Category Archives: Risky Lending

1 out of 7 NJ mortgages in trouble

Posted on November 19, 2009 by grim

From the Record: N.J. troubled mortgages grow to 14.5% As unemployed homeowners struggled to pay their mortgages, the percentage of New Jersey loans in foreclosure or at least a month behind on payments hit 14.5 percent in the third quarter, … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 384 Comments

“Delinquency rates are rising and expected to peak at record levels.”

Posted on November 18, 2009 by grim

From the WSJ: Mortgage-Delinquency Rate Rose to New High in 3rd Quarter Mortgage delinquencies rose for the 11th straight time to a new high in the third quarter, although the rate of increase again relaxed a bit, credit information company … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 287 Comments

Sign of the times (Or how $415,000 became $895,000 and ended up $330,000)

Posted on November 13, 2009 by grim

Step 1: Buy a house for $415,000 (April, 2000) Step 2: Cash out to the tune of $600,000 (June, 2005) Step 3: Sell out and profit, a 115% gain in 6 years seems reasonable (May, 2006) MLS# 2276951 10 Brookvale … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 356 Comments

October foreclosures up 19%

Posted on November 12, 2009 by grim

From the WSJ: US Foreclosure Filings Up 19% In Oct, But Positives Seen The number of U.S. properties for which a foreclosure filing was received grew 19% in October from a year earlier, but declined for the third month sequentially, … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 462 Comments

NJ Rep. Scott Garrett Pushes for FHA Risk Reduction

Posted on October 7, 2009 by grim

From HousingWire: Bill Raises Required Down Payment to 5% for FHA Loans A bill introduced in Congress Monday would increase the minimum down payment for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages from 3.5% to 5%. The FHA Taxpayer Protection Act of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 183 Comments

The next “bomb” to drop

Posted on February 2, 2009 by grim

From Bloomberg: U.S. Mortgage Time Bomb Needs Defusing Yesterday: John F. Wasik When talking about the U.S. home market, mentioning “the other shoe to drop” was quaint about a year ago. Now we are referring only to bombs. The latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 413 Comments

S&P Case Shiller October Home Price Index

Posted on December 30, 2008 by grim

From the AP: Home prices post 18 percent annual drop in October A closely watched index shows home prices dropped by the sharpest annual rate on record in October. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index released Tuesday fell by … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Development, Risky Lending | 275 Comments

November New and Existing Home Sales

Posted on December 23, 2008 by grim

From the AP: Existing home sales sink by 8.6 percent in November, as prices plunge a record 13.2 percent A real estate group says sales of existing homes plummeted far more than expected last month as buyers reeled from October’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 343 Comments

Becoming a Subprime Society

Posted on December 10, 2008 by grim

From MarketWatch: Foreclosures could top 8 million: Credit Suisse More than 8 million mortgages could go into foreclosure in coming years in the wake of the credit meltdown as the economy worsens and the U.S. suffers more job losses, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 335 Comments

Freddie: How to do business in Washington

Posted on December 8, 2008 by grim

From the AP via CNBC: How Freddie Mac Splashed Cash to Halt Regulation From a hefty lobbying budget to the use of free baseball tickets, Freddie Mac fended off any meaningful regulation in the years before the housing mortgage giant … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 421 Comments

Not everyone benefits when loans are modified

Posted on November 18, 2008 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Investors Hit BofA Loan Modifications Bank of America Corp.’s decision to embark on an $8.4 billion home-loan-modification program to settle charges brought by state attorneys general against Countrywide Financial Corp. was hailed as a milestone … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 281 Comments

“Good luck getting a loan.”

Posted on September 16, 2008 by grim

From Bloomberg: Mortgage Seekers Find Rates Are Down, Credit Standards Tighter U.S. mortgage rates are dropping. Good luck getting a loan. Existing home prices have fallen 7.7 percent since their July 2006 high and rates dropped below 6 percent last … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 467 Comments

Crisis!

Posted on September 15, 2008 by grim

Lehman… Merrill… Is there anything more to say? (Update: 24 hours later and 650+ comments, I guess there was more to say.)

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 655 Comments

Loan standards continue to tighten

Posted on August 12, 2008 by grim

From the Financial Times: Tighter rules dash hopes of end to squeeze Banks expect to tighten lending standards for US households and businesses through to the end of the year and into 2009, damping any hopes of a quick end … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 155 Comments

But will they take the losses?

Posted on July 28, 2008 by grim

From the WSJ: Housing Bill Relies on Banks To Take Loan Losses Lawmakers Pressure Lenders to Pitch In To Curb Foreclosures By DAMIAN PALETTA July 28, 2008; Page A3 WASHINGTON — The housing rescue bill passed by the Senate Saturday … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 289 Comments