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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.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 8/20/10

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

Video Blog Sources:

Mortgage News Daily – “Mortgage Rates End Losing Streak After Reprices for Better” (8-19-10)

Wall Street Jounral –  “Redfin: Less Than Half of All Home-Sale Attempts Successful in ‘09” (8-16-10)

Housing Wire – “Bankrate: Loan Closing Costs Jump 36.6% Year-Over-Year” (8-17-10)

Housing Wire – “TransUnion: Housing Begins to Stabilize as Delinquent Loans Fall in Q210” (8-17-10)

DQ News – “Southern California Home Sales and Median Price Dip in July” (8-17-10)

Wall Street Journal – “Mortgage Delinquency Runs Slightly Higher in Dems’ Districts″ (8-19-10)

Today’s News Synopsis:

MDA Dataquick’s monthly study shows 6,773 new and resale homes closed escrows in Northern California last month. In the entire state, 35,202 new and resale houses and condos were sold. The California State Assembly approved SB 1178, which will extend anti-deficiency protection for consumers who have refinanced their original mortgage loans. The Census Bureau reports the number of people who own their homes free and clear has decreased, and the number of people in reverse mortgages increased 59 percent.

In The News:

Los Angeles Times – “Professional investors move into flipping foreclosed homes” (8-20-10)

“Hoping there are big profits to be made in the aftermath of California’s housing collapse, professional investors are flocking to the business of buying foreclosed homes at distressed prices. The investors, primarily private equity funds and groups of wealthy individuals, purchase the homes at public auctions, which are held daily on the steps of local courthouses. They refurbish the properties and try to sell them for quick profits.”

DQNews - “Bay Area July Home Sales Down Sharply; Median Price Slips From June” (8-19-10)

“Last month a total of 6,773 new and resale homes closed escrows in the nine-county Bay Area, down 19.1 percent from 8,373 in June and down 22.8 percent from 8,771 in July 2009, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.”

DQNews - “California July Home Sales” (8-19-10)

“An estimated 35,202 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was down 19.9 percent from 43,964 in June, and down 21.9 percent from 45,079 for July 2009. California sales for the month of July have varied from a low of 30,596 in 1995 to a peak of 71,186 in 2004, the average is 47,093. MDA DataQuick’s statistics go back to 1988.”

CBIA - “California Housing Affordability Declines in Second Quarter, CBIA Announces” (8-19-10)

“On a statewide basis, the HOI found that a family earning the median income could have afforded 58.4 percent of the new and existing homes that were sold during the second quarter, down from 60.8 percent in the first quarter.”

CAR - “California State Assembly passes SB 1178 protecting homeowners” (8-19-10)

“The California State Assembly today approved SB 1178 (D-Corbett) by a 49 to 14 vote, extending anti-deficiency protection for consumers who have refinanced their original mortgage loans and now are facing foreclosure. The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is the sponsor of the consumer-protection legislation.”

Housing Wire - “Commercial Real Estate Hit with 41% Price Drop, Soaring Delinquencies” (8-20-10)

“National property prices on commercial real estate dropped 9.1% in June from last year, according to Moody’s commercial property price index. The rate declined 0.9% over the first half of 2010, and while prices remain 4.2% above the current recession low of October, they are down 41.4% from the peak in October 2007.”

Housing Wire – “Census Bureau Reports 59% Rise in Reverse Mortgages as Overall Ownership Falls” (8-20-10)

“The nation’s homeowners paid a median of $1,000 in monthly housing costs in 2009, while renters paid a median of $808 per month, according to the 2009 American Housing Survey released Thursday by the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Compared to 2007, the number of homeowners that owned their home free and clear decreased 1.3% to 24.2m in 2009 from 24.9m. The amount of regular and home-equity mortgages increased 1.4% to 50.3m from 48.7 in 2007. Reverse mortgages increased 59% to 252,000 from 159,000 while line of credit options decreased to 1.7m from 1.8m.”

Housing Wire – “REO Listing Agents – The Helping Hand That Isn’t Always There” (8-20-10)

“In some cases, interested buyers have been ignored (as documented in ‘secret shopper’ campaigns). This is not to suggest that all or even most of the REO listing agents are doing a poor job, it is to suggest that as volume levels to some agents has increased there may be a direct correlation to declining service levels that should be understood.”

Inman - “Don’t buy Fannie-Freddie ‘Big Lie’” (8-20-10)

“While the Fed and the Obama administration insist that recovery is moving forward, the pattern of inbound data produces the same, queasy sensation as their denial in the fall of 2007 and the summer of 2008. New unemployment insurance claims hit a one-year high, to 500,000 last week. There was no dramatic spike, just steady deterioration. The Philadelphia Fed index yesterday stunned the remaining optimists: Expected to rise from a weak 5.1 in June, it fell to negative 7.7, weakest in new-order and employment components.”

Inman - “Mortgage rates go lower” (8-20-10)

“Rates on fixed-rate mortgages tracked by Freddie Mac hit new lows this week, with 30-year fixed-rate loans averaging 4.42 percent with an average of 0.7 point. That’s down from 4.44 percent last week and 5.12 percent at the same time a year ago, and is a new low in records dating to 1971.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the delinquency rate for residential mortgages increased to 9.24%. A home buyer survey showed that 70% of women made up their mind to buy the day they first saw a home for sale, vs. 62% of men. 55% of women place more importance on living closer to extended family than to their job; only 37% of men felt the same way.

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.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 8/17/10

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

Statistics from MDA DataQuick show 18,946 new and resale homes were sold in Southern California in July. Frank Nothaft of Freddie Mac announced that refinancing activity has accounted for over 80% of conventional loan activity. National housing starts increased by 7.1 percent last month, according to the NAHB. The MBA expressed concerns that recent policy changes restricting seller concessions went too far and may damage the industry.

In The News:

DQNews - “Southern California Home Sales and Median Price Dip in July” (8-17-10)

“A total of 18,946 new and resale homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in July. That was down 20.6 percent from 23,871 in June, and down 21.4 percent from 24,104 for July 2009, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.”

NAHB - “Housing Starts Rise 1.7 Percent in July” (8-17-10)

“Nationwide housing starts inched up 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units in July from a downwardly revised figure in the previous month, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures released today. The gain occurred entirely on the multifamily side, with single-family housing production falling 4.2 percent to 432,000 units.”

Housing Wire – “MBA Prefers FHA Seller Concessions Lowered to 4%” (8-17-10)

“In a letter to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the MBA said its members urge the federal agency ‘to ensure policies do not reach too far and needlessly discourage home buying at a time when the housing market is still fragile.’ Last month, HUD announced possible policy changes within the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) aimed at boosting capital reserves. The changes include reducing the limit on seller concessions to 3% from 6%; using a FICO credit score of 500 as a minimum for consideration in FHA programs; and lowering the maximum loan-to-value to 90% for all borrowers with credit scores less than 580.”

Housing Wire – “Fannie Mae Sees Housing Activity Flat in 2H” (8-17-10)

“The GSE also said continued uncertainty and a slower-than-normal recovery points to overall GDP growth of 2.5% for the rest of the year. In July, analysts at Fannie Mae’s economics and mortgage market analysis group projected growth of 2.8%, which was down from a June estimate of 3.2%. The agency expects the low, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages to boost refinance activity but not result in any sort of refinance boom. The current average rate of 4.5% is expected to remain throughout 2010.”

Housing Wire – “John Burns: GSE Renting Options Will Increase Demand and Limit Supply” (8-17-10)

“The government should create an apartment real estate investment trust (REIT) to rent out foreclosed properties — a method that would avoid flooding the housing market with foreclosed properties, a real estate consultant said as President Obama’s ‘Future of Housing Finance Conference’ kicked off Tuesday. John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, said the government-created REIT would be self-sustaining via rental fees. The government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would hire outside property-management firms to manage the rental properties, Burns said.”

Housing Wire – “Refinancing Accounts for 80% of Loan Activity over Last 2 Months: Nothaft” (8-17-10)

“Over the last two months, refinancing activity has accounted for more than 80% of all conventional loan activity, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. In a Featured Perspectives report out Monday, Nothaft said Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have purchased 1.4m refinance loans, including nearly 200,000 loans that have gone through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).”

Housing Wire – “Bank of America Merrill Lynch: Bearish Sentiment Eases” (8-17-10)

“BofAML, a unit of Bank of America, said the bearish sentiment for the global economic outlook and corporate earnings has eased. The most recent data show 5% of survey respondents expect the global economy will improve in the next year. In July, 12% percent of respondents predicted the world economy would deteriorate, BofAML said. But recession fears seem to have subsided, as 78% of fund managers surveyed last week don’t expect a double-dip recession. Still, 73% continue to see ‘below-trend growth and inflation.’”

Housing Wire – “TransUnion: Housing Begins to Stabilize as Delinquent Loans Fall in Q210″ (8-17-10)

“National mortgage loan delinquency rates for loans delinquent 60 days or more fell for the second quarter in a row to 6.67%, according to TransUnion’s quarterly trend analysis released Tuesday; a sign the housing sector is beginning to stabilize. The 1.48% drop in Q210 follows an 18.52% drop in Q110 for loans delinquent 60 days or more. Delinquent loans accounted for 6.77% of the all loans in Q110. The current delinquency rate is still up 14.8% from the same quarter last year when the rate was 5.81%.”

Housing Wire – “Private Sector Modifications Increase 10% in June” (8-17-10)

“The housing industry conducted 123,000 permanent modifications through private programs in June, a 10% increase from the 112,000 done in May, according to Hope Now, a private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, insurers and nonprofit counselors.”

Housing Wire – “Bankrate: Loan Closing Costs Jump 36.6% Year-Over-Year” (8-17-10)

“The average origination and third-party fees on a $200,000 mortgage increased 36.6% to $3,741 from last year’s average of $2,739, according to Bankrate’s annual mortgage fee survey. Lender origination fees increased to $1,463, or 22.8%, in 2010 from $1,192 in 2009, while the average total third-party fees rose 47.2%, to $2,277 from the year-ago average of $1,547.”

Housing Wire – “Homebuyer Demand All But a ‘Standstill’: Altos Research” (8-17-10)

“The average national house price was $474,946 in July, according to the Altos 10-city composite price index. The index fell ‘significantly’ from its high in the summer of last year, when buyers were taking advantage of the homebuyer tax credit. It has declined for the past 11 months. The tax credit expired in April.”

Bloomberg - “Home Depot Profit Tops Analysts’ Estimates as Sales Increase” (8-17-10)

“Net income increased 6.8 percent to $1.19 billion, or 72 cents a share, in the quarter ended Aug. 1, from $1.12 billion, or 66 cents, a year earlier, Atlanta-based Home Depot said today in a statement. Analysts projected 71 cents, the average of 23 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.”

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 2/16/10

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

According to MDA Dataquick, the median home price in Southern California decreased by 6 percent from December. CBIA reports that home sales in new communities decreased by 15 percent from last month. John Burns estimates that 5 million houses and condominiums with delinquent mortgages will end up in foreclosure over the next few years. TransUnion reports that mortages over 60 days delinquent increased to 6.89% in quarter four of 2009.

In The News:

NAR - “NAR’s HouseLogic: The Logical Source for Today’s Homeowners” (2-16-10)

“Today the National Association of Realtors® launched HouseLogic, a new, comprehensive consumer Web site about all aspects of homeownership. HouseLogic helps homeowners make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect and increase the value of their homes. The free Web site helps homeowners plan and organize their home projects and provides timely articles and news; home improvement advice and how-to’s; and information about taxes, home finances and insurance.”

DQNews - “Southland home sales, median price edge above year-ago level” (2-16-10)

“Southern California home sales eked out a modest gain in January compared with a year earlier but fell sharply – as they normally do – from December. The median price paid rose above the year-ago level for the second consecutive month, but fell 6 percent from December as foreclosures and lower-cost inland markets claimed a higher share of sales, a real estate information service reported. A total of 15,361 new and resale homes closed escrow last month in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was down 31.2 percent from December’s 22,328, but up 0.9 percent from 15,227 in January 2009, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.”

CBIA - “California New-Home Market Ends 2009 in Lackluster Condition, CBIA Announces” (2-16-10)

“The monthly CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence (HWMI) New-Home Sales and Pricing Report showed that sales in new-home communities of 10 units or more were 15 percent below December 2008. While the decline was disappointing, it remains an improvement from most months in 2009 in which year-over-year declines were substantially larger. During December, 1,372 new homes and condominiums were sold in the subdivisions tracked by Costa Mesa-based HWMI, compared to 1,607 in December 2008. Sales of single-family homes were down by 25 percent, while sales of townhomes and ‘plexes’ – duplexes, triplexes, etc. – were off by 5 percent and sales of condominiums were 18 percent higher than a year ago.”

San Francisco Chronicle – “Resale prices steady for San Francisco condos” (2-16-10)

“San Francisco’s median resale condominium prices from November through January stayed steady from the same period a year ago, leading some analysts and real estate agents to conclude that values have settled into a range where they are likely to remain for some time. According to city data analyzed by the Polaris Group, a San Francisco real estate firm that crunches housing numbers, the median price for a resale condo in the city – as opposed to a newly built unit – was $638,000 in the threemonth period ending Jan. 31.”

Wall Street Journal – “Foreclosures Seen Still Hitting Prices” (2-16-10)

“The John Burns study estimates that five million houses and condominiums on which mortgages are now delinquent will go through foreclosure or related procedures that put them on the market over the next few years. That would represent the bulk of the estimated 7.7 million households behind on their mortgage payments.”

Housing Wire – “BofA Makes 12,700 HAMP Modifications Permanent” (2-16-10)

“Bank of America (BAC: 15.16 +4.91%) reported 12,700 permanent modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) through January, an increase from 3,200 a month earlier. The US Treasury Department launched HAMP in March 2009 to provide capped incentives to servicers for the modification of loans on the verge of foreclosure. Through December, servicers provided 66,000 HAMP permanent modifications.”

Housing Wire – “Mortgage Delinquencies Rise for 12th Straight Quarter: TransUnion” (2-16-10)

“Mortgage delinquencies of 60 or more days rose for the 12th straight quarter, hitting a record high 6.89% in Q409, according to market research by credit bureau TransUnion. The rate of deceleration seen in previous quarters in the rise in delinquencies appears ‘short lived,’ the credit bureau said. Year-over-year, the delinquency rate is up about 50% from 4.58% delinquent in Q408.”

Housing Wire – “Borrowers Overwhelmingly Pick Fixed-Rate Refinancings in Q4″ (2-16-10)

“Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.23 +0.82%) reported Monday that 95%of refinance loans during the last quarter of last year were of the fixed-rate variety. And while traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are still the most preferred product among refinancings, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages gained favor among borrowers who previously held 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, balloon mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), the GSE said in a statement.”

Bloomberg - “U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Rises More Than Forecast” (2-16-10)

“The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence increased to 17, higher than anticipated, from 15 the prior month, the Washington-based group said today. Readings below 50 mean most respondents view conditions as poor. ”

Looking Back:

One year ago, Congress considered making improvements to the $7,500 tax credit under the $789 billion economic stimulus package. A prediction was made that the 5 biggest banks would soon loose over $524 million.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 12/08/09

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Today’s News Synopsis:

Chase Home Finance reports that 29 percent of its HAMP trial plans failed to become permanent. Research from Altos Research shows that home prices decreased in 24 of the 25 markets that the company observes. A credit analysis of 27 million consumers lead TransUnion to estimate that delinquencies of 60 days or more will drop 3 percent by the end of 2010.

In The News:

Housing Wire – “HAMP Must Address Second Liens, Congress Hears” (12-8-09)

“Mortgage servicing firms make money off servicing fees, which are based on the principal amount — a disincentive for reducing principal, Goodman said. Servicers are often owned by large financial institutions that hold second liens. If principal reduction is left up to the banks’ discretion, she said, the conflicting financial interests will likely restrict principal reduction, she said.”

Housing Wire – “Chase Converts 2% of Offered HAMP Trials into Permanency” (12-8-09)

“For every 100 HAMP trial plans initiated by Chase Home Finance from April to through September, 29 borrowers did not make the required payments and failed to reach a permanent status, according to testimony from Molly Sheehan, senior vice president at Chase Home Finance.”

Housing Wire - “List Prices Declined in 25 of 26 Markets: Altos Research Index” (12-8-09)

“The Altos Research 10-city index of home listing prices decreased 0.4% from October to November, and prices fell in 25 of the 26 major markets the Mountain View, Calif.-based real estate market research firm tracks.”

Housing Wire – “Prices Up For Second Straight Quarter in Freddie Index” (12-8-09)

“Home prices increased for the second straight quarter in Freddie Mac’s (FRE: 1.11 +2.78%) Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI). The purchase-only index increased 0.9% from Q209 to Q309, following a 2% increase from Q109 to Q209. The two quarters of increases are equal to about 40% of the declines experienced in Q408 and Q109. For the 12-month period ending in Q309, home sales prices were down 3.9%.”

Housing Wire – “Mortgage Delinquencies to Decrease in 2010: TransUnion” (12-8-09)

“Based on credit performance of 27m consumers, national credit bureau TransUnion projects mortgage delinquencies of 60 or more days to drop nearly 3% by year-end 2010 to 6.39%, from an expected 6.56% at year-end 2009.”

Housing Wire – “House Prices Lose 0.5% in October, IAS Says” (12-8-09)

“House prices continued to decline in October, falling 0.5% across the US, according to the latest data compiled by default management and residential collateral valuation service provider Integrated Asset Services (IAS). The Northeast and Midwest census regions both slipped (1.6% and 0.3% respectively) and the South and West regions gained a respective 1.1% and 0.5%.”

Bloomberg – “Calpers Real-Estate Holdings Decline 30% During First Quarter“ (12-8-09)

“The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest state-run U.S. public pension, saw the value of first-quarter real estate holdings decline 30 percent and is terminating contracts with some investment firms behind the loss, a consultant for the fund said.”

Bloomberg – “Citigroup Said to Push for Bailout-Payback Agreement This Week” (12-8-09)

“Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit is pressing the U.S. Treasury Department and regulators to agree as soon as this week on a plan to pay back $20 billion remaining from a government bailout, people familiar with the matter said.”

Inman - “SEC charges former New Century execs” (12-8-09)

“Three former executives of New Century Financial Corp. — one of the most prominent subprime lenders during the housing boom — have been charged with securities fraud for allegedly misleading investors.”

Orange County Register – “Will new appraisal rules hurt FHA borrowers?” (12-8-09)

“On January 1, 2010 FHA will require the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) process for all appraisals, falling in line with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For a multitude of reasons this will be tremendously negative for the market, for buyers and for sellers.  It will further depress property values, it will hinder sellers ability to get open offers and most importantly it will prohibit many FHA buyers from even having their offers looked at by sellers in multiple offer situations-even if they have higher offers.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, data from the 14 largest banks revealed that 53 percent of borrowers with modified mortgages were more than 30 days late on their payments after six months.  Statistics from DataQuick showed that Orange County home prices declined by 18 percent from 2007 to 2008. Delinquency rates for mortgage loans rose to 3.96 percent.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 11/17/09

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Today’s News Synopsis:

Home sales increased by 2.8 percent from September to October in six Southern California counties. The MBA reports that 6.7 million households with mortgages are behind on their payments, or are in the foreclosure process. TransUnion conducted a study of 27 million credit files and found that 6.25 percent are delinquent.

In The News:

Office of Thrift Supervision - “Federal Regulators Issue Final Model Privacy Notice Form” (11-17-09)

“Eight federal regulatory agencies today released a final model privacy notice form that will make it easier for consumers to understand how financial institutions collect and share information about consumers. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act), institutions must notify consumers of their information-sharing practices and inform consumers of their right to opt out of certain sharing practices. The model form issued today can be used by financial institutions to comply with these requirements.”

DQNews - “Southland home sales up again, drop in median price smallest in 2 years” (11-17-09)

“Last month 22,132 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was up 2.8 percent from 21,539 in September and also up 2.8 percent from 21,532 a year earlier, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.”

Wall Street Journal – “Ten Questions on the Volatile Housing Market” (11-17-09)

“But more than 6.7 million U.S. households with mortgages, or about 13%, are behind on their payments or are in the foreclosure process, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Eventually, many of them will lose those homes, sending more supply onto the market. Unemployment has continued to rise, and the housing market is unlikely to show a sustained recovery until job growth resumes.”

Housing Wire – “TransUnion Sees Delinquency Rise for 11 Quarters” (11-17-09)

“Overall mortgage delinquency of 60 or more days reached a record 6.25% in TransUnion’s ongoing study of a random selection of 27m credit files from its national consumer database. The rate is up from 5.81% in Q209 and is expected by the credit bureau to come in just under 7% by year-end 2009.”

Housing Wire – “Home Improvement Stores See Sales Declines” (11-17-09)

“Earnings were down in Q309 at the country’s two largest home improvement chains, The Home Depot (HD: 26.99 -2.39%) and Lowe’s (LOW: 21.48 -1.20%) as homeowners and renters alike show reluctance to begin improvement projects amid continued financial stress and increasing joblessness.”

Housing Wire – “CIT Posts 10th Straight Quarterly Loss” (11-17-09)

“CIT Group, a lender to small- and mid-sized businesses, posted a Q309 loss of $1.03bn, or $2.47 per share, as the company attempts to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of the year.”

Bloomberg - “Insurers Face $23 Billion Loss on Commercial Property” (11-17-09)

“U.S. life insurers, a group led by MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., may lose as much as $22.6 billion on investments in commercial real estate through 2011, Fitch Ratings said.”

Bloomberg - “FDIC Sells Most Real Estate Since 1994 on U.S. Banking Debacle” (11-17-09)

“The FDIC raised $727 million from building and land sales in the first nine months of 2009 compared with $1.16 billion in the whole of 1994, according to FDIC data. The Washington-based agency sold 1,706 properties, according to its Web site, the highest number since 2,045 in 1996.”

Bloomberg - “Homebuilder Confidence in U.S. Lower Than Forecast” (11-17-09)

“The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence held at 17 for a second month, the Washington-based association said today. A reading below 50 means most respondents view conditions as poor. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a reading of 19.”

NAHB - “2009-2010 Home Buyer Federal Tax Credit Fact Sheet” (11-17-09)

“Existing home owners who have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight and are purchasing a home to be their principal residence (“repeat buyer”), may be eligible for a tax credit of 10% of the home purchase price, up to a maximum of $6,500.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the NAHB claimed that 56.1 percent of all new and existing homes that were sold were affordable to families who earned the national median income of $61,500 per year. Citigroup announced its plans to cut over 50,000 jobs. The FDIC hinted at a possible revisation of the $1.4 trillion debt-insurance program.

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