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
------------------------------------------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
------------------------------------------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
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