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Mortgage Interest Rates Inch Back up Slightly

Home Loan Applications Increase 5.7 Percent Last Week – second consecutive week of increased home buyer activity

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 5, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home [...]

Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Performance Remains Better Than Other Loans

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on the performance of commercial and multifamily mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2009. Their last report from a year ago showed that commercial and multifamily mortgages were among the best performing loans held by banks and thrifts. Now, a year later, the [...]

Mortgage Interest Rates Drop Back Below 5 Percent

Home Loan Applications Jump 11.7 Percent Last Week after decreasing two prior weeks

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending February 26, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) increased 11.7 percent from the week [...]

Mortgage Rates Inch Up – Homebuyer Applications Decreased Again Last Week

Home Loan Applications Drop 7.3 Percent Last Week after decreasing 4.0 percent the week before.

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending February 19, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) decreased [...]

Almost one-in-four borrowers underwater on home mortgage

Seventy Percent of all mortgaged properties in Nevada are underwater

Dennis Norman

According to a report released today by First American CoreLogic more than 11.3 million U.S. mortgages, or 24 percent of all mortgaged properties, are in a negative equity position meaning the borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth as of [...]

Mortgage Loan Rates Remain Low – Fewer Home Buyers Taking Advantage

Home Loan Applications Drop 4.0 Percent Last Week.

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending February 12, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) decreased 4.0 percent from the week before and [...]

Mortgage Delinquencies Jump Over 10 Percent

Dennis Norman

Deceleration in Rise of Mortgage Delinquencies Short Lived

Back in July, 2009 when speaking in North Carolina President Barack Obama announced “we may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession“. My thoughts then were that was very optimistic and I didn’t agree (for whatever that is worth). Since then [...]

FDIC’s Sale of IndyMac to One West Bank – Sweetheart deal or not?

Dennis Norman

Last week a friend emailed me a link to a video titled “The Indymac Slap in Our Face” that was created by Think Big Work Small. I watched the video which gave a recap of the failure of Indymac bank back resulting in it’s seizure by the FDIC in July, 2008, and the [...]

$1.4 Trillion in Commercial Loans Coming Due – Nearly Half Are Underwater

Dennis Norman

Commercial Real Estate to be the next “shoe to drop”? Can the banks suffer another blow?

This sobering statistic was included in the Congressional Oversight Panel report, “Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability” that was released this morning.

 The report states the panel “is deeply concerned that a wave of commercial [...]

30 Year Mortgage Interest Rates Drop Below 5 Percent

Home Loan Applications Drop 7.0 Percent Last Week.

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending February 5, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) decreased 7.0 percent from the week before and [...]

Mortgage Interest Rates Hold Steady-Loan Applications Jump Over 20 Percent

Home Loan Applications Jump 21.0 Percent Last Week.

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending January 29, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) increased 21.0 percent from the week before and [...]

Mortgage Loan Interest rates remain fairly steady

Fewer Home-buyers applying for loans in past week

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending January 22, 2010. The report showed the

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FHA Tightens Standards

Dennis Norman

FHA Announces Policy Changes to Address Risk and Strengthen Finances

This week FHA announced policy changes that are going to help them shore up their finances but will make it more difficult and/or costly for buyers to purchase your homes.

The FHA policy changes include:

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Pending Legislation would end HVCC

Dennis Norman

Last month the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4173, the “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009″, which contained a provision that would “sunset”, or put an end to, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which, since it went into effect back in May of last year has been controversial [...]

FHA Waives Anti-Flipping Rule

Dennis Norman

In an effort to “stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high” FHA just announced a temporary waiver of requirements of 24 CFR 203.37a(b)(2).  For those of you that don’t have your copy of the Code of Federal Regulations handy, this is referring to what is generally known [...]

Mortgage interest rates drop slightly-Mortgage applications increase

Home-buyers mortgage activity increases from week before…down from a month ago though

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending January 8, 2010. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) increased 14.3 percent from [...]

Update on Fed’s Foreclosure Prevention and Loan Modification Programs

Dennis Norman

Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency released it’s “Foreclosure Prevention & Refinance Report for the Third Quarter 2009“. This report gives data on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two-quasi-government agencies that either own or insure most of the home loans in the U.S., including how foreclosure prevention and loan modification [...]

What does 2010 hold in store for the Housing Market?

Dennis Norman

In a just a few days we will say goodbye to 2009; a year that has been brutal to the housing market. So as the new year comes in, what will 2010 hold in store for the housing market?

To answer this question I turned to the housing forecast just released by Fannie [...]

Most recent homebuyers are first-time buyers

According to NAR 51 percent of recent homebuyers are first-time buyers and 39 percent of recent home sales have relied on an FHA loan

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS just released a report showing that 51 percent of the homes sold recently have been to first-time home buyers and that 39 percent [...]

Mortgage interest rates creep up slightly

Home-buyers mortgage activity dropping…refinances make up 3/4 of all new mortgages.

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending December 11, 2009. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) decreased 3.6 percent from the [...]

Is the Obama Administrations’ Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) working?

Dennis Norman

This week the Treasury Department issed a report which included stats on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) which is part of the Obama administrations’ Making Home Affordable Program and “is a loan modification program designed to reduce delinquent and at-risk borrowers’ monthly mortgage payments”. The HAMP program got underway around [...]

Florida predicted to have highest mortgage delinquency rate next year

Mortgage Delinquencies are expected to decrease in many states in 2010; Florida, Arizona, California, New York and Virginia expected to see increases.

Dennis Norman

According to the Annual Consumer Credit Forecasts issued by TransUnion, Florida is expected to have the highest mortgage delinquency rate by the end of next year at 16.86 percent (up from 13.34 [...]

Real Estate Investors: Video to help you use tax-credit to sell homes

Dennis Norman

In a challenging market like this, you have to pull out all the stops to sell your property; in addition you need to be aware of the tools and resources out there to help you do so.  One of the best resources currently available to sell homes is the newly extended and expanded [...]

30-Year Mortgage Interest Rates Match All Time Low This Week

15-Year FRM Drops to Set Another New Low in Freddie Mac Survey History

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.78 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending November 25, 2009, down from last [...]

New updated info from IRS on Homebuyer Tax Credit

First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30, 2010; Some Current Homeowners Now Also Qualify

WASHINGTON — A new law that went into effect Nov. 6 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for [...]

Almost 11 million homeowners are underwater on their mortgage

Average value of home with “underwater” mortgage $210,300 – Average loan balance $280,000 – Average amount “upside down” $70,000

Dennis Norman

According to a report released today by First American CoreLogic nearly 10.7 million U.S. mortgages, or 23 percent of all mortgaged properties, are in a negative equity position meaning the borrowers owe more on [...]

Mortgage delinquencies set new record in third quarter

Unemployment Remains Main Cause of Delinquencies

The second quarter of this year saw mortgage delinquencies reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association hit the highest level since they began keep track of the data almost 40 years ago back in 1972. Unfortunately that record didn’t stand long and was broken by the mortgage delinquency rate for third [...]

MBA’s Purchase Index for mortgages at lowest level in 12 years; Is this the ‘recovery’ some reports are talking about?

Dennis Norman

I believe smart real estate investors will continue to proceed with caution, and as much as we all want to believe the worst is over and the housing recovery has begun as is being reported more frequently throughout the media, I’m not so sure we are there yet…The data is just not supporting [...]

Commercial real estate market feeling the pain; commercial loan defaults on the rise and expected to continue according to NAR

A severe ongoing credit crunch in commercial real estate lending is hampering recovery, according to a commercial market update at the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun shared insights into the commercial markets and the current lending environment during the “Economic Issues and Commercial Real Estate Business Trends Forum” here today.

Yun [...]

MBA’s Purchase Index for mortgages drops to lowest level in almost 9 years

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending November 6, 2009. The report showed the MBA Purchase Index (a measure of the volume of loan applications related to a home purchase) decreased 11.7 percent from the week before, bringing it to it’s lowest level since December [...]