According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), first-time homebuyers accounted for only 27% of all home sales in December 2013—the lowest level since the NAR started tracking such statistics in 2008. Factors that may be contributing to diminishing numbers include high student loans, poor credit scores, low employment, and the rise in home prices […]
Federal regulators are looking into whether they should implement more regulations into the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 as a way to prevent banks from unfairly imposing more fees on consumers. Citing its success of the initial CARD Act, regulators are proposing a new CARD Act to crack down on […]
A recent survey conducted by the Professional Risk Managers Association and FICO respondents, showed that during the first quarter of 2013, 45.2 percent of respondents believed that mortgage delinquency rates would remain constant over the next six months and 38.5 percent saw further rate declines, as compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, when 31.3 […]
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently came out with its biannual Small Business Credit Survey, which showed lenders expressing a more positive attitude towards small business financing. The survey — which received more than 800 responses from businesses from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — showed that almost half (44%) of small […]
(Huntington, NY) — Brian Leibowitz, CEO and Owner of Affordable Financial Services LTD, says the government’s proposal to do away with the mortgage interest deduction (MID) will negatively impact the mortgage lending industry as prospective homeowners will hold off on buying a home and fewer purchase applications are filed. U.S. Congressman Dave Camp of Michigan, […]
Equifax recently released its March National Consumer Credit Trends Report, which showed that there were $43.1 billion in home finance balances written off during the first quarter of 2013, down 23% year over year from $55.4 billion in Q1 2012. Last quarter’s figure is at a five-year low. Write-offs (or severe derogatories) include loans that […]
Mortgage News Daily recently reported that four members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee have introduced legislation that would control how the increase in guarantee fees levied by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are used and when the stock in the two companies can be approved for sale. The Jumpstart GSE Reform […]
A recent survey from YouWalkAway.com showed that 80% of homeowners in strategic default — that is, those who “walked away” from their mortgages when they started facing foreclosure — are looking to buy another house within the next 12 months. This may benefit the housing market early next year: Moody’s Analytics says that there will […]
Mortgage rates are said to increase within the New Year, which will most likely cause refinancings and affect current homebuyers who are looking to make an upgraded purchase. The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts that the fixed rate on 30-year mortgages will grow to an average of 4.1% this year, and 4.5% next year, which is […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have decided to generate a national mortgage database in order to produce a more organized, more thorough compilation of mortgage and general housing market information. The accumulated data will provide agencies with more information and allow them to create better, more educated policies. […]