Rates Up On New Home Sales & Durable Goods Numbers Today we had Durable Goods (very volatile) and a big New Home Sales number. Durable Goods were expected to be +.3% for March and originally reported as +.5% in February, the third consecutive monthly increase (although most of the gain in February’s number was due [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Short Sale’
Can Foreclosed Borrowers Get New Loans?, Fed Report: Economic Activity Up, Greece Plot Thickens
I was reminded that 70% of the US economy is propelled by consumers, all consumers. Last night, after giving a speech to some UC Berkeley econ students, I was in a book store and the gal in front of me asked the clerk, “Do you have a book on ‘Karmageddon’? Its like, when everybody is [...]
Fate of Fannie and Freddie, $165,100 Is Median Existing Home Price In US, Short Sale Primer
Geithner’s Testimony on Future of Housing Finance Yesterday the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to discuss the future of housing finance, trying to start answering questions about what the new system should do. Many people spoke, although Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was the headline witness with 17 pages of testimony. “It’s important as [...]
Will Jumbos Ever Come Back?, More on Short Sale/Foreclosures, Philly Fed & Leading Indicators,
One top ex-secondary guy wrote to me and said, “Things I sort of miss hearing in mortgage banking: “What are rates gonna do tomorrow?” “Why is IndyMac a point better than we are?” Anything associated with “Did you hear what they said on CNBC this morning…….?” “How come I’m losing money on the hedge?” And [...]
A Word on Short Sales/Foreclosures, US Official Calls For Global Mortgage Rules
When I talk to realtors in many parts of the nation, they admit that foreclosures and short sales continue to be a key part of the housing activity in their area. Many analysts feel that the pace of short sales is likely to increase, especially given market conditions and the opinion that short sales are [...]
bTunes Dedication To Underwater Homeowners: I’ll Stick Around (download)
Amazon.com WidgetsThe chatter about underwater homeowners “just walking away” from their debt deafens us at various intervals during this recession (here’s the latest from 1/7/10), and it’s hard to deny the rationale for walking away for certain specific cases. But recent favorable data can, just like negative foreclosure data, cause sentiment to change—in much the [...]
IRS Short Sale Tax Rules, Improved Jobs Numbers, Loan Modifications, Privatizing Fannie & Freddie
Supposedly the Washington Post sponsored a competition asking for a two-line rhyme with the most romantic first line and the least romantic second line.
GDP -1%, Employment Cost +0.4%, Short Payoff vs. Short Sale, PennyMac IPO
Starbucks is reportedly adding alcohol to the menu at one of its stores. When asked why, a spokesperson for Starbucks said, “Because sober people don’t pay eight bucks for a cup of coffee.” I wouldn’t either, and given today’s GDP numbers, neither would many others. GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services [...]
MBS vs Treasuries, Thornburg, “Short Refis”
This market is tougher than a $3 steak! When the heck are mortgage prices going to improve? Why is the 10-yr Treasury down into the 3.5% range, yet conforming/conventional 30-yr loans, eligible for FNMA and FHLMC, back up into the 6% range? The widening that is occurring out to these levels, which statistically speaking happens [...]
