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Real Estate News 1.3.2014

Job search: One year and counting…
“Lena Rouse has merely one resolution for 2014: Finally get a job.”

The smart home is a pipe dream
“At next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the tech industry will try to convince us that our homes will be completely automated in the next five years. Don’t believe the hype.”

Sell your home without a real estate agent
“How do I sell my home without using a real estate agent? — Bill, Chicago”

Luxury sales drive Manhattan home prices higher
“New York’s new mayor is vowing to shrink the divide between the wealthy and everyone else. But when it comes to the real estate market, he is facing an uphill battle.”

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac got $7.9 billion in bank settlements in 2013
“WASHINGTON —  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collected $7.9 billion from large financial institutions to settle suits over bad mortgage-backed securities purchased by the seized housing finance giants during the subprime housing boom, their federal regulator said.”

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac may be too profitable to shut down
“WASHINGTON — Federal officials swooped in to rescue mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008 with the largest of all the financial crisis bailouts — a combined $187.5 billion — because they were considered too big to fail.”

Morningstar Executive Gives Assessment of New CFPB Rules
““Under the new CFPB [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] rules, servicers will have to provide very detailed and accurate information to borrowers about each aspect of their loans and/or any foreclosure procedures that may occur,” according to Richard Koch, SVP at Morningstar Credit Ratings.”

Industry Completes 50K Loan Modifications for Homeowners in October
“The HOPE NOW Alliance recently announced that an estimated 50,000 homeowners received permanent, affordable loan modifications from mortgage servicers during October 2013. This total includes modifications completed under both proprietary programs and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).”

Alternate Home Price Index Records Weaker Gains
“While the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for October showed a significant 13.6 percent year-over-year leap, other measures saw more subdued gains for the month.”

Average private RE investment vehicle reaches $511M
“The average size of private real estate investment vehicles that closed in 2013 hit $511 million — the highest level recorded by Preqin since the start of its data analysis.”

Residential construction spending hits 2008 levels
“Construction spending on private, residential projects reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $346 billion in November, up 17% over November 2012. That’s the fastest pace since mid-2008.”

Lenders search for plan B
“Lenders and borrowers are looking to other avenues of borrowing as mortgage rates continue to rise and competition heightens among financial institutions.”

2014 housing forecasts filled with euphoria: Estimates looking at higher rates combined with higher prices and stagnant incomes.
“Euphoria unlike housing inventory is in plenty supply when it comes to 2014 real estate forecasts.  The glue holding the housing market comes from investors and generous banking policy.  The one thing about economics unlike other hard sciences is that it happens in real-time.  It also assumes certain rules are fixed but that really act more like clay to fit the whims of the power structure.  It was interesting to see how few analysts at the end of 2012 predicted the massive run-up in real estate prices during 2013.  What is typical of course is that analysts usually go with the momentum so it is no surprise that predictions for 2014 are rosier than they were for 2013 even though most are forecasting higher interest rates and most will acknowledge that this current pace is unsustainable.  Yet higher rates will add pressure on income constrained households.  Investors are already showing signs of pulling back in certain markets.  Let us examine the 2014 real estate forecasting landscape.”

3 ways Dodd Frank law will roil real estate in 2014
“Chris Dodd and Barney Frank have long since retired, but the namesake legislation they craftedfour  years ago is about to unleash sweeping changes in the mortgage and real estate markets.”

Can Selling Real Estate Make You Rich?
“When Roman Serra, a 29-year-old with a master’s degree in art, decided to switch careers, he enrolled in a two-week real-estate course. He took a personality test online and went through a short interview at Chicago real-estate firm Baird & Warner, where he took the class. If he passes his broker’s license examination in January, he is guaranteed a spot as an independent contractor and a desk at one of the company’s 22 offices. He says studying wasn’t difficult compared with his days in college. “I wouldn’t personally consider it intense,” he says.”

AZ real estate player, reality TV star in trouble for operating without license
“PHOENIX (CBS5) – A reality TV star made a name for himself bidding on foreclosed homes. Now he’s underwater, accused of operating without a license.”

Three Northern California Real Estate Investors Agree to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions
“WASHINGTON—Three Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.”

Real Estate in 2014: A Need-to-Know Guide
“After year of struggles, the housing market roared back to life in 2013. The rebound will continue in 2014, but the pace will slow.”

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Today’s Real Estate News 10.29.2013

Summary:

Today, DS News reports about how much real estate us investors have purchased since 2011. Realtytrac shares the opinions on leading brokers regarding the QRM proposal and how the foreclosure rate has been increasing in New York City and Long Island since Hurricane Sandy. According to CNN  Money, home prices are still increasing. Realtor.org shows their approval in delaying flood insurance increases. The MBAA’s president & CEO stresses a housing policy balance.  According to the Housing Wire, Hensarling is pointing the finger at Dodd-Frank for the mortgage market’s “volatility,” the Special Inspector General for TARP outlines the failures of the “Hardest Hit Fund,” the underdogs of mortgage servicing are forecasted to rule the mortgage market according to mortgage servicing experts, mortgage originations are most likely to decrease and the FHFA states that mortgage rates are to continue to climb. Bloomberg reports that consumer confidence has decreased the most since August 2011 and BofA could be forced to pay somewhere between $5-8 BILLION to settle federal claims while it’s Countrywide unit and investors in mortgage-backed securities are expected to ask a federal judge to overrule FDIC’s objections and settle for $500 Million.

Investors’ Home Purchases Total $1 Trillion Since 2011
“Since 2011, investors have purchased more than 950,000 homes; and with 370,000 purchases so far this year, they have already surpassed the number of purchases they made in either of the past two years, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.”

Leading Brokers Weigh in on Impact of New QRM Proposal, Reveling Concerns Over Mortgage Rules Taking Effect in 2014
“RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for comprehensive housing and real estate data, today released opinions from five leading real estate brokers across the country on the impact to the real estate market and mortgage industry posed by the newly proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rules set to take effect in January as a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law in 2010.”

New York City and Long Island Foreclosures Continue to Increase a Year After Hurricane Sandy Hit
“One year after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the U.S. eastern seaboard, RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, today reported that foreclosure activity in the first nine months of 2013 is up 33 percent compared to the first nine months of 2012 in the 7-county region including the five boroughs of New York and Long Island.”

Home prices continue to climb
“Home prices posted the largest annual gain since housing bubble days in August, although the month-over-month gain slowed for the fourth straight month.”

Realtors® Applaud Bipartisan Legislation to Delay Flood Insurance Rate Increases
“The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Gary Thomas:

“The bipartisan ‘Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act’ introduced today in the Senate by Sens. Robert Mendendez, D-N.J.; Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; and Mary Landrieu, D-La., and in the House by Reps. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif., will help millions of homeowners who are facing sudden and extreme increases in flood insurance premiums, which are an unintended consequence of legislation to reform the National Flood Insurance Program.”

Stevens Calls for a Constructive Balance in Housing Policy
“Washington, DC (October 28, 2013) — David H. Stevens, President & CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today delivered the following remarks at the association’s 100th Annual Convention and Expo in Washington, DC.”

Hensarling blames Dodd-Frank for mortgage market volatility
“Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, received thousands of cheers from attendees during the Mortgage Banker’s Association 100th Annual Convention and Expo Tuesday as he painted the Dodd-Frank Act as the real threat to mortgage finance reform.”

SIGTARP details Hardest Hit Fund failures
“The Hardest Hit Fund, which was launched by the Treasury to help families in areas stricken by the housing bust, fell short of its stated goals, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) warns.”

Smaller competitors may dominate servicing in the near future
“Mortgage servicing experts foresee a future market dominated by specialists such as Ocwen Financial (OCN) and Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NSM), while big, traditional banks head for the hills when it comes to servicing to escape litigation and costs.”

Mortgage originations expected to fall 32% in 2014
“Mortgage originations are estimated to reach a total value of $1.2 trillion in 2014, a 32% drop from 2013 levels, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.”

FHFA: Mortgage rates continue to climb
“Mortgage interest rates continued their upward climb, with contract mortgage interest rates increasing 0.11% from August to September, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s index of new mortgage contracts.”

Consumer Confidence in U.S. Slumps by Most Since August 2011
“Confidence among U.S. consumers declined in October by the most since August 2011 as the budget impasse and debt-ceiling negotiations in Washington took a toll on outlooks.”

BofA Accord With FHFA Could Cost $8 Billion, Fitch Says
“Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. lender, may have to pay $5 billion to $8 billion to settle federal claims tied to faulty mortgages after a rival lender’s deal set “a relatively high bar,” Fitch Ratings said.”

Countrywide, Investors Seek Approval of $500 Million Pact
“Bank of America Corp.’s Countrywide unit and investors in its devalued residential mortgage-backed securities will ask a federal judge to overrule objections from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and approve a $500 million class-action settlement.”