The median price for single-family homes in Connecticut climbed more than 6 percent in January compared to a year earlier, while sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, according to a report from the Warren Group, which tracks the New England real estate markets.
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With defaults on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) continuing to mount, lawmakers are pressing the federal agency to raise its minimum downpayment requirement from 3.5 percent to 5 percent. But in testimony on Capitol Hill Thursday, FHA Commissioner David Stevens flatly rebuffed the idea, citing statistical evidence that shows such an across-the-board increase would result in a 40 percent drop in the agency's loan volume.
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President Obama's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program has been under intense fire this week. On Monday, a coalition of appraisal groups sent a letter to the Treasury opposing the program's use of BPOs, and on Thursday, the chief foreclosure expert at Ushud.com warned that HAFA is "rife with problems that will adversely impact real estate professionals and consumers alike."
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In the fourth quarter of 2009, delinquency rates continued to increase for most commercial and multifamily mortgage investor groups, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Thursday. Although delinquencies are still rising, MBA said earlier this week that commercial and multifamily mortgages are performing better than all other types of loans.
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Marking the second consecutive week of declines, Freddie Mac reported Thursday that mortgage rates dipped once again this week. For the week ending March 11, 2010, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.95 percent with an average 0.7 point, and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.32 percent with an avearge 0.7 point.
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Last week, Rep. Barney Frank called for the nation's four largest banks to take a loss on secondary mortgage debt, such as home equity loans, which he says have no real economic value considering the state of the housing market.
An influential group of investors, representing holders of some $100 billion in mortgage securities, is throwing its full support behind Frank's proposal, but the coalition is concerned that unless Treasury provides further guidance, the banks will shun the idea because it could result in "catastrophic" losses.
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Foreclosure filings issued to U.S. homeowners have fallen for the second straight month.
According to new data released by RealtyTrac Thursday, default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions were reported on 308,524 properties in February. That's a 2 percent decrease from January, when foreclosure activity dropped by 10 percent.
February's numbers are still 6 percent above the level reported one year earlier, but RealtyTrac says it's the smallest annual increase the company has tracked since January 2006.
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GMAC Financial Services has auctioned off $250 million of problem mortgage assets, using Citigroup Inc. as its broker on the deal, according to a report from American Banker. GMAC reported in February that its $5 billion loss during the final months of last year was largely the result of legacy assets in its mortgage operations. A regulatory filing by the company this week also revealed that its CFO, Robert Hull, has resigned, effective at the end of this month.
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New York-based Lend America and its senior-level strategist and VP, Michael Ashley, have been permanently banned from doing business for the Federal Housing Administration, according to recently released court documents. Ashley helped build Lend America into one of the most lucrative FHA loan producers, but federal attorneys say all the while he's been in violation of an earlier industry ban, when he plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in 1993.
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Keller Williams Realty, an Austin, Texas-based real estate franchise operation, recently announced the launch of Keller Williams Southern Arizona. This new operation, formerly with Realty Executives, includes seven offices with more than 375 real estate agents and staff.
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