News

Americans are less certain that the housing market has found its floor, and continue to be wary of buying a home. Those are the findings of Fannie Mae's most recent nationwide housing survey. The GSE says consumer attitudes about the housing market are more negative since its second-quarter poll, but the declining optimism is reinforcing realistic attitudes toward owning and renting. For the first time, delinquent borrowers are more likely to say they would rent rather than buy their next home.

Two industry reports point to positive trends in the commercial property sector that experts are attributing to improved credit conditions. Moody's tracked a 4.3 percent increase in commercial property prices during September, marking the first rise in the company's index since May. Real Capital reports the volume of commercial real estate deals grew 5.9 percent from September to October, and the company is predicting an even stronger fourth quarter.

Home prices in the U.S. continued to fall in the third quarter, with declines in most parts of the country, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). FHFA's purchase-only house price index is calculated from mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was 1.6 percent lower in the third quarter when compared to the second. Analysts warn that we may have entered a second downturn, although likely shorter and less severe than the one that brought the financial system to its knees.

Mortgage applications for home purchases jumped during the third week of November to their highest level since May. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that its index of purchase applications soared 14.4 percent for the week ending November 19th. MBA says the increase suggests growing consumer confidence. It offset a 1.0 percent decline in applications for mortgage refinancing, which in contrast, hit their lowest mark since the end of June.

Though the California Department of Real Estate's motto is ""Providing Service, Protecting You,"" the site has a major flaw when it comes to protecting consumers. The Sacramento Bee ran the names of more than 250 people who had been charged with a real-estate related crime in the past year through the Department of Real Estate's licensee database. What they found was shocking.

The Warren Group reports that year-over-year foreclosure petitions and deeds decreased in the Bay State during October. It was the first time this year that both petitions and deeds fell in Massachusetts. Foreclosure petitions plunged nearly 51 percent from October 2009 to 1,127 last month, the first month since January they have dropped below 2,000. Home sales also fell in October, down more than 28 percent. It's the fourth straight month of year-over-year sales declines.

Since the homebuyer tax credit expired in the spring, homebuying activity has slowed by more than 30 percent, and analysts aren't expecting much of a rebound any time soon. At the same time, the number of homes for sale has risen and with foreclosures still escalating, REO inventories are only going to grow. To boost housing demand and limit supply, John Burns Real Estate Consulting has developed an REO rental housing proposal, with three key points, which includes establishing an REIT for bank-owned properties held by government agencies.

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage is expanding its commercial real estate financing options offered through its nationwide mortgage banking network. The addition of fixed-rate loans for inclusion in the new generation of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is expected to be available in early 2011. Also under development is a short-term floating-rate loan program, which will provide temporary financing to select multifamily borrowers with pending Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac executions.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) issued a notice this week explaining Wells Fargo's new rules surrounding short sale transactions when a foreclosure is pending. Earlier this month, Wells Fargo advised NAR that it has modified its existing guidelines to allow the postponement of a scheduled foreclosure in connection with a short sale, but only in limited situations. Specifically, Wells Fargo must have an approved short sale contract in hand, and the transaction must close within 30 days of the scheduled foreclosure sale.

In September, when existing home sales rose 10 percent, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a statement declaring the numbers meant a sales recovery had begun. One short month later, and after only two months of gains, sales have slumped 2.2 percent to a 4.43 million annual rate - which was even lower than economists had predicted. Also down was the median price of existing homes sold. Analysts agree that the recent foreclosure freezes likely disrupted a number of pending sales.