HousingWire says foreclosure sales fell seven percent in May from the previous month to 68,000, the second straight month that figure has declined, according to the Hope Now consortium of lenders, counselors and insurers. Approximately 2.67 million mortgages stayed in 60-day delinquency in May, an increase of one percent over …
Foreclosure Sales Fall in May, but Foreclosures Initiated Rise Read More
MortgageOrb says the U. S. Treasury Department has revised incentive payments to mortgage servicers under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The new directive calls for a sliding scale form of payment that will be instituted October 1. The later in delinquency a loan enters the program, the less the …
Yahoo! Finance says unemployed borrowers with Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed loans will be able to remain in their homes for up to a year without making a payment and stave off foreclosure. T he goal is to allow people to remain in their homes, and thereby reduce the number of …
Government Trying to Ease Burden of Jobless Homeowners Read More
Bloomberg News reports Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan says home prices may start to increase as early as the third quarter, as the rate of foreclosures decline. Speaking on CNN, Donovan says, “The real question is when will we start to see sustainable increases. Some think it …
HousingWire reports rising interest rates in response to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program caused mortgage applications to fall 5.2 percent for the past week on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) went from 4.46 percent to 4.69 percent, and the …
The Ashley County Ledger in Hamburg, Arkansas, reports Mayor Dane Weindorf said at the Hamburg City Council meeting that a representative from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) single-family housing program will be taking applications for home loans ranging from zero percent and up, depending upon income. He suggests …
From New Mexico, the Cibola County Beacon says Gateway Mortgage Group has opened a branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that will specialize in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Section 184 loans. The Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program was established by Congress in 1992 to provide Native Americans with access …
Privately Run Government-Funded Mortgage Program Will Not Finance MH Read More
Fox Business says there are several factors to consider in the housing market this summer. Mortgage rates are at near record lows, and probably will remain low for the summer unless the economy shows signs of strengthening. From 2006 to 2010, the number of owner households dropped by 201,000 each …
The Rapid City Journal reports from South Dakota that average home prices, including manufactured housing, increased $10,000 from last June to $181,500 June 2011 in Rapid City, SD. Linda Rausch, president of the Black Hills Association of Realtors, says demand not inflation has pushed the prices up. Says Rausch, “This …
The Chicago Real Estate Daily says come October, the maximum amount of a government-backed loan in the six-county Chicago area will drop $45,000 to $365,700. Currently a home buyer can put down 3.5 percent on the purchase of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved home costing $424,870, and finance the …
HousingWire says mortgages 90 days or more past due that are classified as seriously delinquent fell in May 22 percent, and mortgages over 30 days due also fell from 5.9 percent last year to 4.3 percent this May. Still, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Treasury …
Government Urges Caution even as Seriously Delinquent Mortgages Fall Read More
Great Britain’s International Business Times says Jerseyville, Illinois, in the southern part of the state near St. Louis, Missouri, is the site for 32 new modular single-family green homes. Each 1,424 square foot three bedroom home in the Lexington Farms development has the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) …
Green Affordable Modular Housing Rises in Illinois Read More
Yahoo! Finance reports The New York Times says in a poll conducted in conjunction with CBS News that nine out of ten Americans still think of home ownership as an important part of the American Dream. As for improving the housing market, 45 percent say the government should be doing …
Americans Still Place High Value on Home Ownership Read More
RealEstateRama says Thayer Long, CEO and president of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), refuted charges by IBIS World Inc., that manufactured housing is a dying industry. While noting the pace of new manufactured homes sales has declined 57 percent in the last five years, the comparable statistic for new single-family …
Thayer Long Responds to IBIS World’s Dire Predictions Read More
Bloomberg reports shipment of manufactured housing in April fell to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 46,000 from 47,000 from March, according to the Census Bureau. The average sales price fell from $59,300 to $56,800 in April. The seasonally-adjusted dealer inventory remained steady at 22,000, while placements dropped from 43,000 to …
HousingWire reports the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says pending home sales rose above year-ago levels for the first time since April 2010, increasing 8.2 percent in May. April 2011 pending sales had decreased 11.6 percent over March, and were down 26.5 percent over April 2010. The NAR’s pending home …
Jason Boehlert at MHI has informed MHMSM.com that the complete final SAFE Act rule is about to be published. The rule will not officially be released in the Federal Register until tomorrow. Deborah Robertson of McGlinchey-Stafford is in the process of compiling a detailed analysis and interpretation of the final …
From Florida, Treasure Coast Palm reports that the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University says that as the burden of taking care of older and larger homes with large lawns weighs on seniors and aging boomers, they will be seeking single-level homes with better access to shopping, transportation …
Concurrent to the news from the Census Bureau, LinkedIn reports from Realtor Magazine the median sale price of new homes rose 2.6 percent in May over April, to $222,600. This marked the first time in six months that number has risen. The normal markup of new homes over existing homes …
Origination News says the Census Bureau reports new home sales fell in May to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 319,000, down from 326,000 in April. Sales fell two percent below April, and 13.5 percent below May 2010. IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport says new home sales are “stuck at the …
