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Tag Archives: Barclays Capital

Commercial Property Prices Rise as Distressed Values Increase

Sales prices of commercial real estate properties rose 6.3 percent in May, according to Moody's Investors Service. The agency's latest reading marked the first positive move in its property price index in six months and the largest one-month increase since Moody's began tracking commercial real estate prices in 2000. The firm's analysts attribute much of the turnaround to an increase in prices of distressed transactions, which rose 4.8 percent during May.

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Barclays Capital Suggests Overhaul of Remittance Reporting

Barclays Capital says that as servicers perform complicated modifications and other actions, remittance reporting has been found wanting. A recent study by the research firm examines typical remittance reports and points out flaws in the process, aiming to make a case for a complete overhaul. Barclays says current procedures sometimes make it difficult to understand where money is coming and going, and with some transactions the math gets fuzzy very quickly.

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Foreclosure-to-REO Roll Rates Fall Dramatically on Robo-Signing Delays

Recent data from Barclays Capital examines the ramifications of the fourth quarter foreclosure debacles on REO roll rates. Data released Friday shows the foreclosure-to-REO rate dropped 57 percent in judicial states the last few months of 2010, and dropped 42 percent in the non-judicial states. In New York, the roll rate ground to a near stop, dropping a whopping 91 percent in December when compared to the rate from January to October 2010.

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Massachusetts Court Voids Foreclosures, Citing Note Transfer Errors

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled Friday that U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo did not have the legal right to foreclose on two homes in the state, invalidating the lenders' seizure of the properties and raising further questions about foreclosure documentation - this time related to the proper transfer of ownership on mortgages packaged as securities. Analysts warn that the decision could have far-reaching implications on loans that have already been liquidated, those in the process of foreclosure, and sales of bank-owned homes.

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Analysts Weigh in on GMAC’s Foreclosure Snafu

Last week, GMAC Mortgage called for a halt on foreclosures and REO sales in 23 states that may have been impacted by an internal procedural error. The incident could give cause for homeowners to file lawsuits against the lender, bondholders could be impacted, and the problem could reach beyond just GMAC since it also services mortgages for other firms, including the GSEs. A number of analysts have since weighed in on GMAC's foreclosure snafu. Attorneys general in several states are also launching their own investigations.

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Court Affirms Ohio AG’s Case Against Loan Servicer HomEq

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray's lawsuit against Barclays Capital Real Estate, dba HomEq Servicing, just took a legal step forward with a recent decision by a state court. This week, a Montgomery County judge overruled the defendant's motion to dismiss, clearing the way for Cordray's case to move forward, and the attorney general says, setting the stage for servicers to be held legally responsible for their actions in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis.

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Ocwen Pays Less Than Expected for HomEq

Ocwen Financial Corp. paid $1.196 billion for HomEq Servicing, 7.4 percent less than the Florida-based company had initially estimated. Ocwen says 134,000 home loans were transferred from HomEq and immediately boarded onto Ocwen's system on September 1. The reason for the reduction in the purchase price is that the unpaid principal balance of the boarded loans was $5.6 billion less than previously anticipated. Ocwen called it a ""normal runoff.""

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Market Forecasts for Home Prices Continue to Darken

Home prices have hit upon relatively stable ground in recent months -- a welcome reprieve from the freefall days most markets had grown acutely accustomed to after the reverberating bursting of the housing bubble. But that stability may be fleeting fast. If you heed the words of the seers keeping a close watch over industry trends and movements in price lines, you should be bracing for another decline in property values, as the elusive floor drops a little lower.

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Freddie Mac’s Streamlined Refi Program Is Nothing New: Barclays

Rock-bottom interest rates and less-than-encouraging economic data have kept mortgage-backed securities (MBS) investors worried about what the government could do next to prop up the ailing housing market, with the latest concern stemming from a recent announcement by Freddie Mac, according to Barclays Capital. The GSE has issued a new servicing guide detailing an ""easy refinance"" option with loan-to-value ratios up to 95 percent and $2,000 cash back to the borrower. Barclays says the program ""is everything but new.""

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Ocwen Completes HomEq Acquisition, Closes Two Facilities

Ocwen Financial Services closed its purchase of HomEq Servicing last week. The $1.3 billion deal with HomEq parent Barclays Bank was initially announced in May. The transaction aligns two of the foremost names in the business of servicing distressed mortgages. As part of an organizational restructuring, Ocwen says it will close down two HomEq offices in California and North Carolina, and lay off more than 1,000 HomEq staff members.

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