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California Real Estate Headline Roundup

Posts Tagged ‘Geithner’

The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 3/29/11

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Associated General Contractors of America reports California ranked 18th in year over year economic improvement. According to LPS, Option ARM foreclosures currently represent 18.8% of foreclosure inventory. The Congressional Oversight Panel estimates HAMP will avert only 800,000 foreclosures. Statistics from S&P shows home prices decreased 3.1% year over year.

In The News:

Sign On San Diego – “California construction jobs up in February” (3-29-11)

“California added 15,500 construction jobs from January to February, far outpacing all other states. But it still ranks 18th in year-over-year improvement, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.”

CNN - “Home prices near a double dip” (3-29-11)

“January home prices fell for the sixth month in a row, edging closer to a double dip. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index covering 20 major markets fell 3.1% year-over-year, hovering near the market’s bottom set in April 2009.”

Housing Wire – “House Democrats give Geithner plan to revamp HAMP” (3-29-11)

“the Congressional Oversight Panel estimates HAMP will avert only 800,000 foreclosures before the program ends, far short of the 3 million to 4 million originally estimated.”

Mercury News – “As gas, food prices rise, consumer confidence falls” (3-29-11)

“The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell more than expected to 63.4 from a revised 72.0 in February. Economists expected a decline to 65.4, according to FactSet. A reading of 90 indicates a healthy economy.”

Housing Wire – “Foreclosure inventory volume outpacing actual foreclosure sales: LPS” (3-29-11)

“Another significant shift occurred in February with data showing a 23% hike in Option ARM foreclosures in the past six months. Option ARM foreclosures now make up 18.8% of the foreclosure inventory, outpacing subprime foreclosures.”

Bloomberg - “U.S. Treasury to Publicly Grade Mortgage Servicers Over Loan Modifications” (3-29-11)

“The U.S. Treasury Department plans to publicly grade mortgage servicers on how well they respond to homeowners seeking reductions in payments as the government encourages loan modifications to stem foreclosures.”

Housing Wire – “Average national mortgage rate rose in February: FHFA” (3-29-11)

“The average national contract mortgage rate for the purchase of previously occupied homes by combined lenders hit 4.79% in February, up 0.8% from the previous month, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday.”

Housing Wire – “Regulators vote for 20% down on QRM” (3-29-11)

“Federal regulators voted in favor of the initial mortgage risk-retention proposal Tuesday. Qualified residential mortgages exempt from the rule will require a 20% down payment.”

DSNews - “House Republicans Introduce Eight Bills to Speed Wind-Down of GSEs” (3-29-11)

“The eight proposals include measures to raise guarantee fees the GSEs will charge for mortgage-backed securities they insure and to prevent the GSEs from offering any new products while they are under conservatorship or receivership.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, a study from USC showed that immigrants were more attracted to mid-size cities. Goodman claimed HAMP was bound to fail because of its failure to address negative equity. According to Realpoint, the delinquency rate among commercial mortgage-backed securities reached 6 percent within a month. First American CoreLogic estimated the average home experiencing negative equity would not obtain positive equity until late 2015.

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.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 1/6/11

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Today’s News Synopsis:

According to Freddie Mac, rates on 30-year FRMs fell to 4.77% this week. Altos Research reports home prices fell 1.63% in December. Timothy Geithner requested from Congress to increase the national debt limit. The current debt limit is $14.29 trillion, and the nation’s current debt level is just $335 billion short of the limit.

In The News:

Research Institute for Housing America – “A Study of Real Estate Markets in Declining Cities” (1-6-11)

“many places will likely resume growth and fully recover within the next decade or so. This is almost certainly not to be the case for all metropolitan areas. In fact, a number of large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) experienced severe recessions during the latter half of the 20th century and prior to the Great Recession and never fully recovered or took many years to do so”

USA Today – “30-year fixed mortgage rate dips to 4.77% average in latest week” (1-6-11)

“Freddie Mac says the average rate on 30-year mortgages dropped to 4.77% from 4.86% the previous week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17% in November.”

Realty Times – “Consequences of Defaults and Foreclosures” (1-6-11)

“One of the most startling impacts of a foreclosure appears on one’s credit report. Your credit score may plummet by 200 to 300 points. In this economic climate, where credit lending standards are already tightened, you may then find it difficult to do everything from buying a car to renting an apartment. What’s worse is that the notation of foreclosure stays on your report for up to seven years.”

Housing Wire – “Altos: Home prices down 1.63% in December, new listings even lower” (1-6-11)

“Home prices fell 1.63% in December, but new listings are hitting the market well below that, according to analytics firm Altos Research. Prices fell in each of the 27 markets studied by Altos. Prices fell 4.77% in San Francisco — the steepest drop of any area, 3.71% in San Diego”

Housing Wire – “Commercial mortgage modifications become huge trend in just two years” (1-6-11)

“Of all loan modifications in the commercial mortgage industry over the past decade, 96% occurred in the last years, according to Standard & Poor’s. The rating agency said 354 commercial real estate loans with a principal balance $15.6 billion were modified from January through November, up significantly from 216 loans valued at $7.06 billion for all of 2009.”

Housing Wire – “DebtX November CRE loan volume down to 80.3%” (1-6-11)

“The decline in the value of commercial real estate loans in November was due primarily to an increase in Treasury rates”

Housing Wire – “Geithner urges Congress to increase national debt limit” (1-6-11)

“Geithner wrote a letter to Congress Thursday requesting an increase in the federal debt limit. According to his numbers, the current debt limit set last February is $14.29 trillion. As of the writing of the letter, the outstanding debt subject to the limit standards is $13.95 trillion — just $335 billion shy of the maximum.”

Housing Wire – “Equator’s Vella: Short sales set to swell 25% in 2011″ (1-6-11)

“With one in five borrowers underwater on their home and an estimated 1.5 million foreclosures scheduled for 2011, the opportunity for short sales will be better than ever. Investors usually see a 20% to 30% better execution on a short sale versus an REO sale when it comes to loss severity. With the foreclosure volume, current and pending REO inventories, servicers will be pressed to do more short sales in 2011.”

Housing Wire – “New Fannie interactive Web tool provides foreclosure avoidance options” (1-6-11)

“Fannie Mae’s new WaysHome interactive multimedia tool walks homeowners through options if they are struggling to pay the mortgage — even allowing them to select a character and be a part of an interactive video.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, California Governor Schwarzenegger announced a new home buyer tax credit. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications had increased by .4 percent from Christmas. The FOMC confirmed plans to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed-securities from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae. Eugene Ludwig believed that commercial real estate losses would break historical records in 2010.

For m ore 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.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 4/30/10

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

MetLife is expecting a comeback in the commercial real estate market. According to LPS, More than 7.3m mortgages in the US are non-current or in REO status this month. Orange County apartment rent rates fell 5 percent during the first quarter of 2010. President Obama nominated Janet Yellen, Peter Diamond and Sarah Bloom Raskin for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to the US Senate.

In The News:

Bloomberg - “D.R. Horton Gains After Quarterly Profit Tops Analyst Estimates” (4-30-10)

“D.R. Horton Inc., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, climbed the most in three months after reporting its second straight quarterly profit on increased demand for houses. Net income was $11.4 million, or 4 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $108.6 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said today in a statement. The results beat the average of 11 estimates in a Bloomberg survey that showed analysts predicted the company would roughly break even.”

Bloomberg - “MetLife Expects Commercial Real Estate to Rebound” (4-30-10)

“MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, said there are signs of a recovery in the commercial real estate market after property values dropped about 40 percent from their peak. The company gained the most in seven weeks in New York trading.”

Housing Wire – “Obama Nominates Three to Federal Reserve Board of Governors” (4-30-10)

“President Barack Obama on Thursday sent three nominations for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to the US Senate. His nominees include Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Peter Diamond, an institute professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and Sarah Bloom Raskin, commissioner of financial regulation for the State of Maryland.”

Housing Wire – “Geithner Threatens Crack-Down on HAMP Servicers” (4-30-10)

“‘I want to be clear that we do not believe servicers are doing enough to help homeowners, not doing enough to help them navigate the difficult and often frightening process of avoiding foreclosure,’ he said in prepared remarks.”

Housing Wire - “Non-Current Mortgages, REO Reach 7.3m in March: LPS” (4-30-10)

“More than 7.3m mortgages in the US are non-current or in REO status through March 2010, according to the Lender Processing Services (LPS) (LPS: 38.065 -0.41%) Mortgage Monitor report. Data and analytics firm LPS reported the modest improvements in the amount of loans becoming current has been overshadowed by this large pool of non-current assets, which represent more than 12% of all active loans in the country. The volume of distressed mortgages is up 19.3% from a year ago.”

Orange County Register – “O.C. apartment rent down 5%” (4-30-10)

“The average rent for a unit in a large Orange County apartment complex fell 4.8 percent during the first quarter of the year, down to $1,475 a month, according to RealFacts. However, the average asking rent pulled out of its nose dive, rising $2 a month from the previous quarter. Rents had fallen steadily for the previous 15 months.”

Orange County Register – “County seeks fee for property tax appeals” (4-30-10)

“An Orange County administrator wants to impose a $30 per parcel fee on property tax appeals this summer to help offset the costs of administering the hearings and to discourage fraudulent and frivolous actions. The proposal was made by Darlene Bloom, clerk of the Board of Supervisors, whose office administers appeals of property tax assessments.”

Realty Times – “Seniors Looking to Downsize, Seek Opportunities to Socialize in Urban Living Areas” (4-30-10)

“there’s a changing mindset emerging. ‘Senior citizens no longer want to be in an isolated place.’ Many are selling their homes and looking for a community connection in the location where they plan to purchase their next home. ‘Like the rest of America, there was this movement going out toward suburbia. Now, there’s a movement going back toward more urban areas and towns are starting to be challenged,’ says Matthews.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, foreclosure filings increased dramatically during March. The U.S. Senate rejected legislation letting U.S. bankruptcy judges cut mortgage terms to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. The average rate of a 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.78 percent.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 3/22/10

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

The total number of failed banks so far in 2010 has now reached 37. Geithner suggests that government officials listen more to harmed families and businesses than to large financial institutions while considering a financial overhaul bill. Lennar is investing over $3 billion into distressed real estate assets. California will offer about $3.1 billion in taxable debt sales this week.

In The News:

Washinton Post – “Geithner says bank overhaul must protect consumers” (3-22-10)

“Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the administration will not accept a financial overhaul bill that does not provide strong consumer protection and restraints on risk taking by large banks. Geithner urged lawmakers to listen to the families and businesses that were harmed by the financial crisis and not the financial institutions that brought on the crisis, the most severe to hit the country since the 1930s.”

Housing Wire - “In Housing, a Supply Problem of Epic Proportion” (3-22-10)

“Consider that 2.5 million loans, current at the start of 2009, had become 60+ days delinquent or in foreclosure by the end of January 2010, according to LPS. Compare that to the roughly 2 million loan modifications in process or processed in generally the same time frame—116,000 permanent HAMP mods + 830,000 trial HAMP mods + 1.0 million completed non-HAMP mods. It’s simple math: 2.5 million is greater than 2.0 million.”

Housing Wire – “TAVMA Questions Accuracy of Appraisal Fee Report” (3-22-10)

“Title/Appraisal Vendor Management Association (TAVMA) called the dataset misleading because it doesn’t include the fees AMCs pay to appraisers, excluding two-thirds of all the appraisals conducted in the United States.”

Housing Wire – “Monday Morning Cup of Coffee” (3-22-10)

“Regulators closed seven banks Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks to 37 so far in 2010. The weekly round of bank failures is estimated to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (FDIC) Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) $1.28bn.”

Bloomberg – “Lennar Looks to Distressed Debt as Slump Persists” (3-22-10)

“Lennar Corp., the third-largest U.S. homebuilder, is investing in failed bank loans and distressed real estate assets to boost revenue as demand for new houses shows few signs of revival. The Miami-based company’s purchase last month of a share of $3.05 billion of delinquent loans seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.”

Bloomberg – “U.S. Property Index Rises for Third Straight Month” (3-22-10)

“U.S. commercial property values rose for a third month in January as the economy grew, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index climbed 1 percent from December, Moody’s said today in a report. Values are 40 percent lower than the peak in October 2007. The index fell 24 percent from a year earlier.”

Bloomberg – “California to Lead Year’s Biggest Week in Taxable Bond Sales” (3-22-10)

“California, the lowest-rated state, will lead about $3.1 billion in taxable debt sales in potentially the biggest week for such issues since December as investors gain confidence in Build America Bonds. The most-populous U.S. state will offer about $2 billion in taxable notes this week, including $1.3 billion in federally subsidized Build America securities, said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for California Treasurer Bill Lockyer. Oregon’s Transportation Department will sell $556.4 million of the debt and the Arizona Board of Regents will market $164.9 million on behalf of Arizona State University.”

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 12/09/09

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Today’s News Synopsis:

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a bill which ensures that consumers may choose their own real estate service provider when purchasing a foreclosure. According to Zillow, Bay Area properties have lost 3 percent of their value during the first 11 months of 2009. 18 percent of FHA loans are either delinquent or in foreclosure. Statistics from Freddie Mac show that national home prices increased by .9 percent during the second quarter of this year.

In The News:

Managing REO – “Buyer’s Choice Act Signed Into Law” (12-10-09)

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed an assembly bill into law that protects consumers by ensuring that they have the right to choose their own real estate service providers when purchasing foreclosed properties. Also known as the Buyer’s Choice Act, the law prohibits sellers of REO properties from requiring the buyer to use a particular title company, escrow settlement or other real estate service provider. The Escrow Institute of California says this ‘unethical, anti-competitive practice’ drives up costs for homebuyers and takes business away from locally owned companies.”

San Francisco Chronicle – “Decline in home values levels off” (12-9-09)

“Homes in the nine-county Bay Area lost $38.1 billion in value in the first 11 months of this year, a 3 percent drop, according to real estate site Zillow.com. Gargantuan though that sounds, it’s a pittance compared with the $233.1 billion in home values wiped out in 2008, which was a 15.7 percent plunge from the previous year.”

Los Angeles Times – “Geithner: bailout program extended to October” (12-9-09)

“Money from the $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout program has helped rescue big Wall Street firms, auto companies and others. That’s angered many Americans, who feel the government hasn’t provided them with relief from high unemployment and rising home foreclosures. Geithner said the Troubled Asset Relief Program that Congress passed in October 2008, will be extended until Oct. 3, 2010. He has the authority to extend the TARP simply by notifying lawmakers.”

Inman - “Home prices rise 0.9% in Q3″ (12-9-09)

“Home prices rose for the second quarter this year, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly national Conventional Home Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series released Tuesday, adding evidence the nation’s housing market is warming up. The government mortgage entity’s home-price-growth index rose 0.9 percent in the third quarter, following an upwardly revised 2 percent pickup in the second quarter. The increases of the past two quarters made up for about two-fifths of the declines registered during the final quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. U.S. home-sale prices were down 3.9 percent year-over-year.”

San Francisco Chronicle – “Condo rules could shut out buyers, hit builders” (12-9-09)

“The tighter lending standards are designed to protect the financial health of the FHA. Roughly 18 percent of loans insured by the FHA are either delinquent or in foreclosure and the agency’s financial cushion has dipped below the federal minimum. But the move is a blow to condo buyers because the FHA has become a key source of mortgage financing. The agency insures roughly one in four new loans today because buyers need only have a 3.5 percent down payment.”

Housing Wire – “‘Toxic Titles’ Worth Less than Cost of Foreclosure: Fed’s Duke” (12-9-09)

“‘In the most devastated neighborhoods, some lenders do not even complete the foreclosure process or record the outcome of foreclosure sales because the cost of foreclosing exceeds the value of the property,’ Duke said. These ‘toxic titles,’ she added, have placed a large number of properties in legal limbo. High rates of abandonment pushed many cities such as Flint, Mich. and Cleveland to pursue plans to ‘right size’ by demolishing vacant properties and create land banks, Duke said.”

Housing Wire – “Deutsche Sees New Year’s Surge of Fannie, Freddie Buyouts” (12-9-09)

“The pace of buyouts in delinquent loans in Fannie Mae (FNM: 0.92 0.00%) and Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.11 0.00%) mortgage-backed securities portfolios (MBS) is set to boom in 2010 as new accountancy rules come into effect, changing the nature of securitization.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey” (12-9-09)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 4, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 54.0 percent compared with the previous week, which was a shortened week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.”

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