Article Archive for January 2013
By Esther Cho | 01/31/2013
More than half of the nation's largest metros experienced an upturn in foreclosure activity in 2012 compared to 2011, according to a report from RealtyTrac. RealtyTrac observed foreclosure trends in 212 markets with a population of 200,000 or more and found 120 markets, or 57 percent, displayed an increase in foreclosure activity from 2011. Meanwhile, out of the 20 largest metros, 12 experienced a slowdown in foreclosure activity.
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By Tory Barringer | 01/31/2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Steve Antonakes will serve as acting deputy director while the agency continues searching for a replacement for departing deputy director Raj Date. CFPB announced in November that Date would depart at the end of January 2013.
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By Krista Franks Brock | 01/31/2013
In a newly-released white paper, Sperlonga--a division of Matt Martin Real Estate Management that serves the mortgage industry through its homeowner association (HOA) database and services--details the monetary threat delinquent HOA accounts can pose to the industry and outlines its own solutions to the problem. HOAs can cause significant monetary losses to investors in cases of default. In 16 states and the District of Columbia, HOAs hold "super-lien" status, meaning their lien outweighs all other liens--even that of the investor.
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By Esther Cho | 01/31/2013
Homeowners in foreclosure who were also impacted by Hurricane Sandy will get another 90 days of relief from a foreclosure sale or pending eviction, announced Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
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By Esther Cho | 01/31/2013
Williston Financial Group (WFG) announced the appointment of Donald O'Neill as its Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).
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By Krista Franks Brock | 01/31/2013
Capital Economics expects home prices to increase about 5 percent over the year at a national level. However, housing markets across the nation are markedly different, and this 5 percent will not be a constant in all regions. At the two far ends of the spectrum, the Northeast and the West will experience far different market climates this year, according to Capital Economics. The Northeast is much more likely to see no price growth at all than anything close to the 5 percent national average this year, the analytics firm stated in a recent outlook.
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By Tory Barringer | 01/31/2013
Fixed mortgage rates took a major leap up this week amid news of a growing economy led in part by the recovering housing market. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate averaged 3.53 percent (0.7 point) for the final week of January, up from 3.42 percent last week. The last time the 30-year fixed rate averaged above 3.5 percent was in September 2012. The 15-year fixed average also increased significantly, rising 10 basis points to 2.81 percent (0.7 point).
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By Esther Cho | 01/31/2013
Forty-six state attorneys general and the District of Columbia reached a settlement agreement with Lender Processing Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries—LPS Default Solutions and DocX—to resolve allegations concerning the company’s foreclosure practices. As part of the multistate settlement, LPS agreed to pay $127 million. LPS previously resolved similar claims in Missouri, Delaware, and Colorado, leaving the company with one unresolved claim from Nevada.
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By Esther Cho | 01/31/2013
While the national delinquency rate remains elevated and even increased slightly month-over-month in December, the delinquency rate ended the year 32 percent lower than the January 2010 peak, according to the December Mortgage Monitor report from Lender Processing Services (LPS). Compared to January 2012, when about 15.5 million loans were in negative equity, the number of underwater borrowers has decreased to 9.8 million, which represents a 35 percent decline.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 01/31/2013
Personal income jumped a staggering 2.6 percent in December, almost four times the 0.7 increase economists forecast, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday. Personal consumption spending rose 0.2 percent, slightly below the expected 0.3 percent increase. The sharp December gain came from special dividends paid by many companies in anticipation of changes in individual income tax rates, which were tied into negotiations to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 01/31/2013
First-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped 38,000 to 368,000 for the week ending January 26, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected a smaller increase to 350,000 from the prior week's 330,000 initial claims. The weekly jump in initial claims was the first in three weeks. It reflected, in part, a drop in the seasonal adjustment factor the Labor Department applies to the raw data, which includes holiday workers whose jobs were eliminated.
For the third straight week, the originally reported claims figure was unrevised.
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By Esther Cho | 01/31/2013
While the national trend shows home prices are rising and the supply of foreclosures is shrinking, on a more microscopic level, there are still metros where investors can find foreclosures at steep discounts and in greater abundance. RealtyTrac compiled a list of the 20 best (and worst) metro areas to buy foreclosures in 2013. RealtyTrac ranked Palm Bay, Florida as the No. 1 metro for foreclosure purchases.
From 2011 to 2012, the metro saw foreclosure activity increase 308 percent, and it has a 34 months' supply of foreclosure inventory. Five other Florida metros were represented on the top 20 list.
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By Esther Cho | 01/30/2013
NexTitle is offering a reduced escrow rate program in Oregon for active military personnel, veterans, and first-time homebuyers. According to a company announcement, the program will lead to a savings of ten percent off the escrow fee.
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By Tory Barringer | 01/30/2013
Keeping her promise to Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), Federal Housing Administration commissioner Carol Galante announced a series of changes that will allow the agency to better manage risk and strengthen its anemic Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund. The first major change will be the consolidation of FHA's Standard Fixed-Rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and Saver Fixed Rate HECM pricing options. In addition, the agency plans to increase its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 0.10 percent for most new mortgages and by 0.05 percent for jumbo loans.
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By Esther Cho | 01/30/2013
In a report, a taxpayer watchdog agency accused Treasury of lacking a concrete plan to help Ally pay back taxpayers and move toward financial stability. "Four years after its first Government bailout, Ally still owes taxpayers $14.6 billion," SIGTARP stated in the report.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 01/30/2013
With a nod to the report the nation’s economy had contracted in the fourth quarter, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted Wednesday to continue its program of purchasing $40 million a month of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and to maintain the target Fed Funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent.
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By Krista Franks Brock | 01/30/2013
In general, the most popular times of year for online home searches are at the start of the year and in the summer, according to the Trulia Real Estate Search Report released Wednesday. However, Trulia reveals some fluctuation across the country with a major tendency for online searches to peak when the weather is warm and dry. Overall, December is the slowest state for online searches, according to Trulia's data. Understanding these statewide trends can benefit both buyers and sellers, according to Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia.
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By Esther Cho | 01/30/2013
A former managing director and senior trader at Jefferies & Co. was charged for allegedly defrauding investors when selling residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in a release.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 01/30/2013
Lincoln, Nebraska recorded a best-in-the-nation 3.4 percent unemployment rate in December as unemployment rates dropped in 290 of the 372 metropolitan areas in the county, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Wednesday. Three other metro areas reported unemployment rates of 4.0 percent or below: Lafayette and Lake Charles, Louisiana, at 3.7 percent each, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at 4.0 percent. The highest unemployment rates in the country, according to the BLS report, were in Yuma, Arizona, and El Centro, California, at 27.3 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively.
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By Esther Cho | 01/30/2013
As the multifamily sector continues to flourish, Freddie Mac also announced it hit record volume for its multifamily business. In 2012, the GSE supported the multifamily sector with $28.8 billion. The figure represents a 42 percent increase from 20.3 billion in 2011 and is the highest level since 2008, when multifamily business activity reached a record $24 billion.
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