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mortgage: Can It look WORSE? - 10/24/07 07:25 PM
Sales are Down, WAY DOWN...
The battered markets for real estate and home building still have farther to fall, according to a range of economists who spoke Wednesday at a forecast conference sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders.
The economists agreed that the problems with home finance markets will continue to hit housing into next year, and that even when there is a recovery, it will be a slow process that will see weakness continue into 2009.
While most said they believed the overall U.S. economy can weather the housing downturn, several saw significant risk of a recession. Mark Zandi, chief economist … (3 comments)
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mortgage: NAR Economist Blamed the "Credit Crunch" for slow sales in september - 10/24/07 10:06 AM
Sales of existing homes slowed to an annual pace of 5.04 million in September, compared with a revised 5.48 million sales pace in August, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Last month's decline marks the largest since the current measure of existing home sales - which includes multiple-family dwellings - began in 1999.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that sales would slow to a 5.25 million pace.
Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, blamed the credit crunch.
"Mortgage problems were peaking back in August when many of the September closings were being negotiated, and that slowed sales notably in higher priced areas … (0 comments)
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mortgage: Vultures Are Circling Over Distressed Florida Properties - 10/22/07 09:16 AM
Call them grave dancers, vulture funds, turnaround specialists or the more euphemistic "opportunity investors." However you identify them, the deal is the same: When hyperactive real estate markets lose their sizzle, or property owners no longer can afford to hang on to their houses, well-capitalized investors smell blood and move in.
That's happening in most of the "bubble" areas of the country that saw heavy speculative activity and razzle-dazzle financing from 2001 through 2005. But it's also happening in less volatile markets where unaffordable mortgages and economic distress are producing record numbers of panic sales to investors at fractions of former … (2 comments)
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mortgage: LOOK!! Snowbirds are filing Mortgage applications! - 10/11/07 09:17 AM
Mortgage application volume increased 2.4 percent during the week ending Oct. 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey. The MBA's application index increased to 652 from 636.7 the previous week. The index peaked at 1,856.7 during the week ending May 30, 2003, at the height of the housing boom. Consistant improvements could signal the change of the consumers feelings about the real estate market as they once again beguin to spend. Hopefully this could lead to a great "snowbird" season, as home owners from northern states prepair to spend this winter in warmer places. An index value of … (6 comments)
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mortgage: foreclosure rate falls across the country in September - 10/11/07 08:42 AM
The number of foreclosures across the country dropped in September, falling 8 percent from a 32-month high in August, according to a regular monthly survey. Delinquencies and defaults fell to 223,538 filings, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosure properties.
RealtyTrac also reported that nationwide numbers were down in all foreclosure categories, which include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions, with 39 states reporting decreased activity.
But the figures were still double the number reported a year ago. "It's important to note that September's total was still the second highest monthly total we've seen since … (4 comments)
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mortgage: Don't be victimized by the bubble hype - 10/08/07 07:39 AM
Nearly a full third of households are still renting...but if you are one of them, you could be paying a hefty price. Additionally, the children of the baby boomer generation are close to or at the home buying age, but these "echo boomers" could mistakenly decide to put off the purchase of a home because of all the noise about a "bubble" in home prices.
Is there a "bubble"? The simple answer is "no". Even if interest rates move a bit higher, it won't be enough to cause a nationwide slide in home prices. The key to a healthy housing market is … (2 comments)
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mortgage: Canadian dollar is now equal to US dollar! - 09/21/07 08:46 AM
Lower interest rates, while used to jump-start the economy, can also weaken a currency by giving investors less return on investments denominated in the currency.
The Fed's move put more pressure on the U.S. dollar because it made returns on investment in other countries more valuable. The weak dollar also means that American goods are cheaper for overseas buyers, which can help manufacturing and producers, and it can help companies with big foreign operations turn a larger profit by converting overseas profit into dollars.
On the other hand, a steadily weakening dollar could also discourage foreign investors who buy the country's … (2 comments)
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mortgage: Fed cut. Good for the Economy ~ Bad for Inflation - 09/18/07 07:14 PM
The long awaited Fed decision arrived with a bang! The Fed surprised many economists and traders with a half percent cut in both the Fed Funds and Discount Rates. Stocks soared higher and enjoyed their largest gain since 2003.
What does the Fed cut mean? Rates on consumer debt, car loans, and Home Equity lines will all benefit. But because Home Loan rates are tied more closely to inflation, it is not uncommon to see less of a reaction...or even an opposite reaction in mortgage rates.
The Fed cut also hurts rates of return on investments, which gives foreign investors less incentive to … (1 comments)
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mortgage: The Rates are lower The Rates are lower!!! - 09/18/07 03:18 PM
The Federal Reserve cut the target on a key short-term interest rate by a half of a percentage point Tuesday to 4.75%, further acknowledgment from the central bank that the mortgage meltdown plaguing Wall Street and Main Street could have a negative impact on the economy.
"This took some investors by surprise. It's like the Christmas present you really wanted but weren't really expecting," said Gary Webb, chief executive officer of Webb Financial Group, a Bloomington, Minn.-based independent investment advisory firm with about $120 million in assets under management.
The cut to the federal funds rate, the first since June 2003, was widely … (3 comments)
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mortgage: Countrywide loan biz hits big slowdown - 09/13/07 08:40 AM
Embattled mortgage lender reports double-digit decline in August, blames falling home values and decaying credit quality.
Countrywide Financial Corp. said Thursday it lent less money during August as a protracted housing slump kept prospective home buyers out of the market.
The nation's biggest mortgage lender issued $34 billion in home loans last month, a 17 percent decline from the same period in 2006. The company processed $2.3 billion in loan applications a day, marking a decline of 12 percent.
Countrywide said the decline reflects current conditions in the mortgage industry, which include slipping home values and decaying credit quality. Loans in the pipeline at … (4 comments)
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mortgage: Countrywide is looking for another hand to right the ship! - 09/11/07 09:04 AM
Countrywide is looking for another hand to right the ship!
-Facing a cash crunch, embattled mortgage lender is looking to strike deal similar to Bank of America bailout, paper reports.
-- Troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial is putting together its second multi-billion dollar bailout plan in less than a month as it continues to face a cash crunch, according to a report published Tuesday.
"Countrywide is in desperate need of cash right now to continue funding mortgages and the credit markets are still largely closed to them," one source told the New York Post.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Post reported that … (6 comments)
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mortgage: Bernanke vs. Greenspan - how would things be different now? - 08/23/07 08:44 AM
The Fed may well end up slashing interest rates, but the Greenspan era of pumping up market bubbles with repeated cuts is over...
It may be the most important development to emerge from the recent market turbulence: The Federal Reserve, under Chairman Ben Bernanke, is going back to being a central bank. Judging by its cautious and finely-calibrated responses through a very ugly August, the Fed appears keen to put the Alan Greenspan years firmly in the past and take a much more orthodox approach to monetary policy. While the Fed will probably cut interest rates as early as next month, … (0 comments)
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mortgage: And for your reading pleasure.. Here is the latest on the Liquidity Crisis - 08/20/07 06:40 AM
Fellow Real Estate Professionals, FYI.. And for your reading pleasure.. Here is the latest on the Liquidity Crisis that the Mortgage Industry is now facing, which is obviously effecting us all. Please take the time to read, and feel free to call me with any questions.. Enjoy!
Current State of Mortgage Financing...What's Going On? Anyone watching or reading the financial news over the last few weeks has seen a lot of angst and consternation over the state of the mortgage industry. In fact, one of the larger lenders in the US, American Home Mortgage, was forced to shut down operations recently. But … (5 comments)
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mortgage: country wide is living off it's equity line too! - 08/17/07 08:15 AM
I know during lean times like now others in our business have drained thier savings and even tapped into the equity of our own homes just to stay afloat. Now it seems that the mortgage companies have been in the same boat with us bailing out the water with our shoes as buckets.
Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (Charts, Fortune 500), for example, announced Thursday that it needed to tap an $11.5 billion line of credit because of liquidity problems. That came a day after an analyst at Merrill Lynch suggested that Countrywide might need to declare bankruptcy.
In a statement, the Fed said … (4 comments)
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Lee Forbes - Forbes Property Group #1 Preferred Agent! CRS, GRI, ABR, E-Pro
Lakewood Ranch,
FL
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Lee Forbes PA, Forbes Property Group Broker in Bradenton
Address: 9114 58th Drive East, Suite #100, Lakewood Ranch, FL, 34202
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