By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 2, 2009. The report showed an increase of 16.4 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates remaing below 5 percent.
Unfortunately interest rates seem to be doing more for existing homeowners and the mortgage industry than investors and the real estate market at refi’s for the week made up 66.3 percent of the mortgage loan application activity. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.7 percent Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2009 To alleviate some suffering by homeowners, the Obama Administration introduced the “Making Homes Affordable” plan last March. Unfortunately, the plan has not yet had the intended effect.
Article by the Grand Law Firm
Economists debate whether or not the country is actually currently in a recession. Some say that there are positive signs that we have reached the bottom and the economy is turning around. Others, however, suggest that the country still has a long way to go and it may be years yet before we truly reach financial recovery. Regardless of who is right though, one thing is clear: Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 2nd, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP)was established back in 1966 to give some monetary relief to eligible service members and federal employees who suffer financial loss on the sale of their primary residence when a base closure or realignment announcement cause a decline in the residential real estate market and they are not able to sell their homes under reasonable terms or conditions. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) temporarily expands the HAP program to assist service members and Department of Defense employees who are wounded, injured or become ill when deployed, Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 1st, 2009
By: Dennis Norman
Back in July I did a post about Freddie Macs “Smartbuy” sales promotion for owner-occupants buying Freddie Mac Homesteps(R) Homes. The special offer began July 17, 2009 and ends October 30, 2009 so there is less than a month to take advantage of it.
Under this promotion people buying a Freddie Mac home for their personal residence will receive at no cost:
A comprehensive two-year HomeProtect(R) Home Warranty Up to 3.5% payment by Freddie Mac towards buyers closing costs Homeprotect(R) Appliance discount (up to 30% savings on name brand appliances) Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 30th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
In an effort to help delinquent borrowers obtain Loan Modifications under the Affordable Refinance Program of the Making Home Affordable Program Freddie Mac has hired a company to come to borrowers homes and help them put together the documents and complete other actions needed to begin their three-month trial payment periods under the Affordable Refinance Program.
The company hired by Freddie Mac, Titanium Solutions, will target late-paying borrowers with Freddie-Mac owned mortgages who have not responded to letters or phone calls from their lenders or those who have responded but need to provide additional Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 28th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
I came across an interesting chart that I want to share. The chart below, courtesy of Chart of the Day, shows median home prices in the U.S. since 1970 (adjusted for inflation). As you can see from the chart, home prices trended upward from 1970 until peaking in the late 70’s (right around 1979 when I got into real estate, great timing on my part!) and then began dropping until the mid 80’s when prices began a rather rocky and unsteady climb upward.
As the chart illustrates, median home prices really started increasing, and Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 18, 2009. The report showed an increase of 12.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates dropping below 5 percent for the first time since mid-May.
The bulk of the activity (63.8 percent of all applications) were homeowners refinancing their existing mortgages. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.8 percent while borrowers financing the purchase of a home is only up 0.7 percent.
Interest rates Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 22nd, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that U.S. home prices rose 0.3 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from June to July and are down 4.2 percent for the past year. Missouri is included by the FHFA in the West North Central division which was right on target with the US with an increase of 0.3 percent from June to July. Our region was only down 1.5 percent from last year according the report.
Many of the reports I’ve seen in the press on this are saying this is a sign of the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 21st, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Doing what all normal people do at 4:30 am on a Monday, I was scouring the Internet reading real estate news when I ran across an interesting article by Richard Stoyeck titled “Is Real Estate Coming Back Now?”
I’ll cut through the chase and give you Stoyeck’s answer to the question posed in the title of his story; “It will be in our opinion several years before we can get back to a vibrant real estate market.” If you have been reading this blog for a while then you know I have concerns Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 19th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
“I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help you.”
Yeah, sure. :)
Actually, in this case the IRS is trying to help. The IRS has a website and has even published a video on YouTube to help first-time buyers and potential buyers understand the first-time home buyer tax credit as well as how to claim the credit.
The IRS issued a notice yesterday reminding potential home buyers they must complete their first-time home purchases before Dec. 1 to qualify for the special first-time home buyer credit. The credit of up to $8,000 Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 18th, 2009 Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey the interest rate on home mortgages dropped for the third-consecutive week and remains at a three-month low in the US.
St. Louis is included in Freddie Mac’s Southwest Region in which the survey shows the interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for the week ending September 17, 2009, averaged 5.05 percent with 0.6 percent in fees and points.
The interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.54 percent with 0.5 percent in fees this week. The interest rate on a five-year ARM averaged Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 17th, 2009 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is launching an initiative to help consumers and the banking industry avoid unnecessary foreclosures and stop foreclosure “rescue” scams that promise false hope to consumers at risk of losing their homes.
This initiative includes outreach, referral services, and an information tool kit. Arming consumers with information will heighten consumers’ awareness of foreclosure “rescue” scams and give them more confidence in knowing they are working with legitimate counselors and servicers to obtain a loan modification that could help them avoid foreclosure.
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2009 Dennis Norman
According to a study conducted by First American CoreLogicentitled “How the U.S. Consumer Has Benefited from Mortgage Finance Programs in 2009”, projections are there will be $2.3 billion in mortgages refinanced as a result of the Fed’s “Making Home Affordable” plan. According to the study, the median individual monthly savings was $120.
“ The quantitative easing policies of the Federal Reserve and refinance activity made possible by the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) have allowed more than 2 million consumers to reduce their monthly mortgage debt obligations and put more money in their pockets,” said Mark Fleming Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 15th, 2009 Dennis Norman
Before the sub-prime mortgage implosion Karen Weaver warned of the coming crisis. Karen Weaver, the Global Head of Securitization Research for Deutsche Bank, said last month that she expected home prices to continue to drop through the 1st quarter of 2011. She also predicted that nearly half of the homeowners with mortgages would end up being underwater on their mortgages.
Yesterday Ms. Weaver said that in spite of the recent positive news on the housing market that she had not changed her position and is still predicting home prices to fall another 10 percent before finally reaching Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 14th, 2009 Dennis Norman
Included in the “Making Home Affordable” program from the Obama administration is the “Home Affordable Modification Plan” (HAMP) designed to help 3 to 4 million home owners by modifying their existing loans to help them be more affordable. Last week, Michael S. Barr, the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, testified before a congressional sub-committee on the status of these programs. In his testimony Mr. Barr said that weakness in the US housing market developed over many years and that during this period “inadequate regulation of lending and securitization practices, including lax underwriting standards, helped cause widespread over-leveraging Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 10th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Anyone that follows any of my posts on various real estate blogs may well be getting tired of hearing me talk about foreclosure and mortgage delinquency rates. This is no doubt especially true when I am doing it in the context of trying to “chill” the excitement over recent “good” news on the housing market. However, there is good reason for this; these two issues are real problems, including right here in St. Louis, and they are not going away anytime soon.
This was evidenced in a report released today by First American Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 9th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 4, 2009. The report showed an increase of 17.0 percent in borrowers applying for home mortgages to buy a home from the week before. This marks the largest gain in the index since early April, putting the index at the highest level since the first week of January.
There was a massive increase of over 22 percent from the week before for borrowers refinancing their existing home mortgage making . This the biggest jump in the increase Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 5th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Over the past two days I published the first part and second part of my E-View TMwith Wendy Cromer, Vice-President of Marketing for Security Title Insurance Agency, LLC about title insurance, the new laws affecting it and things consumers should know.
Wendy Cromer, Vice-President of Marketing, Security Title Insurance Agency LLC
Today were going to do the final part of our E-View TM with Wendy:
Dennis-Wendy, title insurance seems to be one of those things that is a mystery to most homeowners. Can you please explain what title insurance is and Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 4th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Yesterday I published the first part of my E-View TM with Wendy Cromer, Vice-President of Marketing for Security Title Insurance Agency, LLC about title insurance, the new laws affecting it and things consumers should know.
Wendy Cromer, Vice-President of Marketing, Security Title Insurance Agency LLC
Today we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday in our E-View TM:
Dennis-Wendy, here in St. Louis we have “split-closings” which I think are viewed by many in the title insurance industry as a bad thing, and in fact the new laws we discussed yesterday Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 1st, 2009 Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR
By: Dennis Norman
Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) issued their Pending Home Sales Index Report for July showing pending sales in the U.S. were up for the sixth consecutive month, the best streak since NAR began the pending home sale index in 2001.
Here in the Midwest pending home sales for July were not as strong showing a 2.0 percent drop from June, however still 8.1% above a year ago. The only other region that saw a decline in month to month pending home sales in July was the Northeast with a Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 31st, 2009 Dennis Norman
A surge in litigation tied to real estate appraisals, loan modifications and foreclosures contributed to a 54 percent increase in mortgage-related lawsuits, according to the second quarter Mortgage Litigation Report from MortgageDaily.com.
During the second quarter, 125 cases were tracked, jumping from an already active 81 first quarter cases. The second quarter of 2008 had just 42 cases.
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 28th, 2009
Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds
By: Charles Hugh Smith:
In February 2007 I suggested a 4% mortgage delinquency rate could trigger a decline in the entire housing market. Since that proved prescient, we should revisit the analytic tool behind that call: the Pareto Principle.
There is a whiff of euphoria in the housing market, a heavily touted confidence that “the bottom is in.” It’s all roaring back–rising sales, multiple bids by anxious buyers, 3.5% down payments, low mortgage rates and the bonus of an $8,000 first-time home buyer credit (a gift from U.S. taxpayers). Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 27th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending August 21, 2009. The report showed an increase in borrowers applying for home mortgages of about 1 percent from the week before for borrowers buying homes and an increase of almost 13 percent from the week before for borrowers refinancing their existing home mortgage.
Interest rates inched up a little last week according to the survey.
The average interest rate for 30 year fixed rate mortgages increased to 5.24 percent from 5.15 percent with loan fees increasing Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 25th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Missouri Legislature passed several bills this past session affecting real estate or property in Missouri, most of which were signed into law by Governor Nixon and go into effect August 28, 2009. Below is a brief synopsis of the new laws and their purpose based upon the bill summary. (Unless noted different the new law goes into effect August 28, 2009- For the complete bill click on the bill number): Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 22nd, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
All the news lately about the housing market, home sales in particular, has been encouraging and showing signs of stabilization in the real estate market and demonstrating that the real estate market may have seen the worst. Just when you think you may be through the storm though you see another dark cloud lurking in the distance. For the real estate market this dark cloud could very well be mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.
At the end of this week the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that serious mortgage delinquencies (homeowners that are 90 or Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 20th, 2009 Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey the interest rate on home mortgages dropped to a new three-month low. The survey shows the interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaging 5.12 percent with 0.7 percent in fees and points this week, down from 5.29 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30 year interest rate averaged 6.47 percent.
The interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.56 percent with 0.7 percent in fees this week, down from 4.68 percent last week. Last year at this time the 15 Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 15th, 2009 Freddie Mac announced that in the second quarter of 2009, refinancing borrowers overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or fixed. In fact, ninety-nine percent of prime borrowers who originally had a conforming ARM selected a new conforming fixed-rate mortgage when they refinanced.
While 30-year fixed-rate mortgages still tend to be the preferred loan, more borrowers are choosing 15-year fixed-rate loans than before. “When interest rates hit very low levels for fixed-rate mortgages, borrowers often take tis opportunity to lower their interest rate and shorten their loan term,” said Frank Nothaft, vice Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 14th, 2009 Dennis Norman
According to a report issued by First American CoreLogicmore than 15.2 million U.S. mortgages, or 32.2 percent of all mortgaged properties, are in a negative equity position. In addition, according to the CoreLogic report, there are an additional 2.5 million mortgaged properties that are approaching negative equity. Negative equity and near negative equity mortgages combined account for nearly 38 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage. The numbers for St. Louis are a little better than the U.S. numbers. In St. Louis, 170,871, or 29.50 percent of all properties with a mortgage, are in negative equity. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 8th, 2009 Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
Previously I did an article on avoiding foreclosure rescue scams which have unfortunately become rather common in recent months.
This week the FBI arrested two people that the FBI alleges has done just that. I wanted to share the press release from the FBI to heighten people’s awareness of scams such as this and hopefully help prevent more victims of such scams. The press release describes in detail how they allege this scam was carried out. To read the FBI press release click here, or just read below as I have published it Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 6th, 2009 Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates decreased slightly for the week ending August 6, 2009 from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.22% with 0.6% in fees and points, down from 5.25% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.52%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages decreased slightly as well, down to 4.63% from 4.69% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.73% and 1 year ARM’s as well as 4.78%. This time last year these arms Continue Reading →
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