Thursday, November 18, 2010
Lehigh Valley Real Estate, October 2010 Update – Eugene Mills
October's Lehigh Valley Real Estate Market Update reports the number of sales remained the same as September, with the average sale price moving up 1%. For all the details, check out the FREE REPORT at http://www.EugeneMills.com/listings.html
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Is a National Foreclosure Moratorium on the Way?
October 24th, 2010 in In The Media by cdpe0History would say, “Yes. I’ve seen this before.”
Since 2008, talk of foreclosure moratoria has emerged in the fourth quarter around the holidays, only to be lifted part-way through the first quarter with record numbers of foreclosures flooding the market. This is then followed by an increase in short sales as banks and homeowners work with educated real estate agents toward better solutions to foreclosure than not doing them at all.
As we’re seeing in the media lately, history is looking to repeat itself.
In a letter to the editor in the Washington Post this morning, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse spoke out about the benefits of a foreclosure moratorium, if for nothing else than to force major banks, servicers and securitized mortgage holders to reevaluate their foreclosure and modification practices.
Eviction and foreclosure are terrifying, emotionally disturbing events for homeowners, especially when compounded by the holiday season. But the question needs to be asked: Will the housing market recover more quickly if the banks are forced to halt their proceedings?
Here, History would say, “No. Not that I’ve seen.”
http://www.EugeneMills.com/
Since 2008, talk of foreclosure moratoria has emerged in the fourth quarter around the holidays, only to be lifted part-way through the first quarter with record numbers of foreclosures flooding the market. This is then followed by an increase in short sales as banks and homeowners work with educated real estate agents toward better solutions to foreclosure than not doing them at all.
As we’re seeing in the media lately, history is looking to repeat itself.
In a letter to the editor in the Washington Post this morning, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse spoke out about the benefits of a foreclosure moratorium, if for nothing else than to force major banks, servicers and securitized mortgage holders to reevaluate their foreclosure and modification practices.
Eviction and foreclosure are terrifying, emotionally disturbing events for homeowners, especially when compounded by the holiday season. But the question needs to be asked: Will the housing market recover more quickly if the banks are forced to halt their proceedings?
Here, History would say, “No. Not that I’ve seen.”
http://www.EugeneMills.com/
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Short Sale Volume Up 126 Percent, Agents Answering the Call
Short Sale Volume Up 126 Percent, Agents Answering the Call
September 25th, 2010 in CDPE by cdpe
0
(CDPE Designation stands for "Certified Distressed Property Expert".)
We’ve seen tremendous short sale success over the past year, as indicated by the Second Quarter Mortgage Metrics Report released by US Treasury. Short sale volume for all mortgages (including both GSE and non-GSE loans) increased 42 percent over the first quarter, and an incredible 126 percent from a year ago.
This great news is attributable to the hard work and perseverance of real estate professionals across the country, especially CDPE-designated agents. More than 96,000 homeowners in the first half of this year were saved from the negative impact of foreclosure—whether you’ve helped just one family or 100, you should be incredibly proud of your part in this accomplishment!
But this work is far from over. Short sales only represent 26 percent of overall distressed property activity. This means that 74 percent of distressed properties are still going to foreclosure.
While there has been tremendous progress, unemployment and mortgage delinquencies remain at or near record levels and many more homeowners nationwide need your assistance.
Keep up your good work … it’s clearly making a difference!
Eugene Mills, CENTURY 21 Pinnacle. Eugene.Mills@CENTURY21.com
September 25th, 2010 in CDPE by cdpe
0
(CDPE Designation stands for "Certified Distressed Property Expert".)
We’ve seen tremendous short sale success over the past year, as indicated by the Second Quarter Mortgage Metrics Report released by US Treasury. Short sale volume for all mortgages (including both GSE and non-GSE loans) increased 42 percent over the first quarter, and an incredible 126 percent from a year ago.
This great news is attributable to the hard work and perseverance of real estate professionals across the country, especially CDPE-designated agents. More than 96,000 homeowners in the first half of this year were saved from the negative impact of foreclosure—whether you’ve helped just one family or 100, you should be incredibly proud of your part in this accomplishment!
But this work is far from over. Short sales only represent 26 percent of overall distressed property activity. This means that 74 percent of distressed properties are still going to foreclosure.
While there has been tremendous progress, unemployment and mortgage delinquencies remain at or near record levels and many more homeowners nationwide need your assistance.
Keep up your good work … it’s clearly making a difference!
Eugene Mills, CENTURY 21 Pinnacle. Eugene.Mills@CENTURY21.com
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Fannie, Freddie pick up short-sale pace
REO inventory nears 200,000
By Inman News, Monday, August 9, 2010.
Inman News
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were more willing to sign off on short sales during the second quarter but continued to repossess homes faster than they could sell them, according to the companies' latest regulatory filings.
Fannie and Freddie finished the second quarter with a combined inventory of bank-owned (REO) homes of 191,500 properties, with both companies posting double-digit growth.
Fannie Mae, which reported a $1.2 billion net loss for the second quarter, said REO inventory was up nearly 18 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009, rising to 129,310 homes as of June 30.
The increase in REO inventory would have been steeper without the 21,515 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure completed during the second quarter, a 24 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009.
But Fannie Mae said the percentage of REO inventory that it could actually put on the market declined from a year ago, in most cases because homes are still within legal redemption periods, are still occupied, or are being repaired.
Freddie Mac, in reporting a $4.7 billion second-quarter net loss, said its REO inventory hit 62,190 properties at the end of June, up 79 percent from a year ago.
Freddie Mac reported signing off on 12,498 short sales during the quarter, a 30 percent increase from the previous quarter and four times as many short sales as the 3,093 approved during the first quarter of 2009.
The mortgage guarantor still acquired more properties during the second quarter (34,667) than its servicers disposed of (26,316), with the number of properties acquired rising 18 percent from the previous quarter and 58 percent from a year ago.
http://www.eugenemills.com/ - Eugene.Mills@CENTURY21.com
By Inman News, Monday, August 9, 2010.
Inman News
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were more willing to sign off on short sales during the second quarter but continued to repossess homes faster than they could sell them, according to the companies' latest regulatory filings.
Fannie and Freddie finished the second quarter with a combined inventory of bank-owned (REO) homes of 191,500 properties, with both companies posting double-digit growth.
Fannie Mae, which reported a $1.2 billion net loss for the second quarter, said REO inventory was up nearly 18 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009, rising to 129,310 homes as of June 30.
The increase in REO inventory would have been steeper without the 21,515 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure completed during the second quarter, a 24 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009.
But Fannie Mae said the percentage of REO inventory that it could actually put on the market declined from a year ago, in most cases because homes are still within legal redemption periods, are still occupied, or are being repaired.
Freddie Mac, in reporting a $4.7 billion second-quarter net loss, said its REO inventory hit 62,190 properties at the end of June, up 79 percent from a year ago.
Freddie Mac reported signing off on 12,498 short sales during the quarter, a 30 percent increase from the previous quarter and four times as many short sales as the 3,093 approved during the first quarter of 2009.
The mortgage guarantor still acquired more properties during the second quarter (34,667) than its servicers disposed of (26,316), with the number of properties acquired rising 18 percent from the previous quarter and 58 percent from a year ago.
http://www.eugenemills.com/ - Eugene.Mills@CENTURY21.com
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Eugene Mills
July's Lehigh Valley Real Estate Market Update reports sales down by 48% (yikes!), with the average sale price down 1.4%. For all the latest details, check out the FREE REPORT at http://www.EugeneMills.com/listings.html
Eugene Mills CENTURY 21 Pinnacle
Credit Suisse shows us 27 billion in high risk loans are resetting in June 2011. Think about that number - that's in (only) 1 month next year. Option ARMS are the majority of that 27, at 18 billion resetting in June 2011. These are the "smart pay" / "pick a pay" loans that had us scratching our heads at the settlement table wondering why anyone thought this was a good idea. The answer was simple... Values would continue to increase, so it makes sense to take a ridiculously low minimum monthly payment now. Worst case scenario is you have to sell in a few years before the balloon is due and you'll pocket a nice chunk of change for your efforts. Understandable, savvy, and responsible, right?
We know what happened though. It went the other way. Values are down, so in most cases, refinancing is out. If a mortgage payment or two are a little late, the damage to a homeowner's credit score also negates refinancing as an option.
Loan modification is the next logical step. After all, the Government is offering all types of programs right now to help homeowners, like "HAFA" (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives), and HR 3648, the "Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007". A statistic homeowners should know is that about 1 in 10 homeowners will fit into the perfect loan modification model that the banks are currently approving. Out of that 1 in 10? 55% will be back in default within 6 months.
A point I'd like to stress to any homeowner experiencing financial hardship is that there is help available, for free. CENTURY 21 Pinnacle helps homeowners understand thier rights and options, for free. We never charge a homeowner any fee for this service.
We know what happened though. It went the other way. Values are down, so in most cases, refinancing is out. If a mortgage payment or two are a little late, the damage to a homeowner's credit score also negates refinancing as an option.
Loan modification is the next logical step. After all, the Government is offering all types of programs right now to help homeowners, like "HAFA" (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives), and HR 3648, the "Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007". A statistic homeowners should know is that about 1 in 10 homeowners will fit into the perfect loan modification model that the banks are currently approving. Out of that 1 in 10? 55% will be back in default within 6 months.
A point I'd like to stress to any homeowner experiencing financial hardship is that there is help available, for free. CENTURY 21 Pinnacle helps homeowners understand thier rights and options, for free. We never charge a homeowner any fee for this service.
Eugene Mills
Struggling with an unaffordable mortgage? I can help you right now, for FREE. Learn your rights and options - E-mail me at Eugene.Mills@CENTURY21.com Has Lehigh Valley Real Estate STABILIZED? All the details at http://www.EugeneMills.com/listings.html - Click FREE REPORT
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