Foreclosures Spread to Middle Class
October 28, 2009, NEWSWEEK

The foreclosure crisis may be coming to a middle-class neighborhood near you. As joblessness continues to rise and as a person's unemployment lasts on average 6.5 months, roughly 3.4 million homes are expected to go into foreclosure by the end of 2009. That's up from 1.2 million homes in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a subscription-based site that tracks foreclosures nationwide. "We're not out of the woods yet," says Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's senior vice president. Sharga recently spoke to NEWSWEEK's Nancy Cook about the various waves of the foreclosure crisis, the future of homeownership and why the Obama administration’s loan-modification program won't stem this latest crop of foreclosures. Click here to read excerpts of Rick Sharga’s NEWSWEEK interview:

U.S. Economy Started to Grow Again in the Third Quarter
October 28, 2009,

Ending a year of contraction, the United States economy grew in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. But even if a recovery is technically in the offing, job seekers likely will not begin to feel the benefits for months to come. The nation’s gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the three months ending in September, a significant spike from a somewhat shrunken base. The economy had contracted at annual rates of 0.7 percent and 6.4 percent in the second and first quarters of this year, respectively.

Senators Say Homebuyer Tax Credit Is "In the Bag"
October 28, 2009, DS News

The U.S. Senate’s chief Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nevada), said Wednesday that his party has reached a consensus to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which is set to expire November 30. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) has voiced the same sentiment to the media today, as well.  But the party support isn’t one-sided. Reuters reported that the chamber’s foremost Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), acknowledged that most senators support the measure, quoted by the news agency as saying he shares Reid’s view.

Foreclosures on the Rise in 2009
October 27, 2009,  USA TODAY

Home foreclosures increased 22.5% in third quarter 2009 vs. third quarter 2008. This interactive shows the percentage of housing units that received at least one foreclosure filing during the quarter, the total number of housing units with filings and the percentage change in filings from the previous year. The data was provided by RealtyTrac, an online real estate marketplace that tracks foreclosures. The interactive was updated Oct. 23, 2009 and will be updated quarterly.

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rise for Third Month
October 27, 2009, Bloomberg News

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in August for a third consecutive month, bolstering the case that an economic recovery is at hand.  The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index climbed 1 percent from the prior month, seasonally adjusted, after a 1.2 percent increase in July, the group said today in New York. From a year earlier, the gauge fell 11.3 percent, less than forecast.  Rising home sales, due in part to government programs including the first-time buyer credit and efforts to lower borrowing costs, have helped stem the slump in property values that precipitated the worst recession since the 1930s.

Housing Prices May Fall Further
October 27, 2009, Forbes

Over the past few months, there have been suggestions that the U.S. housing market might finally be bottoming out. Since July, the decline in sales of both new and existing homes has moderated. Moreover, over the past three months, there has been a very modest increase in home prices at the national level as measured by the 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. However, the high inventory of unsold homes, continuing foreclosures, and double-digit unemployment could mean that housing prices have further to fall.

Nelson Says Senate to Extend, Reduce Homebuyer Credit
October 27, 2009, Bloomberg News

Senate leaders are negotiating to extend and gradually reduce an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers through 2010, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said.  “We should be able to extend that later this week,” Nelson, a Democrat, told reporters traveling today with President Barack Obama on Air Force One to a speech in Jacksonville, Florida.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, both Democrats, may seek to add the homebuyers extension to legislation extending unemployment benefits that may be debated as early as this week, according to Regan Lachapelle, an aide to Reid.

Obama administration facing new pressure on foreclosures
Reuters

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is facing stepped up pressure to provide more details about its efforts to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier this month said about half a million American families are now participating in a home loan modification program initiated by the Obama administration to try to slow the rate of foreclosures.

Home Resales Jumped in September
The Wall Street Journal

Demand for previously owned homes surged in September as buyers grabbed lower prices and a tax credit about to vanish.

Home resales increased by 9.4% to a 5.57 million annual rate from 5.09 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

US home sale prices drop in August
Boston Globe

Home prices in the United States fell 3.6 percent in August from a year earlier as record foreclosures and rising unemployment depressed demand.

The region including Nevada and Arizona led the decline, with prices dropping 7.9 percent, followed by a 6.5 percent decrease in the area including California, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said. Prices fell 0.3 percent in August from July, the first decrease in seven months.

Costly fraud and error reported in home buyers' tax program
The Washington Post

Hundreds of millions of dollars may have been paid to people who fraudulently or mistakenly took advantage of a lucrative tax credit for first-time home buyers, including some who were employees of the Internal Revenue Service and even children, an IRS watchdog told a House panel on Thursday.

The findings, documented in a report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, come as debate heats up in Congress over whether to extend the $8,000 tax credit beyond its Nov. 30 deadline.

Reports: Home prices to continue slide through next year
Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas-area home prices are likely to fall further as local foreclosure activity shows no sign of slowing down, two reports said this week.

The Wall Street Journal today reported on its quarterly survey of housing-market data in Las Vegas and 27 other major areas.

Waiting for the Next McMansion to Drop
The Wall Street Journal

Despite some tentative signs of recovery, the U.S. housing market remains vulnerable to further price drops—especially in areas where large numbers of mortgages are headed toward foreclosure over the next few years.

The Wall Street Journal's quarterly survey of housing-market data in 28 major metro areas shows sharp drops in the number of homes listed for sale across the country. But the potential supply of homes is far larger because banks are likely to acquire significant numbers of foreclosed homes in some areas, notably Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, Miami and other parts of Florida, and Sacramento, Calif., over the next few years.

Report: Foreclosure Starts to Decline Next Year
MBA NewsLink

After rising steadily since 2006, one report suggests that the number of foreclosures will begin to decline in 2010. In the meantime, things could get worse.

UFA LLC, Ann Arbor, Mich., said national and local economic conditions, based on a reviving economy, slowing house price depreciation and tighter underwriting of recent loan vintages will cause foreclosures to decline next year. In the near term, however, rising unemployment will continue to mitigate positive factors.

Fannie Mae Offers Hand to Investors
American Banker

Call it Hope for Home Flippers.

Fannie Mae is replacing a forbearance program for troubled borrowers with one that will make the breaks available to property investors and owners of second homes. In a forbearance, the government-sponsored enterprise reduces the monthly payment on a mortgage for up to six months. The current program only provides this relief for loans on owner-occupied properties.

Beige Book Sees Signs That Growth Is Stirring
The New York Times

Regional economies in most parts of the country are on the mend, largely because home sales are rebounding and factories and manufacturers are stirring back to life, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.

The Fed’s regular report on economic activity across the country — known as the beige book — noted the dissonance between tentative signs of a recovery and lingering weakness as the United States struggles to break out of the deepest recession since the 1930s.

TARP Inspector Wants to Subpoena Treasury
DSNews

The government’s overseer of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) issued a scathing report Wednesday in his regular quarterly assessment of the administration’s bailout efforts.

Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky lashed out at the U.S. Treasury Department for failing to implement clear recommendations from his office that would improve the program and refusing to come forth with critical details of fund usage. Barofsky even went so far as to threaten to subpoena documents from the Treasury and White House.

Treasury Planning to Wind Down TARP Programs
DSNews

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it’s time to close up shop on some of the core components of the government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

“We are now at the point where we can begin to wind down the programs that really defined TARP in its initial stages,” Geithner said at the Reuters Washington Summit Tuesday.