January 2012 Archives » North OC Housing News

Banks are still can’t get organized to handle more complex operations

Jan 312012

You would think that majors banks, after hiring lawyers, consultants, system engineers, and managers would be able to their act together and not screw up file and retention of important and legal documents. Old mortgages rise from the dead, haunt homeowners By Michelle Conlin Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:56pm EST (Reuters) – In July 2009, Roy and Sheila Bowers refinanced the mortgage on their suburban ranch home in Topeka, Kansas. The couple wanted to take advantage of the low interest rates that were all the rage at the time. Roy, a truck driver, and Sheila, a former hotel housekeeping supervisor, knew their new loan from Wells Fargo would enable them to save $198.86 a month – a nice chunk to help with gas [Read More...]

Here we go again: Subprime Debt Insured by FHA Climbs in Bet on Housing Recovery

Tagged with: FHA, subprime

Jan 302012

Here we go again: Subprime Debt Insured by FHA Climbs in Bet on Housing Recovery

This is just incredible, the FHA didn’t learn anything from 2007. Subprime Debt Insured by FHA Climbs in Bet on Housing Recovery: Mortgages By Kathleen M. Howley – Jan 26, 2012 In Honolulu, on the southern coast of the island of Oahu, there’s a four-bedroom home priced at $785,000 that has views of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. The beaches of Waikiki are 15 minutes away. Starting this month, the property is available to buyers with a subprime credit score, limited cash reserves and a 3.5 percent down payment using a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Without the agency, a buyer would need a 20 percent down payment and an unblemished financial history for a jumbo mortgage. [Read More...]

Unusual Multi-level in La Habra

Jan 292012

This is an REO in La Habra. This been remodeled a couple of times and it sort of looks like it. It was foreclosed by the bank in October and now it’s on the market. You can tell it’s an REO, but because look at the quality of the picture. It’s sort of fuzzy… – —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- —- — ————————————————————————————————————————————- Proprietary North OC Housing News home purchase analysis [Read More...]

Hottest Listings in North Orange County 1-28-2012

Tagged with: Most Popular

Jan 282012

Hottest Listings in North Orange County 1-28-2012

Redfin is the most popular real estate search site in Southern California. They track the most popular listings based on the number of views each receives. Below are some of the most viewed property listings in North Orange County. Check them out. See what everyone else finds so interesting. 5875 East CAMINO MANZANO Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 Competing Listings $549,900 117 South FRANCISCO St 0.31 miles 4 bd / 2.25 ba 2,497 Sq. Ft. $520,000 135 FRANCISCO 0.35 miles 4 bd / 2.5 ba 2,330 Sq. Ft. $465,000 158 North AVENIDA BARCA 0.45 miles 4 bd / 2.5 ba 2,369 Sq. Ft. $475,000 115 WADE Cir 0.61 miles 4 bd / 1.75 ba 2,400 Sq. Ft. $579,000 [Read More...]

Just in: Loan Originations collapse in November

Tagged with: Mortgage Volume

Jan 272012

Just in: Loan Originations collapse in November

This explains why December home sales were so awlful and helps my predictions for the Spring Selling season. A drop in 30% of originations is much more that seasonal correction, it’s problem in the market. New originations drop 30%, loan delinquencies decline by KERRI PANCHUK January 27th, 2012, 8:11 am Low interest rates are spurring some activity in the mortgage market, but opportunities for borrowers with low credit scores are limited, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor Report from LPS Applied Analytics. New loan originations, overall, fell 30% year-over-year in November, with LPS reporting 537,720 originations in November, compared to 724,364 in December 2010. The report did not include new origination amounts for December 2011. Vintage originations for the years [Read More...]

December Sales pretty much going nowhere, finishing a very slow year

Tagged with: 1 - Market Analysis, Home sales, Shadow Inventory

Jan 272012

December Sales pretty much going nowhere, finishing a very slow year

I’m not surprised, if you need a purchase a home, it’s close to rental parity in most of the country. However, I think a lot a people who are waiting on the slidelines are become more informed. They are playing a waiting game because the factors to go into a potential buyer’s decision to purchase a home has become more a moving target (ie mortgate rates, shadow inventory, financing options, mortgage interest tax deduction, credit standards, inflation costs, jobs, debt, and economic instability. New Home Sales in U.S. Fell in December By Alex Kowalski – Jan 26, 2012 Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly declined in December for the first time in four months, capping the slowest year on record for builders. Purchases (NHSLTOT) of single-family properties [Read More...]

The Mortgage Police cometh

Jan 262012

Although I love to see Mozilo in jail with Madoff and Bernanke selling oranges on a 55 freeway off ramp, shouldn’t we be concentrating on 1) restricting the Fed’s war against my parent’s retirement savings 2) Real regulation against To Big To Fail, and 3) start the process to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Obama Will Create Unit on Mortgage Misconduct –With assistance from Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles and Seth Stern in Washington. Editors: Michael Hytha, Peter Blumberg Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said he will create a mortgage crisis unit that includes federal and state officials to investigate wrongdoing by banks related to real estate lending. The president announced the unit in his State of the [Read More...]

Five reasons there will not be a home price appreciation bump this spring

Tagged with: 1 - Market Analysis, Financing, sales volume, Shadow Inventory, Strategic Default

Jan 252012

Five reasons there will not be a home price appreciation bump this spring

You might see a increase in sales volume, but home median prices or price per square foot will be stable or lower compared to the same period in 2011 during the Spring selling season. I have organized this list from least important first to most important last. High Cancellation Rates – NAR in it’s last press release for December 2011 homes sales stated that contract cancellations are at 33% compared to an historical norm of 6%-8%! That adds inventory back on the market in most cases. Also the potential buyer maybe disencouraged or unquantified for another escrow thereby reducing the pool of potential buyers. The main two reasons for cancellations, which I’ll expand below, are appraisals and tighter credit standards. Down Payment Requirement – Most of the [Read More...]

Fed’s image tarnished by newly released documents

Tagged with: 3 - Lenders-Banksters, Federal Reserve

Jan 242012

Fed’s image tarnished by newly released documents

This article needs repeating so more people have an understanding of the history of the housing bubble. The central banking system is the one of the most sectors of the economy in this country. It’s similar to the electrical grid, if its in distress then every other section of the economy is affected. You would think that the most capable people would be managing this institution and would have up most sense of responsibility and endeavour to be the model professional. Below is what really happened. Fed’s image tarnished by newly released documents By Zachary A. Goldfarb, Published: January 12 The leaders of the Federal Reserve went around the room saluting Alan Greenspan during his last day as chairman of the central bank. Then Timothy F. Geithner, [Read More...]

Home Sales reach 33% cancellation rate in December 2011

Jan 232012

U.S. Home Sales Rise 5% in December By Alex Kowalski – // Jan 20, 2012 2:25 PM PT Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in December to the highest level since January 2011, adding to evidence residential real estate was stabilizing heading into the new year. Purchases (ETSLTOTL) increased for a third month, climbing 5 percent to a 4.61 million annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The gain helped push the number of houses on the market to a six-year low. Less-expensive properties, a pickup in employment and the lowest mortgage rates on record may give Americans the confidence to take on their biggest investment, buying a house. At the same time, the foreclosure [Read More...]