In Foreclosure Settlement Talks With Banks, Predictions of a Long Process
March 30, 2011, New York Times

Little was settled in the first round of foreclosure settlement talks. The nation’s top mortgage servicers met Wednesday in Washington with the attorneys general from five states as well as Obama administration officials, beginning negotiations in earnest over new rules for homeowners who are in default. The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that an agreement was going to take time.

Foreclosures Boost Incomes?
March 30, 2011, Barron’s

There's good news and bad news on the housing front. The good news is that the numbers of borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgages or are seriously delinquent are beginning to recede. Meanwhile, foreclosures appear to have plateaued, albeit at historically high levels. The bad news is that all the folks who have stopped paying their mortgages eventually will lose their houses and will no longer be able to live rent-free. And when that happens, there will be a hit to personal income, at least the way government economists count it.

House Votes to Scrap Foreclosure Program
March 29, 2011, New York Times

Republicans, ignoring a veto threat from the White House, pushed a bill through the House on Tuesday that would eliminate a foreclosure prevention program that provides financial incentives to mortgage servicers who modify loans for homeowners who are behind on their payments. The House voted 252-170, mostly along party lines, to terminate the $30 billion Home Affordable Modification Program and redirect unspent funds toward reducing the deficit.

Which state faces biggest foreclosure risks? New Jersey
March 30, 2011, Christian Science Monitor

The US has 1.8 million units of 'shadow inventory' – distressed properties likely to hit the housing market. New Jersey tops the list, with Illinois, Florida, and California also among the most at-risk. The data, part of a new report, show both improvement and remaining problems.

Judge to Oversee NJ Mortgage Foreclosure Process
March 30, 2011, Bloomberg

A judge appointed a special overseer Tuesday to ensure that foreclosure proceedings in the state of New Jersey conform to the law. The move comes after state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner in December ordered six of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders to show why their foreclosure operations shouldn't be suspended in New Jersey over reports of widespread irregularities.

Stern to Stop Prosecuting Thousands of Foreclosure Cases in Florida
March 30, 2011, Miami Herald

The Law Offices of David J. Stern will cease pursuing its 100,000 pending foreclosure cases as of Thursday, the firm’s founder announced in a letter to Florida judges this month. Stern’s departure from the business of foreclosure prosecution will leave more than 25,000 South Florida foreclosure cases stranded without representation, and many of them could be dismissed for lack of prosecution.

U.S. Housing Prices Fell Again in January
March 29, 2011, New York Times

Housing prices slid in January for the sixth month in a row, putting them barely above the lows reached in the depths of the recession, according to data released Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for 20 large cities dropped 1 percent from December. The index, which has fallen 31.8 percent from its peak in 2006, is only 1.1 percent above its spring 2009 low.

Banks Offer Own Mortgage-Servicing Plan
March 29, 2011, Wall Street Journal

Five of the nation's largest banks sent government officials a proposal Monday that outlines a set of mortgage-servicing standards they would abide by as part of a settlement of abuses in the industry. The 15-page bank proposal, dubbed the Draft Alternative Uniform Servicing Standards, includes time lines for processing modifications, a third-party review of foreclosures and a single point of contact for financially troubled borrowers.

Are Banks Scheming to Gut the Role of the Courts in Foreclosures?
March 29, 2011, Naked Capitalism

I may be overreacting but given the sorry behavior of banks throughout the crisis and its aftermath, better to be vigilant than sorry. The Wall Street Journal provided a very sketchy summary of the counterproposal that the banks will put on the table in the foreclosure fraud settlements this week. I strongly suspect that the intent is to pull as many contested foreclosures as possible out of the court process, particularly those that involve chain of title issues, since enough adverse rulings have the potential to blow up the entire mortgage industrial complex.

Real Estate Charts of the Week
March 29, 2011, Wall Street Journal

Here’s a look at some of the week’s real estate news through Wall Street Journal charts.

Cash-Paying Vultures Pick Bones of U.S. Housing Market
March 28, 2011, Bloomberg

Delavaco Properties LP plans to spend as much as $30 million this year and $40 million in 2012 to buy bank-owned houses and condominiums in foreclosure-ridden South Florida. The private-equity fund will pay cash. As lenders tighten mortgage standards and consumers stay on the sidelines amid a five-year slide in home prices, all-cash purchases are surging. The deals are done mostly by investors who can get properties for less than buyers needing loans, fix them up and resell or rent them.

It's Time to Buy Again
March 28, 2011, CNNMoney.com

So let's state it simply and forcibly: Housing is back. Two basic factors are laying the foundation for dramatic recovery in residential real estate. The first is the historic drop in new construction. The second is a steep decline in prices, on the order of 30% nationwide since 2006, and as much as 55% in the hardest-hit markets.

Freddie Mac Bars Foreclosure Actions in the Name of MERS
DSNews — March 24, 2011

Freddie Mac issued new policy guidelines to its servicers this week that prohibit foreclosures in the name of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS).

S&P puts shadow inventory principal balance at $450 billion
HousingWire — March 25, 2011

The shadow inventory of foreclosures now stands at $450 billion, according to Standard & Poor's. The number estimates the principle balance of residential properties in foreclosure but not yet on the market.

Rental interest drives real estate search traffic
Inman News — March 25, 2011

Visits to real estate websites have jumped 27 percent in the past year, with much of that increase driven by consumer interest in rentals, according to a webinar by Web metrics firm Experian Hitwise.

Survey: Most see owning a home as a good thing
Des Moines Register — March 24, 2011

The ideal of homeownership is alive and well in the hearts of Americans, especially the 51 million people in the prime homebuying age group between 20 and 31, a new survey from Wells Fargo shows.

Fed: More than two-thirds saw net worth drop in recession
USA Today — March 25, 2011

More than two-thirds of Americans saw their net worth decline during the recession, suffering a median drop of 18%, according to a Federal Reserve study released Thursday.

Four GOP State Attorneys General Object to Loan Assistance in Foreclosure Settlement
The Wall Street Journal — March 22, 2011

WASHINGTON -- Four Republican state attorneys general said Tuesday they oppose forcing banks to reduce the value of loans for troubled homeowners as part of a state-led mortgage-servicing settlement proposal.

One More Casualty of the Foreclosure Crisis: Property Tax Revenues
Huffington Post — March 22, 2011

The Home Defenders League, a community activist organization in California, released a report last week with the provocative title of "Home Wreckers: How Wall Street Foreclosure are Devastating Communities." The report makes a simple but powerful point that has not been widely appreciated. Property tax revenues, which many municipalities use as a primary source of funding for education, police, fire, and other essential functions, are tied to real property values. Since the height of the market in 2007, on a national basis, it has been commonly reported that commercial real estate values have dropped at least 40% and residential real estate values have dropped at least 30%.

Law Students Help Foreclosed Home Owners
International Business Times — March 22, 2011

Through a pro-bono program at Capital University’s Law School, about 50 law students in Ohio are working with home owners who are facing foreclosure and showing them how they may be able to stay in their homes by getting them more involved in the foreclosure process.

U.S. New-Home Sales Unexpectedly Fall to Lowest on Record
Bloomberg — March 23, 2011

Purchases of new U.S. homes unexpectedly declined in February to the slowest pace on record and prices dropped to the lowest level since December 2003, adding to evidence the industry is floundering.

Housing double dip could be coming: MacroMarkets
HousingWire — March 22, 2011

A double-dip in housing could arrive this year with national home prices only 1% away from a new "post-crash low," MacroMarkets said in its March 2011 Home Price Expectation Survey.

White House Threats To Veto Bill Aimed At Ending HAMP
March 15, 2011, ABC News

President Obama would be urged to veto the House Republican bill that would kill his administration’s underperforming housing assistance program and replace it with a new program, a statement from the Office of Management and Budget said this afternoon.

House Targets Another Obama Foreclosure Relief Program
March 17, 2011, Wall Street Journal

The House voted Wednesday to end a government effort to revitalize neighborhoods blighted by the recession and housing crisis, with Republicans calling the program unnecessary and wasteful. The 242-182 vote, mostly on party lines, was the third of four planned this month to end Obama administration initiatives to ease foreclosures and mend troubled neighborhoods. The measures are likely symbolic, as the Democratic-led Senate is unlikely to take them up and President Barack Obama has threatened a veto.

Consumer Bureau Overseer Debates G.O.P. Critics
March 16, 2011, New York Times

Elizabeth Warren, the Obama administration official given the task of setting up the first federal consumer financial watchdog agency, on Wednesday battled Congressional Republicans who say the new agency is wielding too much power in Washington and on Wall Street.

Foreigners Paying Top Dollar for Distressed Properties
March 14, 2011, Las Vegas Sun

International investors are swooping into Las Vegas and purchasing distressed commercial real estate, many times blowing away much lower offers from domestic buyers. About 85 percent were vacant land and many deals ranged from $700,000 to $1.5 million with some exceeding $10 million, Myers said. And about 85 percent of the deals were with offshore investors. Two-thirds of the foreign buyers are from the Middle East and one-third from Asia.