Pending Sales Rise 5.2% in July
Reuters via Yahoo, September 1, 2010

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming. The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in July, increased 5.2 percent to 79.4 from June. June contracts were revised to show a slightly bigger 2.8 percent decline instead of the previously reported 2.6 percent fall.

Fannie Mae Gets Tougher on Mortgage Servicers
Reuters, September 1, 2010

Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB), the largest provider of funding for U.S. residential mortgages, will begin demanding compensation from mortgage servicing companies that fail to properly handle troubled mortgage loans, the company announced late on Tuesday. The government-controlled company also said it may begin conducting reviews of loan files, processes and procedures used by the servicers, in another sign it is growing impatient with the firms that collect and distribute homeowners' payments.

Foreclosures Pose Potential Trouble on Election Day
New York Times, September 1, 2010

Home foreclosures, the epidemic spawned by the crash of the real estate market, are once again a potential election-year bugaboo. With midterm elections nearing, advocacy groups and election officials around the country are concerned that homeowners and renters affected by foreclosure will face complications at the polls, if not ignore the election altogether. They fear the problem may be more prevalent than in 2008 because the number of property foreclosures this year is expected to be more than three million — 30 percent greater than two years ago, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure database.

Grinding to a Halt
The Economist, August 26, 2010

There was always some concern that the Obama administration’s attempts to prop up the housing market with a generous housing-tax credit could end badly. Opponents of the policy — worth up to $8,000 for first-time buyers — argued that it would merely move sales around, from after the deadline to before, and could produce a slump when the deadline passed. Such fears helped clear the way for an extension of the program from its first 2009 deadline to April of this year.

Widespread Fear Freezes Housing Market
New York Times, August 30, 2010

You have to wonder sometimes what they’re smoking over there at the National Association of Realtors. On Tuesday, the self-proclaimed “voice for real estate” released its “existing home sales” figures for July. They were gruesome. Sales were down 27 percent from the previous month, and down 26 percent from a year ago. Annualized, the July sales figures would translate into fewer than 3.9 million homes sold this year — a staggeringly low figure. (The record high occurred in 2005, when more than seven million houses were sold.).


Housing Quagmire: Is it Time to Remove Relief?
Fortune, August 31, 2010

For the growing number of struggling homeowners in this country, more help is on the way. Additional aid from the federal government will begin making its way to them next month -- one program would help qualified homeowners refinance their mortgages after seeing their property values fall below the amount they owe, and the other includes another round of funding to help the unemployed or underemployed with their payments.


Another Home Buyer Tax Credit?
CNBC, August 30, 2010

Just when I thought the housing market was finally being left to correct on its own, I'm starting to hear talk regarding yet another home buyer tax credit. From HUD to the hedge funds, it sounds as if it is gaining steam yet again. This one could involve not just first time/move-up buyers, but a credit for buyers purchasing foreclosed properties or short sales (when the bank allows you to buy a home for less than the value of the outstanding mortgage).


Ignore Talk of a Housing Tax Credit ‘Revival’
Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2010

Bring back the home buyer tax credit? Don’t hold your breath. There’s been a lot of breathless speculation ever since Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, awkwardly side-stepped a question from CNN on Sunday about whether the Obama administration would consider reviving tax credits to spur home sales.


Banks’ Self-Dealing Super-Charged Financial Crisis
ProPublica, August 26, 2010

Over the last two years of the housing bubble, Wall Street bankers perpetrated one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history. Faced with increasing difficulty in selling the mortgage-backed securities that had been among their most lucrative products, the banks hit on a solution that preserved their quarterly earnings and huge bonuses: They created fake demand.


Assembly Rejects Foreclosure/Modification Bill
San Francisco Chronicle, September 1, 2010

State legislation to protect homeowners from foreclosure while pursuing a loan modification, widely supported by consumer groups but opposed by the banking California industry, has failed in the state Assembly.  SB1275, which was rejected 36-30 late Monday, would have required lenders to provide homeowners with a fully considered loan modification decision prior to foreclosing. Unlike federal initiatives, it would have given homeowners the right to sue the lender if that process did not occur.

U.S. Home Prices Rose 1% in June
August 31, 2010 — The New York Times

A crucial index on home prices in the United States rose in June, the last month that benefited from a tax credit for home buyers.

Don't miss your real estate niche
August 30, 2010 — Inman News

During the first quarter of this year, 46 percent of the homes sold in San Diego County were distressed properties, making involvement with REO (bank-owned) and short-sale properties an obvious choice for an agent looking to succeed.

Survey: Mortgage closing costs 37% higher
August 30, 2010 — USA Today

A new federal rule this year requiring mortgage lenders to give borrowers reliable estimates of closing costs appears to be working — whether it's also costing borrowers more money is uncertain.

Housing Supply and Demand Won't Balance until 2012: Moody's
August 30, 2010 — DSNews

Moody’s Investors Service says it expects home price appreciation to be “soft” for the next couple of years. The company says there were 1.8 million more vacant homes sitting on the market than what is considered the norm at the end of the second quarter. According to Moody’s, this imbalance of supply-and-demand, particularly in light of the steep falloff in home sales post-tax credit, means the home price correction is not yet over.

Judge fines major legal firm for foreclosure conduct
August 31, 2010 — HeraldTribune.com

MANATEE COUNTY - A circuit judge singled out a Fort Lauderdale foreclosure firm on Monday, finding its business model violates legal ethics and leveling a $49,000 fine for scheduling hearings and then not showing up in court.

Arizona HOAs turn to hardball tactics; critics call system inequitable
August 30, 2010 — Arizona Republic

Arizona homeowners associations are not accepting a resident's foreclosure as an excuse when it comes to collecting unpaid dues, assessments and fines.

Economist Shiller Sees Potential for 'Double Dip' Recession
Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2010

With the U.S. economic recovery losing steam, the chances of a second phase of a slowdown are increasing, according to a leading economist. Speaking in The Wall Street Journal's The Big Interview show, Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University, said he thought the second dip down of a so-called double-dip recession "may be imminent." Earlier this month, he told the Wall Street Journal he thought the chance of a double-dip recession, which he noted is a rare event, was greater than 50%.


Foreclosures of Million-dollar-plus Homes on the Rise
Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2010

The number of homes in the $1-million-and-up slice of the market that have become bank owned has tripled during the last three years in Los Angeles County, and the trend has shown little sign of slowing.


'Jingle Mail': Developers Are Giving Up On Properties
Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2010

Like homeowners walking away from mortgaged houses that plummeted in value, some of the largest commercial-property owners are defaulting on debts and surrendering buildings worth less than their loans. Companies such as Macerich Co., Vornado Realty Trust and Simon Property Group Inc. have recently stopped making mortgage payments to put pressure on lenders to restructure debts. In many cases they have walked away, sending keys to properties whose values had fallen far below the mortgage amounts, a process known as "jingle mail."


Paying Off the House in 15 Years
Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2010

A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate--even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.Between January and June, 26% of homeowners who refinanced chose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to data from CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. During all of 2009, 18.5% of borrowers who refinanced opted for a 15-year term.

Foreclosure backlog, bulldozers force Ohio REO brokers to the suburbs
August 25, 2010 — REOInsider

New foreclosure filings in the Ohio Supreme Court reached 89,053 in 2009, a 3.8% increase from 2008, but pending foreclosure cases are building at a faster rate.

Chase Moves to Speed Loan Mod Evaluations
August 25, 2010 — DSNews

Chase, the consumer and commercial banking arm of New York’s JPMorgan Chase & Co. says it “remains committed to helping customers avoid foreclosure.”

Late Payments Rise on Second Mortgages, Decline for Firsts: Report
August 25, 2010 — DSNews

Monthly default rates in July declined for first mortgages, but a larger number of homeowners fell behind on their second lien payments, according to data released jointly by Standard & Poor’s and Experian.

More lenders modifying troubled home loans by extending mortgage terms to 40 years
August 25, 2010  — Orlando Sentinel

Maria Olmo, 63, doesn't like her chances of paying off her new, 40-year mortgage.

Fannie, Freddie, and the mortgage addiction
August 26, 2010 — Christian Science Monitor

n the first inning of what looks to be an intricate political game, the Obama administration and its financial industry allies suggested that the economy needs the federal government full force in the mortgage market.