Mortgage foreclosures are either getting better or worse, depending on the point of view. Realty Trac, which keeps monthly figures on defaults and forecloses, said that there were 333,837 in April. That was down 9%…
The fact that median home prices rose in 91 out of the 152 largest cities in the US does not mean much, unless the fact is in light of the market’s two-year plunge. The…
Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) lost another $8 billion in the first calendar quarter of the year. That includes $1.3 billion in dividends paid to the Treasury. Freddie might have simply kept the money. It…
PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) is often thought of by many as the bogey of the US Homebuilding sector. If so, the company is giving a forecast that might mean profits in 2010 despite a…
There were strong gains in three Tickerspy indexes over the most recent 30-day period. This month’s biggest gainers are in recreational vehicles, homebuilders, and vehicle rental stocks. Homebuilder stocks are up 19.3% in the past month. The best performing stocks…
The S&P-Case-Schiller housing data for February looked good year-over-year. Otherwise, most of the numbers were relatively poor. The research showed that “the annual rates of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved in…
The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program thinks that the Administration made a wrong turn on its path to help struggling American homeowners. Neil Barofsky said of the Home Affordable Modification Program…
Mortgages rates fell to 5.07% last week for 30 year fixed loans. That cuts against the theory that the Treasury auctions will push up rates and that the Fed’s decision to stop the purchase…
New data show that during Q1 2010, foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 932,234 properties in the first quarter, a 7% increase from the previous quarter…
The credit ratings service Fitch says that payment rates on subprime montages improved for the first time in four years. “The share of subprime loans that were at least 60 days past due or…
It could be the continued drop in home prices or the fear that the economy will not recover. It would be that the end of federal government tax credits for home buyers are ending…
The Congressional Oversight Panel that keeps track of the TARP has a message for the Administration: The home loan modification program is moving so slowly that it cannot come close to matching the rate at which…
JPMorgan (JPM) and other big US banks have started a campaign against the Administration’s proposed program for them to cut the amount of the principles on the mortgages of millions of people. The White House…
Mortgage rates moved above 5% last week and many economists expect the number to rise above 6% by the end of the year. “It certainly will make it harder for people to buy homes,”…
The price at which real estate is dropping may have slowed, but that is not helping the ultra-rich to stay in their homes. A study commissioned by The Wall Street Journal and carried out…