HousingWire reports the cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has risen $10 billion in one year, to $28 billion, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The $28 billion does not include the $29 billion committed to housing initiatives such as HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program). Housing programs …
CBSLocal reports from Van Nuys, California, the 89 year-old estranged father of actress Jodie Foster may be looking at cell bars instead of his daughter’s films. Lucius Fisher Foster III allegedly took $5,000 from 20 people in the San Fenando Valley and promised them a low cost modular home, stalling …
HousingWire reports mortgage applications spiked 10.3 percent last week on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) market composite index. On an unadjusted basis the index increase amounted to 9.9 percent. Mortgage refinance applications accounted for 78.6 percent of all applications, an increase from 77.1 percent last …
VancouverSun reports the brothers Goodjohn were at the edge of disaster a couple of years ago with their high-end modular business, and now have ten office employees, 30 on the production line, and sales approaching $20 million. Businessman W. Brett Wilson helped Karoleena, Inc., develop a business plan and invested …
TheStreet reports the one of the best investments outside the stock and bond market is in multi-family housing. A report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies says from 2006 to 2010, the number of renter households increased by 692,000 per year while owner households fell 201,000 annually. Real …
NationalMortgageNews reports the Senate Banking Committee wants to know why government sponsored enterprise (GSE) executives are receiving millions of dollars in bonuses while the government is keeping the mortgage giants afloat. Since the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) took over the GSEs in Sept. 2008, the FHFA has propped them …
MHProNews has learned in a report from DSnews the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) has redesigned HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) to bolster more underwater homeowners, and thereby buoy the housing market a little longer. Originally, only those who owed more than 25 percent above the value of their home …
The New HARP: Performing for a Larger Underwater Audience Read More
MHProNews has learned from NationalMortgageNews the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) now estimates it will cost $52 billion less to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of better than expected results of the GSEs (government sponsored enterprises). The agency’s original estimate was between $221 billion to $330 billion, …
Bailout Estimate Falls. FHFA Funds GSEs; GSEs Pay FHFA Dividends. Any Questions? Read More
MankatoFreePress reports a unique program to rid St. Peter, Minnesota, of pre-HUD Code manufactured homes will be expanded to include properties in two additional land lease communities (LLCs) in town–Summit and Mar Wey. The program began last winter in the Green Valley community, where four homes have been razed and …
Incentives to Replace pre-HUD Code Homes, Rehab Newer Ones Read More
CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 207 points during the day to close at 11,706.62, a loss of -1.74 percent, as jittery investors responded to falling financial stocks and concern over the proposed meeting tomorrow of European heads of state trying to iron out the region’s debt problems. …
HousingWire reports Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance says over the last month, the time required to approve a mortgage grew from 30 days to between 45 and 60 days. The company’s Housing Pulse survey states lenders are having to spend more time dealing with mortgage refinancing. Appraisal issues with property damage on …
HousingWire reports the son of former Senator and U.S. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey will join the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to head the Office of Older Americans. Hubert “Skip” Humphrey III served 16 years as Minnesota’s attorney general and most recently was head of the Minnesota AARP (American Association of …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports that confidence among home builders for single-family dwellings rose four points to 18 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), the largest monthly increase since the tax credit program of April 2010. Based on builders’ perceptions of current home sales and …
pressofAtlanticCity reports the opening of a new modular home builder and sales office in Ship Bottom, New Jersey, has been delayed while the state Department of Transportation (DOT) approves changes to the site that once housed a gas station. Developer Nicholas Garofolo has plans for the once-acre site to include …
Modular Builder Opening Design Center Near Jersey Shore Read More
tradershuddle reports from White Plains, NY that Drew Industries, Inc., will release its third quarter financials before the market opens Nov. 2, and then host a webcast for institutional investors and analysts later that day at 11 AM with a Q & A call-in. Other investors, traders and the media …
HousingWire reports from San Francisco that while the number of houses sold increased Sept. 2010 to Sept. this year by 6.6 percent, the usual Aug.-Sept. seasonal drop in home prices was 10.2 percent. John Walsh, president of DataQuick says what’s interesting is what is not happening. He says, “While there …
HousingWire reports the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) says the measure of loan application volume rose 1.3 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis this past week. The refinance and purchase indices each increased just over one percent, driven by government loans. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) increased 0.07% to 4.25, while the …
OriginationNews reports that two years after leaving affordable housing developer Bridge Housing Corporation to run the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) multi-family program, Carol Galante is operating the entire agency. After David Stevens left the FHA to head the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA), Galante has become the acting commissioner. She now …
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports Saralake Estates LLC was sold to NHCFL138 LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, for $10.55 million. The purchase of the 200 homesite MHC was financed by General Electric Capital Corporation with a loan of $7.35 million. The new owner, a company controlled by National RV Communities LLC, has …
Bloomberg reports Peter R. Orszag, vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, says the weak housing market holds down the weak economy, and vice versa. He says the quickest path to economic recovery would be for the government to …
Immediate Depreciation for Abandoned House Investment Could Spur Economy Read More
