The housing market in San Jose, California, has been cooling over time and prices have recently flattened. The trends imply a weakening market, according to Kristen Evans, an analyst for Altos Research LLC. “Despite the consistent decrease in the Market Action Index (MAI), we're in a ‘Seller's Market’ where significant demand leaves little inventory available.”
Read More »Report Criticizes Government Treatment of Banks
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) report digs into a controversial campaign by federal regulatory agencies called Operation Choke Point. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and several other federal agencies, the Office of the Comptroller of the ...
Read More »Bank of America Hit with $1.27 Billion Fine
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff ordered Bank of America to pay a significant civil penalty of $1.27 billion for fraud related to poor quality mortgages sold by Countrywide Financial Corporation, which Bank of America acquired in July 2008.
Read More »SIGTARP Calls for Changes to HAMP
The office of the Special Investigator General for TARP (SIGTARP) released its quarterly report on the progress and status of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Read More »CFPB Takes Action Against Lending Scheme
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and 13 state attorneys general announced Tuesday that obtained approximately $92 million in debt relief from Colfax Capital Corporation and Culver Capital, collectively known as “Rome Finance,” for about 17,000 U.S. service members and other consumers injured by the company’s predatory lending scheme.
Read More »Castro Sworn in, Faces New Challenges at HUD
As the newly sworn-in Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Julian Castro will need to perform a complicated balancing act to move the agency forward during the current unsteady recovery.
Read More »Home Prices on the Rise
Black Knight Financial Services released a report showing that the national Home Price Index (HPI) improved in general throughout the month of May across 18,500 examined zip codes in the United States. Home prices are now just 11 percent off of their 2006 peak. The HPI represents the price of non-distressed sales by taking into account price discounts for REO and short sales.
Read More »Community Organizations Work to Prevent Foreclosure
Increasingly, community organizations are getting more involved in ensuring that their citizens are able to avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The motivation is simple, fewer foreclosures make for more stable communities. More stable communities reduce crime and protect property values. To that end, Boston Community Capital (BCC) created the Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods (SUN) program to allow borrowers to remain in their homes, while still achieving principal reduction and lowering their monthly payment.
Read More »Goldman Sachs FHFA Settlement could reach $1.25 Billion
Multiple reports surfaced over the weekend that Goldman Sachs may be nearing a deal with the federal government to settle claims that it sold faulty mortgage backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to people with familiar with the negotiations. If a deal is reached it is expected to come in between $800 million and $1.25 billion. The talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Read More »CFPB Proposes Changes to Reporting Requirements
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a rule designed to improve the availability of access to credit. The proposed rule would update the reporting requirements contained within the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and simplify the reporting process for financial institutions.
Read More »