are financed - and who bears the risk.
http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/105044/The-New-Mortgage-Rate-Calculus
- Bernanke: Financial Market Conditions "Far From Normal" - Speaking at the Atlanta Fed's Financial Markets Conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the current state of the U.S. economy, calling current financial market conditions "far from normal."
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/5132008_Bernanke_Economy.asp
- Fed's Lockhart Sees Fragile Credit Conditions in U.S.
- Delivering opening remarks at the Atlanta Fed's Financial Markets Conference, Dennis Lockhart, head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve (non-voter) said credit markets remain fragile given a loss of confidence from the subprime crisis.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/5132008_Dennis_Lockhart.asp
- Home Prices Continue Sharp Descent - Steep drops in West. Heartland prices stabilize. Bottom line: 7.7% decline in first quarter.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/12/real_estate/Q12008_home_prices/index.htm?postversion=2008051310
- Mortgage in Trouble? How Congress Wants to Help - Should Uncle Sam insure mortgages? That's the big debate. But the devil is in the details and nobody is talking about them. Here's how the plan would work.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/13/news/economy/fha_expansion_101/index.htm?postversion=2008051310
- Beazer Reveals Big Losses, More Firings - Company also details more problems with mortgage violations
Monday, May 12, 2008
- Colorado: Ft. Collins Bucks Trend in Housing- With stronger home prices, the city is surviving the market better than most.
- Homeownershp Rates Slipping, Vary by Region - Interesting how much homeownership rates vary by region. The midwest has the highest rate, yet they saw the least change in price appreciation during the housing boom. Markets in the west and northeast have the lowest rates (and the highest home prices).
- Credit Card Nightmares Prompt Long-Awaited Crackdown - While there's disagreement about what sparked the move, even the most jaded political observers now agree that, after years of complaints, relief is finally on the way for cardholders who feel victimized by their plastic.
- Troublie in Paradise - FORECLOSURES LOOMING FOR THE HAMPTONS' POSHEST PADS
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76549-men-are-in-recession-women-apparently-not-housing-tracker
- Economic Stimulus Check Burned For Warmth - Humor - we think!?!
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/economic_stimulus_check?utm_source=patrick.net
- You and Your Puny Salary - You think a $100K salary is a lot? $500K? Please. The truly wealthy scoff at your paltry breadcrumbs
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/05/09/notes050908.DTL&ref=patrick.net
- Men Are in Recession, Women Apparently Not - Men have the misfortune of being concentrated in the two sectors that are doing the worst: manufacturing and construction. Women are concentrated in sectors that are still growing, such as education and health care.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76549-men-are-in-recession-women-apparently-not-housing-tracker
- Mortgage Crisis Seeps to Prime Loans - The first concrete evidence that delinquencies on mortgage bills have spread well beyond those with subpar credit shows that even prime borrowers have increasingly fallen behind on their house payments.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2008-05-08-prime-mortgage-delinquencies_N.htm?ref=patrick.net
- Should We Force a Housing Bottom? - Some say a recession has arrived. Some say it hasn't yet but will. Some say it never will.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76673-should-we-force-a-housing-bottom
- Seeking Foreclosure Riches: What Does it All Mean? - One of the ingredients for "bubbles" is the quest for the home run. Investors look to how much they wish to gain rather than to risk and reward. What happens when this quest intersects with a major downturn in an asset class?
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76708-seeking-foreclosure-riches-what-does-it-all-mean
- When Should the Fed Crash the Party?
- As the world economy wrestles with the credit crisis and a shattered housing sector, there are those who grumble that too much prosperity caused the excesses that became the root cause of all our troubles. Now, they fear, aggressive countercyclical policies will lead to inflation and threaten a run on the dollar
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/business/11view.html?ref=patrick.net
- Bank Failures: How Bad Will it Be? - Washington Mutual, Wachovia and National City are among the financial institutions that have announced huge losses and are looking for billions of dollars from private equity firms or others in the industry just to keep their doors open. In all likelihood, the bigger banks and savings and loan associations will survive the mortgage debacle and ensuing credit crunch, albeit somewhat battered and bruised.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/chk/20080509-bank-failures-a1.asp?ref=patrick.net
- Dueling Views on Housing - Buffett's Expert Sees Rebound Underway, Jim Rogers Sees More Pain
- Buffett: Lenders Deserve to Suffer - Billionaires Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger say the pain many financial institutions are feeling because of the credit crunch is well deserved.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/361744_berkshire05.html?ref=patrick.net
- MBIA Posts Loss on Subprime Exposure - The world's largest bond insurer posted a quarterly loss of $2.4 billion on Monday as it took charges on billions of dollars of exposure to bonds linked to subprime mortgages.
- Mortgage Credit Losses Could Total $500 Billion - Goldman Sachs economists expect a total of $500 billion in residential mortgage credit losses, a renewed slowdown in economic activity after the near-term boost from fiscal stimulus, and no monetary policy tightening in 2008 or 2009,
- Foreclosed? Go Fish! - Dealing with abondened swimming pools on foreclosed houses. Controlling West Nile.
http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/player.asp?guid={781833E2-2D6D-4A88-BCF4-F25E7B96D96E}
- Citi Group to Shrink by 1/5 - Citigroup's new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, plans to stick with a global banking model after months of intense review – but only after shrinking the company by about one-fifth first.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080510/news_1b10citi.html
- Map of Misery - The Economist brings you the national map of foreclosure rates.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11333030
- Jumbo Jumble - Increased conforming loan limits are just starting to improve pricing
- Foreclosure Bargains on the Block - Even in affluent communities, foreclosures often offer a chance to buy a luxury home for as much as 40% or more off the market value
- House Passes Mortgage Rescue - Fannie Mae Executives Only Ones Surprised by $2.19 Billion Quarterly Loss
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-housing9-2008may09,0,3107927,full.story
- Bottom Testing in Mortgage Land - This may prove to be premature (recall how Wall Street firms eagerly bought subprime brokers through January 2007) and the housing market itself appears unlikely to hit its floor before 2010, but even at this stage, there may be pockets that are so cheap that the downside is (or appears) modest.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/05/bottom-testing-in-mortgage-land.html
- Paying For Failure - What does it cost to attract first-class talent to a chief executive job in the U.S.? A lot. What does it cost to hire a clunker? Almost as much.
- Making the Banking Industry “Chew Brick” - One proposal that would make the banking industry “chew brick” and eat the excess debt they created by offering subprime mortgages is to allow homeowners to “cram down” the amount they owe to just the current value of their homes.
http://www.indypendent.org/2008/05/09/making-the-banking-industry-chew-brick/
- Big Rescues Can Work. Just Ask New York. - AS the great American credit crash continues to reverberate, we still have nothing that resembles an intelligent and comprehensive plan for dealing with mass foreclosures and the economic consequences associated with the debacle.
- Statement by AFL-CIO President on Housing Crisis Legislation - Working people applaud the bipartisan effort by the U.S. House of Representatives to help struggling homeowners retain their piece of the American dream. This bill is an important step toward keeping millions of struggling families from losing everything they have worked for all their lives
- Green Building: Are the Big Builders On Board? - I can’t say that the home building industry is ignoring the “green” movement. I know this because I get a press release probably once a week from the National Association of Home Builders about some or another green improvement, green initiative, green product or green conference.http://www.cnbc.com/id/24544097
- New Fannie Mae Program May Benefit 150,000 Homeowners - As with most recent initiatives, whether designed by lenders, Congress, or the President, the intended audience of Fannie's program is limited, but it does target a sector of troubled borrowers that has not received a lot of attention - the "underwater" borrower.
- Perhaps BMA Isn't Enforceable in Criminal Cases - Judge: Woman's rape case against Halliburton can go to trial
- Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism - Sen. Shelby has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely.
- 5 New Rules for Home Sellers - Whether you're buying or selling, the real estate game has changed. To win, you've got to learn a new playbook.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/01/real_estate/seller_tips.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008051208
- Real-Estate Drop Has a Green Lining - As Home and Resort Development Cools, Conservationists Snap Up More Land
Thursday, May 8, 2008
- Colorado: Springs Asks: 'Have We Seen the Bottom Yet?'- Home prices dipped in April, the 9th straight decline; sales continued fall
http://www.gazette.com/articles/sales_36090___article.html/homes_year.html
- Colorado: Metro Home Prices Slide 10%- The median price of a single-family home in metro Denver declined 10 percent in April compared with the same month last year, but homes took a little less time to sell, according to statistics released today.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9181954?source=email&ref=patrick.net
- What's Up (Down) with Rents? - Here's my answer to the cliche that "all real estate is local." Yes, but the economy is global.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay08/rents5-08.html?ref=patrick.net
- Cars, Boats, Jewelery? Fed Will Take it All - Fed Takes Steps to Add Liquidity
- True Believers: 77% Believe Their Homes Held or Increased Value in 2007 - Despite repeated highly publicized reports of a home sales slump and pricing slides, there's a surprising amount of positive consumer sentiment -- and perhaps a good measure of homeowner denial as well
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=50&ref=patrick.net
- The Housing Crisis is NOT Over - A
perfect example of what looks good on paper does not necessarily reflect reality.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76047-the-housing-crisis-is-not-over?source=patrick.net
- So Underwater You Need a Submarine to get in the Front Door - You bought at the peak of the market. You put next to nothing down. (Maybe you even took out one of those 105% LTV loans to cover closing costs.) Now prices are falling, falling, falling, and you are underwater on your mortgage. Deep underwater, where the strange sea creatures dwell.
- U.S. Consumer Debt Rises More Than Forecast in March - Consumer credit
increased by $15.3 billion for the month to $2.56 trillion, the biggest monthly rise since November, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSN4AbFYIoCc&refer=patrick.net
- Fannie Mae: Sitting on Shaky Ground - Fannie announced its first quarter results on Tuesday, before the open. In conjunction, the company announced that it would be raising another $6 billion in capital
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76245-fannie-mae-sitting-on-shaky-ground
- Fannie Mae Cumulative Defaults and other Mortgage Market Disasters
- Fannie Mae Executives Only Ones Surprised by $2.19 Billion Quarterly Loss
- Fannie Mae: What if the Lifeguard Can't Swim? -
The company's first quarter net loss was $2.2 billion-or $2.57 per share-the company's third consecutive quarterly loss. Such a track record should have caused the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight [OFHEO] to balk at expanding the duties of Fannie.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76270-fannie-mae-what-if-the-lifeguard-can-t-swim
- Paulson: Housing Bill Woes not Insurmountable - Paulson
on Thursday said that problems with a housing relief bill under debate in the House of Representatives are "not insurmountable" and he would work toward a bill that Bush can sign.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080508/us_nm/usa_housing_paulson_dc;_ylt=AnmR7me.ZVgD38wO9BdG_PLv5rEF
- Will Taxpayers be on the Hook for Subprime Crisis?
- Federally linked entities like Fannie Mae now back 98 percent of home loans sold by banks.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0508/p02s01-usec.html?ref=patrick.net
- Paulson: Markets Feel Calmer, Bumps Ahead - Paulson
on Thursday said that he believes financial markets feel calmer than they did in March, but the U.S. credit crisis has not yet run its course.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080508/us_nm/usa_markets_paulson_dc;_ylt=Av.5C8QFMg0h0DKqjZWduCbv5rEF
- Consumer Debt Surges in March - Consumer credit increased by $15.3 billion for the month to $2.56 trillion, the biggest monthly rise since November, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. In February, credit rose by $6.5 billion, previously reported as an increase of $5.2 billion.
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-consumer-debt-surges-in-march.html
- Deterioration in Pending Home Sales Confirms Broader Trend, Economists Say - Economists say the March report for pending home sales confirms what has been known for many months now: the U.S. housing market is still several months away from stabilizing.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/572008_Pending_Home_Sales.asp
- Avoiding Mortgage Fraud - Once the domain of home buying and home equity rip-offs during the boom market, mortgage fraud is muscling in on subprime loans, foreclosures, reverses mortgages and insider trading related to mortgage securities in housing's down market.
- Guess What? Predatory Lending Is Not A Crime - Speaking before big-shot investors on Wall Street last week, assistant Treasury secretary Anthony Ryan said the marketplace needs to be protected against financial predators.
- White House Threatens Veto of FHA Rescue Bill - The House takes up a housing bill with sweeteners meant to reel in Republicans who have called its main provision a bailout. The White House isn't biting.
- Judge Rejects Countrywide Settlement - A bankruptcy judge has rejected Countrywide Financial Corp.'s proposal to settle accusations that it fabricated evidence used in a bid to foreclose on a home.
- Why CEO Pay Fed the Mortgage Mess- How did the nation's biggest banks stumble into the subprime crisis? Consider this: Lax boards dangled huge rewards for short-term performance with little incentive to limit risk.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/FatCEOPayFedTheMortgageMess.aspx
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
- Colorado: Indicted Weld Developer Missing - The FBI and Weld County Sheriff's Office are searching for a man they fear fled to Mexico to avoid standing trial for drafting phony loan documents and causing home foreclosures in a major mortgage fraud case in Greeley.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/06/indicted-weld-developer-missing/
- Fed Chief Seeks Greater Effort To Stem Foreclosures
- Eroding housing market affects overall economy, he warns
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/foreclosures_bernanke.html
- Colorado: GJ Area Home Values Continue to Climb - With an average increase of 3.5 percent over last year, Grand Junction home values continue to buck the national downward trend, according to Zillo.com, a real estate Web site that tracks industry trends.
http://gjfreepress.com/article/20080507/COMMUNITY_NEWS/992875728
- New Price Drop Could Imperil Mortgage Agencies - Each time Congress or regulators have given the companies new room for growth, their stock prices have risen. But so far the companies have balked at raising more capital. That hesitation has lawmakers concerned that when the companies raise money this year, it will not be enough.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/business/06fannie-web.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&hp
- Builder 100: Painful Year - This year’s Builder 100 is not a celebration of who built the most homes. Instead, we examine the builders who lived through 2007 and stand facing a grim 2008.
- Colorado: Home Values Falling in Fort Collins, Loveland - Local brokers skeptical of statistics, remain optimistic
- Will the White Collar Perps of Subprime Crime Ever Do Time? - That's the $500 Bllion question.
- Warren Buffett on the Dollar, the Recession, Subprime and Bear Stearns -
The following comments were made at Berkshire Hathaway's Annual General Meeting last weekend in Omaha:http://seekingalpha.com/article/76061-warren-buffett-on-the-dollar-the-recession-subprime-and-bear-stearns
- The WSJ Is Wrong on the Housing Crisis
- The article's main flaws, based on my own research, are its emphasis on pricing as the key driver of housing demand, and its sole focus on the inventory of new homes, ignoring existing housing
http://seekingalpha.com/article/76109-the-wsj-is-wrong-on-the-housing-crisis
- Doubts Raised on Big Backers of Mortgages - Fannie's playing Russian Roulette with America's future.
- Fed, Bernanke Get High Marks For Response To Credit Crisis
- Huh?!?!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20080506/bs_ibd_ibd/20080506general;_ylt=AsDZ7IH6BYiLweAwy7j_tBnv5rEF
- Worst of Finanical Crisis "Is Over": Paulson - Huh?!?! Treasury Secretary's words fly in face of new data.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080507/ts_afp/useconomypaulson;_ylt=AkBxgHQG0nGMi4fFP8UG8mbv5rEF
- U.S. MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Rose 15.6% Last Week - The number of mortgage applications filed in the U.S. rebounded last week as a drop in mortgage rates boosted buying and refinancing.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aFVYNb.YuqJU&refer=realestate
- Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Decreased 1% - Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy previously owned homes in March for the second consecutive month
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aYwV23U9qcv4&refer=realestate
- Are Lenders Making The Housing Crisis Worse? - How lenders are abusing the system. Video from The Today Show
- Countrywide Admits Mistakes, Not Wrongdoing - Senate panel looking into allegations it inflated fees in bankruptcy filings
- It’s Going to Get Worse - Economist David Lereah was once the housing market's biggest cheerleader. Now he says the bust isn't near over, and home prices still have a long way to fall.
- Pending Home Sales Drop to New Low in March - Data signal housing slump has yet hit bottom
- Housing Picture Worsens as Fannie Sees Price Drop - Outlook for housing market, economy worsen as Fannie Mae sees steeper price drop
- Tax Policy and the House Price Bubble
- It
is politically difficult to change because households see the benefits of tax subsidies and higher house prices but do not recognize the accompanying costs. By showing the downside of high prices, the housing bust provides an opportunity to escape this political trap.
- If You Bought in 2006, It's 50/50 You Are Underwater - That’s a mind-boggling stat don’t you think? It’s a coin flip really if you’re ahead or buried. Well probably not a coin flip as it is most likely self-selecting for the folks that stretched on financing in bubblesque territory.
http://blownmortgage.com/2008/05/07/if-you-bought-in-2006-its-5050-youre-underwater/
- Jump in Mortgage Foreclosures"Urgent Problem" - Fed Governor Randall Kroszner said rising mortgage foreclosures are an "urgent problem" and called on Congress to pass a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulatory bill.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/572008_Foreclosure_Jump.asp
- Housing-Rescue Bill: 'Something for Everyone' - The House takes up a housing bill that Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank is betting will reel in Republicans who have called its main provision a bailout.
- Don't Buy Someone Else's Mess - Whether you’re buying a resale home or new product, you owe it to yourself to learn the condition of the property prior to purchase. After you’ve written a contract to purchase real estate you undoubtedly have strict time frames to complete inspections to make sure the home is sound, free of both minor and major defects and safe for occupancy by you, the new owner.http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/may/06/life-bonita-dont-buy-someone-elses-mess/
- Lawmakers Target Mortgage Lenders - Senate subcommittee investigates possible abuse of the bankruptcy code by mortgage lenders.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/06/news/economy/senate_bankruptcy_foreclosure/?postversion=2008050618
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
- Colorado: Broker Weathers Wosrst of Times - Edie Marks sold $46 million in homes last year in the Denver region, once again assuring herself honors as the top individual broker in the metro area. She says last winter wsa the worst she has seen in 31 years
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/01/broker-weathers-toughest-of-times/
- No Help Wanted - Construction work is becoming harder and harder to find. The residential building sector lost another 10,700 jobs in April compared to the previous month, according to Friday's employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Colorado: Spring's Builders Call for Stimulus - County’s single-family construction permits in April down 48% from ’07
http://www.gazette.com/articles/builders_35935___article.html/call_stimulus.html
- Government Intensifies Mortgage Investigation
- Federal agencies are intensifying a criminal investigation of the mortgage industry and focusing on whether some lenders turned a blind eye to inflated income figures provided by borrowers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/business/05lend.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Buffett Castigates Wall Street, Bankers on Blunders - ``There's going to be more pain,'' said Buffett, who repeated that the U.S. is in a recession.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4vDg_oswebQ&refer=patrick.net
- Foreclosure Wake-up Calls - "I do have a judgment on my home and it to me is very strange because it didn't make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else… Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, 'OK, let's assume it is $35 million.' People have to understand that $35 million, you're paying the government 41%. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you're taking care of your whole family." – Former baseball player Jose Canseco on why he walked away from his $2.5 million California home
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75857-foreclosure-wake-up-calls-housing-tracker
- Banks Squeezing Creit to Consumer and Businesses - Consumers and businesses found it harder to borrow money over the past three months, the Federal Reserve reported Monday, a sign that the historic credit crunch now hitting the economy is still worsening despite Herculean efforts by the Fed.
- How Long Until the Housing Market Recovers?
- By anyone's measurement - a LONG time.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75878-how-long-until-the-housing-market-recovers
- Wall Street CEO Chorus Is Singing Out of Tune - The worst is NOT over.
- Is Pessimism Extreme Enough to Mark a Housing Bottom? No. - More bad news.
- Homebuilders: Waiting for the Thaw - With home prices continuing to drop and the pace of home sales slowing further, nobody has been looking for encouraging results from homebuilders.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20080506/bs_bw/may2008pi2008055569179;_ylt=ApcHD3iag6sC6OEHSBMb0ofv5rEF
- U.S. Home Slump Puts Owners `Underwater,' Zillow Says
- U.S. home values dropped 7.7 percent in the first quarter to the lowest in almost three years, according to estimates by Zillow.com, an online data provider.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=a5fN1s4jvUmE&refer=realestate
- Fannie Mae in Trouble - The company, the largest provider of U.S. home financing, also posted a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss, its third in a row, and said it expected more trouble ahead.
- D.R. Horton Reports Record Loss as Slump Worsens
- The fiscal second-quarter net loss at the largest U.S. homebuilder was $1.31 billion, or $4.14 a share, almost seven times higher than analysts' estimates.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aboC4i7frZqY&refer=realestate
- Bernanke Gives Green Light to Rep. Frank Foreclosure Bill - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave the green light Monday to congressional efforts to prevent foreclosures of homeowners caught in the recent sharp nationwide decline in home prices.
- Mortgage Rates Highest in 7 Weeks- Freddie Mac reports 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.06 percent this week
- UBS Posts $11 Billion Quartery Loss - the Swiss investment-banking giant, swung to a first-quarter net loss of 11.54 billion Swiss francs ($11 billion) after posting some $19 billion of losses tied to U.S. mortgages and related securities as well as other structured products.
- Congress Wants Answers on Jumbo Loan Inaction - Rep. Frank asks mortgage industry for answers on inaction following new jumbo loan standards
- Fannie Dismayed - The pieces of the puzzle that I am immediately drawn to are the delinquency and loan performance numbers.
- Homebuilder Legal Woes and Resolutions - News from around the country.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75682-homebuilder-legal-woes-and-resolutions-housing-tracker
- Bernanke: Foreclosure Woes Require Action - Price declines have become one of the biggest contributors to high default rates, Fed chief says. Stopping foreclosures is in 'everybody's interest.'
- How Green are America's Top Homebuilders? - Calvert to Rank Largest Builders on Environmental and Sustainable Practices
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?n=1&neID=200805051680.2_70830052069492e9
- Can $15 Billion and Some Paint Save Your 'Hood - A bill in Congress would allocate funds to states to buy, rehab and sell foreclosed homes. Here's how it would work.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/06/real_estate/rehab_plan.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008050609
- The High-End Real Estate Market: They Went Bankrupt?!? - From Tamarack Resort in Idaho, to the Villages at Hayden in Colorado, posh real estate projects struggle in the New West.
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_high_end_real_estate_market_they_went_bankrupt/C61/L36/
- Bulletproof Housing Market Gets Hit - The mortgage meltdown has finally gotten to Seattle, Charlotte and and other cities where prices had been holding up.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/01/real_estate/bulletproof_cities/index.htm?postversion=2008050611
Monday, May 5, 2008
- Fed `Rogue Operation' Spurs Further Bailout Calls
- Critics argue that the result will be to foster greater risk-taking among investors emboldened by the belief that the government will bail them out of bad decisions.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a1ctn1Xfq5Do&ref=patrick.net
- Why Did the Mortgage Market Go Out of Control? - In the good old days, mortgage lending officers were more careful to review and approve mortgages from homeowners.
The reason is that banks acted as both originators as well as life-long holders of these mortgages.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75602-why-did-the-mortgage-market-go-out-of-control
- Ben's Bind
- Disentangling the links between the Fed, the falling dollar and the soaring price of the world's commodities
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11294547&ref=patrick.net
- White House: No Evidence of Recession So Far- The White House said on Friday that there was no evidence so far that the U.S. economy had slid into recession after the government released an employment report showing only a small decline in jobs
- With Much Blood-Letting to Come, U.S. Housing Finance System Needs Replacing - In much of the discussion about the collapse of the U.S. housing market, commentators have assumed that the massive run-up in property prices that preceded the subprime-mortgage meltdown were simply the result of a speculative frenzy that became a full-fledged market bubble. But that’s not the case at all.
- Buffett Says U.S. in Recessin; Banks to Feel Pain - Warren Buffett on Sunday said he does not expect financial markets to panic as write-downs and losses for bad debts mount in the financial services industry, but said those losses were not over "by a long shot."
- U.S. in "Awfully Pale Recession," Greenspan Quoted - The United States has fallen into an "awfully pale recession" and may remain stagnant for the rest of the year,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080505/bs_nm/greenspan_recession_dc;_ylt=Aq3DIOdC505hV6yY.U1uYp7v5rEF
- Hovnanian Says Deteriorating Market to Hurt Results - Homebuilder
will report additional costs of as much as $275 million for the fiscal second quarter because of the worsening U.S. property market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aHl8UxkOfCFo&refer=realestate
- Rescue Plan Leads Housing Package - At-Risk Owners, New Buyers to Benefit
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103525.html?hpid=topnews
- U.S. Moves to Insulate Appraisers From Pressure to Cook the Books- As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the ongoing housing slump, the appraisal industry is undergoing changes designed to improve professional standards and reduce the temptation for appraisers to overvalue homes.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080504-9999-1h04appraise.html
- Waking Up From The American Dream - Home Ownership Is Only A Social Good When It Helps Buyers Build Equity
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/02/opinion/main4064715.shtml
- Federal Mortgage Aid Needed Now, Consumer Group Warns - Housing crisis dwarfs industry's attempt to respond
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/04/mortgage_relief.html
- Court Rules Credit Card Arbitration Lawsuit Can Go Forward - Suit charging collusion between banks and creditors against customers
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/04/cc_arbitration.html
- A Closer Look at Mandatory Arbitration for Consumers - Summary:
Lack of real agreement, the unfairness of the repeat player effect, and the harm secret decisions are doing to our public justice system in mandatory arbitration for consumers have given traditional (i.e., business-to-business) ADR a bad name.
http://www.ajs.org/ajs/ajs_editorial-template.asp?content_id=722
- New Report Highlights Trends in Real Estate Fraud
- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)–which safeguards the U.S. financial system from the abuses of financial crime, including terrorist financing, money laundering, and other illicit activity–last week released “Suspected Money Laundering in the Residential Real Estate Industry: An Assessment Based Upon Suspicious Activity Report Filing Analysis,” a new report that identifies several transactional typologies and associated illicit activities that may be perpetrated by individuals or groups seeking to launder funds via residential property transactions.
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/2008/05/04/new-report-highlights-trends-in-real-estate-fraud/
- More Buyers of New Homes Back Out - Despite the high penalty costs, cancellations are derailing about a third of transactions.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-re-backout4-2008may04,0,1477376.story
- Consumer Confidence Falls to Record Low in April
- The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, regained some lost ground on Monday and moved up three points to 74.9. That’s up two points from a week ago, down three from a month ago, and down eighteen from three months ago.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/indexes/rasmussen_consumer_index
- It’s Newer Homes That Stand Empty as Vacancies Rise - THERE are a record number of vacant homes in America, the government reported this week, and the vacancies are concentrated in the newest part of America’s housing stock.
- Foreclosing on the Housing Fix - Lending industry needs regulation, not government coddling
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN24050508.htm
Thursday, May 1, 2008
- The Next Slum? - The subprime crisis is just the tip of the iceberg. Fundamental changes in American life may turn today’s McMansions into tomorrow’s tenements.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/subprime?ref=patrick.net
- Stop Begging Ben for Help Cooking Banks' Books
- In other words, let's see if we can get banks to lend more money by letting them show more capital than they actually have.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aRFzA5qJQyd8&refer=patrick.net
- Is Bernanke Worse Than Greenspan? - Alan Greenspan was dubbed history's greatest Federal Reserve chairman upon his retirement in 2006, but the housing bust is prompting renewed criticism of his laissez-faire brand of monetary policy.
- The Fed's Financial Bailouts Will Rob Americans of Their Future - What is not being pointed out to the public are the revolutionary implications of the Fed's new supervisory position. For as it stands above these financial institutions as regulator, the Fed now also stands beneath these institutions as lender of last resort.
- Is the Fed Bankrupting America? - Don't be mad, but I told you so!
http://seekingalpha.com/article/74446-is-the-fed-bankrupting-america?source=patrick.net
- A Comparison of U.S. Home Prices - When it comes to home prices, location matters. Consider this: a $210,000 home in Atlanta, GA would be worth $1.4 million in Beverly Hills. The same home would be worth $509,000 in Washington D.C. and $207,000 in Phoenix. Find out how much homes might be worth in different cities in this home price comparison.
http://homeguide123.com/articles/A_Comparison_of_US_Home_Prices.html?ref=patrick.net
- U.S. Economy Reaches a Fork in the Road - I feel like we're at a fork in the road right now. There are two possible outcomes: Either the crisis will remain contained within the housing and finance sectors, in which case we should be able to bounce back, or else it will feed through into the economy more generally, in which case defaults will rise, employment will fall, and a nasty recession, complete with negative official growth rates, will bite right in the middle of the presidential election campaign.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/74988-u-s-economy-reaches-a-fork-in-the-road
- Case-Shiller Shows Steep Declines in Home Prices
- The index shows declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States worsened in the second month of the new year, with 17 of the 20 now reporting MSAs posting record low annual declines, 10 of which are in double-digits.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75123-case-shiller-shows-steep-declines-in-home-prices
- Can't Keep Home Prices from Falling
- Graphic representation of Cass/Shiller statistics by City.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/74833-can-t-keep-home-prices-from-falling?source=patrick.net
- The Impending Mortgage Crisis: Part Two - Exploding option ARMs will lead to record foreclosures, which will cause house prices to further decline, which will cause many households to have negative equity. Rather than pay mortgages that are larger than house values, people will simply walk away.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75128-the-impending-mortgage-crisis-part-two
- Recasting a Housing Rescue - High cost of ownership argues for plan to boost rentals: report
- Paulson Says U.S. Credit-Market Crisis Is `Closer to the End' - ``We are closer to the end of this problem than we are to the beginning,'' Paulson said in an interview yesterday in Washington.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aZGKVAF.Xjeg&refer=realestate
- Construction Spending in the U.S. Decreased 1.1% in March - Spending on U.S. construction projects fell more than forecast in March, reflecting the biggest one-month drop in homebuilding on record.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=a2W2JL34dFa4&refer=realestate
- Vacancies Are Up: WAY Up - Can’t sell it, can’t rent it? You’ve got company
- Fixing the Housing Crisis by Fixing the System - Underwriting requirements -- the conditions that lenders require to approve a loan -- have tightened across the board. Loans without a down payment, and loans allowing borrowers to "state" what their income is rather than document it, are pretty much gone. Loans are taking longer to get approved, and sometimes lenders change the rules in midstream. e move could be the last in a series dating to mid-September.
- No Assets? No Problem. - Even more surprising, many Americans can still buy homes with nothing down thanks in large part to the federal government and a legal loophole that lets builders and bankers ensure a steady stream of asset-challenged borrowers for taxpayer-insured loans.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/04/29/fha-seller-backed-markets-equity-cx_md_0422markets34.html
- Disappearing Now: $6 Trillion in Housing Wealth - A Washington think tank is warning that housing prices are falling at an accelerating level, destroying wealth at a pace that will cost the average homeowner $85,000 in lost wealth this year alone
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/04/disappearing-no.html
- Homebuilders Back On Capitol Hill--And Still Feeling Ignored - I went up to Capitol Hill this morning because about 1,200 members of the National Association of Home Builders are taking their annual day of action up here.
- Judges Should Have Say in Mortgage Modifcations - The Mortgage Bankers Association recently fought off federal legislation that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify residential mortgages. The MBA's victory was a huge success for lenders, but an unfortunate loss for homeowners who have declared bankruptcy.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
- Defaults on Insured Mortgages Rise 37% in Past Year - Defaults on privately insured U.S. mortgages rose 37 percent in March from a year earlier for their 15th straight increase, according to an industry report released today.
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=a_I.y7MWmfno&refer=funds
- Surprise, Surprise: Bush's Housing Plan Falls Short of Low Expectations - A
cynical plan to do nothing while pretending to offer relief is even worse than standing pat.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/04/quelle-surprise-bush-homeowner-rescue.html
- Americans Tapping the Attic for Spare Cash - Auction sites see upturn in desperate sellers hurt by down economy
- Dynamic Maps of Nonprime Mortgage Conditions in the United States - Straight from the Fed
- FDIC Finalizing Direct Home Loan Plans - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair is finalizing a legislative proposal that will let the Treasury Department issue direct loans for nearly 1 million homeowners, in a move to prop up the housing market, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
- Mortgage Applications Fall to Lowest Level This Year - Mortgage applications reached their lowest level yet this year, as borrowers stayed away from the both purchases and refinancing activity amid relatively steady mortgage rates.
http://www.housingwire.com/2008/04/30/mortgage-applications-fall-to-lowest-level-this-year/
- Severly Delinquent Mortgages Up to 15%- The number of severely delinquent mortgage accounts nationwide increased 15 percent annually to 1.5 percent in February, according to an Experian study.
http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/severely-delinquent-mortgage-accounts-up-15-percent/
- Fed Lowers Rate 1/4 Point; Hints Cuts May Be at an End -The Federal Reserve lowered a key U.S. interest rate by a modest quarter percentage point on Wednesday and hinted the move could be the last in a series dating to mid-September.
- Credit Tightening On Builder Loans Threatens To Prolong Housing Downturn - The mortgage credit crunch has spilled over into the housing production loan market, threatening to prolong the current housing downturn, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress today.
- 2008 Foreclosure Statistics - The latest foreclosure statistics from RealtyTrac are out, and the news isn’t very good.
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/2008/04/29/2008-foreclosures-statistics/
- Big Business Keeps Up the Lobbying Pace- If the first-quarter figures presage the rest of 2008, big business and other special interests are poised to at least match their 2007 lobbying budgets.
- A bottom in Housing? That's a Big "No" at This Confab - So what follows are some of the highlights from a packed morning session entitled "Real Estate: Where Is the Bottom?" (The short answer: not here.)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/04/im-at-the-annua.html
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
- Colorado: 3 Colo. Cities Make Top 12 List of "Worst Cities for Debt" - Denver (#2), Colorado Springs (#8) and Boulder (#12) make this dubious list
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/worst-cities-for-homeowner-debt.html
- Colorado: Durango Home Alliance to Assist Buyers- The Regional Housing Alliance of La Plata County hopes to parlay a $600,000 donation by BP America into home ownership for at least 20 families in 2008.
- Colorado: Pigs Protest MDC Holdings Annual Meeting - Men dressed as pigs frolicked outside the annual meeting of Richmond American Homes in Denver this morning, drawing attention to the role they say corporate home builders played in creating the mortgage and foreclosure crises.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/29/men-are-pigs-home-builder-protest-denver/
- Report: Subprime Servicers Too Swamped to Help Borrowers - Despite widespread public attention and efforts by the private and public sectors to address the foreclosure crisis, most borrowers at risk of losing their homes remain very close to foreclosure, according to a new report issued by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group.
http://www.builderonline.com/business/subprime-servicers-too-swamped-to-help-borrowers.aspx
- NAHB Keeps Spinning Their Bad Business Decisions - In a sobering presentation on how the housing slowdown is playing out across the country, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody'sEconomy.com said that home price declines will remain significant in the once super-heated markets of California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida, as well as parts of the Eastern seaboard that include the Washington, D.C. and Boston metropolitan areas.
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-04-28/Front+Page/3.html
- Loan Industry Fighting Rules on Mortgages - The mortgage industry, facing the prospect of tougher regulations for its central role in the housing crisis, has begun an intensive campaign to fight back.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/business/28mortgage.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Rising Property Taxes Fill Gaps, Pinch Homeowners - Pain Is Worsened by Housing Slump, Economic Slowdown
- Middle Class Taps Nest Eggs to Keep Homes - Trapped by rising mortgage payments and falling house values, a growing number of squeezed middle-class homeowners are tapping into their treasured retirement nest eggs to ward off foreclosure.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2734942320080427?ref=patrick.net
- Those Who Know and Those Who Don't - Here we go again: another big difference of opinion between those who think they know what is going on and those who actually do.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/74547-those-who-know-and-those-who-don-t
- More on Catching the Bottom in Housing - Some felt my analysis was misleading because it ignored the accumulation of equity, tax breaks and the fact that paying down a mortgage's principal every month was not an expense like paying the interest. All good points, all valid, all important--so let's dig in.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogapr08/RE-bottom2.html?ref=patrick.net
- 'Tax Rebate' Checks Expected to Yield Short-Term Benefits, Long-Term Troubles
- Economists foresee renewed economic growth over the next few months, but increased inflation and declining wealth will take a bigger toll.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0428/p15s01-wmgn.html?ref=patrick.net
- Consumer Confidence Hits 5-Year Low - Confidence among consumers fell to a five-year low in April as they confronted the grimmest jobs market since autumn 2004, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.
- U.S. Home-Price Index Fell 12.7% - Most Since 2001 - Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in February by the most on record, pointing to an imbalance between supply and demand that shows no sign of ending.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aUYOn_guvnPA&refer=realestate
- Homebuilders See 67% Slump in Value
- Turning these companies into small-cap stocks
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=adICfd7p1pZU&refer=realestate
- Where is Housing Headed? - Video: Don't sell your house if you don't have to.
- 'Declining Market' Tag May Threaten Recovery - Could widespread designations of entire ZIP codes, metropolitan areas – even entire states – as “declining markets” hinder a real estate recovery and hurt minority groups and moderate-income buyers disproportionately? Growing ranks of critics say the answer is yes
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080427/news_1h27harney.html
- Home Foreclosure Rate Continues Ugly Climb - Pace of foreclosures more than doubles from same quarter in 2007
- Housing Relief Efforts Slow as Pace of Foreclosures Rise- Hope Now reports that it has helped keep over a half a million home owners out of foreclosure this year. Critics say that still isn't enough
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/28/real_estate/Hope_Now_workouts_slow/index.htm?postversion=2008042817
- Home Prices Plunging at a Faster Pace in February - Prices down record 12.7% in past year, with 'no sign of bottom,' S&P says
- Home Prices Post Record Declines - Home prices posted another record decline, as most of the nation's largest markets suffered double-digit drops over last year, a survey released Tuesday shows.
- Foreclosures Spike 112% - No End in Sight - More than 155,000 families have lost their homes to foreclosure this year; one out of every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing.
- Give Homeowners Incentive to Stay - Guest perspective: Crisis presents opportunity for permanent affordable housing
http://www.inman.com/opinion/guest-perspective/2008/04/29/give-homeowners-incentive-stay
- Realtors React to Short-Sale Rule Changes - NAR considers new disclosure rules
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/04/28/industry-reacts-short-sale-rule-changes
Monday, April 28, 2008
- Colorado: Real Estate Guru May Don Stripes - Denver prosecutors are about to run Rick Dryer through the wringer.
- Colorado: Priced to Move - Homebuilders are finding themselves with unsold inventory on their hands, so they're offering incentives and even helping sell buyers' existing homes in order to get them into new ones.
- Inside the Liar's Loan - How the mortgage industry nurtured deceit.
- The Housing Market is Nowhere Near Bottom - Housing is what started the current mess me are in. Thanks to record low interest rates from the Federal Reserve, the US consumer went on a debt-induced home buying binge. That binge is now coming home to roost. And it's not going to let up for the foreseeable future.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hale-stewart/the-housing-market-is-now_b_98687.html?ref=patrick.net
- Buffett: Recession May be Worse Than Feared - The
world's richest person, said on Monday the U.S. economy is in a recession that will be more severe than most people expect.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080428/bs_nm/buffett_recession_dc;_ylt=ArnaGOkzseKKtEqlmKI0YLjv5rEF
- KB Home's Broad Says Home Prices May Drop Another 20% - ``I don't think we're anywhere near a bottom in housing,'' Broad told Bloomberg TV at the Milken Institute Conference in Beverly Hills, California. ``We're going to have a big inventory of unsold, unoccupied homes that's going to take three or four years to clear out.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aNGtHO1tbzng&refer=realestate
- 18.6 Million Vacant Homes - Putting further downward pressure on home prices, the number of vacant homes in the United States increased by 1 million over the past year to a record 18.6 million, according to government data released Monday.
- New Record-High for Vacant Homes - Vacancy rate climbs to 2.9 percent; western states hit 7 percent
- Fed to Hold Public Hearings on BofA-Countrywide Deal - The Fed is required to consider whether the deal would harm consumers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080427/ap_on_bi_ge/federal_reserve_countrywide
- Taxpayers Already Bailing Out Housing Market - It's the silly season again, and that means that politicians will say one thing while doing another and then pretend they are being consistent
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/27/14456/5372/399/504051
- Treasury Undersec. Steel Sees Good Progress in Economic Recovery, Housing
- Mortgage refinancing in the U.S. is increasing as record numbers of homeowners dump their adjustable-rate mortgages for the security of a fixed loan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=au53A_G4d.nI&refer=realestate
- Vacant Homes For Sale Hit a Record High
- Government report says 2.9% of U.S. homes up for sale were vacant in the first quarter.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/28/real_estate/vacant_homes.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008042813
- Good Credit Can't Protect Borrowers from Bad Loans - More and more home owners with high credit scores are falling behind on their mortgage payments. Here's why.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/24/real_estate/good_credit_bad_loans/index.htm?postversion=2008042812
- Card Games - A federal court gives a second chance to claims charging America’s biggest banks colluded against credit card customers.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/04/25/Bank-Collusion
- Support the
The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 -
Urge your Senators and Representative to support the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007! Sign the petition!!
- Don't Blame All Borrowers - But while Congress clearly should not rescue borrowers who lied about their incomes or tried to get rich by flipping condos, such borrowers were at most a minor factor in this crisis. Primary responsibility rests squarely on regulators who permitted the liberal credit terms that created the housing bubble.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042502783.html
- "Financial" Crisis - When the financial media report to us that there is a financial crisis they are not talking about the ongoing problems driving our economy down into recession. They are not talking about an out of control political system that cannot control spending, they are not talking about the flight of capital and manufacturing overseas, and they are not talking about the oil shock that has us reeling.
- If You Happen to Prevail in Arbitration, Get Ready to Lose on Appeal - Arbitration is even worse than we thought. We already knew that consumers lost 94% of the extra-judicial proceedings, but new data shows that the few who manage prevail are likely to have their wins overturned on appeal.
http://consumerist.com/5007076/if-you-happen-to-prevail-in-arbitration-get-ready-to-lose-on-appeal
- Who Benefits From Bailout? - Billions for builders
Friday, April 25, 2008
- Colorado: Larimer County's Housing Market Remanins Stronger Than National Trend - The Larimer County market, while not strong, has never fallen to the depths of the national housing market
- More Bad News - If the builders, product manufacturers, and investors listening Thursday to the National Association of Home Builders Spring Construction Forecast in Washington, D.C., weren’t feeling glum enough about the state of housing, new-home sales data was released during the conference by the United States Census, and the results were worse than feared.
- Huge Derivative Losses Upcoming? - While most investors are focused on the latest stock market rally, hidden from view is a monumental change that few recognize and fewer understand: Unprecedented amounts of old debts are coming due in America, and many are not getting refinanced. Even worse, borrowers are going into default, lenders are taking huge losses, and outstanding loans are turning to dust.
http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=6327&ref=patrick.net
- Beware the Fine Print in Tax Waiver Law - Late last year, President Bush signed a law that temporarily waives federal income tax on certain home-mortgage debt that is canceled or forgiven.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/24/BU9Q10AK1G.DTL&ref=patrick.net
- Subprime Country: A Nation Within a Nation - Academic paper
traces the similarities between the Developing nations' debt meltdowns in the 1980s and the current Subprime-triggered debt meltdown in the U.S.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogapr08/subprime-nation.html?ref=patrick.net
- The Feds' Subprime Suspect
- The Justice Dept. and the SEC are investigating Ralph Cioffi, who ran the Bear Stearns funds that ignited the credit crisis
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_18/b4082026894702.htm?chan=patrick.net
- Disastrous New Home Sales - Economists were looking for New Home Sales to come in at 580,000. The actual number came in at 526,000, which was a huge miss.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73990-disastrous-new-home-sales
- As Home Sales Plunge, Some Say the Crisis Is Almost Over - Yea.... Right!
http://seekingalpha.com/article/74010-as-home-sales-plunge-some-say-the-crisis-is-almost-over
- Effort to Rein In Fannie, Freddie Gains Steam - Treasury Puts Muscle Behind Bipartisan Push for Greater Oversight of Firms
- Consumer Sentiment at 26-Year Low - Falling U.S. home prices and a lack of available credit may result in foreclosures on 6.5 million loans by the end of 2012, according to a Credit Suisse research report on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080425/us_nm/usa_economy_sentiment_dc;_ylt=AsGuufN6XmTyaJqwAIvsJ6Tv5rEF
- Homeowners Convert to Costlier Fixed-Rate Loans Amid ARM Fears - Mortgage refinancing in the U.S. is increasing as record numbers of homeowners
dump their adjustable-rate mortgages for the security of a fixed loan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=au53A_G4d.nI&refer=realestate
- Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Top 6% - As financial markets grow increasingly worried about inflation pressures, Freddie Mac reports that fixed-rate mortgages move higher.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/24/real_estate/Mortgage_Rates.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008042415
- Troubled US Homeowners Face Emotional, Financial Stress in Market Downturn - As the U.S. housing market continues a decline, home foreclosures across America have reached a three-decade high. For many Americans, the crisis is causing emotional as well as financial strain.
- White House Opposes Housing Package -Official contends Democrats' package is a bailout that would expose taxpayers to risk, says Bush would veto $15B bill to rehabilitate foreclosed properties.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/24/news/economy/Congress_Housing.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008042418
- Home For Sale by Any Means -Are you really serious about selling your home in this market? Then be prepared to try anything - and everything.
- NAR Spin Cycle Set to Permanent Press - I have long been critical of the NAR’s efforts to spin the market as positive no matter what is happening (there is an alternative to negative spin - it’s called neutral). NAR is a repository of great information so I am not sure what they are afraid of. They don’t make the market. This tactic really represents old school thinking.
- Subsidizing Corporate Crime and Rewarding Constitutional Abuses - Efforts to bolster the economy have largely taken the form of corporate welfare — much like an appalling effort, in the closing days of the Bush administration, to subsidize corporate violations of the rule of law and individual liberties.
- Lender's Remorse - The FHA has qualms about the expanded size and scope of its role, which traditionally was to help prospective first-time buyers of limited means purchase modest homes.
- More Rube Goldberg Schemes - Congress poised to make housing meltdown worse
Thursday, April 24, 2008
- Colorado:
GJ Bank Disciplined by Federal Regulators
- Federal bank regulators have taken enforcement action against a Grand Junction bank, alleging it engaged in unsafe and unsound banking practices by illegally investing in a mortgage product.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2008/04/23/042408_1a_bank_violations.html
- The Brighter Side of Housing - And now for the heartwarming side of the housing bust: It's helping some people buy homes that they couldn't afford a couple of years ago.
- The Bottom is Up Ahead - Don't be fooled by the latest sucker rally on stock markets or predictions that the "worst may be behind us." The first thing you need to remember is that these guys still don't have a handle on what they're dealing with -- nobody does.
- The Impending Mortgage Crisis - We're just getting going.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73552-the-impending-mortgage-crisis?ref=patrick.net
- Walking Away From Foreclosure Becoming Socially Acceptable - While there are no scientific studies regarding the matter, there’s little doubt that the idea of “walking away” from a mortgage has begun to gain traction.
http://www.realtytrac.com/news/Press/newsletter-articles.asp?a=b&ItemId=4271&accnt=173398
- Real Estate's New Hidden Market - Unable to sell, a growing number of homeowners are simply pulling homes from market
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0423/p03s03-usec.html?ref=patrick.net
- GE's Immelt: Housing Great Depression
- General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt says the housing crisis is the worst since 1930s' economic depression.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/23/news/companies/GE_crisis.ap/index.htm?ref=patrick.net
- Robert Shiller on America's 'Speculative Culture'
- Given the advantage of the passage of time, historians will surely note that one of the less appreciated long-term effects of the Greenspan term at the Fed was the impact on the American culture. Few are able or willing to make this association today (and certainly no one can prove it) but a link certainly exists, at least to some extent.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73749-robert-shiller-on-america-s-speculative-culture
- BailoutWatch: I Can't Even Keep Up - The
bailout attempts have been coming fast and furious. They've also been getting progressively more irresponsible and transparent in their attempts to reward the very institutions that enabled the housing bubble in the first place.
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/04/23/opinion/01toscano042308.txt?ref=patrick.net
- 6.5 Million Foreclosures; Is There a Behavioral Problem? - Falling U.S. home prices and a lack of available credit may result in foreclosures on 6.5 million loans by the end of 2012, according to a Credit Suisse research report on Tuesday.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73814-6-5-million-foreclosures-is-there-a-behavioral-problem
- Fed Bank Bailout Totals $360 Billion - Another $50 billion in short-term loans to banks this Monday is 10th auction since December, as Fed aims to ease credit crunch.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/22/news/economy/fed_credit.ap/index.htm?postversion=patrick.net
- Realtors Complain Short-Sale Process is Failing - Realtors in many U.S. states say lenders are demanding excessively high prices before allowing distressed borrowers to offload their homes in "short sales," making the housing crisis worse.
- Mortgage Applications Plunge as Rates Soar: MBA - Mortgage applications plunged last week, largely reflecting a drop in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates surged, an industry group said on Wednesday.
- New-Home Sales in the U.S. Plunge More Than Forecast
- Purchases of new homes in the U.S. plunged more than forecast in March to the lowest level in almost 17 years as stricter loan rules and falling prices caused buyers to hold off.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aDyYp9o4DMGI&refer=realestate
- Moody's Says Homebuilders at the Mercy of Their Banks - Several lower-rated homebuilders survived 2007 merely because of the leniency of their lending groups. As 2008 unfolds, these same homebuilding companies will once again find themselves at the mercy of their banks, according to Moody’s.
- Pulte Loss Widens to $696.1 Million in Housing Slump - The
fourth-largest U.S. homebuilder, reported a $696.1 million first-quarter net loss, about three times wider than analysts expected, as stricter mortgage-lending standards cut demand.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aPkc91a0Op2M&refer=us
- Sales of New Homes Plunged in March - Sharp 8.5 percent decline; slowest sales pace since October 1991
- House Panel Oks $15 Billion Housing Bill - Bill provides loans and grants to hard-hit areas to purchase foreclosed properties; goes to vote next week.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/23/news/economy/housing_bill.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008042317
- Homebuilders: No Recovery Until 2009 - The damaged housing and home construction markets will continue to take a beating at least through the end of the year, according to economists who spoke Thursday at a forecast conference sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/24/news/economy/builders_forecast/index.htm?postversion=2008042411
\
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
- Colorado: Expert's Tips on Title Companies - A state inquiry into ties between real estate brokers and title insurance companies illustrates the need for consumers to take more control of the process, an industry consultant said Tuesday.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/22/experts-tips-on-title-companies/
- Colorado: Bear Market for Denver New-Home Sales- Denver area saw 31% drop in 2007; no '08 relief seen
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/22/bear-market-for-new-home-sales/
- Colorado: Better Loans for Green Building? - Perlmutter introduces a bill on the Hill to reward energy-efficient housing with low-interest loans.
- Anatomy of a Collapse
- With the American financial system apparently threatened by paralysis after an era of easy credit that now seems ridiculous and venal at the same time, Wall Street may be about to endure another of its periodic brushes with public scorn and reprisal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/books/review/Norris-t.html?ref=patrick.net
- Piling On: Borrowers Buried by Fees - SLOWLY but surely, a handful of public-minded bankruptcy court judges are drawing back the curtain on the mortgage servicing business, exposing, among other questionable practices, the sundry and onerous fees that big banks and financial companies levy on troubled borrowers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/business/20gret.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Survey: Jobs Key to Keeping Home - Americans are cash-strapped and many say if they lost their jobs, they would lose their homes, according to a survey published on Tuesday by AOL Real Estate and Zogby International.
- Shorting Homebuilders - A Sure Thing - It doesn't happen often that the market conditions present a "sure" money maker, but homebuilders are now as sure a short as they can ever be.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73510-shorting-homebuilders-a-sure-thing
- Is Mortgage Crisis Causing Divorces? - The financial pressure that comes with an escalating house payment or a foreclosure may indeed be playing a role in breaking up marriages, experts say.
- The Impending Mortgage Crisis - The problem with the housing market bulls is that they are thinking within the framework of past housing downturns. The current downturn is unlike any other since the Great Depression, and no other downturn has started with houses so overpriced relative to rents.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73552-the-impending-mortgage-crisis
- 1 in 33 Homeowners Projected To Be In Foreclosure Within The Next Two Years - One in 33 homeowners is projected to be in foreclosure primarily over the next two years, as a result of subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006, according to a new report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. In some states, the outlook is especially grim; for instance, nearly one in 11 homeowners in Nevada is projected to be in foreclosure and one in 18 Arizona homeowners may face the same circumstance over the next two years.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=37950&ref=patrick.net
- U.S. Architects' Services Index Falls to Record as Demand Slows - Slowing demand for U.S. architectural services last month drove down a billings index to a record, as developers cut back plans for commercial construction this year, the American Institute of Architects said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aQ_wLR4ElRtk&refer=realestate
- Lenders Swamped by Delinquent Borrowers - Most Struggling Borrowers Without Help, Report Says
- No Help for 70% of Subprime Borrowers - State regulators say efforts to help at-risk borrowers are barely keeping pace with rising delinquencies. Many borrowers are left out.
- Many Problems With Mortgage Bailouts - There are calls for the government to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure. But some experts think a mortgage rescue could cause more problems than it solves.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/22/news/economy/housing_rescue/index.htm?postversion=2008042211
- Renters Can't Escape Housing Foreclosure Crisis - The most brutal real estate slump in decades is reverberating through the rental market. Renters in properties that are being foreclosed on are being evicted.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-04-21-rent-rising-eviction_N.htm
- Survey Shows Congress to Fail in Real Estate Crisis - An over-whelming majority surveyed say the U.S. Congress will fail in its attempt to solve the nation´s real estate crisis, according to a new poll conducted by Housing Predictor.
- Economist: Housing Slump May Exceed Depression
- An influential economist who long predicted the housing market bubble cautioned Tuesday that the slump in the U.S. housing market could cause prices to fall more than they did in the Great Depression and bailouts will be needed so millions don't lose their homes.
- Arbitration Bill Spawns Big Debate - U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson pushes bill to ban mandatory arbitration; defense lawyer says measure is too broad
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/singleEdit.asp?individual_SQL=4%2F23%2F2008%4022855
- Preview: Further Deterioration Expected in New Home Sales
- Preview: Further Deterioration Expected in New Home Sales
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/4232008_New_Home_Sales_Preview.asp
- Homeownership Rate Takes Big Fall - Did you see that the homeownership rate in this country took a big fall recently, to 67.8 percent? It hasn’t been that low since 2000, when George W. Bush first took office.
http://www.builderonline.com/blogs/postdetails.aspx?BlogId=thompsonsblog&postId=84792
- Arbitration Is Great but Make It Fair to Both Sides - Had the Chamber sought the opinions of investors who have gone through the securities arbitration process, the results of its survey would surely be different.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120873874932230031.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
- Want to Know When Housing Has Bottomed? Here's How - The "bottom" will be close when buying real estate make sense as a sound business proposition.
- Backlash Continues to Grow Against Housing Baiout - Many Americans want no part of a government-funded bailout for troubled mortgage borrowers.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/real_estate/bailout_backlash/index.htm?postversion=2008042315
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
- Colorado: National Housing Issues affect Grand Junction Market - As of mid-April, there were roughly 1,620 residential properties for sale in the Grand Junction market, according to data compiled by Mark Abbott of Colorado Properties on Rood Avenue. He said that was up from about 1,376 at the beginning of the year, and about double from a year ago.
http://gjfreepress.com/article/20080421/COMMUNITY_NEWS/175824924
- Colorado: Foreclosure Hotline Helps - Homeowners worried about losing their homes had an 80 percent chance of avoiding foreclosure if they worked with a counselor, according to state officials.
- Colorado: State Gets Grant to Advertise Foreclosure Line - A $1.5 million federal grant to the Colorado Housing and Financing Authority is being used to target seven Front Range ZIP codes whose residents aren't using the state's help hot line.
- NAHB Chief Economist Says Economy Has Slipped into Recession - "The worse-than-anticipated housing downturn — combined with systematic weakening of the labor market and rapidly rising energy and food prices — has taken a heavy toll on American consumers," said Seiders. "It's now clear that we have entered what we anticipate will be a mild recession, running through the first half of this year, and there are substantial downside risks to this economic scenario."
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-04-21/Economics+%26+Finance/index.html
- Credit Well Drying Up for Builders, Too - The mortgage credit crunch has spilled over into land acquisition, land development and home construction (AD&C) lending, increasing the challenges faced by builders in the current housing downturn, NAHB told the Congress last week.
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-04-21/Front+Page/index.html
- Arson to Avoid Foreclosure? - Some folks celebrate their last home mortgage payment by setting fire to their loan agreement. Lately, some people behind on their mortgages are simply setting fire to their homes.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arson21apr21,0,3776892.story?ref=patrick.net
- The Great Shopping Spree, R.I.P. - For two decades, it's been driven by rising debt levels. At the end of 2007, household borrowing was a dizzying $14 trillion.
- America's Money: In Their Own Words - Everyday folks tell their stories about hard economic times. Check back frequently for new stories.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/news/0803/gallery.real_stories/index.html?ref=patrick.net
- The Homeownership Ideologues - The economy is sinking into a recession and faces the worst financial crisis since the depression. The unemployment rate is rising, the foreclosure rate is soaring and home prices are plummeting. It's time to settle some scores with the people who brought us to this sorry state of affairs.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042108A.shtml?ref=patrick.net
- Cleaning House - Too many peole own homes.
http://tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=2da0e8b4-78f3-47ce-8e76-91931b677e9c&p=1&ref=patrick.net
- The Market's Worse is Yet to Come - Now that a few Wall Street folks have finally dared to utter the word 'recession' aloud, most of the rest are assuming this downturn is practically over. Expect the bulls to stumble.
- Homebuilders Pulling Out of More Markets
- Snipets of new homebuilder news
http://seekingalpha.com/article/73181-homebuilders-pulling-out-of-more-markets-housing-tracker
- What Ails the American Economy? Everything, and There’s Worse to Come - The final pages of his bleak new book, “Bad Money,” tell of an “unprecedented” number of Americans planning to leave the country or thinking about it. Readers of “Bad Money” may come away with a similar impulse to flee.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/books/21gewen.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
- Housing Prices Will Drop 25% - If those analysts are correct, that the housing market's got much farther to fall, then the total effect on the credit markets will be obscene
- Homebuilder Stock Shares Down Ahead of Earnings Reports - Homebuilder shares fell Monday as several companies prepare to report quarterly results this week amid a housing market that continues to struggle
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080421/sector_snap_homebuilders.html?.v=1
- Black Swan Song - Commentary: Economic sound bites sound alarm on coming financial Armageddon
- U.S. Existing Home Sales Fell in March; Prices Lower - Purchases dropped 2% while prices dropped an average of 7.7%
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=a3CdecFaWGiw&refer=realestate
- Many Problems for Mortgage Bailouts - There are calls for the government to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure. But some experts think a mortgage rescue could cause more problems than it solves.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/22/news/economy/housing_rescue/index.htm?postversion=2008042209
- Arbitration Is Great but Make It Fair to Both Sides - Had the Chamber sought the opinions of investors who have gone through the securities arbitration process, the results of its survey would surely be different.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120873874932230031.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
- Arbitration Firm Faces Questions Over Neutrality - A suit against a leading provider of arbitrators raises issues that for years have been leveled against the organization and that could come into play more as debt-collection actions rise in a likely recession.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120873902503330083.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
- Smaller Banks Begin to Pay Price For Their Boomtime Expansion - In a bid to expand during the recent boom, many set up operations in unfamiliar markets or started pitching new products. Others, aiming to stave off encroachment by huge U.S. financial institutions, boosted their lending by offering easy terms or lower rates. Now the slowing economy is exposing bad timing and blunders.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120873974430930109.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Monday, April 21, 2008
- Colorado: State Delves Into Real Estate Ties - The Colorado Division of Real Estate this week sent subpoenas to Re/Max International and 10 top Colorado brokerages asking about such marketing agreements, which it suspects could be kickback schemes.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/18/state-delves-into-real-estate-ties/
- Colorado: Interactive Map of Metro Area Market - Thanks to the Denver Post for creating a informative tool of seeing how the housing market is playing out in individual neighborhoods.
- Housing: Time to Halt Taxpayer Subsidies
- Even with the housing market declining, it's bad policy to give homes preferential tax treatment over stocks and other investments
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/apr2008/pi20080416_336003.htm?chan=patrick.net
- Survey: 30% Think Recession is Coming - The odds the country will fall into its first recession since 2001 are rising sharply. Thirty percent of economists now believe the economy will shrink in the first half of this year, up from 10 percent who thought this in January, according to a survey being released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics, known by its acronym NABE.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_on_bi_ge/economic_outlook;_ylt=AhBLH2QXOXtHFQUzgpYEh5_v5rEF
- Bernanke Grapples With Greenspan as Volcker Scorns Fed Bailouts
- Bernanke, a longtime scholar of the 1929-to-1933 panic, now has the unwelcome task of trying to keep a new financial calamity from turning into a full-blown depression. What started as a meltdown in the market for subprime mortgages has turned into a worldwide credit and economic crisis.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aphVi4yMCkag&refer=realestate
- George F. Will: Stop Socializing Losses - For
those who cultivate fears of catastrophes as excuses for expanding government supervision of other people's lives, the bad news is that the world is not going to end — not from global warming or economic cooling or anything else. Today's untethered Federal Reserve will, however, make the muddle-through interesting.
- U.S. Home Sales May Have Fallen: U.S. Economy Preview - The collapse in U.S. home sales showed no sign of ending in March, while orders from overseas helped manufacturing stabilize, economists said before reports this week.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=absVUQbyULZM&refer=home
- An Alarming Forecast For The Housing Bust - After more than a year of a housing bust, and eight months of a credit crunch, its hard to believe that the real estate market could get much worse.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/20/174324/855/262/497053
- Waiting For a Subprime Perp Walk - Punishing companies isn't as satisfying as punishing the people who made the bad decisions. But how do you make sure they feel the pain?
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/18/real_estate/bottom_line.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008042105
- When a HELOC Freezes Over - What to do if the bank tries to put your credit line on ice.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/18/real_estate/heloc_freeze.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008042104
- The Foreclosure Act of 2009 - It seemed fairly evident that something was amiss when the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, was said to be looking to the House of Representatives to correct the flaws in the recently passed Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. The bill passed by a vote of 84 to 12 with obvious bipartisan support – so what seems to have gone wrong?
- Average Joe Still Can't Afford to Buy a Home - Between 2000 and mid-2007, the median home price soared 64.9% to $229,200. The median income, meantime, rose just 16.6%. For would-be buyers, the math doesn't work.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/AverageJoeStillCantAffordAHome.aspx
- The Trillion Dollar Mortgage Timebomb - Risks are rising that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need a government bailout that could cost far more than previous rescues.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/news/economy/fannie_freddie/index.htm?postversion=2008042105
- Bailout of the Bigwigs - Titles given bills in Congress often hide the legislation's real purpose. That's certainly true of the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 recently passed by the Senate, which implies it would save homeowners facing mortgage default. A more accurate title would be the Taxpayer Bailout of the Greedy Housing and Mortgage Industry Act.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article463591.ece
- Buying New Construction Can be Tricky- STOP RIGHT THERE!
- The Latest from the FBI on Mortgage Fraud - One day after warning the U.S. Senate about a tremendous surge in the FBI’s mortgage fraud investigations, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, talked in more detailed terms about the growth in both corporate fraud and public corruption cases–including those involving Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/2008/04/20/the-latest-from-the-fbi-on-mortgage-fraud/
- Worst Part of Credit Crunch Far From Over - Commentary: Not enough capital exists to support current, new loans
http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/loubarnes/worst-part-credit-crunch-far-over
Friday, April 18, 2008
- 1 Man, 1 Year: $3.7 Billion Payout - Hedge Fund Manager Won Big by Betting Mortgages Would Fail
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR2008041602027.html?ref=patrick.net
- Banks' Mail Jingles as Borrowers Walk
- Increasing numbers of Americans are simply walking away from their houses and mortgages, increasing pressure on banks and the economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersComService4/idUSL1619195020080418
- Bush to Name Preston As Housing Secretary: Source- President George W. Bush on Friday plans to nominate Steve Preston to become the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a senior Bush administration official said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWBT00881120080418
- Experts See Depression Parallels in U.S. Crisis - "There is some stuff that does have that eerie 1932 feel," said Thomas Ferguson, a professor of political science at the University of Mass/Boston.
- Lehman Sued for Charging Minority Homeowners More - Complaint says Lehman sued for charging minority homeowners more
- FHA's Risky Business - Touted as a savior in the housing crisis by Congress and the White House, the Federal Housing Administration is being turned into a bank's best friend.
- Banks Caution an Economic Threat: Kohn - Banks have become so wary about lending that credit costs are being pushed up despite sharp cuts in official interest rates, and that is adding to the risks of an economic downturn, the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc06/idUSN1743541520080417?sp=true
- Vacation and Investment Property Sales Strong Despite Market Troubles - According to a study released late last month by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) such second-home sales declined with the overall market in 2007, but second home sales still accounted for 33 percent of all new and existing home sales. The combination of these two sales accounted for 36 percent of the total in 2006.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/4172008_Vacation_Property.asp
- Wary of Federal Housing "Help" - In a truly free market, the government dons black-and-white referee stripes (or an umpire's face mask, if you prefer) and watches the game unfold. It can enforce rules. It can call fouls and strikes. It can assign penalties. It cannot, however, score points for a particular team, or coach a team to victory, or put up taxpayer money to fund players' post-game massages. But America's economy is not a truly free market. The players have gotten good at working the refs. And the refs have proved more than willing to play along.
- Housing Bailout: Helping Hand Or Handout? - Should taxpayers in Vermont be asked to bail out home buyers in Nevada? The answer now taking shape in Washington appears to be, "Yes."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-04-16-housing-bailout-help_N.htm
- Momentum Builds For Foreclosure Relief - Key players have gotten behind the idea of government backing for mortgages, and the pressure to act will likely yield a compromise. Key factors: Who'll be eligible and how much risk should taxpayers assume?
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/18/news/economy/fha_rescue_plan_odds/index.htm?postversion=2008041805
- Mortgage Exec incentives Face Increased Federal, Industry Scrutiny - As the Federal Reserve promotes reforms, investors also call for change.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
- Colorado: '07 Parade of Homes Fails to Make a Sale - More than six months after the end of the parade on Labor Day, none of the five homes has sold. One is in foreclosure. Another is expected to end up there after its builder dissolved his construction company.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/16/07-parade-fails-to-make-a-sale/
- Plan Would Cost Mortgagors - Rep. Barney Frank would force loan servicers to take a loss, "whether they like it or not."
- Housing Starts Tumble 11.9 Percent - "We were expecting starts to fall, but not below one million," says Celia Chen, director of housing economics for Moody's Economy.com. "This is a very weak report. This puts starts back to the level of the 1988-1991 housing slump, so it basically puts us back a decade."
http://www.builderonline.com/business/housing-starts-tumble-11.9-percent.aspx
- States Try to Help Borrowers - As many as one in 33 homeowners will be in foreclosure during the next two years, with higher figures in
some of the hardest hit states.
http://www.builderonline.com/business/states-try-to-help-borrowers.aspx
- Mortgage Resets: Subprime May Be Ending, Option ARMs Have Just Begun - Don't forget to click on the Graph link at the end of the article - Ed.
- JPMorgan's Dimon Says Real Estate Is `Getting Worse' - CEO Jamie Dimon
said he expects U.S. home prices to drop as much as 9 percent this year as even borrowers with the best credit have difficulty keeping up their mortgage payments.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acsByxgYaDvM&refer=patrick.net
- Fed Accepts Dodgy Collateral in Race to Bottom
- It was 135 years ago that the British economic journalist Walter Bagehot laid out the guiding principles for a central bank acting as lender of last resort: Lend freely at a penalty rate against good collateral. The Federal Reserve has the ``lend freely'' thing down pat. As for the rate on the loan and the quality of the collateral, that's a different matter.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRpTS2bQDmJs&ref=patrick.net
- Inflation Warms, Housing Chills in March - The U.S. economic picture remains murky, to say the least. Reports released Apr. 16 showed that consumer-level inflation remains steady, while the housing slump shows no signs of improvement. But a report on industrial production indicated surprising resilience for the factory sector.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20080417/bs_bw/apr2008pi20080416328713;_ylt=AsRAGI9.ztX5U_LlyQxlcg_v5rEF
- US Deep in Debt and Still Digging - You're paying for the nation's debt addiction through both direct and indirect taxes. And unfortunately, Uncle Sam is going to need more money.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/USDeepInDebtAndStillDigging.aspx
- FBI Looking at More Mortgage Fraud Cases - Agency taking agents off other cases to staff ‘tremendous surge’
- Merrill Posts Loss on Mortgage Writedowns, Cuts Jobs - Merrill Lynch & Co.
posted its third straight quarterly loss and said it will cut about 3,000 jobs after at least $6.5 billion of writedowns and a 40 percent drop in investment-banking fees.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4rEEQbdSmSA&refer=home
- Builders Report Credit Squeeze on Loans to Build Homes - The mortgage credit crunch has spilled over into land acquisition, land development and home construction (AD&C) lending, increasing the challenges faced by builders in the current housing downturn.
- U.S. Fed's Beige Book Reports Economic Conditions Weakened Since February - Nine of the 12 districts report slowing economic activity.
- FBI Expands Mortgage Probe to 19 - The FBI's probe of potential fraud in the U.S. home mortgage industry now encompasses 19 companies, up from 17 a month ago including Beazer and Coutrywide.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
- Colorado: El Paso Country Assesor Files Compaint Alledgeing Kick-Back Scheme- The mortgage meltdown on Balsam Street that led to five foreclosures prompted an investigation Tuesday by the state's top real estate cop.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/aranda_35275___article.html/houses_balsam.html
- No Bankruptcy for Foreclosure Victims - Congressional Democrats and President Bush will agree on a bill to help half a million or more struggling homeowners get into lower cost mortgages. But it won’t be through the bankruptcy courts, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee predicted Tuesday.
- Economists Debate Link Between War, Credit Crisis - Right now we are trying to build a dam in the price erosion to keep prices inflated at say 2004 or 2005 levels. Not going to work - until people can afford normal homes with normal payment terms with 5-10% down with normal median incomes - we are not done with our little correction...
- How To Solve the Housing Crisis Tomorrow - 7,000 families a day are now losing their homes to foreclosures. That’s roughly 21,000 men, women and children each day being forced out of their homes, being stripped of their assets and often their life savings. This isn’t a one-day problem for these people, it can take many years to recover from losing a home, if ever!
http://seekingalpha.com/article/72516-how-to-solve-the-housing-crisis-tomorrow
- Foreclosure Filings On the Rise - WSJ Video report
http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/player.asp?guid={97063060-B603-445E-8664-D14E2E922D74}
- Builders Remain Pessimistic - Index of home builders' confidence remains near record low as housing woes continue
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080415/new_housing_outlook.html?.v=1
- Housing Construction Fell Sharply in March: Doubles Predictions- Home building slumps to lowest level in 17 years. Pace of construction down 36.%% on year-over year basis.
- Foreclosures: Leaving Homes And A Financial Mess Behind - Yep, with no equity in their homes and no particular desire to meet their financial commitments, folks are just leaving the keys in the mailbox.
- More Allegations Filed Against Countrywide - The complaint has been amended to include allegations that Countrywide "distorted industry definitions of prime and subprime borrowers and mortgages to mislead uninformed investors" about the nature of its business. The suit also contends that Countrywide executives engaged in insider trading, selling shares while simultaneously encouraging other investors to buy or hold the stock.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/04/14/daily6.html
- Mortgage Mess Varies By State - Informative map
http://blog.heritage.org/2008/04/15/mortgage-mess-varies-by-state/
- Merrill Lynch's Reckless Mortgage Bond Binge - On Thursday Merrill will report $6 billion to $8 billion in new write-downs, according to a person familiar with the matter. The latest would bring its total since October to more than $30 billion and mean that Merrill reports a third straight quarterly net loss, the longest losing streak in its 94-year history.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120830730844618031.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
- The Loophole Factory
- Exhibit A is the "Foreclosure Prevention Act," which passed the Senate last week and contains $25 billion in tax subsidies for home builders and industry interests hurt by the housing crunch. Builders will be able to offset current losses against taxes paid in the past three years, which will mean billions of dollars of tax rebate checks from Uncle Sam.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120821609494914471.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
- Greenspan’s Follies - There's just one problem with Alan Greenspan's attempt to defend his record on the financial crisis: The former Fed Chairman is guilty as charged.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4278&print=1
- Foreclosure Act Does Squat for Homeowners - Why use taxpayer money to aid industries whose practices wreaked havoc on our nation's economy?
- Mold Problems With Beazer Homes- Important Video
- Plan Would Cost Mortgagors - Rep. Barney Frank would force loan servicers to take a loss, "whether they like it or not."
- Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill
- The tax provisions of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which consumer groups and labor leaders say amount to government handouts to big business, show how the credit crisis, while rattling the housing and financial markets, has created beneficiaries in the power corridors of Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16bailout.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=login
- Regulator Sees Increased Risk to Fannie, Freddie - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac largely rose to the challenges posed by the credit crunch, purchasing or guaranteeing three out of four mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with about one in three loans the year before, federal regulators said in their annual report to Congress.
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/04/16/regulator-sees-increased-risk-fannie-freddie
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
- Colorado: Metro Area Foreclosure Rate Half of Year Before - The rate of increase in foreclosures for the seven-county Denver metro area during the first quarter of 2008 is roughly half what it was a year ago, according to an analysis by the Rocky Mountain News.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/15/foreclosure-rate-halved-in-q1-in-denver-area/
- Colorado: Minorities Targeted for Expensive Loans - Regardless of their income, minorities in Pueblo and other areas were steered to more expensive loans.
- Colorado: Minorities More Likely to Get Subprime Loans - Blacks and Hispanics have been more than twice as likely as whites to take out subprime loans and possibly become victims of predatory lending, according to a study released Monday by the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/loans_35271___article.html/percent_subprime.html
- Colorado: Third in First Quarter Foreclosure Filings - Colorado was one of the top spots in the nation for foreclosure filings per household in the first quarter, according to the latest data from Foreclosures.com.
- Poll: Sixty Percent "Definitely Will Not Buy" a Home Within Next Two Years - Brace yourself, move-up builders: American homeowners say they are staying put.
http://www.builderonline.com/business/sixty-percent-definitely-will-not-buy-a-home.aspx
- Unleash Legal Aid - LEGAL aid lawyers are among the few allies of poor homeowners caught in the subprime-mortgage meltdown. But these lawyers are hamstrung by federal regulations that limit homeowners’ access to speedy, low-cost legal relief.
- Fourth Largest US Bank Turns to Emergency Funding - America's fourth-largest bank, Wachovia, is raising $7bn through emergency fundraising as the subprime mortgage crisis in the US continues to reverberate through the banking sector.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/14/creditcrunch.useconomy?ref=patrick.net
- Habit-Forming: Borrowers Keep Piling On Debt - The credit crunch has made it harder for Americans to indulge in their love affair with debt. So what are they doing? Borrowing more.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120779065895103637.html
- The Housing Bailout Backlash
- With the national housing crisis gathering steam, a growing number of lawmakers and economists have signaled increasing support for a bailout of struggling homeowners. But while images of vacant houses and panicked borrowers have triggered sympathy—not to mention political enthusiasm—for a taxpayer-funded rescue, objections to big-government intervention have created a small but spirited backlash against it.
- Unintended Socialization of the Housing Market and Its Consequences
- Right now we are trying to build a dam in the price erosion to keep prices inflated at say 2004 or 2005 levels. Not going to work - until people can afford normal homes with normal payment terms with 5-10% down with normal median incomes - we are not done with our little correction...
- AP Poll: Mortgage Payments Worry Many - One in seven mortgage holders worry they may soon fail to make their monthly payments and even more fret that their home's value is shrinking, according to a poll showing widespread stress from the nation's housing crisis.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/14/national/w033149D24.DTL&ref=patrick.net
- Coalition Squeezing Congress in Mortgage Mess - A growing chorus of labor, civil rights and consumer advocates say Democrats' plans won't do enough to prod loan servicers to work with strapped borrowers rather than letting them slip into default. They are leaning on House Democratic leaders to resurrect a proposal — dropped before the Senate passed a housing measure last week — that would allow bankruptcy judges to lower mortgage rates or principal for bankrupt homeowners.
- Sinking Housing Market Maroons Homeowners - Abandoned projects have many new buyers staring at unfinished business
- Mortgages Soar - Worst Isn't Over - the wave of adjustable-rate loans resetting to higher rates will crest in May and June. And that’s expected to push more homeowners into default and foreclosure in the third and fourth quarters of this year, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif.
- Nothing Special With Treasuries as Fed Has Mortgages - The dollar
isn't the only casualty of the Federal Reserve's rescue of seized-up credit markets. Bond traders are finding there is nothing special about Treasuries anymore, now that the Fed accepts substitutes for government securities as collateral -- having concluded it wasn't enough to reduce the benchmark interest rate for overnight bank loans six times since
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601009&sid=a0nQQ0kpfwAY&refer=bond
- Credit Crisis Not Over Says Fed - The credit crisis engulfing the banking system on both sides of the Atlantic has further to run, said the vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve. As the US Treasury Secretary and central bankers gave warning that proposed financial reforms would not prevent a repeat of the biggest shock to the world economy since the Great Depression, Donald Kohn, of the Fed, said of the present trouble: “It is not over yet.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article3739803.ece
- Stress on Fannie, Freddie Pose Wider Risks - A recession could trigger a large rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and result in a downgrade of U.S. debt, says rating agency.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/14/news/economy/fannie-risks.ap/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
- A Day Late and a Dollar Short - The latest foreclosure data is in. When you consider that nearly ten months of housing inventory is on the market, and a quarter of that is in foreclosed property, with more in the pipeline, it is neigh well impossible to imagine any support for housing prices whatsoever. To any thinking person this is checkmate.
- Even the Builders Agree: The Recession Is On - The deepening slump in the nation’s housing markets has seriously eroded consumer sentiment and pushed the economy into a mild recession, according to the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
- Foreclosures Jump 57% in March - The housing bust continues to take its toll, with over 50,000 homes lost to foreclosure. Nevada once again leads the nation in defaults.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/15/real_estate/foreclosures_march/index.htm?postversion=2008041505
- Home Builders Group Spent $3.2M Lobbying - The National Association of Home Builders spent $3.2 million lobbying the federal government last year, focusing on housing and environmental issues.
- Real Estate Agents Spent $13.7 M Lobbying- The trade group for real estate agents spent $13.7 million lobbying the federal government last year, focusing on issues dealing with the housing market slump and mortgage mess.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080414&id=8483922
- Subprime Players May Get Big Break - Net operating loss allowance in stimulus bill could aid companies hit hardest by downturn
http://www.financialweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/REG/654533514/1022/OPINION
- Housing Crisis Taking Human Toll - The housing collapse has pushed mental health issues to the forefront for companies, trade groups and individuals closely tied to an industry that, for years, only knew good times.
- The Safety Net for Big Lenders - If you're wondering where you, the average American, fits into this picture, the answer is, in the corner, behind the tall banker. And your eyes were closed.
Monday, April 14, 2008
- Colorado: Bill Assists Strgling Homeowners - The legislation would allow judges to stop the clock on foreclosures for three months.
- Colorado: House-Size Options Eyes in Boulder - Last week, the Boulder City Council unanimously agreed that the way it had been going about trying to limit so-called mega-homes wasn't working -- so now, officials say, the trick is to figure out what will.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/apr/14/house-size-options-eyed-boulder-city-staff-asks/
- Colorado Mortgage Companies Had Rough Ride in 2007 - According to Business Report research, more than half of the top 15 largest mortgage lenders in the region experienced year-over-year declines in loan dollar volume.
- Shiller:
Housing Will Continue to Fall
- As everyone knows, housing prices are still falling. Shiller expects them to keep falling for quite some time since the monthly year-over-year declines are still accelerating
- Not All Credit Scores Are Created Equal - You may think you know your credit score, but it's a number that changes more rapidly than many consumers realize.
- The Long Hangover - America's economy is in recession. Don't expect a quick recovery
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11016296
- Poll: Growing Majority Avoid Buying Houses - Americans' pessimism over housing crisis seen growing
- History of the Housing Market- ABC News report on historical trends. Depressing! - Video
- Homeowners Who Just Walk Away - Thousands of strapped homeowners are simply abandoning their homes before foreclosure even begins. The stories of three families illustrate the personal and financial trauma.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/HomeownersWhoJustWalkAway.aspx?GT1=33010
- Congress Study: Housing Aid Won't Help the Economy - U.S. lawmakers' plans to aid troubled homeowners would likely help prevent many foreclosures but wouldn't stop the freefall in home prices or stabilize the economy, a congressional report said on Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080411/ts_nm/usa_housing_congress_dc_1
- Fannie Warns Homeowners Who Walk Away - The country's two largest sources of mortgage money have a blunt warning for anyone thinking about joining the growing "walkaway" trend, where homeowners stop making payments and months later send the house keys back to their lender: You will feel the pain.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/13/RE34101D2M.DTL
- Banks Set to Stumble Again- Wall Street expects ugly first-quarter results from Citigroup and Merrill Lynch. And the worst may not be over for financials just yet.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/10/news/companies/bank_earnings/index.htm?postversion=2008041115
- Many Skeptical of Foreclosure Protection Act - Senate bill includes tax breaks for builders
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080413/news_1b13real.html
- How Far is Too Far? - Is there anything the U.S. Federal Reserve WON'T do? That's the question I'm asking myself here as I watch it go further and further down the "extreme activism" road.
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/issues.aspx?Fed-White-House-and-Congress-bail-out-Wall-Street-1656
- Washington Takes On the Mortgage Mess - What started as a slump in home building and rising delinquencies on dodgy mortgages has evolved into a financial crisis and a likely recession. U.S. authorities are scrambling to respond.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120805134086510643.html?mod=residential_real_estate
Friday, April 11, 2008
- Colorado: Richmond American CEO Mizel Speaks in Contradictions - Suggests Government Take A Break From Trying To Manipulate Economy and then suggested that the government offer tax breaks to homeowners who have lost money on their houses, and to home builders who are stuck with unsold inventory and the carrying costs associated with it. Huh?!?
- Ex-Chief Doubtful of Fed's Bailout - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker questioned the central bank's decision to back a loan to an investment bank, saying the decision was at "the very edge" of its legal authority.
- The Two Housing Crises - That's our acute housing crisis: The rapid, ongoing decline is residential real estate prices. But there's another, more chronic crisis out there: Our excessive allocation of resources to residential real estate in the first place.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/71885-the-two-housing-crises
- The Folly in Calling a Housing Market Bottom - I think that a lot of the desire to call a “housing market bottom” is a combination of wishful thinking and self-interest clouding people’s ability to interpret the facts. Namely people want the housing market to go back to ’04 so the housing ATM can be re-opened, they can use refinancing to get out of the trouble they’re facing and corporate earnings can (again) be re-inflated by the housing market, etc.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/71940-the-folly-in-calling-a-housing-market-bottom
- IMF: We Are in Worst Financial Crisis Since Depression - The US mortgage crisis has spiralled into "the largest financial shock since the Great Depression" and there is a one-in-four chance that it will cause a full-blown global recession, the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/10/useconomy.subprimecrisis?ref=patrick.net
- Bernanke: New Crisis Must be Stemmed Now - "We do not have the luxury of waiting for markets to stabilize before we think about the future," Bernanke said in a speech in Richmond.
- Subprime Forces More Insurer CEO Pay Cuts Than Hurricanes - Subprime mortgages have proved to be a bigger catastrophe for captains of the insurance industry than any natural disaster.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=a5E881LWL8ig&refer=realestate
- Housing Pain Continues to Spread - Ongoing weakness in the market for previously owned U.S. homes is a signal the key spring sales season is off to a poor start and a reminder that softness in residential housing is still spreading, analysts said Thursday.
- No-Down_payment Loans Gone For Good? - Most mortgage insurance companies won't cover 100% loans anymore
- Americans with Mortgages Exceeding Value of Homes Unlikely to be Helped by Bush Refinance Plan - With home prices declining rapidly in much of the country, nearly 9 million homeowners have mortgages equal to or less than their home's value, according to Moody's Economy.com. The Bush administration's expansion Wednesday of a program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure could help some of those borrowers, but it would require significant concessions by reluctant lenders and investors in mortgage-backed securities.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080409-1342-housing-governmenthelp.html
- Low Rates Counteract Bush Foreclosure Plan- Adjustable-rate borrowers can’t qualify for five-year freeze
- Fed Was Ready to Lend to More Brokers Before March 16 - The Federal Reserve was ready to lend to additional Wall Street brokers besides Bear Stearns Cos. on March 14, a day after the central bank was told that the firm needed emergency funding to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNTPg3XfMoIY&refer=home
- Mortgage Insurer Sees Home Price Decline Through 2009 - PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. released its Spring 2008 Market Risk Index today, a report that ranks the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas by likelihood home prices will be lower in two years.
http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/mortgage-insurer-sees-home-price-decline-through-2009/
- The Big Risk in the Foreclosure Fix - FHA, a formerly obscure federal agency, is now at center of many plans to fix the housing market. But it may not be up to the task - and that could cost taxpayers a bundle.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/10/news/economy/fha/index.htm?postversion=2008041011
- U.S. Consumer Sentiment Falls Further in April - Hits 26 Year Low- According to preliminary data from Reuters and the University of Michigan, U.S. consumer sentiment fell sharply from March's final 69.5 to a score of 63.2, the lowest level since March 1982 when the index stood at 62.2. Economists had been expecting a deterioration to 69.0.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/4112008_Consumer_Sentiment.asp
- Hope Now's Numbers Don't Add Up to Much Help - The coalition says it's helped 1.2 million home owners, but not everyone is convinced that it's doing enough to keep troubled borrowers out of foreclosure.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/10/real_estate/Hope_Now_Feb_stats/index.htm?postversion=2008041016
- Stocks May Fall But Exec's Pay Doesn't - Warren Buffett says it's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2008-04-09-ceo-pay_N.htm
- McCain Calls for U.S. Probe into Mortgage Lending Industry - Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, called on Thursday for an "immediate" Justice Department probe to investigate what he called "potential criminal wrongdoing in the mortgage lending and securitization industry
Thursday, April 10, 2008
- Colorado: Thousands Seek Help Through Foreclosure Hotline - A new report shows about 8,300 residents seeking to save their homes have sought help from the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline since January.
- Colorado: Map of Green Valley Ranch Foreclosures- Interesting interactive map from USA Today. Click on "Regional Map" for a real scare!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/foreclosure_map/foreclose.htm?ref=patrick.net
- Colorado: House Bill Requires Developers Adquate Water Supply - Developers would be required to demonstrate they have "adequate" water for new construction projects under a bill that won preliminary House approval Wednesday.
- Colorado:
Metro-Area Home Prices Continue to Plummet
- Home sales and prices continued to fall across the metro area in March, according to a report Tuesday on the metro Denver housing market.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8856415?ref=patrick.net
- Bush Team Unveils Foreclosure Aid - The Bush administration announced new steps Wednesday to help more homeowners head off foreclosure. The Senate, in the meantime, worked to complete a bipartisan housing bill that the White House says would worsen the mortgage mess
- Dems Focus on Rebuilding Lives of Homeowners - House Democrats, opposed to the Senate's focus on helping homebuilders, moved Tuesday to reshape housing legislation to help more homeowners.
- Fed Mulls Options in Easing Credit Crunch - Among the options: having the Treasury borrow more money than it needs to fund the government and leave the proceeds on deposit at the Fed; issuing debt under the Fed's name rather than the Treasury's; and asking Congress for immediate authority for the Fed to pay interest on commercial-bank reserves instead of waiting until a previously enacted law that permits it in 2011.
- Fed Fears Deep Recession - Worries about a `prolonged and severe' recession drove Federal Reserve policymakers to slash the central bank's key interest rate last month, minutes of their closed meeting show.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/411431?ref=patrick.net
- Subprime Bank Losses Reach $245 Billion With WaMu, HSH: Table - The following table shows the $245 billion in asset writedowns and credit losses since the beginning of 2007, including reserves set aside for bad loans, at more than 70 of the world's biggest banks and securities firms.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aTi5H0S3yGZ0&refer=realestate
- Paulson says Economy has Turned Down Sharply - "The U.S. economy ... has turned down sharply. Risks continue to be do the downside," he said, citing troubles both in the housing sector and capital markets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080410/ts_nm/g7_usa_economy_dc;_ylt=AqvKaVma9zLq9WMz5FE3zXnv5rEF
- Soros Says Credit Crisis Will Worsen Before Improving
- Lack of oversight is partly responsible for problems in the financial markets, Soros told reporters on a teleconference today. He said regulators and the U.S. administration ``failed to perform their job''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=akh0d.rJSrUI&refer=realestate
- Bailout Bills Are Bad Policy, and Won't Work - Nicole Gelinas, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute makes some interesting points on bailout legislation: YouTube video
- Lust Helped Drive the Housing Bust, But Mass Amnesia Also Factored -
Now that the home crisis finger-pointing season is in full swing, it's a good time to take a look at how "house lust," as author Daniel McGinn calls it, affected the market.
- Should Congress Help Borrowers? - Lawmakers are finding it difficult to mount large-scale help for homeowners.
- Builders Fearful As US House Shuns Beneficial Tax Provision - The possibility the U.S. House of Representatives' housing stimulus plan might not include a tax provision that would benefit home builders sent shudders across that industry Tuesday.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200804081649DOWJONESDJONLINE000774_FORTUNE5.htm
- Sen. Bunning on the Housing Bill: 'Unpopular", 'Unusually Bad'- "This is an unusually bad bill, and I have opposed it from the start. The course it has followed almost guarantees that it will be filled with the worst kind of gimmickry. And it is. "
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/04/sen-bunning-on.html
- Bush, House Jockey Over Foreclosure Fix - Administration and Democrats stake claims on best way to stabilize housing, while top banking regulators say House plan to stave off foreclosure could be useful.
- Looming Deficit Impedes Federal Housing Agency
- The
F.H.A., the government agency that insures home loans for many first-time, minority and lower-income buyers, is grappling with financial woes of its own.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/business/09fha.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
- WSJ's Recent Run on Forced Arbitration - PUblic Citizen responds to the Wall St. Journal's recent, biased lobying for arbitration
http://citizen.typepad.com/watchdog_blog/2008/04/wsjs-recent-run.html
- Tax Breaks, Boondoggles Mar Efforts to Help Homeowners - USA Today opinion piece.
- Senator Gregg Denied Opportunity to Offer Amendment to Housing Bill To Block $18 Billion Corporate Bailout
- Press release and Congressional transcript
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1338218/
- Going Soft on Corporate Crime - The Bush administration has a well-known aversion to regulating big business. As it turns out, it is also reluctant to prosecute corporations that break the law. Federal prosecutors have been regularly offering settlements to companies for wrongdoing that, in previous administrations, would likely have led to criminal charges. It is another disturbing example of how this administration has taken the justice out of the Justice Department.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/opinion/10thu2.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
- Ex-Subprime Brokers Help Troubled Homeowners - Radio report: Having lost it all, some brokers turn to helping those in trouble.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89505982
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
- Colorado:
Metro Home Prices Off 9.9% in March
-
Home prices in the Denver area took a pretty big hit in March.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/08/median-price-home-sold-denver-area-falls/
Colorado: Forbes: Denver 7th-Best for Home Sellers - “Overbuilding and a high foreclosure rate stymie Denver’s housing market, which last year saw a 6.3 percent drop in prices,” Forbes.com said.http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/08/forbes-denver-7th-best-city-home-sellers/
- Colorado: Metro Home Sales, Prices Slide in March - Home sales and prices in the metro area continued to soften in March as the housing market headed into the peak selling season, according to a report today from independent real-estate analyst Gary Bauer.
- Colorado: Too Much of a Good Thing? - Developers pile on the trendy condos and townhomes in northwest Denver, but a closer look shows that this hot market might be in danger of overbuilding.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/09/too-much-of-a-good-thing/
- Colorado: Experts Differ on Price Effect of Foreclosures in El Paso County - There's little disputing El Paso County's dramatic rise in foreclosures.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/foreclosures_35030___article.html/price_differ.html
- NAHB Takes the Credit (Blame?) - Admitting their role in Congress' actions
http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2008-04-07/Front+Page/index.html
- The Foreclosure Prevention Act (aka the Bank and Builder Bailout Act) - Conservatives used to complain liberals always wanted to throw money at problems. While there may have been some truth at times to this charge, Congress decided to literally take this path in its approach to the housing bubble last week.There are many villains in the story of the housing bubble, but the homebuilders and the mortgage industry would go on almost everyone’s list. The homebuilders rushed ahead with new developments under the delusion the bubble would last forever. The result is an unprecedented glut in housing.
- Soros: Global Subprime Losses Likely Above $1 Trillion - "Losses being recognized now amount to $1 trillion," from the subprime crisis, Soros said on a conference call when asked about a similar estimate from the IMF.
- Fisher Says Economy Has `Anemia,' Housing Hasn't Hit Bottom - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Fisher
said the housing market hasn't hit bottom, and acknowledged that recent interest-rate cuts haven't lowered borrowing costs for households and companies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aKQ7KRT5bNDM&refer=realestate
- House Committee Backs "Homebuilder Relief" Bill - Who is being helped?
- FHA Expands Mortgage Insurance to Troubled Borrowers
- As many as 100,000 borrowers who are as much as three months behind on their mortgages, have damaged credit histories and owe more than their homes are worth will now be eligible to refinance with a federally insured loan
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aQxjvRTQqu8Y&refer=realestate
- Losing a Best Friend Along With a House - Animals abandoned, turned in as families face foreclosures on their homes
- Short Sales Becoming Common - Buyers can get deals, but process usually takes much more time
- Pending Home Sales at All-Time Low - Realtors' group says its index of homes under contract to sell fell sharply in February.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/08/real_estate/pending_home_sales/index.htm?postversion=2008040811
- Of Course It's Greenspan's Fault - There is enough blame to go around for the global housing bubble, but give Alan Greenspan and the U.S. Federal Reserve their due: they did more than their share.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/08/business/rtrcol09.php?ref=patrick.net
- Greenspan: It's Not My Fault - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told CNBC that he had little to do with the current credit crisis or housing bubble despite criticism that the Fed keep interest rates too low under his watch.
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnbc/080408/24016186.html?.v=patrick.net
- Four Ways to Fix the Subprime Mess - How do we stop the boom in foreclosures from doing more damage? Bureaucrats, consumer advocates, presidential candidates and plenty of others have plans. Here are 4 that, each for its own reason, offer particularly noteworthy fixes.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0804/gallery.best_subprime_fixes.moneymag/index.html
- Closer Look At The ARMs Reset Problem
- An article for those with a strong economics background. Very scary predictions.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/70975-closer-look-at-the-arms-reset-problem?ref=patrick.net
- 2008 Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud Losses Expected to Reach $2.5 Billion - Falling home prices and inappropriate mortgage underwriting have grabbed the headlines and much of the blame for mortgage credit woes in recent months. But the significant rise in mortgage fraud over the past 10 years is another important trend. New research from TowerGroup predicts that losses from real estate and mortgage fraud will reach $2.5 billion in 2008 and that comparable losses will continue for several years thereafter.
- The Futile $100M Foreclosure Fix - A new bill would allocate millions for foreclosure counseling. But is that enough to help keep at risk borrowers in their homes?
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/07/real_estate/new_counseling_funds/index.htm?postversion=2008040812
- A Road Not Taken by Lenders - So while borrowers may have misrepresented their incomes, either on their own or at the urging of their mortgage brokers, lenders had the tools to identify these fibs before making the loans. All they had to do was ask the I.R.S. The fact that in most cases they apparently didn’t do so puts the lie to the idea that cagey borrowers duped unsuspecting lenders to secure on loans that are now — surprise! — failing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/business/06gret.html?ref=patrick.net
- Foreclosure Fix Faces Murky Future - Senate fast-tracked legislation to stabilize housing. But Bush administration gives it low marks and House is proposing its own ideas and may even push for broader economic stimulus package.
- Foreclosures Come to McMansion Country - Just as the foreclosure crisis has hollowed out poorer neighborhoods, "for sale" signs are sprouting in upscale developments so new they don't show up on GPS navigation screens.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080407/us_nm/usa_housing_mcmansions_dc;_ylt=patrick.net
- House Takes on Housing Amid Partisan Split - Democrats and administration stake claims on best way to stabilize housing, as Senate nears vote on $15B bill and House panel readies debate mortgage plan.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/09/news/economy/congress_housing_relief/?postversion=2008040906
- Should Congress Help Borrowers? - Lawmakers are finding it difficult to mount large-scale help for homeowners.
- Across the Globe, Hints of More Perils in Housing
- AS a weakening housing market appears to be dragging the American economy into recession, the International Monetary Fund
warned this week that home prices in other industrial countries were even more overvalued.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/business/05charts.html?_r=1&ref=patrick.net&oref=slogin
Monday, April 7, 2008
- Bankruptcies Jump 30% in March, Led by Housing-Bust States
- The jump in March bankruptcy filings is another indication the U.S. economy is in recession, led by states where the housing boom turned to bust.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aw8ifLmYMFlI&refer=patrick.net
- A Tax Break for Bubble Heads - Congress' latest dumb idea to fix the housing crisis.
- Wasteful $29 Billion Tax Cut Won't Help Housing
- Another take on the misguided "Builders Protection Act".
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aBAqIZIOUWf4&refer=home