The Fed Lays Blame On Everyone Else
The Federal Reserve was not to blame for any of the financial events that caused the collapse of the credit markets late in 2008. It is the same credit collapse that caused Congress to…
Housing
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Newest first · Page 198Credit Card Charge-Offs Rise As Firms Collect Record Interest Payments
Moody’s reports that credit card charge-offs by financial firms hit 10.56% in November. This represents sums that lenders feel they will not be able to collect .The credit rating agency expects that figure to grow…
Case-Shiller ETFs Bite The Dust (UMM, DMM)
The death of an ETF is generally viewed as a failure or as an ill omen for other related ETF’s. Today that is not the case despite the death of two exchange traded products. …
A Very Sharp Rise In Mortgage Rates May Damage Housing Recovery
It is not clear whether there is a housing recovery underway in the US. Home sales have, in some cases, picked up. Most of the activity has been due to low mortgage ratesm which have…
“Unlimited” Support For Fannie Mae (FNM) And Freddie Mac (FRE)
The Treasury Department announced that it would give Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM)and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) “unlimited” financial support for the next three years, which seems like an awful lot. Some members of Congress said the…
The Government’s Loan Modification Program Does Not Have To Fail
The government’s “Home Affordable Modification Program” needed $75 billion of taxpayer money to alter home loans so that these loans could be more affordable for creditworthy homeowners who could not make their earlier mortgage…
An Unreasonable Case That Housing Is Undervalued
IHS Global Insight has released a report that say that housing price in the US rose by .2% in the third quarter compared to the second. The research firm looks at 300 metropolitan markets.…
Foreclosure Backlog Hits 1.7 Million Homes
There are 1.7 million homes on the market which have gone through the foreclosure process. The number is at the highest level in history. The number, up from 1.1 million a year earlier, is…
Fannie & Freddie Christmas Gift: No Foreclosures (FNM, FRE)
It seems that Uncle Sam does not want to be the Grinch this Christmas and is giving a gift of no foreclosures during the holidays. At least its GSE mortgage lenders in government conservatorship,…
Moody’s Calls Bottom in Homebuilders, Sort Of (XHB, ITB, HOV)
Moody’s Investors Service has raised the bias and outlook on the U.S. homebuilder sector this morning. Its report was titled “U.S. Homebuilding Industry Shows Signs of Stability” and the ratings agency raised the sector’s…
Housing Recovery Can Wait Until 2011
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that many people are defaulting on their home mortgages not because they have to but because it makes sense. Some homeowners can afford the monthly payment, but they…
The Interest In Buying Foreclosures Craters
People do not have an interest in buying homes in foreclosure at anywhere near the level that they did earlier this year. Trulia.com and RealtyTrac released the latest results of an ongoing survey tracking…
A Good Sign For Housing: Foreclosure Activity Down 8% In November
It may be another sign of a bottoming in the housing market, both in terms of foreclosures and prices. RealtyTrac reports that foreclosure filings fell 8% in November compared to the previous month, down…
Home Values Get More Stable
Zillow, the real estate home price research company, says that the value of residential real estate ended its sickening drop in 2009. The firm’s chief economist writes, “Total home values in the United States…
24/7 Wall St. TV: The Mortgage Mess: Government To Push Private Sector To Do What Government Cannot Do
Congress and the Administration put a $787 billion stimulus package into place on the assumption that its many programs will supply capital to strategically important industries. The ultimate goal was to increase employment within…