News / Features

What's the True Impact of Distressed Properties?

We’ve officially entered the home price index season for the month, and it seems like every day a new index is released with vaguely similar findings on the state of the housing market. CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI), though,

Fannie Mae Survey Shows More Confident Consumers

More Americans interviewed by Fannie Mae for its national housing survey are optimistic about their financial prospects and the housing market in the coming year. Most respondents believe home prices will edge up at least 0.8 percent over the

Residential Construction Employment: First Increase Since 2005

By Bill McBride Construction employment increased by 17 thousand jobs in December, and is now down 2.18 million jobs from the peak in April 2006. Total construction employment increased by 46 thousand jobs in 2011. This was the first

Trulia.com: Real Estate Search Patterns Shifting

Recently named in the 60 Genius Brands to watch list, real estate search site Trulia.com has compiled data regarding its growth since its 2006 launch, and presented it graphically, showing strength particularly in Florida and California. On the graphs

This Week in Real Estate: HAMPers, MIDs and an Acquisition

What were the results of CoreLogic’s latest HPI? Is the government finally unveiling a plan for its REO inventory? And how many Keller Williams offices did Coldwell Banker acquire?  Here’s a quick rundown of stats from this week’s news (Jan. 9 –

Legislators Lobby to Replace Acting Director of the FHFA

A number of legislators in the House of Representatives are hoping that what worked for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will work at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Twenty-eight congressmen, led by Dennis Cardoza, a Democrat from California, have

CFPB Subprime Loan Measurements Released

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Wednesday released details on how its examiners will asses the inherent risk of subprime loans products offered by both private banks and mortgage lenders. Richard Cordray, the newly-appointed director of the CFPB, said in a

MRED's New SSAD Application

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) announced the addition of its eighth multiple listing service (MLS) along with the MRED web-based implementation of Fannie Mae’s Short Sale Assistance Desk (SSAD). MRED’s Division of Special Projects with Director Chris Lambrou as

Processing Issues Result in Low Foreclosure Data

The latest foreclosure data from RealtyTrac would appear to be promising: the 205,000 foreclosures in December were the lowest monthly total since November 2007, the 1.8 million foreclosures for all of 2011 were a 35 percent decline from 2010

MID Remains a Third Rail Issue with Voters

During the various budget crises of 2011, numerous federal programs were threatened with substantial cuts if not complete annihilation in the name of deficit reduction, and one of the more controversial suggestions involved alterations to the popular mortgage interest tax deduction

CFPB Investigating Insurance Practices of PHH Corp.

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) is investigating the mortgage insurance practices of PHH Corp., specifically if the company violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a regulatory framework the CFPB enacted on July 21, 2011. According to a HousingWire article,

FHFA Considering Fannie/Freddie CEO Paycuts

The FHFA, according to recent interviews, is considering changes to how the CEOs at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are compensated, and are even surveying the salaries of other government employees in the process. Long a source of controversy,

Modification Goals Likely HAMPered to the End

New data from the federal government on mortgage originations suggests that, as previously predicted by scores of analysts and financiers, the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, will fall short of its modification goals when the program was launched

Come February, Will HARP 2.0 Be Homeowners' Valentine?

HARP 2.0, the official name given to the Home Affordable Refinance Program after a series of revisions in October, has been a factor in the housing market for more than four months now, and some analysts are predicting its

NAHB's Improving Markets Index Adds 40 Cities

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) added 40 new metro areas to its Improving Markets Index (IMI) in its latest release yesterday, bringing to total number of cities to 76 across 31 states. Designed to track housing markets throughout

Are Strategic Defaults the Answer for Underwater Homeowners?

Strategic defaults, economic-speak for walking away from a distressed property, are not only on the rise but, according to some sources, an economically-feasible option for underwater homeowners. According to a survey conducted by Paola Spienza and Luigi Zingales, two

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