OriginationNews says according to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings rose seven percent in October, but have declined by 31 percent from a year ago. However, the report indicates a backlog of foreclosures that have not been filed, that some megabanks are waiting for the pending robo-signing settlement. One attorney says he has …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announces the appointment of John Courson to head the Home Builders Institute (HBI), the non-profit workforce development division of NAHB. His focus at HBI will be in job placement, mentoring, training, and developing new revenue streams. Says Donald Pratt, chairman of HBI’s Board …
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 …
RealtorMag reports a study by Builder Magazine and Hanley Wood Market Intelligence says urban areas with large universities, military bases, and strong private sector employment will drive the eight healthiest housing markets in 2012. Based on expected price appreciation, population growth, income growth, and improving employment picture, and factoring in …
Bradenton reports Champion Commercial Structures, a division of Champion Homes, will team with Russell Building Group to build 83 housing units for Flint, Michigan’s, Smith Village Neighborhood. Funded by a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant, the homes will replace thousands of dilapidated houses that were demolished, with low to …
HousingWire reports housing prices fell 1.1 percent in Sept., marking the second straight month drop, according to the CoreLogic home price index. Single-family home prices fell 4.1 percent from Sept. 2010, and excluding distressed sales, dropped 1.1 percent from a year earlier. Core Logic Chief Economist Mark Fleming says prices …
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 …
CNBC reports following consolidation in the MH industry, surviving companies are targeting the energy efficient home-building market. “Manufactured homes offer quality housing at costs from 10 to 35 percent less than site-built construction. As people continue to see utility costs rise with inflation, they will appreciate the cost savings achievable …
TheTimesandDemocrat in South Carolina reports the law has finally caught up with Ifrom Colter for allegedly bilking numerous people out of thousands of dollars for manufactured homes that were never delivered. Arrested in Orangeburg County on five counts of breach of trust, authorities know of $65,000 he has alleged to …
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 …
MarketWatch reports that Champion Homes, Inc. has developed a marketing tool that will enable potential buyers to view different options on a manufactured or modular home by clicking on to Champion’s website. DiVE IN (Design Interactive Viewing Experience) offers a “virtual tour” of different floor plans, kitchen layouts, flexible spaces, …
TheGazette reports from Iowa City, Iowa, that Regency Mobile Home Park in Johnson County has been the target of complaints in recent years for poor water quality, abandoned homes, and charges of fraud. Johnson County does not have jurisdiction over enforcing improvements to the 230 homesite community; its board of …
SavannahNow reports the first of six modular homes that comprise the Wharf Street affordable housing project in Bluffton, South Carolina, just west of Hilton Head, is set to arrive this week. General contractor Beaufort Construction, Inc., has been building the foundations while the houses are being manufactured by Crestline Custom …
MyDesert reports the legal division of the California Department of Housing and Community Development says Desert Hot Springs violated state law when it attempted to impose impact fees amounting to over $500,000 on the owners of Palm View Estates MHC. The city had assessed Palm View $7,000 for each manufactured …
UticaObserverDispatch in New York reports the site of the former Lincoln School in West Utica will be home to seven modular homes for first time buyers with low-to-moderate incomes. The Monday groundbreaking for the $1.5 million project by Rebuild Mohawk Valley will result in a more stable neighborhood, increased property …
MHProNews has learned of a letter sent to the Minot Daily News from a woman whose single-mother daughter wisely moved her manufactured home out of the flood zone in advance of the raging Souris River this past spring, but now has no place to site it. The original community, Valerie …
LIBN reports from Smithtown on Long Island in New York that Veritas Villages of America plans to build 560 affordable modular homes, apartments and townhouses for U.S. military veterans and their families. Veritas intends to win grants from the federal government to provide veterans housing and qualify for the HUD-VASH …
Roll Call: Vets to Muster in Modular Home Community Read More
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
BoonvilleDailyNews reports from Boonville, Missouri, that modular home builder Fuqua Building Systems closed its plant here and its office in Bend, Oregon, earlier this month after over 40 years in business. At one time employing 175 in Boonville, Fuqua had ceased operations in May after a series of layoffs since …
