Foreign Real Estate Investment is HERE!

Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Foreign investment in American real estate is on fire right now, and most of it isn’t coming from where you’d might think.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/the-american-real-estate-invasion/?
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Despite credit being more available, mortgage originations are at their lowest level in 14 years and everyone is expecting that will only get worse as mortgage rates creep up. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30572-mortgage-credit-slightly-more-available-in-june
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Shared by Carra Riley, taken by Holger Grabner, Speicherstadt, Hamburg

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Co-Signers on Defaulted FHA Loans Are Getting New Mortgages -- Roy Kelly blog http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/4435939/co-signers-on-defaulted-fha-loans-are-getting-new-mortgages
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“We live in an international marketplace; so while all real estate is local, that does not mean that all property buyers are,” said NAR President Steve Brown, co-owner ofIrongate, Inc. Realtors in Dayton, Ohio. “Foreign buyers are being enticed to U.S. real estate because of what they recognize as attractive prices, economic stability, and an incredible opportunity for investment in their future.” -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30570-foreign-investors-go-big-on-us-real-estate
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Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong

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“The uptick this month in the share of consumers expecting mortgage rates to go up and the accompanying decline in home price expectations reflect the pause of activity in the housing market so far this year,” said Duncan. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire “The uptick this month in the share of consumers expecting mortgage rates to go up and the accompanying decline in home price expectations reflect the pause of activity in the housing market so far this year,” said Duncan.
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Rather than continue its steady $5 billion a month reduction, the Federal Reserve is debating having the final reduction come in a single $15 billion per month reduction, or in a $10 billion reduction followed by a $5 billion reduction, according to the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30593-fomc-taper-to-end-in-october
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Shared by Gia Huy Au Duong, taken by John Wood, Guangzhou China

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Home sales across all price points are beginning to suffer, with stale demand moving from lower-priced homes to middle- and higher-priced homes as well, according toCoreLogic’s (CLGX) MarketPulse report for July. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30685-home-price-stall-out-spreads-from-lower-priced-homes-to-higher-end
http://www.housingwire.com/ext/resources/images/editorial/Trey/Map-larger.png
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 Zillow has joined the fray with its latest Real Estate Market Report that predicts it will take nearly three more years (2.7 to be exact) for national home values to “re-achieve their pre-recession levels.” Furthermore, the report predicts that in 50 of the country’s 100 largest metro markets it will take “three years or more” for home values to claw their way out of the recession. “In dozens of markets homeowners that bought at the peak of the market…will have to wait until 2017 or later to get back to the breakeven point on their home,” said the report. -- Carole VanSickle Ellis inThe Bryan Ellis Investing Letter http://investing.bryanellis.com/11056/zillow-predicts-three-more-years-of-housing-recession/
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Shared by Uros Kralj, taken by Shirley Lord, Oxford

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Is this why 3.6 million ready homeowners aren’t selling in 2014?

That problem is that doing so, for many homeowners, would mean surrendering a dynamite mortgage interest rate, which means even if the home they want to buy is about the same price or just a little more, they could end up paying much more per month. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30722-is-this-why-36-million-ready-homeowners-arent-selling-in-2014

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Is the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau looking to run for President in 2016?

Elizabeth Warren said she has no such intentions, but her recent speeches contain more and more of the fiery, anti-financial abuse rhetoric she used during her days building the CFPB. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/30712-monday-morning-cup-of-coffee-former-cfpb-head-eyes-white-house

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Shared and taken by Dieter Birr, somewhere in Germany

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JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon was quoted in a Bloomberg article, “He questioned whether his bank should end its decades-old relationship with the Federal Housing Administration, a last resort for lower-income Americans seeking mortgages.” -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30708-nar-big-banks-exiting-fha-loans-is-a-bad-trend
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Existing home sales declined 2.3% in June 2014 from June 2013, reaching an annual pace of 5 million sales for the first time since October 2013, while rising inventory continues to push overall supply towards a more balanced market, according to the National Association of Realtors. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30734-existing-home-sales-in-june-down-23-yoy
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Shared by Uros Kralj, taken by Barbara A Maclean, England

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Mortgage applications increased 2.4% from one week earlier, after a series of drops and a few peaks over the last few weeks, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 18, 2014.   -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30750-mortgage-applications-rise-24-as-roller-coaster-continues

Home Price Appreciation Slowing

“The pace of home price appreciation is cooling off quickly as the weather warms up,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30659-nar-one-chart-shows-widening-affordability-gap
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As a whole, the national composite posted 1.02% in June: the lowest default rate in over 10 years of history. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30656-mortgage-default-rate-continues-downward-trajectory
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Shared and taken by Xalima Miriel, Church Courtyard, Javier Castle. XI century.

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HELOC originations peaked in 2005 and most of those second liens aredue to reset in 2015. The peak year for first-lien modifications was in 2010 and most of those proprietary and government-sponsored modifications are also due to reset in 2015. -- Brian Collins in National Mortgage News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/servicing/double-whammy-coming-when-helocs-loan-mods-reset-in-2015-1042147-1.html?
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The National Association of Home Builders, an industry trade group, said Thursday that its housing-market index increased three points to 59 in August, though the July figure was revised down by one point.

This level is the highest since November 2005, marking a rapid climb in recent years. Two years ago the index stood at 15. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders view conditions as good than poor. -- Erick Morath and Jonathan House in Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323639704579014592671569958

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Shared and taken by Dominic Dubied, The dark side of Venice

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The dip in mortgage activity was mainly attributed to an 8% decline in purchase applications. These applications, where the average loan size sought was $268,500, plunged to their lowest level since February, the Washington-based trade group said on Wednesday. - Evan Nemeroff in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/mortgage-applications-dip-again-purchase-loan-requests-slide-8-1042149-1.html
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Roughly 7 percent of over-65 households move each year, and as people get older, their likelihood of moving from owning to renting gets higher and higher (it’s about 79 percent for households over 85). By 2020, there were will be around 35 million over-65 households in the U.S. That year, Nelson calculates, seniors who would like to become renters will be trying to sell about 200,000 more owner-occupied homes than there will be new households entering the market to buy them. By 2030, that figure could rise to half a million housing units a year. -- Emily Badger in CityLab http://www.citylab.com/housing/2013/03/aging-baby-boomers-and-next-housing-crisis/4863/
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Shared and taken by Dieter Birr, Besigheim/Germany

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BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 963,000. This is 4.2 percent (±1.5%) below the revised May rate of 1,005,000, but is 2.7 percent (±1.8%) above the June 2013 estimate of 938,000 -- U.S. Census Bureau News
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HOUSING STARTS
Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 893,000. This is 9.3 percent (±10.3%)* below the revised May estimate of 985,000, but is 7.5 percent (±14.4%)* above the June 2013 rate of 831,000.  Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 575,000; this is 9.0 percent (±10.1%)* below the revised May figure of 632,000. -- U.S. Census Bureau News
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Shared and taken by M. Freidrich, Düsseldorf'Mediahafen

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WASHINGTON – Beginning home construction unexpectedly declined in June to a nine-month low as a record plunge in the South swamped gains in the rest of the U.S.  -- Victoria Stillwell in Bloomberg News http://pbn.com/Construction-of-new-US-homes-declines-on-plunge-in-South,98566
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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
Private banks, Chase being the first, are starting to NOT loan on mortgages to buyers with credit issues. http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/chase-calls-it-quits/?
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Shared by Rajman Abdullah, originally shared by Amusing Feed, Eiffel Tower Struck by Lightning

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"Average wages per worker rose less than 1% in 2013 in all but one of the 10 metros with the largest price increases," says Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia(TRLA). "Nationally, asking prices (year over year in June 2014) rose faster than wages per worker (year-over-year in 2013) in 95 of the 100 largest metros." -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30704-charts-show-the-problem-wages-cant-keep-up-with-home-prices
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“It is well known that higher-end home sales activity has been strong over the last two years, however, recently there’s been a shift, from both directions. Not only have higher-end home sales themselves started to weaken over the last few months, but the weakness in the lower-end segment is expanding into the upper-middle segments of the price distribution,” Khater said. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30685-home-price-stall-out-spreads-from-lower-priced-homes-to-higher-end
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Shared and taken by Darja Vizjak, Ljubljana Parliament, Slovenia


Housing Market Struggles Along With the Rest of the Economy

On average, consumers’ 12-month home price change expectation stayed positive in June at 2.4%, but fell slightly from the previous few months, largely attributable to an uneventful housing market for the first half of the year. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30554-fannie-mae-housing-market-recovery-on-pause
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Ceberus Capital Management LP, initially targeted landlords with multimillion-dollar loans, is financing low-volume deals for small investors through its FirstKey Lending, with looser terms than government-backed mortgages from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said Randy Reiff, the business’s chief executive officer. Blackstone Group LP (BX:US)’s rental lending arm, B2R Finance LP, is making a similar push to mom-and-pop landlords.  -- Heather Pearlberg and John Gittlesohn in BloombergBusinessWeek http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-07/cerberus-blackstone-loosening-credit-for-u-dot-s-dot-landlords
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Shared and taken by Dieter Birr, Besigheim/Germany

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NAR expects housing to grow 5-7% in California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Oregon.
-- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30552-heres-where-realtors-expect-home-prices-to-grow-the-most
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 Indeed, among U.S. depository institutions, credit unions are the only sector currently increasing their exposure to the mortgage market,” the report said. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30613-future-of-housing-in-question-amid-2q14-earnings-release
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Shared and taken by Xalima Miriel, Roofs in the Fog

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According to June’s scorecard, purchases of new homes surged 18.6% in May, indicating an improving market. New home sales rebounded to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 in May, following sales of 425,000 in April. That’s up 16.9% from one year ago. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30615-scorecard-housing-recovery-continues-to-make-progress
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The share of U.S. homes purchased by international buyers is on the rise. As HousingWire reported on Tuesday, international buyers spent nearly $100 billion on properties and investments from April 2013 to March 2014. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30617-chinese-set-to-dominate-foreign-buying-market
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Shared and taken by M. Freidrich, Köln - Mùlheim

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The National Association of REALTORS^® reported that Existing Home Sales were up 4.9 percent from May to April, reaching an annual rate of 4.89 million units. That's the highest monthly rate since the 5.5 percent recorded in August 2011. Existing Home Sales is a measure of the selling rate of pre-owned, single-family homes, which accounts for over 80 percent of all houses sold. --- Kevin Jones http://www.mmgweekly.com/m/index.html?SID=3e6ad89fe36086fb79126e36c659f5df
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Applications for loans to purchase newly constructed homes were down 5% in June from the month before, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data. -- Evan Nemeroff in Origination News http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/new-home-purchase-loan-requests-fall-a-second-straight-month-mba-1042121-1.html
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Shared and taken by M. Freidrich, Belgien ' Brügge

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
 The CFPB spent a couple hundred million renovating their HQ and when asked to show where they spent all the money, they can’t seem to find any of the paperwork?  I would think it would be pretty hard to misplace $200 million dollars worth of paperwork wouldn’t you?  I mean, it’s not like it’s a couple of pieces of paper that accidentally got stuffed into the wrong file cabinet or briefcase.  There has to be an extensive trail of emails, phone calls and paperwork that would fill a couple of Tuff Sheds!  Alas, but no.  Can’t find it.  
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/cfpb-loses-rehab-paperwork-like-irs-loses-emails/?
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HARP to extend until 2016?

 Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30563-harp-to-extend-until-2016

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Shared and taken by Xalima Miriel, Streets of Monsanto

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Meanwhile, the top judicial states, Florida, Ohio and Illinois, posted a 5.2%, 1.7% and 2.4% foreclosure inventory, with 122,059, 28,609 and 21, 558 completed foreclosures in the last 12 months, respectively. -- Ben Lane in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30599-fannie-freddie-foreclosure-inventory-hits-new-peak-in-florida
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The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of purchase-loan applications rose 3.7% in the week through July 4, while the refinancing gauge climbed 0.4%, the trade group said yesterday. -- Origination News
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Shared and taken by Walter Gawronski, Guildford Ost Office, Perth, Australia

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Check out RealtyTrac's map of where the best counties to be a landlord are. -  By Darrel Blomquist  http://www.realtytrac.com/content/news-and-opinion/best-and-worst-markets-for-rental-returns-heat-map-8023
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SunTrust hindered many people from getting a HAMP refinance. -- National Mortgage Professional
http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news50177/SunTrust-Reaches-Agreement-With-Multi-Agency-Force-HAMP-Issues?
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The Most Obnoxious Houses Built for Spite

While an obnoxious neighbor can be a pest to deal with, building a spite house to get back at them takes the battle to a whole new level. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30529-the-most-obnoxious-houses-built-out-of-spite

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From Economic Indicators.gov
The May 2014 international trade deficit decreased 5.6 percent from April, to $44.4 billion. Exports increased 1.o percent, to $195.5 billion, and imports fell 0.3 percent, to $239.8 billion.
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Nat'l Real Estate Post: 
Using drones for work (i.e.  photographing or video taping your listing or neighborhood) is illegal according to the FAA, but legal if used for fun.  This is because the FAA hasn't found a way to charge drones used for work. 
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/over-600k-refinances-still-available/?
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Shared by Bikash Das, taken by Maria Varga

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Job creation surges in June but U6 rate at 12.1%

Construction jobs remain stagnant, retail and fast food spike

Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30541-job-creation-surges-in-june-but-u6-rate-at-121

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Foreclosure declines reverse as starts surge 9.5% in May

Black Knight survey finds half are repeat foreclosures

Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30533-foreclosure-declines-reverse-as-starts-surge-95-in-may

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Shared by Manny Perez, Book Nook

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Sure enough, as WSJ confirms, "apartment landlords continued to push through hefty rent hikes in the second quarter, squeezing U.S. households that already are struggling financially after four years of steady increases."  HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30530-rents-up-15-while-incomes-up-0
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Mortgage applications fell in the week ending June 27 for the third week in a row. -- James Limbach in Consumer Affairs http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/mortgage-applications-post-third-straight-weekly-decline-070314.html
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Shared by Brigitta Fargas, Venice

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The data shows 163,274 total residential properties with a reconstruction value of $35,734,348,993 are in the area currently known as the "cone of uncertainty" and at risk of potential storm-surge damage, assuming the storm hits the coast as a Category 1 hurricane.
Trey Garrison and Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30547-hurricane-arthur-on-track-to-wreak-35m-in-residential-property-damage
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The damage from Arthur was minimal.  Wonderful!  How many news outlets made a big deal of that?

Should Lenders Use Rent History for Determining Credit Worthiness?

Good news for renters: Mortgage lenders might start considering rent payment history in credit scores. In the current system, years of monthly payments to landlords do not show up on credit-bureau files. Per The Columbus Dispatch: -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30479-switching-from-renting-to-homeownership-could-get-easier ----------------------------------------- Property Tax Hikes Compound Mortgage Market's Woes

by BONNIE SINNOCK

As home prices rise and municipalities scrounge for revenue, rising property taxes make it harder for loan applicants to meet regulatory debt-to-income ratio limits and increase default risk on existing mortgages. http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/index.html ------------------------------------------- Shared by Dieter Birr on G+, Schloß Lichtenstein --------------------------------------------- Construction spending flat-lined in May, rising a statistically insignificant 0.1%, far below analyst expectations, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30507-construction-spending-flatlines-in-may-as-homebuilding-declines--------------------------------------------- Servicing Obama housing rescue plans only make things worse Mr. President, please stop June 30, 2014 Lynn Effinger 5 Comments I read with a certain degree of astonishment (not really) in a recent HousingWire update that the Obama Administration announced plans to “jump-start” the housing market.  http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/30501-obama-housing-rescue-plans-only-make-things-worse --------------------------------------------- Shared by Uros Kralj on G+, Manhattanhenge by Justin Kiner

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Home prices, including distressed sales, took a leap forward and increased 8.8% in May 2014 from a year ago, according to the latest home price index from CoreLogic. --Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30504-corelogic-home-prices-surge-88
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Pending Home Sales

The housing industry picked up a little good news, with May pending home sales rising 6.1% from April, driven largely by high-end home sales and increased inventory.

However, it won’t be enough to compensate for weak pending home sales in the first part of 2014, and this year will see a decline in pending home sales from 2013.
--Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30480-pending-home-sales-move-up-61
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Taken and shared by Jasbir Randhawa, Captured in the famed Nek Chand's Rock Garden in Chandigarh

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:  A Pep Talk
In order to enjoy your hobbies and recreation time, you must discipline yourself to do what you need to do in your job/career.  Choose to recreate more so that you discipline yourself more in your job.
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/attacking-the-second-half-of-2014/?
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Sam Thompson at NorthPoint Mortgage shares:

30 Year Fixed: 4.000%		APR 4.152%
15 Year Fixed: 3.125%		APR 3.313%
7/1 ARM: 3.125%		APR 3.534%
5/1 ARM: 2.750%		APR 3.340%
FHA 30 Year Fixed: 3.750%		APR 5.423%
Jumbo 30 Year Fixed: 4.000%		APR 4.177%
Jumbo 15 Year Fixed: 3.250%		APR 3.415%
Jumbo 7 year ARM: 3.125%		APR 3.626%
Jumbo 5 year ARM: 2.875%		APR 3.464%

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Taken and shared by Darja Vizjak,  Celje, Slovenia

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A week after a free-fall of 9.2%, mortgage applications continued their decline with a 0.2% decrease from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending June 27, 2014.  -- Trey Garrison in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30523-mortgage-application-decline-continues-after-last-weeks-free-fall
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Looking at historical trends, the share of adults living with their parents drops sharply after age 24 and continues to fall to 6% by the mid- to late 30s.
“Regardless of the economic setbacks they may have experienced, today’s 20–29 year olds are still likely to follow the same pattern,” the report said. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30462-millennials-not-buying-housesyet
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Shared by Uros Kralj

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Nat'l Real Estate Post:
 If you haven’t heard, the Supreme Court ruled that some appointments Obama made during a congressional recess were unconstitutional.  It looks to us like the appointment of Richard Cordray as head of the CFPB might be in that mix.  If this is the case, what does that mean.  Unconstitutional to us means illegal.  So here’s the question, if it’s deemed an illegal move, then shouldn’t all those fines get paid back?  Think about it.  If you were in court and something like this came up, everything would be thrown out and restitution would be awarded – no question.  (Write your senators and representatives to reverse the fines and fees that are unconstitutional.   This what I wrote to mine:  "Cordray was illegally appointed to the CFPB according to the Supreme Ct.  Therefore any regulations he passed during the time before he was offically confirmed by the senate are illegal.  What will you do about this and any other regulations passed during the illegal appointment times of Obama's appointees?  How much do you care about the law as it applies to your constituents?" )
http://thenationalrealestatepost.com/cordray-cfpb-appointment-appears-illegal/?
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“A rise in educational attainment coupled with effects of the Great Recession are delaying millennial major life events, such as marriage and homeownership,” CoreLogic said. -- Brenna Swanson in HousingWire http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30474-where-millennials-are-putting-their-money
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Shared by BJ Bolender, An American Welcome, Old Elgin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA!