Housing Wire

MBA: Prime ARMs Set Tone for Troubled Mortgages in Q2

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:07:35 +0000

More than nine percent of U.S. mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of the second quarter, as both major categories of borrower default activity hit new records, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Friday morning. We probably don’t need to tell you that’s a lot; most HW readers won’t be surprised to [...]

S&P: Subprime MBS Losses Nearly Over

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:19:18 +0000

Subprime mortgage bond losses may be nearing the end, according to a published report Friday citing Standard & Poor’s chief credit officer Mark Adelson. The S&P exec said losses are being “double counted” by many because so much private-party subprime MBS is held by CDOs, and suggested true subprime losses would total roughly $550 billion. [...]

DebtX Pushes CMBS Pricing Data to Bloomberg

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:05:09 +0000

DebtX, a large online marketplace for commercial debt, said Thursday that its commercial loan pricing data is now available to Bloomberg subscribers via the Bloomberg Professional service, marking the first time is the first time the underlying CRE loan pricing data in a CMBS issue is available to the entire market. DebtX’s DXMark platform enables investors [...]

Popular Mortgage Servicing Ratings Affirmed; Delinquencies Nearing 30 Percent

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:33:27 +0000

New Jersey-based Popular Mortgage Servicing Inc., a large subprime servicer, saw its U.S. primary residential servicer rating for subprime product affirmed by Fitch Ratings Friday at ‘RPS2-.’ Fitch rates servicers on a 1 through 5 scale, with 1 representing the best possible rating. As of Jan. 31, PMSI serviced over 82,600 loans totaling over $11.6 billion. [...]

Asking Prices Resume Downward Trend; Summer’s Glow Gone?

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:11:21 +0000

Asking home prices resumed their downward trending in August, portending the end of a likely small seasonal bump in prices, according to a report released Thursday by research firm Altos Research and market analysis specialist Real IQ. The data, an early indicator of actual selling prices, suggests that sellers are again dropping their asking prices [...]

Bair: Credit Mess “Far From Over”

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:32:58 +0000

Saying that the current credit crunch is nowhere near done, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman Sheila Bair urged banks to raise loss reserves and raise capital. In remarks delivered Friday at a Florida Bankers Association event in Sarasota, Bair said banking results for the second quarter were “dismal,” and like to get worse going forward [...]

Mortgage REIT Insider: At Thornburg, a Never-Ending Story

PATRICK HARDEN — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:46:50 +0000

While the news in the mortgage REIT sector has slowed to a trickle after the frenzy of second quarter earnings, there have been a few interesting developments of late. Subprime mREIT ECC Capital, which delisted its shares and sold off its origination platform to Bear Stearns & Cos. last year, has managed to stay alive and [...]

Columbia Bancorp to Exit Mortgage Business

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:18:42 +0000

Columbia Bancorp (CBBO: 4.09 -0.97%), the holding company of Columbia River Bank, said Friday it will exit the mortgage business and eliminate nearly 75 jobs. The Oregon-based company said in a press statement that it was looking to “streamline its overall business operations in response to the current banking environment.” “Columbia’s decision to no longer operate [...]

Merrill Downgraded; Lehman Looks to 80s For Inspiration

PAUL JACKSON — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:15:41 +0000

Wall Street continued to struggle with the aftermath of the mortgage market collapse on Friday, with a well-known analyst cutting Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER: 26.73 +1.98%) to a sell rating over mortgage-led concerns, while battered Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH: 16.20 +6.79%) saw the latest rumors around the firm center on a possible creation [...]

Ocwen Touts Drop in Subprime Delinquencies

PAUL JACKSON — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:53:14 +0000

Subprime servicing giant Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN: 7.02 -0.14%) took the unusual step of launching a press offensive Thursday, touting a recent drop in subprime delinquencies among the loans it services. The company’s portfolio covers a significant portion of the subprime market — through its subsidiary, Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, the company services approximately 350,000 [...]