Federal Reserve - St Louis Real Estate News

Home prices expected to continue to suffer as a result of foreclosures

By Dennis Norman, on February 15th, 2011

Much has been written (including by me) about the negative impact foreclosures and other distress sales have on home prices so this is no new issue. In fact, most readers have probably seen (or felt) the impact of this in their own neighborhood.

The charts below which show the percentage of mortgages that were 90 days or more past due and in foreclosure for 2007 through 2010 illustrate well just how ugly this issue is. In the lower left hand corner of each chart is depicted the national house-price index through the period and it is easy to see that Continue Reading →

‘Shoddy’ mortage servicing practices prolonging housing market trouble

By Dennis Norman, on February 14th, 2011

This past Friday Federal Reserve Board Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin spoke at the 2011 Midwinter Housing Finance Conference about the powerful impact the housing and mortgage markets have had on the nation’s economy recovery.

Governor Raskin began by point out that, “speaking strictly in an economic sense, the recession that emerged in 2008 is over.” She then followed by saying “I know that the millions of Americans still looking for work, living in cars or motels, or trying to keep their businesses out of bankruptcy would beg to disagree.” Gov Raskin went on to state that our economy is in Continue Reading →

Brookwood Man Faces 34-Count Federal Indictment in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

By News Desk, on February 5th, 2011

A federal grand jury indicted a Brookwood man yesterday on wire fraud and false statement charges related to a more than $1 million mortgage fraud scheme in the Birmingham area, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

A 34-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges SCOTT ERIC PERRY, 34, with 17 counts of wire fraud and 17 counts of making false statements to lending institutions in connection to real estate transactions between February and December, 2006.

Continue Reading →

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Prime Lending to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination

By News Desk, on December 9th, 2010

Settlement Provides $2 Million to African-American Borrowers Who Paid Higher Interest Rates

PrimeLending, a national mortgage lender with 168 offices in 32 states at the end of 2009, has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-American borrowers between 2006 and 2009.

Continue Reading →

Fed Reserve expects over 4 million new foreclosures in the next two years

By Dennis Norman, on November 12th, 2010

Speaking at the National Consumer Law Center’s Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Boston, Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin delivered some sobering news about the Fed Reserve’s expectations for the housing market.

Raskin discussed how foreclosures on residential properties soared from about one million in 2006, the “peak of the boom”, to 2.8 million last year. There were 1.2 million foreclosure filings in just the first half of 2010 and, right now, nearly five million loans are somewhere in the foreclosure process or are 90 days or more past due.

Raskin said “our projections remain very grim for Continue Reading →

Slow, Steady Housing Recovery Expected Ahead

By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2010

Dennis Norman

At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans today, “a slow, steady recovery” was predicted for the housing market despite ongoing challenges.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist, said that he expects “continuing improvement of underlying fundamentals of the current market in coming years.”

Continue Reading →

New Rule Proposed to Protect Seniors Obtaining Reverse Mortgages

By Dennis Norman, on September 3rd, 2010

Dennis Norman

Reverse mortgages have become increasingly popular over the past few years with seniors that find themselves with a large amount of equity in their home, but short on cash, or struggling to pay for the upkeep of the home, property taxes, insurance or other living expenses. A reverse mortgage allows people in that situation to pull the equity from their home in a lump sum, monthly payments or just as they need it.

Continue Reading →

New Rules for Mortgage Transfers

By Dennis Norman, on August 27th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Home mortgages are often sold or assigned, sometimes even right after the origination of the loan and, as a result, borrowers find themselves not knowing who their current lender is or how to contact their lender. This issue was addressed back in May 2009, as part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, lenders that purchased home mortgages were required to provide disclosures in writing to the borrower within 30 days.

Continue Reading →

New Rules Announced to Protect Mortgage Borrowers

By Dennis Norman, on August 25th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Over the past couple of years lawsuits have been filed against several lenders over “yield spread premiums” that were paid by the lenders to mortgage brokers originating loans on their behalf. These suits brought a lot of attention to a common practice in the mortgage industry which was to compensate the companies (or loan officers) originating loans based upon the rate and points charged to the borrower. There have been numerous debates on the topic and I’m staying out of it, however, last week the Federal Reserve announced new rules that will go in effect on Continue Reading →

More On The Housing Boom and Bust; Cause and Effect

By Dennis Norman, on July 5th, 2010

Dennis Norman

While there has been much discussion about the causes and effects of the Housing Boom as well as the Bust (including by yours truly in prior posts) I don’t think we need to refrain from continuing to examine this part of history that is affecting millions of people across the country. Perhaps we can learn some lessons from this that will help us avoid another such collapse of the housing market in the future.

My topic today actually has a silver lining of sorts. The topic is debt and how so many homeowners across the country Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate – Interest Rates Hold Steady, Home Buyers Race To Get Tax Credit

By Robert Fishel, on April 28th, 2010

Realtors, home buyers and sellers are rushing to complete sales agreements before the tax credit for home purchases expires this week; home buyers must have a deal by April 30 and close by June 30 to qualify for a tax break up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers and $6,500 for those moving to a different residence. The Treasury Department and the real estate industry have termed the program a success, helping people buy homes. However, many tax experts say it has been singularly cost-ineffective: most of the $12.6 billion in credits through end of February was collected by Continue Reading →

Fed Reserve: Housing Sales and Starts Have Flattened Out at Depressed Levels; Foreclosures Likely To Remain High

By Dennis Norman, on April 6th, 2010

Dennis Norman

At the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on March 16th it was suggested that “economic activity expanded at a moderate pace in early 2010″. Unfortunately, when it came to the housing market, the news was not as good and it was noted that “housing activity remained flat and the nonresidential construction section weakened further.” The staff went on to say that activity in the housing sector appears to “have flattened out in recent months” and that “sales of both new and existing homes have turned down, while starts of single-family homes were about unchanged despite the substantial Continue Reading →

Feds pulling support of mortgage market- will interest rates increase?

By Dennis Norman, on March 22nd, 2010

Dennis Norman

The Federal Reserve announced it will stop purchasing mortgage-backed securities by the end of March.

In November, 2008, the Federal Reserve announced, in an effort to help the housing market, it would purchase mortgage-backed securities. Then, in March, 2009, the Fed increased the total amount of money they would invest in such securities to $1.25 trillion and estimated that they would complete those purchases by the end of first quarter 2010.

The Fed’s action I think certainly added some liquidity and confidence to the ailing housing market and now, that the time has come Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate – St Louis Mortgage Rates still low; higher rates coming though?

By Robert Fishel, on March 10th, 2010

Last Friday’s suprisingly strong payroll figures likely reinforced for many investors that the next time the Fed makes a change to their monetary policy strategy-it will likely to raise short-term interest rates. The actual date of such an event may be months away-but an increasing number of “stronger than expected” economic reports are making it difficult for mortgage interest rates to move lower. A growing number of business economists believe the U.S. central bank’s policy’s are too stimulative and expect the Federal Reserve to raise benchmark interest rates within six months. The Fed has said continued high rates of Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate – Mortgate Rates Hold Steady But Expected to Rise

By Robert Fishel, on February 24th, 2010

When considering historically low interest rates, competitive home values along with the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer and $6,500 Repeat Homebuyer Tax Credits, potential homebuyers still have a great opportunity.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.

The Federal Reserve indicates it will stop buying mortgage-backed securities toward the end of the first quarter. Most mortgage experts believe that mortgage interest rates will rise when mortgages go off “Fed support” as private investors require higher rates to compensate for the risk.

The deadline for the First Time/Repeat Homebuyer Tax Credits is an executed contract by April 30, 2010 with a Continue Reading →

Fed’s Loan Modification Program resulting in savings of $120 per month for borrowers

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 →

Fed Reserve proposes significant changes to provide more disclosure and protection to borrowers on mortgages

By Dennis Norman, on August 3rd, 2009

Dennis Norman

Late last week the Federal Reserve Board proposed significant changes to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) intended to improve the disclosures consumers receive in connection with home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.

These changes are just proposed at this point and are being offered for public comment for 120 days at which time the Fed Reserve will review comments and decide whether or not to put the changes into effect.

Ben S. Bernanke

“Consumers need the proper tools to determine whether a particular mortgage loan is appropriate for their circumstances,” said Federal Continue Reading →

Fed Reserves publishes “5 Tips for Shopping for a Mortgage”

By Dennis Norman, on August 1st, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Buying a home should be a dream come true not a nightmare of worry and stress. A new Federal Reserve Board publication, “5 Tips for Shopping for a Mortgage,” will help consumers avoid potential pitfalls and make well-informed decisions when choosing a home loan. Financing the purchase of a home is one of the most complex financial decisions that consumers make. The Federal Reserve’s latest “5 tips” guide is designed to help home buyers find the mortgage that is best for them. The complete guide is available here however a summary of Continue Reading →

Avoid mortgage modification and foreclosure rescue scams

By Dennis Norman, on July 16th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

Recently the The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a Consumer Advisory. The Advisory contains consumer tips for avoiding mortgage modification scams and foreclosure rescue scams.

The advisory states; “Scams that promise to “rescue” you from foreclosure are popping up at an alarming rate nationwide, and you need to protect yourself and your home. If you’re falling behind on your mortgage, others may know it too – including con artists and scam artists. They know that people in this situations are vulnerable and often desperate.”

The OCC suggests that before you do business with someone Continue Reading →