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Dennis Norman According to a recent Harris Poll, the economic and political unrest in California has not deterred Americans from their desire to live in the state as more Americans would like to live in California that in any other state. This is the seventh time in a row since 2002 that California has topped the list where people would like to live if they did not live in their own state, according to the poll. The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for September 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Dennis Norman According to a report just released by RealtyTrac® foreclosures increased in the third quarter of 2010, although with a slowing rate of increase. There were 930,437 foreclosure filings in the third quarter, up almost 4 percent from the 2nd quarter but up only 1 percent from the year before. One in every 139 housing units in the U.S. received a foreclosure filing during 3rd quarter. During the month of September alone, there were foreclosure filings reported on 347,420 U.S. properties, an increase of nearly 3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 1 percent Continue Reading → Dennis Norman A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that things are not getting better on the “home-front”….The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for September was 9.27 percent, a 0.6 percent increase from the month before, however it is a 7.8 percent decrease from the year before. The foreclosure rate for September was 3.84 percent, a 1.1 percent increase from the month before and a 3.6 percent increase from the year before. Dennis Norman In a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, John A. Courson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that the MBA “opposes the practice of private third parties, such as developers, builders, licensing companies and real estate brokers, imposing private transfer fee covenants on residential real estate for the purpose of extracting future income.” However, in his letter Mr. Courson goes on to say that the “MBA is concerned thatencumbering housing transactions with these types of PTFs will impede the marketability and affect the valuation of properties and thus Continue Reading → Dennis Norman The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law by President Obama in July,called for HUD to administer and oversee a $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP), to provide assistance, for up to 24 months, to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure on their home as a result of a substantial reduction in income due to “involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or a medical condition”. This program will be available to borrowers in 32 states, those states that did not receive other funding under the Treasury Departments “Hardest Hit Housing Fund” program. Dennis Norman According to a new survey released by FindLaw.com, nearly two-thirds of Americans say the current economic situation is making them less likely to buy a house. The survey shows that sixty-three percent of American adults say they are less likely to buy a house because of the current state of the economy. So even with record-low interest rates, depressed home prices and plentiful inventory to choose from, only 8 percent of people say the current economic situation makes them more likely to buy a house. About a quarter of people – 28 percent – say they are Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Today Bank of America announced they will stop foreclosure sales in all fifty states until after they have completed their review of foreclosure documents. This comes after Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co and GMAC deciding last week to stop foreclosure proceedings in states that require a judicial foreclosure process which was apparently the result of recent court decisions on lawsuits brought by homeowners that alleged lenders were abusing the foreclosure process. Dennis Norman Today, Trulia released it’s “Rent vs. Buy Index” which established a price-to-rent ratio for the 50 largest cities in America (by population), then, based upon that ratio, determined which cities it makes more sense (financially) to rent versus buy. Number of price-reduced homes on Market Rose 24 percent in September from 2009.. According to a report released by ZipRealty, the number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 2.1 percent in September compared to August. ZipRealty’s monthly review of MLS-listed properties in 26 major markets found that 47.8 percent of “for sale” homes had at least one price reduction and the average seller actually slashed their list price twice to attract buyers. Dennis Norman The CEO of Freddie Mac, Ed Haldeman, published a blog post this week which said reports of mortgage fraud were on the rise; there were nearly 38,000 cases of mortgage in the first half of 2010 – a 13 percent increase over the same period in 2009. Haldeman says that the fraudsters prey on the vulnerability of struggling borrowers by offering a quick fix to a homeowner who is under water and desperate. A common ploy for a scammer is to promise a struggling homeowner mortgage relief of modification of their loan. Dennis Norman Pending home sales rise for 2nd consecutive month in August – The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows an increase of 4.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), which is 20.1 percent below a year ago. Dennis Norman I saw an interesting tidbit that came from the US Census Bureau that shows just how much things have changed in the real estate world in the past 60+ years in the U.S. The piece I saw was from the census bureau’s “Profile America” series and discussed one of the first communities built in our country by a real estate developer back in 1947. The place was the town of Levittown, on New York’s Long Island and aptly named for the developers, William and Alfred Levitt. Eventually the town contained more than 17,000 Cape Continue Reading → Dennis Norman I just returned from the Lake of the Ozarks after attending business meetings for the Missouri Association of REALTORS (MAR) which included an update on AMENDMENT 3, the effort backed by MAR to prevent double taxation on Real Estate in Missouri. The “update” was more like a football rally, complete with “cheerleaders” and all and, while the fanfare was a little over the top for me, I was thrilled to see so much enthusiasm by REALTORS from across the state over this issue. “It is particularly disheartening then that lenders are often the subject of ill considered accusations regarding discrimination, accusations based upon analyses that lack statistical rigor”– Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics Dennis Norman This week the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released a paper, “A Review of Statistical Problems in the Measurement of Mortgage Market and Credit Risk” conducted by Professor Anthony M. Yezer of the George Washington University and sponsored by MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). This paper examines the fundamental assumptions that are often used as an analysis of whether their is Continue Reading → Dennis Norman According to an analysis of more than 25,000 loan quotes and purchase request by Zillow, nearly one-third of Americans are unlikely to qualify for a mortgage because their credit scores are too low. Borrowers with credit scores under 620 who requested purchase loan quotes for 30-year fixed, conventional loans were unlikely to receive even one loan quote on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, even if they offered a relatively high down payment of 15 to 25 percent. Nearly one-third of Americans, or 29.3 percent, has a credit score this low, according to data provided by myFICO.com. Dennis Norman A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in July of 1.48 percent up slightly from June’s rate of 1.43 percent and an increase of 27.6 percent from the year prior when the rate was 1.16 percent. Dennis Norman This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for July was released showing that the annual growth rates of home prices in 16 of the 20 Metro areas covered by the report slowed in July compared to June. The Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices for the 20 metros showed a slight increase of 0.6 percent in home prices in July over June and an increase of 3.2 percent in home prices from the year before, down from June’s 4.2 percent increase from the year before. Dennis Norman Last month I wrote an article about private transfer fees drawing fire from the Federal Housing Finance Agency which cast private transfer fees in a negative light. Freehold Capital Partners, a company that, according to it’s website, partners with real estate developers to utilize private transfer fees (PTF’s) has come out in defense of the use PTF’s and show that they do benefit homebuyers as well as the community. Dennis Norman Fannie Mae is offering 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance and a $1,500 bonus to buyers’ real estate agent or broker for people purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned HomePath® property. Fannie Mae is trying to entice buyers to buy one of their Dennis Norman A report published by Lender Processing Services (LPS) analyzing homeowner’s performance on their mortgages as of August 2010 shows that mortgage delinquencies continue to decline however are still at very high levels versus historical norms. At the same time however, foreclosure starts continue to accelerate. Dennis Norman Last month I reported that July’s new home sales rate of 276,000 homes was the lowest rate on record. Subsequently the Commerce Department revised July and changed the sales rate to 288,000 homes raising July to the second-lowest home sales rate on record. Today, the numbers for August came out and they are no better….the new home sales rate for August is being reported by the Commerce Department as 288,000 homes, the same as July. Dennis Norman After July’s existing home sales fell over 27 percent and hit ROCK BOTTOM, August didn’t fare much better….. Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in August were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.13 million units which is an increase of 7.6 percent from July’s dismal rate but is a a decline of 19.9 percent from a year ago and the second-lowest sales rate in over 14 years (July was the lowest). The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for August 2010 showing a decrease in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before. Dennis Norman Fannie Mae announced this week that it is expanding the Freddie Mac First Look Initiative so any home shopper can buy a HomeSteps® home as their primary residence during the first 15 days of the property’s listing without competition from investors. HomeSteps is the real estate sales unit of Freddie Mac and markets a nationwide selection of Freddie Mac-owned homes. Dennis Norman A report by CoreLogic shows that in June 2010 almost one in five (19.3 percent) of the home sales in St. Louis are distressed home sales, such as foreclosure or a short sale. The report cautions that recent data showing improvements in negative equity, serious mortgage delinquency and a decrease in market share of short-sales, has been distorted as a result of the short-term boost in the “non-distressed” housing market by the homebuyer tax credit program, which recently ended. Dennis Norman According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans, for the most part, are very satisfied with the neighborhoods they live in. According to the Census Bureau “American Housing Survey”, more than tw0-thirds of people across the country rate the quality of their neighborhood as eight or higher on a 10-point scale. Just over 15 percent report crime as a problem in their neighborhoods. Hmm…perhaps if people weren’t so happy with their neighborhoods they would be more inclined to move and give the housing market a much needed boost? Dennis Norman Fannie Mae conducted a National Housing Survey poll between June 2010 and July 2010 to asses homeowners and renters’ confidence in home-ownership as an investment, the current state of their household finances and overall confidence in the economy. The finding from this survey were compared with a similar survey conducted by Fannie Mae from December 2009 to January 2010 as well as one conducted back in 2003. Dennis Norman While much of the talk (including mine) about the real estate market is somewhat negative, there are some positive things to talk about; home prices have fallen back to levels they were at 7 years ago or more and home mortgage interest rates have hit the lowest levels in decades making a home more affordable than ever. This is a great opportunity for someone to buy a home, particularly if a first-time buyer that doesn’t have to deal with selling a home in the current market. In addition, provided Congress doesn’t take them away, there are Continue Reading → Dennis Norman The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued their report on St. Louis Housing Market condition as of second quarter of this year. The report from HUD labels the St. Louis area as a “hub for shipping and transportation” and a “center for manufacturing and biomedical sciences.” Among the “positives” for St. Louis, HUD identifies that St. Louis is the home to several institutes of higher learning, including St. Louis University and Washington University which, between the two, have an estimated annual economic impact on the region of nearly $3 billion. |
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