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 →
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Dennis Norman The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on the performance of commercial and multifamily mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2009. Their last report from a year ago showed that commercial and multifamily mortgages were among the best performing loans held by banks and thrifts. Now, a year later, the data still looks good and shows that commercial and multifamily mortgages continue to have the lowest charge off rate of all loan types at banks and thrifts and also perform better than their overall portfolios as well. This is good news for an already-struggling Continue Reading → Dennis Norman St. Louis Mortgage Delinquencies and St. Louis Foreclosure Rate hit Record Highs A report released by First American CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in January of 1.42 percent up slightly from December’s rate of 1.36 percent and an increase of 46.39 percent from the year prior when the rate was 0.97 percent. The national foreclosure rate for January remains over twice the rate of St. Louis at 3.19 percent and was an increase of 60.3 percent from a year ago when the national Continue Reading → Low foreclosures, stable home prices and affordability make eighth-ranked St. Louis a good bet for home buyers, according to a report released by Forbes.com last Friday. Forbes gathered data from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo’s Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). The index measures median home prices against median incomes. Additional data overlays included Moody’s one-year forecast for the Case-Shiller Home Price Index of home prices and RealtyTrac’s 2009 foreclosure report. Rankings from all of these data sources were considered in determining the overall score. The top ten best housing metro areas: Pittsburgh, PA Louisville – Jefferson Continue Reading → Dennis Norman According to a report issued this morning by the the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) St. Louis area home prices increased by 1.32 percent in 2009. Granted that’s not much but, hey, after what we’ve seen the last couple of years in the housing market I think this is very good news. This information comes for the FHFA’s purchase-only price index which is based upon repeat sales of the same single-family properties therefore making it a much more accurate barometer of the market than just looking at median prices of homes sold as many reports do. Continue Reading → 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 → Over Fifteen Percent of Missouri Borrowers are Underwater-Another 5.6 Percent Are Almost Underwater Dennis Norman According to a report released today by First American CoreLogic more than 11.3 million U.S. mortgages, or 24 percent of all mortgaged properties, are in a negative equity position meaning the borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth as of December 31, 2009. There were approximately 600,000 more borrowers underwater on December 31, 2009 than just three months earlier. In addition, there were an additional 2.3 million mortgages approaching negative equity at the end of last year . Together, Continue Reading → More than 380 mortgage lending operations nationwide have ceased operation since 2006, according to the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter website. However in spite of a tough and demanding economic market, Paramount Mortgage this week celebrated it’s 40 year anniversary! “Expect Excellence” has been our corporate motto and the driving force in our philosophy of providing exemplary customer service,” states H. John Frank, Jr., President of Paramount Mortgage Company. “We have never forgotten that this is a people business and we treat our clients with respect. We take the time to get to know their home purchasing goals and communicate with Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Deceleration in Rise of Mortgage Delinquencies Short Lived Back in July, 2009 when speaking in North Carolina President Barack Obama announced “we may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession“. My thoughts then were that was very optimistic and I didn’t agree (for whatever that is worth). Since then some economists have announced the recession is officially over. Technically based upon a few bits of data the recession may be over, but for us real people that are actually living and functioning in this economy I don’t think it is over; at least not Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Last week a friend emailed me a link to a video titled “The Indymac Slap in Our Face” that was created by Think Big Work Small. I watched the video which gave a recap of the failure of Indymac bank back resulting in it’s seizure by the FDIC in July, 2008, and the ultimate sale by the FDIC of Indymac Bank to One West Bank in March, 2009. According to the video, One West Bank received a cushy, “sweetheart deal” and implied it was related to the fact that the owners of One West Bank include Continue Reading → Dennis Norman St. Louis ended 2009 With The Highest Foreclosure Rate and Mortgage Delinquency Rates On Record For the St. Louis Area According to date from First American CoreLogic, St Louis finished 2009 with 1.43 percent of the homes in St. Louis with a mortgage in some stage of the foreclosure process and 5.73 percent of the mortgages in St. Louis seriously delinquent (90+ days past due). The St. Louis area has seen increases in the foreclosure rate every month since August, 2008 and the the December 2009 rate is the highest rate recorded since First American Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Big Losses Are Forecast For Commercial Real Estate and Expected to Crush Some Community Banks-Can the Housing Market Avoid the Fallout? This morning the Congressional Oversight Panel issued a report, “Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability” which expressed concerns about coming losses in Commercial Real Estate and also described how these losses could affect nearly everyone. The report states the panel “is deeply concerned that a wave of commercial real estate loan losses over the next four years could jeopardize the stability of many banks, particularly community banks, and prolong an already Continue Reading → There is time left for qualified buyers to take advantage of the 2009 First-Time Home Buyer’s $8,000 Tax Credit & Repeat Home Buyer’s $6,500 Tax Credit. Binding sales contract must be executed by April 30, 2010, the closing can be extended until June 30, 2010. The newly expanded first-time homebuyer and repeat homebuyer tax credit was signed into law a few months ago, but many married, unmarried, or soon to be married tax filers, are confused about claiming these credits. Understandably so. There are numerous scenarios that can come up, e.g. “I am a long-time principal homeowner but my Continue Reading → Dennis Norman In spite of what is being said in the press about the real estate market improving and the effectiveness of the government’s programs to help keep people in their homes, the rate of foreclosure just keeps increasing. A report released today by First American CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate of 1.43 percent up slightly from November’s rate of 1.35 percent and an increase of 66.67 percent from the year prior when the rate was 0.87 percent. The national foreclosure rate for December was again over double the rate Continue Reading → FHA loans gained in popularity for borrowers as applications for FHA-guaranteed mortgages exceeded an annual rate of 3 million in October; nearly triple the level in 2007. In 2006, when subprime and other Wall Street programs were at full speed, the annual rate for applications was less than 600,000. As a result the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David Stevens recently announced a set of policy changes to strengthen the FHA’s capital reserves. The changes announced are the latest in a series of changes Stevens has enacted in order to better position the FHA to manage its risk Continue Reading → The mortgage market will be besieged this week by a wave of worry…demand concerns related to Treasury auctions to the question about what happens if Fed Chairman Bernanke is not confirmed for another term… uncertainty seldom pushes rates lower. St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 27, 2009 * 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.375% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.750% no points For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact me by phone at my direct line, (314) 372-4319, Continue Reading → Dennis Norman MortgageDaily.Com tracks mortgage company failures on it’s website The Mortgage Graveyard. According to The Mortgage Graveyard 225 mortgage-related firms in the U.S. ended operations or failed in 2009, higher than any year since they began tracking data in 1998. This was an increase of over 80% from 2008 which saw 124 firms fail. The annual surge was fueled by a spike in bank failures — which increased more than 400 percent. Banks account for most of the country’s residential originations. Credit union failures, including corporate and state-regulated institutions, were up by more than a third. Here in Continue Reading → Dennis Norman If you are one of the million-plus homebuyers that was fortunate enough to qualify for the Home Buyer tax credit, read on for information on how to claim your credit. Today the Internal Revenue Service released a new form that eligible homebuyers must need to use to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season, along with instructions and guidelines for other documentation that must accompany your tax return. The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the homebuyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law Continue Reading → Dennis Norman I would say it’s say to say that the Obama administrations efforts to curtail the foreclosure rate is not working as the foreclosure rate in St. Louis increased again in November according to a report released today by First American CoreLogic.The report showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate of 1.35 percent in November, up just slightly from October’s rate of 1.31 percent and increase of 68.75 percent from a year ago when the rate was 0.80percent. The national foreclosure rate for November was again over double the rate of St. Continue Reading → St. Louis mortgage rates this week remain unchanged on fixed rate loans this week but dropped slightly on ARM’s according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company. Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there. St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 13, 2009 * 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.125% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.000% no points For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Depending on which estimate you believe, somewhere between one-third and one-half of the homeowners with a mortgage in the U.S. owe more on their homes than their homes are currently worth. This has lead to an unprecedented amount of short-sales and in many cases, a lender “forgiving” you of the short-fall (the amount of your loan your sale proceeds were not adequate to pay) which, in the past could have left you owing taxes on the “forgiven debt”. For some of those underwater homeowners that are not fortunate enough to do a short sale they may Continue Reading → St. Louis mortgage rates this week bounced around a bit with 30 year fixed rate mortgages and ARM’s decreasing slightly while 15 year fixed rate mortgage rates increased according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company. Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there. St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 6, 2009 * 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.125% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.00% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.125% no points For more information or if you have Continue Reading → St. Louis mortgage rates inreased again this week bringing 30 year rates above 5 percent according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company. Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there. St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 30, 2009 * 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.25% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.25% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.50% no points For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact John Frank by Continue Reading → Dennis Norman In a just a few days we will say goodbye to 2009; a year that has been brutal to the housing market. So as the new year comes in, what will 2010 hold in store for the housing market? To answer this question I turned to the housing forecast just released by Fannie Mae to see what their economists were predicting. Here are the highlights from the report, showing actual numbers for the 3rd quarter of this year as well as Fannie Mae’s projection for 4th quarter of this year as well as 4th quarter of 2010: According to NAR 51 percent of recent homebuyers are first-time buyers and 39 percent of recent home sales have relied on an FHA loan Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS just released a report showing that 51 percent of the homes sold recently have been to first-time home buyers and that 39 percent of all recent buyers have turned to an FHA loan for financing for their home purchase. I think this clearly illustrates that the first-time home buyer tax credit, coupled with record low interest rates and drastically reduced home prices, is giving buyers, at least Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Foreclosure rates in St. Louis increased for the month of October over the same period last year according to a report released by First American CoreLogic. The report showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate of 1.31 percent in October, up just slightly from September’s rate of 1.25 percent, but up 61.7 percent from a year ago when the rate was 0.81 percent. The national foreclosure rate for October was over double the rate of St. Louis at 3.02 percent and was an increase of 77.6 percent from a year ago Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Last week I did a post about the Obama Administrations’ Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and showed how it really has not been effective in helping keep families in their homes and avoid foreclosure as was the intention by the administration. When my kids tell me they don’t like the way I want them to do something I usually challenge them with “if you don’t like my way, tell me a better way to do it“. So with this in mind I went looking for an answer to this question. In my search I ran accross a Continue Reading → St. Louis mortgage rates inched up slightly this week but remained at near record-lows according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company. Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there. St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 15, 2009 * 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.75% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact John Frank by phone Continue Reading → Department of Justice Press Release Scam Involved Lawyers, Mortgage Brokers, and More Than $14.6 Million in Loans PHILADELPHIA—A 15-count indictment was filed today against five defendants charged in a $14.6 million mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in at least 35 fraudulent mortgage loans, announced United States Attorney Michael L. Levy, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI Janice K. Fedarcyk, and Pennsylvania Secretary of Banking Steven Kaplan. Charged are Edward G. McCusker and John Alford Bariana, owners of Axxium Mortgage, Inc., McCusker’s wife, Jacqueline, and Jeffrey A. Bennett and Stephen G. Doherty, owners of the Doylestown law firm Bennett & Doherty, Continue Reading → Dennis Norman This week the Treasury Department issed a report which included stats on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) which is part of the Obama administrations’ Making Home Affordable Program and “is a loan modification program designed to reduce delinquent and at-risk borrowers’ monthly mortgage payments”. The HAMP program got underway around March of this year and is set to expire December 31, 2012. According to the government website HAMP is intended to help keep “3 to 4 million Americans in their homes by preventing avoidable foreclosures.” So is the Loan Modification plan working? To try to Continue Reading → |
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