9/3/10
Mortgage Rates Fall Yet Again
Mortgage rates have hit a new record low for the 10th time in 11 weeks as investors continue to turn to Treasury bonds as a safe haven; the shift in money is cutting yields, which mortgage rates tend to follow.
Freddie Mac reports that 30-year fixed loans averaged 4.32 percent, down from 4.36 percent a week ago; and the 15-year fixed rate fell to a new low of 3.83 percent, down from 3.86 percent.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (09/03/10)
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Fannie Warns Servicers About Foreclosures
Fannie Mae is cracking down on loan servicers that fail to follow through on foreclosures after it’s clear that the borrower doesn’t qualify for government or lender help.
Fannie has established a foreclosure schedule for homes in each state that reflects the regulations there. Loan servicers that fail to meet these timetables will be fined, Fannie said in a notice to servicers.
Mortgage data aggregator Lender Processing Services reports an estimated 2.02 million home owners were in foreclosure in July nationwide. Another 5.02 million home owners were behind on their mortgages.
Fannie warned in the company’s most recent quarterly report to investors that when servicers fail to deal with delinquent properties promptly they create "a shadow inventory putting downward pressure on both home prices and rents."
Source: Inman News (09/03/2010)
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9/2/10
July Pending Home Sales Show Rise
Following a sharp drop in the months immediate after expiration of the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales have modestly risen, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® says.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1 percent below July 2009 when it was 98.1. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, cautioned that there would be a long recovery process. “Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery,” he said. “But the recovery looks to be a long process. Home buyers over the past year got a great deal, and buyers for the balance of this year have an edge over sellers. For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity.”
Yun added, “Affordability could reach a generational high in the second half of this year because of rock-bottom mortgage interest rates, helped partly by the Fed’s very accommodative monetary policy. The loan underwriting standards are tighter, but home buyers can improve their chances of getting a loan by staying well within their budget.”
The PHSI in the Northeast rose 6.3 percent to 62.5 in July but is 21.1 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the index increased 4.1 percent to 66.7 but remains 25.7 percent below July 2009. Pending home sales in the South rose 1.2 percent to an index of 86.3, but are 15.6 percent lower than a year ago. In the West the index jumped 11.6 percent to 95.0 but is 17.6 percent below July 2009.
The national index had fallen 29.9 percent in May and another 2.8 percent in June.
Yun discusses the latest index figures in a 3-minute video.
Source: NAR
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Most Home Buyers Have No Regrets
A study from Bankrate found that 90 percent of owners do not regret buying their home.
The findings also revealed improved mortgage awareness, with only 8 percent of home owners in the dark about what type of loan they have -- down from 26 percent two years ago.
The poll of 1,001 randomly selected home owners in August showed that 79 percent had fixed-rate financing, and this type of mortgage was used by almost 90 percent of respondents who make more than $75,000.
Source: Realty Times, Broderick Perkins (09/02/10)
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9/1/10
Commercial Real Estate Yields Spur Investors
Yields on U.S. commercial real estate are nearing a record high compared to Treasury bonds. Many investors take that as a signal to buy property.
Capitalization rates, a measure of real estate yields, averaged 7.22 percent in the second quarter, as calculated by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. That was 4.29 percentage points higher than the yield on 10-year government bonds as of June 30 and 4.75 percentage points higher than Treasury yields as of Aug. 31.
These returns are near the record 5.39 percentage points in the first quarter of 2009, when the U.S. was dealing with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The spread shrank to less than 80 basis points when commercial real estate prices peaked in 2007.
“The data indicate that real estate is poised for a rebound,” says Gerardo Lietz, who advises pension funds on property investments.
Source: Bloomberg, Hui-yong Yu (09/01/2010)
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Mortgage Applications Slip Slightly
Applications to purchase a home rose last week on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.
On an unadjusted basis, the purchase index decreased 0.4 percent compared to the previous week and was 37 percent lower than it was the same week a year ago.
“Despite the slight increase in purchase activity in the past week, the continued low level of purchase applications indicates we are unlikely to see an increase in new home sales reported for August or existing home sales reported for September," says Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics.
Refinance applications increased 2.8 percent last week compared to the previous week and are at their highest level since May 1, 2009.
Here's a look at performances of mortgage rates:
• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.43 percent from 4.55 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.88 percent from 3.91 percent.
• 1-year ARMs increased to 6.95 percent from 6.84 percent.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (09/01/2010)
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Michigan: Free Land in Exchange for Jobs
Michigan’s Muskegon County, on the banks of Lake Michigan, is fighting its 14.9 percent unemployment rate by offering free land to companies that will guarantee 25 or more full-time jobs at one of two industrial parks.
Besides land, companies that locate in the parks will pay no property taxes until 2012 and receive discounts on water and other utilities for three years.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, A.D. Pruitt (09/01/2010)
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Fed Governor: Turn REOs into Rentals
Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke, speaking at a conference on vacant housing, called for more alternatives for the disposal of REO properties besides traditional homeownership.
She advocated considering increased rental housing, lease-purchase deals, and converting foreclosed owners to renters.
"Homeownership, long promoted by federal policy and facilitated by local housing organizations, cannot and should not be the only alternative to REO properties," Duke said. "Even in the best of times, homeownership limits mobility in the labor market."
Source: Reuters News (09/01/2010)
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States Target 'Homestead Exemption' Cheats
Tax authorities in several states with high state and property taxes are looking for residents who claim to qualify for the homestead exemption in some lower-tax state.
New York is particularly aggressive. It particularly challenges people who split their time between New York and Florida, which has a much more favorable tax structure. Typically, they target people who claim their Florida home as their principal residence, but actually spend more than half their time in New York.
Other states that have been cracking down on people they consider cheats and collecting money include Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, and the District of Columbia.
Recently, LexisNexis, the information services company, began offering the Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection Solution, which allows tax officials to cross-reference homestead registrations with multiple public records databases to find inconsistencies such as a driver’s license or voting record in another state.
Source: The New York Times, Kate Murphy (09/01/2010)
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8/31/10
Publicly Traded Real Estate Firms On the Rise
SmarTrend, which analyzes securities to spot trends, identifies these publicly traded real estate companies as having the highest percentage of profits.
E-House China has gross margin of 67.4 percent, a sales growth of 12.2 percent, and 12 months sales of $345.9 million.
ZipRealty has gross margin of 44.1 percent, a sales growth of 17 percent, and 12 months sales of $132.7 million.
CB Richard Ellis Group has gross margin of 42.1 percent, a sales growth of 22.6 percent, and 12 months sales of $4.5 billion.
FirstService has gross margin of 36.9 percent, a sales growth of 17.9 percent, and 12 months sales of $1.8 billion.
Jones Lang LaSalle has gross margin of 35.6 percent, a sales growth of 18.1 percent, and 12 months sales of $2.7 billion.
Source: SmarTrend, Chip Brian (08/31/2010)
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Google Invests in Low-Income Housing
Google Inc. is investing $86 million in a tax-credit fund to finance the construction of 480 low-income housing units.
The developments will be spread among seven communities in the West and Midwest to provide housing for low-income families and senior citizens. The housing will include units with as many as four bedrooms, according to a prepared statement.
"Our investment … allows us to further our goal of providing relief to people who otherwise may not have access to quality housing," says Brent Callinicos, a Google vice president.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, Francesca Freeman (08/31/2010)
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8/30/10
Housing Experts Say Tax Credit Had to End
Will the government revive tax credits to encourage home sales? Housing experts are dubious.
Even suggesting that the tax credit might be revived could have a negative effect on the market, says housing economist Tom Lawler, because it could “lead many a prospective home buyer to hold off on buying a home.”
Earlier this month Richard Dugas, CEO of PulteGroup Inc., said earlier in August on an earnings call: “Almost regardless of how future demand plays out, we still believe that the tax credit had to end. We need to know the true level of demand without government stimulus distorting the market so that we can continue to properly position our business for ongoing improvement.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (08/30/2010)
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8/29/10
Administration Undecided about Another Tax Credit
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the administration would “do everything we can” to stabilize the U.S. housing market.
Whether it will resurrect the first-time home buyer tax credit is up in the air. Donovan said that the drop in home sales in July was worse than the administration expected.
Donovan also said that the Federal Housing Administration will launch an emergency loan program to help unemployed borrowers stay in their homes and a program to help underwater borrowers refinance.
Source: Bloomberg, Holly Rosenkrantz (08/29/2010)
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8/28/10
'Collectible' Homes Hit Hard by Downturn
The sales of historic and architecturally-significant homes have been hard hit.
During the boom many of these properties sold for stratospheric prices. Today they languish on the market.
In the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, the How House, designed by Rudolph Schindler was listed in September 2008 for $5 million. It is now down to $1.9 million.
A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed property in Pasadena, Calif., known as La Miniatura, was listed by Crosby Doe Associates at $7.7 million. Now it’s down to $5 million and there is a possibility that a Japanese art collector may buy it and move it to Japan.
Source: Associated Press, Jacob Adelman (08/28/2010)
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8/27/10
Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall
Average interest on long-term mortgages slid to a record low for the eighth time in nine weeks and could dip more. Freddie Mac reports that 30-year fixed loans averaged 4.36 percent this week, down from 4.42 percent a week ago; the 15-year fixed rate fell to a new low of 3.86 percent from 3.90 percent; and adjustable-rate mortgages were also below 4 percent.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's Michael Fratantoni said the group expects that rates "will begin to rise as the economic situation improves along with jobs."
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Sam Spatter (08/27/10)
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8/26/10
Foreclosures Down, But Late Payments Up
The wave of foreclosures appears to be subsiding slightly. According to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey:
• The percentage of loans on which foreclosure action were started during the second quarter was 1.11 percent, down 12 basis points from last quarter and down 25 basis points from one year ago.
• The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the second quarter was 4.57 percent, a decrease of six basis points from the first quarter of 2010, but an increase of 27 basis points from one year ago.
• Loans that were 90 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure was 9.11 percent, a decrease of 43 basis points from first quarter, but an increase of 114 basis points compared to the second quarter of last year.
“The good news is that foreclosure starts are down, and the inventory of homes anywhere in the process of foreclosure fell for the first time since 2006 and had the largest drop since 2005,” says Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist.
The bad news is that the percent of loans one payment behind had peaked in the first quarter of 2009 at 3.77 percent and fell to 3.31 percent by the end of 2009. Now that rate has risen to 3.51 percent.
“Only when we see a consistent increase in employment will we see an increase in sales and starts, and a sustained improvement in the delinquency numbers,” Brinkmann adds.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (08/26/2010)
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Flood Insurance Program in Debt and in Trouble
The National Flood Insurance Program was designed to be self-sustaining, but it’s $19 billion in the hole. The Congressional Budget Office says the program will add $900 million a year to the debt.
The reasons, according to a review by USA Today, include leniency in allowing flooded home owners to rebuild over and over in the nation’s worst flood planes.
Some claimants have received more than 10 times the value of their properties. For instance, the owner of a Fairhope, Ala., home, on Mobile Bay has received $2.3 million claims to repair a $153,000 home. The owner of a $116,000 Houston home has received $1.6 million.
The second big issue is discounts for second-homes, many of them going to wealthy owners in places like Hilton Head Island, S.C., and Longboat Key, Naples, and Sanibel in Florida.
One partial solution would be insisting that recipients of flood insurance payouts raise their homes when they rebuild, but local communities have allowed home owners to evade attempts at enforcing this regulation.
Source: USA Today, Thomas Frank (08/26/2010)
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Amount of Negative Equity Declines Slightly
Nearly 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter of 2010, down from 11.2 million and 24 percent from the first quarter of 2010, according to housing analyst CoreLogic.
• Negative equity remains concentrated in five states: Nevada, which had the highest percentage negative equity with 68 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (50 percent), Florida (46 percent), Michigan (38 percent), and California (33 percent).
• The biggest declines in negative equity were concentrated in the hardest-hit states. Nevada experienced an 11.8 percentage point decline in negative equity share, followed by California (-1.3), Florida (-1.3), and Arizona (-1.3). About two-thirds of all states experienced a decline in negative equity share. Since peaking in the fourth quarter of 2009, the number of borrowers in a negative equity position has declined by about 350,000.
• The declines were entirely due to foreclosures, not the stabilization or small increases in prices in some markets. The largest decrease in negative equity occurred among those with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios in excess of 125 percent, where the number of negative equity borrowers fell to 4.8 million, down from 5 million last quarter.
• Homes with more equity are appreciating faster than underwater homes. The average values of properties with 50 percent or more equity increased over 1 percent between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010. Properties with 25 to 50 percent in equity increased an average of 0.2 percent in that period. However, values fell for every segment in negative equity, with the biggest value decline occurring for properties that are 50 percent or more in negative equity.
"Negative equity continues to both drive foreclosures and impede the housing market recovery. With nearly 5 million borrowers currently in severe negative equity, defaults will remain at a high level for an extended period of time," says Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic.
Source: CoreLogic (08/26/2010) |
发表于 2010-9-6 23:21
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