Like the prodigal son, equity has returned home. For the past five years, as collapsing values wiped out trillions of dollars of home equity, one had to wonder how long we would have to wait to see its return. According to a recent article in The M Report, here, not only is it returning, but fewer homeowners are pulling it out again. ~Phil
AND THE AWARD GOES TO… [complimentary drum roll here] Jason Furman and James Stock! [Hereinafter collectively referred to as “J&J.”] Both economists,[1] apparently shilling for the White House, are calling for the dismemberment of Fannie and Freddie, the government sponsored enterprises, or “GSEs,” with something – anything – else. They have recently co-authored a puff piece [“The Moment is Right for Housing Reform”] that managed to make it onto the Wall Street Journal opinion page, mercifully “below the fold.”
Both gentlemen appear to have all the right credentials to be comfortably ensconced in the ivory towers of Ivy League academia. But for all their whiz-bang credentials in economics and statistics [here], one would think this article would contain a little more meat and a little less mush. In fact, the article is so packed with political pablum it ought to carry a warning against reading it without first putting on a bib. The piece appears to be directed to those folks in the audience who nod knowingly, but know nothing. In other words, J&J’s intent is not to inform, but to influence. To its credit, the article appears to comply with the federal mandates set forth in the “No Idiot Left Behind” learning program for useless information. Congratulations guys!
Continue reading “Nuts and Dolts: White House Puff Piece On “Housing Reform””
In a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “Mortgage Lenders Ease Rules for Home Buyers in Hunt for Business” by Nick Timiraos and Annamaria Andriotis, we continue to hear that banks are beating the bushes for borrowers; and they are relaxing some of the tough lending requirements that have stymied may would-be homebuyers over the past few years. The reason? The refi boom which was triggered by ever lower interest rates has about run its course. In the search for other profit centers, many banks are trying to fill the void with loan origination business. Continue reading “Easing Bank Credit Standards And Lending Terms? It’s About Time!”
Quoting Kai Ryssdal, of NPR’s Marketplace, “Let’s go to the numbers!” There is no question that beginning in 4Q 2013, the number of foreclosures began to decline in the tri-county area. Of course, when this first occurred, I couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t some devious plot hatched by the Big Banks, perhaps to limit the number of foreclosed homes coming back onto the market at one time, thus increasing demand and pricing. Continue reading “Foreclosure Stats For Portland Metro Area: First Quarter 2014”
General. Well, the RMLS™ numbers are in for March 2014. We’re moving in the right direction by most accounts. For the full report, go to this link. Here are the data points: Continue reading “Portland-Metro Real Estate Stats (March 2014)”
Ludd·ite – noun \ˈlə-ˌdīt\: one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest; broadly : one who is opposed to especially technological change Luddite adjective. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luddite
If the shoe fits…. Hmmm. This sounds vaguely familiar today. As a protest, one destroys the very thing upon which they have come to depend. I note that the dictionary says the term can be used as an adjective. This suggests to me that in today’s parlance, it is primarily descriptive. I sense that calling someone a “Luddite” is not a ringing endorsement of their common sense. Continue reading “Congressional Luddites Seek to Dismantle Fannie and Freddie (Part One)”
This question is not just rhetorical. As of January 10, 2014, a batch of new laws became effective across the country, including Oregon. Though the laws were intended to deal with Big Bank excesses – you remember, those morally vacuous zombie institutions that singularly brought this country’s credit and real estate markets to its knees and ushered in the Great Recession? Yeh, those guys; the ones whose execs never went to jail. Anyway, following Wall Street’s near death experience, circa 2008-2009, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank [Big Bank sycophants par excellence] immediately put their low-paid staffers, interns and toadies to work crafting a 900-page bill which has spawned 14,000+ pages in regulations[1]. Like so many politicians before him,[2] Barney Frank apparently didn’t read his namesake bill very close either. After creating a law that is more aptly named “FrankenDodd,” Mr. Frank, now retired from the House after 30+ pugnacious years berating anyone who disagreed with him, has recently admitted that the law has gone too far. ~PCQ [For full article, go to link here.]
Introduction. The FAQs below come directly from the most recent CFPB guidelines for January 2014. Parts One and Two can be found here and here. As I go through the rules I will supplement the FAQs. This information does not apply to the Big Banks, e.g. B of A, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, etc. Rather, it applies to “small creditors” such as community banks. Unfortunately, the regulators have sought to apply the ATR/QM rules even to Mom and Pop who may sell an occasional rental unit or two.[1] The CFPB gives “small creditors” or “small entities” certain underwriting latitude in the application of the ATR/QM rules. Generally, these are persons or entities with no more than $2 billion in assets that make no more than 500 mortgage loans per year. Originally, the small entity exceptions were intended to apply only to “rural or underserved counties,” but until January 10, 2016, the exceptions will apply to all small creditors, regardless of location. Caveat: This material below is informational only and does not constitute “legal advice.” Moreover, it is summary only; for more information, the actual regulations should be reviewed. [For full article, go to link here.]
[1] I maintain vehemently that on the state and federal levels, the CFPB rules should not apply to the occasional sale of residential property owned by persons who are not in the business of making such loans, when they “carry back the paper,” e.g. on a contract or note and trust deed. The fact that Oregon’s DFCS insists otherwise is a sad and disturbing commentary on the uber-regulatory mindset of governmental bureaucrats who would rather regulate than cogitate. Any sentient human being who has a passing familiarity with the housing and credit crisis would know that the occasional sale of residential property by Mom and Pop who carry back the paper was never meant to be subject to the ATR/QM and mortgage loan originator laws.
A recent article in the online MReport Daily (“Underwriting Standards Ease as Banks Vie for Business”) repeats the same information I’ve been reading on
many other financial sites over the past few months: QM and ATR is not spelling gloom and doom for the residential financing industry. According to the report: Continue reading “Residential Underwriting: Are Standards Easing?”
Background. People with an “institutional memory” of the real estate brokerage business over the past 30-40 years will say that pocket listings have always been around. For real estate newbies, a “pocket listing” is one that the broker does not place into the local multiple listing service (“MLS”) – at least not at first. There may be a variety of valid reasons a seller would not want their listing to be published, such as privacy, confidentiality, safety, etc. Continue reading “The Big Secret: Whisper Listings”
