Pre-purchase financial counseling is getting better all the time, at least that’s what the latest analysis by Freddie Mac shows.
In fact, pre-purchase counseling may reduce the likelihood of a first-time homebuyer becoming seriously delinquent by 29%.
By contrast, an earlier study of similar mortgages financed in the ‘90s estimated that pre-purchase counseling for first-time buyers reduced serious delinquencies by an average of 19%.
Furthermore, the new...
The guessing game of who will succeed current acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Ed DeMarco continues.
The next victim of the rumor mill is Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.
Zandi was an economic adviser to the 2008 presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and currently speaks...
One of my favorite movies, The Graduate, has a famous scene in which this pompous older gentleman takes a young Dustin Hoffman aside and says: “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word… Plastics.”
I couldn’t get that line out of my head as I arrived at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo, which started today. Because there was one word that was on most attendees’ minds: Not plastics, but “...
Randomly pick five articles about the housing market and at least one is guaranteed to be about the new regulations and changes coming from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Since the housing burst in 2008, all eyes have turned to the banks that are “too big to fail.” The CFPB has piled on, creating new regulations and requirements for lenders to ensure another housing bust does not occur.
In a conference call regarding the company’s 2013 first quarter...
There was a time when the covered bond discussion felt important. There was even a chance a covered bond framework could happen.
The bonds, backed by corporate debt and high-quality mortgages, could play a role in the reformation of the nation's housing finance system, its supporters claim.
But now that conversation feels like it will be on hold for a long time.
...
Here’s the deal: home inventory is low, mortgage rates are still amazing and consumer confidence is looking up. Mix ‘em altogether and you have a sizzling hot seller’s market.
In fact, the National Association of Realtors says competing offers for the same homes are rising in more markets. And Freddie Mac predicts that interest rates will likely go lower this spring, and that compared to 2012, home sales will jump 10% in 2013.
This is a market that screams for...
Is there anyone who can take the activities of the Federal Reserve quantitative easing policies and correlate it directly to the so-called housing recovery?
The American Enterprise Institute knows there is, and his name is Christopher Whalen, an investment banker at Carrington Investment Services.
In a talk at the institute Whalen disputes the benefits of quantitative easing, citing a saturation of Keynesian ideologies with a quickly diffusing power of federal cash flow.
...
The financial crisis has raised concerns about the ability of market rules and regulations to ensure truthful disclosure of asset quality. There is good reason to worry.
In a recent paper (available here), we found that at least 10% of the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities sold before the crisis were misrepresented by the bankers who had packaged and sold them.
We also...
The markets for nonagency mortgage bonds is booming.
But how much money do well-placed investors stand to get?
For those who stood by subprime bonds patiently for the last few years, they stand to make a killing.
Thomas Zimmerman of UBS Investment Bank said during a conference at the American Enterprise Institute his nonagency portfolio of subprime, alt-A and options ARMs from the 2006-2008 vintages are doing very well. "Six months ago some of these securities traded at...
For REO agents, a diverse business model is crucial in order to see a strong income stream, according to Bubba Mills, chief operating officer for Corcoran Consulting & Coaching. But what creates a diverse model?
The COO spoke to a full house at the REOMAC 2013 Summit & Expo on Tuesday, focusing specifically on REO agents who have seen a decrease in business since 2012.
Mills noted the importance of open houses, which he adds will inevitably bring leads...
