Category Archives: Mortgages

Shocking: Graduates with loans perform better than those without

Posted on May 14, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: TransUnion: Student loans do not impact housing Despite the level of student loan debt rising to well above $1 trillion, young buyers are not being inhibited from obtaining a mortgage due to their debt, according to a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages | 185 Comments

Access to credit holding back first time buyers? (Not student loans)

Posted on May 12, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: What’s holding back first-time homebuyers The rising burden of student debt doesn’t explain the weakness in home sales to first-time buyers, so the question arises what is holding this segment back? Capital Economics says that some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 187 Comments

Mortgage delinquency becoming a non-issue, except in NJ

Posted on May 7, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: MBA: Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures drop in 1Q The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.54% of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, New Jersey Real Estate | 67 Comments

Makes too much sense, what am I missing?

Posted on April 24, 2015 by grim

From Housingwire: Radian now offering an industry first – job loss insurance Radian Guaranty, the mortgage insurance subsidiary of Radian Group (RDN), is offering a new program that’s the first of its kind in the industry – job loss insurance. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Mortgages | 98 Comments

Ball and chain holds back housing

Posted on March 28, 2015 by grim

From the NYT: Negative Equity a Drag on Home Sales While existing home sales are up nearly 5 percent from last year, economists say activity would likely be more brisk if it weren’t for the negative equity overhang that has … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 32 Comments

What subprime crisis?

Posted on February 23, 2015 by grim

From the WSJ: Lenders Step Up Financing to Subprime Borrowers Loans to consumers with low credit scores have reached the highest level since the start of the financial crisis, driven by a boom in car lending and a new crop … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 99 Comments

Mistakes? So what! Fuggedaboudit!

Posted on February 12, 2015 by grim

From the WSJ: FHA Looks to Ease Banks’ Worry on Mortgage Mistakes A U.S. housing regulator is considering limiting one of the most powerful tools federal attorneys have to punish banks for making mistakes in mortgage lending, a move the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, Politics, Risky Lending | 100 Comments

Sound familiar?

Posted on January 8, 2015 by grim

From Bloomberg: Obama to Cut FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums to Boost Homeownership In an effort to expand homeownership among lower-income buyers, President Barack Obama plans to cut mortgage-insurance premiums charged by a government agency. The annual fees the Federal Housing … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, Politics, Risky Lending | 227 Comments

Who benefits from the MID?

Posted on December 26, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: Why the mortgage tax break isn’t helping many taxpayers For generations of U.S. homeowners, the tax deduction on mortgage interest has been a sacrosanct loophole that no one in Congress dare touch. But the collapse in interest rates … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 8 Comments

Delinquency rates continue to decline

Posted on December 16, 2014 by grim

From NMP: Mortgage Delinquency Rates Continue to Shrink The total balance of seriously delinquent first mortgages–defined as 90 days past due or in foreclosure–was $198.8 billion in November, a decrease of more than 29.8 percent year-over-year and the lowest level … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 113 Comments

What’s a little fraud between friends

Posted on December 12, 2014 by grim

From the NYT: Falsified Mortgage Applications on the Rise Falsified applications are now the most common type of mortgage fraud, their incidence having risen steadily for the last three years, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ annual mortgage fraud report. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 63 Comments

3% is back

Posted on December 10, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: Feds hope 3%-down-mortgages will boost struggling housing market After announcing plans in October to boost lending for first-time and middle class borrowers by reducing down payment requirements, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week detailed guidelines to banks … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, Politics, Risky Lending | 115 Comments

Mortgage rates hit 13 month lows

Posted on December 8, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: Long-term mortgage rates hit lowest level since May 2013 Long-term mortgage rates have reached their lowest level in more than a year, giving families an opportunity to secure cheap home loans, according to data released Thursday. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 64 Comments

Pressure to roll back FHA fees

Posted on December 3, 2014 by grim

From the Record: FHA faces more pressure to reduce borrowers’ annual fees After more than doubling home buyers’ annual fees in the wake of the housing bust, the Federal Housing Administration is facing pressure to roll back the fees, especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Politics | 129 Comments

I really need you to hit this number

Posted on December 2, 2014 by grim

From the WSJ: Dodgy Home Appraisals Are Making a Comeback Home appraisers are inflating the values of some properties they assess, often at the behest of loan officers and real-estate agents, in what industry executives say is a return to … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 138 Comments