A recent survey from Fannie Mae found that Americans’ attitudes toward homeownership have grown to be more pessimistic, with more consumers thinking about renting as confidence in home prices waivers. On average, Americans believe home prices will decline slightly over the next year, and only 11 percent of the survey respondents think now is a good time to sell their home. Even though rental prices are anticipated to increase in the next 12 months, compared with last month’s survey, fewer Americans said they would considering purchasing ...
The tough economic and market environment that continues to pound many lenders is also creating opportunities for others, with PennyMac, Carrington and Ocwen among the most noteworthy ready to take advantage of a strong position in the marketplace. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, the real estate investment trust (REIT) run by Stanford Kurland, the former president of Countrywide Financial Corp., plans to triple its mortgage lending through an expansion of its ...
Allowing investors to purchase distressed properties in bulk will help ease the bloated housing inventory, stabilize home prices, increase affordable housing and reinvigorate the sagging housing market, according to a recent Morgan Stanley report. Bulk sales, along with lease-back programs and other incentives, can help avert a growing crisis in housing triggered by the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression, concluded Morgan Stanley’s housing analysts. Strict underwriting has tightened mortgage credit, making home purchases more ...
With confidence in economic recovery continuing to waver across the country, there’s been a revival of speculation about what the Obama administration’s next move will be in the housing market, given the industry’s substantial role in the economy and the upcoming presidential election. This week the Washington Post reported that the president called for a team of advisers to create a housing finance reform proposal that would allow the government to maintain its large role in the market and extend a federal loan subsidy for many borrowers. However, Neal Wolin, deputy secretary of the Treasury, was quick to ...
Top mortgage lenders continued to face a huge backlog of pending loan buyback demands and insurance claims denials at the midway point in 2011, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends.Five major lenders that report detailed data on repurchase exposure had a combined $19.26 billion of mortgage repurchase claims outstanding at the end of June. The good news is that figure was down 6.1 percent from the first quarter.The so-so news was that three of the companies reported increases in their repurchase claims outstanding during the second quarter. Bank of America – which had 60.1 percent of ... [contains one data chart]
Mortgage servicing turned more profitable during the second quarter of 2011, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. The story is less clear on the production side of the business because of the mammoth loss reported by Bank of America. Net servicing profits for a group of nine major lenders rose 20.2 percent from the first quarter, reaching $2.08 billion. While that was a significant improvement over the $1.73 billion they earned on servicing in the first three months of the year, it was the second ... [contains one data chart]
Department of Housing and Urban Development Loan limit guidance. The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to release guidance by the end of August that will detail which loans are eligible for the higher conforming loan limits, along with additional requirements for using the higher loan limits, according to Inside FHA Lending, an affiliated publication. …
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched a new web-based mapping tool displaying the location of all foreclosed properties being held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA, which is almost half of all real estate-owned or REO properties in the U.S. HUD said its REO Portal is intended to help local communities, homebuyers and responsible investors to acquire these properties and accelerate efforts to stabilize local housing markets. …
Massachusetts. State Attorney General Martha Coakley has secured a $124.8 million settlement with Sand Canyon – which had done business as Option One in a previous life – that closes the book on claims of unfair and discriminatory lending practices by the former subprime lender. Under the terms of the settlement, the company must instruct its servicer, American Home Mortgage Servicing, to make principal reduction modifications for delinquent Option One borrowers. American Home acquired…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have issued a Request For Information, seeking the industry’s insight on new options for selling current and future single-family real estate owned properties held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA. The RFI will delve into alternatives for maximizing value to taxpayers while boosting private investment in the housing market, including ways that will support rental and affordable…
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