DSNews Author: Brian Honea February 13, 2015 A survey conducted among economists by theFederal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on economic growth in the United States released on Friday revealed that predictions have been revised upward for the labor market – which means good news for the economy and for housing recovery. The Philadelphia Fed […]
Survey: Investors Prefer Flipping Over Renting
DSNews BY: Author: Brian Honea February 12, 2015 A nationwide survey conducted by Auction.com, a leading online real estate marketplace, showed a continuation in January of a trend seen in the fourth quarter of 2014 – that of investors’ preference to flip houses rather than rent them out. Even as the demand for rental housing has […]
Housing Barometer Indicates Market is Moving Closer to ‘Back to Normal’ Levels
DSNews: Author: Brian Honea January 15, 2015 While housing recovery has generally been uneven for the last few years, the housing market experienced substantial growth in the fourth quarter of 2014 for all five indicators of Trulia’s Q4 2014 Housing Barometer, which was released on Thursday. Three of the five indicators – existing home sales, […]
Florida Man Receives 21-Month Prison Sentence for Fraud
DSNews: Author: Brian Honea January 23, 2015 A Florida man has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for a fraud scheme perpetrated against businesses and individuals seeking lines of credit, according to an announcement on Friday from Christy Romero, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). The sentence was handed down […]
Mississippi Has Highest Delinquent Mortgage Rate Again
DSNews: Author: Brian Honea January 23, 2015 Just as it did in November, Mississippi led all states with the highest percentage of non-current mortgages and serious delinquent mortgages in December, according to data released recently as part of Black Knight Financial Services‘ December 2014 “First Look” at mortgage data released Friday. Mississippi’s percentage of non-current mortgages, which […]
Freddie Mac to Auction $410 Million Worth of Delinquent Mortgage Loans
DSNews: Author: Brian Honea January 24, 2015 Government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac has announced that it will begin its second sale of “deeply delinquent” mortgage loans in three pools worth approximately $410 million. Delinquent loans left over from a wave of foreclosures following the housing bust have dogged Freddie Mac and its sister GSE, Fannie Mae. […]
New FHA Policy Provides Foreclosure Alternative on Reverse Mortgages
DSNews BY: Brian Honea January 29, 2015 A new policy issued by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Thursday under its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program will allow reverse mortgage lenders to delay calling HECMs from a surviving non-borrowing spouse following the death of the last surviving borrower. Such a delay on collection […]
Leading Economic Indicators Advance for Fourth Month in a Row
DSNews: Author: Tory Barringer January 23, 2015 A measure of leading U.S. economic indicators rose again in December, advancing for a fourth straight month as most components improved. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI), which gauges the near-term economic outlook based on a variety of indicators, increased 0.5 percent in December to 121.1, the […]
Watt Insists 3 Percent Down Payment Loans Are Not Riskier Than Those With Lower LTVs
DSNews By: Author: Brian Honea January 27, 2015 Federal Housing Finance Director (FHFA) Mel Watt, testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, which he once sat on as a Democratic U.S. Representative for North Carolina, insisted that mortgage loans with a 3 percent down payment backed by GSEs are no more riskier than those with a […]
Can HAMP Borrowers Absorb Higher Payments When Mods Reset?
DSNews: Author: Brian Honea January 26, 2015 Approximately half a million homeowners who received a mortgage loan modification in 2010 through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, commonly known as HAMP, are due to reset in 2015 – and those homeowners will be facing slowly increasing monthly mortgage payments. Will these homeowners be able to […]