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Real Estate News 1.15.2014

Bill Seeks to Extend Federal Tax Exemption for Forgiven Mortgage Debt
“Congressman Bill Foster (D-Illinois) introduced the Homeowners Debt Relief Extension Act (H.R. 3856) on Tuesday. The bill would extend the mortgage debt tax exemption that’s been in place since 2007 for another two years.”

Early Earnings Reports Reveal Effects of Declining Mortgage Volume
“This season’s bank releases kicked off Tuesday with dual quarterly earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo—and as projected, weakened origination figures took their toll.”

Florida Law Firm Rebrands and Expands Service to Puerto Rico
“The veteran-, minority-, and woman-owned default law firm founded by Marisol Morales, Esq., announced its expansion into Puerto Rico and a name change from Morales Law Group, PA, to Millennium Partners.”

New Fed Survey Assesses Consumer Expectations
“A recently launched survey from New York’s Federal Reserve Bank shows consumer expectations for the next year remaining fairly flat in December.”

Which Hidden Gems Make Cut as Year’s Hottest Neighborhoods?
“Redfin on Tuesday came out with its annual list of the country’s “hottest” neighborhoods. The company ranked 105 neighborhoods across 21 major markets that have grown the most in popularity during the four months leading into 2014.”

Bank of America profit impresses Wall Street
“Bank of America impressed Wall Street Wednesday with better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter, continuing a trend of solid results from the nation’s largest banks.”

Fannie, Freddie watchdog in probe of alleged Wall Street front running
“(Reuters) – A U.S. government watchdog is involved in an investigation of whether bank traders manipulated markets and engaged in front running of orders from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the interest-rate swaps market, according to an FBI intelligence bulletin reviewed by Reuters.”

The end of the mortgage party? Home lending plummets at Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase
“The mortgage party is officially over.”

Trade group expects less mortgage loan activity this year
“Mortgage loan activity this year will be less than expected because of higher interest rates and fewer applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.”

QM storm could hit in weeks
“The Consumer Financial Protection Board’s Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule is going to constrict access to mortgage credit and possibly stall housing, and members of Congress and mortgage industry leaders want a lot more flexibility in dealing with the CFPB’s regulations that went into effect Jan. 10.”

December Gain in Retail Sales Gives U.S. a Lift: Economy
“Retail sales (RSTAXAGM) rose in December as frigid temperatures prodded Americans to buy discounted winter clothing and shop online for the holidays, capping what may have been the strongest quarter for consumer spending in three years.”

Volcker Rule Curbs on Banks Owning CDOs Eased in U.S.
“U.S. regulators granted banks an exemption from Volcker Rule limits for collateralized debt obligations composed mostly of small-bank securities, according to a statement from regulators.”

House Republicans voice support for $1.1 trillion spending bill
“(Reuters) – Republicans in the House of Representatives voiced tentative support on Tuesday for a $1.1 trillion spending bill, signaling likely passage and removing one source of potential drama ahead of the 2014 elections.”

3 key takeaways from JPMorgan earnings call
“JPMorgan Chase (JPM) released its fourth-quarter earnings this morning, and it fared pretty well considering the never-ending series of legal settlements it had to overcome.”

Mortgage apps up 11.9%
“Mortgage applications increased 11.9% from a week ago, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Jan. 10, 2014.”

Fed’s Fisher says QE is ‘beer goggles’ for investors
“Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher, always one for colorful speeches, said he is confident and certain that it’s time to come down from the $1 trillion a year money printing and bond buying.”

Congress takes a bite out of housing agency budgets
“A proposed $1 trillion congressional spending bill means less money for key housing agencies, analysts claim.”

JPMorgan With Wells Fargo Lose Share to Small Rivals: Mortgages
“The two largest U.S. home lenders are feeling the bite of competition from smaller firms as mortgage originations tumble at the fastest rate since 2011.”

REAL ESTATE: Up again, December home prices – by 28 percent
“Home sale prices across Southern California were poker-hot in December, the latest real estate information report from San Diego-based DataQuick suggests.”

The Market Is Rethinking That Disastrous Jobs Report
“Markets are already acting as if the bad jobs numbers released Friday may have been just noise, and that the economy is still doing fine. Already we’re seeing interest rates rise again, and other markets continue to bet that the Fed will move toward tightening.”

Do Real Estate Agents Practice What They Preach?
“Trulia’s Chief Economist Jed Kolko dives into Census data to reveal whether real estate agents walk the walk, or if they are all talk. Turns out, they do: their homeownership rate is high even after taking demographics into account. The same goes for appraisers, architects, and construction workers.”

Real Estate Matters | How to get your finances in home-buying shape
“Money makes the world go around. And every year we make resolutions to save more of it, invest it more profitably and spend more wisely.”

County new home prices hit record high
“The median price for newly built single-family homes and condos in San Diego County shot up to a record high in December, while the number of new homes sold hit a record low for a December.”

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Today’s Real Estate News 10.18.2013

Summary:
According to CNN Money, more budget cuts are on the horizon for the nation while the current $80 Billion budget cuts has already hurt the economy. Realtor shares an interesting fact in time for Halloween, most people are willing to purchase so-called haunted homes. LA Times reports that home prices & sales are cooling down in the Bay Area. Market Watch (Wall Street Journal) shows SunTrust Bank Inc.’s 3Q earnings have fallen 82% as a result of a settlement agreement. The Housing Wire reports that stocks are rising as a result of investor reaction to the “government deal,” JPMorgan Chase has donated $250 million in free & discounted homes across the nation & Vice President of Coastal States Mortgage Corp., Patrick Mansell, was sentenced to a 5 year prison term as a result of pleading guilty to “conspiracy to commit wire fraud” against Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. According to Bloomberg, states are closing in on companies who are improperly labeling employees as contractors in order to evade employee taxes, overtime pay, insurance & pay fair wages to workers. CNBC reports that high-end flipping is increasing in popularity among investors & the Labor Department will be releasing the September jobs report this coming Tuesday. Time’s Business & Money section put out an article regarding the drag that student loans are on the economy.

Spending cuts are hurting economy
“If you thought this year’s cuts to preschoolers, senior meals and medical research were bad, get ready for more.”

Survey: Most People Open to Buying a Haunted House
“More than half of home buyers are open to buying a haunted house, according to realtor.com’s 2013 Haunted Housing Report. Also, 35 percent of the nearly 1,400 people who took the survey say they have lived in a haunted home.”

Bay Area home market cools, prices and sales fall
“Home prices and sales fell last month in the Bay Area as the tech-rich region mirrored a cooling trend elsewhere within the state.”

SunTrust Banks net down 82% on higher expenses
“SunTrust Banks Inc.’s STI +0.53% third-quarter earnings fell 82% as the regional bank posted higher expenses resulting from a recent settlement agreement.”

Housing stocks rise as investors react to government deal
“The HW 30 – a composite of housing and mortgage finance stocks – rose nearly 1% Thursday as the government reopened, allowing agencies like the Federal Housing Administration to return to the business of handling FHA loans.”

A Common Trait that Silicon Valley, Las Vegas, and New York all Share. Hint: It’s not the Weather
“On average, for every $1 billion increase in stock value of companies in a given area, the median sale price of nearby homes increases by $4,400. That doesn’t sound like much, until you consider an area like Silicon Valley, home to 45 publicly traded companies in this study, and about $1.1 trillion in valuation. When the aggregate stock value of these companies goes up, about three months later, home prices begin to rise at a corresponding rate. This means that an increase in stock value of just 1 percent for these Silicon Valley companies could lead to an increase of median sale price of more than $48,000.”

JPMorgan Chase donates $250 million free, discounted homes
“JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has donated or sold at a discount more than $250 million in corporate-owned homes to community associations, municipalities, veteran groups and nonprofit housing providers across the country.”

Mortgage executive gets five years for defrauding Fannie, Freddie
“A federal judge sentenced Patrick Mansell, 68, of Boca Raton, Fla., to five years in prison and three years subsequent supervised release after he pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His alleged violation occurred when Mansell took part in a scheme to defraud the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

States Clamping Down on Workers Mislabeled as Contractors
“When construction slowed during the recession, some companies hired workers and wrongly designated them as independent contractors to avoid paying insurance, taxes, fair wages and overtime.”

Investors high on high-end house flips
“Rising home prices and short supply have investors setting their sights on a new real estate play.”

September jobs report coming on Tuesday
“The Labor Department said on Thursday that it would release its report on September employment on Tuesday, as it provided a fresh schedule for some economic data that had been postponed due to a partial government shutdown.”

Student Loans Are Becoming a Drag on the US Economy
“The housing recovery remains on track. But high levels of student debt threaten to hang over the residential real estate market for many years, acting as a drag on both household formation and higher prices.”

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Today’s Real Estate News 10.17.13

Summary:
According to CNN Money, the government shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion. Reuters states that Washington is the “biggest risk” to the nation’s economy. The LA Times reports that SoCal’s housing market is slowing, reports this week’s mortgage rates, a former BofA employee has allegedly taken $1 million in bribes to alter short sale transactions & BofA “outpaces other banks in mortgage settlement compliance.” The Housing Wire shares that the U.S. housing market took only a minor hit as a result of the government shutdown & that flippers are backing away due to a decline in real estate turnover.
CNBC reports that Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chair, won’t be required to testify in AIG case yet.

Shutdown took $24 billion bite out of economy
“The United States may have dodged an economic catastrophe by raising the debt ceiling and opening the government, but it didn’t emerge from the political debacle unscathed.”

Analysis: Washington becomes the biggest risk to the U.S. economy
“(Reuters) – Consensus may be hard to find in Washington these days, but many corporate executives and economists seem to agree on one point: the biggest risk to the world’s largest economy may be its own elected representatives.”

Southern California housing market slows after torrid rebound
“Southern California home buyers have apparently had their fill of bidding wars, home shortages and double-digit price hikes.”

Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates higher amid crisis; 30-year at 4.28%
“Fixed mortgage rates rose early this week amid the debt crisis, Freddie Mac’s latest survey showed, with lenders offering the 30-year home loan at an average of 4.28%, up from 4.23% a week earlier.”

Former BofA employee accused of taking bribes to rig short sales
“A former Bank of America Corp. employee who had dealt with delinquent mortgages has been arrested on federal charges of accepting more than $1 million in bribes to allow homes to be sold far below their market value.”

BofA outpaces other banks in mortgage settlement compliance
“Bank of America Corp. moved faster than Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. in satisfying its obligations to assist troubled borrowers under last year’s $25-billion national mortgage settlement, according to the agreement’s monitor.”

Housing recovery took a minor hit during government shutdown
“While the housing forecast remains mostly unchanged, the contentious negotiations that led to Congress temporarily raising the debt ceiling may have a lingering impact on consumer confidence in the housing market.”

Home flippers back away as real estate turnover activity declines
“Home flipping activity dipped 13% from the same period a year ago, with 32,993 single-family home flips recorded in the third quarter of 2013, RealtyTrac reported Thursday.”

Bernanke won’t have to testify in AIG case—for now
“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke does not have to testify in the multibillion-dollar lawsuit by the former chief of American International Group against the United States over the insurer’s 2008 bailout, a federal appeals court said on Wednesday.”

Jobless Claims in U.S. Fall Less Than Forecast on California
“More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week as California continued to work through a backlog, indicating it will take time to gauge the impact of the federal shutdown.”

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Today’s Real Estate News 10.15.2013

Summary:

Today in real estate, the LA Times shows that Citigroup posts a $3.2-billion profit even with the mortgage decline in the market. The NY Times reports that while many want Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase Chairman & Chief Executive, fired, investors, analysts, board members and regulators don’t want him fired.  Central banks are preparing for a U.S. Default, should it occur. The Wall Street Journal reports that home prices & home sales are now slowing down in the “Bust-and-Boom Markets.” Lawmakers are asking financial institutions to be cooperative with federal employees who have been furloughed due to the government shutdown. The Housingwire informs us that multifamily loans are hitting the market and that Citigroup is preparing for a “refi burnout.”

Citigroup posts $3.2-billion profit amid slump in mortgages, trading
“NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc.’s third-quarter earnings disappointed Wall Street analysts as the bank reported a sharp slowdown in mortgage and bond-trading revenue.”

The Bloodlust of Pundits Swirls Around Jamie Dimon
“Jamie Dimon should be fired.

That seems to be the conclusion of some in the pundit class about JPMorgan Chase’s chairman and chief executive. Writers, editors and bloggers have made it clear that they want his scalp: “NOW Are We Allowed Talk About Firing Jamie Dimon?” the Huffington Post blared after news that the bank set aside $23 billion to pay legal fees and fines last week. “I have trouble wrapping my head around the positive aspects of paying a multibillion-dollar fine,” an article on TheStreet.com said of the prospect of an $11 billion settlement with the Justice Department.”

Central Banks Gaming Out U.S. Default as Deadline Nears
“Central banks have begun making contingency plans on how they would keep financial markets working if the U.S. defaults on the world’s benchmark debt.”

Home Sales, Prices Slowing in Bust-and-Boom Markets
“The sharp home-price rally in some of the hardest-hit housing markets is likely to fade in the coming months amid a pullback in investor purchases and steady increases in the number of homes listed for sale.”

Lawmakers call for banks to rescue federal employees
“Lawmakers urged financial institutions to work proactively with borrowers facing financial distress because of the government shutdown. For three weeks, federal employees have been out of the job without pay.”

Performing multifamily loans hit the market
“A great deal of activity is surfacing in the multifamily sector in the form of nonperforming loan sales this week.”

Citigroup prepares for refi burnout
“As investors anticipate the release of Citigroup’s (C) third-quarter earnings, analysts are predicting declining mortgage lending activity for the bank.”