Real Estate News

Foreclosures Increase

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:03:00 GMT

By The Associated Press and Seattle Times staff

Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S.mortgage crisis.

The increase in repossessions came even as the number of properties starting the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure-listing firm RealtyTrac said Thursday.

In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.

The increases were even greater in Washington. Compared with last August, foreclosures rose a whopping 156 percent in King County, 161 percent in Snohomish County and 55 percent in Pierce County....(Continued)...

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Housing continues sluggish pace

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:57:00 GMT

Existing home sales plunged 27 percent in July, while new homes fell 12 percent to a new all-time record low, which led to some market concerns that the housing market may slow the economic recovery. As a result, long-term bond yields fell to the lowest levels since January 2009, allowing fixed mortgage rates to ease to new record lows this week.

...(Continued)...

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Pacific Northwest Housing Forecast

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:39:00 GMT

Taking into consideration such factors as employment, foreclosure rates, income growth, demographic trends, and construction costs, Moody's Economy.com and Brookfield (Wisc.)-based financial services industry information firm Fiserv (FISV) estimate that by 2014, U.S. home prices will be 7.2 percent above 2010 levels, with the strongest growth in the Pacific Northwest. Click below for the full article:

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/aug2010/bw2010082_282258.htm?campaign_id=lifestyle_related

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Seattle Home Prices Improve

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:52:00 GMT

Home prices in Seattle improved for the third month in a row in May but remained far below their pre-recession highs, according to the latest Case-Shiller home-price report....(Continued)...

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Possible FHA changes

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:42:00 GMT

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is considering three policy changes to boost its capital reserves. Under the changes, new borrowers seeking FHA-insured loans will need a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA's 3.5% downpayment program. New borrowers with credit scores between 500 and 580 will be required to provide a 10% downpayment, and borrowers with credit scores below 500 will no longer qualify.

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Foreclosures still persist

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:23:00 GMT

If past recessions are a guide, the nation’s high foreclosure rate is likely to persist, according to authors at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
...(Continued)...

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Home Buying Conditions are Best in 30 Years

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:35:00 GMT

The housing market has improved in the last two years to the extent that it is possibly approaching the beginning of its next up cycle.

Three factors needed for such a transition include demand, supply and investment.....(Continued)...

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Foreclosed Homes supply grows

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:43:00 GMT

June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Homes in the foreclosure process sold at an average 27 percent discount in the first quarter as almost a third of all U.S. transactions involved properties in some stage of mortgage distress, according to RealtyTrac Inc. ...(Continued)...

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Interest rates see further decline

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:30:00 GMT

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, considered a benchmark because it's used to set rates on consumer loans including mortgages, fell to 3.03 percent Monday, its lowest point since late April 2009. At that time, the markets were still recovering from the devastation of the financial crisis and collapse in stocks.

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Financial Overhaul Bill

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:56:00 GMT

The U.S. House and Senate reached agreement early Friday morning on the largest financial overhaul since the Great Depression.

The bill will particularly affect home buyers seeking mortgages, requiring lenders to ensure that a borrower is able to repay a home loan by verifying income, credit history, and employment. It also would ban payments to brokers for helping borrowers find alternative financing.

The measure sets up a consumer financial protection agency to police lending, and it adopts new rules for mortgage-backed securities, requiring banks in most cases to retain 5 percent of the credit risk on their books.

Congressional leaders hope to win full House and Senate approval next week and send the bill to President Obama by July 4.

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Mortgage Rates at Lowest Point since Mid 50s

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:52:00 GMT

The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan sank to 4.69 percent this week, beating the low set in December and down from 4.75 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows.

Rates are at their lowest since the mortgage company began keeping records in 1971. The last time they were any cheaper was the 1950s, when most long-term home loans lasted just 20 or 25 years.

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Short sale vs Foreclosure

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:24:00 GMT

Fannie Mae said Wednesday that it will not only refuse to guarantee another loan for seven years if it has evidence that a borrower chose to default on their loan, and will seek to recoup losses in court through deficiency judgements in states that allow lenders such recourse.

There's a carrot-and-stick aspect to the new policy. Troubled borrowers who work with their servicer on foreclosure alternatives such as loan modifications, short sales, or deeds in lieu of foreclosure can be eligible for a new loan in two to three years if they can show extenuating circumstances such as job loss, illness or divorce.

"Walking away from a mortgage is bad for borrowers and bad for communities, and our approach is meant to deter the disturbing trend toward strategic defaulting," said Terence Edwards, Fannie Mae's executive vice president for credit portfolio management.

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Interest rates Home sales slip

Diane and Kris Ginthner — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:37:00 GMT

INTEREST RATES SLIP: An unexpected drop in homes sales boosted demand for safe assets, sending Treasury prices higher and interest rates lower.

HOME SALES EYED: Nationwide sales of existing homes fell 2.2 percent in May, the National Association of Realtors said. Existing-home sales in the West rose 4.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.29 million in May and are 15.2 percent higher than May 2009. The median price in the West was $221,300, up 7.4 percent from a year ago. Nationally, first-time buyers made up 46 percent of sales. Foreclosures and short sales made up 31 percent of sales in May.

STOCKS TAKE HIT: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 149 points. That's the Dow's biggest drop in about two weeks.

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