News

States have until the end of this week to decide whether they will agree to sign onto a settlement over mortgage abuses with the nation’s largest banks, Reuters News reports.
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The government and private equity firms are gearing up to start marketing foreclosed homes as rentals in an effort to help lessen the downward impact foreclosures have on the price of nearby homes.
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The home ownership rate took another dip in the fourth quarter of 2011, falling for the seventh year in a row as fewer Americans own their homes.
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Cash buyers are sending home values down much lower than they otherwise would be, suggests a new survey by Campbell Inside Mortgage Finance, which polled more than 2,500 real estate agents nationwide.
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When you compare the cost of owning a home to renting, you’ll find that buying may soon make more sense, Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics, told MSNBC.com.
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Freddie Mac announced it has eliminated its minimum credit score requirement for borrowers wanting to refinance, but they must have at least 20 percent equity in their home, HousingWire reports. Freddie Mac used to require a minimum credit score of 620.
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Stabilizing and restoring the health of the housing market is critical to a broader economic recovery, according to a white paper released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Board. Many of the issues and recommendations outlined in the paper support key principles established by the National Association of REALTORS® to help revitalize the housing industry and economy.
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With signs of an improving housing market, mortgage rates took another dip this week, matching at or near the all-time record lows, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.
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Some community bankers are gearing up for increased activity on the commercial real estate (CRE) front in 2012. A recent Federal Reserve Board survey of senior loan officers found that more than 13 percent of respondents noticed stronger CRE demand in the fourth quarter, up from 1.8 percent a year earlier.
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Just in time for the holidays: Mortgage rates reached new all-time lows this week, pushing home buyer affordability even higher, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.
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