Five Housing Trends in Fall 2011

Five Housing Trends in Fall 2011
By Polyana da Costa, Bankrate.com, Sept. 30, 2011

If you want to buy a home and you qualify for a mortgage, this is your time. With mortgage rates at historically low levels, falling home prices and plenty of distressed properties for sale, buyers will be able to find once-in-a-lifetime opportunities this fall. Borrowers seeking to refinance will likely continue to take advantage of the super low rates — if they qualify and have enough equity in their homes.

Kamala Harris Pressured to Reject Bank Foreclosure Settlement
By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 30, 2011

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is attracting increasing pressure from powerful Golden State players to reject a major settlement with U.S. banks accused of wrongful foreclosures. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has joined a group of California union leaders, activists and politicians in calling the direction of negotiations "a deeply flawed settlement proposal with the banks at the heart of the nation's mortgage crisis."

Foreclosure Investments No Place for Novices
By Mary Umberger, Chicago Tribune, Sept. 30, 2011

They're baaack! Zealous investors looking to become landlords or to flip real estate for profit helped fuel the housing boom. When the bubble burst, many licked their wounds and vanished from the scene. But lately, the siren song of the bargain-price foreclosure has been hard for many people to resist, and so they appear to be on the scene again. The National Association of Realtors recently reported that foreclosures accounted for 22 percent of all property purchases in August.

Mortgage Rates in U.S. Fall to Record Low
By Prashant Gopa, Bloomberg, Sept. 29, 2011

Mortgage rates in the U.S. fell to the lowest level in Freddie Mac records after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to reduce borrowing costs even further. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan dropped to 4.01 percent in the week ended today from 4.09 percent, Freddie Mac said in a statement.

Lawyers Fought Corruption, Then Lost Their Jobs
By Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 29, 2011

When last we checked on Attorney General Pam Bondi, she was being investigated for forcing out two of her top-producing investigators, and legislators had asked her to produce records to justify her actions. Well, the investigation is still going, and state officials are tight-lipped about when it might be complete.