Archive for Mortgage News
FHFA extends HARP for one year
This should help slow down the foreclosure crisis, with more loan modifications and short sale approvals, we could slow down the amount of bank owned homes.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) this week announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to June 30, 2011. HARP is a refinancing program administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and expands access to refinancing for qualified individuals and families whose homes have lost value. The program was originally set to expire June 10, 2010.
Freddie Mac loses $7.8 billion, warns of foreclosure wave
Freddie Mac lost almost $26 billion last year !
In the final three months of last year, Freddie Mac posted a loss of $7.8 billion, Freddie Mac, which has lost almost $80 billion since the housing crisis started in 2007, is bracing for more pain from foreclosures and REO’s (Bank Owned homes) should continue to increase from this problem, seems like the short sales and loan modifications are not helping enough yet.
A record 4 percent of its borrowers are at least three months behind on their payments and facing foreclosure.
Its chief executive, Charles Haldeman, warned Wednesday of a “potential large wave of foreclosures” still to come.
Defaults Continue to Plague Commercial Real Estate Market
We are seeing more commercial mortgages in distress every week,” said Ira J. Friedman, COO of Guardian Solutions.
Not since the early 1990s have we observed this perfect storm of deteriorating rents and occupancies, deflating sales prices, and tight credit that’s leading to a lot of defaults,” said Victor Calanog, director of research at Reis, a New York-based real estate research organization. “
With close to $3.5 trillion of loans outstanding and at least 12 to 24 more months of rent declines, I expect to see more commercial properties defaulting on loans.”
Goldman Sachs CEO awarded a $9 million stock bonus
Goldman Sachs Group awarded Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein $9 million in restricted stock units, according to a regulatory filing by the investment bank.
Mortgage payments lag as consumers pay credit cards instead
Americans are paying their credit card debts before they write a check for their mortgages at a greater rate than ever, according to a new study developed by TransUnion LLC, one of the nation’s three major consumer credit reporting agencies.
• Trend gaining momentum • Especially true in California
Citigroup’s Q4 $7.6 Bln loss
Citigroup Inc. posted a fourth-quarter loss of $7.6 billion, or 33 cents a share, compared to a loss of $17.24 billion, or $3.40 a share a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, excluding the $6.2 billion after-tax loss associated with TARP repayment and exiting a loss-sharing agreement, the fourth quarter net loss was $1.4 billion, or 6 cents a share, the company said. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had, on average, expected the company to lose 33 cents a share in the quarter
Fannie, Freddie Cost the Government $291bn in 2009
Faced with growing losses on the value of its combined $1.5trn mortgage books, government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac added $291bn in subsidy costs to the Federal deficit by mid-year, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) the agency tasked with recording costs incurred by the government.
That number may reach as high as $389bn over the course of this decade.
HUD Limits FHA Mortgages after Short Sales
Effective immediately, borrowers are not eligible for a new FHA mortgage if they pursued a short sale agreement “to take advantage of declining market conditions” or to purchase another property at a reduced price.
Borrowers are cleared for a new FHA-insured mortgage if they were current on their previous mortgage and other debts at the time of the short sale and if the proceeds from the short sale serve as payment in full.
If a borrower executes a short sale while in default on their mortgage would not be eligible for a FHA-insured mortgage for three years from the date of the pre-foreclosure sale. Some lenders can make exceptions if the default was due to circumstances beyond the borrower’s control such as the death of the primary wage earner.
But, it means that anyone eligible for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA) would not be eligible for a new FHA-insured mortgage for three years. Under HAFA, the US Treasury Department provides incentives to servicers, banks and investors to pursue a short sale for seriously delinquent borrowers.
MBA Report Shows Third Quarter 2009 Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Performance
Delinquency rates continued to increase in the third quarter for most commercial/multifamily mortgage investor groups, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report.
“Commercial and multifamily mortgages continued to feel stress in the face of the weakened economy,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. “The deterioration in commercial and multifamily loan performance is generally in line with what is being seen in other parts of the economy, with loans backed by commercial properties continuing to perform far better than construction and development loans.”
