U.S. Housing Market Commentary

Posted by Jacob Gaffney on 3/20/13 at 10:04am

It's a monumental day for anyone involved in mortgage lending in England.

 

 

During the delivery of his 2013 budget to Parliament, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne revealed a sweeping mortgage stimulus package that is modeled after the Federal Housing Administration guarantee.

It's a major vote of confidence for the American model of housing finance, to see a notoriously difficult mortgage market, such as in England, help...

Lending
Posted by Kerri Ann Panchuk on 3/19/13 at 1:52pm
It’s true the mortgage industry has seen brighter days. After all, giving mortgages to anyone who can breath and stand up straight turned out to be a bad idea for players who are no longer in the market.
 
But when will homeowners catch on to the fact that members of Congress – even years after the housing crisis – continue to use mortgage finance and homeowners as an escape route for every mistake, or hidden tax that U.S....
Lending
Posted by Jacob Gaffney on 3/19/13 at 9:41am

The recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch ($13.14 -0.07%) global fund manger survey shows a firm support for the long-term, continued quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's...

Investments
Posted by Megan Hopkins on 3/18/13 at 5:19pm

In February, the National Association of Home Builders released its Blueprint for Appraisal Reform, a thorough examination of the nation’s appraisal system. The blueprint, also known as a white paper, will be used by the NAHB in its advocacy efforts with Congress, regulators and the appraiser community.

But not everyone agrees with what NAHB has to...

Lending
Posted by Christina Mlynski on 3/18/13 at 1:56pm

With Ed DeMarco set to testify Tuesday — and no doubt facing a grilling by members of the House Financial Services Committee — the guessing game of potential nominees to succeed the current acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency continues with no clear decision in sight.

HousingWire’s Jacob Gaffney posted ...

Investments
Posted by Megan Hopkins on 3/15/13 at 4:24pm

Redfin revealed its list of the nation’s fastest real estate markets and, not surprisingly, Dallas was fourth on the list.

To establish what is considered a 'fast real estate market,' Redfin defined it as having the most homes going under contract in 24 hours or less.

All I can think when I read this is, ‘thank goodness I don’t live in Phoenix.’

...

Real Estate
Posted by Brena Swanson on 3/14/13 at 3:54pm

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is going beyond the regulation of mortgages and has its sights set on overseeing non-bank student loan lenders who may end up causing college graduates to miss other major life milestones—such as taking out a mortgage.

Life is comprised of major milestones: first day of school, graduating college, getting married and buying your first house. However, the graduating college milestone is turning into a roadblock rather than a...

Lending
Posted by Marcus McCue on 3/12/13 at 9:05pm

The concept of “housing for one” is a trend we are seeing more and more in the mortgage industry as single Millenials from Generation Y begin entering the marketplace. Also trending for us mortgage originators is that as more couples from other generational groups divorce, leaving one member of the previous relationship to assume or refinance the house under their own name.

These homeowners have unique needs and need mortgages to reflect those...

Lending
Posted by Megan Hopkins on 3/12/13 at 3:02pm

The Millennials, recently deemed the next generation of homebuyers, have earned a new nickname for themselves: the Fix-It Generation.

According to a national survey released by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, 72% of Millennials (those born between 1982 and 2002) consider themselves just as handy — if not more so — than their parents.

Of those surveyed, 77% would prefer purposeful homes...

Real Estate
Posted by Kerri Ann Panchuk on 3/12/13 at 10:13am

You may be of the camp that big banks cannot be aggressively prosecuted because they are too-big-to-fail and will take the rest of America down with them.

On the other hand, you may be someone who sympathizes with protesters on both sides of the aisle who have ranted against the special untouchable legal status that larger institutions seem to benefit from when the risk of drawn out trials and legal measures could disrupt the financial markets.

But the real...

Investments