Negative equity gap nears $4 trillion

March 26, 2012

The U.S. housing market contains a nearly $4 trillion negative equity hole, according to Williams Emmons, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Fed Bank economist said it would take $3.7 trillion, much more than the $25 billion mortgage servicing settlement and other federal  housing initiatives, to get homeowners with mortgage debt [...]

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Overpriced Foreclosures Hiking REO Carrying Costs

March 20, 2012

Appraisers, lenders, and investors appear to be routinely overestimating the values of homes prior to foreclosure, especially in the weakest housing markets, according to two economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The Cleveland Fed’s Thomas Fitzpatrick and Stephan Whitaker suggest that more accurate pricing could speed the clearing of REO inventories, save lenders money by [...]

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The government cut its inventory of foreclosed homes by half in 2011

March 12, 2012

Government-held REO halved during robo-signing freeze. The government cut its inventory of foreclosed homes by half in 2011. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Housing and Urban Development held roughly 150,700 REO properties as of Dec. 31, down 49% from the 296,000 at the end of 2010, according to an analysis of their collective financial statements. Servicers [...]

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Bulk REO pilot plan disappoints

February 28, 2012

Bulk REO pilot plan disappoints - Capital Economics The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s pilot to sell real estate owned homes to investors disappoints as it singles out properties already occupied by tenants, according to a new report from Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics. The pilot program will involve the sale of 2,490 REOs, [...]

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Home prices fall in December in most cities

February 28, 2012

Home prices fell in December for a fourth straight month in most major US cities, as modest sales gains in the depressed housing market have yet to lift prices. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index shows prices dropped in December from November in 18 of the 20 cities tracked. The steepest declines were in Atlanta, Chicago [...]

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Foreclosures at the high end increase across the Bay Area

February 28, 2012

The housing crisis, which first devastated borrowers who purchased lower-cost homes with subprime loans, has caught up with people whose wealth helped them hang onto their houses longer. Throughout affluent communities in the Bay Area, million-dollar-and-up homes are increasingly being lost to foreclosure, or sold as a last resort for far less than their mortgages. [...]

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California to Receive $18 Billion in Mortgage Settlement

February 13, 2012

California secured up to $18 billion for its distressed homeowners as part of a $25 billion national multistate settlement with the country’s five largest loan servicers. More than $12 billion will be used to offer short sales or write down loans over the next three years for about 250,000 underwater homeowners in California, according to [...]

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The budget calls for $1.5 trillion in tax increases over the next decade

February 13, 2012

Obama sends $3.8 trillion budget to Congress  President Barack Obama on Monday sent Congress a $3.8 trillion budget request for fiscal 2013 that’s expected to be a cornerstone of his re-election campaign. Harking back to a theme he used in the State of the Union message last month — economic fairness — Obama’s budget would [...]

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Fannie Mae taking online offers for REO

February 7, 2012

Real estate agents can submit offers on behalf of their clients to buyFannie Mae REO online. The government-sponsored enterprise launched pilot programs in Orlando, Fla.; San Diego; and Detroit in November 2010. On Tuesday, Fannie said it would take electronic offers on all properties through its HomePath website. Jay Ryan, vice president for REO at Fannie [...]

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Teachers union proposes ‘millionaires’ tax in California

February 6, 2012

The California Federation of Teachers is behind a possible ballot initiative that would levy extra taxes on millionaires, with the money dedicated largely to public schools from kindergarten through college. Approval was given late Friday to begin the signature collecting process to try to qualify for the November ballot. If passed it might bring in [...]

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