Fannie and Freddie what’s in store for them? There were more questions raised than answers provided about the future of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie and Freddie and their continued role in the secondary mortgage market at the Regulatory Issues Forum Friday during the 2012 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando. Today, the GSEs have too much market …
Category: News
Nov 14
Succeed in Commercial Real Estate as a Residential Broker
Succeed in Commercial Real Estate as a Residential Broker Looking at residential agents breaking into commercial real estate, David J. Murphy, senior vice president of CBRE Inc., sought to dispel the myth that to Succeed in Commercial Real Estate was an intimidating venture. Instead, Murphy insisted that residential agents’ strong sales skills provide enough of a …
Nov 12
Mortgage Delinquencies Reverse Course, Inch Up
Mortgage Delinquencies Reverse Course, Inch Up More Americans were late on their mortgage payments in September, as the national mortgage delinquency rate rose to its largest increase in four years, according to Lender Processing Services’ September Mortgage Monitor report. The national mortgage delinquency rate increased 7.7 percent in September from August. Despite the uptick, mortgage …
Nov 12
Mortgage Rates Stay Low, Keep Buying Power High
Mortgage Rates Stay Low, Keep Buying Power High A year ago at this time, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped below 4 percent for the first time since Freddie Mac started reporting national average mortgage rates in 1971. Thirty-year rates have fairly much stayed below 4 percent since then too, continuing to hover near all-time record lows …
Nov 09
Americans Get More Confident About Home Buying
Americans Get More Confident About Home Buying The percentage of Americans who have been waiting to buy a home over concerns about the economy has dropped by more than half since 2010, a new survey by FindLaw.com says. Sixty-three percent of Americans surveyed said in 2010 that they were putting off home buying decisions because of …
Nov 09
Superstorm Sandy’s Damage Extends to Office Sector Values
Superstorm Sandy’s Damage Extends to Office Sector Values Superstorm Sandy not only damaged residences across the East Coast but also destroyed several office buildings — which is particularly being hard-felt across Manhattan, real estate executives said at the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate Capital Markets in Real Estate conference. Thousands of downtown …
Nov 08
Mortgage Demand Falls After Sandy
Mortgage Demand Falls After Sandy Applications for home loans purchases and refinancing dropped 5 percent last week as tropical storm Sandy ravaged the East Coast and disrupted normal business activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Due to the severe storms, mortgage application demand posted the big falls in New Jersey, where applications fell 60 …
Nov 07
FHA Orders Foreclosure Halt for Sandy Victims
FHA Orders Foreclosure Halt for Sandy Victims The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has ordered a 90-day temporary suspension of foreclosures in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy last week, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development announced Monday. “I directed all FHA lenders to impose a moratorium on any foreclosures for 90 days in disaster-affected areas,” Shaun Donovan, …
Nov 06
Extend Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief
Extend Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief. The National Association of REALTORS® sent out a call to action to its million-plus members this weekend, urging them to support an extension of tax relief on mortgage forgiveness. Under federal law, cancelled debt is generally considered taxable income. Since 2007, however, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act has …
Nov 06
Foreclosed Home Owners Rebound Faster With FHA Loans
Foreclosed Home Owners Rebound Faster With FHA Loans. Home owners who experienced foreclosures are finding themselves owning again sometimes only three years later—possibly even less—with FHA loans. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac usually require a seven-year wait following a foreclosure. However, FHA loans will approve loans after three years, if the borrower can show …
Nov 05
Homes Are Selling Faster as Inventories Fall
Homes Are Selling Faster as Inventories Fall. The median time a home is on the market nationwide? Just 69 days. The number of days on the market nationwide has fallen nearly 30 percent from year-ago levels. Meanwhile, inventory levels are hovering at all-time lows, with the number of homes for-sale down 31.2 percent from a …
Nov 05
Home Ownership Rate to Rise Soon?
Home Ownership Rate to Rise Soon? Another sign economic recovery: The home ownership rate is no longer falling. It remained unchanged from the previous quarter, standing at 65.5 percent in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported this week. A year ago, the home ownership rate stood at 66.3 percent. The home ownership rate is …
