The federal government has a small operation called the Office of Thrift Supervision, which, among other things, keeps track of mortgage defaults. It defies common sense, but the agency says that many people who…
Housing prices continue to cascade. According to the new S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, home prices dropped nearly 19% in the fourth quarter, a record. In the ten largest cities in the US, the decline topped…
It was probably predictable that the housing market would catch Home Depot (HD) from behind and drag it to the ground. That certainly happened last quarter. Home Depot reported a fiscal 2008 fourth quarter…
The federal government is most likely to create a safety net for the falling housing market with a plan that will allow people to stay in their homes by reducing their monthly payments. The…
It may take a lot more than the new mortgage assistance program being put together by the Administration to stop the sickening fall in housing prices. According to the Commerce Department, Construction on new…
One by-product of people being evicted from their homes during foreclosure proceedings is that they often end up renting a place to live. After losing a house to the bank, they are not likely…
The quickest way to help the auto industry would be to make sure that no one in the US defaults on a car loan. Certainly the government could make sure that people who are…
The market rallied strongly into the close on news that the Administration was planning to offer financial help to deserving homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgages. According to Reuters, “The Obama administration…
Part of the federal government’s plan to stimulate home sales has been to bring mortgage rates down. It is not working. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that 30-year fixed mortgage rates are still dropping…
USG Corporation (NYSE: USG) had an important vote today that essentially allows Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) to get much more control of the company.
The December pending home sales data is a bit dated, but there was a surprise gain by +6.3% for the month. The reading for the index was 87.7. What is more interesting than the…
You probably already figured that the increase in existing home sales was due to foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, and other distressed sales. Today, Ryland Group Inc. (NYSE: RYL) had an interesting SEC Filing. While many companies…
Home prices fell again in November. Like everything else reported about the economy recently, the drop was at a "record pace" In the case of housing, The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index plunged…
The National Association of Realtors showed a positive surprise on December’s existing home sales numbers. But you shouldn’t be surprised that it comes with a twist. The rate came to an annualized gain of…
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) may have a home buyer’s incentive above and beyond what other deals you have seen. We have seen on multiple sources that the homebuilder is using a 3.99% mortgage rate…