Category Archives: Risky Lending

It’s just not possible here

Posted on July 22, 2021 by grim

From Bloomberg: Zero-Down Mortgages Stoke U.S. Subprime-Like Fears in Canada They’re the kind of exotic mortgages that one typically associates with the reckless, go-go housing market that gripped the U.S., circa 2005: Put down 5% cash and get 3% back; … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 378 Comments

Delinquencies at 20 year low

Posted on December 20, 2019 by grim

From CoreLogic: The States Leading in Nationwide Delinquency Rate Drops The overall delinquency rate was 3.8% nationwide in September, down from 4.4% a year earlier and the lowest for the month of September in more than 20 years, according to the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 67 Comments

Gettin risky with it

Posted on June 11, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: FHA is increasing lending to riskier borrowers Citing rising risks among the mortgages it is backing, the Federal Housing Administration earlier this year announced that it was changing some of its lending rules to increase the prevalence of manual underwriting. The idea behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 249 Comments

Still overpriced?

Posted on April 27, 2019 by grim

From the NY Post: Embattled New Jersey mansion is now a whopping 75 percent off This northern New Jersey mansion dates to the roaring ’20s, but it’s certainly not roaring now. The grand property — once one of the state’s … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Price Reduced, Risky Lending | 95 Comments

Probably because they learned their lesson … duh

Posted on April 22, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: Why aren’t more people tapping into their home equity? As the housing market has continued its recovery, home prices have been climbing at a steady clip across the nation. And that means homeowners now have a nice stockpile … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 41 Comments

FHA getting a bit too risky

Posted on March 26, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: FHA says as many as 50,000 mortgages will be affected by new lending rules Two weeks ago, the Federal Housing Administration took steps to mitigate risks to its single-family portfolio, announcing updates to its TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard that will flag some loans … Continue reading →

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

Crisis officially over?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by grim

From Inman: Delinquency rates fall to pre-housing crisis levels: CoreLogic The number of homeowners failing to make mortgage payments has dipped to levels unseen since before the 2008 housing crisis. Nationwide, only 4.1 percent of homeowners were delinquent on their mortgage in December, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 61 Comments

Oh baby, now we’re talking

Posted on October 13, 2018 by grim

From CNBC: Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages Magdalene Altidor lost her home to foreclosure during the subprime mortgage crisis, but this week she was first in line at a four-day event in Miami where borrowers with poor credit … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 16 Comments

Yep, this will end well

Posted on August 2, 2018 by grim

From MarketWatch: The new housing play: Helping priced-out renters become long-distance landlords Leland Char is a 28-year-old product manager for a large San Francisco-based tech company. He loves the Bay Area’s “very authentic Asian food and new American cuisine, smart … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 91 Comments

NY Mortgages Worse Than NJ

Posted on December 13, 2017 by grim

From CoreLogic’s December Loan Performance Insights: NY has finally taken the overtaken NJ in mortgage delinquency stats, something I’ve been talking about for months. This is primarily being driven by distressed loan performance improving in NJ, and not delinquencies growing … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 76 Comments

So it wasn’t subprime?

Posted on August 31, 2017 by grim

From Quartz: House flippers triggered the US housing market crash, not poor subprime borrowers The grim tale of America’s “subprime mortgage crisis” delivers one of those stinging moral slaps that Americans seem to favor in their histories. Poor people were … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 88 Comments

Smaller down payments gaining popularity

Posted on August 15, 2017 by grim

From CNBC: Homebuyers put less and less skin in the game, adding to the market’s overall risk It feels like deja vu in mortgage land all over again. Homebuyers are increasingly opting to put less money down when purchasing their … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 77 Comments

Still #1

Posted on June 13, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Foreclosure filings see slight uptick in May The number of foreclosure filings increased slightly in May, but they are still down significantly from the year before, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. Foreclosure filings in May increased to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 9 Comments

How your tax dollars are spent to protect the wealthy

Posted on May 30, 2017 by grim

From Climate Central: How Rising Seas Drowned the Flood Insurance Program Long Beach Island is the largest and richest barrier island in New Jersey, an oasis of sprawling oceanfront retreats and second homes located midway down the state’s heavily developed … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Risky Lending, Shore Real Estate | 22 Comments

Up or Down or Up or Down or Up or Down

Posted on February 7, 2017 by grim

From Marketwatch: Housing demand may keep market afloat, even if rates rise How will the housing market handle rising rates? Ever since the November election, when the unexpected Trump victory sent bond yields flying and mortgage rates following closely behind, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Politics, Risky Lending | 65 Comments