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Home Builder Confidence Rises to Highest Level in Six Years
Los Angeles Times (10/17/12) Hsu, Tiffany
Home builder sentiment rose this month to the strongest level since June 2006. The one-point gain in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index represented the sixth consecutive uptick; while prospective buyer traffic for October climbed five points to a score of 35, the highest level since April 2006. Still, NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg expressed concern that "overly tight credit conditions are still constraining new building and new purchases."
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Obama Refi Effort to Help 1 Million in 2012: FHFA
MarketWatch (10/16/12) Orol, Ronald D.
An Obama administration initiative designed to help homeowners with little or no equity refinance at today's favorable mortgage rates is on pace to serve 1 million Americans this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency estimates. According to the regulator, refis were completed on 618,000 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans through HARP in the first eight months of 2012 -- up from 400,024 transactions last year.
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Feds Seek Help in Resolving Fannie, Freddie Loans
4-Traders (10/16/12) Sparshott, Jeffrey; Yoon, Al
The U.S. Treasury's Mary Miller confirms that federal officials are exploring ways to help Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shed their nonperforming loans by soliciting more outside help. The department is working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency on the matter and ultimately may shift the burden to "special servicers" that focus on problem loans. Doing so, Miller asserts, "could give such servicers more flexibility to determine modifications or find faster resolutions for troubled borrowers."
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Increasing Home Equity Revolving Credit Reaches Three-Year High
National Mortgage Professional (10/16/12)
Equifax tracked more than $44 billion in new home equity revolving lines of credit from January through July, marking a three-year high. The gain reflects "homeowner confidence and momentum towards an improved market," according to Equifax's Craig Crabtree. The report also showed a 1.3 percent decline in the write-off rate for home equity revolving lines to a three-year low of 2.15 percent in September.
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FHFA Should Help Pursue Fannie, Freddie Strategic Defaulters: Report
Housing Wire (10/16/12) Gaffney, Jacob
With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recovering just 0.22 percent on deficient loans -- $4.7 million from accounts worth $2.1 billion -- the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency says the firms could use some help in pursuing borrowers who strategically default. The IG's report recommends that FHFA assume oversight of deficiency management, which could help the firms "recoup future losses and protect taxpayers' investment in their financial health."
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