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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 2/5/10

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

According to First American CoreLogic, 12 percent of mortgages in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo were seriously distressed in December. ZipRealty reports the national home inventory increased by 2.9 percent last month. The Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rate decreased to 9.7% in January. The FTC proposed a new rule which would prohibit third-party mortgage companies from charging upfront fees for foreclosure rescue and modification services.

In The News:

Sacramento Bee – “12% distress rate seen for region’s mortgages” (2-5-10)

“Twelve percent of mortgages in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties were seriously distressed in December, the newest warning that trouble is not abating, according to Orange County-based market analyst First American CoreLogic.”

The Washington Post – “Official says Fed might buy more mortgage-backed securities” (2-5-10)

“The Federal Reserve would consider reopening its program to support the mortgage market if interest rates spiked or the economy showed new weakness, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said in two new interviews. The Fed is buying $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities in its effort to prop up the economy but has said it will end those purchases March 31.”

Inman - “For-sale inventory rises in January” (2-5-10)

“Monthly for-sale home inventory increased in January for the first time in 18 months, according to a report by national real estate brokerage company ZipRealty. The number of homes for sale increased 2.9 percent from December, an additional 15,818 homes, to a total of 567,265 single-family homes and condominiums listed in 27 metropolitan areas across the country. December saw 2009′s greatest fall in month-to-month inventory, down 4.83 percent.”

Housing Wire – “HUD Connects Sustainable Housing With Job Creation” (2-5-10)

“The new HUD initiative comes as the US unemployment rate lingers near historic highs. The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 9.7% in January from recent 10% highs, according to the US Department of Labor.”

Housing Wire – “Beazer Posts Quarterly Profit After $101m Tax Refund” (2-5-10)

“Homebuilder Beazer Homes (BZH: 4.16 +1.22%) reported income of $44.5m, or $1.09 per share, in its fiscal year first quarter that ended on December 31, 2009. It’s the second consecutive profitable quarter for the Atlanta-based builder. In its fiscal year Q409 that ended Sept. 30, Beazer reported a $35.3m profit. In the year-ago quarter, Beazer reported a loss of $79.2m.”

Housing Wire – “FTC Rule Bans Up-Front Fees on Mortgage Modifications” (2-5-10)

“The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule to prohibit third-party mortgage companies from charging upfront fees for foreclosure rescue and modification services. The FTC brought 28 cases against companies that charge a fee, promising the borrower a modification from the lender. The cases allege these companies never provided the services promised and that they misrepresent their affiliation with the government and other housing assistance programs, including the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).”

Housing Wire – “Fed MBS Purchases 94% Complete with Another $12bn” (2-5-10)

“The Fed bought a total of $17.6bn in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) – $5.6bn Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.16 0.00%) MBS, $9.3bn Fannie Mae (FNM: 0.97 -1.02%) MBS and $2.7bn Ginnie Mae MBS, according to a summary of purchases. The New York Fed also sold $5.6bn of MBS in the same week, bringing the net purchases to $12bn, the same as last week.”

Realty Times – “Housing Affected by Demographic Trends” (2-5-10)

“The Urban Land Institute predicts there will be two major changes beginning in this new decade in our country that will affect the housing market. The first is that home appreciation will slow. The report predicts annual appreciation of 1 percent to 2 percent. The second change is that the record-high U.S. homeownership rate will decline from 69 percent to 62 percent.”

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 1/20/10

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Today’s News Synopsis:

The MBA’s Market Composite Index shows that loan application volume increased by 9.1 percent. Policy changes for FHA will consequently cause borrowers to pay more on their FHA-insured mortgages. HUD reports that housing starts declined 4% in December. Regional housing inflation rose 0.2% in Southern California.

In The News:

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Refinance Applications Increase as Mortgage Rates Fall in Latest MBA Weekly Survey” (1-20-10)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 15, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 9.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 10.4 percent compared with the previous week and decreased 52.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “MBA Comments on Changes to FHA Credit Policy” (1-20-10)

“Borrowers may have to pay a little more for their FHA-insured mortgages or certain borrowers will have to put more money down for their home, but these changes are necessary given the stress that the housing downturn has put on the FHA program.”

Housing Wire – “Commercial Real Estate Investor Demand to Grow in 2010″ (1-20-10)

“The start of 2010 is showing signs of growing investor demand in US commercial real estate, and potentially in related secondary markets, despite the lagging performance of underlying collateral. The pick-up is also predicted to be mirrored in similar markets in Europe and Asia; areas expected to see comparatively better performance. In a report from the rating agency Moody’s, analysts project some pick-up in commercial real estate (CRE) demand after Q409, which would help markets after little movement for much of the year.”

Housing Wire – “Housing Starts Drop, Permits Up in December” (1-20-10)

“After jumping up 8.9% one month earlier, housing starts declined 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000 in December, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau.”

Housing Wire - “BofA Posts $5.2bn Loss in Q409 After TARP Repayment” (1-20-10)

“In the same quarter of 2008, BofA posted a net less of $2.4bn, or $0.48 per diluted share. Excluding the $4bn TARP repayment, BofA had a net loss of $194m in Q409, which narrowed from the $1.8bn loss from a year earlier. For all of 2009, BofA reported a net income of $6.3bn, an improvement from $4bn in 2008.”

Housing Wire – “Morgan Stanley Posts $413m Q409 Profit as Real Estate Gains” (1-20-10)

“Firm-wide results for the full year reflected $1.9bn of net losses on real estate investments ‘amidst the ongoing industry-wide decline in this market,’ Morgan Stanley said in the earnings statement.”

Housing Wire – “Wells Fargo Posts Record $12.3bn Annual Net Income” (1-20-10)

“Wells Fargo said mortgage originations and servicing revenue was $3.4bn in the quarter, and its total mortgage banking noninterest income accounted for 15% of the company’s consolidated Q409 revenue. The bank had $1.2bn in income from mortgage origination and sales activities on $94bn of residential mortgage originations and $144bn of applications.”

Bloomberg - “‘Tranche Warfare’ Erupts as Property Owners Slide Into Default” (1-20-10)

“Infighting among lenders with different classes of debt, called tranches, is on the rise in the hotel industry and throughout the $3.5 trillion market for commercial real estate loans after property prices fell more than 40 percent from their peak in 2007. Commercial mortgage defaults more than doubled to 3.4 percent in last year’s third quarter from a year earlier.”

Bloomberg - “Property Bonds Beat Corporates as Simon Sells: Credit Markets” (1-20-10)

“Real estate borrowers are leading the rally in U.S. corporate bonds as investors add to bets property companies will weather an increase in commercial mortgage defaults. Bonds sold by real-estate investment trusts, shopping-mall owners and office landlords have gained 3.27 percent this month, exceeding 3.18 percent for all of the fourth quarter, and BBB rated commercial mortgage bonds returned 3.59 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. The gains are the biggest among investment-grade issuers, which returned 1.65 percent so far in 2010, the indexes show.”

Orange County Register – “SoCal housing inflation lowest in 32+ years” (1-20-10)

“Overall regional housing inflation rose 0.2% for the year, lowest since they started this data series in 1977. Household energy costs fell 8.8% last year, biggest drop in the series that dates to 1977.”

Orange County Register – “408 south coast homes in default on loans” (1-20-10)

“There are hundreds of homes in Dana Point, Laguna Beach and San Clemente that are in default on their mortgages and in danger of being foreclosed. According to Trulia.com, a total of 408 homes in these south coastal communities have received a notice of default from their bank, which typically follows one or often a series of missed mortgage payments and a late notice.”

Inman - “Zillow, Trulia slip in Hitwise ratings” (1-20-10)

“Realtor.com remained the dominant Web site in the real estate category, with 6.79 percent market share. Rounding out the top 10 Web sites were Yahoo! Real Estate (3.8 percent), Zillow (3.5 percent), ZipRealty (2.91 percent), eBay’s Rent.com (2.57 percent), Service Magic (2.27 percent), Trulia.com (2.16 percent), Homes.com (1.99 percent), MSN Real Estate (1.78 percent) and Apartments.com (1.32 percent).”

Inman - “Google, RPR and the future” (1-20-10)

“Marty Frame, president of NAR’s Realtors Property Resource, which seeks to create a national database of property information and a new property-valuation system for Realtors to access, discusses RPR plans with Dale Ross, RPR CEO.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, congress voted to use the second half of the $700 billion TARP bailout. FHA was offering 3.5%-down mortgages to qualified buyers. Nouriel Roubini predicted that the U.S. financial crisis may reach $3.6 trillion. Dataquick reported that foreclosures made up just 6 percent of resales in August 2007.

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 10/13/09

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Today’s News Synopsis:

Fitch reports that 60 percent of borrowers from 06 to 07 have negative equity and owe more than their homes are worth. Interthinx’s Mortgage Fraud Index estimates that fraud decreased by 4 percent from Q1 to Q2 of 2009, but increased by 7 percent from Q2 of 2008. Statistics from MDA DataQuick show that Southern California home sales increased by 5 percent from October of 2008.

In The News:

Housing Wire – “Fitch Sees 60% of Current RMBS Borrowers Underwater” (10-13-09)

“The majority — 60% — of remaining performing borrowers within ‘06- and ‘07-vintage residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) bear negative home equity, meaning they are underwater on their mortgages and owe more than their houses are worth”

Housing Wire – “Treasury to Announce New Program to Avoid Foreclosure” (10-13-09)

“HAFA already holds the support of Fannie, according to a VP at the agency, Eric Schuppenhauer, who believes the new program allows borrowers in imminent default to ‘make a graceful exit’ from their home. HAFA will keep the stigma associated with foreclosure away from the borrowers, he added, and help keep communities intact.”

Housing Wire – “Interthinx Fraud Report Links Mortgage Fraud, Foreclosure: DBRS” (10-13-09)

“Interthinx’s Mortgage Fraud Index calculates fraud risk based on the frequency of mortgage fraud activity detected in applications processed by Interthinx’s FraudGUARD system. The Q209 Fraud Index dropped 4% from Q109 but jumped 7% from the year before, according to the report.”

Housing Wire – “House Prices Decline 0.2% in August: IAS” (10-13-09)

“House prices declined 0.2% from July to August, the second month of declines after a fourth-month-long rally that brought a 2.8% increase earlier this year, reported Integrated Asset Services (IAS). The last time national home prices were at the August 2009 level was in February 2005, and prices in August this year were 8% lower than the prices in August 2008, the default management and residential collateral valuation service provider said.”

DQNews – “Southern California home sales inch up; median price steady” (10-13-09)

“Last month 21,539 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties. That was up 0.2 percent from 21,502 in August and up 5.1 percent from 20,497 a year earlier, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.”

Bloomberg – “JPMorgan Pitches Interest-Only Mortgages to Boost Obama Plan” (10-13-09)

“Banks will push the Obama administration to expand its mortgage-modification program to allow interest-only periods on reworked loans, seeking to bring more homeowners into the initiative while recognizing concern that it may only postpone defaults, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.”

Reuters – “BofA, Chase executives say US housing still fragile” (10-13-09)

“Executives from two of the United States’ biggest home mortgage lenders said the nation’s housing market is still in a tenuous state despite signs of stability over the summer months.”

Inman – “First American offers free market reports” (10-13-09)

“First American CoreLogic has launched a new service, ePropertyWatch, that provides homeowners with e-mail updates on their property value, recent sales, price trends and foreclosure activity in their neighborhood.”

Inman – “Economists mixed on California’s outlook” (10-13-09)

“Drastic cutbacks in new-home construction have helped reduce inventories of homes for sale in California faster than expected, and falling home prices and low interest rates are making owning look like a better deal than renting for many, according to Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California.”

Inman – “Fewer sellers slash asking price” (10-13-09)

“Fewer sellers were willing to reduce their home’s asking price in September than they were a year ago, but 44 percent of listings in 28 markets tracked by ZipRealty had seen at least one price reduction, the company said in releasing the results of a monthly survey on price reductions.”

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The Norris Group Real Estate News Roundup 9/22/09

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that national home prices increased by .3 percent in July.  The FDIC considers borrowing money from banks to protect the insurance fund. ZipRealty reports that 25 markets displayed a reduction in home inventory from July to August.

In The News:

San Francisco Chronicle – “US home prices rise 0.3 percent in July” (9-22-09)

“The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday prices rose 0.3 percent in July from the prior month, but June’s price increase was revised down to 0.1 percent from 0.5 percent.”

MSNBC - “FDIC considers borrowing cash from banks” (9-22-09)

“Senior regulators say they are seriously considering a plan to have the nation’s healthy banks lend billions of dollars to rescue the insurance fund that protects bank depositors. That would enable the fund, which is rapidly running out of money because of a wave of bank failures, to continue to rescue the sickest banks.”

Inman - “Role of cash-outs in crisis studied” (9-22-09)

“The study, ‘Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect,’ included simulations estimating that without cash-out refinancings and other withdrawals of homeowner equity, only 3 percent of outstanding mortgages would have been underwater at the end of last year. When hypothetical borrowers instead cashed out whenever it was to their advantage, as many did during the boom, the simulations estimated 18 percent of mortgages would end up underwater — a prediction born out by actual statistics.”

Bloomberg - “Lehman, SunCal Battle in Court for Luxury Home Sites” (9-22-09)

“At a hearing today in Santa Ana, California, SunCal lawyers argued that Lehman’s claims in the projects should be thrown out as they are based on about $1.5 billion in loans the bank sold shortly before it filed for Chapter 11 itself last year. Lehman failed to disclose in its proofs of claim that it no longer owned the loans and was acting as the agent of the current owners, Fenway Capital LLC, SunCal argued.”

Bloomberg - “Commercial Real-Estate Debt Rallies as Investors Snap Up Risk” (9-22-09)

“Yields on bonds backed by hotel, shopping-mall and skyscraper loans fell relative to benchmark rates as demand for risk increased and pushed prices higher.”

Inman - “ZipRealty: For-sale inventory shrinks” (9-22-09)

“Inventories of homes for sale declined or were essentially flat from July to August in all 25 markets tracked by real estate brokerage ZipRealty, with 19 markets seeing double-digit declines from a year ago.”

Inman - “Industry groups share appraisal concerns” (9-22-09)

“The National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors, and the Mortgage Bankers Association issued a statement following an ‘appraisal summit’ with federal regulators calling for clarification of rules governing appraisals on loans slated for purchase or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

Reuters - “Two U.S. REIT IPOs delay pricing by a day” (9-22-09)

“What could be the busiest week for U.S. initial public offerings in nearly two years got off to a disappointing start on Tuesday when two IPOs by real estate investment trusts created to buy distressed mortgage assets delayed the pricings of their planned IPOs.”

Looking Back:

One year ago, the NAR reported that home prices fell by 8 percent, yet a survey showed that many potential buyers still believed prices to be too high. Morgan Stanley announced that it had signed a letter of intent to sell 20 percent of the company to Mitsubishi. Wamu lost $4.8 billion dollars within the first half of 2008.

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