News / Features

Multifamily Housing to Recover Strongly in 2012

Multifamily housing has been in the news quite a bit the last couple months, as analysts have pointed to the sector as one of the few bright spots in construction, if not the entire housing market, in recent months.

Inventories the Main Takeaway from NAR Revisions

As promised, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its revised totals yesterday on existing-home sales, and the “meaningful” changes the association had foretold came out to a 14.6 percent downward revision for 2010’s existing-home sales and a 14.3

Huge HARP 2.0 Restriction Lifted by Fannie

One of the key provisions to the HARP 2.0 revisions was eliminating the LTV ratio limits that restricted a huge swath of underwater homeowners from refinancing their mortgages; it would appear that Fannie Mae has taken it one step further.

CFPB Law Risks Further Foreclosure Backlog

Foreclosures, on average, take a long, long time to complete in the U.S. In fact, according to the latest data from Lending Processing Services, it takes an average of 631 days to foreclose on a property, and if current

Weichert, Realtors-Wayne Murray Welcomes New Agent

Realtor Lorna Vest has joined the office of Houston-based Weichert Realtors-Wayne Murray Properties. A member of the Houston Association of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors, Vest is a graduate of Champions School of Real Estate

Houston Posts Sixth Consecutive Month of Positive Home Sales

Home sales continued to hum along in Houston, posting their sixth straight month of positive sales in November with another year-over-year increase, according to a new report from the Houston Association of

Fannie Projects Strong Economic Finish for 2011

A new economic report from the Fannie Mae Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group states that the U.S. economy is poised to finish the year strongly, though 2012 may prove to be a tricky year. According to the report, the

Housing Construction Posts Big Gains in November

Residential housing construction posted some of the most promising gains of the year in the latest joint report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Data was especially strong for housing starts, which

How to Explain the NAR’s Counting Mishap?

We’re two days away from the official unveiling of the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) revised existing home sales, and like many journalists and analysts, we await what will likely be a release of data that will greatly influence

What are the Costs of the Payroll Tax Cut?

The payroll tax cut drama continued earlier today when Speaker of the House John Boehner announced that the House of Representatives would not pass the two-month extension approved by the Senate over the weekend. The divergence in congressional behavior is

Builder Confidence Rises for the Third Consecutive Month

Builder confidence continues to rise in the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), a key measurement of builder sentiment and an influential projection on future housing activity. Derived from a monthly survey that the

Freddie Predicts Jobs, Low Rates and Housing Activity in 2012

It’s the end of the year, and numerous analysts, media outlets and public figures are adding their two cents as to what 2012 will have in store not just for housing, but for the greater U.S. economy (and we’re

Could Housing Fraud Be Making a Return?

After the boom years, Lehman, Fannie & Freddie, Dodd-Frank, and a whole host of other reforms and failures seemed to set the real estate markets straight, but now it appears fraud might be coming back. A new piece in the

SEC Sues Former Execs at Fannie and Freddie

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against six former executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including the GSEs former CEOs, alleging that they misled investors and the federal government over the risky nature

More Banks were STARs in the Third Quarter

Earlier today, Fannie Mae released its Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program results for the third quarter of 2011, which measures the performance of servicers with an emphasis on foreclosure prevention. According to a press release on the program,

Household Debt Continues to Fall in Latest Fed Study

The Federal Reserve yesterday released its third quarter study of household debt, showing that households continued to decrease their debts following the stock market crash of 2008. Using two measures to track debt – the household debt service ratio

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