God-Zillow, 550 FICO score:)

Existing-home sales, tabulated when a purchase contract closes, have recovered from a 13-year low of 4.11 million in 2008, three years after a record 7.08 million houses were sold in 2005. Still, higher prices and borrowing costs have put properties out of reach for some Americans, helping explain a slowdown in sales since July. -- Bloomberg News in Origination News 
http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/sales-previously-owned-homes-fall-lowest-since-2012-1041386-1.html?site=default_on&utm_campaign=origination%20news-mar%2020%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter
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Seven Reasons Private-Label MBS Are Not Coming Back Any Time Soon:
1. Weak Investor Appetite
2. New Laws and Rules
3. Gun-Shy Lenders
4. Apprehensive Securities Issuers
5. Constrained Consumers
6. Agency MBS Has the Edge
7. Housing System Overhaul Is Needed, But Hard to Do
Alex Kangelaris is the CEO and managing partner at Wall Street Emprises LLC. He has more than 25 years of mortgage industry and capital markets experience. In Origination News.
http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/blogs/hearing/seven-reasons-private-label-mbs-are-not-coming-back-any-time-soon-1041389-1.html?site=default_on&utm_campaign=origination%20news-mar%2020%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter
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Taken by Pham Nhu Phuong, Great Wall of China

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Now on with the show. There’s data showing that existing home sales are down as are housing starts. But here’s the deal, the freakishly cold winter is the cause for a lot of this. Here’s what else we know. Millions of current renters want to buy this year. So you might say, “yeah but there’s no inventory”. Not so fast Jack, despite the wicked winter, inventory is actually on the rise.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/housing-market-poised-for-hot-summer-of-sales/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNationalRealEstatePost+%28The+National+Real+Estate+Post%29
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Shared by 10,000 Artist and Art Lovers, Door at St Edward's Parish Church in the Cotswolds, flanked by beautiful 18th century yew trees.

Shared by Uros Kralj
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And if all else fails, at least your house can smell nice. That’s thanks to custom scents designed to entice buyers to buy a home. An article in The Wall Street Journal says that luxury developers are partnering with fragrance makers to turn buyer’s olfactory senses into sold properties. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire  http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/29395-things-you-should-read-right-now
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Zillow is taking over the free listing industry.  In fact, they now have an app for mortgage prequalification.  However, if the CFPB is going after mortgage companies which quote rates and fees, does Zillow quote rates and fees in order to prequalify the inquirers?  Will the CFPB go after Zillow?  http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/god-zillow-taking-over-the-world/
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Shared by Darja Vizjak:  The old Celje's castle on the hill waiting for visitors. So many storys to tell. The history of my town Celje is very rich.

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Carrington Mortgage Services lowered its minimum FICO score to 550 and expanded its guidelines on a number of FHA, VA and USDA loan programs in order to better focus on underserved borrowers, typically those in the sub-640 FICO score range. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29404-carrington-ups-ante-on-wells-fargo-by-lowering-fico-standard
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Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) analysts just emailed a research note reminding clients they feel the Fed needs to continue to back the mortgage market if the so-called housing recovery is to remain intact.
The latest mortgage applications came in weak. The analysts don't see those numbers improving should the Fed begin to raise rates. Indeed, the opposite is more likely to happen. -- Jacob Gaffney in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29402-bank-of-america-finds-the-housing-recovery-hard-to-believe
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Amazing things in the world originally shared: Ancient Chinese architecture....!!!!

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Carrington is actually dropping conventional and jumbo from their wholesale division, and if your borrower has a score over 680 – they don’t want them.
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Overall, 47 states and Washington, D.C., reported an increase in the number of title insurance premiums written last year from 2012, according to data from the American Land Title Association.
--Evan Nemeroff in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/title-insurance-premiums-rise-by-115-in-2013
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Amazing things in the world originally shared: Bridge... Denmark.. Sweden

Shared by Uros Kralj
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The median sales price of a new house decreased 1.2% from February 2013, to reach $261,800, according to today’s Commerce Department report. It was the biggest year-to-year decline since June 2012. The median can be affected by the mix of sales by region as prices are generally higher in the Northeast and West where demand declined.
Purchases dropped in three of the four regions, led by a 32.4% slump in the Northeast. The West decreased 15.9% and the South fell 1.5%. Demand in the Midwest jumped 36.7% to the highest level since May 2013, after dropping almost 20% the prior month.
Warmer temperatures may revive construction and help bring more buyers out in coming months.
The recent weakness is 'a temporary pause,' and the homebuilding industry is still in the early stages of recovery, Ara Hovnanian, chief executive officer of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., New Jersey's largest homebuilder, said in a statement on March 5. -- Bloomberg News in Origination News
http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/sales-of-new-homes-fell-in-february-to-five-month-low-1041420-1.
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U.S. Rep. Shelley Capito, R-W.V., told the American Bankers Association conference Tuesday that she doesn't believe GSE reform will pass before November. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29426-capito-gse-reform-unlikely-before-november-elections

Foreclosures are Slowing Again

Yet another plan to eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by people who don't understand finances.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29265-senators-1-plan-to-completely-reform-housing-finance
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Over two-thirds of consumers say it is a good time to buy a home, according to a Fannie Mae survey, but 52% believe it is difficult to qualify for mortgage. -- Brian Collins in HousingWire
http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/suddenly-a-lot-more-consumers-say-its-tough-to-get-a-mortgage-1041297-1.html?site=default_on&utm_campaign=origination%20news-mar%2011%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter
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Shared by Uros Kralj
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The March Mortgage Credit Tracker from Barclays notes that current mortgages are becoming delinquent at a ever-slowing rate. It's a great trend that shows more homeowners are staying current on their mortgage. -- Jacob Gaffney in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29273-barclays-foreclosures-rise-across-all-sectors
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
The CFPB keeps track of how their employees perform, oh, and, what race they are. Why? If a bank did this they’d be fined to the point of no return. The CFPB truly is a regime with no oversight.
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St. Michael in Bamburg, shared by Norbert Metz  Connect with him on Google+

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In a strong bipartisan vote on Thursday, the Senate passed a bill to ease big flood insurance premium increases faced by hundreds of thousands of homeowners and allow below-market rates to be passed on to people buying homes with taxpayer-subsidized policies. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29307-flood-insurance-rate-hike-delay-passes-senate-handily
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Homeownership remains cheaper than renting nationally and in all of the 100 largest metro areas. Rising mortgage rates and home prices have narrowed the gap over the past year, though rates have recently dropped and price gains are slowing. Now, at a 30-year fixed rate of 4.5%, buying is 38% cheaper than renting nationally, versus being 44% cheaper one year ago.
Sonja Bullard in Angel Oak Weekly http://www.trulia.com/trends/2014/02/rent-vs-buy-winter-2014/
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Massive country house in Northington, Hampshire, UK

Shared by Neil Howard in Photo Tour Global Directory 
Connect with him on Google+
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Retail sales inched up 0.3% in February after declining 0.6% in January, revised from the initial report as down 0.4%. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29293-retail-sales-squeak-out-03-gain-in-february
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Florida led the nation in zombie foreclosures measured by actual number, with 54,908; Illinois had 15,512; New York had 10,880; New Jersey had 8,595; and Ohio had 7,780.
Among the nation’s 20 most populated metro areas, the highest foreclosure rates were in Tampa, Miami, Baltimore, Riverside-San Bernardino in Southern California, and Chicago. Only four of the 20 largest metro areas posted annual increases in foreclosure activity: New York which was up 77%, Philadelphia up 20%, Washington, D.C. which climbed 19%, and Baltimore which ticked up 14%.
Nine of the top 10 foreclosure rates in February among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more were in Florida, led by Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville with one in every 296 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month — nearly four times the national average.
Foreclosure activity in Atlantic City, N.J., increased 254% on a year-over-year basis — the third consecutive month with a triple-digit percentage annual increase — and the city posted the nation’s seventh highest metro foreclosure rate: one in every 398 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29288-top-20-metros-with-the-largest-foreclosure-rates
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Castle by the Lake

Share by Tina En
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Flood insurance rate-hike delay passes Senate handily

Bill goes to White House for signature after 72-22 vote

Trey Garrison in HousingWire

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29307-flood-insurance-rate-hike-delay-passes-senate-handily

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:

According to Zillow there are about 4.2 million renters that want to buy in 2014.

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Apartments in Gurgaon, India.  Shared by Jaspir Randhawa

Home Builders are Optimistic

Nearly two-thirds of builder contacts expect construction activity to increase over the next three months. With that said, builders’ outlooks appear to be slightly less optimistic relative to their year-earlier responses. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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CoreLogic’s Home Price Index shows that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 12% in January 2014 compared to January 2013.
This marks 23 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29175-why-is-corelogic-breaking-with-the-herd-on-home-prices
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Zealand, not New Zealand, by Jacob Surland


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Mortgage applications reversed a three-week decline to climb 9.4% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey for the week ending February 28, 2014.
Last week mortgage apps hit a two-decade low. (It's the weather, silly.) --Trey Garrison
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The House on Tuesday evening passed a bill that would delay flood insurance rate hikes and derail reform efforts passed just two years ago with the Biggert-Waters act.
“That’s an enormous government subsidy encouraging people to live in harm’s way and make the rest of the country pick up the tab,’’ Ellis said. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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Thailand, by Deiter Birr

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The secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development unveiled the department’s fiscal 2015 budget, and the $46.6 billion budget provides a look at how HUD thinks it can accelerate economic growth, expand opportunity for all Americans, and ensure fiscal responsibility.
The budget proposal for fiscal 2015 is a 2.6% increase over 2013 levels and a 10% increase over the department’s sequestration funding level, which was 1-2% less than normal spending in calendar 2013 because of the spending cuts that took effect March 1, 2013. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:

The GSE’s have more than paid back what was borrowed with their bail out yet none of the payback is counted toward their balance. It’s all dividend payments. Not only that but they completely changed the terms of the loan mid stream and started taking all of the GSE’s profits from them not letting them build up any equity in the agencies.
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Someplace in Ukraine, by Andrey Vlasoff

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While many parts of the U.S. economy are growing, the housing sector is increasingly a drag on consumption and job creation. The fault lies not with the market, however, but with ill-considered regulations and bank capital rules.
As 2014 unfolds, look for lending volumes in 1-4 family mortgages to continue to fall as a lack of demand from consumers and draconian regulations force many lenders out of the market. While leaders such as Wells Fargo have indicated that they will write loans with credit scores in the low 600s range, there are not enough borrowers in the below prime category to make up for the dearth of consumers seeking a mortgage overall. When home prices measures generally start to fall later this year, maybe our beloved public servants in Washington will start to get the message. -- Christopher Whalen in Origination News  http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/blogs/hearing/us-housing-sector-is-in-big-trouble-1041287-1.html?site=default_on&utm_campaign=origination%20news-mar%2010%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter
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Casino Baden-Baden, by Deiter Birr

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recent_searches

lender processing services ads/fannie mae/commercial mortgage/fixed mortgage rates/carrington

Will focus on correspondent lending.

(Bob) Lewis said he would fulfill as many mortgages as possible that are in the pipeline.Fifth Third terminates all relationships with wholesale loan brokers.    -- Jacob Gaffney in HousingWire

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 Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB, said at the President’s Advisory Council for Financial capability for Young Americans Meeting: 
1. Financial education should begin at a young age

Education needs to be a priority as students approach gradation from high school and should continue to evolve into adulthood

2. Students should practice financial management through experimental learning

Whether it is through stimulating a banking experience or playing a computer game that hones financial skills, it will help students learn more effectively.

3. Teachers who are interest in teaching personal financial management need to be supported and engaged with

Teachers need access to training and incentives to take part, such as continuing education credits or need-based travel stipends.

4. Financial education concepts need to be integrated into standardized tests

In doing so, it would increase the incentive for educators to teach these topics.

5. Parents need to get involved

“Parents help set expectations, and research has shown that if parents engage their children by establishing a savings account for them, these children are seven times more likely to attend college than those without a savings account,” Cordray explained.  

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Despite the cold, housing market is looking better.

Average monthly house payments jump 21% in fourth quarter
The estimated monthly house payment for a median-priced three-bedroom home purchased in the fourth quarter of 2013 — and that includes mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and subtracting the estimated income tax benefit — increased an average of 21% from a year ago in the 325 U.S. counties included in an analysis by RealtyTrac. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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In short, loans are performing better, so banks are setting aside less cash to cover those damages. However, the current state of the mortgage market is becoming a big problem. Just today, mortgage applications hit a two-decade low.
“Narrow margins, modest loan growth, and a decline in mortgage refinancing activity have made it difficult for banks to increase revenue and profitability,” he continued. “Nonetheless, these results show a continuation of the recovery in the banking industry." ( FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg)   http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29110-bank-earnings-are-booming-but-theres-a-big-problem -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire
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Castle Trifles, shared by Dieter Birr

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Why is the Atlanta Fed so bullish?

Housing activity up in southeast, other indicators soft

“...the current quarter is difficult to read as an indication of the most likely story for the full year 2014 and first part of 2015. The recent mixed data could be just a temporary thing—as the weather explanation suggests—or something more fundamental going on. While I am tracking the numbers carefully, at the moment I think it's too early to draw a conclusion,” Lockhart said. “Even though the first quarter this year may turn out to be soft, I am ‘looking through’ the recent information to a full year of sustained higher growth. In that sense, my outlook remains optimistic for the full year.” -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29071-why-is-the-atlanta-fed-bullish-on-2014

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Black Knight: Foreclosures hit six-year low

Delinquency rate down 10% since January

Total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure): 6.27%
Month-over-month change in delinquency rate: -2.96%
Year-over-year change in delinquency rate: -10.70%
Total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 2.35%
Month-over-month change in foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: -5.32%
Year-over-year change in foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: -31.17 %
Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 3,140,000
Number of properties that are 90 or more days delinquent, but not in foreclosure: 1,289,000
Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: 1,175,000
Number of properties that are 30 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure: 4,315,000
Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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Somewhere in Finland

Shared by Pasi Hartoma
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are offering limited-time incentives in a pair of programs for both real estate agents and homebuyers as the two government-sponsored enterprises are trying to sell some of their REO properties.
Freddie will offer a $1,000 bonus to selling agents and a separate $500 bonus to listing agents when they use the HomeSteps program to sell a Freddie owned property.
The HomeSteps program is being launched in 23 states for deals where the offer is made between Feb. 18 and April 15, with a closing date deadline of May 31.
States where the 2014 HomeSteps Winter Sales Promotion is now active include Alabama, Connecticut, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire.
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Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, plans to eliminate 700 more jobs as fewer borrowers are looking to refinance their mortgage loans. -- Evan Nemeroff in Origination News
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San Francisco, by Gary Lo

 

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Purchases of new homes unexpectedly climbed in January to the highest level in more than five years, showing underlying strength in the industry even in the midst of unusually harsh weather. -- Bloomberg News in Origination News
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The CFPB reform bill would replace the single Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director with a five-member commission appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, bring its budget under Congressional control, and provide more oversight for the bureau, currently under the aegis of the Federal Reserve.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, took the field first in the debate before the vote, accusing the CFPB of being unaccountable and out of control. Hensarling talked at length about the expenses the CFPB has been racking up.
“The CFPB has unbridled power to impose rules like the QM rule. According to Federal Reserve reports, one-third of blacks and Hispanics would not be able to get a mortgage,” Hensarling said. “This is designed to make the Bureau more accountable and transparent… We know that this is an agency that was designed to be unique, if not perhaps rogue; it is an agency like no other. Arguably it is the single most powerful and least accountable Federal agency in the history of our nation and thus demands rigorous oversight. The American people deserve better.” -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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Natural History Museum by Serkan Turk

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On Wednesday U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., unveiled his Tax Reform Act of 2014, which critics say could drastically increase taxes on homeowners and homebuyers, and which would levy a new lending tax on financial institutions. (Basically, the bill removes all tax credits and incentives for anything doing with houses, moves and increases taxes on financial institutions which make home loans.) -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire
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1 in 5 homeowners still underwater at year’s end

Zillow says 19.4% still have negative equity

More than 9.8 million homeowners are still underwater nationwide.

Home values ended 2013 up 6.6%, the single-largest contributor to the falling negative equity rate. But the pace of home value appreciation is slowing, with home values expected to rise just 3.4% over the next 12 months, according to the most recent Zillow Home Value Forecast. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire

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Castle on Riverbank in Bruges Belgium - Soft focus HDR of an old castle in Bruges Belgium.  John Brody Photography.  Follow him on g+.


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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
NAR can’t really do anything about this one. Long & Foster Real Estate is on the short end of the stick with regards to a huge RESPA lawsuit. They’re allegedly in cahoots with another company sharing settlement fees and they are facing a lawsuit over it all. A lawsuit to the tune of over $11 million PLUS guys. I think a lot of us figured the real estate agents out there were pretty well protected by their mega watch dog the National Association or Realtors with respect to this kind of stuff, but it would appear that this isn’t the case.
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Construction spending ticked up 0.1% in January, with an increase in private construction projects making up for a drop in public construction spending.
The personal savings rate remains flat at 4.3%. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire