Still Hunting For A Bottom In Housing
Still Hunting For A Bottom In Housing
January 7, 2010, TIME
The decimated housing market may get considerably worse before it gets better, according to housing industry professionals, who expect foreclosures and home price declines to continue pressuring the sector through at least the first half of 2010. The biggest problem will likely be a flood of inventory hitting the market from rising foreclosures, says Bob Curran, a managing director at Fitch Ratings. With a mountain of specialized adjustable rate mortgages, known as option ARMs and ALT-A mortgages, slated to reset over the next 12 to 18 months and unemployment projected to hit 10.5% this year, the number of homeowners defaulting on their mortgages is expected to surge. At least $64 billion in option ARMS will reset in 2010 and another $68 billion in 2011, according to First American CoreLogic, a real estate and mortgage data company.
Mortgage Demand Near Six-Month Low as Rates Jump
January 6, 2010, ABC News
Demand for U.S. mortgages held last week near six-month lows as the highest long-term borrowing costs since August stifled refinancing, a Mortgage Bankers Association survey showed on Wednesday. Average 30-year mortgage rates jumped 0.10 percentage point to 5.18 percent in the January 1 week, up more than a half percentage point from the record low in March, driving down refinance requests to levels last seen in early August.
The rate was last higher in late August at 5.24 percent.
Minnesota Dems Try Again With Foreclosure Bill
January 6, 2010, The Associated Press
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and Democratic legislators said Wednesday that they will try again this year to enact a foreclosure mediation bill vetoed last year by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Swanson, a Democrat, said struggling homeowners could still benefit from the legislation. Swanson said 14 other states have some kind of mediation before foreclosure. She said enacting the bill would keep more Minnesota residents in their homes and help stabilize the housing market.
Some at Fed See a Need to Do More for Housing
January 6, 2010, New York Times
Despite extensive government intervention in the housing market, some policy makers at the Federal Reserve are worried that even more might need to be done. The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s mid-December meeting, released on Wednesday, reflected a lingering wariness about the strength of the recovery in light of high unemployment and substantial slack in the economy.
Wave of Bankruptcies Hits States Hammered by Housing Bust
January 7, 2010, Wall Street Journal
Personal bankruptcies soared last year in Western states hit hardest by the real-estate bust. In states such as California, Arizona and Nevada, where housing prices soared and then collapsed during the past decade, consumer bankruptcy filings rose roughly twice as much as the national average increase of 32%. Homeowners fell behind on mortgages and could no longer tap into their home equity to pay down other debts.