The Norris Group Blog

California Real Estate Headline Roundup

Posts Tagged ‘debt’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

197-TNG Radio – I Survived Real Estate 2010 10-23-10

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

I Survived Real Estate 2010

I Survived Real Estate 2010


 

 streamitunesdownloadrss

September 17th, 2010, The Norris Group returns with its award winning event I Survived Real Estate 2010. The video also now available on The Norris Group website.

The Norris Group has assembled an incredible line up of industry experts to discuss the state of REO from the inside. Topics will include regulatory intervention and aftermath, bulk buying, myths and facts, and opportunities emerging for real estate professionals. 100 percent of the proceeds support the Orange County affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This event would not be possible without generous help from the following platinum partners: Foreclosure Radar and Sean O’Toole, the San Diego Creative Real Estate Investors Association and Bill Tan, Investors Workshops and Shawn Watkins and Angel Bronsgeest, Invest Club for Women and Iris Veneracion and Bobby Alexander, Claudia Buys Houses, The Business Press, Frye Wiles, MVT Productions, and White House Catering.

This week The Norris Group Real Estate Radio Show is broadcasting I Survived Real Estate 2010.

Investors buy about 1/3 of Freddie Mac’s properties. Freddie Mac does not offer financing for most of those investor purchases, but Fannie Mae does. Fannie Mae has a program called Home Path. Many investors can qualify for Home Path financing on rehab properties. The financing on the rehab program includes the cost of repair. It is somewhat similar to the 203K loan. The problem Bruce has experienced with these programs is they don’t offer enough financing to significantly help investors. Bruce is usually only offered about $4,000 for rehab financing.

It is hard to pull a pool of properties together in a way that is just as attractive for an investor as finding one good property.

Inventory levels are increasing. Freddie Mac started this year with 45,000 properties in inventory, but today we have about 70,000. 55% of those properties are in the redemption, eviction and prelist phase. That phase is taking longer now. Approximately 55% of Freddie’s properties are becoming occupied. Freddie has about 15,000 homes on the market, and the rest are in the closing process.

As inventory levels increase, and as the 90-day strategies fail, then Freddie might move to a ballroom or online auction. However, if a property has had sale fallouts or could use significant improvement, then it may be relisted. Freddie’s goal is to figure out what selling strategy will have the best recovery rate. On day 75 of the listing, Freddie gives the broker a two week notice, and then moves onto the auction process.

Fannie Mae has a web-based portal for investors who desire to qualify for bulk purchases. You must provide information about yourself, provide your tax I.D. number, and allow Fannie Mae to do a background check on you. Once you qualify, you are given access to the web-based portal. This portal contains listings of properties, and it allows investors to submit a bid. This portal is for the larger pools. The properties in the pool are located across the country.

Bruce believes that tax payers could be saved a lot of money if properties were sold to investors rather than being given to NSP programs. Sarah Letts suggests that those investors go to the auctions.

In the last 12 month, Fannie Mae sold 30,000 properties to owner occupants during the first look period, and 5,000 properties to people using NSP funds.

Tommy Williams was the person who suggested that Bruce should read The World Is Flat. One of the most significant quotes in the book says, “No institution will go through fundamental changes, unless it believes it is in deep trouble and must do something different to survive.” Tommy believes that no other country in the world provides us with the same amount of opportunity as the free enterprise system of the U.S. That opportunity is built upon the initiative of the individual. We need to focus on turning that individual initiative loose. When you restrict individuals from making free market decisions, there are greater repercussions.

Tommy believes in the auction process. The stock market is like an auction, and everybody agrees with that auction every day. What if tomorrow morning, the DOW Jones said, “If Microsoft doesn’t bring us 25 dollars, we won’t sell”? It wouldn’t work. This is the problem we are dealing with in our current housing problem. Three years ago, the market told us that we had to rethink what houses were worth. Unfortunately, we have found out how accurate the market was worth. Tommy Williams believes that Sean O’Toole’s estimates are accurate, but he wises it wasn’t true. Tommy believes we have a long road ahead of us before we reach real market value. The quicker we get to that value, the better.

“Unfortunately, it has been too long since America had a leader ready to call on our nation to do something hard. To give something up, not to get something more, and to sacrifice for a great national cause for the future, rather than live for today.” – The World Is Flat

Tommy believes that if a politician actually had the courage to stand up and tell America the truth, the citizens would elect that person instantly. Unfortunately, we have been given so much bs that we aren’t accustomed to politicians being honest.

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. We’ve had two in the last decade – 9/11 and the current financial crisis. Bruce has been to baseball games where everyone stood up after the 9/11 crisis. When we have a crisis, we can make changes, but we have to have someone that we can support in the government.

Thornberg is worried about where our fiscal debt is going. We are borrowing $1.3 trillion this year. We do not currently have that much debt, because most of it is in social security. Our net debt represents about 50% of the economy right now. That seems high, but Christopher doesn’t believe that is actually extremely high. However, if you are borrowing $1.3 trillion per year, that debt percentage will quickly turn into a number over 95%. Unlike Japan, we are a nation relying on external capital. If we keep borrowing, there will come a time where the world bond market will say “enough is enough”.

Thornberg does not believe that household, and local debt is that bad. We do not have that big of a debt problem. Our pensions are in trouble, but other than that, Christopher thinks we are fine. Consumer debt spiked in proportion to asset values. It also fell significantly when the asset bubble popped, and Americans realized they had too much debt. Most of American debt is in mortgage debt from Fannie and Freddie. Non-mortgage debt didn’t really rise at all. Overall, that debt is not too significant.

Stock investments have nothing to do with GDP. When we spend stock profits, that money does not get counted into GDP. When you pay taxes on your stock portfolio, those taxes are recorded in GDP statistics, but then they have to subtract your capital gains income from the total.

Thornberg is worried about where our fiscal debt is going, but he is not sure at what point he would say “enough is enough”. We’ve never had an unmanageable amount of debt, but we’ve also never had a government that is so unwilling to acknowledge the reality of our problem. The government claims it wants to fix the deficit, but it won’t raise taxes. Thornberg is a proponent of paying taxes, and he thinks all the Bush tax cuts should be taken out. He doesn’t enjoy paying taxes, but if the citizens of the U.S. actually have to pay, then we will finally stop the government from spending it. We have developed the delusion that the Federal debt is not our debt. If the government is borrowing $1.3 trillion dollars, a lot of that money will come from the citizens. It would take $4,500 from every citizen to pay that debt.

Thornberg does not believe that deleveraging is deflationary, because leveraging is not inflationary. In the middle of the leveraging binge, Alan Greenspan was worried about deflation. When you pay debt off instead of spend, you can decrease demand somewhat. Reducing demand can reduce the velocity of money, which can cause deflationary pressure. That is why Greenspan went through quantitative easing, and he did a pretty good job.

If you have a willing buyer and seller that come to a fair price together, then you have market value. That definition of market value will never be able to stop a real estate bubble. The Norris Group built homes in Rosamond. In Rosamond, the market should have been $150,000, but Bruce was selling those homes for $280,000. In the commercial world, the appraisal has multiple pieces. You have to calculate for comps, cost of building and income generated. Bruce asks Joseph Magdziarz if he thinks we should change the structure of how we come to the proper value. Joseph believes the definition does need to be looked at. During the boom, California prices escalated quickly, but rental prices didn’t change much. So prices changed a lot, but the underlying value didn’t. Unfortunately, the government created too much artificial demand in the market, and that helped cause the market. We created programs for people who couldn’t afford a home.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Thank you for being a Gold Sponsor for I Survived Real Estate 2010: Adrenaline Athletics, Benton Investment Group, Community RE-Invest Group, Delmae Properties, Elite Auctions, Entrust California, Everlast Photography, Inland Empire Investors Forum, Keystone CPA, Landwood Title, Las Brisas Escrow, Leivas Financial Services, Mike Cantu, North San Diego Real Estate Investors Association, Northern California Real Estate Investors Association, Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine, Realty 411 Magazine, San Jose Real Estate Investor Association, Rick and LeeAnne Rossiter, San Jose Real Estate Investor Association, Starz Photography, Summit Solutions, Tony Alvarez, Wealth Point, and Westin South Coast Plaza.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Radio | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 10/18/10

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

A Rasmussen survey finds that 31% of homeowners expect their home prices to fall over the next year, while 50% expect their home values to increase over the next 5. According to the NAHB, builder confidence increased for the first time in 5 months. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports over 66%  of small businesses experienced declines in sales and revenue during the first half of the year. Robert Curran believes demand for housing will not return any earlier than late winter.

In The News:

MSNBC - “Qualified? Home lenders saying not so fast” (10-17-10)

“Banks are a lot pickier today. To protect themselves from defaults, they have sharply increased underwriting requirements — and paperwork — needed to get a loan. They’ve adopted less agreeable views on credit cards and other forms of revolving debt, investor properties and income history.”

Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis – “32% of Homeowners Expect Home Prices to Drop Next Year, Highest Short-Term Pessimism Ever; Recognition Phase Underway” (10-16-10)

“A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 32% expect the value of their home to decrease over the next year, the highest finding since Rasmussen Reports began asking the question regularly in December 2008. Just 21% believe the value of their home will go up over the next year.”

NAHB - “Builder Confidence Improves in October” (10-18-10)

“Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose three points to 16 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for October, released today. This was the first improvement registered by the HMI in five months, and returns the index to a level last seen in June of this year.”

Housing Wire – “Fannie issues appraiser guidance ahead of looming HVCC replacement” (10-18-10)

“Fannie Mae released appraiser independence guidance as the Federal Reserve continues work on a replacement for the Home Valuation Code of Conduct due in October. When President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank bill into law in July, regulators had 90 days to write new rules replacing the HVCC.”

Housing Wire – “NY Fed study shows limited lending to small businesses” (10-18-10)

“Data from a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed more than two-thirds of small businesses experienced declines in sales and revenue during the first half of the year, implying a broad weakening of finances in the industry. But only half of loan applicants were approved.”

Housing Wire – “Homebuyer tax credit casts shadow on mortgage market until next year” (10-18-10)

“During a Fitch Ratings teleconference Monday titled: Can U.S. Housing ‘Normalize’?, lead homebuilding analyst Robert Curran put the earliest return of demand for homes at late winter, with any substantial improvement not expected until the spring.”

Housing Wire – “Home construction numbers show a little optimism in residential building” (10-18-10)

“Residential building increased 6% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $116.7 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction.”

Bloomberg - “Obama’s Foreclosure Inaction Is Katrina Redux: Kevin Hassett” (10-18-10)

“Delayed foreclosures and litigation regarding how they are carried out might cost U.S. lenders $10 billion, according to one new estimate.”

Bloomberg - “Bank of America Plans to Revive Foreclosure Process on 102,000 U.S. Homes” (10-18-10)

“Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, said it will start resubmitting foreclosure affidavits next week in 102,000 cases in which judgment is pending.”

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 10/12/10

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Looking Back:

Multiple states are cooperating in an investigation to determine whether or not lenders violated foreclosure laws when seizing houses from delinquent borrowers. The U.S. is now the second largest holder of U.S. debt. A survey from the National Association for Business Economics shows that economists expect gross domestic product will increase 2.6% in 2010 and 2011. According to a Thomson Reuters survey, 63% of potential home buyers are discouraged from buying a home because of the current economic conditions.

In The News:

MERS - “Statement by R.K. Arnold, President and CEO of MERSCORP, Inc.” (10-12-10)

“Claims that MERS disrupts or creates a defect in the mortgage or deed of trust are not supported by fact or legal precedents. This is often used as a tactic by lawyers to delay or prevent the foreclosure. The mortgage lien is granted to MERS by the borrower and the seller and that is what makes MERS the mortgagee.”

NAR - “NAR’s HouseLogic Launches Campaign to Help Military Families Sustain Homeownership” (10-11-10)

“The National Association of Realtors®’ HouseLogic, a free, comprehensive consumer website about all aspects of homeownership, today launched Operation Home Relief, a new Facebook Causes campaign. The campaign aims to increase awareness, rally support and raise funding for USA Cares, a nonprofit organization that provides counseling and financial foreclosure assistance to post-9/11 active duty U.S. military service personnel, veterans and their families. HouseLogic will donate $1 to USA Cares every time someone ‘likes’ the Operation Home Relief Cause page on Facebook and will match individual donations made to the cause, up to $20,000.”

Sign on San Diego – “Q&A: What’s going on with foreclosures?” (10-11-10)

“BofA – the only lender to have halted foreclosures in all 50 states – estimates that it could resolve the issue in as quickly as two or three weeks. Stan Humphries, an analyst with Zillow.com, an online real estate database, estimates that it could take 60 to 90 days for the entire industry to deal with the ‘robo-signer’ problem. But Humphries adds that the process could take longer if political pressure mounts for a wider-reaching examination of foreclosures.”

Los Angeles Times – “California might join probe of lenders that seized homes” (10-12-10)

“California officials are considering joining a multistate investigation of whether lenders have violated foreclosure laws when seizing houses from delinquent borrowers. The investigation, which is expected to be publicly announced Wednesday, is spearheaded by Iowa Atty. Gen. Tom Miller.”

Of Two Minds – “Imagining A Middle Class Does Not Create One” (10-12-10)

“Another measure of ‘middle class’ is even simpler: a middle class household owns some wealth. It could be a retirement fund, a free-and-clear home, a business, income property or gold/cash/investments. By that measure, the middle class comprises at best 20% of the populace.”

Bloomberg - “Foreclosure Freeze May Slow U.S. Homebuyers on Legal Worry” (10-10-10)

“A halt in home foreclosures at the largest U.S. mortgage firms may sideline buyers worried about legal issues, further depressing sales at a time when distressed properties account for almost a quarter of all transactions.”

Zero Hedge – “Three Horrifying Facts About the US Debt ‘Situation’” (10-12-10)

“this week we overtook Japan, leaving China as the only country with greater ownership of US Debt. And we’re printing money to buy it. Setting aside the fact that this is abject lunacy, this policy is trashing our currency which has fallen 13% since June… as in four months ago. Want an explanation for why stocks, commodities, and Gold are exploding higher? Here it is.”

Bloomberg - “Economists Cut U.S. Growth Forecasts Through 2011, Survey Shows” (10-11-10)

“Gross domestic product will increase 2.6 percent this year and next, according to the median of 46 economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics from Sept. 2 to Sept. 21. A May poll projected growth of 3.2 percent for both years. Economists also cut estimates for personal spending, employment and consumer prices.”

Housing Wire – “Zillow 30-year FRM rates hit record low for fourth consecutive week” (10-12-10)

“The 30-year, fixed-mortgage rate decreased from a week earlier, setting a new record low for the fourth consecutive week at 4.13%, according to the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace weekly update.”

Housing Wire - “Analysts optimistic on 3Q MBS REIT earnings” (10-12-10)

“With the end of the GSE buyouts, prepayment speeds slowed on agency MBS, peaking for Fannie Mae 30-year MBS at 29.9% in April and dropping down to 24.9% in September.”

Housing Wire – “Total Mortgage Services lowers rate on jumbo mortgages anticipating comeback” (10-12-10)

“Total Mortgage Services, a Connecticut-based mortgage lender/broker, sees a comeback in the jumbo mortgage market. The firm said because of a significant improvement in both competitive pricing and market liquidity for jumbo loans, it’s rate for a 30-year fixed jumbo mortgage is down to 4.9% for a loan up to $729,000.”

Housing Wire – “63% of Americans do not want to buy a home according to Reuters research” (10-12-10)

“According to a survey done by FindLaw.com, a Thomson Reuters company, 63% of respondents said they are steered away from buying a home because the current economic conditions. Only 8% said they are more likely to buy a home because of the state of the economy. About one quarter, 28%, said economic conditions do not sway their opinion about purchasing a home.”

Housing Wire – “Hoenig remains consistent with calls for no additional quantitative easing” (10-12-10)

“Speaking in Denver to the National Association of Business Economists, Thomas Hoenig said he understands the Fed’s desire to ‘do something, anything’ to revive the economy, but maintaining the zero-interest rate policy and starting a second round of quantitative easing aren’t it.”

Bloomberg - “Obama Backs State Foreclosure Probe, Against Nationwide Freeze, Gibbs Says” (10-12-10)

“President Barack Obama is throwing his support behind state attorneys general looking into filings of allegedly faulty home foreclosures while rejecting a nationwide freeze on home foreclosures because of potential ‘unintended consequences,’ said a White House spokesman.”

Bloomberg - “Real Estate `Trophy’ Prices Up 19% in Flat Market: Chart of the Day” (10-12-10)

“The CHART OF THE DAY shows prices for ‘trophy’ commercial properties are up 19 percent since bottoming in New York, Washington, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index tracking the entire U.S. has gained 1 percent from a seven-year low in October 2009.”

Bloomberg - “Foreclosure Delays May Cost U.S. Banks Up to $6 Billion, FBR’s Miller Says” (10-12-10)

“Faulty foreclosures may cost U.S. lenders $2 billion for every month that home seizures are delayed and the tab could reach $6 billion, according to Paul Miller, the bank analyst at FBR Capital Markets.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, Fitch reported that 60 percent of borrowers from 06 to 07 had negative equity. Interthinx’s Mortgage Fraud Index estimated that fraud decreased by 4 percent from Q1 to Q2 of 2009, but increased by 7 percent from Q2 of 2008. Statistics from MDA DataQuick showed that Southern California home sales increased by 5 percent from October of 2008.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News | No Comments »

195-TNG Radio – I Survived Real Estate 2010 10-09-10

Friday, October 8th, 2010

I Survived Real Estate 2010

I Survived Real Estate 2010


 streamitunesdownload

rss

September 17th, 2010, The Norris Group returns with its award winning event I Survived Real Estate 2010. The video also now available on The Norris Group website.

The Norris Group has assembled an incredible line up of industry experts to discuss the state of REO from the inside. Topics will include regulatory intervention and aftermath, bulk buying, myths and facts, and opportunities emerging for real estate professionals. 100 percent of the proceeds support the Orange County affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This event would not be possible without generous help from the following platinum partners: Foreclosure Radar and Sean O’Toole, the San Diego Creative Real Estate Investors Association and Bill Tan, Investors Workshops and Shawn Watkins and Angel Bronsgeest, Invest Club for Women and Iris Veneracion and Bobby Alexander, Claudia Buys Houses, The Business Press, Frye Wiles, MVT Productions, and White House Catering.

This week The Norris Group Real Estate Radio Show is broadcasting I Survived Real Estate 2010.

We are in a bond bubble. This is what concerns Thornberg the most right now. We had a recent GDP revision. Savings rates are close to where they should be. Employment is flat, but incomes are growing. The panic over a double dip this summer was ridiculous. We are on a path to recovery, but we have created so much fear that we now have a bond bubble. We have ridiculously low rates. The spreads between returns on equities and returns on bonds have never been this wide. Either equities are severely underpriced or bonds are severely overpriced. Thornberg believes the bonds are overpriced, and eventually people will figure that out. If rates shoot up quickly, then we will have a big problem.

Real estate affordability is incredible right now. If interest rates went up to normal levels then affordability would go back to normal levels as well. Interest rates could spike from inflation, fears over the federal deficit, or if a sovereign debt crisis in Europe causes risk rates to increase. The problem is that we are relying too much on low interest rates right now.

Joseph Magdziarz spoke next. Despite the problems Joseph’s industry has had with appraisal companies, his industry has experienced growth. Appraisers had some success with getting legislation passed, such as bill 4173. When October 18th passes, AMCs will have to pay appraisers reasonable fees. Traditionally, when the AMCs have been used, they took all the money from the appraisers. Not all AMCs are bad, but some of them took advantage of people. AMCs were a risk to consumers, because consumers weren’t receiving the best appraisers.

When Joseph is asked to appear before congress, they usually have specific issues they want addressed. These issues are usually related to consumers.

Sean O’Toole was asked to give his perspective on whether or not we’ve done a good job of solving the real estate problem. The Fed has kept a balance sheet on the U.S. and it’s households. We went from $4.5 trillion of mortgage debt in the year 2,000 to $10.5 trillion at the peak. If you look at the number of new homes added, and the increases in income, we should not have gone about $6.5 trillion. That means there is $4 trillion in excess mortgage debt. Sean believes that in the best case, we have only dealt with $0.5 trillion of that excess debt. We have a long way to go before real estate is healthy again.

Sean wrote an article called Foreclosure Roulette: A Game of Extend and Pretend. Sean does not believe that the current levels of REO inventory accurately reflect the delinquency levels. We had foreclosures moving equally with delinquencies until 2008. That was when Paulson said that we shouldn’t force banks to sell these assets in distressed markets.

Currently, our REO statistics do not mean a lot. We have been bouncing around in a range that has nothing to do with delinquencies. The FDIC has loosened up on forcing lenders to get bad assets off their books. Since we changed these rules, foreclosures have stalled.

The treasury has admitted that their strategy for dealing with foreclosures was to not allow them to come out at once. They wanted to slow the process down. A new program is coming out in Fall, which will incentivize banks to write down principals on mortgages. That may have some success. Thornberg believes there will be 3 to 4 million foreclosures coming out. Sean O’Toole believes there will be more than 4 million.

Sean believes these new programs are causing problems. These programs are meant to continue the “extend and pretend” strategy. The government is telling us “hold on, we have HAMP to solve the problem”. HAMP had design flaws from the beginning, and Sean does not believe it was intended to be successful. The government then came out and said, “Hold on, we have HAFA”. HAFA also had design flaws. It was not intended to be successful. Sean will not be fooled by HAMP’s new principal balance reduction. Fannie Mae claimed it would damage people that strategically default.

The average foreclosure in California is $150,000 dollars upside down on a $250,000 house by the time it reaches the courthouse steps. The banks and the government do not want people making the right decision for themselves by walking away. This is why Fannie Mae recently encouraged banks to push through foreclosures. The banks are not actually going to push through foreclosures, but they want people to think they will, so that they won’t strategically default.

Tommy Williams does not understand how we can give principal reductions to people who were irresponsible, but give nothing to the people who were responsible. This will not work in a capitalistic society. Tommy believes that Bruce’s idea was fantastic. Right now, the average American can afford a $150,000 home. However, people are trying to sell their home for over $300,000. All the mortgages in the United States that were selling for over $300,000 equate for 5% of the market. Right now, they are still selling homes for above affordable rates, and they are building homes that are still too big.

After 1992, we built 75% of what we needed for our population growth. The biggest problem is that we’ve been building big homes in the Inland Empire, but what we really need is lower rent apartments closer to urban areas. We are going to need more housing in 2011 and 2012, but not bigger homes. If builders still to smaller town houses, then they could make a living. However, if they do that, the builders will have to deal with zoning boards, local governments who are cashed strapped who want you to fix their streets, sewers, power lines and their pensions.

In 2008, there was very little capital available for commercial properties and there was little liquidity. In 2009, some of those capital sources started coming back. We have more capital available to us today, than we have had over the last 2 years. The problem is that many properties do not qualify for financing. Some properties have leasing issues, and no one will finance those. Most of those nonperforming properties are still in the hands of the owners. The banks will not foreclose on those properties, because they do not have the ability to write those properties down. We are starting to see the banks make progress now, because the Fed is giving the banks 0% interest rates on loans. The 0% interest allows the banks to make a small profit, which allows them to then foreclose on those properties. Dealing with this extended process is going to take even longer, because no one is putting a gun to the banks’ heads.

In the 90s, the rules were different. The FDIC forced lenders to give a notice of default if someone is 100 days delinquent.

In 2012, many commercial maturities will come due. A lot of that debt is from commercial mortgage backed securities. That debt is being held by bond holders. That debt will not be refinanced. A lot of non-refinancable loans are being pushed out for 2 years. CMBS is coming back, but values are not coming back. In 2006 -2007, we made 80% loans on an inflated value. Those properties may be 60 to 70% of what it was in 2007, but it still has a loan worth 110% to value. Just because we have money available to refinance doesn’t mean we can, because we don’t have the values we need.

Thornberg believes that if the people who own this debt just “close their eyes and hold their nose” until 2014, then they will be ok. Daniel says that is just the game that these debt holders are hoping on, but it may not work.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Thank you for being a Gold Sponsor for I Survived Real Estate 2010: Adrenaline Athletics, Benton Investment Group, Community RE-Invest Group, Delmae Properties, Elite Auctions, Entrust California, Everlast Photography, Inland Empire Investors Forum, Keystone CPA, Landwood Title, Las Brisas Escrow, Leivas Financial Services, Mike Cantu, North San Diego Real Estate Investors Association, Northern California Real Estate Investors Association, Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine, Realty 411 Magazine, San Jose Real Estate Investor Association, Rick and LeeAnne Rossiter, San Jose Real Estate Investor Association, Starz Photography, Summit Solutions, Tony Alvarez, Wealth Point, and Westin South Coast Plaza.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Radio | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 9/23/10

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

Existing home sales increased 7.6% last month, according to the NAR. The MBA reports commercial and multifamily mortgage debt decreased to $3.24 trillion in the second quarter. The CAR’s monthly analysis shows  California home sales rose 1.8 percent from July. Freddie Mac said mortgage rates did not change this week, despite Zillow’s claim they decreased.

In The News:

NAR - “Existing-Home Sales Move Up in August” (9-23-10)

“Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million in August from an upwardly revised 3.84 million in July, but remain 19.0 percent below the 5.10 million-unit pace in August 2009.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “MBA Analysis: Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding Declined $52 Billion or 1.6 Percent in 2Q 2010″ (9-23-10)

“The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding decreased in the second quarter, to $3.24 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) analysis of the Federal Reserve Board Flow of Funds data.”

CAR - “August sales and price report” (9-23-10)

“California home sales edged up 1.8 percent from July, but were down 14.9 percent from August 2009, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. The statewide median home price also increased 1.2 percent from July and was up 8.6 percent from a year ago.”

Housing Wire – “Fannie Mae adds broker bonuses, downpayment aid to move REO” (9-23-10)

“Fannie Mae will give REO agents and brokers who sell a previously foreclosed property to an owner-occupant a $1,500 bonus per sale. The government-sponsored enterprise will also give qualified homebuyers 3.5% of the final sales price that can be used toward the closing cost, including home warranty. Eligible offers must be submitted on or after Sept. 23 and must close by Dec. 31, 2010. Fannie said the sale must close within 60 days of the accepted offer.”

Housing Wire – “MacroMarkets survey shows 2.2% drop in housing prices for 2H10″ (9-23-10)

“While many market participants provided a somewhat rosier outlook for home prices in a new survey, the average of the respondents still projects a 2.2% decline in the second half of the year. MacroMarkets said data from its September home price expectations survey show market analysts expect a 0.8% drop in home prices the full year with no improvement next year. Previous surveys showed steeper declines.”

Housing Wire – “Weekly jobless claims up 2.6%, first increase in a month” (9-23-10)

“Initial jobless claims rose for the first time in a month last week with a 2.6% increase to 465,000, which is higher than consensus analysts’ estimates. The Labor Department said the unadjusted figure of actual initial claims for the week ended Sept. 18 increased by 12,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 453,000.”

Housing Wire – “Mortgage surveys vary slightly, but weekly rates still at or near record lows” (9-23-10)

“Freddie Mac said mortgage rates were unchanged this week, while another rate survey set new record lows. The Freddie Mac weekly survey put the average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.37% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Sept. 23, stable from last week’s slight increase. A year ago, the average rate was 5.04%.”

Housing Wire – “FHA’s Stevens to Senate: Capital ratio timeline would have ‘unintended impacts’” (9-23-10)

“Congress mandates that the FHA’s secondary reserves meet 2% of the total amount of its insurance guaranteed. Currently, it is at 0.53%. Last year, the FHA forecast it would be three to four years before that 2% ratio would be reached, and that he remains committed to that timeline.”

Housing Wire – “NY Fed researchers expect wages to decline” (9-23-10)

“Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said new data show the uncertainty of inflation expectations has abated since the middle of 2008 and there is a continuing expectation that real wages will decline.”

Bloomberg - “GMAC Drew `False Testimony’ Sanction Years Before Eviction Halt” (9-23-10)

“Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit, which suspended evictions in 23 states last week after finding employees didn’t verify foreclosure documents, was sanctioned in 2006 for similar practices, court records show. GMAC gave ‘false testimony’ when it justified foreclosures by submitting sworn affidavits signed by a mortgage executive who later said in a deposition she didn’t actually review the loan documents or sign in the presence of a notary, according to a 2006 court order filed in Duval County, Florida.”

Bloomberg - “Credit Union Regulator in U.S. Seeks Bids on $800 Million in Property Debt” (9-23-10)

“The federal agency that regulates credit unions and insures more than 90 million U.S. accounts sought bids on about $800 million in bonds backed by commercial mortgage debt, according to a spokesman for the group.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, a study from the NAR showed that realtors were seeing a 13.6 percent decline in their median income. According to the MBA’s weekly survey, the mortgage loan application volume increased 12.8 percent from the previous season. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was expected to announce the end of the recession, and planned to keep rates at the record low. A report showed that state foreclosure prevention programs were failing to keep borrowers from losing their homes.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 9/20/10

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

The NAHB’s monthly survey shows builder confidence remained at the previous month’s low level. Trepp claims that commercial real estate loans were the cause of 5 of the 6 bank failures that occurred over the weekend. FHA insured mortgages accounted for 37% of all originations last year, according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. In a recent survey, nearly 50% of economists claimed that economic growth in 2011 would be below the Fed’s estimated 2.5% annual pace. GMAC is denying the claim that it instituted a foreclosure moratorium in 23 states.

In The News:

Calculated Risk - “Q2 Flow of Funds: Household Net Worth off $12.3 Trillion from Peak” (9-18-10)

“According to the Fed, household net worth is now off $12.3 Trillion from the peak in 2007, but up $4.7 trillion from the trough in Q1 2009.”

Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis - “One Sided Policies” (9-18-10)

“The bailouts did not produce inflation, but the middle class bailed out the banks and got nothing in return but higher taxes, fewer services, and looking ahead, years of stagnation. Moreover, the bondholders (such as China, Japan, and PIMCO) were made whole, while the homeowners are still mired in debt. Adding to the misery, banks lord it over on homeowners with total nonsense about the morality of walking away.”

Wall Street Journal – “Defaults Account for Most of Pared Down Debt” (9-18-10)

“Over the two years ending June 2010, the total value of home-mortgage debt and consumer credit outstanding has fallen by about $610 billion, to $12.6 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. That’s an annualized decline of about 2.3%, which is pretty impressive given the fact that such debts grew at an annualized rate in excess of 10% over the previous decade.”

CBIA - “Energy Efficiency and Solar Incentives” (9-20-10)

“A number of federal, state and local entities have made available incentives and rebates that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in new construction. This section is intended to be a one-stop shop for information on state, federal, local and utility incentives and policies that promote such standards.”

NAHB - “Builder Confidence Unchanged in September” (9-20-10)

“Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes held unchanged in September from the previous month’s low level of 13, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today.”

Bloomberg - “Ally’s GMAC Mortgage Halts Home Foreclosures in 23 States” (9-20-10)

“Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit told brokers and agents to halt foreclosures on homeowners in 23 states including Florida, Connecticut and New York.”

Business Journal – “GMAC Mortgage denies foreclosure moratorium” (9-20-10)

“GMAC Mortgage said Monday that recent media reports stating that the lender has instituted a moratorium on all residential foreclosures in Minnesota and 22 other states are not true.”

Reuters - “Recession ended in June 2009: NBER” (9-20-10)

“The recession ended in June 2009, making it the longest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the National Bureau of Economic Research said on Monday.”

Housing Wire – “Commercial real estate problems lead to latest bank failures: Trepp” (9-20-10)

“Troubled commercial real estate loans brought down five of the six bank failures reported by the FDIC over the weekend, according Trepp, an analytics firm. There were six bank closings over the weekend, totaling 126 for the year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated the six closings this week to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) a total of $347.6 million.”

Housing Wire – “SEC calls for more transparency about short-term borrowing” (9-20-10)

“The Securities Exchange Commission voted unanimously over the weekend to propose regulation that would increase transparency between investors and public companies about short-term borrowing arrangements. The SEC wants companies to disclose short-term transactions as they happen instead of the current reporting standard where the info is delivered at the end of the period.”

Housing Wire - “FHA insured 37% of mortgage originations in 2009: Fed survey” (9-20-10)

“Mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration accounted for 37% of all originations in 2009, up from 26% in 2008 and 7% in 2007, according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.”

Housing Wire – “Survey finds house prices still stable in August as buyer interest hits ‘brick wall’” (9-20-10)

“Average prices increased 6.3% for damaged REO and 2.5% for refurbished REO. Prices also increased 3.8% for short sales. Non-distressed home prices showed a slight 0.9% decline for the month.”

Housing Wire – “One year of First Look: Fannie Mae sells 29,000 REOs to owner occupants” (9-20-10)

“A year into its First Look program, Fannie Mae vendors have sold 29,000 REO properties to owner-occupants and 5,000 to public entities under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Fannie launched First Look in August 2009 to allow both owner occupants and those using NSP grants to submit offers 15 days ahead of investors.”

Housing Wire – “Servicers: Sometimes leasing makes sense” (9-20-10)

“Servicers are beginning to see the benefits of keeping properties occupied with cost-savings such as lower property preservation expenses. Rentals allow the servicer to have more control over when they decide to release the property onto the market for sale because property deterioration that comes with vacancies becomes less of a concern.”

Housing Wire – “MBA economists predict new refinancings to cut in half in 2011″ (9-20-10)

“Expect another year of somewhat depressing economic outlooks, as we’re in a time of great uncertainty in the mortgage industry and the country as a whole, according to economists of the Mortgage Bankers Association. And leading up the list, the MBA expects that the rate of new refinancings, which currently account for the majority of current mortgage originations, will be cut in half by 2012.”

Bloomberg - “Escaping Double Dip to Growth Recession Means No Job Relief” (9-20-10)

“While the economy isn’t so weak that it’s clearly in need of more monetary stimulus, it may not be strong enough to keep unemployment from increasing. Twenty seven of 58 economists polled by Bloomberg News this month see growth in 2011 below the 2.5 percent to 2.8 percent pace Fed policy makers peg as the long-term trend. Twenty eight see the jobless rate rising above last month’s 9.6 percent sometime in the next nine months. That combination would constitute a growth recession.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, Laurence Fink warned that government programs to help homeowners would slow the recovery in the mortgage market. The FHA announced that its reserves would fall below congressional requirements. MDA DataQuick reported that fifteen percent of the homes sold in August were bought by investors. Statistics from Trulia showed that price cuts in Irvine were more likely to occur in luxurious areas rather than popular areas.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 9/17/10

Friday, September 17th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

Fitch Ratings reports delinquencies on commercial real estate CDOs increased to 12.1% last month. Statistics from BarCap show GDP slowed to an annual rate of 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. I Survived Real Estate 2010 is taking place tonight. Multiple experts from different regions of the real estate industry will be speaking at the event. You can watch it live at www.isurvived2010.com

In The News:

Housing Wire – “White House appoints Warren to set up consumer protection bureau” (9-17-10)

“President Obama appointed Elizabeth Warren advisor to Secretary of the Treasury, and she will be in charge of setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren was the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, which oversees the Treasury’s implementation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program”

Housing Wire – “CRE CDO delinquencies up slightly in August, near record-high” (9-17-10)

“Delinquencies on commercial real estate loan collateralized debt obligations rose slightly in August, up to 12.1%, according to Fitch Ratings. The agency’s CREL CDO index in July was 12% and 7.5% a year earlier. The record reached a record high of 13% in January.”

Housing Wire – “BarCap anticipates stronger GDP growth in 3Q, double dip risk receding” (9-17-10)

“In the second quarter of 2010, GDP slowed to an annual rate of 1.6%, slightly better than what analysts projected. According to BarCap, a narrowed trade deficit in July, stronger-than-expected business inventories, and moderating growth in manufacturing activity suggest more GDP growth in the third quarter.”

Bloomberg - “Consumers Resist Smart Meters After $3.4 Billion Stimulus Push” (9-17-10)

“G&E Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and General Electric Co. are all betting that energy-monitoring devices will catch on in homes. Convincing consumers that they’re a good thing is turning out to be a tough sell. Power companies have traditionally relied on workers walking house to house to monitor electricity use. Smart meters are designed to give utilities a real-time picture of electricity consumption, eventually allowing them to create pricing plans that will encourage conservation during peak hours. About 43 percent of U.S. homes will have the new meters by 2014, up from 14 percent at the end of last year, according to Dallas-based market researcher Parks Associates.”

Bloomberg - “Small Business Can’t Get Loans From Bailed-Out Banks in U.S.” (9-17-10)

“Chip Besse figured he could hire a dozen people once he got a $1.1 million small-business loan. Wells Fargo & Co. turned him down. U.S. taxpayers helped the San Francisco-based bank weather the 2008 financial crisis with a $25 billion loan and $9.5 billion of debt guarantees. By July 2009, when Besse wanted to buy and expand a Colorado snowmobile-rental business, Wells Fargo wasn’t sharing the wealth, he said.”

Orange County Register – “Real estate job placements improving” (9-17-10)

“The UC Irvine Center for Real Estate reports that it’s having an easier time finding jobs for its students, a possible sign of improvement in the real estate jobs market. Both large banks, like Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and emerging businesses are hiring, center officials said. There’s also increased interest on the part of full-time employers, summer employers, people interested in interns and people interested in mentorships.”

Orange County Register – “Irvine woman sues over loan mod ‘hoax’” (9-17-10)

“An Irvine homeowner is suing a large national mortgage servicing company, saying they perpetrated a ‘loan modification hoax’ and committed fraud by promising but never granting her a permanent home loan modification.”

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News, Video Blog | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 9/1/10

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

The MBA’s weekly survey shows mortgage applications increased 2.7% this week. SB1275, the foreclosure/modification bill, was rejected by congress in a 36-30 vote. Fannie Mae’s new rule regarding appraisal cutting takes effect today. Construction spending decreased 1 percent in July, according to the Commerce Department.

In The News:

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Mortgage Applications Increase as Rates Hit New Low in MBA Weekly Survey” (9-1-10)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 27, 2010.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2.3 percent compared with the previous week.”

Reuters - “Loan picture improves but troubles remain: FDIC” (9-1-10)

“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp revealed some encouraging figures about the bank industry, saying the sector earned $21.6 billion during the quarter largely due to banks putting away less money to cover expected loan losses. During the first quarter, the industry earned $17.8 billion.”

San Francisco Chronicle – “Assembly rejects foreclosure/modification bill” (9-1-10)

“SB1275, which was rejected 36-30 late Monday, would have required lenders to provide homeowners with a fully considered loan modification decision prior to foreclosing. Unlike federal initiatives, it would have given homeowners the right to sue the lender if that process did not occur.”

Housing Wire – “Fannie’s appraisal cutting ban takes effect” (9-1-10)

“Fannie Mae’s new policy to reduce appraisal cutting takes effect today. If a lender is trying to sell the GSE a loan, they are now prohibited from changing the market value of a home on the request form. Fannie Mae said Tuesday if a loan servicer does not properly handle a troubled mortgage loan in a timely manner, it will demand compensation from the servicer for the mortgage.”

Housing Wire – “Fed buys $900 million of Treasury debt” (9-1-10)

“Dealers offered to sell the Fed $25.79 billion in debt. The three slices of debt purchased by the Fed include $131 million maturing Nov. 15, 2012; $345 million maturing Dec. 15, 2012; and $424 million maturing Jan. 31, 2013. At its meeting from earlier this month, the Federal Open Markets Committee directed the New York Fed to maintain the total face value of domestic securities held in the system open market account at about $2 trillion.”

Housing Wire – “DebtX July CRE loan value up to 79.4%” (9-1-10)

“The value of commercial loans priced by The Debt Exchange in July that collateralize commercial mortgage-backed securities rose to 79.4% of the original balance. DebtX said the value is up from 77.4% in June, marking the fourth-straight month of increases, and is higher than the 71.1% for the year-ago July. The values are based on loans priced by DebtX. In July, the company priced 57,801 CRE loans with an aggregate principle balance of $679.5 billion that collateralize 623 CMBS trusts.”

Bloomberg - “Construction Spending in U.S. Declined Twice as Much as Forecast in July” (9-1-10)

“The 1 percent drop brought spending to $805.2 billion, the lowest level in a decade, after a revised 0.8 percent drop in June that wiped out a previously estimated gain, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Spending on federal government projects fell by the most in a year.”

Bloomberg - “Real Estate Premium Near Record to U.S. Bonds Signals Time to Buy Property” (9-1-10)

“Capitalization rates, a measure of real estate yields, averaged 7.22 percent in the second quarter, based on an index calculated by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. That was 429 basis points, or 4.29 percentage points, higher than the yield on 10-year government bonds as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s about 475 basis points higher than Treasury yields as of yesterday.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the NAR reported that pending home sales increased 3.2 percent in one month. The average price of homes bought with mortgages funded by Freddie Mac increased 1.7% during the 2nd quarter of 2009. A wildfire north of Los Angeles threatened more than 12,000 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 4,300 people.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 8/26/10

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

 

 

Today’s News Synopsis:

The MBA’s second quarter survey shows the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties dropped to 9.85 percent. Freddie Mac reports that interest rates have dropped AGAIN to 4.36%. According to CoreLogic, 23 percent of residential homes with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the 2nd quarter. Barclays Capital claims existing home sales decreased 30% last month.

In The News:

NAR - “Commercial Real Estate Remains Soft but Favors Business Expansion” (8-26-10)

“The SIOR index, measuring 10 variables, rose 2.8 percentage points to 41.0 in the second quarter, but remains well below a level of 100 that represents a balanced marketplace.  This is the third consecutive quarterly improvement after nearly three years of decline; the last time the commercial market was in equilibrium at the 100 level was in the third quarter of 2007.”

MBA - “Delinquencies and Foreclosure Starts Decrease in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey” (8-26-10)

“The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.85 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the second quarter of 2010, a decrease of 21 basis points from the first quarter of 2010, and an increase of 61 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased two basis points to 9.40 percent this quarter from 9.38 percent last quarter.”

Los Angeles Times – “Home loan rates drop yet again to record low” (8-26-10)

“Freddie Mac said rates for both 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages dropped for the ninth time in the past 10 weeks. The mortgage giant’s weekly survey said the average rate that lenders were offering on the 30-year loan was 4.36% during the week that ended Thursday, down from 4.42% a week earlier and 5.14% a year ago. Borrowers would have paid 0.7% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees.”

Housing Wire – “Ranks of Underwater Borrowers Decline, Thanks to Foreclosure” (8-26-10)

“The number of Americans that owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined during the second quarter of 2010, but not because home prices have improved. Instead, according to a new report, increased foreclosures have helped flush underwater borrowers out of the nation’s housing markets. According to a report from information services provider CoreLogic (CLGX: 17.77 +0.28%) released Thursday morning, 11 million — or 23% — of all residential properties with mortgages were in a negative equity position at the end of the second quarter.”

Housing Wire – “Amherst Sees HARP Failing Over Fees” (8-26-10)

“The Home Affordable Refinance Program, which started early last year, was supposed to ‘solve the key inhibitor to many borrowers refinancing in our current housing market – negative equity,’ the research firm’s MBS strategy group said in its most-recent mortgage insight report. However, high levels of due diligence and onerous fees for borrowers mean that those who should get the refi, likely won’t.”

Housing Wire – “Fed Buys $1.41bn of Treasuries” (8-26-10)

“The Federal Reserve purchased $1.41 billion of Treasury debt Thursday, including $1.14 billion of notes maturing in November 2021.”

Housing Wire – “Freddie Mac Mortgage Purchases and Issuances Fall in July, 2010 Total Pushes $207bn” (8-26-10)

“Mortgage purchases and issuance at government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac fell to nearly $28.4bn, from $30.9bn in June — bringing the year-to-date totally to $207.4bn so far in 2010. Refinance-loan purchase and guarantee volume at Freddie fell to $18.1bn in July, from $19.1bn in June, according to the firm’s monthly volume summary (download here). The aggregate unpaid principal balance of the GSE’s mortgage-related investments decreased by $13.6bn.”

Housing Wire – “Barclays Capital Expects Home Prices to Dip Another 7%” (8-26-10)

“Existing home sales plummeted 30% in July after the homebuyer tax credit brought forward 300,000 to 600,000 of housing demand, assuming 4 million homes sell annually, according to research today from Barclays Capital.”

Housing Wire – “Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Down 6.1% to 473,000″ (8-26-10)

“The Labor Department said Thursday that seasonally-adjusted initial claims slid to 473,000 last week, down from an upwardly revised 504,000 for the previous week. Briefing.com consensus had expected claims to drop to 485,000.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the NAR reported nearly one-third of all existing homes sales were either short sales or foreclosures. Home sales in July 2009 increased by 30 percent from January 2009. Office space availability increased in the second quarter of 2009 in Orange County.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News, Video Blog | No Comments »

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 8/25/10

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

The MBA’s weekly survey shows that mortgage loan application volume increased by 4.9%. The Commerce Department reported new homes sales decreased 12.4% in July. According to Zillow, most Western states experienced a decrease in 20-year mortgage rates last week. California’s 30-year rate decreased to 4.30%.

In The News:

Mortgage Bankers Association - “Mortgage Refinance Applications Continue to Increase as Rates Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey” (8-25-10)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 20, 2010.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 4.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.5 percent compared with the previous week”

Washington Post – “New home sales hit lowest level” (8-25-10)

“The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new homes sold in July at an annual rate of 276,000, down 12.4 percent from June and down 32.4 percent compared with the same time last year”

Housing Wire – “Dow Closes Down Nearly 134 Points Following Bad Housing Data” (8-25-10)

“The American stock markets closed lower today following the news of homes sales dropping a staggering 27%. Stocks of big banks that have large mortgage-finance operations such as Citigroup (C: 3.68 -0.81%), Bank of America (BAC: 12.63 -0.08%), Wells Fargo (WFC: 23.4907 -0.63%) and JPMorgan (JPM: 36.179 -0.09%) closed lower despite doing large amounts of trading volume, according to the New York Stock Exchange”

Housing Wire – “Zillow: Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Remains Flat on Average” (8-25-10)

“Most western states saw a decline in rates: California’s current rate of 4.3% is down from 4.33% last week; Colorado’s at 4.17% is down from 4.19%; Washington’s at 4.29% is down from 4.33%; Illinois’ at 4.24% is down from 4.3%, and Florida’s at 4.2% is down from 4.21%.”

Housing Wire – “Deutsche Bank Summarizes Future of GSEs, Government Guarantee” (8-25-10)

“Key elements included re-launching of the MBS guarantee business backed by catastrophe insurance from the US government. This guarantee would implicitly serve as a backstop to the TBA pass-through market. In a panel with investors in the space, both of these aspects were considered key to maintaining adequate liquidity at the GSEs.”

Housing Wire – “House Prices Begin to Climb, Up 0.9% in Q2 in FHFA Index” (8-25-10)

“The agency said its second quarter HPI – calculated using information from mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – rose 0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior quarter, yet fell 1.6% from the year ago. Still, prices of other goods and services in the second quarter were 3% higher than the year earlier. This puts the second quarter inflation-adjusted home price about 4.4% higher than last year, according to the FHFA.”

Housing Wire - “Americans Continue to Deleverage with Credit Card Debt Below $5k per Person” (8-25-10)

“The average national credit card borrower debt slid downward for the fifth consecutive quarter by 4.1% to $4,951, marking the first time the average has been below $5,000 since 2002, according to a report released today by TransUnion. This, coupled with the fact the national credit card delinquency rate for borrowers 90-plus days delinquent plummeted to 0.92% in Q210 (down 17.1% from the first quarter and 21.3% from last year) suggests that borrowers are saving more and spending more responsibly.”

Orange County Register – “Thinking of a refi? Tips for borrowers” (8-25-10)

“This summer’s bout of falling mortgage rates has sparked yet another frenzy of homeowners looking to refinance their loans. Now could be a good time to do it, too, with interest rates at their lowest in decades — lower than in 2001, lower than in 2003 and even lower than in 2004, when we last told you rates were at record lows. They’re lower now.”

Orange County Register – “O.C. housing risk 9th highest in U.S.” (8-25-10)

“Orange County home prices have 99.7% chance of price loss in two years, or by the winter of 2012. PMI Group doesn’t say how big of a price drop that would be, so the declines could be small or large. Nationwide, the average risk for price drops was 51.9% — down from 53.8% the previous quarter.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the CAR reported Home sales increased 12 percent in July in California. Nationally home prices fell 6.1 percent in the second quarter from 2008, claimed the FHFA.

For more information about The Norris Group’s California hard money loans or our California Trust Deed investments, visit the website or call our office at 951-780-5856 for more information. For upcoming California real estate investor training and events, visit The Norris Group website and our California investor event calendar. You’ll also find our award-winning real estate radio show on KTIE 590am at 6pm on Saturdays or you can listen to over 170 podcasts in our free investor radio archive.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »