Category Archives: Mortgages

Merry Christmas from Freddie and Fannie

Posted on November 29, 2014 by grim

From the WSJ: Mortgage Lenders Set to Relax Standards Some of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders are preparing to further ease standards for borrowers after the release of new guidelines this month from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 52 Comments

Low rate burnout?

Posted on November 24, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: Fannie cuts mortgage-rate outlook, but home buyers may not bite Mortgage-finance giant Fannie Mae cut its outlook Thursday for home-loan rates in 2015, but cheap monthly payments may do little to bump up residential sales, experts said. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 85 Comments

Warren goes for the throat

Posted on November 20, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Sen. Warren accuses FHFA’s Watt: “You haven’t helped a single family” What started as a dry, lame-duck session hearing on the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, got heated when U.S. Sen. Elizabeth … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, Politics | 92 Comments

What? You didn’t actually think lending standards were going to stay this tight? Did you?

Posted on November 5, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Why GSE support of low-down payment mortgage is not bad Not everyone in the industry is on board with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s recent move to encourage lenders to issue mortgages with down payments as low as … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, Risky Lending | 149 Comments

Homeownership lowest since 1995 … Rental vacancies lowest since 1995

Posted on October 31, 2014 by grim

From Bloomberg: U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Since Early 1995 The homeownership rate in the U.S. fell to the lowest in more than 19 years as the market shifted toward renting and tight credit blocked some potential buyers. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, Mortgages | 144 Comments

Rates go up now?

Posted on October 30, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: QE3 ends, how long until interest rates rise? The market expected the announcement of the end of quantitative easing Wednesday, putting an end to a more than two-year-old asset purchase program. “Slightly less expected, however, is that despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, Politics | 134 Comments

More homeowners learn to swim, seriously delinquencies continue to fall

Posted on October 23, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: 15% of homes still seriously underwater According to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, 15% of U.S. properties (representing 8.1 million properties) with a mortgage are seriously underwater — meaning the homeowner owes at least 25% more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 117 Comments

Rate dip causes refi boomlet

Posted on October 19, 2014 by grim

From Bloomberg: Rates Below 4% Leave U.S. Refinancing Banker Sleepless The drop in mortgage rates below 4 percent has cut into Debra Shultz’s sleep. The New York City banker is busier than she’s been in months, working with three dozen … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 11 Comments

Come and get it!

Posted on October 9, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Credit nation? HELOCs up 20.6% year-over-year A total of 797,865 home equity lines of credit were originated nationwide, up 20.6% from a year ago and the highest level since the 12 months ending June 2009, according to RealtyTrac. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, Risky Lending | 72 Comments

The New Boomer Ball and Chain

Posted on September 13, 2014 by grim

From the NYT: Housing Costs After Retirement Paying off the mortgage isn’t the priority it once was, and for many households, it isn’t even a possibility. But a new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reaffirms the … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 42 Comments

Renters by choice?

Posted on September 9, 2014 by grim

From the Washington Post: Renters fear they lack the credit, not just the cash, to buy a home Many renters who want to buy a home might not even try to because they fear that they won’t qualify for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 96 Comments

Heloc reset shocks not quite so shocking

Posted on September 2, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: 2.5 million borrowers face imminent payment shock At least 2.5 million borrowers will face an average increase of $250 per month on their monthly mortgage payment due to the imminent reset in home equity lines of credit over … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 108 Comments

Foreclosures tumble, Northeast struggles to clear

Posted on August 28, 2014 by grim

From National Mortgage Professional: National Foreclosure Report Indicates Over 20 Percent Decrease, Year-Over-Year CoreLogic released its July National Foreclosure Report, which provides data on completed U.S. foreclosures and foreclosure inventory. According to CoreLogic, for the month of July 2014, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 117 Comments

HELOC resets not so scary

Posted on August 9, 2014 by grim

From the NYT: Dealing With Home-Equity Resets New research from TransUnion, a credit information service, suggests that the payment shock expected to hit millions of consumers with home equity lines over the next few years may not pose as much … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 30 Comments

Oh boy, this won’t end well

Posted on August 3, 2014 by grim

From Housingwire: New York now allows shared appreciation mortgage modifications Underwater homeowners in New York state are now eligible for an additional form of mortgage modification intended to help more of them keep their homes, in a development quietly passed … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 28 Comments