Home Prices Fall, but Pace Stops Setting Records

Home Prices Fall, but Pace Stops Setting Records
The Wall Street Journal

U.S. home prices continued their multiyear slide in February, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes, but they did stop their 16-month streak of record declines.

Separately, U.S. consumers' assessment of the economy rose to its highest point of the year in April as households began to see an end to the recession loom into view.

Mortgage Modification Bill Faces Trouble in Senate
The Washington Post

Days before an expected vote, Senate leaders yesterday touted their version of a proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages, but have yet to secure the support of the financial services industry and face fierce opposition that could derail the proposal again.

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) has been negotiating with Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo for weeks. They are facing increasing pressure to conclude negotiations before a Senate vote later this week, but talks continue, according to Senate aides.

Treasury has new mortgage incentives: official
Reuters

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department will on Tuesday tap a $50 billion housing rescue fund to pay off mortgage investors and reduce monthly payments for millions of borrowers, said a senior administration official.

Mortgage servicers that own a small stake in costly loans will receive a cash payment to either erase the debt or agree to accept a reduced return on their investment.

Four Servicers Added to Government's Mod Program
DSnews

The U.S. Treasury Department has released the names of four more servicers who have officially signed on to participate in the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program. Joining the list of participants is Wilshire Credit Corporation, Pittsburgh's Home Loan Services, Countrywide Home Loans, and Bank of America.

So far 11 mortgage lenders and servicers have inked their commitment to the government program. The companies have agreed to follow federal guidelines to lower monthly mortgage payments for struggling homeowners in exchange for incentives from the government.

'Hot' markets for house hunters
ZipRealty search activity tracks with foreclosures
Inman News

Cities in the "sand states" of Arizona, Florida, California and Nevada dominate a list of most-searched communities by ZipRealty users during the first three months of the year.

In its quarterly "Home Hunters Report," ZipRealty tracks data from 5,400 cities in 33 of the 35 markets the company operates in to identify the most-searched cities.

F.D.I.C. Chief Calls for Broader Powers for Agency
The New York Times

The chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila C. Bair, said in a speech on Monday that her agency should have broader powers to take over and close a variety of financial institutions to prevent taxpayers from shouldering the losses on firms deemed too big to fail.

Instead of just seizing commercial banks, Ms. Bair said the F.D.I.C. should be able to take over troubled insurers, bank holding companies and other insolvent financial institutions and force stockholders and bondholders to bear the cost.

BofA Launches Unified Mortgage Brand
DSnews

Bank of America announced on Monday that it has combined its mortgage and home equity
operations with Countrywide Home Loans under the umbrella of a single brand – Bank of America Home Loans.

BofA said that just 10 months after acquiring the subprime lending leader, the Countrywide brand is now retired. Other Countrywide-owned businesses involved in the deal will retain their brands, including Balboa Insurance Services, a provider of lender-placed property insurance, and LandSafe, a supplier of pre- and post-closing services.

Fed Pushes Citi, BofA to Increase Capital
The Wall Street Journal

Regulators have told Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. that the banks may need to raise more capital based on early results of the government's so-called stress tests of lenders, according to people familiar with the situation.

The capital shortfall amounts to billions of dollars at Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., people familiar with the bank said.

Home-Ownership Rate Declines
The Wall Street Journal

The national home ownership rate fell in the first quarter to its lowest level since 2000, with the biggest drops among younger buyers who benefited from the easy credit that helped fuel the housing boom.

The seasonally-adjusted national home ownership rate was 67.5% in the first quarter of this year, down half a percentage point since the first quarter of 2008, the Census Bureau said Monday. That was the lowest rate since the second quarter of 2000, and is just the latest indicator to show how the years of easy credit and rising home ownership are being reversed by the foreclosure crisis and recession.