LinkedIn reports Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), projects previously-occupied homes sales will slowly rise through 2012. Yun says the rising path will be uneven. Speaking at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, he says, “If we just hold at the first-quarter sales …
The Merced Sun-Star of California says a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program may assist eligible homeowners with mortgage payment relief. If 15 percent of their income has been lost because of the economic downturn or a medical emergency, they are three months delinquent, and the mortgage …
HUD Mortgage Relief Plan Assists Homeowners Suffering Income Loss Read More
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reports that builder confidence in July for newly-built, single-family homes rose two points in July over June. While the June number had dropped three points from the previous month, this marks the ninth time out of the last …
Yahoo!Finance reports sales of previously occupied homes are at the slowest rate in 14 years, as sales fell in June for the third month in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Economists predict that low home prices and mortgage rates are not enough to attract potential …
HousingWire says the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports its market composite index for the week ending July 15 saw mortgage applications climb 15.5 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from the previous week, as refinancing increased. On an unadjusted basis the index rose 44 percent. Of all mortgage applications, refinancing made …
Refinancing Mortgage Applications Increase as Rates Fall Read More
National Mortgage News reports the nation’s largest residential mortgage originator saw a decline of 31 percent from the first quarter, funding only $64 billion new home loans in the second quarter 2011. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage non-interest income fell $397 million from the first quarter to $1.6 billion in the …
Mixed News from Largest Residential Mortgage Originator Read More
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department show housing starts for single and multifamily homes increased in June 14.6 percent to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 629,000. Bob Nielsen, chairman of NAHB, called it an encouraging sign, but also noted that lack of …
Origination News says a report by George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis suggests changes in the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) loan limits proposal. The plan to reduce the high end of (FHA) loan limits will not do much for low-income, first time, and minority buyers. Co-author …
HousingWire reports that Freddie Mac says its market outlook expects home sales to increase over last year by three to five percent. Freddie downplays the negative aspects of the economy, unemployment and the debt ceiling issues, not a foreboding of worse news. The rental housing market for the first-quarter 2011 …
Freddie Mac Expects Slow but Steady Housing Market Return Read More
Bluffton Today, of Bluffton, South Carolina, reports members of the town’s Affordable Housing Committee discussed methods of determining how the six affordable modular housing units being built will be sold. Town Growth Management Director Marc Orlando says a consultant has been hired to market the single-family homes, screen applicants for …
The Ottawa Citizen says modular home builder Guildcrest Homes is opening a retail outlet in Carleton Place, a town of 10,000, west of Ottawa, in an attempt to reach out to its customer base. While the 250 homes it builds each year are built in Morewood, this 1,000 square-foot show …
The Laurel Outlook of Laurel, Montana, says the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s office will conduct a public auction sale of 43 manufactured homes August 9 in the Yellowstone County Courthouse. The amount of the delinquent property taxes plus fees, interest and associated costs will be the starting bid for each home. …
NPR News says a nasty ancillary result of the housing crisis is the growth of mold in foreclosed houses, exacerbated by the drawn out process of paperwork, causing many houses to sit closed up for years. Normal comings and goings in a house ventilate the interior, drawing moisture up to …
As Foreclosed Houses Grow, So Grows a Costly By-product Read More
In a communiqué to MHMSM.com, Mountain View Estates community owner David Roden and Spencer Roane, the Georgia Manufactured Housing Association’s (GMHA) Community Owners Representative, have an upcoming meeting with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) officials to discuss housing for disaster victims. Noting that the …
The Times Daily says only 4,712 of the 44,209 loan applications distributed by FEMA across Alabama following the deadly tornadoes of April 27 have been returned. Maximum Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency assistance for a new home, or repairs to a damaged one, is $32,000, not enough for a …
Financial Planning says Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reports household growth should be in the 15 million range between 2010 and 2020. But if history teaches us anything, the real key to housing market recovery is job growth. Eric Belsky, Executive Director of the Center, says, “If employment …
Origination News says under a new home-buyers incentive program by Fifth Third Mortgage Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, borrowers can have a reduced rate on their purchase money mortgage. They can choose to have their basis points lowered by 12.5 basis points over the life of the loan, or by 100 …
Creative Incentives Offered to Attract Home Buyers Read More
HousingWire reports the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will consult with small businesses the next few months to discuss mortgage disclosure forms and review rules under the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) that deal with mortgages. The bureau has 100 employees ready for the July 21 launch of the CFPB. The agency …
MHMSM.com today received from Thayer Long, Executive Director of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), that association’s position paper on a critical Industry subject. In noting the impact of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank) on manufactured housing, MHI says the unintended consequences of the bill …
HousingWire reports for the first time since the housing tax credits ended in June 2010 that home sales have spiked in Southern California. San Diego-based DataQuick says June over May 2011 sales increased 11.6 percent, but still 14 percent below June 2010 for this populous six county area. June is …
Southern California Housing Market Slowly Improving Read More
