FHA Says 'Flippers' Free to Play Through 2012

FHA Says 'Flippers' Free to Play Through 2012
By Les Christie, CNNMoney, Jan. 3, 2011

Flippers, the real estate investors who buy homes on the cheap and quickly resell them at a profit, just got a reprieve from the Federal Housing Administration. In an effort to help stabilize housing prices and unload some of the foreclosures that are flooding low-income communities, the mortgage insurer extended a waiver of its anti-flipping regulations through 2012.

Bank Foreclosures to Surge in 2012: RealtyTrac
By Shanthi Bharatwaj, The Street, Jan. 3, 2012

The pace of foreclosures slowed down significantly in 2011, but that trend was likely short-lived. According to RealtyTrac, a new wave of foreclosures could be coming in 2012, if the recent spike in "default filings" is any indication.

Las Vegas Housing Market Attracts Asian Investors
By Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, Dec. 27, 2011

Investors from Asia are taking advantage of housing prices that have plummeted in recent years, buying foreclosures and short sales at below what it would cost to build them. Kevin Chu's Hong-Kong investment firm owns property in Las Vegas, but he's never seen any of it. So his first visit to the U.S. is to inspect the houses in Las Vegas.  In the past 18 months, the firm he works for, The Creations Group, bought up distressed homes all over the U.S. — including 13 Las Vegas houses at fire sale prices.

Should Wolves Manage Henhouses?
By Jay MacDonald, Bankrate.com, Jan. 2, 2012

Should the banks that helped create the foreclosure crisis now be allowed to profit from it by renting out foreclosed homes? That's the question being asked in response to a Bloomberg report last week that several major financial and investment companies have proposed just such a solution to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.