Category Archives: Mortgages

Time to take a vacation … on the house!

Posted on October 27, 2017 by grim

From CNBC: Home equity loans set to soar along with home prices Ever since the epic housing crash of the last decade, homeowners have been incredibly conservative with their housing debt. Home prices rose, at first slowly and now quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 116 Comments

What does your soul get you in NJ?

Posted on October 10, 2017 by grim

From the New Yorker: What a Faustian Bargain Gets You in New York’s Real-Estate Market In the New York real-estate market, where stratospheric prices continue to climb, a pact with Satan just doesn’t get you what it once did. Sure, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, NYC | 159 Comments

Escalades and Jet Skis … Baby!

Posted on June 9, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Homeowner equity soars in first quarter Homeowner equity increased significantly in the first quarter of 2017, according to the Q1 2017 home equity analysis from CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. Homeowners with a mortgage, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 85 Comments

Mortgage delinquencies at 10 year low

Posted on April 12, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: More Americans are now paying their mortgage often, and on time Mortgage delinquency rates, including loans in serious delinquency and even foreclosure inventory, fell at the start of 2017, according to the latest monthly Loan Performance Insights Report … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 22 Comments

How high do rates need to be to slow home sales?

Posted on February 24, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: FHFA: Rising interest rates not slowing down home prices…yet Home prices increased during the fourth quarter and, despite rising interest rates, showed no sign of a slowdown, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index. Home … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 92 Comments

Rates scaring off buyers?

Posted on January 27, 2017 by grim

From the WSJ: U.S. New Home Sales Drop Sharply in December New home sales posted a steep decline in December, an indication that affordability challenges are beginning to cut into demand. Purchases of newly built, single-family houses, which account for … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, New Development | 148 Comments

So much for that FHA cut

Posted on January 22, 2017 by grim

From MarketWatch: Trump already suspends Obama-era FHA mortgage insurance cut The Federal Housing Administration will roll back a cut in mortgage insurance premiums announced just days earlier under outgoing Housing and Urban Development head Julian Castro, the government said Friday. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 142 Comments

“Take a vacation on the house.”

Posted on January 18, 2017 by grim

From CNBC: Rising home values aren’t enough to shake consumers’ memories of the financial crisis Consumers still see value in buying and owning homes. Yet with memories of the recession still fresh in their minds, the recent lift in real … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 86 Comments

Blue Horseshoe loves Ben Carson

Posted on January 16, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Housing industry rallies around Ben Carson for HUD secretary Do you remember that controversy about former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson being nominated as the next secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development? … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 22 Comments

As rates rise, FHA cuts premiums

Posted on January 10, 2017 by grim

From MarketWatch: After mortgage-rate spike, FHA to cut insurance premium The Federal Housing Administration will reduce the annual premium borrowers pay, in order to expand credit access to more Americans, the government announced Monday. Borrowers who close on an FHA … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 74 Comments

Yeah, this again.

Posted on December 30, 2016 by grim

From the WSJ: House Flipping Makes a Comeback as Home Prices Rise House flipping, a potent symbol of the real-estate market’s excess in the run-up to the financial crisis, is once again becoming hot, fueled by a combination of skyrocketing … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 82 Comments

Time to lube the mortgage market

Posted on December 23, 2016 by grim

From Business Insider: It hasn’t been this hard to buy a house in America since the financial crisis Housing affordability in the US is at an eight-year low, according to Attom Data Solutions. The parent company of RealtyTrac released its … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 102 Comments

Corelogic: Rates won’t stop appreciation

Posted on December 20, 2016 by grim

From HousingWire: CoreLogic predicts housing market growth in 2017 Economic growth will be the theme of the housing market in 2017, according to the forecast from Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic senior vice president and chief economist. … 1. Increase in mortgage … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 60 Comments

HAMP v2

Posted on December 16, 2016 by grim

From Bloomberg: Fannie and Freddie Outline New Respite for Troubled Borrowers Distressed mortgage borrowers will get a new lifeline from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after a critical foreclosure-prevention program expires this month. The mortgage-finance giants on Wednesday outlined a … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 90 Comments

Has the refi window finally closed?

Posted on December 13, 2016 by grim

From HousingWire: Refinance well drying up? Rising interest rates shrink pool of eligible borrowers, again Recent reports from various analysts, including this one from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, suggest that 2017 will see smaller mortgage origination volume than 2016, thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate | 108 Comments