Homes Lost to Foreclosure Experience Sharp Rise
- By:
- MortgageLoan.com | June 16, 2008
The housing climate received another setback in May, as more than 73,000 homes were lost to bank repossessions in the month of May. It's an increase of 158 percent from the same period last year, when 28,548 homes were dispossessed.
Foreclosure filings of all kinds, including default notices, notices of sheriff's sales and bank repossessions, were up 48 percent from May 2007.
According to RealtyTrac, May also marked the 29th consecutive year-over-year increase in filings. The data translates to one foreclosure filing per 483 households nationwide.
Default rates will rise for many more months, according to RealtyTrac vice president Rick Sharga, who thinks that there could be another 18 months of this activity left. Several factors will continue to boost filings.
"We haven't even seen the full effects of the Alt-As (mostly loans issued without verification of income and assets) yet," said Sharga. Many of these mortgages are option ARMs, negative amortization loans that let borrowers make very small, minimum payments that don't even cover the interest they owe each month. But soon, these payments will spike.
Bankruptcy Reform Back on the Table
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 21, 2008
One of the earliest ideas for helping homeowners facing mounting mortgage debt and potential foreclosure on their home was to reform bankruptcy laws. The concept is now officially back on the table, introduced into the Congressional lame-duck session by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL).
TARP is Closed for Relief Until Further Notice
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 20, 2008
Remember what a crisis the $700 billion mortgage market bailout was--the very existence of the American financial order hung in the balance.
Fixing the Housing Market, Lots of Ideas...Any Answers?
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 19, 2008
Almost a year into the dawning of the housing crisis (many chronologist are setting that around the January 2008 crumbling of Countrywide) ideas continue to flow, but few seem to be the answer. In fact, this seems to be the growing consensus--there is no silver bullet.
G-20 Lots of Motion, Will There Be Action?
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 18, 2008
The 20 most powerful industrial nations, and now the caretakers of an unprecedented global financial crisis, assembled in Washington DC over the weekend. Their mandate was broad and daunting--stabilize world markets.
FDIC Challenges Treasury with New Loan Modification Proposal
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 17, 2008
On the heels of the Treasury and Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) loan modification plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the FDIC releases their own proposal. In this unprecedented, unilateral, and aggressive move by a Federal agency the FDIC is essential fighting a very public political battle directly with the Treasury and the current Administration.
Mortgage Rates Drop for Second Straight Week
- By:
- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | November 14, 2008
Another week of dismal economic data have again pushed down mortgage rates. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.14 percent, down from 6.20 percent last week. This demonstrates a steep decline from 6.46 percent two weeks prior.
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