December Existing-Home Sales Jump
January 22, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
Existing-home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised [...]
Lenders May Be Not-So-Fast to Foreclosure
January 13, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
After a pivotal court ruling last Friday in Massachusetts, lenders are likely to be more willing to help home owners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.
Last Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that two foreclosures in the case were invalid because the banks didn’t follow proper steps to show they had the [...]
4 Predictions for the Mortgage Industry in 2011
January 13, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
One of the biggest obstacles for a recovery in housing has been — and will continue to be — mortgage lending. Although rates fell to historic levels in 2010 and will likely remain relatively low through a good portion of this year, credit still isn’t easy to come by, [...]
2011 Mortgage Trends: Jumbo Loans, Cash Buys
January 13, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
The number of mortgage applications for home purchases is expected to become a bigger part of the mortgage market in 2011 as home prices stabilize, predicts the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing has mostly dominated in recent months as home owners looked to lock-in low interest rates, but experts predict refinancing to slow as new mortgage [...]
Mortgage Applications Jump as Rates Ease
January 13, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of loan demand climbed 2.2 percent overall for the week ended Jan. 7, to its highest level in nearly a month.
The group’s index of refinancing applications rose 4.9 percent, while its gauge of loan requests for home purchases fell 3.7 percent.
Source:“Mortgage Applications Rise as Lending Rates Ease,” CNBC News, Jan. [...]
Subprime Lenders Find Trouble in ‘Fixer’ Role
January 7, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
Many loan brokers lost their job during the subprime crisis, in which too many bad home loans were issued leading to record high numbers of defaults. But some lenders are back and have decided to focus on the mortgage modification business, trying to help the home owners they once put into bad loans.
“Some of the [...]
Housing Values Drop, But Insurance Rises?
January 7, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
Housing Values Drop, But Insurance Rises?
Home prices are falling across the country, but many home owners are paying more to insure their homes. So why is insurance going up when a home’s value is going down?
“The price of homeowners’ insurance is based on the cost to repair or rebuild your home. The price of a [...]
Some Foreclosures Showcase Big, Bad, Ugly
January 7, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
In Lane County, Ore., real estate professionals have practically seen it all when it comes to foreclosed properties, from one property owner cutting a hole in his kitchen wall so he could take his jacuzzi bathtub with him as he left to other evicted home owners’ who have smashed walls in with golf clubs or [...]
Who Really Benefits from the MID
January 7, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun sent the following letter to the editor of The Washington Post in response to the January 1, 2011 article, “Trim the Excessive Tax Subsidy for Real Estate.”
“It’s a common misperception that the mortgage interest deduction benefits primarily the wealthy, as argued in the Washington Post’s January [...]
States With the Longest Foreclosure Processes
January 7, 2011 by Melodye · Leave a Comment
Once a home owner falls into foreclosure, the eviction doesn’t happen right away — in fact, it may take years before delinquent borrowers finally have to turn over their keys.
Data by LPS Applied Analytics shows that New York holds the longest average in the nation–mortgage loans in the foreclosure process in New York have been [...]
