Freddie Mac Offering Closing Cost Assistance to Home Buyers

HomeSteps, the home-sale division of Freddie Mac, announced today it is launching a nationwide sales promotion on it’s inventory of foreclosed homes starting today.  The promotion, titled “The HomeSteps Summer Sales Promotion”, is offering up to pay buyer’s closing costs, up to 3.5 percent of the sales price and a bonus to the selling agent for offers on Freddie Mac homes originated between today and July 31st and that close by September 30, 2011. Continue reading “Freddie Mac Offering Closing Cost Assistance to Home Buyers

Foreclosure Activity in St. Louis Area Down 23 Percent in April

The St. Louis Foreclosure Rate declined over 23 percent in April from the prior month and was down almost 39 percent from a year ago, according to a report released this morning by RealtyTrac.  Granted, some of this decline for April was no doubt due to the severe storms that hit the area April 19th triggering a moratorium on foreclosures for many (as I wrote about yesterday) but even without that, I ‘m sure the rate would still be down, which is good. Continue reading “Foreclosure Activity in St. Louis Area Down 23 Percent in April

Mortgage Relief and Foreclosure Moratorium for Missouri Homeowners Impacted by Recent Storms

Dennis Norman St LouisSpring storms in April caused 8 areas of the U.S. to be declared a National Disaster area, and another 9 more so far in May.  As a result of tornadoes, severe storms and flooding on April 19th, five counties in Missouri, Butler County, Mississippi County, New Madrid County, Saint Louis County, and Taney County, were declared a National Disaster areas on May 9th, making homeowners eligible for assistance, including possible mortgage payment relief and/or protection from foreclosure.  Continue reading “Mortgage Relief and Foreclosure Moratorium for Missouri Homeowners Impacted by Recent Storms

St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Decrease Slightly in February; still up 26 percent from year ago

Dennis Norman

The St. Louis foreclosure rate in February was 1.78 percent, an increase of over 26 percent from a year ago, and just a slight decrease from January’s rate of 1.79 percent, according to a report published by CoreLogic. On a positive note, the report shows that the St. Louis Mortgage Delinquency rate (Serious delinquency, 90+ days delinquent) decreased slightly to 5.09 percent in February from 5.16 percent the month before and down over 13 percent from a year ago.

Continue reading “St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Decrease Slightly in February; still up 26 percent from year ago

Report shows foreclosure inventories on the rise; 8 times higher than normal levels

A report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that while mortgage delinquencies continue to decline, an enormous backlog of foreclosures still exists and is expected to continue for some time. As of the end of March, foreclosure inventory levels stand at 8 times historical “norms”. Continue reading “Report shows foreclosure inventories on the rise; 8 times higher than normal levels

Feds Take Action Against Banks for Misconduct and Negligence Related to Mortgage Loan Servicing and Foreclosure Practices

Dennis Norman St LouisOver the past year or so there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of stories questioning the manner in which lenders were handling the servicing of their loans, particularly those of underwater borrowers, as well as the foreclosure practices of many including “robo-signing” of foreclosure affidavits. Next came the lawsuits and now, this week, the Federal Reserve Board announced formal enforcement actions requiring 10 banking organizations to address “a pattern of misconduct and negligence related to deficient practices in residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing.” Continue reading “Feds Take Action Against Banks for Misconduct and Negligence Related to Mortgage Loan Servicing and Foreclosure Practices

Foreclosure Activity Decreases 15 Percent during First Quarter of 2011

The 800 pound gorilla in the room has finally lost some weight!

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for the first quarter of 2011 which shows foreclosure filings were reported on 681,153 U.S. properties during the quarter, a 15 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010.  St. Louis did not see as big of a decrease but still the numbers are looking better!  St. Louis had 5,023 properties with foreclosure filings during the first quarter 2011 which works out to one in every 248 St. Louis properties and represents a decrease of 17.82 percent from the previous quarter and a 11.80 decrease from the 1st quarter of 2010.

Continue reading “Foreclosure Activity Decreases 15 Percent during First Quarter of 2011

Undercover Investigation Reveals Possible Discriminatory Treatment of REO’s by Lenders

Dennis Norman St LouisForty three years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which included Title VIII, the Fair Housing Act which, as described on HUD’s website, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).Continue reading “Undercover Investigation Reveals Possible Discriminatory Treatment of REO’s by Lenders

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 – Update

Dennis Norman

UPDATE Jan, 2013 – Congress approved extending the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 through the end of 2013.

I first wrote an article on this topic a little over two years ago as the foreclosure rate was rising and borrowers were concerned about where they stood with the IRS with regard to “mortgage forgiveness”. Well, here we are today with the same issues looming over many people, so I thought I would do an update. Continue reading “The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 – Update

St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Increase for Fourth-Consecutive Month

Dennis Norman

The St. Louis foreclosure rate increased 1.7 percent in January to 1.79 percent, according to a report published by CoreLogic. On a positive note, the report shows that the rate of serious mortgage delinquencies in St. Louis (90+ days delinquent) decreased slightly to 5.14 percent in December from 5.18 percent the month before.

Continue reading “St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Increase for Fourth-Consecutive Month

Shadow Inventory Drops Slightly but still at Nine-Month Supply

Dennis Norman St Louis

A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows that the current residential “shadow” inventory as of January 2011 declined to 1.8 million units, down slightly from 2.0 million units a year ago.  This current shadow inventory represents a 9 month supply, same as the suply a year ago. Continue reading “Shadow Inventory Drops Slightly but still at Nine-Month Supply

Report shows enormous backlog of foreclosures

A report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that while mortgage delinquencies continue to decline, an enormous backlog of foreclosures still exists and is expected to continue for some time. As of the end of February, foreclosure inventory levels stand at more than 30 times the monthly foreclosure sales volume. Continue reading “Report shows enormous backlog of foreclosures

St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Increase for Third-Consecutive Month

Dennis Norman

The St. Louis foreclosure rate increased 4.8 percent in December to 1.76 percent, according to a report published by CoreLogic. On a positive note, the report shows that the rate of serious mortgage delinquencies in St. Louis (90+ days delinquent) decreased slightly to 5.14 percent in December from 5.18 percent the month before.

Continue reading “St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Increase for Third-Consecutive Month

St Louis Foreclosure Rate drops almost 20 percent in February

St. Louis Foreclosure Activity  in February declines 40 Percent More in St. Louis than overall U.S.

RealtyTrac just released their foreclosure activity report for February showing foreclosure activity in the St. Louis metro area declined 19.6 percent from the month before and was down 17.86 percent from a year ago. The U.S. foreclosure rate declined 14 percent in February.

The table below shows how each county in the St. Louis MSA fared in February.  Continue reading “St Louis Foreclosure Rate drops almost 20 percent in February

Foreclosure homes account for 26 percent of all 2010 sales

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for 2010 showing that foreclosure homes accounted for nearly 26 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the year. This is down from 2009 when 29 percent of all sales were foreclosure homes. Continue reading “Foreclosure homes account for 26 percent of all 2010 sales

St. Louis metro foreclosure rate up almost 9 percent in January

St. Louis bucks the national foreclosure trend…in the wrong way..

Earlier today I wrote that the U.S. foreclosure rate for January was up 1 percent from December and down 17 percent from the year before….unfortunately the numbers for St. Louis are not that good at all and in fact much worse.  According to data released by RealtyTrac, the St. Louis Metro Area foreclosure rate in January 2011 rose almost 9 percent from December (8.76 percent) and was up 14.77 percent from January 2010. Continue reading “St. Louis metro foreclosure rate up almost 9 percent in January

U.S. Foreclosures up slightly in January; down 17 percent from year before

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for January 2011 showing there were foreclosure filings in January on 261,333 U.S. properties, a 1 percent increase from December but a 17 percent decrease from January 2010. Continue reading “U.S. Foreclosures up slightly in January; down 17 percent from year before

Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid-Rigging at Foreclosure Auctions

Today Richard W. Northcutt, a California real estate investor, pleaded guilty to conspiring with a group of real estate speculators who agreed not to bid against each other at certain public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County. According to the court documents the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition and to obtain selected real estate offered at these foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. Continue reading “Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid-Rigging at Foreclosure Auctions

Foreclosures in 2010 up from 2009 in U.S.; down in top ten foreclosure markets

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for 2010 which showed some mixed results.  During 2010 there were 2,871,891 foreclosure filings in the U.S., an increase of 1.67 percent from 2009. However the metro areas with the 10 highest foreclosure rates all saw decreases in foreclosure filings in 2010 from the year before, in fact six of the ten metros even had decreased foreclosure activity from 2008. Continue reading “Foreclosures in 2010 up from 2009 in U.S.; down in top ten foreclosure markets

FHA Extends ‘Anti-Flipping Waiver’

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced the temporary waiver of the “anti-flipping” rule has been extended through December 31, 2011. In my opinion the “anti-flipping” rule was a bad idea to start with and in the current housing market the last thing we need is anything to discourage investors from buying homes so this is a good move by FHA.

Continue reading “FHA Extends ‘Anti-Flipping Waiver’

St. Louis Foreclosures and Delinquencies on the rise in November

Dennis Norman

The St. Louis foreclosure rate shot up 7 percent in November to 1.67 percent, according to a report published by CoreLogic. The report also shows that the rate of serious mortgage delinquencies in St. Louis (90+ days delinquent) increase slightly to 5.18 percent in November from 5.17 percent the month before.

Continue reading “St. Louis Foreclosures and Delinquencies on the rise in November

Foreclosures on the rise in December; Mortgage delinquences decline though

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, is somewhat encouraging as it shows the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for December was 8.83 percent which is a decrease of 2.1 percent from November’s rate of 9.02 percent. Continue reading “Foreclosures on the rise in December; Mortgage delinquences decline though

St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Increase for Forth Consecutive Month

A report released by CoreLogic showed that the  St. Louis foreclosure rate increased in October marking the fourth-consecutive month of increases.  The report shows St. Louis to have a foreclosure rate in October of 1.58 percent, a slight increase from September’s 1.57 percent, however an increase of over 11 percent from a year ago. The foreclosure rate in the U.S. in October was 3.33 percent, an increase of 14 percent from the year before.

Continue reading “St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Increase for Forth Consecutive Month

Foreclosures on the rise in November however mortgage delinquences decline

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, is somewhat encouraging as it shows the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for October was 9.02 percent which is a decrease of almost 3 percent from October’s rate of 9.29 percent. Continue reading “Foreclosures on the rise in November however mortgage delinquences decline

Freddie Mac Extends Foreclosure Protection for Service Members Through 2011

Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s largest investors in conforming, conventional mortgages, announced it will delay initiating foreclosure for at least nine months for financially troubled service members who are released from active duty through the end of 2011 and have Freddie Mac-owned mortgages.

“Our military make sacrifices every day to protect our homes and families,” said Anthony Renzi, Executive Vice President of Single Family Portfolio Management at Freddie Mac. “This small act will protect financially troubled service members when they return from active duty by giving them more time to work with their lender to stay in their home.”

 

Homeowner Negative Equity Declines for Third Straight Quarter

Dennis Norman St Louis

A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows negative equity declined in third quarter of 2010 for residential properties, marking the third-consecutive quarterly decline. The CoreLogic reports that 10.8 million, or 22.5 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the third quarter of 2010, down from 11.0 million and 23 percent in the second quarter. While the decline is good news, the bad news is that the report states the decline is “due primarily to foreclosures of severely negative equity properties rather than an increase in home values.” Continue reading “Homeowner Negative Equity Declines for Third Straight Quarter

Buyers of distressed properties in third quarter reaped largest discount in five years

According to a report released by RealtyTrac, foreclosure homes accounted for 25 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2010 and that the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure was more than 32 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process — up from a 26 percent discount in the previous quarter and a 29 percent discount in the third quarter of 2009. Continue reading “Buyers of distressed properties in third quarter reaped largest discount in five years

St Louis Foreclosure rate up 25 percent from a year ago

 

A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in September of 1.57 percent, and increase of over 25 percent (25.6%) from a year ago, and an increase of a little over 3 percent from the month before.  The national foreclosure rate in September was 3.29 percent, a slight increase from 3.20 percent the month before.

Continue reading “St Louis Foreclosure rate up 25 percent from a year ago

FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Upfront Fees From Mortgage Relief Companies

Homeowners will be protected by a new Federal Trade Commission rule that bans providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable. Continue reading “FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Upfront Fees From Mortgage Relief Companies

Report suggests distressed sales will hurt housing market for some time to come

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that, while the overall inventory of homes for sale has remained the same in the past year at 4.2 million new and existing homes for sale as of August, the number of homes in “shadow inventory” has grown from 6.1 million a year before to 6.3 million as of August, 2010. Continue reading “Report suggests distressed sales will hurt housing market for some time to come