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?
Foreclosures
‘Snoopy House’ Saved From Foreclosure
When Jim Jordan suffered through a foreclosure, it wasn’t just about the family house. The Costa Mesa, Calif. ranch house that he grew up in (but no longer lived in) was host to a gigantic Christmas display. Sure, there was Santa on the roof with reindeer — but there was also an array of Charles Schultz “Peanuts” characters that drew …
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 …
Fewer Foreclosures Near Top Public Schools
A new analysis of foreclosures shows that the expression “safe as houses” could be expanded to “safe as houses in a really great school district.”
What the Government Could Still Do to Help Housing
Earlier this month, President Obama announced tweaks to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (or HARP), which was designed to help homeowners refinance underwater homes but so far had helped only 838,000 of the 5 million …
McMansion Cul-de-Sacs Become College Student Ghettos
You know all those people who bought spacious deluxe new homes in sprawling exurb developments, then lost the properties in foreclosure when the real estate market collapsed? Well, their younger siblings in college may now be …
‘This Home is Occupied’: An Occupy Atlanta Protest Moves to a Foreclosed Home
Occupy Wall Street, an offshoot of which has roosted in almost every major U.S. city, generally sets up camp near the center of large metropolitan areas. Now it has occupied the front lawn of a small home in suburban Atlanta.
Delinquencies in Mortgages, Credit Cards Rise
As a nation, we’re collectively late with our payments again. For one, the rate of 60-day delinquencies among homeowners — basically two missed mortgage payments — rose in the September quarter, according to TransUnion. The jump from 5.82% to 5.88% is the first rise in the delinquency rate in two years.
After Walking Away from a Mortgage, No Regrets—Not Many Consequences Either
Two years ago, a national debate raged regarding strategic default: Was it wrong to walk away from one’s mortgage? Or, when a homeowner is underwater—owing more than the home was worth—is it a purely business situation in …
Why You’re Probably Financially Better Off Than You Feel
There’s no question that for many (if not most) Americans, today’s economy is challenging for numerous reasons we need not list. For a lot of people, though, their sense of economic vulnerability is greater than their actual …
Obama’s Housing Refinance Program: Underwhelming Policy, Expedient Politics
Did you know that you can’t be for fixing the housing market and not be for President Barack Obama’s American Jobs Act? That was the underlying message of a conference call with two top Obama advisers on Monday morning, …
Credit Scores Down But Credit Card Debt Up
Numbers don’t lie, but sometimes they don’t tell the whole story. Credit score and product site CreditKarma.com compared the amount of credit card, mortgage and student loan debt in each state, along with each state’s average …