Today’s News Synopsis:
Of the homeowners receiving foreclosure counseling through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program, 58% listed unemployment as the main reason for default. According to MDA DataQuick, Sales of both new and resale houses and condominiums were down 1.3 percent year-over-year. Weekly claims for unemployment insurance have now failed to improve for five straight months. Web searches for rental properties have increased by 45 percent from April 2009.
In The News:
Housing Wire – “Stewart Lender Services Sees Loss Mitigation Business Jump Ten-Fold” (5-28-10)
“Houston-based Stewart Lender Services (SLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Title Company, is disclosing that business in its loss-mitigation departments increased ten-fold in the last 18 months. In a conversation with HousingWire, the company reported processing more than 725,000 troubled mortgage loans and generated more than 1m lines of outreach to delinquent borrowers in the past year.”
Housing Wire – “Fannie Clarifies Mortgage Insurance Standards for Loan Purchases” (5-28-10)
“In updating its requirements on finance mortgage insurance for loans it purchases, Fannie introduced the concept of a ‘prepaid mortgage insurance transaction,’ in which the borrower finances all or part of the premium and monthly escrows into the loan amount of a refinance. In this case, the mortgage insurance coverage amount is based on the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio after all closing costs and mortgage insurance are included in the loan amount.”
Housing Wire – “NeighborWorks Finds Unemployment Drives Most Mortgage Defaults” (5-28-10)
“Of the homeowners receiving foreclosure counseling through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program, 58% listed unemployment as the main reason for default.”
Housing Wire – “Home Builders Quick to Praise Proposed Government-Backed Construction Loans” (5-28-10)
“The Government Printing Office has yet to publicly forward a copy of HR 5409, but the bill, which seeks to establish a construction loan guarantee program for residential builders, is already gaining support from the trade body representing the industry.”
Inman - “Agents sell more higher-priced homes in California” (5-28-10)
“Real estate professionals in California sold slightly fewer homes in April than they did a year ago, according to a report by real estate data company MDA DataQuick. Sales of both new and resale houses and condominiums were down 1.3 percent year-over-year, to an estimated 37,481 units. That a 0.5 percent increase from March, however. The median price for a home in the Golden State stayed flat month-to-month at $255,000, but was a 15.4 percent increase from April 2009.”
Inman - “Low rates won’t fix economy” (5-28-10)
“Nothing has changed in the fundamentals behind the rate decline, certainly not in Europe. U.S. manufacturing has enjoyed temporary inventory rebuilding and export sales (April orders for durable goods soared 2.9 percent), but the overall economy is more ‘L’ than ‘U.’ April personal spending was flat, and weekly claims for unemployment insurance have now failed to improve for five straight months.”
Inman - “Hitwise: Rental sites gaining ground” (5-28-10)
“Popular search terms indicate that consumer interest in rentals is growing, according to a webinar presentation by Web metrics firm Experian Hitwise. The firm’s data indicates that despite recent upticks in home sales, real estate-related searches fell 22 percent year-over-year in April — the 11th straight month of year-over-year declines, the firm said. For the past 10 months, however, searches related to rentals have been increasing. In a custom real estate website category for rentals (excluding vacation rentals), searches climbed 45 percent year-over-year in April, the firm said. Heather Dougherty, the company’s director of research, gave the presentation.”
Orange County Register – “VACATION RECOVERY” (5-28-10)
“Even in a damaged market, the vacation rental industry is making a rebound this season, with demand up in Orange County beach cities and more homes available to rent than last year. The National Association of Realtors reported recently that the vacation home market is mending its wounds – sales are up 8 percent nationwide, according to an investment and vacation home buyers survey.”
Looking Back:
One year ago, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties was 8.22 percent. New home sales increased 0.3 percent to an annual pace of 352,000. C.A.R. reported a 49 percent increase in California home sales in April 2009.
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.
