It took over a year for lawmakers and state AGs to agree to the terms of the $26 billion foreclosure settlement announced this week, and it could take up to another three years for eligible homeowners to see a share of that …
Mortgages
Study: If Would-Be Home Buyers Have to Put 20% Down, 60% of Them Ain’t Buying
To prevent a repeat of the housing debacle of 2007-2010, when some 5 million homes were lost to foreclosure, federal agencies are considering a mandate that would require borrowers to put 20% down before being OK’d for certain …
Are Young People Too Afraid of Debt?
Following the Great Recession many young people have become not merely respectful of debt, as we would wish; but fearful of it, which could set them back.
Fixing the Housing Market: What to Expect from Obama’s SOTU Speech
What’s President Obama’s plan for getting the housing market back on track? Look for proposals—but not necessarily solutions—in tonight’s State of the Union address.
Does the Decrease in Defaults Mean Homeowners Are Getting Their Financial Houses In Order?
The social stigma of going into foreclosure seems to have decreased in the last few years as almost three-quarters of U.S. households found themselves underwater with their mortgages, and “walking away” from a home became …
CFPB’s First Move with a Director in Place: Confront ‘Nonbanks’
One day after President Obama appointed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the objections of Senate Republicans, the bureau announced the launch of a new “nonbank supervision program.”
The Real Estate Market that Defies the Trends
The real estate market continues to flatline throughout most of the country. But in Washington, D.C., housing prices are up a smidgen (0.3%) from the previous month. More importantly, year-over-year prices have risen by 1.3%, a …
5 Events that Really Mattered for Housing in 2011 – and Beyond
Government, the mortgage industry and forces of nature all shook the housing market in 2011. They had both an immediate impact and slow-burning effects, setting the stage for a bumpy 2012 with more foreclosures, political battles …
Real Estate Crash Hit Lower-Priced Homes The Hardest
When the housing bubble popped — in 2006, 2007, or 2008, depending on where you were — chances are that the value of your home took a nose dive. But who got hit worse, the top of the market or the bottom?
Homebuyers: Don’t Get Sunk Early in the Mortgage Process
If you are interested in buying a home, chances are you need a mortgage — and the first step toward a mortgage is a prequalification (or its cousin, pre-approval) letter. You provide your lender with basic financial information, and in return you receive a written offer to provide you with financial backing for a home purchase.
Where Commanders-in-Chief Get Away for the Holidays
Next week, President Obama will take his family to Hawaii for their annual Christmas vacation — if, that is, Congress passes an extension to the payroll tax holiday. A look at a few of the more notable Presidential vacation …
Please, Stop Saying That Lending Standards Are Tight
The continued sluggishness of the residential real estate market is maddening and, very likely, holding back other sectors of the economy. We’d all like to find a solution, of course. But in our frustration, it seems, we have a …
