Today,the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for December 2011 showing a decrease of 2.2 percent from the month before,and a decrease of 7.3 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for December was 307,000 homes,down from an adjusted rate of 314,000 homes the month before. This is the first month new home sales have declined in four months and unfortunately ends the year with the lowest number of new homes sold since the Commerce Department began keeping track of sales in 1963. Continue reading New homes sales fall in December and make 2011 worst year on record
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RealtyTrac,today released its third-quarter 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report,which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 20 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2011,down from 22 percent of all sales in the second quarter and down from 30 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010. Based on what we’ve heard,the settlement between major banks and states’Attorneys General (AGs),the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development,and the Department of Justice would represent an important step forward in addressing foreclosure abuses. The settlement would include key reforms to clean up unfair mortgage servicing practices. It would also provide an important template for ways banks can use principal reduction to reduce unnecessary foreclosures and put the country back on a path to economic recovery. Continue reading AG Settlement:Not Perfect,But Significant Reform of Mortgage Servicing
A loan officer was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas in Ft. Lauderdale,Fla.,for his participation in a nationwide $2.5 million reverse mortgage fraud scheme,the Justice Department announced. Louis Gendason,42,of Delray Beach,Fla.,was sentenced to 70 months in prison,five years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution. Gendason was the mastermind of this complicated reverse mortgage fraud scheme,which was designed to lure financially Continue reading Florida Loan Officer Sentenced in Connection with $2.5 Million Reverse Mortgage Fraud and Loan Modification Scheme
The last couple of months I have said that,“unless something changes dramatically,2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Unfortunately,nothing dramatic happened,and 2011 has ended with only 428,600 new home starts setting a new record low and significantly below the prior all-time low of 445,200 starts in 2009. Continue reading New Home Starts in 2011 Set All-Time Record Low Schemes Affected U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Mortgage Guarantee Program WASHINGTON – A Rockford,Ill.,grand jury today indicted a former residential sales manager and two former contractors of a Florida property management company in connection with housing repair contracts for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),the Department of Justice announced. Continue reading Former Employee and Contractors of Florida Property Management Company Indicted in Illinois for Conspiracy to Commit Bribery and Wire Fraud
This morning,RealtyTrac released their 2011 year-end U.S. Foreclosure Market Report which shows that 2,698,967 foreclosure filings (default notices,scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 1,887,777 properties in the U.S. during the year,a decrease of 34 percent from the year before and marking the lowest level since 2007! Continue reading Foreclosure actions in 2011 hit lowest level since 2007!
Defendant Collected $1.6 Million from 1,100 Distressed Homeowners WASHINGTON – An Austin,Texas,man pleaded guilty today in the Western District of Texas for his role in operating a foreclosure-rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that charged distressed homeowners fees in exchange for fraudulently postponing foreclosure sales. Continue reading Austin,Texas,Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud and Identity Theft in Connection with Nationwide Foreclosure-rescue Scheme
Continue reading Mortgage interest rates fall to match all time low!
The National Association of Realtors’ research staff recently released its comprehensive annual report:Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers for 2011. Market researcher,Paul C. Bishop,Ph. D., Vice President and Jessica Lautz, Manager of Consumer Survey Research state that they’ve identified “trends that have not been seen in the last 10 years,”which will affect the housing market as we enter 2012. Continue reading Mortgage Rate Update;Trends that will affect the housing market in 2012 OKLAHOMA CITY—DEREK CHRISTOPHER SWANN,39,of Norman,was sentenced yesterday to serve 40 months in federal prison for money laundering related to a failed Edmond commercial and residential development called “The Falls,” announced Sanford C. Coats,United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. Earlier this year,Giovanni Bryan Stinson,38,of Edmond,pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud,in connection with raising investor proceeds for The Falls based on false information. Continue reading Norman Man to Serve 40 Months in Prison and Pay $4.3 Million in Restitution in Connection with Edmond Condominium Project
The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for November shows an increase of 7.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted),and a 5.9 percent increase from a year ago. This is the second consecutive month that the index has increased and marks the highest level the index has achieved since April 2010 when it was at 111.5. Continue reading Home sales rise in November; second consecutive month of increases
 Dennis Norman This morning,the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for October was released showing US home prices decreased from the month before as well as the year before. The 10-city and 20-city composites fell by 1.1 percent and 1.2 percent respectively and the home price indexes were down 3.0 percent and 3.4 percent respectively from the year before. Continue reading Home Prices Fall In October; back to mid-2003 levels
An extraordinary 18 percent of Realtors have experienced contract failures in the last few months according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is double the levels of a year earlier. One of the top reasons that cause these contract cancellations is credit issues. In many cases,understanding how the credit system works would help buyers avoid problems. Utilizing a mortgage banker early in the home buying process can help educate buyers about activities that improve their credit score,such as paying bills on time. They can also learn what actions to avoid,including taking on new sources of debt like buying a car or getting a new credit card before applying for a mortgage. Continue reading Credit Score FAQ’s
The last couple of months I have said that,“unless something changes dramatically,2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts. Well,the actual numbers this year will still most likely be a record low,but at least the rate of new home starts for November has now inched above the record low New home starts in November were up 2.3 percent from the prior month with the seasonally adjusted annual rate inching its way up to 447,000 homes,just slightly above the all-time low of 445,200 new home starts in 2009. Continue reading New home construction in November inches up; Curent pace slightly ahead of record-low WASHINGTON – A Florida loan officer was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas in Ft. Lauderdale,Fla.,for his participation in a nationwide $2.5 million reverse mortgage fraud scheme,the Justice Department announced. Continue reading Florida Loan Officer Sentenced in Connection with $2.5 Million Reverse Mortgage and Loan Modification Scheme
The U.S. mortgage loan delinquency rate was 8.15 percent of all home loans in November,up 2.7 percent from the month before and down 9.6 percent from a year ago,according to the “First-Look”report issued by Lender Processing Services,one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data. The foreclosure rate,on the other hand,was 4.16 percent in November,a 3.0 percent decrease from the month before and a 2.0 percent increase from a year ago. Continue reading Mortgage delinquencies increase in November; Foreclosures decline from month before Companies Agree to Cooperate in SEC Actions Washington,D.C.,Dec. 16,2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six former top executives of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) with securities fraud,alleging they knew and approved of misleading statements claiming the companies had minimal holdings of higher-risk mortgage loans,including subprime loans. Continue reading SEC Charges Former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Executives with Securities Fraud Washington,D.C.,Dec. 15,2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a father and son in Utah with securities fraud for selling purported investments in their real estate business that turned out to be nothing more than a wide-scale $220 million Ponzi scheme. Continue reading SEC Halts Father-Son Ponzi Scheme in Utah Involving Purported Real Estate Investments This morning Freddie Mac released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) which showed average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages matched an all time record low of 3.94 percent, and there was an all-time record low rate for 15-year fixed rate mortgages. Continue reading 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Matches All-Time Record Low at 3.94 Percent
The mortgage fraud index for third quarter was at 1173,down almost seven percent from the prior quarter when the index was at 1261,but up over 16 percent from a year ago when the index was at 1007.
Continue reading California Number 1 in Mortgage Fraud Ranking 14 Individuals Charged in the Continuing Investigation SACRAMENTO,Calif. — The U.S. District Court in Sacramento today unsealed an indictment against four real estate investors and an auctioneer for their participation in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County,Calif.,Sharis A. Pozen,Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division,and Benjamin B. Wagner,U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California,announced. Continue reading Five Individuals indicted for bid rigging and fraud at foreclosure auctions
This morning,RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for October 2011 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices,scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 224,394 properties in the U.S. during the month,a three percent increase from the previous month and a decrease of 14 percent from the year before. During the month,1 out of every 579 homes in the U.S. had a foreclosure filing. Continue reading Foreclosures decrease in November | ||||
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Foreclosure Price 34 Percent Below Average Price of Non-Foreclosures
Realtor.com,which claims to have more traffic on it’s website than any other real estate website in the world,released their report for December showing how 146 metro areas in the U.S. stack up in terms of popularity for home searches. Chicago was number 1 on the list again this month,followed by Detroit,MI,and Los-Angeles-Long Beach,CA. 
The Mortgage Fraud Index from MortgageDaily.com has California at the top of the list for mortgage fraud activity during the third quarter of 2011.