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Lawmakers Reach Consensus on Key Mortgage Reforms
By: Carrie Bay Lawmakers have promised to provide transparency into the process of reconciling the Senate and House versions of bills to overhaul the nation’s financial regulatory system.In line with that commitment, the House Financial Services Committee has released a statement outlining the measures that have been approved so far, including several key mortgage reforms. […]
Continue reading...Shadow Inventory Variants Could Trigger Regional Price Declines: Report
14. June 2010
By: Carrie Bay Regional variations in the shadow inventories of distressed U.S. mortgages could be an indicator of the direction home prices will take, according to a new report published by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. The company’s analysts say differences in the backlog of distressed properties point to which markets will see home prices […]
Continue reading...Loss Severity on Short Sales 13% Lower than REO: Report
11. June 2010
By: Carrie Bay Over the past year, the mortgage risk analysis firm Clayton Holdings says it has witnessed an overall increase in short sale activity. Because of the growing emphasis on keeping borrowers out of foreclosure, servicers are becoming more inclined to employ alternative loss mitigation strategies. And Clayton says the added benefit to servicers […]
Continue reading...More Sellers Reduce Home Prices in May After Tax Credit Expiration
10. June 2010
Inching up two percentage points from April, more than 43 percent of home sellers slashed their home’s list price in May, according to a monthly review of home listings in 26 of the nation’s largest housing markets conducted by Emeryville, California-based ZipRealty. As a result of these price reductions, the median “for sale” price dropped […]
Continue reading...Judge Orders BofA to Halt All Foreclosure Sales in Utah
9. June 2010
A judge in St. George, Utah has issued a preliminary injunction stopping all foreclosure sales in the state by Bank of America and its subsidiary ReconTrust. The decision, by 5th District Court Judge James L. Shumate, was based on the grounds that the nation’s largest mortgage servicer and its related companies are not registered to […]
Continue reading...BofA Agrees to Pay $108 Million to Overcharged Countrywide Borrowers
8. June 2010
Representing one of the largest judgments imposed in a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) case, two Countrywide mortgage servicing companies, now part of Bank of America Home Loans, have been ordered to pay $108 million to settle charges that they collected excessive fees from cash-strapped borrowers who were struggling to keep their homes. In a statement […]
Continue reading...Banks Have Recognized 60% of Expected Loan Charge-Offs: Moody’s
4. June 2010
By: Carrie Bay In its latest quarterly report on credit conditions of the U.S. banking system, Moody’s Investors Service says banks’ asset quality issues are “past the peak” butcharge-offs and non-performers continue to eat away at profitability and sheer fundamentals. Based on Moody’s market data, banks’ non-performing loans stood at 5.0 percent of total loan […]
Continue reading...Commercial Defaults Hit Record for Both Investors and Banks
3. June 2010
By: Carrie Bay Pressures continue to drive up commercial mortgage defaults. The economic downturn has choked off demand for retail and office space, with vacancy rates rising and prospects of new occupants limited by the duress of today’s job market. At the same time, commercial real estate (CRE) values have dropped more than 40 percent […]
Continue reading...Delinquencies Improving, but Total Distress Remains Elevated: LPS
2. June 2010
By: Carrie Bay The number of unpaid mortgages in the United States declined again in April, but delinquency roll rates remain high, according to an industry report released Monday by Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS). The Florida-based analytics firm says that while signs of stabilization in the nation’s mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates may be […]
Continue reading...Ocwen Buys HomEq Servicing for $1.3 Billion
1. June 2010
By: Carrie Bay Barclays said Friday that it has agreed to sell HomEq Servicing, its U.S. mortgage servicing business, to Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. Ocwen will pay $1.3 billion “in cash on completion,” Barclays said. The transaction aligns the two companies with the highest modification conversion rates under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The […]
Continue reading...State Group Estimates 37% of California Foreclosures Involved Renters
28. May 2010
The foreclosure crisis in California has taken a toll on not only homeowners, but a large number of tenants in the state. According to a new study from Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights, at least 37 percent of residential units in foreclosure in the Golden State last year were rentals, directly affecting […]
Continue reading...Survey Finds 76% of Consumers Favor Renting to Homeownership
27. May 2010
As the real estate market continues to fight an uphill battle towards recovery, the dream of homeownership seems to be dying out for some consumers, at least for the time being. According to a new online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in May by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Arlington, Virginia-based […]
Continue reading...U.S. Thrifts Turn $1.8B Profit Despite Mounting Foreclosures
26. May 2010
The nation’s thrift industry posted profits of $1.82 billion in the first quarter of 2010, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) reported this week. According to the regulator, the Q1 data indicates that thrifts generally are stabilizing despite continued pressures stemming from delinquent loans and still-rising foreclosures. The positive first quarter earnings were up from […]
Continue reading...Home Prices Show Renewed Weakness, Dropping 3.2% in Q1
25. May 2010
One of the industry’s most-closely watched barometers has quelled recent optimism that residential real estate had found its footing on solid ground. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday revealed a 3.2 percentdrop in property values during the January to March quarter of 2010, when compared to the level of home prices at the end […]
Continue reading...Homeowners ‘Overconfident’ About Home Values: Zillow
24. May 2010
By: Brittany Dunn In just one quarter, homeowners have gone from being overly cynical about the state of their own home’s value to being overly confident. According to the Q1 Homeowner Confidence Survey conducted by Seattle-based Zillow, 50 percent of homeowners nationwide believe their own home’s value declined in the past year. But in reality, […]
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15. June 2010
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