Archive for February, 2008
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
The interest rates on fixed rate mortgages (FRM) were
up during the week ended February 14 according to the results of Freddie
Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist commented on the
rates; "This week was relatively light on the number of economic data
releases, which ...
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Housing starts and building permits
continue to lag far behind the numbers recorded one year ago according to
monthly data issued on Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and The
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Builders, however, are seeing some signs that their
prospects might soon improve....
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Tourists have long used home swaps as a way to save
money and escape the blandness of hotel rooms; trading use of a house on
the beach in Florida for a New York City apartment or lakeside cabin for
a week or two.
The idea has now spread to permanent swaps. ...
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Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Even as the stock prices of investment banks began to fall and
foreclosures started to rise, everyone knew what was coming next.
Lawsuits!
So a study released by Navigant Consulting Inc. last week was hardly a
shock. The study shows that the number of subprime mortgage-
related lawsuits filed in federal courts in ...
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Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
A week ago six of the major mortgage servicers involved in the Hope
Now alliance announced that they would be offering a
pause in foreclosure proceedings to borrowers who
appeared able to enter into loan modification agreements. Now the
remaining 19 members of the alliance have agreed to adopt the ...
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Friday, February 15th, 2008
It took a while to saddle up the horses, but now it seems as though
everyone is riding to the rescue.
Senate Democrats Thursday announced The Foreclosure Prevention
Act of 2008 which is intended to address the national housing
crisis, help homeowners avoid foreclosure and assist communities that
have already been ...
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Thursday, February 14th, 2008
After pitching upward the previous week long term interest
rates were flat during the week ended February 7 according to
the results of Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The survey found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged
5.67 percent with 0.4 point for the week.
Mortgage originations were down a ...
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Thursday, February 14th, 2008
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has
insisted for years, and insisted adamantly since the "bubble" started to
burst, that real estate, like politics, is local. The quarterly survey of
home prices that NAR released on Thursday proves this point and also
indicates that, while the housing market is grim ...
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Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
President George W. Bush is scheduled to sign H.R. 5140, better known
as the economic stimulus package into law on Wednesday.
The legislation is geographically specific and will provide assistance
only in those areas where housing prices are well above the national
average. The legislation reads that the loan limitation ...
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Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
On CNBC Tuesday morning Warren Buffett announced that
he has offered to help out three bond insurers by offering a second level
of insurance on as much as $800 billion in municipal bonds.
The three companies, Ambac Financial Group, Inc.,
MBIA Inc., and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company have...
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