The recent National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic announced that the foreclosure inventory — that is, the number of homes in foreclosure — fell by 2.9%, dropping from 1.4 million homes in some stage of foreclosure during the month of April to 1.0 million homes in May. This inventory represented 2.6% of all mortgaged homes in […]
A recent report from Realtor.com showed that there were 1.48 million homes for sale in January, which is 5.6% lower than the previous month’s inventory and a 16.5% drop from what was available in January 2012. January’s figure was at the lowest level since the firm recorded such data in 2007. The National Association of […]
Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) increased by 30 percent in 2012, making it the highest percentage increase since the advent of the financial crisis in 2008, according to Moody’s Corporation. Furthermore, HELOC rates are expected to go up an additional 31 percent next year. The growth of HELOC has allowed for consumers to purchase […]
Daily Real Estate News recently reported that housing starts are expected to increase in 2011. But by how much? It depends on who you ask. During an economic update at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando on January 12, David Crowe, The National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist, said that projected single-family home starts […]
REALTORMag.com reported today that, for the fourth consecutive week, mortgage rates have risen after seeing record lows. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans went from 4.46% last week to 4.61%, based on the most recent Freddie Mac survey. In addition, 15-fixed-rate loans averaged 3.96% last week, compared to 3.81% the week before. These rates are […]
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the percentage of U.S. consumers who are delinquent on their mortgages could be less than 5% by the end of 2011. The delinquency rate is expected to be above 6% by the end of this year. TransUnion LLC predicts that mortgage delinquencies will decline to 4.98% by the […]
MarketWatch recently reported that the Mortgage Bankers Association is predicting that — barring any “blockbuster” announcement from the Federal Reserve next month — mortgage rates will come out of their record lows, reaching above 5% by 2011. The MBA predicts that rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will average 4.4% in the fourth quarter of […]
Today’s Wall Street Journal reported that it will cost taxpayers another $154 billion to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat under the most likely scenario for home prices. But if the economy slides back into a recession and the housing market worsens, then the price tag to the taxpayers can be higher than that. […]
National Mortgage Professional Magazine reported today on its website that mortgage applications were up as interest rates fell for a fifth consecutive week. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed that the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — increased 14.6% on the week ending October 8. The […]
Today’s REALTORMag article reported that members of Congress want a nationwide moratorium on foreclosure sales, citing alleged errors and irregularities in processing the applications. While some say this is needed, others worry the already weakening housing market and economic conditions will only be weakened further. U.S. Congressman Edolphus Towns of New York said that the […]