Recent Articles
By Carrie Bay | 09/09/2010
For the first time in five months, fewer home sellers cut the asking price of their home in August, according to the online real estate marketplace Zillow. As of the end of last month, the company says just over one-fourth, 28.8 percent, of all listings on Zillow had at least one price reduction. That's a decrease from the 30.1 percent of listings that had a price reduction as of the end of July. Zillow says nationally, the median price cut amounts to 7 percent.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/09/2010
The total value of distressed commercial real estate (CRE) in the United States right now is $186.9 billion, including properties in default, foreclosure, and lender REO, according to data from the research firm Real Capital Analytics.
The Transwestern company Delta Associates says this tally represents an increase of 12 percent, or $20.1 billion, since June and means CRE distress has risen back to the level it was in March of this year. But the company says a plateau in the $165-$200 billion range will be the norm for a while.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/09/2010
Moody's Investors Service says U.S. banks have already written off nearly two-thirds of the real estate loans expected to go sour through 2011.
The credit ratings agency projects banks will incur $744 billion of loan charge-offs between 2008 and 2011. Moody's analysts say an estimated $476 billion of these losses have already been recognized, leaving $268 billion, or 36 percent, remaining. So far, 68 percent of residential mortgage losses have been accounted for versus 49 percent of bad commercial real estate loans.
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By Heather Hill Cernoch | 09/09/2010
The real estate auction house of Williams & Williams and Auction Network, an Internet television network for live auctions, issued a joint statement Wednesday announcing a merger of the two companies. The newly created parent company, WWM (Williams, Williams & McKissick) Holdings, LLC, is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and will remain under private ownership.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/09/2010
Long-term mortgage rates inched up this week, breaking a buyer-friendly trend of successively falling to record-lows week after week for the past three months. The question now is, will the threat of rising interest rates push prospective homebuyers to take a leap? Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.35 percent this week. Fifteen-year mortgages, on the other hand, came in again at last week's record low of 3.83 percent. Bankrate, however, reported a jump in mortgage rates across the board.
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By Heather Hill Cernoch | 09/09/2010
Field Asset Services (FAS) recently launched Collateral Command, a solution for property management services and support that offers lenders and servicers a single source for managing foreclosed and REO properties. Included within the Collateral Command suite is Utilities Management Service, which allows banks, servicers, and lenders to leverage FAS and its industry relationships to streamline the day-to-day tasks of managing the utilities process and payments.
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By Heather Hill Cernoch | 09/09/2010
The national unemployment rate continues to rise - from 9.5 percent in July to 9.6 percent in August - but there's hope on the horizon in Depew, New York. AMS Servicing, LLC, a national specialty servicer for residential and small balance commercial mortgages, announced this week it has immediate openings for full- and part-time customer service call center representatives in Depew. The main function of this position is to provide customer service support to internal and external customers regarding the short sale of residential properties.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/09/2010
Fiserv, Inc. said Wednesday that it has rebranded its Loan Servicing Platform with the name LoanServ. As a single-platform, real-time solution, LoanServ combines mortgage loans, consumer loans, indirect financing, home equity loans and lines of credit, and distressed loan functionality into one core system so that all of a borrower's retail loan relationships can be supported through one system. Fiserv says this complete picture of a customer's credit capacity is crucial for mitigating risk.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/08/2010
A study released by Clear Capital Thursday shows that quarter-over-quarter home prices were up 5.7 percent in August, compared to the previous month's reading.
It's a gain, but the company says price increases are beginning to narrow and appear to be poised for a descent. Even with the slowdown, Clear Capital's assessment is that home prices won't fall below the lows seen in 2009 and bring about that dreaded double dip...at least not until next spring.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/08/2010
Economic growth is still grinding along, but has slowed considerably since earlier in the year, according to the Federal Reserve's popular Beige Book report released Wednesday.
Reports from the 12 Fed districts on their local economies painted a picture of "widespread signs of a deceleration." Real estate remains a drag on economic growth in regions across the country, with major trouble spots identified in poor home sales and weak demand for commercial space.
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