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Greg Diodati — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:02:50 +0000

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Median Home Prices Revert To Historic Levels

Greg Diodati — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:40:08 +0000

DSNews reports that median home prices in some markets across the United States have reset to historic levels. Texas is seeing home prices at 2006 levels, while Atlanta’s median home price is that of 1997. Other major markets outlined in the report are Las Vegas, Phoenix, Oakland and Los Angeles.

Read the full article as reported by DSNews here: http://shar.es/HUtqB

$181 Billion in Distressed Commercial Real Estate

Greg Diodati — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:09:41 +0000

Distressed commercial real estate in the United States stood at $181.1 billion in June, according to the analysts at Delta Associates. That tally includes properties in default, in foreclosure, and lender REO.

Full story on DS News read here, http://www.dsnews.com/s/epq-rs

REOs and Short Sales Slip to 37% of April’s Existing-Home Sales Volume

Greg Diodati — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:15:29 +0000

Sales of previously owned homes fell back 0.8 percent in April, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Read full story here on DSNews.

REOs and Short Sales Slip to 37% of April’s Existing-Home Sales Volume.

Administration Lays Out Plan for Winding Down Fannie and Freddie

Greg Diodati — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:10:43 +0000

02/11/2011 By: DSNews

The Treasury Department released the Obama administration’s plan Friday for reforming the nation’s housing finance system and winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Officials say the reform measures will shrink the government’s footprint in the mortgage market, fix “fundamental flaws” in the system, increase transparency for investors, and improve underwriting and mortgage servicing standards.On a conference call with the media, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stressed that “realistically, this is going to take five to seven years” for full reform to be implemented.

Administration Lays Out Plan for Winding Down Fannie and Freddie.

Industry Reports Point to Renewal in Commercial Real Estate Financing

Greg Diodati — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:16:42 +0000

Industry Reports Point to Renewal in Commercial Real Estate Financing viaDSNews

Mortgage bankers originated $110 billion of commercial and multifamily mortgages during 2010 – an increase of 36 percent from 2009, according to preliminary estimates released by the Mortgage Bankers Association Monday. The bulk of that increase came in the fourth quarter of last year.

Life insurance companies were a leading source of lending in 2010, with origination volumes 155 percent higher than 2009 levels.

Full article here: Industry Reports Point to Renewal in Commercial Real Estate Financing.

California AG to Use $6.5M Settlement to Help Foreclosed Homeowners

Greg Diodati — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:19:13 +0000

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced Friday that the $6.5 million settlement from two former Countrywide Financial Corp. executives will be used to establish a fund to help foreclosed homeowners.

California AG to Use $6.5M Settlement to Help Foreclosed Homeowners.

FHA Extends ‘Anti-Flipping Waiver’ to Speed Sales of REO Homes (DSNews)

Greg Diodati — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:31:18 +0000

A good sign for the housing market with the FHA extending its Anti-Flipping Waiver allowing investors to Buy bank owned property and resell right away. Read the complete article below by DSNews.

FHA Extends ‘Anti-Flipping Waiver’ to Speed Sales of REO Homes.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday that it is extending the suspension of its ‘anti-flipping rule’ through the remainder of 2011. FHA Commissioner David Stevens says the temporary waiver will accelerate the resale of foreclosed homes in neighborhoods that are overrun with abandoned properties and blight. The move is intended to help stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity.

FHA regulations typically prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days, but in February of last year, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, noting that in today’s foreclosure-ravaged marketplace, the agency’s research has shown that acquiring, rehabilitating, and reselling distressed properties often takes less than 90 days.

With the sunset date for that first extension just days away, FHA posted a notice on Friday extending the waiver through December 31, 2011. This action will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales.

“As I noted when we first announced this policy change early last year, because of the tightened credit market, FHA-insured mortgage financing is often the only means of financing available to potential homebuyers,” Stevens said. “Today I can report that this policy change has been effective.”

Stevens says since the original waiver went into effect, FHA has insured more than 21,000 mortgages worth over $3.6 billion on properties resold within 90 days.

FHA said it the notice that prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days would adversely impact the willingness of sellers to consider offers from potential FHA buyers, because the seller must also factor in holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.

“Because of past restrictions, FHA borrowers have often been shut out from buying affordable properties,” Stevens added. “This action enables our borrowers, especially first-time buyers, to take advantage of this opportunity and buy a home that has recently been rehabilitated. It will also help to move more foreclosed properties off the market and reduce the number of vacant homes in neighborhoods throughout this country.”

The waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of “flipping” where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices. The agency’s anti-flipping waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following criteria:

All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.
In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.
The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

(Source: DSNews 1/28/2011)

Fannie Mae’s Losses Narrow, but $2.5B More Needed in Aid

Greg Diodati — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:12:30 +0000

The nation’s largest mortgage financier reported a smaller loss during the third quarter of this year than it did in the previous quarter, with the latest figures representing a $17 billion improvement over the company’s financial results just a year earlier. Fannie Mae says, though, that it needs another $2.5 billion from taxpayers to cover its net worth deficit for the July-September reporting period.

Fannie Mae says it lost $1.3 billion in the third quarter of 2010, compared to a net loss of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of the year and a net loss of $18.8 billion during the third quarter of 2009.

Read the full report here;

Fannie Mae’s Losses Narrow, but $2.5B More Needed in Aid.

With Millions of Foreclosures on Horizon, Should States Mandate Mods? DSNews Carrie Bay

Greg Diodati — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:29:19 +0000

According to the Center for Responsible Lending, since the housing crisis took hold, 2.5 million homeowners have already lost their homes and another 5.7 million are at risk of foreclosure. It’s projected that between 10 and 13 million foreclosures will have occurred by the time this crisis abates. The Center argues that the power to stop unnecessary foreclosures and stabilize local housing markets lies with state legislatures. The group says lawmakers should impose mandatory loss mitigation standards for all servicers prior to foreclosure.

Read the full story on DSNews