Category Archives: Other

The homebuilder spring selling season just started, but reports from the field confirm that sales activity in communities are materializing in a way not seen in years, Barclays Capital said. “We believe the spring selling season has arrived strongly enough to kick-start a positive feedback loop in housing for the first time since 2005,” BarCap analysts said after discussions with executives of some of the largest companies in the industry. As a result of the newly inspired optimism, Barclays upgraded four homebuilder stocks, including PulteGroup ($9.61 0%) and debt-ridden KB […]

Americans’ economic fears are starting to subside with attitudes about personal finances, housing and employment improving, Fannie Mae said. Fannie ties this upswing in confidence to job gains made in recent months. A report from Automatic Data Processing Wednesday shows the private sector added 216,000 jobs last month. Respondents to Fannie’s national housing survey in February expect home prices to increase 0.8% on average over the next 12 months, while 15% believe home prices will fall and 53% believe prices will remain the same. The number of Americans who see […]

Foreclosure starts rose in January suggesting the pipeline is starting to move, according to the latest mortgage monitor report from Lender Processing Services ($23.69 1.27). LPS said foreclosure starts in the first month of 2012 rose 28% from December but fell 11.5% from a year earlier. The data firm says 203,458 starts were recorded in January, compared to 230,023 in January 2011. Repeat foreclosures hit an all-time high in January, representing 47% of all starts. LPS sees positive changes in the foreclosure pipeline, but says it’s too soon to call […]

The Federal Housing Administration will announce additional premium changes to its mortgage business and streamlined refinance programs in the coming days. FHA Acting Commissioner Carol Galante said in a speech at the Mortgage Bankers Association servicing conference in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday that the changes are on their way. As part of the payroll tax extension agreed to last fall, the FHA will raise premiums on its forward mortgages by 10 basis points and by 25 bps for jumbo loans. Galante said Wednesday the FHA would make additional increases soon to […]

The housing market is expected to make a positive contribution to gross domestic product for the first time in seven years in 2012, albeit a very modest one, Fannie Maesaid Tuesday. The government-sponsored enterprise reported GDP growth of 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and predicted a growth rate of 2.3% in 2012, up from 1.6% last year. Fannie said any contributions from the housing sector will be modest. Housing also showed signs of improvement late last year with existing home sales rising in December for the third consecutive […]

The delinquency rate on U.S. mortgages monitored by Lender Processing Services ($22.54 0%) fell in January but foreclosure starts rose. The delinquency rate fell to 7.97% in January 2012, representing a 10.5% annual decline. The rate dropped 2.2% from December, according to LPS’ its first look at January mortgage performance statistics based on its loan-level data of nearly 40 million loans. The total U.S. foreclosure presale inventory rate hit 4.15%, up 1.1% from December and down slightly from a year earlier. About 2.08 million homes were in pre-sale foreclosure inventory […]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicagosaid its national activity index, which reflects inflationary pressures and economic growth, remained in positive territory in January for the second straight month, while housing issues continue to stifle overall growth. The survey gives a score of zero and above when the economy is expanding, while negative values show a decline in growth. Overall, the index fell to 0.22 in January from 0.54 in December, indicating the economy is growing but at a slower pace. Data from consumption and housing contributed a negative 0.27 to […]

Housing starts rose 1.5% in January, according to Commerce Department data, to the highest level since October 2008. On a seasonally adjusted basis, starts increased to 699,000 from 689,000 for December, which was revised upward by 32,000. January housing starts rose 9.9% from 636,000 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Econoday expected housing starts to come in at 675,000 with a range of estimates between 640,000 and 736,000. “January’s housing starts data support our view that homebuilders are shaking off the shackles of the last five years and are beginning […]

Homebuilder confidence in the single-family homes segment jumped for the fifth consecutive month in February, reaching a four-year high, an industry trade group said Wednesday. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index, which measures homebuilders general view of the market, rose to a score of 29. While that score is up from 25 the previous month, it is still far below 50, which generally indicates more builders view market conditions as good rather than poor. “Builder confidence has doubled since September,” NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg said. “Given […]

Major banks will reimburse military servicemembers for any wrongful foreclosures done in the past five years. JPMorgan Chase ($38.47 0.47%), Wells Fargo ($31.09 0.72%), Citigroup ($32.92 0.21%), and Ally Financial ($23.78 0.18%) will resolve Servicemembers Civil Relief Act claims in connection to the wider $25 billion foreclosure settlement, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in a speech Friday. These four banks will conduct a review overseen by the Justice Department to find any foreclosure violations of SCRA since Jan. 1, 2006. Wells, Citi and Ally will pay a military […]