gigaom reports modular home producer Blu Homes has raised $60 million through global equity investment fund manager Skagen Group of the Netherlands. Blu bought the intellectual property rights and modular designs from Michelle Kaufmann Designs last year after that company closed its doors in 2009. As MHProNews reported Jan. 16, …
nationalmortgagenews (NMN) tells MHProNews the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says mortgage applications jumped 11 percent for the week ending Sept. 7 after several weeks of decline. Noting the holiday may have given potential borrowers an extra day to apply online, the trade group says refinancings accounted for 80 percent of …
oaoa reports the Odessa, Texas City Council approved plans for a 100 acre, 1,000 plus homesite manufactured housing community to ease the shortage of housing in the city. Odessa Mayor Larry Melton says, with rental rates going through the ceiling, “It’s a temporary solution to an existing problem,” adding the …
HousingWire reports Ann Fulmer, with fraud analytics firm Interthinx, said the nation’s housing meltdown, with all the mortgage-backed securities litigation, bailouts, lost home equity, and lawsuits cost $13 trillion, almost as much as the $15 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) for 2011. Speaking at a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) gathering, …
CNNMoney reports the $25 billion settlement between the country’s five largest banks and the state attorneys general and federal government has led to JPMorgan Chase offering mortgage relief for thousands of its customers. The settlement gives banks the most credit for loan modifications completed in the first year, so Chase …
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) says the number of improving housing markets increased from 81 in August to 99 in Sept., further indication that the housing market is recovering. Based on employment growth, house price appreciation, and single-family housing permit growth for six …
nationalmortgagenews says according to John Burns Real Estate, before the housing downturn new home sales accounted for 16 percent of sales transactions, falling to five percent as the bottom dropped out. The new-to-existing home sales ratio fell from five to one to 17 to one, but has since climbed back …
According to information from Freddie Mac, as originationnews says, the average for a fixed rate 30-year mortgage fell four points during the week ending Sept. 6 to 3.55%, compared to 4.12% a year ago. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) tells MHProNews mortgage applications have fallen recently but lenders report the …
The Chisago County Press in Lindstrom, Minnesota tells MHProNews the Stonegate MHC is only the fifth community in the state to become owned by the residents. Stonegate Residential Corporation recently closed on the financing to make the 50 home site a co-op with the assistance of NorthCountry Foundation (NCF), which …
In his political blog, Jim Shella of Indianapolis notes U.S. Senate candidate Joe Donnelly chose to tour a vocational school in Indianapolis instead of attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC this week. Responding to Republican opponent Richard Mourdock’s attack ads aligning him with President Obama, Shella notes it …
Democratic Senate Candidate Donnelly Skips Charlotte Read More
originationnews says while home values are expected to rise around four percent this year, the increase is driven more by low inventory than by rising demand. The rise in some markets is due to investors buying especially lower-priced homes, and flipping them in six months to a year as prices …
nationalmortgagenews tells MHProNews the CoreLogic house price index (HPI) rose 1.3 percent in July, marking the fifth consecutive monthly increase, and following the same increase in June over May 2012. The HPI is up 3.8 percent over July 2011, which is the largest increase year-over-year since Aug. 2006. CoreLogic’s chief …
A reader tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal he purchased a new manufactured home in 2006 for $85,000 with $50,000 down and financed the balance for 20 years at 6.5%. The loan balance is $30,500 and the home is assessed at $56,000, but he cannot find a lender to help him …
MHProNews has received communication that the U. S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is offering disaster relief assistance to portions of Mississippi and Louisiana in the wake of damages from Hurricane Isaac following President Obama’s disaster declaration Wed. Aug. 29. Families that have been forced from their homes …
In an indication that home values are rising and that home purchase transactions are slowly increasing, nationalmortgagenews tells MHProNews the two year slide of mortgage debt— mortgage servicing rights, or MSRs— triggered by the housing crisis, has come to an end. Residential consumer debt rose from $8.9 trillion Q1 2012 …
From Q1 2010 to Q1 2012 low-wage occupations grew at a rate 2.7 times faster than those in the middle to higher-wage categories, HousingWire tells MHProNews. According to the advocacy group the National Employment Law Project, 1.7 million of the jobs added the last two years were in the services, …
The Republic reports the Associated Press says the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation) of New Town, North Dakota developed a new manufactured housing community after the 45 site Prairie Winds Trailer Court was sold to oil development company United Prairie Cooperative for employee housing. The tribe invested …
nationalmortgagenews reports the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says July pending home sales rose 2.4 percent over June to a two-year high, after falling in June 1.4 percent from the previous month. The trade group is forecasting home sales will rise nine percent this year and eight percent in 2013, …
Ronnie Richards of American Homestar Corp. tells MHProNews a report by HousingWire reveals while mortgage rates have hit record lows since the beginning of the year, the effective interest rate has not changed because the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) raised its insurance premiums due to its troubled emergency insurance fund, …
Rising FHA Insurance Raises Effective Interest Rate Read More
In research that covers 75 percent of all residential mortgage applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported applications fell 4.3 percent for the week ending Aug. 24. Meanwhile, nationalmortgagenews tells MHProNews refinancings accounted for 79 percent of all applications, as compared to 80 percent the previous week and 81 percent …
