News

Altos Research says its newest housing market report confirms what the company has been saying for some time: the mini-boom of this spring was created by seasonal demand, with some extra help from the federal homebuyer tax credits, but now that those dynamics are gone, ""buyer activity has all but come to a standstill,"" the company says. The analysts at the California-based firm warn that the industry should brace for rapidly rising inventory and continued home price pressures in August and into the fall of 2010.

Gov. Deval Patrick has signed into law a package of foreclosure initiatives that he says will keep people in their homes and stabilize neighborhoods across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The legislation was deemed an emergency measure by lawmakers. In addition to extending the mandated 90-day right-to-cure on foreclosures created in 2007 to 150 days, it creates new protections for tenants renting apartments in foreclosed buildings and establishes mortgage fraud as a crime.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday published a long list of rules outlining new requirements that will govern compensation to mortgage professionals and disclosures to borrowers regarding their home loans. Among the new regulations are a ban on controversial yield spread premiums, and a stipulation that requires lenders to provide borrowers with a payment table, which includes a ""worst case"" scenario showing the maximum interest rate and mortgage payment they might see over the life of the loan.

According to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors, statewide sales in existing-home and condo markets have increased for the seventh consecutive quarter compared to year-ago levels. The association's report cites a total of 51,564 existing homes sold statewide in the second quarter of 2010, up 21 percent from the same period last year. Condo sales improved by 45 percent with 20,986 units sold compared to Q2 2009. Median sales prices, though, were not as positive.

Fannie Mae has issued a new bulletin to lenders underscoring the GSE's requirement that every mortgage loan delivered to Fannie Mae be underwritten to ensure the borrower has the willingness and ability to repay the debt. To this end, Fannie Mae said it expects lenders to have procedures in place to facilitate borrower disclosure of changes in financial circumstances throughout the origination process. This, however, does not mean lenders must pull a second credit report on the borrower prior to closing.

Mortgage technology firm FNC Inc. recently announced that it is partnering with Integrated Asset Services (IAS), a provider of collateral valuation and management services. The joint venture will offer FNC's servicing clients the option to procure more precise, next-generation real estate valuations, allowing users to formulate their property disposition strategies based on real estate value trend lines, the company explained.

CoreLogic reports that home prices in the United States increased in June, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains in residential property values. But the company says price appreciation has slowed considerably--a sign that we're likely in for further declines heading into the fall season. According to CoreLogic, national home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 1.4 percent in June compared to a year earlier. That follows a 3.7 percent jump in May. CoreLogic says June's 2.3 percentage point deceleration from May is ""very large by historical standards.""

For the second weekend in a row, regulators shut down only one financial institution. It was Palos Bank and Trust Company in Palos Heights, Illinois that found regulators at its doors last Friday evening. It marked the 110th bank failure this year, and the 14th in Illinois, making the state home to the second most collapsed banks in 2010, second only behind Florida.

Foreclosed homes permeate the American landscape. According to data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), they make up about one in 12 houses with under $1 million left on the mortgage. These foreclosures drive down home prices, but it can be hard to determine how much depreciation is caused by the foreclosure and how much is economical factors. One economist from MIT and two Harvard researchers have put a price tag on foreclosures. They've determined that foreclosure itself reduces the value of a home by 27 percent.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has decided to delay the planned adjustments to its insurance premium structure by one month, after the industry expressed concerns about being ready in time. The premium fee changes will become effective October 4, 2010. Lawmakers gave the federal mortgage insurer enough leeway to increase the annual fee it charges borrowers three-fold, up to 1.55 percent. But the annual premium is not going to go that high. It will increase from 0.55 percent to between 0.85 percent and 0.90 percent of the loan amount.