A second homebuilder has reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings that handily beat very low expectations. Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) reported this morning that it had quarterly EPS of $0.17 on revenue of $860.1…
Underwater mortgages are a serious problem affecting the economy, but much of the conventional wisdom about the issue makes no sense. For instance, no one is quite sure how many mortgages are “underwater”, meaning…
Homebuilder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) posted a surprise EPS gain of $0.23 for its fourth quarter of 2010 ended in November. Analysts had expected an EPS loss of -$0.17. The company’s revenue fell by…
The enemies of economic recovery among the developed nations are high national debt, high unemployment, and a drop in home prices. The three are linked. It is hard get good prices for properties when…
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is taking a very opportunistic approach to raising more capital to buy mortgages. The mortgage REIT is raising roughly $1.3 billion in gross proceeds. The terms of the…
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was just listed this morning as one of the six DJIA components with the most implied upside in 2011 this morning, and part of that is already being…
The mortgage-backed securities saga is far from over. A fresh suit has been filed in federal court in Manhattan by Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) against originator Countrywide Financial Corporation. The Countrywide suit of course…
Existing home sales rose 5.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million. But “are 27.9 percent below the cyclical peak of 6.49 million in November 2009, which was the initial…
Twitter has, by most estimates, 175 million members, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than one million…
RealtyTrac, the mortgage research firm, reports that foreclosures fell sharply in November. It may be a sign that the housing market has hit bottom. The company said, “its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for November…
It has suddenly become less financially attractive to take out a new mortgage or refinance an existing one. That should add another boat anchor to the housing market already weighed by high foreclosure rates,…
Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE: WD), a provider of commercial real estate financial services focused on multifamily lending, has announced the pricing of its initial public offering. The offering is 10 million shares of…
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a name which has been thrown around buyout circles before. While the company has remained independent, there appear to be fresh buyout rumors driving interest in options today. We…
The aggregate value of homes in the United States will drop $1.7 trillion this year after a drop of $1 trillion in 2009. That data comes from a report from real estate research firm…
The problem is fairly simple. About 11 million home mortgages in the US are underwater. These homeowners owe more for their homes than their homes are worth. That has had several effects. The first…