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Massive Florida Mortgage Fraud Case Unfolding
A two year FBI investigation into Sarasota house flipping is turning into what may be the largest case of mortgage fraud in Florida's history.
Real Estate Goes Back to Print
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jan 18, 2010
Newspaper real estate ad spending is projected to rise 16 percent in 2010, to $4.4 billion, after falling 34 percent last year.
Lenders Modified Loans for 680,000 Homeowners
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Dec 21, 2009
National bank and thrift servicers implemented more than 680,000 home loan modifications and payment plans in the third quarter.
Foreclosures Overwhelm Rural Communities
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Nov 18, 2009
Like suburban areas, rural communities also are suffering the devastating impact of negative equity on their housing markets.
Mortgage Lending Business Expected to Sink Next Year
By: David Lereah; Wed, Oct 14, 2009
The mortgage lending business is expected to take a turn for the worse in 2010 according to the industry’s leading trade group. Mortgage origination volume is expected to plunge by almost 21 percent to $1.56 trillion next year compared to an estimated $1.96 trillion in originations in 2009 according to a new forecast released yesterday by [...]
Housing Organizations Predict Expansion in 2010
By: David Lereah; Mon, Oct 12, 2009
The consensus forecast among major real estate organizations is for the housing downturn to come to a close in 2009 and for the expansion to begin in 2010. THE NEW HOUSING FORECASTS ARE AVAILABLE NOW! http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2009/10/market-forecastindustry-forecast/
Housing Turning Corner and Helping Economy
By: David Lereah; Mon, Oct 12, 2009
Both the economy and the housing markets have displayed concrete signs of improvement during the past several months.
FHA is Now Running on Empty Says Noted Housing Economist
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Sep 22, 2009
The Federal Housing Administration took the right steps last week to bring the agency's lending standards in line with private industry practices, but with the loss of its excess reserves, FHA is now essentially running on empty and the jury is out on whether the agency has adequate capital reserves to weather projected losses from defaults and foreclosures, said a noted housing economist who first raised concerns about FHA's financial condition in an article in Real Estate Economy Watch last June (Can FHA Dodge the Bullet?).
Home Prices Continue to Decline but at a Slower Pace
By: David Lereah; Tue, Sep 22, 2009
Home values continue to drop across the nation but at an increasingly slower pace according to new price data released by Zillow.com. The news was an encouraging sign for the housing sector.
Analyst Sees Further Upside to Homebuilder Stock Rally
By: David Lereah; Mon, Sep 21, 2009
J.P. Morgan analyst Michael Rehaut on Friday elevated his outlook on the homebuilding industry, stating that the housing sector has made it through the worst of the correction.
Opposition Grows to First-Time Homebuyer Credit
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Sep 18, 2009
Time is quickly running out on the first-time homebuyer tax credit, due to expire December 1 and despite an all-out lobbying campaign, the housing industry faces a battle to extend and expand it.
Housing Recovery: Built on Bricks or Sticks?
By: David Lereah; Thu, Sep 17, 2009
Recent housing indicators such as existing home sales, new home sales and housing starts, suggest a recovery is underway in the nation's housing sector. But is the recovery sustainable?
Wells Fires Executive for Partying in Malibu Foreclosure
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Sep 15, 2009
Wells Fargo yesterday fired a senior vice president in charge of managing foreclosed commercial properties for holding parties in a foreclosed home in an exclusive Malibu community whose previous owners were financially devastated in Bernard Madoff's massive fraud scheme.
Will Inflation Rear Its Ugly Head?
By: David Lereah; Mon, Sep 7, 2009
Eventually, the piper has to get paid. Excessive government spending and money supply growth have left an aftermath of conditions that portend unfavorably for the inflation outlook.
Foreclosed Homes Spawn Violent Crime Wave
By: Steve Cook; Wed, Sep 2, 2009
Record numbers of foreclosed homes, often empty and abandoned for months before they are resold, have become spawning grounds for violent crime-including assault, rape and even murder.
Home Sales Up; Home Prices Down
By: David Lereah; Wed, Aug 26, 2009
It is becoming increasingly clear that a two-headed housing recovery is underway. Unfortunately, unlike Siamese twins, the heads will not be arriving at the same time.
How to Understand Your Housing Market
By: Steve Cook; Thu, Jul 30, 2009
“All real estate is local” is an industry dictum that’s not only obvious, it’s very true. When you hear on the news that home sales or prices are up or down, chances are that those are national reports that may have little or nothing to do with conditions where you live.
How to Find Your Next Home Online
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jul 28, 2009
If you're like nine out of ten home buyers today, you are using the Internet to look for a home. Why not? The Internet has transformed the way people buy and sell houses. Real estate search sites make it easy for buyers to check out hundreds of properties in a matter of minutes and for sellers to reach thousands of buyers that they could never reach before.
The Incredible Shrinking Housing Market
By: David Lereah; Fri, Jul 17, 2009
Nearly three and a half years into a spiraling downturn, our nation's housing sector looks like a mere shadow of itself. It is a housing market that has shrunk by almost 40 percent in home sales during the past several years and has partly closed its door on low income and minority households.
Don’t Judge the Housing Market by its Cover
By: David Lereah; Wed, Jul 8, 2009
A cursory glance at the U.S. housing markets suggests that the worst is over and the recovery is on its way. But before we declare victory, we must consider the possibility of a false start.
Financial Regulatory Reform is Necessary for Economic Recovery
By: David Lereah; Thu, Jun 25, 2009
Even though recent economic reports have indicated that the worst may be over, the U.S. economy and housing markets remain in a fragile state. Recovery is tenuous at best and reform of our financial system is a necessary ingredient for a successful economic recovery.
The Bumpy Road to Recovery
By: David Lereah; Mon, Jun 15, 2009
Investors are anticipating a recovery for the economy in the second half of this year as evidenced by recent upward pressures on long term interest rates and advances in equity values. But the road to recovery is anything but smooth.
HUD Tweaks First-Timer Credit
By: Steve Cook; Mon, Jun 1, 2009
HUD announced last week it has found a creative way to made the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers even more useful than it was when passed by Congress last February.
A Shadow Threatens Home Values
By: Steve Cook; Thu, May 21, 2009
It's called the "shadow inventory" and it's scarier than a ghost because it is very real. It's hanging over your local real estate market ready to ambush property values at the first sign of a rebound.
Difficult Housing Recovery Ahead
By: David Lereah; Sat, May 16, 2009
Recent data suggest the worst may be over for the housing markets. But only when home values stabilize will there be a true recovery in housing.
Major Lenders Implement “Making Home Affordable”
By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 15, 2009
Making Home Affordable, the Administration's program to reduce foreclosures through refinancing, modification of loans held by borrowers in trouble, and lowered interest rates, is finally moving ahead with critical loan modifications after hitting a snag over how to handle secondary liens.
Housing Recovery May Be in Sight
By: David Lereah; Tue, May 12, 2009
There are more than subtle signs that the housing markets may be recovering and the worst may be over. Recent data releases support this notion.
Rising Mortgage Rates May Be Good for Housing
By: David Lereah; Mon, May 11, 2009
The economy is showing signs of improving and that may help an anemic housing sector recover.
Lenders Tighten Standards on Prime Mortgages
By: Steve Cook; Fri, May 8, 2009
Even though demand is up, home buyers will find it tougher to get a mortgage today than last fall, even if they qualify for a prime mortgage.
First-timer Tax Credit is Working
By: Steve Cook; Tue, May 5, 2009
Looks like last year's first-time homebuyer tax credit-the one the housing industry pooh-poohed because it required buyers to pay it back over 15 years-is doing a lot better than most people expected.
Bottom, Bottom, Wherefore Art Thou, Bottom?
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Apr 7, 2009
The Web is littered with predictions, forecasts, hunches and wild guesses about the long anticipated housing bottom, but only two things are certain. The first is that almost all of today’s bottom diviners will be wrong. The second is that no one will know for sure whether we have reached bottom of the real estate depression until it is past and we are into a period of recovery.
AmeriDream, Nehemiah Lobby for their Lives
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Feb 3, 2009
Was the ban on seller-financed down payment assistance passed by Congress last July a death warrant to down payment assistance groups like AmeriDream and the Nehemiah Corporation and a blow to builders like Lennar Corporation, who at one point relied on down payment assistance for a third of all the mortgages it originated?
No End to REOs
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jan 27, 2009
Selling foreclosed properties after lenders have taken possession—known in the business as REOs or real estate owned properties—is not for everyone. Prices are lower than market values, reducing commissions. Then there’s the cost and stress of cleaning up and maintaining properties that are usually ill-maintained if not outright trashed. Finally, collecting money from slow-paying banks is a pain.
Lending Standards Ease Slightly
By: Steve Cook; Tue, Jan 27, 2009
Slightly fewer banks reported tightening their lending standards for prime mortgages during the third quarter of 2008, according to the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Survey on Bank Lending Practices. The number of banks tightening standards decreased from 75 to 70 percent, the first time the survey has shown a net decrease since banks started [...]
Commercial Real Estate Headed for Downturn
By: David Lereah; Tue, Jan 13, 2009
Commercial real estate is finally joining the party. Even though there has been no meaningful overbuilding in commercial real estate, the outlook for the industry has seriously dimmed. The retail and office sectors have turned down with vacancies rising. And the industrial sector is not far behind. A tightened credit market and a slumping economy are to blame.
Get this widget See local rates - Senate Clears Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension to Pass This Week
- CEOs Launch New Drive for Expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Homebuyer Tax Credit Will Motivate First-time Buyers More than Move-up Buyers
- Congress Passes Homebuyer Tax Credit
By: Steve Cook; Fri, Feb 26, 2010
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