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Double-dip recession concern by consumers is putting a damper on the housing market

Fannie Mae’s Economics &Mortgage Market Analysis Group says that we are not out of the woods yet and that the economy is “flirting with another economic downturn”now after more than two years since the worst recession since the World War II era.  Fannie Mae Chief Economist,Doug Duncan,said “the weakening economic backdrop,[...]

Is now a good time to buy a home?

Sixty-nine percent of American’s polled in Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey in August said that now is a good time to buy a home,this is up from 66 percent the prior month.  Consumers are not in a home buying mode as a result of feeling good about the economy however as in the survey [...]

New reports paint bleak picture for housing market recovery

It seems every time I start thinking it’s safe to use the “R”word (recovery) about the housing market,something happens to put the damper on it. The recent downgrading of the U.S. credit rating,which ultimately caused the Wall Street roller coaster ride,certainly hasn’t help. Then today,the National Association of Home Builders [...]

Fannie Mae Offering 3.5 percent Buyer Assistance on HomePath Properties

Fannie Mae announced today that people purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned HomePath property will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance. The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11,2011;and the sale must close on or before June 30,2011 to be eligible for the incentive. Additionally,buyers must reside [...]

Survey shows Americans’gaining confidence in stability of home prices

The Fannie Mae Fourth Quarter National Housing Survey polled homeowners and renters alike to assess their confidence in homeownership as an investment as well as their views on housing finance and the overall economy. The survey revealed that Americans are more confident about the stability of home prices than they were at the beginning of [...]

2011 Real Estate Market Expected to Show Some Improvement

Ah,it is so much fun to be able to write something positive about the real estate market!

According to an economic outlook report just issued by Fannie Mae,our country’s economy should “kick into higher gear”by the second quarter of 2011. This positive outlook is the result of improvements in consumer spending,consumer [...]

Fannie Mae Releases Appraiser Independence Requirements

Dennis Norman

Now that the controversial (to put it mildly) Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has been put to rest as part of The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform,Fannie Mae has released their “Appraiser Independence Requirements“. Fannie Mae says the purpose of these requirements is to:

Protect the independence of appraisers and the [...]

Fannie Mae expands first look initiative;Investors must wait 15 days to buy foreclosure

Dennis Norman

Fannie Mae announced this week that it is expanding the Freddie Mac First Look Initiative so any home shopper can buy a HomeSteps® home as their primary residence during the first 15 days of the property’s listing without competition from investors. HomeSteps is the real estate sales unit of Freddie Mac and [...]

National Housing Survey shows 70 percent think it is a good time to buy a house

Dennis Norman

Fannie Mae conducted a National Housing Survey poll between June 2010 and July 2010 to asses homeowners and renters’confidence in home-ownership as an investment,the current state of their household finances and overall confidence in the economy. The finding from this survey were compared with a similar survey conducted by Fannie [...]

Countrywide VIP Loans To Fannie Mae Execs Are Under Investigation

Dennis Norman

Fannie Mae,after losing $59.8 Billion in 2008 and then $74.4 Billion in 2009,reported yesterday that things are looking up and they lost only $1.2 Billion in the 2nd quarter of this year. This “good”news comes on the heels of documents being released two weeks ago showing that Countrywide made,[...]

Fannie Mae Tightens Underwriting Standards

Fannie Mae Rolls out New Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) Program –Tightens underwriting requirements and aims to reduce borrower fraud.

These rules could derail some closings for buyers who rack up purchases or even take out new store credit cards before their home sales have closed.

[...]

Fannie Mae’s New Rule Punishes Borrowers That ‘Walk-Away’

Dennis Norman

So,you have the money to pay on your ‘underwater’mortgage,or to afford the reduced payment amount offered to you under the HAMP program,but think,rather than throw good money after bad you’ll just do like so many borrowers are doing and ‘walk-away‘?  Well,if you have any plans to [...]

Is The Government Going to Push Us Into Another Housing Bust?

Dennis Norman

UPDATE June 21,2010- I said I would update this post after the proposed rules were published on the Federal Register with info on how to submit a comment -If you would like to comment,see the comment instructions in the Federal Register (I highlighted them) by clicking here -end of update.

[...]

Relief Available For Homeowners with Drywall Issues or Affected by Gulf Oil Spill

Dennis Norman

Last week both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced relief for homeowners with a mortgage insured by either agency (which accounts for over 90 percent of the home loans in the U.S.) that either have drywall problems (the Chinese drywall issue) or are in the Gulf coast area and are affected by [...]

Fannie Mae Issues Guidelines For HAFA Short-Sales and Deed-in-Lieu

UPDATE- June 2,2010:The National Association of REALTORS obtained answers from the Treasury Department on 3 common questions about HAFA:

agents are not permitted to rebate a portion of their commission to the buyer,sellers who are real estate agents must list their home for sale with another broker,not their own broker,and [...]

Can your buyers obtain a mortgage if they have done a short sale or deed-in-lieu?

 

Dennis Norman

No doubt over the next couple of years you will have buyers that were forced to do a short sale or deed-in-lieu in the past,but are ready to buy again. Fannie Mae has made changes to their policy that are going to help these buyers by easing their policies with [...]

Housing Recovery Dependant on Inventory Reduction

Dennis Norman

Housing is stabilizing but excess inventory and shadow supply are hindering recovery according to the April 2010 Economic Outlook released today by Fannie Mae’s Economics &Mortgage Market Analysis Group.

The report projects that new home sales (which are at record lows) will be slow to recover until inventory of existing homes [...]

Housing Recovery ‘Setback’According to Fannie Mae Report

Dennis Norman

According to the Economics and Mortgage Market Analysis report just published by Fannie Mae,the weather was the culprit for the slow-down in home sales at the beginning of this year however,we did not get the boost they were anticipating from the extension of the tax credits.  “Unfortunately,despite the high [...]

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 programs [...]

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 [...]

Home Valuation Code of Conduct;HVCC –What it is and what it isn’t

Dennis Norman

By:Dennis Norman

Practically the entire real estate industry seems to be abuzz about the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) that went into effect May 1st.   I first wrote about it back in early April in a post on this blog.

Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac implemented the new rule there have [...]

Is there financing available for investors? Part 2 of a series

Dennis Norman

By:Dennis Norman

Yesterday I posted part one of my E-View TM with H. John Frank,a highly respected mortgage banker that is the President of Paramount Mortgage Co.

Lets continue with part two of the  E-View TM:

H. John Frank,Jr.,President,Paramount Mortgage

 Q-Investors,even those that are very qualified are [...]

REALTORS(R) Ask that Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) Implementation be delayed

Dennis Norman

By:Dennis Norman

Earlier this month I did a post about the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) which is scheduled to take effect May 1st (click HERE to see post)

Last week,Charles McMillan,the President of the National Association of REALTORS(R) sent letters to Fannie Mae President and CEO Michael [...]

Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) Goes Into Effect May 1st

By:Dennis Norman

After May1st Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will no longer accept loans that do not comply with The new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).

Since between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac they control about 90% of the secondary mortgage market in America this will most likely affect real estate investors one way [...]

Fannie Mae now allows up to 10 financed properties for investors!

By:Dennis Norman

Beginning March 1,2009,new rules will go in effect by Fannie Mae changing the limitation on the number of mortgages an investor may have and still be eligible for Fannie Mae financing from four to up to ten. 

In these very challenging times and,with banks clamping down,this is welcome news [...]