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6 Reasons the Housing Market Hasn't Recovered
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:22 PM
Four years after the housing bubble popped, the American real estate market has yet to launch a sustainable recovery. Although U.S. home prices have improved modestly since the spring of 2009--and certain regional markets have performed even better--sales and values will face renewed downward pressure later this year in the wake of the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit.
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Relief effort fails many at risk of foreclosure
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:19 PM
The Obama administration's effort to help those at risk of losing their homes is failing to aid many and could spur a rise in foreclosures that would further depress the housing industry.
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Losses to continue at Fannie and Freddie: regulator
Wed, 26 May 2010 12:33 AM
U.S. mortgage finance enterprises Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N), seized by the government during the financial crisis, will continue to sustain losses on mortgages as house prices drop, their regulator said in testimony made public on Tuesday.
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Firm: California home sales dip in April
Wed, 26 May 2010 12:18 AM
Home sales in California dipped 1.3 percent from a year ago, with the biggest declines occurring in inland areas that had been fueling the market's rebound, a tracking firm reported Thursday.
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Why Housing is Headed for Second-Half Headaches
Wed, 26 May 2010 12:15 AM
Although home sales increased more than expected in April, real estate experts are expressing concern that the market may face renewed downward pressure in the second half of the year.
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Rising home sales likely to cool despite low rates
Wed, 26 May 2010 12:07 AM
A now-expired homebuyer tax credit and low mortgage rates helped boost sales of previously occupied homes in April. The improvements aren't likely to last. The tax credit is now gone. And economists caution that Americans are facing so many financial obstacles that falling rates alone won't be enough to lift the housing market.
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Falling home prices stir fears of new bottom
Wed, 26 May 2010 12:05 AM
Tax credits and historically low mortgage rates have failed to lift home prices so far this year. Prices fell 0.5 percent in March from February, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index released Tuesday.
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Median home prices up in 1Q
Tue, 11 May 2010 04:00 PM
LOS ANGELES – Home prices rose in nearly 60 percent of U.S. cities in the first quarter of this year, as the housing market started to stabilize thanks to billions of dollars in federal spending.
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BofA's Countrywide in $624 million lawsuit settlement
Tue, 11 May 2010 03:56 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Countrywide Financial Corp, the mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), has agreed to a $624 million settlement of a lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors about its lending practices.
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Fannie Mae seeks $8.4B in aid after 1Q loss
Tue, 11 May 2010 03:54 PM
WASHINGTON – Fannie Mae has again asked taxpayers for more money — this time $8.4 billion — after reporting another steep loss for the first quarter. The taxpayer bill for rescuing Fannie and its sibling Freddie Mac has grown to $145 billion — and the final tally could be much higher.
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Mortgages: Strategic Defaults Are On the Rise
Tue, 11 May 2010 03:52 PM
The first wave of U.S. mortgage defaults was spurred by lenders who made bad loans and borrowers who wound up with larger monthly payments than they could ever hope to manage. Lately, something altogether different has been making an increasing contribution to soured debt: Americans choosing to stop making mortgage payments they actually can afford.
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Gov't to unveil plan to shrink some home loans
Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:03 PM
The Obama administration will announce Friday a plan to reduce the amount some troubled borrowers owe on their home loans, three people briefed on the matter said.
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House GOP calls for Fannie, Freddie phase out
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:39 PM
Republicans in the House of Representatives on Friday recommended the country's top two mortgage finance companies, the recipients of a massive government bailout during the height of the financial crisis, be phased out in four years in order to restore stability to the housing market.
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Getting a Mortgage Without Perfect Credit
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:39 AM
The government keeps promoting programs designed to help existing homeowners refinance their mortgages at a lower rate, as well as get perspective buyers into homes.
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Wells Fargo signs up for loan modification program
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:37 AM
Wells Fargo & Co. has become the second bank to sign up for a government program to modify second mortgages.
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America's Most Underwater Housing Markets U.S. News & World Report
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:34 AM
Negative equity--what you have when you owe more on your home loan than the property is worth--is one of the defining features of the still-unfolding mortgage crisis.
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Fed is expected to leave rates at record low
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:22 PM
The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates at a record low this week. The big question is whether Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues will hint about when they will reverse course and start boosting rates.
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Fannie, Freddie Overseer May Seek More Treasury Aid Bloomberg
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:17 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal regulator is renegotiating the companies’ financing plan with the U.S. Treasury Department and may seek an increase to their $400 billion federal lifeline before the end of the year, according to people familiar with the talks.
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Foreclosure buyer demand dips as supply mounts
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:14 PM
U.S. home buyers are less willing to buy foreclosed properties than they were six months ago, citing risks like hidden costs, but demand could grow because of the government's expanded tax credit, a survey showed on Tuesday.
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Obama blasts banks for opposing financial overhaul
Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:22 PM
President Barack Obama singled out financial institutions for causing much of the economic tailspin and criticized their opposition to tighter federal oversight of their industry.
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Treasury sets guidance to simplify "short sales"
Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:09 PM
The U.S. Treasury on Monday set long-awaited guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to speed "short sales" of homes and other loan modification alternatives to stem a rising tide of foreclosures.
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Gov't increases pressure on mortgage industry
Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:58 PM
The Obama administration will crack down on mortgage companies that are failing to do enough to help borrowers at risk of foreclosure, as part of a broad effort to boost participation in its mortgage assistance program.
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Fannie Mae to tighten lending standards: report Reuters
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:56 PM
Fannie Mae plans to raise minimum credit score requirements next month and limit the amount of overall debt that borrowers can carry relative to their incomes, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
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Rates on 30-year mortgages sink, match record low
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:53 PM
Average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, matching a record low set last spring and more than a full percentage point below what they were a year ago, Freddie Mac said Wednesday.
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Ariz. lawmakers hit reset button on loan lawsuits AP
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:50 PM
Arizona legislators responded quickly last June when bankers complained that investor-builders were abusing a post-foreclosure protection intended for homeowners.
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Bernanke makes case for strong Fed role on banks
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:47 PM
The chairman of the Federal Reserve is concerned that congressional efforts at financial reform could weaken the central bank's ability to handle future crises and may politicize monetary policy.
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Rates on 30-year loans remain below 5 percent
Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:04 AM
Rates this week for 30-year home loans stayed below 5 percent for the second week in a row.
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Housing agency's financial cushion sinks
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:32 PM
The Federal Housing Administration's financial cushion has fallen to a dangerously low level, but government officials maintain the agency should avoid a taxpayer bailout under "most economic scenarios."
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Housing plan reaches 1 in 5 borrowers
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:30 PM
The Obama administration's mortgage relief program has reached one in five eligible homeowners, a government report says, but most of those borrowers are on temporary trial plans that have yet to be made final.
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Pace of mortgage help rising but still slow
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:19 PM
They often call with questions about the Obama administration's plan to help borrowers modify their mortgages, but many simply don't qualify. They make too much money, or too little. They have too much debt. They don't actually live in the home.
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Home prices rise in most major cities in August
Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:23 PM
Home prices rose for the third straight month in August, a key ingredient for a broad and sustained housing recovery.
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Bank failures top 100, only part of industry woes
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:22 PM
The cascade of bank failures this year surpassed 100 on Friday, the most in nearly two decades. And the trouble in the banking system from bad loans and the recession goes even deeper than the number suggests.
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Home sales rise 9.4 pct in Sept., beats forecast
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:18 PM
Home resales in September clocked the largest monthly increase in 26 years as buyers scrambled to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires.
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Foreclosures rise 5 percent from summer to fall
Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:02 AM
The number of households caught up in the foreclosure crisis rose more than 5 percent from summer to fall as a federal effort to assist struggling borrowers was overwhelmed by a flood of defaults among people who lost their jobs.
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Watchdog doubts goals of Obama loan relief plan
Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:20 AM
The Obama administration's effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure may not achieve its goal of helping 3 million to 4 million borrowers and may simply delay mortgage defaults for many, a government watchdog group says.
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