Housing rescue plan passes key Senate test Read more...
by Ap 06/24/2008
The mortgage aid plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.
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FHA waives 90-day waiting period for resales Read more...
by Inman News 06/13/2008
Change intended to help lenders get REOs off the books
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Home resales in Phoenix hint at rebound Read more...
by Phoenix Business Journal 06/19/2008
Signs are emerging that the worst of the local housing slump might be in the past.
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Property-flipping rule suspended Read more...
by Cnnmoney.com 06/13/2008
The White House temporarily suspends a rule that imposes a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed homes can be sold to receive government loans.
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State of the State: Real estate bust may be nearing end Read more...
by Ktar 06/18/2008
Right now, there are at least 2,500 homes in foreclosure just in Maricopa County, compared with a few hundred a year ago, Reagor said.
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Hundreds swept up in mortgage fraud arrests Read more...
by Associated Press 06/19/2008
The FBI put the losses to homeowners and other borrowers who were victims in the schemes at over $1 billion.
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Housing crisis hurts Rust Belt more than Sun Belt Read more...
by Reuters 06/18/2008
"Both the Rust Belt and the Sun Belt are seeing significant declines in house prices, but the underlying economic issues are very different," said Andrew Jakabovics, an associate director at the Center for American Progress, a think tank.
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Five Cities With Biggest Decline in Home Values Read more...
by Yahoo! Searchyahoo! Searchsearchweb Search 05/19/2008
With home values continuing to plummet across the country, it's become clear that the real estate meltdown is far from over.
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Active Finance Group LLC (AFG) Announces Funding Changes During Expansion Read more...
by Company Email 04/30/2008
As part of a long-term strategy to manage the phenomenal growth in business, Active Finance Group LLC (AFG) has announced a temporary suspension of hard money loans in all markets as part of the company's expansion plans which include revamping its information services and website management as well as increasing staff to accommodate the growing demand for AFG services.
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Homeowners react to falling real estate values Read more...
by Yahoo Real Estate 05/14/2008
Many struggling after losing access to HELOCs
I'll admit to it: When home prices were soaring in my neighborhood, it made me feel really smart.
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Senators say have deal on housing rescue bill Read more...
by Googlenews 05/19/2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Monday they had reached a deal on legislation to create a multibillion-dollar mortgage rescue fund and a new regulator for housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Foreclosure Can Mean Opportunity For Some Buyers Read more...
by Media General News Service 04/29/2008
In the midst of housing market slump "foreclosure" is becoming more common word in our vocabulary.
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UPDATE 1-Foreclosure bill opens US gov't to undue risks-FHA Read more...
by Reuters 05/06/2008
Proposed legislation to expand the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance program may be too far-reaching and open the government to undue risks, Federal Housing Commissioner Brian Montgomery said on Tuesday.
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Bernanke: Foreclosure woes require action Read more...
by Cnn 05/06/2008
Price declines have become one of the biggest contributors to high default rates, Fed chief says. Stopping foreclosures is in 'everybody's interest.'
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Another loss for US mortgage firm Read more...
by Bbc News 04/29/2008
Countrywide Financial, the largest US mortgage lender, has posted a third consecutive loss as borrowers failed to keep up with their home loan payments.
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Auction market: Growing, growing strong Read more...
by Inman News 04/24/2008
For the price of a used car, you can buy a house or a chunk of land on the Internet without leaving your desk.
A four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Cleveland recently sold for $6,050 on eBay.
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State Senate OKs foreclosure bill Read more...
by Los Angeles Times 04/29/2008
SACRAMENTO -- A bill aimed at putting the brakes on home foreclosures in California was approved Monday by the state Senate, ending a months-long partisan stalemate.
Under the legislation, a lender would have to try at least three times to contact a borrower in person or by telephone 30 days before sending a notice of default. When contact is made, the lender would assess the borrower's financial situation and discuss options to avoid default.
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NAR considers new short-sale disclosure rules Read more...
by Inman News 04/24/2008
In response to the rising tide of short-sale properties and foreclosures, a National Association of Realtors committee that meets next month is expected to consider new rules to better describe the status of properties in Realtor-affiliated multiple listing services.
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J.P. Morgan Agrees To Increase Bear Price Read more...
by Wall Street Journal Online 03/24/2008
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., moving to quell a shareholder rebellion over its takeover of Bear Stearns Cos., agreed to quintuple the price it is offering for the ailing investment bank. In return, J.P. Morgan won new terms that will make it more difficult to torpedo the deal.
The revised deal, which was negotiated over the weekend and announced Monday morning, values Bear Stearns at about $2.65 billion. J.P. Morgan agreed to pay $10 a share, up from the $2-a-share terms of the initial agreement reached eight days ago.
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Gauging Value in Real Estate Read more...
by The Wall Street Journal Online 03/14/2008
During the boom, builders plastered the Phoenix region with houses that were snapped up quickly, many times by speculators who were looking to score a quick profit. Today, the metro area has more than 18 months of supply, according to data collected by Mark MacKenzie Real Estate Planning, a local real-estate-investment-services brokerage, compared with a national average of 11 months. Yet it is apparent that some parts of Phoenix are substantially weaker than others.
Buckeye, a suburb west of Phoenix, sprawls across 600 square miles of desert. Town planners have approved roughly 400,000 houses. But already the supply of homes stretches to nearly 20 months, and that means buyers are "more at risk for [further] decreases in property values," says Mr. MacKenzie.
In Maricopa, a rapidly growing suburb 35 miles south of Phoenix, Mike Mendoza, an agent with Keller Williams Realty International, has a listing for a house that has been on the market more than six months. The house, which the owners originally spent $525,000 buying and upgrading in late 2005, is now priced at $449,000 -- "and buyers aren't rushing to it as a bargain," Mr. Mendoza says.
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Home Resales Rose 2.9% Read more...
by The Wall Street Journal Online 03/24/2008
Home resales rose to a 5.03 million annual rate, a 2.9% increase from January's unrevised 4.89 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. The last time sales increased was July.
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Minding the Gap: Home-Price Downside Read more...
by The Wall Street Journal Online 03/14/2008
The economic balance hangs in large part on how much further home prices will fall. A look at one important measure -- the relationship between home prices and household income -- suggests we might not even be halfway there.
Over the long run, home prices and income should march along the same path. As households earn more, they can afford to pay for more expensive homes.
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America's Hardest-Hit Foreclosure Spots Read more...
by Forbes.com 01/29/2008
What could be worse than getting behind on mortgage payments? Owing your lender more than your home is worth.
That's what's happening to homeowners across the country, many of whom just a couple of years ago opted for interest-only or adjustable-rate mortgages. For them, just as their loans reset and interest rates rose, home values began to plummet, leaving them with negative equity; this is where their mortgage is greater than the value of their home.
Of course, some homeowners started off walking a shakier tightrope than others. Many subprime borrowers acquired piggyback mortgages, where a second mortgage covered the downpayment, leaving them with negative equity from the beginning. Indeed, 79% more U.S. homes entered foreclosure last year than in 2006, according to data from RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based real estate research firm. Congress's Joint Economic Committee estimates that 2 million Americans will lose their home over the next two years, a figure in line with most research firms and rating agencies.
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President reiterates his objection to a proposed change to help homeowners in bankruptcy and the creation of a $4 billion fund Read more...
by Cnnmoney.com 02/28/2008
President Bush said Thursday that he opposed the foreclosure prevention legislation that Senate Democrats have introduced.
"The Senate is considering legislation that would do more to bail out lenders and speculators than to help homeowners keep their homes," he said. "The Senate bill would actually prolong the time it takes for the housing market to adjust and recover, and it would lead to higher interest rates."
Earlier this week, the Bush administration said the president would veto the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 if it passes Congress because it objected to two key elements. The first is a provision that would change the bankruptcy law to let judges reduce the amount of principal and interest due on mortgages of those filing for bankruptcy.
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Playing the Housing Slump, Time to Make Your Move? Read more...
by The Wall Street Journal Online 03/13/2008
Financial lore says you should buy when there's blood in the street -- which suggests real estate is a bargain, because there's blood all over the neighborhood.
Time to invest? I wouldn't be surprised to see home prices drop sharply this spring, as long-suffering sellers in hard-hit areas throw in the towel and slash their asking price.
That could spell opportunity for this year's buyers. But what if you already own a home -- and have no desire to become a landlord? Here are three ways to play today's battered housing market.
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Ariz. may signal bankruptcy spillover Read more...
by The Arizona Republic 01/21/2008
Arizona could be a bellwether state in spotting a trend linking rising foreclosures with rising bankruptcies.
The state's bankruptcy filings are released earlier than those for most other states, and they point to a rise in personal and business failures, according to the Federation of Credit and Financial Professionals in South Plainfield, N.J.
"Foreclosure and bankruptcy data all point to rising risk of spillover effects in bubble and distressed states like Arizona and Tennessee," wrote Richard Hastings, economic adviser to the group.
"We believe these symptoms represent significant bankruptcy risk for small businesses whose owners will probably have less capital for funding their businesses and less wealth and confidence for spending on local services and consumer goods."
He cited goods and services such as as advertising, casual dining and furniture.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona recently released figures showing 10,570 statewide filings in 2007, a 63-percent jump over the 2006 total.
Arizona's bankruptcy numbers are released earlier than most, according to Hastings.
He indicated Arizona ranks seventh with 441 foreclosures per household. Texas has the highest rate at 778, followed by Missouri at 777.
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Trustee-sale notices are a signal foreclosures may speed up Read more...
by The Arizona Republic 01/06/2008
The final tally is in. No drum roll please, because it's nothing to celebrate. Last year, more than 10,000 homes were foreclosed on across metropolitan Phoenix.
Almost 90 percent of those houses were taken back by the lender, which means most struggling homeowners couldn't sell before foreclosure. Most of those homes are sitting empty, and when they do sell, it will probably be for less than what other homeowners in the neighborhood paid a few years ago.
The worst came in December when a monthly record 1,617 Valley homes were foreclosed on, according to data research firm Information Market.
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Blacklisting Hits Home Sellers Read more...
by The Wall Street Journal Online 03/06/2008
In the nation's worst-hit real-estate markets, home sellers are suffering a new blow: They are being blacklisted by lenders.
As property values decline and credit markets contract, home lenders nationwide are growing ever more unwilling to finance home purchases in sharply declining housing markets, driving prices down further. In some cases, lenders have ruled out entire geographic regions and property types altogether, most notably high-rise condominiums in South Florida and Las Vegas.
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Credit crunch clamping down hard Read more...
by The Arizona Republic 03/02/2008
Credit is the oil that greases America's economic engine, and right now, that engine is sputtering. The easy money has evaporated.
Credit-card companies are tightening up. Even borrowers with solid credit may have trouble getting home and car loans. Adjustable-rate mortgages are resetting higher for thousands of homeowners, leaving less discretionary income.
Most big banks have been battered by their own bad investments. Many are taking the break the Federal Reserve has given them in lower interest rates and are shoring up their finances, not spreading cash around to clients.
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Housing rescue plan passes key Senate test Read more...
by Ap 06/24/2008
The mortgage aid plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.
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Housing rescue plan passes key Senate test Read more...
by Ap 06/24/2008
The mortgage aid plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.
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