According to zerohedge.com, the uptick in home prices is transitory and more due to the Federal Reserve’s support of the economy than with organic growth or stability of consumers, as the homeownership rate is stuck at an 18-year low at 65.1 percent, and rents rise to an all-time high, increasing …
Following the bursting of the housing bubble, lenders were requiring 20 percent down on loans or else consumers had to go with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for a low down-payment loan. Now some banks are offering mortgages for as little as five percent down, according to CNNMoney. The FHA’s …
The wbjournal reports a Northborough, Massachusetts company that provides lending services to buyers of manufactured homes is expanding its offices beyond New England into New York, Maryland and Delaware. Chris Schofield founded Priority Funding in 2003, and after originating approximately 3,500 loans, has decided he has maximized his potential in …
A regular feature on Google’s search engine page, Google Doodles celebrates anniversaries, occasions and events. Today honors the birth in France on Nov. 5, 1893 of Raymond Loewy, designer of everything from automobiles to Coca-Cola vending machines to cigarette packaging to the Greyhound Scenicruiser, as well as logos for Shell, …
Birthday Today: Raymond Loewy, “Father of Industrial Design” Read More
Following a story MHProNews published Oct. 24, 2013 regarding a pilot project to replace ten aging factory-built homes with new energy efficient manufactured homes in Vermont, realestaterama reports the occupants will see an immediate 70 percent reduction in their energy costs. The new dwellings feature triple pane windows, heat recovery …
Project Replaces Aging Dwellings with New Manufactured Homes Read More
Billionaire real estate investor Sam Zell says the trend to defer marriage to later in life has been lucrative for apartments and condos across the nation, saying that has been the most significant reason for the strength of the current multifamily real estate market. While he also noted the hospitality …
While the cost of manufactured goods has declined in the last 30 years, some significantly, the price of some services has skyrocketed. TV sets have fallen 98 percent, clothing 46 percent and toys have dropped 78 percent, due mostly to automation and supply chain management, as manufacturing goes through what …
The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices show an average price growth year-over-year in August of 12.8 percent for the 10-and 20-city composites, according to HousingWire. On a monthly basis, the composites rose 1.3 percent in August, with Las Vegas hitting 2.9 percent, its highest rate since August 2004. Detroit and …
Large Metro Areas see Home Prices Rise, says S&P Case Shiller Read More
Addressing the Mortgage Banker’s Association’s (MBA) annual convention, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex), stating the Dodd-Frank Act is the real barrier to mortgage finance reform, says it could raise interest rates from one to four percentage points and reduce the number of mortgages by half. HousingWire reports the chairman of the …
Rep. Jeb Hensarling: Dodd-Frank Extends Woes of Mortgage Finance Industry Read More
The members of a panel at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) annual convention say the 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) is so ingrained in the system that removing it would have unintended consequences. William McCue of McCue Mortage says nearly all of his loans are for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured …
FHA’s Carol Galante: Stable Housing Finance Awaits Read More
With more than 30 years of experience as a housing scholar and expert in the field of mortgage finance and housing policy, Kent Colton, president of The Colton Housing Group & Senior Scholar at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, will present “Framing the Future of Housing …
While mortgage lending in rural areas expanded last year as did as did overall lending, rural applicants are more likely to be denied and to pay higher interest rates than urban borrowers. While 21 percent of rural applicants were denied a loan last year–some 500,000– the overall rate for the …
Rural Mortgage Borrowers Hit Harder than Urban Brethren Read More
According to nationalmortgagenews, the National Association of Realtors pending sales index (PSI) dropped more than expected in September, minus six percent, following a two percent drop in August, 2013. The PSI tracks sales contract signings, and is now 1.2 percent below the level of signings last Sept. NAR Chief Economist …
Mark Wilson of non-profit affordable housing developer Community Frameworks in Spokane, Washington, noting that multi-generational living is coming back, is seeking a family to purchase an elder cottage as a model for the organization. He says, “An elder cottage is a small, energy-efficient, self-contained home designed to be placed adjacent …
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Edward DeMarco says he plans to reduce the government service enterprise (GSEs) loan limits which will increase private sector participation in the mortgage market, according to nationalmortgagenews. He also intends to gradually increase the guarantee fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders. …
DeMarco will Increase Private Sector Participation Read More
Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who serves as Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, is garnering support to encourage Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray to postpone implementation of the new mortgage rules set to take effect in Jan. 2014, until …
NECN reports the Vermont Manufactured Housing Innovation Project will begin replacing ten aging factory-built homes with new energy efficient manufactured homes in a pilot project funded by non-profits, tax rebates, and fixed bank rates. As MHProNews has learned, 15 percent of the homes damaged or destroyed in Vermont during Tropical …
While unemployment fell to a five-year low in September, hitting 7.2 percent, down .01 percent from August, non-farm payrolls rose by only 148,000 jobs. Says Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics, “The unemployment rate keeps edging lower, but the Fed seems to be more focused on the drop-off in the pace …
Employment for Young Renters and Homebuyers Remains Sluggish Read More
The national foreclosure inventory continues to fall, decreasing 32 percent since Sept 2012, according to what Lender Processing Services (LPS) tells nationalmortgagenews, with 1.3 million housing units in the foreclosure pre-sale inventory. LPS’ loan-level database covers approximately 70 percent of the market total, MHProNews has learned. While delinquencies have fallen …
The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) and builderonline.com report that Clayton Homes of Maryville, Tennessee is the nation’s largest homebuilder. With over 1.5 million homes built since 1934, and numerous awards for design and construction, Clayton builds manufactured and modular homes, as well as commercial and educational buildings, through 35 facilities …
Clayton Homes Billed as Nation’s Largest Homebuilder Read More
