Foreclosure-hud

FHA FLIPS ANTI-FLIPPING RULE

2010-02-02T12:06:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Realtor.org) – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) yesterday relaxed what is known as the “anti-flipping rule.”

FHA now provides mortgage insurance for some purchases in which the seller bought the property and held it for fewer than 90 days.

The change was made to speed up sales of renovated homes in communities with too many bank-owned and foreclosed homes, said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens.

TEXAS HOME FORECLOSURE RATES LESS THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE

2010-01-31T12:49:00.000-08:00

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – RealtyTrac’s annual foreclosure report, released yesterday, revealed Texas metro rates to be under the national average of 2.21 percent.

Austin and Round Rock area foreclosure rates increased 39.5 percent between 2008 and 2009. About 1.25 percent of all housing units, or one in every 80 homes, foreclosed last year, and 8,002 homeowners filed. This was an increase of 54.6 percent from 2007. Of the 203 metros ranked nationwide for foreclosures, the area was ranked 117th.

Dallas–Fort Worth ranked 94th with a 1.5 percent foreclosure rate, and Houston was 111th with 1.3 percent of its area homes foreclosed upon. San Antonio ranked 109th in RealtyTrac’s report, with a 1.31 percent foreclosure rate.

Texas Foreclosure Properties

2010-01-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's going to be harder to get a government-backed mortgage from now on.

Looking to shore up its weakening finances, the Federal Housing Administration is set to announce stricter standards on Wednesday.

The agency, which insured nearly a third of new mortgages in 2009, will increase the premium it charges for its mortgage insurance and require those with weaker credit scores to come up with larger downpayments.

The FHA will also reduce the amount of money a seller can provide a homebuyer for closing costs, as well as tighten its enforcement of lenders.

"Striking the right balance between managing the FHA's risk, continuing to provide access to underserved communities, and supporting the nation's economic recovery is critically important," FHA Commissioner David Stevens said in a statement. "Importantly, FHA will remain the largest source of home purchase financing for underserved communities."

FHA loans have skyrocketed in popularity during the mortgage crisis since the agency backstops banks if borrowers stop paying. But housing experts are growing increasingly concerned about the agency's ability to handle rising numbers of defaults. (Cash cushion shrivels for FHA.)

In November, the agency reported that its reserve fund has dropped to .53% of its insurance guarantees, well below the 2% ratio mandated by Congress and the 3% ratio it had last fall. The fund covers losses on the mortgages the agency insures.

Federal housing officials, who took several steps to shore up the agency's finances last year, promised to do more at a congressional hearing in December. The new announcement is the latest set of changes to FHA policies.

What the new rules mean
FHA is making these changes in order to bring its reserve fund up back up to the 2% ratio, Stevens said in a conference call with reporters. However, the agency also wants to make sure that the new rules don't disrupt the housing market and don't hurt FHA's ability to assist the underserved.

The agency will increase its up-front mortgage insurance premium to 2.25%, from 1.75%. It will also ask Congress for the right to hike its ongoing premium, currently as much as .55% monthly. The agency will then shift some of the increase in the up-front premium to the ongoing charge.

Raising the premium is the best way to add to the reserve fund, Stevens said.

The move isn't likely to hurt borrowers much, said Thomas Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting. Most homebuyers will likely finance it so it will only bump up their monthly payments by a little.

"This doesn't increase the amount they need to bring to the closing table," Lawler said.

The FHA will also require borrowers to have at least a credit score of 580 to qualify for the agency's 3.5% downpayment program. Those with lower scores will have to pay at least 10%. However, this rule may have little practical effect since Stevens recently said the average borrower score is 693.

The new policy also will reduce the amount of money sellers can provide to homebuyers at closing to 3%, down from 6%, of the home's price. That change will bring the agency in line with industry standards and remove the incentive to inflate appraisals.

Finally, officials plan to clamp down on lenders offering FHA mortgages. The agency will more closely monitor their performance, as well as seek legislative authority to require mortgage firms to assume liability for all loans they originate and underwrite. It will also publicly report lender performance data.

One thing the agency did not do is to broadly increase the downpayment requirement. Many industry observers said such a step is necessary to reduce FHA loans' high delinquency rates. Borrowers with little equity in their homes are more likely to default or walk away.

The agency has seen a spike in delinquencies amid the mortgage meltdown. Some 14.36% of FHA loans were past due in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This compares to 9.64% of all loans.

"They are not addressing the fundamental issue -- that FHA loans are too risky," said real estate finance consultant Edward Pinto, former chief credit officer for Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) in the late 1980s. Borrowers "need more skin in the game."

FHA did not increase minimum downpayments more broadly because its borrowers with credit scores above 580 were generally timely with their payments.

"The reason why we drew the line at 580 is that there are clear performance drop offs as you drop down credit score tiers," Stevens said.

Agency plays crucial role
As banks have clamped down on mortgage lending, the FHA program has emerged as one of the few ways people can buy a home.

Banks are more willing to make FHA loans because they come with a federal guarantee to cover losses if the borrower defaults. And borrowers can more easily qualify for FHA loans because they only need 3.5% down and can have lower credit scores.

As a result, demand for FHA loans has exploded. The agency guaranteed more than $360 billion in single-family mortgages in fiscal 2009, which ended Sept. 30, more than four times the volume in 2007.

The agency insured about 30% of home purchases and 20% of refinanced mortgages in 2009. Nearly 50% of first-time homebuyers go through the agency.

Source: CNNMoney.com

McKinney Foreclosures

$8 Million in Assets Can't Get Mortgage

2010-01-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The wealthy have money problems, too -- yeah they do.

Even refinancing a mortgage for their fancy digs or getting a new loan can be near impossible these days thanks to skittish lenders. And the higher the loan value, the more they worry.

Still, that people with high six-figure incomes, stellar credit histories and gobs of assets get mortgage requests turned down seems weird.

"It's amazing really," said Susan Bruno, a financial planner with Beacon Wealth Consulting in Rowayton, Conn., "but it makes sense when you think about it."

For one thing, many rich folks have fallen behind on their loans. About 12% of U.S. mortgages of $1 million and larger were late this fall, twice the rate for loans under $250,000 and nearly triple the default rate on million dollar mortgages 12 months earlier, according to First American CoreLogic Inc., a California-based research firm.

Hard to get jumbos
It was so simple to get jumbo loans just a few years ago. The wealthy barely had to pay a 0.2 percentage point premium over a conforming loan, according to Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates, a publisher of mortgage information.

Lenders made the loans more expensive because they are too large to be bought or backed by the government through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Today the increased risk is worth about 0.8 percentage points, although that is down from the high of about 1.8 points in late 2008.

"The pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other. Banks are going overboard," said Lyle Benson, a financial planner and member of the executive board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

That includes asking the affluent for down payments well in excess of the traditional 20%, according to Bruno. Some lenders want loan-to-value ratios to be closer to 60%, even 50%, which means putting 40% or 50% down. Or, on a million-dollar home, having $500,000 ready to hand over.

And all the other underwriting aspects of the loan have to be in place as well, something that can be difficult to demonstrate with some wealthy clients, whose income and assets can be complicated.

They could always buy a $24 million condo on Utopia
One client of Benson's, with $8 million in assets, wanted to refinance the mortgage on his primary residence.

A self-made man, he had sold a business and put much of the proceeds in a charitable remainder unitrust that paid him $150,000 a year. He took paper losses in his stock portfolio against that income, however, which lowered his taxable income. The cash flow stayed intact but the income he showed was much lower.

"The loan officer didn't understand it," said Benson, "and the bank declined the loan."

Double decline for second home
Susan Bruno has a client who was turned down for a mortgage twice -- despite an 800 credit score, more than adequate down payment and plenty of income.

The problem was that the client wanted to buy a second home. And because the client would not, could not, swear that he would occupy the home at least 75% of the time, lenders weren't interested.

"Mortgages for second homes have been tough to get the past couple of years," said Gumbinger. "A lot of second-home areas, like in Florida and Arizona, are among the most challenging markets."

Plus, defaults on second-home mortgages are often handled differently than those of primary homes. The mortgage balances, for instance, can be reduced in bankruptcy court -- "crammed down" in industry parlance -- to their market values. That can wipe out a good portion of what borrowers owe, which banks hate. As a result, they often require a 50% down payment for second homes.

All in all, the wealthy simply have financial problems that we ordinary mortals can only dream of. Take the doctor client of Bruno's with a home on 19 expensive acres of Connecticut countryside. He had more land than he needed and some time ago toyed with the idea of subdividing and selling it off.

Well, the market changed and he shelved the idea -- but only after taking some preliminary steps. Last year, when he tried to refinance his mortgage, this rose up to bite him. His bank wouldn't count the sub-dividable land, worth $8 million, as collateral because it was now a separate parcel.

"[His bank] only counted the house and a small piece of land," said Bruno. "His lenders limited him to a loan of $1.3 million."

For Bruno, that's part of a trend of lenders falling back on rules and guidelines that make little sense sometimes when dealing with the individual cases presented by some high net-worth individuals.

"There's no appropriate business judgment these days," she said.

Aren't you glad you're not rich?

Source: CNNMoney.com

Luxury Homes Dallas

States urge action on foreclosures

2010-01-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Cut loan principal for borrowers whose homes are worth much less than their mortgages. Attack the problem of option adjustable rate mortgages. Cut down on red tape.

Those are some of the ideas in a plan issued Wednesday by a group of state officials who have been working for more than two years to stem the foreclosure tide.

The state attorneys general and banking regulators urged the Obama administration and loan servicing firms to step up their efforts.

"Potential foreclosures are being built up in the system, said Tom Miller, Iowa's attorney general. "The efforts really need to be more efficient more effective more timely on behalf of the servicers."

Under the administration's program, eligible borrowers can see their monthly mortgage payments reduced to no more than 31% of pre-tax income. So far, the effort has helped about 66,500 people, with another 787,200 homeowners in trial modifications.

Reduce loan principal: State officials say that servicers should cut the loan balances of homeowners, in addition to reducing interest rates and extending the terms of the loan. This is especially true in places where property values have plummeted. Reducing principal will make it less likely that homeowners will default on their modified loans.

Pay attention to option ARMs: More than 40% of these complex mortgages are delinquent. Even worse, over the next two years, many will adjust, driving up borrowers' monthly payments. Servicers need to address these loans before they fall into foreclosure.

Limit required paperwork: Many homeowners are not receiving permanent modifications under the president's plan because they haven't submitted all their documents. Treasury Department officials should reduce the amount of paperwork borrowers are required to file and speed up the debut of a central portal where homeowners can submit the forms. The portal is currently set to launch at the end of March.

Expand counseling and mediation efforts: State should expand their housing counseling and mediation programs, which require homeowners and servicers to meet before the completion of the foreclosure process.

Suspend foreclosure proceedings: Treasury officials should amend the president's program so that the entire foreclosure process is halted when a borrower applies for the president's program. Currently, only the sale is stopped.

Help the unemployed: Treasury officials and servicers should do more to assist the unemployed so they do not fall into foreclosure. A growing number of borrowers with good credit backgrounds are behind in their payments because of the weak economy.

Source: CNNMoney.com

Home prices: First drop in 7 months

2010-01-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home prices fell in November for the first time in seven months, according to a industry report released Tuesday.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index recorded a non-seasonally adjusted decline of 0.2% from October. Prices were down 5.3% compared with 12 months ago.

The loss was unexpectedly large. Experts had forecast that prices would be off by only 5% compared with last November, according to Briefing.com. The lone good news is that the rate of year-over-year declines have continued to shrink.

"While we continue to see broad improvement in home prices as measured by the annual rate, the latest data show a far more mixed picture when you look at other details." said David M. Blitzer, spokesman for Standard & Poor's. "Only five of the markets saw price increases in November versus Ocotber."

Four markets covered by the index -- Charlotte, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa -- hit their lowest index levels in four years, according to Blitzer. Any gains they recorded in recent months have been erased.

The five markets that showed month-over-month gains were led by Phoenix, where prices rose 1.1%. Thirteen markets had declines, with Chicago being the biggest loser at 1.1% down. Miami and Dallas showed no change.

Blitzer cautioned, however, that November is a weak time of year for home sales so this might not be a harbinger. In fact, when the data are adjusted for seasonal variations, 14 of the markets recorded gains.

Several markets have been on a strong positive run. Prices have risen in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco for at least six consecutive months. Year over year, Dallas, Denver, San Diego and San Francisco have all entered positive territory, something not seen in at least two years in most markets.

The report failed to stir much passion on the part of industry observers, one way or another. Stuart Hoffman, chief economist with PNC Financial Services called it "not disappointing, considering the big run-up in prices for months before."

He expects continued weakness in home prices through the slow winter months followed by some gains in the spring when the current homebuyer tax credit is scheduled to expire. That should bring out a rush of house hunters looking to beat the deadline. Overall, Hoffman forecasts a flat 2010 -- not a bad thing after the steep drops of the past three years.

"The furious ride down on home sales and prices is pretty much behind us," he said. "I don't think we're going up anytime soon. We've hit the flat part of the roller-coaster ride."

Pat Newport, a real estate analyst for IHS Global Insight pointed out the fall had very favorable buying conditions. Not only was the first-time homebuyer tax credit boosting demand for homes, but mortgage rates were at extreme lows with 30-year, fixed-rate loans available for under 5%.

"It was a good time to buy, and we saw that in the sales numbers," he said.

He doesn't believe we have hit the price bottom, yet. "Most experts think prices are going to drop more, 5% or so, by the end of 2010," he said.

Bank of America steps up foreclosure prevention efforts

2010-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- One roadblock slowing President Obama's foreclosure prevention program seems to be clearing away. Bank of America, the nation's largest mortgage lender, said Tuesday that it was the first lender to agree to lower or eliminate payments on second mortgages.

This federal initiative, called the Second Lien Modification Program, pays incentives to second mortgage holders to work closely with first mortgage holders under the Home Affordable Modification Program.

First mortgage holders have been reluctant to lower payments when there was a second lien involved because they did not want to take on losses while leaving payments on the second mortgages intact.

The lack of an agreement with second lien holders "has been a major impediment to getting successful modifications done," said John Taylor, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a group whose members include foreclosure prevention counselors.

Without alteration to the terms of second mortgages, first mortgage holders often have to lower their payments even more to hit the HAMP target requiring that borrowers' total mortgage payments represent no more than 31% of their pre-tax income.

"For many homeowners facing severe financial difficulty, decreasing the payment on the first mortgage without a reduction in the payment on the second lien may not produce an affordable combined mortgage payment," said Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) Home Loans.

The second lien plan has been in the works since last spring, shortly after HAMP was initiated, but implementing it proved difficult.

HAMP itself has been a disappointment. Originally designed to help as many as 4 million borrowers obtain mortgage workouts, it had produced fewer than 70,000 permanent modifications as of Dec. 31. Another 800,000 or so homeowners were in a trial-modification phase.

The Treasury Department hopes the second lien program will make a big difference. It's estimated that as many as half of at-risk mortgages are burdened with second liens.

Signing on Bank of America was an important first step because it is the nation's top mortgage lender with 14 million loans outstanding, including 3 million second loans.

The lender said it has all systems in place to begin implementing the program as soon as the final program policies and guidelines are released by federal regulatory agencies. That is expected to happen soon.

More banks are expected to sign on to the program very quickly, according to a Treasury spokeswoman.

"They need a lot more of the major banks to sign up," Taylor said.

McKinney Foreclosures

Source: CNNMoney.com

Las Vegas: Most foreclosures of any city in 2009

2010-01-28T09:10:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Cities in the so-called Sand States dominated the foreclosure rankings in 2009, with the 20 worst-hit metro areas residing in Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona.

Las Vegas had the largest number of foreclosure filings of any city last year, with 12% of its households receiving at least one during the year, according to RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed homes. That was more than five times the national average.

Cape Coral, Fla., was a close second with 11.9% of its households; Merced, Calif., was third with 10.1%.

The good news is that all top 20 cities recorded declines in foreclosure filings in the last three months of the year.

The bad news is that the foreclosure plague is spreading beyond these usual trouble spots, according to RealtyTrac's CEO, James Saccacio. And, nationwide, foreclosures grew 21.2% during the year.

"Areas like Provo, Utah, Fayetteville, Ark., Portland, Ore., and Rockford, Ill., all posted foreclosure rates above the U.S. average in 2009," he said. "And markets like Honolulu, Minneapolis and Seattle saw foreclosure activity increase at more than twice the national pace over the past 12 months."

He added that the new foreclosure wave seems more grounded in traditional foreclosure causes, such as job losses, than those recorded in the Sand States, where they were much more "bubble related."

In cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Bakersfield, Calif., soaring home prices of the mid 2000s drove homebuyers to desperate measures, such as taking on hybrid adjustable rate mortgages, also called toxic ARMS. These products only remained affordable as long as home prices grew; once prices stopped rising, borrowers began to default.

New hotspots

Some cites that had escaped the worst of the default demon in prior years saw foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sales and bank repossessions -- soar. The Gulfport area of Mississippi recorded a year-over-year spike of 784%. Houma, La., recorded a 379% gain, and Roanoke, Va., filings jumped 352%.

Source: CNN Money

New Home Sales Hit 9 Month Low

2010-01-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

New home sales plunged to a 9-month low in December, according to a government report issued Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales dropped 7.6% to 342,000 last month, compared with a revised rate of 370,000 in November, the Census Bureau said.

Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had expected December sales of new homes to hit an annual rate of 366,000.

"This is not a very encouraging number," said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. "You've got aggressive competition from banks and lenders trying to unload foreclosures, and many people are going to the existing home market because that's where the bargains are."

Full Story Money.com

Prescott Arizona Real Estate

Foreclosure Activity Hits Record High in Third Quarter

2009-12-27T11:14:00.000-08:00

Source: RealtyTrac

IRVINE, Calif. – Oct. 15, 2009 — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for Q3 2009, which shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 937,840 properties in the third quarter, a 5 percent increase from the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 23 percent from Q3 2008. One in every 136 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — the highest quarterly foreclosure rate since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in the first quarter of 2005.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 343,638 properties in September, a 4 percent decrease from the previous month but a 29 percent increase from September 2008. Despite the monthly decrease, September’s total was still the third highest monthly total since the RealtyTrac report began in January 2005, behind only July and August of this year.

“Bank repossessions, or REOs, jumped 21 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter, corresponding to jumps in defaults and scheduled auctions in the previous two quarters,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “REO activity increased from the previous quarter in all but two states and the District of Columbia, indicating that lenders may be starting to work through some of the pent-up foreclosure inventory caused by legislative delays, loan modification efforts and high volumes of distressed properties.”

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the month or quarter — broken out by type of filing at the state and national level. Data is also available at the individual county level for both Q1 2009 and March 2009. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is filed against a property during the month or quarter, only the most recent filing is counted in the report.

Full Story

Foreclosure Rate Lookup Chart

U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY DECREASES 8 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER

2009-12-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY DECREASES 8 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER
By RealtyTrac Staff

Activity Up 18 Percent From November 2008, But Down 15 Percent From July Peak
More Than 300,000 Properties Receive Foreclosure Filings for Ninth Straight Month

IRVINE, Calif. – Dec. 10, 2009 – RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its November 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 306,627 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of nearly 8 percent from the previous month but still up 18 percent from November 2008. The report also shows one in every 417 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in November.

“November was the fourth straight month that U.S. foreclosure activity has declined after hitting an all-time high for our report in July, and November foreclosure activity was at the lowest level we’ve seen since February,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Loan modifications and other foreclosure prevention efforts, along with the recently extended and expanded homebuyer tax credit, are keeping a lid on the most visible symptoms of the nation’s ailing housing market — foreclosures and home value depreciation. This is providing a welcome respite for the real estate industry, but a full recovery will only come when unemployment recedes to normal, healthy levels and when availability of credit reaches a more rational balance between the extremes of the past few years.”

Default notices nationwide were down 8 percent from the previous month but still up 22 percent from November 2008, scheduled foreclosure auctions were down 12 percent from the previous month but still up 32 percent from November 2008, and bank repossessions were flat from the previous month and down 2 percent from November 2008.

Nevada, Florida, California post top state foreclosure rates Nevada foreclosure activity decreased by a double-digit percentage for the second straight month, but the state continued to document the nation’s top foreclosure rate with one in every 119 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in November — 3.5 times the national average. A total of 9,295 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, a 33 percent decrease from the previous month and also a 33 percent decrease from November 2008. Nevada’s November total was 52 percent below its July total of 19,535 properties with foreclosure filings.

Florida posted the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in November with one in every 165 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. Florida took the No. 2 spot from California, which posted the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate — one in every 180 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

Full Article

Exotic-loan resets could hit commercial market

2009-09-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Exotic-loan resets could hit commercial market
By Sandra Baker / Star-Telegram
September 27, 2009

An increasing number of commercial property loans may go into default in the coming months, as interest-only loans that were issued in the past several years reset, an industry expert said.

"There’s a massive amount of these loans ready to hit market," said Ben Loughry, managing partner of Integra Realty Resources in Fort Worth and Dallas. "The commercial real estate bubble is continuing to grow."

Loughry spoke at last week’s monthly meeting of the Society of Commercial Realtors.

Moreover, commercial sales are down nationwide by 90 percent and locally by 70 percent, he said.

Full Story

Dallas-Fort Worth home foreclosure filings jump 34%

2009-09-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Dallas-Fort Worth home foreclosure filings jump 34%
By Steve Brown / The Dallas Morning News
September 18, 2009

The number of homes facing foreclosure in Dallas-Fort Worth next month shot up 34 percent from a year ago.

Much of the increase is due to loan modification programs, which have delayed foreclosures from previous months.

Almost 6,000 homes are scheduled to be sold at foreclosure next month, Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said Thursday.

Full Story

Foreclosures Rise in Texas

2009-09-04T11:26:00.001-07:00

Texans continued to fall behind on their mortgage payments in the second quarter, and more than one in 10 Texas mortgages are late or in foreclosure.

At the end of June, 8.79 percent of residential mortgages in the state had delinquent payments and 1.84 percent went into foreclosure, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday.

Both figures rose compared with the first quarter.

Nationwide, a record 9.24 percent of residential loans were delinquent in the quarter. The closely watched measure includes all mortgages that are at least one payment behind. Texas ranks 17th nationally among states when ranked by the percentage of late mortgage payments.

The national average foreclosure rate in the second quarter was 3 percent.

Just four states – California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada – accounted for 44 percent of the nation's new home foreclosures during the second quarter, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group said.

Full Story Dallas News

Median home prices up slightly in April

2009-05-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

May 22, 2009 Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer

Bay Area home sales delivered a smidgen of good news in April - but it came laden with the caveat that it's too soon to declare a turn-around in the beleaguered real estate market.

While home prices plunged compared with the same time last year, the median sales price for existing homes in the nine-county region inched up 4.2 percent in April compared with March, according to MDA DataQuick, a San Diego research firm. It was the first time since October 2007 that the median rose compared with the previous month.

Full Story

Survey: More buyers interested in foreclosed homes

2009-05-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

May 21, 2009

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

With home foreclosures soaring in most parts of the country, the number of interested buyers of these properties is growing.

More than half – 55 percent - of Americans quizzed for a new survey said they would consider purchasing a previously foreclosed house. That’s up significantly in the last
few months, according to the survey which was done by Harris Interactive.

The survey of almost 2,400 consumers was done in early May for Internet real estate firms Trulia.com and RealtyTrac.

Full story

Dramatic increase in prime-loan foreclosures

2009-03-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

Dramatic increase in prime-loan foreclosures
Workouts not keeping pace
By Inman News, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Inman News

Foreclosure starts and foreclosure sales of homes purchased with prime loans increased dramatically from January to February, and the percentage of homes completing the foreclosure process approached highs not seen since last summer.

The latest report from mortgage servicers participating in the lending industry's HOPE NOW alliance shows that despite continued strides in helping subprime borrowers avoid foreclosure, foreclosures and foreclosure sales among prime borrowers continue to climb.

HOPE NOW put the number of foreclosure starts on prime loans during February at 157,000, a 25 percent increase from the month before. Foreclosure starts on subprime loans fell by 5 percent, to 86,000.

The record 243,000 foreclosure starts recorded in February represented a 12 percent increase from the month before and a 36 percent increase from a year ago.

While payment shock for subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans was once viewed as a primary driver of delinquencies and foreclosures, delinquency rates on prime fixed-rate and subprime fixed-rate loans continue to climb, thanks to job losses and pay cuts, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this month (see story).

HOPE NOW loan servicers reported making more than twice as many loan modifications for subprime borrowers in February (91,333) than they did for prime borrowers (42,503). More prime borrowers got repayment plans -- 64,605 were negotiated last month, compared with 46,033 for subprime borrowers.

Not all homes that enter the foreclosure process end up being sold by lenders -- some borrowers are able to refinance their loans, or negotiate short sales or loan workouts with lenders.

The HOPE NOW alliance said it helped 244,000 borrowers avoid foreclosure in February by instituting workouts including loan modifications and repayment plans. ...CONTINUED

Full Story

Texas REO | Bank foreclosure

2008-10-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

TEXAS REO BANK FORECLOSURES: A "Real Estate Owned" Home (REO Home) is a Bank Foreclosure. REO homes are homes that have gone through foreclosure and are now owned by the bank. Due to the recent housing bubble, Bank Owned REOs are more prevelant than ever. The time to get a good deal on foreclosure real estate is now.

REO Homes

Investing in Foreclosures

2008-10-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

If I sell, how can I add value? One of the best ways to realize a profit is to add value to the existing property. There are a myriad of ways to add value to a property, with the most important being improvements to the bathroom(s) and kitchen. It's also a good idea to stage a home for selling, and to pay special attention to the curb appeal of the home since it is the first impression a home buyer will have of the property.

Denton Foreclosed Homes

Woman buys foreclosed home for a stranger

2008-10-28T11:42:00.001-07:00

DALLAS — Two strangers were brought together by a leap of faith and one piece of property that was among 200 North Texas homes up for auction at the Dallas Convention Center this weekend.

While the misfortune of others lured hundreds of bargain hunters to the foreclosure auction, "Tracy" said she came to find closure. The woman took her seat among a sea of investors and strangers to say goodbye to her Pottsboro home, which is located just west of Denison.

"It means so much to all of us," she said of the rural residence that she lost to foreclosure. "It's not just a house."

At the fast-paced and energetic event, Tracy's tears did not go unnoticed.

"She was crying and I asked her what she was upset about," said Marilyn Mock, of Rockwall.

When Tracy's home, listed as "No. 73," came up for auction, Mock raised her hand and bid. With no picture of the property in the auction book, Mock had only Tracy's word on the home's value.

"I just kept asking her, 'Is it worth it?' She said, 'Yes,' and then it went again," Mock said.

Bid after bid, Mock kept raising her hand.

"The next thing you know, she tells me she is doing this for me — and then she had it," Tracy said.

Full Story News 8

Dallas HUD Homes

2008-10-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

A real estate broker must be registered with HUD to make an offer and contract on HUD owned real estate. The real estate commission is paid by HUD. Certain groups are able to get special rates for buying HUD homes, including police officers, teachers and firefighters through the Good Neighbor Initiatives.

* HUD Homes are sold AS IS, without written warranty.
* Some HUD Homes qualify for FHA Loans.
* Once your offer is accepted, you should get a home inspection.

Dallas County HUD Homes

Texas Foreclosure Overview

2008-10-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Foreclosure is the legal process that allows the lendor to recover the money owed on a loan defaulted by the home buyer. Foreclosure is in effect, "repossession" of the property that's securing the loan.

Judicial Foreclosure / Foreclosure by Judicial Sale
Requires the sale of mortgage property under the supervision of the court with the proceeds going first to satisfy the mortgage, then lienholders, then home owners if there is any monies left.
Foreclosure by Power of Sale

Foreclosure by Power of Sale
Allowed by many states if a "Power of Sale" clause is included in the mortgage. This process involves the sale of the property by the mortgage holder without court supervision. It is generally more expedient than foreclosure by judicial sale. As in judicial sale, the mortgage holder and other lien holders are respectively first and second claimants to the proceeds from the sale.

Dallas Foreclosures

Who can buy a HUD owned home?

2008-10-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Any qualified purchaser can make an offer to buy a HUD home. All offers must be submitted by a certified HUD approved real estate agent. Before making an offer, the prospective buyer must have a pre-qualification letter (with Credit Report approved by lender) for the loan amount needed, earnest money and a signed contract. Buyers paying cash must provide proof of available funds.

Texas HUD Homes

What is the difference between a HUD-owned and an REO foreclosure?

2008-10-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Offers on HUD properties are submitted through electronic bid. HUD will either accept or reject the offer. Offers on REO properties are submitted via TREC contract along with seller's addenda and negotiating takes place.

HUD Homes

Auctioning Property Foreclosure

2008-10-28T11:25:00.001-07:00

An auction property is one that is sold or about to be sold at a public auction, usually at the county courthouse. This means that the property owners could not payoff the arrears or sell the property before the date of the auction. The auction is open to all bidders, including investors and homebuyers, and it is sold to the highest bidder. The auction is under the control of the foreclosure attorney who conducts the sale on behalf of the lender.

Texas Foreclosure Property

Texas HUD Homes

2008-10-28T11:24:00.001-07:00

A HUD Home is a single family home or other type of residence that is backed by the Federal Housing Administration / FHA and is now in foreclosure. Once a home backed by the FHA goes into foreclosure, it is deeded back to HUD by the lending mortgage company. A HUD Home is a government foreclosure.

Texas HUD Homes

Foreclosure Investment

2008-10-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

The key to success in leasing is to find the right tenants as they will be responsible for the property when you're not around. The right tenants will help maintain the value of the property by informing you of known issues. The right tenants will also pay for the property, thus contributing to the return on your investment.

Texas Foreclosure Homes

WHY INVEST IN REAL ESTATE?

2008-10-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

With the volatility of the stock market, more and more investors are looking at the real estate market as an alternative for building net worth. The investment potential in single family homes is enormous because the long term trend is for values to go up.

As long as the buyer takes care of his investment and purchases the property at the right price, real estate is considered a safe personal investment. The key to success as an investor is to not get involved with any deal that won't make you a profit.

Real Estate Foreclosure Investments

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices caught up in August drop

2008-10-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

October 28, 2008
By STEVE BROWN

The slide in U.S. home prices gained speed in August.

And home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area dipped lower as well.

Home prices fell by a record 16.6 percent in Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller's monthly housing report.

In the D-FW area, prices fell 2.7 percent in August from a year ago in the benchmark home survey.

Out of the 20 markets Case-Shiller tracks, "13 of them had their annual returns worsen from last month's report," S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the survey. "As seen throughout 2008, the Sun Belt markets are being hit the most."

Full Story

White House to banks: Start lending now

2008-10-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An impatient White House served notice Tuesday on banks and other financial companies receiving billions of dollars in federal help to quit hoarding the money and start making more loans.

"What we're trying to do is get banks to do what they are supposed to do, which is support the system that we have in America. And banks exist to lend money," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

Though there are limits on how much Washington can pressure banks, she noted that banks are regulated by the federal government.

"They will be watching very closely, and they're working with the banks," she said.

Anthony Ryan, Treasury's acting undersecretary for domestic finance, made the same point in a speech in New York before financial executives.

"As these banks and institutions are reinforced and supported with taxpayer funds, they must meet their responsibility to lend, and support the American people and the U.S. economy," Ryan told the annual meeting of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. "It is in a strengthened institution's best financial interest to increase lending once it has received government funding."

Full Story on DallasNews.com

Dallas Home Prices Drop

2008-10-28T11:06:00.001-07:00

slide in U.S. home prices gained speed in August.

And home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area dipped lower as well.

Home prices fell by a record 16.6 percent in Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller's monthly housing report.

In the D-FW area, prices fell 2.7 percent in August from a year ago in the benchmark home survey.

Out of the 20 markets Case-Shiller tracks, "13 of them had their annual returns worsen from last month's report," S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the survey. "As seen throughout 2008, the Sun Belt markets are being hit the most."

None of the cities Case-Shiller follows had an increase in home prices from last year.

The sharpest declines were in Las Vegas and Phoenix down more than 30 percent.

The D-FW area had the smallest home price decline of all the cities in the report. But the annual dip in home values here grew slightly from July to August.

Full Story DallasNews.com

N.J. Gov. Delivers Economic Address to Legislature

2008-10-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

WFMZ.com
October 16, 2008

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine delivered an economic address to a joint session of the state Legislature Thursday afternoon. He proposed a plan aimed at addressing the pain caused by the economic crisis and positioning New Jersey to emerge stronger. Corzine wants to require mediation in contested foreclosures.

Full Story

Lincoln leery of bailout plan; homeowner advocates call for safeguards

2008-10-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

September 23, 2008
The Morning News

LITTLE ROCK -- The proposed $700 billion bank bailout under consideration by Congress lacks federal oversight and leaves too much on the table for banking executives, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said Tuesday.

Lincoln, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a letter to colleagues on the panel that draft legislation did not include enough oversight and accountability, and she criticized executive compensation provided in the plans.

Full Story

The misguided CEO blame game

2008-10-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

By Harlan Protass
October 16, 2008

If the most recent string of financial scandals has taught us anything, it's that some guy in a suit is going to end up behind bars whenever Main Street loses on Wall Street. Just ask Charles Keating, Michael Milken, Jeffrey Skilling or Bernard Ebbers. The fallout from the ongoing market meltdown is shaping up no differently.

The public wants heads, and pressure is building to hold top-level executives accountable for the crisis that has crippled the nation's financial system and will cost taxpayers billions. In the last two weeks alone, federal investigators have opened probes into four companies at the epicenter of the current financial debacle—Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and American International Group. And a series of former chief executive officers and senior executives from the nation's fallen financial giants have been dragged before Congress for unseemly "show-trials."

Full Story

Lauderdale firm didn't deliver mortgage relief, state suit alleges

2008-10-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

By Jon Burstein South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 17, 2008

Fort Lauderdale-based Outreach Housing calls itself a grass-roots organization with "a groundbreaking initiative" to help South Florida homeowners threatened with foreclosure.

But the Florida Attorney General's Office said Thursday that behind that promise of mortgage relief is a company engaged in deceptive practices that have left a trail of at least 50 complaining homeowners.

The state filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Outreach Housing, asking a Broward Circuit Court judge to issue an injunction preventing it from engaging in any aspect of the real estate business.

Also named as defendants in the suit are Blair L. Wright and Bryan Berry, the two men the state says own the company.

Full Story

You can still get a mortgage

2008-10-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

By Kenneth R. Harney
October 17, 2008

Credit squeeze, credit freeze, credit system seizures: Everybody knows how severe and painful the global financial breakdown has been—with banks unwilling to lend even to other banks. But what about mortgages and real estate? Can you still get a home loan with less than a 20 percent or 30 percent down payment? Or with a credit score below 720?

Absolutely. It would be a big stretch to label housing the sunny side of the market at the moment, but there's a lot more light there than in most other financial sectors. Consider these facts:

Full Story

Black homeowners need to adjust priorities

2008-10-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

David Squires Urban Affairs
DailyPress.com
October 16, 2008

No one knows yet how bad the current financial crisis is, but we do know this: When America gets the flu, the African-American community gets pneumonia.So where is the financial health of the black community headed?For many, surviving will take a lot more than hot soup and a change in the White House. It will take a cure for our big-house disease. The mortgage crisis is helping with this.

We also need to realize that we don't need the biggest and fanciest car on the road, our kids will be just fine in store-brand clothing, and we can stop paying $100 for athletic shoes.

Full Story

Dodd wants new financial reform laws

2008-10-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

ConnPost.com - October 15, 2008

HARTFORD (AP) - Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd is endorsing Barack Obama's proposal for a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures, and plans to offer more legislation after Election Day to boost the nation's ailing economy.

Dodd spoke Wednesday to an annual conference of the Connecticut Housing Coalition in Hartford. He says that people facing foreclosure deserve a time-out from the process.

Full Story

New Home Construction Falls To 17 Year Low

2008-10-17T08:20:00.001-07:00

Friday, October 17, 2008
Economic News: Get the latest news, video, and polls!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction starts on new homes fell to a new 17-1/2 year low in September as builders scaled back amid a worsening housing slump and growing turmoil in financial markets that helped pushed permits for new homes to a nearly 27-year low.

The Commerce Department reported on Friday that starts on new homes fell 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 817,000 units, their slowest pace since January 1991. This was well below the 880,000 rate that Wall Street economists polled by Reuters had expected.

Full Story

Foreclosures a heavy weight on home prices

2008-10-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

TwinCities.com - October 16, 2008

Sales of homes in foreclosure and other lender-mediated transactions continue to account for a bigger share of the Twin Cities housing market, lowering the market's overall median home price and promising to serve as a drag on the market for months to come.

Those were some of the key findings from a report the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors issued Thursday, which found that the Twin Cities saw a jump during the third quarter in the share of overall home sales that were lender-mediated transactions.

Full Story Here

NJ to Help Avoid Foreclosures, Economic Chief Says (Update1)

2008-10-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

October 16, 2008

By David M. Levitt
New Jersey plans to provide ``major sums'' to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, said Jerold Zaro, the state's new economic development chief.

The state will help groups buy and lease back homes and require mediation to assist those in danger of losing property to foreclosure, Zaro said at a speech in Teaneck today to a group of real estate executives. The state also will provide $10 million for home heating oil assistance and $2.5 million to food banks, he said.

Full Story

The Bailout Bill: What's in it for you?

2008-10-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

South Florida Sun Sentinel - October 3, 2008

What's in the bailout bill for you?For struggling homeowners, very little.There are slim pickings for the almost 273,000 Florida homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. And the more than 213,000 Florida homes already in foreclosure.By comparison, for businesses and consumers, the bill came loaded: Tax breaks for Puerto Rican rum producers and children's arrow makers and mining equipment purchasers. Lawmakers kept going back to the kitchen to cook up some more extras.

Full Story

The question now: Will bailout plan work?

2008-09-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

September 30, 2008

By John Waggoner, Sue Kirchhoff and Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY

They met. They argued. They wheeled and dealed.
Now Congress has a tentative agreement on how to bail out the nation's financial system, and leaders are promising approval by midweek.
The $700 billion question: Will it work?

Full Story

US home prices could fall further if lawmakers fail to pass bailout plan

2008-09-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

September 29, 2008

Alan Zibel

WASHINGTON (AP) - The recession in the U.S. housing market is expected to be deeper, longer and scarier if lawmakers continue to be deadlocked in their effort to pass a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry.
"If they don't do something, they're going to shut down real estate completely," said Richard Shuman, a real agent and mortgage broker near Orlando, Fla., who has seen his business dry up over the past week as the nation's financial system was gripped by paralysis.
The situation is dicey enough to make anyone thinking of buying a home queasy.

Full Story

Consumers in gloomy mood on cusp of holiday season

2008-09-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

September 30, 2008

By Ane D'Innocenzio

NEW YORK - With the holiday shopping season about to start, consumer confidence is hovering near the lowest it's been since President Bush's father was commander in chief. It may dip more as Americans open their 401(k) statements and see how much they've lost in the last few weeks.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is now at 59.8. That's up slightly from a revised 58.5 in August and higher than analysts expected.

Full Story

Preston Announces Disaster Assistance for Louisianna

2008-09-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

Foreclosure protection offered to displaced families in 34 Parishes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today announced a foreclosure moratorium in 34 parishes throughout Southern and Central Louisiana and offered support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following Hurricane Gustav. This foreclosure relief will help families living in presidentially declared disaster areas whose damaged homes are insured through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

for the full story go here

HUD RELEASES TIPS FOR AVOIDING FORECLOSURE

2008-08-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

HUD.gov - July 11, 2007

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its top 10 tips for homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

"These guidelines will assist homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage and could be threatened with foreclosure," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "We want to encourage homeowners to take action and use every resource available so that they can get control of their finances and stay in their home."

If you are unable to make your mortgage payment:

1. Don't ignore the problem.

The further behind you become, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and the more likely that you will lose your house.

2. Contact your lender as soon as you realize that you have a problem.

Lenders do not want your house. They have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.

3. Open and respond to all mail from your lender.

The first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later mail may include important notice of pending legal action. Your failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court.

4. Know your mortgage rights.

Find your loan documents and read them so you know what your lender may do if you can't make your payments. Learn about the foreclosure laws and timeframes in your state (as every state is different) by contacting the State Government Housing Office.

Full Story

High number of homeless dogs due to foreclosures

2008-07-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ruby, a 7-year-old corgi mix, is still looking for a home, but many other dogs and cats from the Operation Kindness animal shelter found new owners this weekend.

Dallas News Full story

N. Texas home foreclosures ease in some areas

2008-07-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

Dallas Business Journal (June 2008) - The number of July home foreclosures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rose 33 percent from a year ago but was down 2 percent from June.

Postings set for the upcoming auctions in July reached 3,747 in Dallas-Fort Worth, with notices in Dallas County numbering 1,651, up 22 percent from a year ago but down 4 percent from June. Tarrant County notices reached 1,212, up 38 percent from a year ago and up 3 percent from June.

The number of July foreclosure notices were lower than in June in five out of 10 counties covered by Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. Besides Dallas County, the numbers were lower than in June in Denton (down 12 percent), Johnson (down 8 percent), Parker (down 2 percent) and Kaufman (down 19 percent) counties.

Texas Real Estate Slump Lets Mexicans Take It Back (Update1)

2008-07-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- More than a century and a half after Mexico lost Texas to the U.S., Virgilio Garza wants a piece of it back.

A ``Texas for Sale'' sign and cowgirls in boots and white hats greeted Garza at the Convex center in Monterrey, Mexico, earlier this month. A Monterrey developer and investor, Garza was in search of foreclosed U.S. property to buy.

``Texas is like our home,'' said Garza, 45, who joined hundreds of Mexicans poring over lists of Texas properties at the four-day event. Garza, who owns manufacturing sites and other land in Mexico, said he and five partners may invest as much as $8 million in Texas. ``We believe there can be some opportunities.''

Full story on Bloomberg

Dallas Home Foreclosures Double for $1 Million & Up

2008-07-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Dallas Morning News reports in July, 2008 that Dallas luxury home foreclosures of $1 Million and up have doubled in the DFW area. This means the mortgage industry problems are rising among affluent homeowners. "Foreclosures of million-dollar-plus houses are the fastest-growing segment of the Dallas-Fort Worth distressed home market, according to a new study. "
"More than 70 residences that went for $1 million and up have been posted for foreclosure in the first half of 2008 – more than twice the number in the same period last year, Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said Thursday. "

Full Story.

Texas Foreclosure Property

Foreclosures of luxury homes on the rise in DFW

2008-07-04T11:37:00.001-07:00

Thursday, July 3, 2008 - 5:56 PM CDT

Dallas Business Journal reports that

"Local foreclosures of million-dollar homes have more than doubled in the first half this year from a year ago, according to a recent survey by Foreclosure Listing Service, Inc."

"Although foreclosures of executive and luxury homes made up just 7 percent of postings filed in the first half, foreclosures on homes worth $1 million or more has surged 112 percent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the biggest gain out of all housing segments, according to Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service. "

Texas Foreclosure Homes

Foreclosures Hurt Economy, Personal Finance - Fox News Report

2008-06-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

June 9, 2008 - Thousands of North Texans are struggling to keep their homes. FOX 4's Scott Sayres explains why foreclosures take a toll on more than just the economy.

Full Story on Fox News

Foreclosures, Late Payments Set Records

2008-06-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

June 5, 2008 - (AP) Home foreclosures and late payments set records over the first three months of the year and are expected to keep rising, stark signs of the housing crisis' mounting damage to homeowners and the economy. Full Story on CBS News

Texas Foreclosures Denton

Denton Foreclosure List

2008-05-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

Specialty Realty Group offers a comprehensive foreclosure list for Denton and Fort Worth, Texas. If you're interested in REOs, Short Sales or HUD Homes in Denton or Fort Worth, visit the SRGPro website and sign up to receive the latest foreclosures.

Denton Foreclosure Properties

Ranieri Pursuing $1 Billion Distressed Mortgage Fund

2008-05-27T09:15:00.001-07:00

By PAUL JACKSON
Published: May 23, 2008

Lewis Ranieri, the mortgage-backed bond market pioneer that made headlines earlier this week for his involvement in troubled Franklin Bank Corp., is the latest to jump into the distressed mortgage space with news Friday that a fund he manages has been seeking to raise $1 billion in fresh capital. Housing Wire

Foreclosure Bus Tours

2008-05-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

VIRGINIA - Potential homebuyers take bus tours of foreclosed properties, but is it a good deal? CNN's Kate Bolduan reports. CNN Video

Report: Dallas-Fort Worth won't see big home price declines

2008-04-11T10:45:00.001-07:00

Report: Dallas-Fort Worth won't see big home price declines 11:08 PM CDT on Thursday, April 10, 2008 By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News stevebrown@dallasnews.com

While North Texas' housing market decline has accelerated in recent months, analysts are still betting that the Dallas-Fort Worth area won't see measurable price declines. Indeed, the latest report from mortgage insurance firm PMI Group says that D-FW is one of the last places in the country likely to see a drop in home prices during the next couple of years. There's less than a 1 percent chance that home prices will fall here, according to PMI's spring risk index report, which was released Thursday. At the same time, PMI says that 13 of the nation's top housing markets have more than a 60 percent likelihood of home price declines. Full Story

National Foreclosure Statistics

2008-04-11T10:31:00.001-07:00

National Foreclosure Statistics - This Wall Street Journal article shows how major metro areas are faring against the national average for foreclosures.

Foreclosure Buzz

2008-04-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Foreclosure Buzz - Nonprofit blog offering info on the foreclosure process.

Housing Bubble

2008-04-04T10:57:00.001-07:00

Housing Bubble Cartoon - YouTube Cartoon

From the Housing Bubble Blog

The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. “In the Dallas-Fort Worth area…at the end of February, about 43,000 homes were for sale in the Realtors’ MLS. That’s up only about 2,000 listings from February 2006. North Dallas and the Park Cities, which have so far seemed bullet-proof to the housing downturn, both saw a 28 percent jump in home listings during the first two months of 2008 compared with the same period of 2007.”

‘‘There are 150 houses over $1 million in the Park Cities area, and they are not moving as swiftly,’ said longtime Dallas real estate agent Virginia Cook. ‘There are some speculative houses that are $15 million.’”

“It is unclear how many of the more than 19,000 homes foreclosed on in the Dallas-Fort Worth area last year are still on the market. Also, there are almost 10,000 unsold new houses on the market in North Texas. Some analysts have said builder price cuts on these properties have been a significant drag on the pre-owned home market.”

“During the first two months of 2008, median home prices in North Texas fell 2 percent to $138,000, according to the latest statistics from the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. That’s down from a peak of about $155,000 last August.”

“For all of 2007, total pre-owned home sales were down about 8 percent last year in North Texas, ending a string of record sales totals.”

“‘The bottom part of the market is pretty overbuilt right now,’ said D’Ann Petersen, a business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. ‘So we have seen some pretty heavy discounts on those as builders try to get that inventory down.’”

The Star Telegram. “North Texas new-home sales during the first three months of the year dropped 31 percent from first quarter 2007, according to figures released Thursday.” “The drop in sales has prompted builders to pull back on construction: Builders started 5,207 homes during the quarter, down 35.3 percent from the 8,053 started in the first three months of 2007 and less than half the 12,370 starts in first quarter 2006, according to the report.”

“Construction this year will be well below the record of nearly 50,000 home starts in 2005 and 2006.”

“‘The Texas market in general I would not necessarily say is strong, but relative to other markets, it is in much better shape,’ said Stephen Bedikian, partner and research director at Real IQ.”

The Pegasus News. “Residential foreclosures continued to rise across North Texas this month, with Denton County’s foreclosure rate 40 percent higher than April of last year, according to recent statistics.”

“April foreclosures rose more sharply in Denton County than any of the other 10 North Texas counties surveyed, leading by at least 17 percent, according to Foreclosure Listing Service, Inc.”

“‘A lot of people went into home ownership who shouldn’t have,’ said Bernard Weinstein, director of the center for economic development and research.”

“Weinstein said many people bought homes in 2006 with ‘teaser’ interest rates. Weinstein said 25 percent of all North Texas loans in 2006 involved such a rate and foreclosures will rise even higher in 2009 when homeowners will face an increased interest rate.”

“Real estate agent Brad McKissack said most foreclosures were in areas of new development along the Highway 380 corridor between Aubrey and Frisco. McKissack said his realty has noticed the foreclosure rate in Denton County since September 2007, but the number of foreclosures in Tarrant and Dallas counties remains higher.”

“‘I still think we will see them in abundance over the next two to three months,’ he said.”
The Amarillo Globe News. “Amarillo’s median home prices rose 11 percent, comparing sales in the fourth quarter of 2006 to the same period in 2007, according to National Association of Realtors data.”

“‘An 11 percent change in a quarter, that could just be a volatility issue,’ Amarillo economist Karr Ingham said, referring to Amarillo’s increase.”

“Better to compare longer trends, the economy watchers agreed. And those show Amarillo has seen smaller - but steady - home price gains, they said.”

“Huh? Smaller gains are better?”

“‘From my standpoint, as a matter of interpretation, I would not care to see 10 or 11 percent increases in home prices, year in and year out, for any sustained level of time,’ Ingham said. ‘And the reason is household incomes aren’t going up that rapidly.’”

“‘Prices going up that fast - and believe me they have in many markets - are the reason they’re crashing now. For home buyers, you have an ever-increasing percentage of your household income going toward your housing expenses. That’s clearly not sustainable over a long period of time,’ he said.”

“Lenders have tightened restrictions everywhere in reaction to the subprime crisis, so buyers shopping for a loan should expect more scrutiny. Builders have reacted by starting fewer speculative homes - those not pre-sold - to reduce the inventory they carry, Texas Panhandle Builders Association Executive Director Lew Bradshaw said.”

“‘I think it’s probably just smart business sense,’ he said. ‘The ones that were building 10, 12 specs at a time, they’re doing five or six, which is smart.’”

The Express News. “The national economic downturn has hit city government. While the effects aren’t fully known, the sluggishness that some label a recession will figure prominently in upcoming discussions about the budget year that starts in the fall.”

“While cities that San Antonio measures itself against face severe budget shortfalls and layoffs, the picture locally is sobering but not nearly as bleak, City Manager Sheryl Sculley said.”

“But she acknowledged that the community’s galloping growth of the past few years, as measured by the Federal Reserve Bank’s Business-Cycle Index, has slowed to a crawl in ways that will affect the 2009 budget.”

“Records show new residential building permits came in 53 percent under what the city had projected for the first quarter of 2008. As a result, city officials revised downward by 40 percent the number of new home construction permits it expects to issue for the year.”

“‘It looks like we went from a 100-yard sprint to a 100-yard jog, but at least we are still moving,’ District 10 Councilman John Clamp said. ‘Our rate of growth has decelerated.’”

“‘San Antonio is holding its position as the national and world economies go into the tank,’ said Trinity University economics professor Richard Butler. ‘We don’t live on an island, isolated from all that. But the ground we are on right now is pretty high.’”

The American Statesman. “Austin-area builders continue to cut back on the construction of homes, with first-quarter starts falling to their lowest levels since 2003. Starts for new homes declined 33 percent to 2,271, compared with first quarter of 2007, according to Residential Strategies Inc.”

“The number of new-home closings dropped 24 percent to 3,125. A similar slowdown is occurring in sales of existing homes, which dropped 10 percent to 1,553 in February, compared with the year-ago period.”

“‘Because of what’s happening nationally, we continue to see the deterioration of the market,’ said Mark Sprague, Austin partner for Residential Strategies. Though ‘we’re hearing about the market slowing down dramatically here, we don’t have a clue compared to the rest of the country. We’re still in our third-best year ever. … But it’s definitely off because of the national mortgage meltdown.’”

“Fewer homes are being built in Central Texas also because cash-strapped large-production national home builders are battling high inventories in other markets and are cutting back even in relatively strong areas such as Austin.”

“‘They’ve cut back across the board,’ said Ben Loftsgaarden, who follows economic trends for Angelou Economics.”

“Plans for an upscale, 1,400-home subdivision near Parmer Lane and the Texas 45 North toll road have been called off because of a national pullback by struggling Dallas-based home builder Centex Homes.”

“Centex has canceled its contract to buy 465 acres of the 750-acre Pearson family ranch, where it planned to spend $275 million to build one of the largest master-planned communities in Central Texas. The Pearson Place project was announced in February.”

“‘It was part of a larger strategic review of the company nationally,’ Centex’s director of strategic and operational marketing, Tara Thomason, said of the decision.”

“Centex isn’t the only company pulling back in Central Texas, which began as early as 2006, said Eldon Rude, local director for residential real estate market researcher Metrostudy.”

“‘The largest public builders are continuing to face significant challenges around the country, especially in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida,’ Rude said. ‘As a result of that, they are looking to all of their divisions all over the country to take part in their move to conserve funds, and so even in some of the healthier markets, like Austin, they are looking to local divisions to buy less land.’”

“A high-profile arts-themed hotel and condominium project will be the first major project for the long-neglected Waller Creek area of downtown, developers announced Wednesday.”

“The 21c Museum Hotel and 21c Museum Residences, originally planned for Third and Brazos streets downtown, will be built on a new, larger site at East Cesar Chavez and Red River streets, along the banks of the creek.”

“‘I’m drinking the Kool-Aid about the whole Waller Creek area,’ said Steve Poe, CEO of the Poe Companies, which is one of the partners in the project. ‘This is the natural progression for the city. People gravitate towards parks and water, and that’s what this is.’”

“The hotel will be followed by a 49-story condominium tower with 295 residential units, and in the future, a 425,00-square-foot tower with offices and shops or more housing, according to the Poe Companies.”

“The condo tower would rank among the tallest being built or planned amid downtown’s residential building boom. A 55-story condo tower, the Austonian, is under construction at Second Street and Congress Avenue. And local developer Tom Stacy plans a 66-story hotel/condominium tower near Sixth and Brazos streets.”

“Austin City Council Sheryl Cole said the 21c project ‘begins to fulfill the promise that Waller Creek will become a world class destination. It is wonderful to already see a major return on our investment.’”

“‘This is like that proverbial place in Central Park in New York City,’ Poe said. ‘That’s what we’re creating.’”

14541 REOs Offered by Countrywide

2008-04-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

14541 REO Homes offered for Sale by Countrywide Mortgage according to the Countrywide Foreclosures blog.

2008-04-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Austin Foreclosure News Sources

Texas Foreclosure News

2008-03-26T07:04:00.001-07:00

Group Launches Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force

San Antonio Foreclosure Banks Have Seen Better Times

Study: Texas Takes No. 3 Spot in Foreclosure Totals

How To Get A Good Deal on Foreclosed Houses

Nationally, One In 500 Homes Are Foreclosed

Foreclosure-driven Reassessments, Squatters & Auctions: America's New Real Estate Market

2008-03-21T22:22:00.001-07:00

March 21, 2008

California has been particularly hard hit by the real estate crisis. Local governments are hard-pressed to keep up with the reassessment process. Some don’t even have the staff to reassess property in a timely fashion. In an interview, one county official told a California newspaper reporter that the job was humongous, and was beyond the ability of local governments to complete in a timely fashion with current staffing.

Full Story

Now is the perfect time to consult a California agent and invest in foreclosed homes in California.

Foreclosed Homes: A Local Blight

2008-03-19T03:19:00.000-07:00

The peach-colored house in a modest subdivision near downtown Modesto, Calif., used to be someone's dream home. But it stands out in a row of similarly hued homes where many have a "For Sale" sign planted in their front yards.

Full Story

If interested in foreclosed homes in California, see Modesto investment properties.

Where To Find Million-Dollar Foreclosures

2008-03-17T02:42:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of million dollar-plus homes out there, in good neighborhoods, which have fallen into foreclosure as the result of shoddy lending practices, speculative buyers and homeowners walking away from a negative equity situation.

Full Story

Find foreclosed homes in California at Stockton investment properties.

North Texas Home Foreclosures on the Rise

2008-03-14T04:12:00.000-07:00

Home foreclosure postings filed for April jumped 19 percent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with Denton County's figure up 40 percent from a year ago.

Homes facing foreclosure in Dallas County increased 14 percent to 1,814 homes from 1,597 last April, while the figure in Tarrant County rose 21 percent to 1,288 homes from 1,066. Collin County postings grew 17 percent to 542 homes from 465 last year.

The second highest increase was in Grayson County, with a 23 percent jump to 48 homes from 39, while Ellis County had 91 homes listed, up 20 percent from 76 last April.

Year-to-date foreclosures surged 21 percent for the Dallas-Forth Worth area to 17,258 homes, up from 14,308 in the same period last year. The number rose 15 percent in Dallas County to 7,714 homes and was up 27 percent in Tarrant County to 5,591.

Full Story

DeSoto Neighborhood Hit Hard by Foreclosures

2008-03-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

A Dallas Morning News analysis of residential foreclosures shows the housing mess extends across North Texas – from high-end urban settings to far-flung suburbs.

But few neighborhoods have been hit like Candle Meadow subdivision in Desoto, where the dream of homeownership has wilted along Mulberry, Lilac, Gardenia, Daisy and surrounding streets." - The Dallas Morning News

See Full Story with a list of Top 10 The D-FW cities with the most foreclosures in 2007.

Even Amid Slump, House-flipping Thrives

2008-03-10T05:32:00.000-07:00

In Fort Worth, Despite the slump in home sales, investors say their area is still ripe for house-flipping. The key is buying the home at a bare-minimum price so that, even with the expense of remodeling, it can be sold for a clear profit.

Full Story

As Foreclosure Trend Continues, New Trend in Buying Emerges

2008-03-06T07:19:00.001-08:00

While 2007 saw some of the highest rates of foreclosure many states have recorded in decades, new statistics released by BankForeclosuresSale.com show that during the first month of 2008 foreclosures rose 8% nationwide, setting the stage for what many economists and housing market analysts are predicting could be the biggest year yet for new foreclosures. The figures for January of 2008 were also almost 60% higher than they were during January 2007, showing both the sheer volume of properties coming on to the market, as well as the progressive nature of the phenomenon.

Full Story

Invest on a foreclosed property in California now at Sacramento Investment Properties.

California Foreclosure Bill Fails

2008-03-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

California's state senate narrowly defeated a bill Wednesday that targeted the growing problem of foreclosed homes sitting vacant for months, drawing squatters and creating blight.

Full Story

It is an issue that truly aggravates the problem on increasing number of foreclosed California investment properties. However, proponents of the California Foreclosure Bill failed to gain legal resolution in the state senate.

California 2007 Home Sales

2007-12-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

A total of 25,832 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That's up 5.6 percent from 24,460 for September, and down 40.9 percent from 43,720 for October 2006. Last month's sales made for the slowest October in DataQuick's records, which go back to 1988. On a year-over-year basis, sales have declined the last 25 months.

Full Story

Real Estate Market Resources

2007-12-14T08:24:00.001-08:00

The following resources are helpful for guaging the real estate market across the US.

DQNews - DataQuick Real Estate
Wall Street Journal Online - Search real estate terms
New York Times - Search real estate related terms

Southlake Real Estate - Fort Worth Real Estate - Dallas Homes

Foreclosures Highest Since 1988

2007-10-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Foreclosures Highest Since '88 - Califorina - Quarterly rate up 34% according to San Jose Mercury News.

Southlake Real Estate - Fort Worth Real Estate - Dallas Homes

Interest Rate Increase - Foreclosures

2007-10-28T00:14:00.000-07:00

Interest Rate Increases - Foreclosures - ABC News

Rising interest rates and skyrocketing monthly mortgage payments leave many Americans staring at foreclosure as the housing market cools.

Federal Reserve System - ABC News list of current articles related to Federal Reserve System.