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Delinquencies to Fall
Wall Street Journal (12/09/09) P. C12; Stynes, Tess
TransUnion predicts that delinquencies on home loans and credit cards will decline in 2010, although they will continue to grow in states that have suffered the most during the housing downturn. Overall, however, the credit information firm projects that the share of mortgages 60 days or more past due will slip to 6.39 percent at the end of next year compared to an anticipated 6.56 percent in December. The improvement will come as consumers strive to keep incremental debt in check and lenders adopt more conservative underwriting criteria.
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Mortgage Applications Rose 8.5 Percent Last Week: MBA
Investor's Business Daily (12/09/09) Hoak, Amy
Despite a rise in borrowing costs, the Mortgage Bankers Association said demand for home loans was up 8.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 4 compared to the previous week. Refinance applications climbed 11.1 percent in the period, while requests to finance a home purchase bumped up 4 percent. Refis accounted for nearly three-quarters of the application volume.
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Real Estate Experts See Glimmer of Hope
San Diego Union-Tribune (12/09/09) Showley, Roger
Housing experts speaking at the University of San Diego's annual real estate outlook conference noted that the local market has improved over the past six months and may be poised to bottom out. However, Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist Jay Brinkmann warned that California, Florida and other markets that registered rapid home-price appreciation and construction in recent years and now are plagued by rising foreclosures and stagnant construction activity will struggle. Brinkmann, who predicts a rise in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate in March to about 5.2 percent or more, said the $700,000-plus home price range will continue to weaken, while the low end will be "holding on."
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U.S. Home Value Losses Stabilize in 2009: Zillow
Reuters (12/09/09) Haviv, Julie
U.S. home values have fallen $489 billion through the first 11 months of this year, down from a loss of $3.6 trillion in 2008, according Zillow.com. Nearly one in three housing markets tracked by the realty web site showed an improvement in residential values this year, and the percentage of homeowners with negative equity declined to 21 percent in the third quarter from 23 percent in the second. Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries cautions that an increase in mortgage rates after the first quarter and the high foreclosure rate could prove a hurdle in the stabilization of home prices going forward.
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Lawmakers Seek Mortgage Solution
Florida Today (FL) (12/09/09) Jansen, Bart
Lawmakers discussed the need to resolve the foreclosure crisis during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on a broad overhaul of financial regulation. The Mortgage Bankers Association says one in seven homeowners nationwide had gone into foreclosure or had a delinquent mortgage by the end of September, and there are fears that unemployment will exacerbate the crisis. Academics and homeowner advocates said lenders should be required to reduce the principal outstanding on loans and make renegotiated interest rates permanent and recommended that Congress allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages.
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