Palm Beach Post: Thomas and Laura Fabricio, newlywed lawyers, say prices have sagged since they began looking for a starter home last year. As a result, they say, once-too-pricey neighborhoods opened up and descended right into their price bracket — $200,000, give or take.
And though they were originally looking at condos, they’ve now shifted their [...]
One in 10 American households with a mortgage was at risk of foreclosure this summer as the government’s efforts to help have had little impact stemming the housing crisis.
About 9.9 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment as of June 30, Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
That number, which is adjusted for seasonal [...]
Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the ninth time in 10 weeks as concerns grow that the economy is weakening.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.36 percent this week, down from 4.42 percent last week. That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac [...]
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Nobody wants to buy a house. Nobody in their right mind, anyway.
Oh, sure, a lot of gullible first-time buyers got lured into the market over the last 18 months to take advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit (not realizing how little difference that money will make when the first property-tax bill [...]
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Rates on fixed-rate mortgages hit another low this week, after recent reports showed drops in existing- and new-home sales, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates released Thursday.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.36% for the week ending Aug. 26, down from 4.42% last week and 5.14% a year ago. [...]
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — If you’re looking to save some money, look no further than your mortgage. After all, that loan is probably your biggest monthly expense — and rates are at record lows.
As you probably know, however, refinancing to a lower rate doesn’t make sense unless you’ll be in the house long enough to [...]
Palm Beach Post: Cash investors hunting for abandoned and foreclosed properties will take a back seat to buyers using federal housing money under an “unprecedented” agreement with the nation’s largest private lenders.
The “First Look” program, announced Wednesday, gives local governments and community groups using Neighborhood Stabilization money the first crack at buying bank-owned homes in [...]
(Reuters) – The number of U.S. homes headed for foreclosure fell during the second quarter, marking the first such drop since the housing slump began in 2006, but the improvement may be fleeting as the number of newly delinquent homeowners rose, a banking group said on Wednesday.
The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process declined [...]
Daily Finance: Home sales are hitting new lows, the number of homeowners behind on their mortgages is again climbing, as is the number of foreclosures. Housing market misery is widespread—but particularly intense for the troubled homeowners relying on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), the federal foreclosure relief program.
Criticized both by those who argue for more [...]
Palm Beach Post: WEST PALM BEACH – The Palm Beach County Convention Center filled again Friday with tales of mortgage woe.
Before dawn, with a plump white moon overhead, a line of desperate home owners trailed around the outside of the building. They slept in beach chairs or on blankets on the ground, refugees from a [...]
(Money Magazine) — Home improvement is one of the fastest-growing segments of e-commerce. But the consequences of a bad decision when it comes to finding a contractor or remodeling products online are far worse than buying the wrong paperback.
What if those rave reviews you read about a contractor are ringers posted by his daughter — [...]
New York Times: Housing will eventually recover from its great swoon. But many real estate experts now believe that home ownership will never again yield rewards like those enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century, when houses not only provided shelter but also a plump nest egg.
The wealth generated by housing in those [...]
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Question: As the seller, I have a signed contract on a short sale. I have a first mortgage and second mortgage which put the house underwater, but not by a lot. Then I have a third mortgage — a home-equity line of credit — that puts it underwater significantly.
During the contract process, [...]
BOULDER, Colo. (MarketWatch) — The recession is “officially” over according to GDP figures. Stocks are up 50% from the March 2009 bottom. Gold and silver are up dramatically, too. So what’s the only remaining asset class that’s still cheap?
Real estate.
Sure, in most parts of the country the market is still in the toilet. July marked [...]
Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County property owners will get their first glimpse at how much they can expect to pay in property taxes when tax notices arrive in mailboxes this week.
Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits on Monday will mail preliminary tax notices to all 655,181 county property owners.
But Nikolits said he is concerned some residents [...]
(Reuters) – As mortgage delinquencies climb near historic highs, Wall Street is finding new ways to make hay with the assets.
So-called “vulture” firms have been snapping up troubled home loans at a faster pace, and are expected to ramp up securitizations of the assets in coming months. That should give a modicum of life to [...]
(Reuters) – Nearly half of homeowners getting help through the Obama administration’s premier housing rescue program have dropped out through July as many failed to document their eligibility, the U.S. Treasury said on Friday.
In its monthly report on the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, the Treasury said 48.1 percent of 1.3 million homeowners who [...]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With home sales plunging to their lowest level in 15 years, economists warn that a double-dip in housing prices is just around the corner, threatening to further slow the overall recovery.
Existing home sales sank 27.2% in July, twice as much as analysts expected, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 [...]
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Consumers looking for home loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration will face tougher hurdles and higher costs under new legislation and new rules that could take effect as soon as this month.
Higher monthly fees, larger down payments and better credit scores are among the new initiatives intended to insure that the [...]
U.S. commercial real estate prices posted their first quarterly gain in more than two years last quarter, data showed on Monday, although deepening economic gloom may cut post-slump celebrations short.
After shedding about a third of their value between the first quarters of 2008 and 2010, average U.S. commercial property prices rose by 2.2 percent in [...]
