Flashback to 2008 and you may recall the hot summer with skyrocketing gas prices that passed right before the financial markets collapsed.
What has been lost in all the financial news as of late is just how high energy prices soared in 2008, placing extreme pressures on consumers before the meltdown.
Perhaps, high gas prices were not the cause of the crisis, but they certainly put a squeeze on spending, adding to the pain.
It’s easy to forget the...
If there’s one fundamental trait that connects every analysis for the main cause of the financial crisis, it's bad mortgages.
At least, that’s what Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., reiterated — twelve times — in his testimony Wednesday during a hearing on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s "failures" at the U.S. Housing Financial...
With the argument for the short sale all the rage these days, foreclosures are getting a bad name. But according to data from RealtyTrac, in some markets, it really is better to buy a foreclosure.
The year-end report by RealtyTrac released in February revealed a 6% drop in sold foreclosures during the year.
Even further, foreclosure-related sales accounted for 21% of all U.S. residential sales...
A few weeks back, we announced that HousingWire was launching the Real Estate Tech:50, a list of the top 50 firms in real estate technology. See the press announcement here.
It's completely free to nominate a firm, and the deadline to submit a tech firm for consideration is this March 15.
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency outlined the initial steps it would like to take to create a new business entity outside of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to serve as a platform for a new secondary mortgage market this week.
But Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage...
During a HousingWire webinar called "Short Sale Process with Chase Bank," vice president of short sales Bill Carr declared the lender is looking to close short sales in less than 30 days.
"We are doing everything we can to avoid foreclosure," Carr said during the exclusive webinar presentation with Bubba Mills, COO and Managing...
"I Want More Time."
Lenders/servicers are often confronted with emergency motions or petitions by borrowers on the eve of sheriff's sale or lock-out seeking continuances for more time to: be evaluated for loan modifications (though not available to borrowers in ejectment, borrowers still think they are); sell the collateral; allow their children to finish the school year; pack; or make alternate living arrangements.
In these cases, homeowners facing ejectment have done very...
On Monday, Forbes released their list of the world's billionaires. Coming in at No. 384, Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, was reported to have a net worth of $3.5 billion, and it's not surprising. Quicken Loans is one of the largest online home lenders and retail lenders in America.
I chose to do a little...
The state of Florida is riddled with verified sinkholes, a realization that becomes strikingly clear when reviewing a CoreLogic heat map that highlights verified sinkholes in the state. (See chart below)
The same areas peppered with confirmed sinkholes became the subject of national press reports when a Florida man lost his life as his bedroom was swallowed by a massive sinkhole. CoreLogic found 16 verified sinkholes within a mile of the impacted residence....
Flip through any major news channel, click through links to a publication's website or if you're a fan of traditional newspapers, pick up the latest copy of any major publication and the headlines are the same: the housing market has finally gained momentum and is making a comeback.
The stories will include positive examples such as record low mortgage rates, a decline in foreclosures and rising home prices.
However, what the stories won't usually tell you is that those of us...
