Today’s News Synopsis:
ZipRealty reports 24.2% of homes in the nation’s 26 major markets experienced experienced a price cut in September. Bank of America is postponing foreclosure sales in all 50 states. Wells Fargo has decided to continue with its foreclosures, unlike BofA, JPMorgan and Ally Financial. Credit Suisse predicts record low interest rates will boost demand for mortgage-backed securities.
In The News:
Inman - “Home-sale discounts jump 24%” (10-8-10)
“The number of homes that experienced price cuts jumped 24.2 percent in September compared to the same month last year, according to a monthly review of multiple listing service listings in 26 major markets conducted by national online brokerage ZipRealty.”
Yahoo - “How Your FICO Score is Calculated” (10-8-10)
“Payment history – How you pay your bills makes up 35% of your FICO score. It goes without saying that paying your bills on time will have a positive impact on your credit score, while paying your bills late or not at all will have a dramatically negative impact. Even paying one bill late will cause your FICO score to take a hit, so make sure you’re paying your bills on time. If you’ve made mistakes in the past and haven’t always paid your bills on time, don’t fret. If you change your ways and pay on time, your FICO score will eventually reflect that. Late payments have less of an impact on your credit score once time has passed.”
Los Angeles Times – “Bank of America widens foreclosure freeze to all 50 states” (10-8-10)
“Bank of America is halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states as the nation’s largest bank said Friday it was widening its investigation into how it handled home repossessions.”
Housing Wire – “California AG files suit in audit loan modification scam” (10-8-10)
“California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a $60 million lawsuit against a pair of Sacramento companies that he says used questionable computer-generated ‘forensic loan audits’ to defraud homeowners seeking to modify their mortgages.”
Housing Wire – “US lost 95,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September” (10-8-10)
“The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported federal employment cut another 159,000 jobs last month, including 77,000 temporary Census workers and 76,000 local government positons. The private sector added 64,000 jobs in September, according to the Labor Department. Economists polled by MarketWatch were forecasting about 85,000 new private-sector jobs were created last month.”
Housing Wire – “Financial radio talk-show host charged with real estate fraud” (10-8-10)
“Barbra Alexander, a local California radio show host, was charged along with two business executives for misappropriating investor funds to finance her radio talk-show, ‘MoneyDots,’ and for personal use. Alexander allegedly used her status as a radio show host on ‘MoneyDots,’ a talk-show for entrepreneurs, to lure investors into giving funds for short-term loans secured by real estate. The money went to APS Funding, a lending firm of which Alexander is also president.”
Housing Wire – “Credit Suisse analysts see record-low mortgage rates boosting MBS demand” (10-8-10)
“The record low interest rates should boost demand for mortgage-backed securities, as originators sell newly locked-in loans, according to Credit Suisse analysts.”
Housing Wire – “Wells Fargo will not join BofA in foreclosure suspension” (10-8-10)
“Wells Fargo (WFC: 25.95 -0.19%) will not suspend foreclosures and stands by the accuracy of its affidavits, Jason Menke, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based bank, told HousingWire.”
Looking Back:
One year ago, a government report showed that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury spent $1.2 trillion dollars on the U.S. mortgage market in fiscal 2009. The Department of Labor announced that the weekly unemployment claims had decreased by 33,000. Statistics from Freddie Mac showed that mortgage rates for 30-year fixed U.S. home loans fell to 4.87 percent from 4.94 percent in the previous week. Trulia reported that U.S. home sellers had reduced their price by a total of $28.4 billion.
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.