Daily Real Estate News |
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The short-sale process is expected to get shorter starting June 15.
New guidelines issued under the Federal Housing Finance Agency will
require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give home buyers of short sales
notice of their final decision within 60 days. The new guidelines also
will require the mortgage giants to respond to initial short-sale
requests within 30 days of receiving an offer from a potential buyer.
The speedier process is expected to be a boost to the housing market,
Michael McHugh, president of the Empire State Mortgage Bankers
Association, told the New York Times. Home buyers and sellers often have
to wait months before they receive a decision from a lender on an offer
for a short sale. Some deals fall apart just from the long wait alone.
Short sales have been increasing in recent months, as many lenders
find them more appealing than foreclosures, which can be much more
costly and take longer to remove from their books.
Short sales now outpace foreclosure sales in many parts of the
country. Short sales represent more than 14 percent of existing-home
sales, according to CoreLogic housing data from March, the most recent
month available.
McHugh says that a faster short-sale process may be particularly
helpful in speeding the recovery in judicial states, where foreclosures
must go through the courts before they are approved. For example, in New
York, judicial foreclosures can take a year or longer to be approved.
Now short sales may be viewed by defaulting home owners as more of an
option in avoiding foreclosure.
“There should be a significant improvement in the turnaround,” McHugh
said regarding housing markets with judicial foreclosure processes.
Source: “Speeding Up Short Sales,” The New York Times (May 24, 2012)
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Mortgage Giant Offers Another Sign of Stabilizing Market
Daily Real Estate News |
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Fannie Mae, which backs the most loans in the country, announced that it would not need taxpayer aid to cover losses for the first time since the federal government took control over the mortgage giant in 2008.
Fannie posted a profit in the first quarter of the year, reporting a net income of $2.7 billion compared to a $6.5 billion loss they reported in the first quarter of 2011.
“We expect our financial results for 2012 to be significantly better than 2011,” says Susan McFarland, Fannie Mae’s chief financial officer. “As our serious delinquency rate declines and home prices stabilize, we expect to reduce our reserves, which combined with revenue from our high-quality new book of business, will drive our future results.”
Several analysts say there are signs of the housing market stabilizing: The decline in home prices is slowing, more Americans are buying homes than a year ago, and housing starts have climbed in the last year.
Freddie Mac, also a government-sponsored enterprise and mortgage giant, recently reported a profit as well — a $577 million quarterly net income for the first quarter.
Source: “Fannie Mae Profit Signals a Stabilizing Housing Market,” The New York Times (May 9, 2012)
Fannie Mae, which backs the most loans in the country, announced that it would not need taxpayer aid to cover losses for the first time since the federal government took control over the mortgage giant in 2008.
Fannie posted a profit in the first quarter of the year, reporting a net income of $2.7 billion compared to a $6.5 billion loss they reported in the first quarter of 2011.
“We expect our financial results for 2012 to be significantly better than 2011,” says Susan McFarland, Fannie Mae’s chief financial officer. “As our serious delinquency rate declines and home prices stabilize, we expect to reduce our reserves, which combined with revenue from our high-quality new book of business, will drive our future results.”
Several analysts say there are signs of the housing market stabilizing: The decline in home prices is slowing, more Americans are buying homes than a year ago, and housing starts have climbed in the last year.
Freddie Mac, also a government-sponsored enterprise and mortgage giant, recently reported a profit as well — a $577 million quarterly net income for the first quarter.
Source: “Fannie Mae Profit Signals a Stabilizing Housing Market,” The New York Times (May 9, 2012)
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
B of A Starts Writing Off Borrowers Mortgage Debt
More than 200,000 underwater home
owners with mortgages through Bank of America may be eligible to have a
reduction in the amount they owe on their loan, which could possibly
trim their monthly payments by up to 35 percent.
Bank of America has sent letters to home owners who may be eligible to take part in a program to write-off a portion of underwater home owners’ mortgage principal, reducing it by, on average, $150,000 each.
The bank’s move stems from the $25 billion settlement, which it and four other of the nation’s largest lenders reached earlier this year with federal and state officials over past foreclosure mishandlings. Bank of America agreed to reduce some home owners’ mortgage principles as part of the settlement.
Home owners eligible for the principal write-offs must be “underwater” (owing more on their mortgage than their property is currently worth), have a loan owned or serviced by Bank of America, and be at least 60 days behind on their mortgage payments as of the end of January. In order for the mortgage reductions to be made permanent, home owners must make at least three on-time payments.
“To the extent principal reduction and other modification tools help us turn mortgages headed for possible foreclosure into long-term performing loans, it will be positive for home owners, mortgage investors and communities,” says Ron Sturzenegger, a legacy asset servicing executive.
Source: “Bank of America Starts Mortgage Reduction Effort,” The New York Times (May 7, 2012) and Bank of America
Bank of America has sent letters to home owners who may be eligible to take part in a program to write-off a portion of underwater home owners’ mortgage principal, reducing it by, on average, $150,000 each.
The bank’s move stems from the $25 billion settlement, which it and four other of the nation’s largest lenders reached earlier this year with federal and state officials over past foreclosure mishandlings. Bank of America agreed to reduce some home owners’ mortgage principles as part of the settlement.
Home owners eligible for the principal write-offs must be “underwater” (owing more on their mortgage than their property is currently worth), have a loan owned or serviced by Bank of America, and be at least 60 days behind on their mortgage payments as of the end of January. In order for the mortgage reductions to be made permanent, home owners must make at least three on-time payments.
“To the extent principal reduction and other modification tools help us turn mortgages headed for possible foreclosure into long-term performing loans, it will be positive for home owners, mortgage investors and communities,” says Ron Sturzenegger, a legacy asset servicing executive.
Source: “Bank of America Starts Mortgage Reduction Effort,” The New York Times (May 7, 2012) and Bank of America
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