Finance and Economy | RISMedia

Housing Overhaul? Home Builders Announce Housing Finance System Reform Plan

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently announced a new comprehensive framework for housing finance system reform that would transition Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to a new mortgage securitization system

January 2011 vs. January 2012: Home Real Estate Showings up by 9 Percent

The amount of times a real estate agent shows a listing could potentially lead to a listing selling faster. Showing Suite has compiled data of January’s real estate showings from the past five years that may show trends in the housing market.

Housing High Point: Pending Sales of Existing Homes Up to Nearly Two-Year High

(MCT)—More Americans are signing contracts to buy existing homes than at any time in nearly two years, boosting the housing industry’s slow recovery, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ index of pending home sales. The measure is up 2 percent to 97 in January after slipping 1.9 percent in December. The index of deals for previously owned homes is up 8 percent compared with the 89.8 level from January 2011. Last month saw the highest point on the index since April 2010, when consumers drawn by a home-buyer tax credit

Warren Buffett Is Betting on Housing

(MCT)—The U.S. housing market disappointed Warren Buffett last year, but he hasn’t given up hope. Buffett said in his annual shareholder letter, posted this weekend, that he was “dead wrong” when he predicted last year that the rebound in U.S. home prices would begin within a year. This year, though, he’s betting again that the housing market will recover, and for an interesting reason: hormones.

Low Rates, High Obstacles to Refinancing Mortgage

(MCT)—As interest rates have slid over the past couple of years, Gabriel Bousbib of Englewood, N.J., refinanced his 15-year mortgage not once, but twice—cutting his interest rate in two steps from about 4.6 percent to 3.375 percent. He’s one of a number of homeowners who refinanced just a year or two ago, but decided it was worth considering again as mortgage rates hit record lows—now averaging around 4 percent for a 30-year loan.

Foreclosure Homes Account for 24 Percent of All U.S. Residential Sales

RealtyTrac®, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, recently released its Q4 and Year-End 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™, which shows that sales of homes

Housing Bright Spot: Pending Home Sales Rise, Market on Uptrend

Pending home sales are on an upward trend, which has been uneven but meaningful since reaching a cyclical low last April, and are well above a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 2.0 percent to 97.0 in January from a downwardly revised 95.1 in December and is 8.0 percent higher than January 2011 when it was 89.8. The data reflects contracts but not closings. The January index is the highest since April 2010 when it reached 111.3 as buyers were rushing to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit.

Illinois Sees 16.1 Percent Increase in Home Sales

Regional Spotlight—Illinois Home sales in January were the strongest for the month since 2007, according to data released today by the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in January 2012 totaled 6,435 homes sold, up 16.1 percent from 5,543 home sales in January 2011. The statewide median price in January was $122,500, down 9.3 percent from $135,000 in January 2011. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

February 2012 U. S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook

Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC) recently released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for February showing cautious signs of the economy and housing market moving in a positive direction fueled by an environment of low interest rates and more favorable job prospects for Americans. ...

US Unveils Plan to Wind Down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

(MCT)—The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wants to shrink the seized housing-finance giants gradually and create a new market for mortgage-backed securities to help the private sector. The recommendations came in a new strategic plan for Fannie and Freddie submitted to lawmakers Tuesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has overseen the companies since they were put into government conservatorship in 2008 to avoid their failure. Fannie and Freddie have almost single-handedly kept the housing finance market afloat in recent years.

Existing-Home Sales Rise Again in January, Inventory Down

Existing-home sales rose in January, marking three gains in the past four months, while inventories continued to improve, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 4.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million in January from a downwardly revised 4.38 million-unit pace in December and are 0.7 percent above a spike to 4.54 million in January 2011.

FHFA Sends Congress Strategic Plan for Fannie and Freddie

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco recently sent to Congress a strategic plan for the next phase of the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). The plan builds on the Acting Director’s February 2010 letter to Congress on the conservatorships and sets forth objectives and steps FHFA is taking or will take to meet FHFA’s obligations as conservator. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorships Sept. 6, 2008 and have since received more than $180 billion in taxpayer support.

CAP Proposes Plan to Put Americans Back to Work

Recently, as lawmakers continue to debate infrastructure bills, a new report released by the Center for American Progress proposes a plan to enable significant progress in bringing America's infrastructure up to par.

Deadline to Request Mortgage Review Extended to July 31

People seeking a review of their mortgage foreclosures under the Federal banking agencies' Independent Foreclosure Review now have until July 31, 2012, to submit their requests. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) announced yesterday that the deadline for submitting requests for review under the Independent Foreclosure Review has been extended. The new deadline, July 31, 2012, provides an additional three months for borrowers to request a review if they believe they suffered financial injury

Housing Expected to Add to GDP for First Time in 7 Years

The 2012 outlook is improving modestly from a disappointing 2011. Economic growth picked up in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 2.8 percent and is expected to come in at 2.3 percent for 2012, up from 1.6 percent growth for all of last year, according to Fannie Mae’s (FNMA/OTC) Economic & Strategic Research Group. However, the year-end growth rate was due largely to a positive swing in business inventory growth, which is not indicative of underlying consumer demand or the overall health of the economy. Nevertheless, consumer spending improved modestly and manufacturing and services activity expanded at a strong pace.

Real Estate Hot Topics

Profit Center: Real Estate Tips, Training & Events

RISMedia Solutions

RISMedia on the Go

Today's Featured Listing

Finance and Economy Archive