home mortgages

Pending Home Sales Second Highest Level in a Decade

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales just jumped to the second highest level in a decade and the highest level in nearly a year.  Pending home sales increased 5.5% in a month to an index level of 112.3.  In May 2006, the index was 112.5 and from a year ago, the figure is up 2.6%.  Last April saw a pending home sales index of 113.6.

 

Pending Homes Sales Point to Party Over

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales declined by -0.6% in October 2013.  This is the 5th month in a row where pending home sales have declined and is the lowest level for pending home sales since Decenber 2012.  September pending home sales dropped by -4.6%  Pending home sales have declined -1.6% from a year ago.

 

Pending Home Sales Decline for Second Month in a Row

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales declined by -1.3% in July.  This is the second month in a row where pending home sales have declined as June dropped by -0.4%  Pending home sales have increased 6.7% from a year ago.  Pending home sales are also back to November 2006 housing bubble year levels.

Is the Fed's Quantitative Easing Pushing Up Home Prices?

Is the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing over inflating housing prices?  According to one Fed Official they aren't  Yet the Federal Reserve is buying 50% of mortgage backed securities, keeping mortgage interest rates at record lows and affecting pricing on mortgage backed securities themselves.

 

WSJ Reporting $20 Billion Mortgage Principle Reduction or Be Fined White House Plan

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Obama administration is planning on levying $20 billion in civil fines on mortgage services for foreclosure fraud in order to force the Banks to reduce principle on mortgage modifications by a similar total amount. In other words, we're gonna fine you by a big whopping sum if you don't actually help homeowners, reduce mortgage principal and take the loss. Of course absurd mortgage backed securities and investors remain unscathed.

The Obama administration is trying to push through a settlement over mortgage-servicing breakdowns that could force America's largest banks to pay for reductions in loan principal worth billions of dollars.

Terms of the administration's proposal include a commitment from mortgage servicers to reduce the loan balances of troubled borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth, people familiar with the matter said. The cost of those writedowns won't be borne by investors who purchased mortgage-backed securities, these people said.

If a unified settlement can be reached, some state attorneys general and federal agencies are pushing for banks to pay more than $20 billion in civil fines or to fund a comparable amount of loan modifications for distressed borrowers, these people said.

Rumor Obama will force Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac to forgive negative equity mortgage debt for underwater mortgages

If you haven't seen it yet, there is a rumor running around that the Obama administration will order Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of mortgage debt for home owners in negative equity.

Main Street may be about to get its own gigantic bailout. Rumors are running wild from Washington to Wall Street that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth. An estimated 15 million U.S. mortgages – one in five – are underwater with negative equity of some $800 billion. Recall that on Christmas Eve 2009, the Treasury Department waived a $400 billion limit on financial assistance to Fannie and Freddie, pledging unlimited help. The actual vehicle for the bailout could be the Bush-era Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, a sister program to Obama’s loan modification effort. HARP was just extended through June 30, 2011.

The move, if it happens, would be a stunning political and economic bombshell less than 100 days before a midterm election in which Democrats are currently expected to suffer massive, if not historic losses. The key date to watch is August 17 when the Treasury Department holds a much-hyped meeting on the future of Fannie and Freddie.

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