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Housing Indexes for November Indicate Pause, But Not a Plunge
New York Times (01/27/10) P. B3; Streitfeld, David
New data reflects that residential prices barely budged in November from the prior month, with the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index reporting a 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted rise, the Federal Housing Finance Agency calculating a 0.7 percent gain and First American CoreLogic tracking a 0.2 percent decrease. Some believe price drops are on the horizon due to a slowdown in sales activity since November. The 20-city Case-Shiller index showed gains in 15 cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, and declines in five cities, including Miami and New York.
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Respa Rule Delays Many Mortgages, Torpedoes Others
American Banker (01/27/10) P. 1; Berry, Kate
Lenders are having problems providing borrowers with good-faith estimates, now that new RESPA disclosure rules are in effect. Some report trouble with certain items such as the first month's interest paid in advance, title insurance premiums and state transfer taxes; and some are now relying on quality-control and back-office personnel to review loan applications. Closing is likely to take longer and purchases are likely to be delayed or to collapse because of the rule, and lenders acknowledge that they are listing the highest fees possible in order to avoid a penalty.
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Housing Momentum Builds But Perils Persist
Wall Street Journal (01/27/10) P. A2; Hagerty, James R.
The Wall Street Journal's quarterly housing survey offers new evidence that the market is healing after a four-year downturn, but weakness in the employment sector is keeping the threat of more price drops alive. Inventories of for-sale homes are down sharply, triggering bidding wars in some jurisdictions. Moody's Economy.com reports that fundamental market drivers look fairly healthy in Minneapolis, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston and D.C. -- five markets where mortgage default rates are below the U.S. average and local job markets are likely to outperform the country. However, areas with weak employment prospects -- among them Las Vegas, Jacksonville and Tampa -- posted some of the highest rates of defaulting borrowers among the 28 markets tracked.
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US Builders Turn to Private Equity
South China Morning Post (01/27/10)>
Dozens of U.S. home builders have partnered with private equity firms to acquire and complete unfinished subdivisions as banks pull back on construction lending. Bloomberg data shows that managers of at least 22 funds raised $12 billion last year for such projects and other residential property deals, then invested with at least 42 builders nationwide. Megan McGrath, an industry analyst at Barclays Capital Inc., believes the investments will pay off for the builders and their investors if the prices are low enough and the subdivisions are in areas where demand is on the rebound.
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Government Reworking Mortgage Aid Program
Lansing State Journal (MI) (01/27/10)
The Obama administration, in an attempt to give its mortgage relief program a boost, is exploring ways to encourage lenders to reduce home-loan balances for struggling borrowers. HUD senior adviser Bill Apgar says lenders are open to cutting the total amount borrowers owe on their loans. Lenders that offered piggyback loans to accommodate a small down payment during the housing boom can receive incentives for lowering payments on second loans -- and Bank of America has become the first to agree to do so -- but administration officials are uncertain about using taxpayer dollars to subsidize reductions.
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"In almost 30 years I've been in the business, I've never been around where someone screams and says 'Okay, guys. Everyone in the pool. We're at the bottom.' It just doesn't work that way."
--Jack Cohen, CEO of Cohen Financial, Chicago.
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