U.S. Census Bureau and HUD 2007 Homeownership Survey 

Posted on Thursday, September 02, 2010

The U.S. Census Bureau and HUD publish an American Housing Survey ever two years. The recently released 2009 Survey reflects some interesting measures; The U.S. population as of 12/30/09 was 308 million and change. The age distribution in our country is as follows: 20% are age 0 to 14. 67% are...

Average American's Financial Distress 

Posted on Wednesday, September 01, 2010

High levels of unemployment and the strain of housing costs continue to keep consumers mired in financial distress, according to data released by the nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility. The Atlanta-based organization’s quarterly Consumer Distress Index measures the financial conditio...

Home Prices 

Posted on Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Home prices rose in June for the third consecutive month – a precipitate of the homebuyer tax credit that sparked a flurry of purchase activity during the spring months and helped to prop up home values. Buyer demand, though, has now dropped off substantially, as evidenced by the sharp decline in...

The Near Future for Supply and Demand 

Posted on Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Moody's says it expects home price appreciation to be “soft” for the next couple of years. The company says there were 1.8 million more vacant homes sitting on the market than what is considered the norm at the end of the second quarter. According to Moody’s, this imbalance of supply-and-demand, ...

Case Shiller Numbers August 2010 (for June 2010) 

Posted on Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The latest numbers released at 9 AM EST today for June 2010 reflect home sales values; Up 1.0% MOM (from June 2010) (pretty much flat line) (Miami up 1.1%) 20 city up 4.2 % YOY (from June 2009). 10 City up 5% (but last year was horrible) 17 of 20 cities in composite up in June. ...

The Case For Revenue Sharing 

Posted on Monday, August 30, 2010

Published in the NYT PROTRACTED unemployment is eating away at millions of people. And the economy’s failure to create enough jobs for them is part of a vicious circle that could keep turning for years to come. In my last column, I called for big, temporary government programs aimed directly...

Foreclosures Down/Defaults Up Per Recent MBA Numbers 

Posted on Friday, August 27, 2010

The wave of foreclosures appears to be subsiding slightly. According to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey: • The percentage of loans on which foreclosure action were started during the second quarter was 1.11 percent, down 12 basis points from last quarter and d...

Fed Restricts Yield Spread Premiums 

Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010

Press Release Release Date: August 16, 2010 For immediate release The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced final rules to protect mortgage borrowers from unfair, abusive, or deceptive lending practices that can arise from loan originator compensation practices. The new rules apply to mo...

House Financial Services Hearings 

Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010

July 29, 2010 Washington DC—House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee Chairman Paul E. Kanjorski today announced that the committee will continue its series of hearings on the future of housing finance...

N.Y. Mortgage Servicing Rules 

Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010

New regulations go into effect in NY October 1, implementing the 2008 Mortgage Lending Reform Law consumer protections for subprime and high-cost home loans. "Servicers handling New York-based mortgages must abide by these new regulations, which include a duty to avoid preventable foreclosures by...