Today’s News Synopsis:
According to the NAHB, both demand and production of apartments increased from Q1 2009. Freddie Mac reports rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.72 percent this week. RealtyTrac claims U.S. foreclosure activity decreased by 3 percent in May. Household net worth rose by 2.1 percent in the first quarter.
In The News:
NAHB - “Multifamily Builders Less Pessimistic” (6-10-10)
“The multifamily market showed signs of moving back toward stability in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest NAHB’s Multifamily Market Index (MMI). The current production index for market-rent apartments jumped to 30.6, 14 points higher than a year earlier, while future demand expectations for Class A apartments rose to 49.6 from 34 and for Class B to 53.1 from 43.9. For lower-rent units and for-sale condominiums, the current production indexes rose to 38.2 and 25.0, respectively, more than 10 points higher than in the first quarter of 2009.”
Freddie Mac – “Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates hit low for year” (6-10-10)
“Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week to the lowest level of the year and were barely shy of the all-time low. Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac says the average rate sank to 4.72 percent, down from 4.79 percent last week. It was just above the record of 4.71 set last December.”
Wall Street Journal – “KB Home Buys in Inland Empire” (6-10-10)
“Builder KB Home snapped up 664 partially finished lots in California’s Inland Empire, a sign that one of the nation’s biggest boom-to-bust markets is coming back to life.”
Los Angeles Times – “Foreclosure filings decline 3% in May” (6-10-10)
“Foreclosure activity in the U.S. continued to level off in May with the number of homes caught up in some stage of the process falling 3% from April, a real estate firm said. A total of 322,920 properties received some kind of foreclosure filing last month — either default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — a 3% drop from April and an increase of less than 1% from May 2009, according to RealtyTrac in Irvine.”
San Francisco Chronicle – “Americans’ wealth rises for 4th straight quarter” (6-10-10)
“The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that household net worth rose by 2.1 percent in the first three months of this year to $54.6 trillion. It marked the fourth consecutive quarter that Americans’ wealth grew.”
Housing Wire – “RealtyTrac: Most Foreclosure Properties Not Underwater” (6-10-10)
“Of all of the foreclosures in the RealtyTrac online database, less than 50% have mortgages worth less than what is owed, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, during a session at REO Expo, which concludes in Dallas Wednesday.”
Housing Wire – “Congress to Consider FHA Reform, Mortgage Insurance Hike” (6-10-10)
“House Resolution (HR) 5072, the FHA Reform Act of 2010, was reported to the House of Representatives Tuesday and could begin facing votes as early as this week. The FHA reform bill would raise the annual mortgage insurance premium to 1.55% from 0.55%.”
Bloomberg - “Subprime Delinquencies Show Clear ‘Positive Shift,’ RBS Says” (6-10-10)
“The proportion of U.S. homeowners turning delinquent on mortgages backing the securities that roiled the global financial system has tumbled in the past three months, even after accounting for a typical seasonal improvement, according to RBS Securities Inc. Of borrowers with subprime loans in 2007-issued bonds who had never missed payments, an average of 2.6 percent fell behind each month, a drop from 3.7 percent in February, representing a 15 percent decline after seasonal adjustments, according to RBS analysts.”
Bloomberg - “Banks Face Short-Sale Fraud as Home ‘Flopping’ Rises” (6-10-10)
“Sergio Natera and Anna McElaney are scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford’s federal court in August after pleading guilty to fraud. Their crime involved persuading lenders to approve the sale of homes for less than the balance owed –known as a short sale — without disclosing that there were better offers. They then flipped the houses for a profit. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Real Estate and mortgage finance company Freddie Mac have warned that such schemes may be spreading after a plunge in values left homeowners owing more than their properties are worth. The scams threaten to deepen losses for lenders that are increasingly agreeing to short sales as an alternative to more costly foreclosures.”
Looking Back:
One year ago, 2,771 new homes and condominiums were sold within one month in the subdivisions tracked by Costa Mesa-based HWMI. The MBA reported that mortgage application volume decreased by 7.2 percent in one week. Steven Kandarian said commercial mortgage defaults will rise in 2011 to 2012.
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