The Los Angeles Times
A Mortgage Bankers Association report Thursday said that after seasonal adjustments, 7.58 percent of all residential mortgages were delinquent by at least one payment as of the fourth quarter of 2011. That was down from 7.99 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and 8.25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-mortgage-delinquencies-20120216,0,5231531.story
The Wall Street Journal
Converting home equity into cash has been a challenge for homeowners since the real-estate downturn, but a growing number of lenders are quietly reviving a loan for seniors that does just that: The reverse mortgage.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204542404577158990079313270.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews
A study by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that prospective home buyers believe that given today’s affordable home prices and low interest rates, now is a good time to buy. However, potential sellers are nearly unanimous in reporting that it is not a good time to sell a home, citing difficulty in finding buyers at desired sales prices.
The study utilizes 30 years of data from the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumer Attitudes to examine consumer attitudes toward homeownership before, during, and after the most-recent recession to see if consumer sentiment changed toward home buying and selling.
Key findings from the study include:
- Despite high unemployment, slow economic growth and other problems plaguing the economy, almost 80 percent of American households believe that now is a good time to buy a home.
- Negative home-selling sentiment is strongly related to difficulty in finding buyers at desired sales prices, as well as the large overhang of mortgages past due or on foreclosure.
- Over the next five quarters, positive home-buying sentiment is forecast to remain around current and long-run average levels. In contrast, positive home-selling sentiment is forecast to remain around current, historic-low levels. This suggests that selling sentiment and, hence, market activity, will remain sluggish in the near term.
To obtain a copy of the report, visit www.housingamerica.org.
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Housingwire
Pending home sales in California declined from October to November, but grew over last year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported last week.
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http://www.housingwire.com/2011/12/21/california-pending-home-sales-drop-in-november-2
Mercury News
The most likely first-time homeowners, young professionals and couples starting a family, won’t buy these days. Or they can’t. Or they already did during the housing boom. And their absence helps explain why the housing industry is still depressed.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19440876
Beginning Dec. 7, Fannie Mae will launch the HomePath Online Offers Program to collect offers and manage the offer-submission process on properties listed on HomePath.com. Agents and brokers representing buyers are now required to submit offers exclusively on HomePath.com. All properties listed in California and Florida are eligible on the designated launch date.
The HomePath Online Offers Program is designed to ease and create transparency during the offer submission process with the following features:
An easy to use, self-service offer submission system that can be assessed through HomePath.com
A transparent offer process that keeps Selling Agents informed of the status of their clients’ offers on HomePath properties listed on HomePath.com
Improved communication between the Selling Agent and the Listing Agent regarding offers on HomePath properties listed on HomePath.com
http://www.homepath.com/offerQuestion.html
Consumers currently home shopping or planning to refinance, need to decide on a specific mortgage program and do research to decide which will be the best fit for their situation.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19249844
Home buyers no longer can assume that it’s easy to buy a cheap house in a good location. Make no mistake: There are still more sellers than buyers. But the decline in listings and the quality of the options are slowing the search for those on the hunt.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19157070
The proposed legislation would amend the tax code to allow homeowners who have 401(k) retirement plans to pull out money to save their houses from foreclosure without the usual tax penalties.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20111016,0,6538730.story
The housing market, which has struggled with an oversupply of homes for years, is facing a new problem: A lack of attractive inventory.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204774604576631381117760982.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews
