Today’s News Synopsis:
The CIRB reports that homebuilders pulled 6 percent less permits from September. American banks decreased lending by 2.8 percent in the third quarter. The FOMC suspects that the economy will take 5 years to return to an acceptable rate of growth. According to First American CoreLogic, 23 percent of all US homes are less valuable than the mortgages owed on them.
In The News:
CBIA - “California Housing Starts Continue Decline in October, CBIA Announces” (11-24-09)
“According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), homebuilders pulled permits for 2,815 total housing units in October, down 6 percent from September, and down 33 percent from October 2008. Permits for single-family homes totaled 2,017, down 9 percent from the previous month and down 14 percent from same period last year, while multifamily permits totaled 798, up 5 percent from September but down 57 percent from a year ago.”
Los Angeles Times – “Index shows moderate gain in home prices in September” (11-24-09)
“Home prices in 20 U.S. cities ticked up modestly in September, marking the fifth consecutive month of improvement, according to a closely watched national index released this morning. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index increased 0.3% from the prior month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 1.1% rise in August. The index fell 9.4% from September 2008 and marked the narrowest year-over-year decline since the end of 2007.”
The Washington Post – “Decline in lending is largest since 1984″ (11-24-09)
“Lending by American banks plunged by 2.8 percent in the third quarter, the largest drop since at least 1984 and the fifth consecutive quarter in which banks have reduced lending, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported Tuesday morning.”
Housing Wire - “BarCap Acquires Commercial Real Estate Holdings Firm” (11-24-09)
“Barclays Capital, in a joint venture with Goff Capital, acquired Crescent Real Estate Equities Limited Partnership, or Crescent, from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funding II.”
Housing Wire – “FOMC Sees Sustained Growth Five Years Away” (11-24-09)
“It will be at least five years before the economy experiences a sustainable rate of growth and levels of unemployment and inflation acceptable to the Federal Reserve, the Federal Open Market Committee said in its Nov. 4 meeting.”
Housing Wire – “FHFA Quarterly HPI Up Slightly in Q309″ (11-24-09)
“US house prices inched slightly higher in Q309 compared to Q209 in the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI). The HPI uses sales price information from mortgages acquired by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), which increased 0.2% quarter-over-quarter. Year-over-year, the purchase-only HPI decreased 3.8% in the third quarter.”
Housing Wire – “Negative Equity, Not Job Loss, Primary Driver of Defaults” (11-24-09)
“if coming defaults are caused by unemployment, then the relevant response, says Goodman, would be to subsidize mortgage payments. On the other hand, if negative equity triggers defaults, then principal reduction must receive a higher priority in modification program waterfalls.”
Bloomberg - “Almost One in Four U.S. Homeowners Are ‘Underwater’” (11-24-09)
“The number of U.S. homes worth less than the debt owed on them reached almost 10.7 million, or 23 percent of all mortgaged properties, at the end of the third quarter, according to a report from First American CoreLogic.”
Orange County Register – “The biggest home seller mistakes” (11-24-09)
“Learn about your local market. What is selling and how long is it taking to sell? Find out what the trends are in your neighborhood. Is the market rising, falling or flat? How are local inventory levels?”
Looking Back:
One year ago, existing home sales decreased by 3.1 percent in October. The U.S. government announced a plan to spend 7.7 trillion dollars to ease credit problems. Downey Financial said it would file for bankruptcy.
