Friday, September 14, 2007

Mortgage Bankers Association - "FTC Warns Mortgage Advertisers and Media That Ads May Be Deceptive" (9-14-07)

"The Federal Trade Commission is warning mortgage brokers and lenders, and media outlets that carry their advertisements for home mortgages, that some of the advertising claims currently appearing in Web sites, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, and unsolicited e-mail and faxes may violate federal law."

Bloomberg - "Merrill Says Fair Value Adjustments Made for Subprime" (9-14-07)

"Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest underwriter of collateralized debt obligations, signaled that the subprime-mortgage crisis may hurt third-quarter earnings. The New York-based firm said in a regulatory filing today that it made 'fair value adjustments' for potential losses to date on unspecified holdings and financing commitments. Merrill fell 49 cents to $74.65 as of 4:26 p.m. in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the day's second-biggest decliner on the 12-member Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index."

CNN - "Trapped by the mortgage meltdown" (9-14-07)

"Whether you're a home seller, owner or buyer, by this point you've got to be feeling a little rattled. The bad news about the housing market seems never ending: Foreclosures have more than doubled over the past year. Sales of existing homes are off 11 percent from this time last year. At that rate, it will take at least nine months to work off the inventory of unsold homes. And median home prices in July (the most recent figure available) dropped for the 12th month in a row."

CNN - "Fed rate cut no rescue for mortgage biz" (9-14-07)

"A Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst said Friday any benefit stocks of mortgage lenders will enjoy if the Federal Reserve cuts its interests rates this month will be temporary. At first, stocks in the home lending sector will jump on a rate cut, Friedman Billings Ramsey (Charts) analyst Paul J. Miller Jr. wrote in a report. But the rally will be short-lived, he said, and the reality of the industry's struggles will drag the stocks back down within a few months."

Bloomberg - "Hovnanian Chief Says Housing Bottom Is `Very Near'" (9-14-07)

"Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ara Hovnanian said the U.S. housing market is near the bottom and won't recover until 2009. The shares rose 9.7 percent. Hovnanian, whose family has been building homes since 1959, said a three-day sale starting today may help boost revenue in the company's slowest markets, including California and Florida. The builder, based in Red Bank, New Jersey, hopes to sell 1,000 homes this weekend, Hovnanian said in an interview."

Los Angeles Times - "Bay Area home sales tumble 25% in August" (9-14-07)

"San Francisco Bay Area house and condominium sales fell 25% last month to the lowest for an August in 15 years as stricter loan standards pushed some buyers out of the market, DataQuick Information Systems said Thursday. A total of 7,299 new and existing single-family homes and condominiums were sold in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and six other Northern California counties last month, down from 9,713 a year earlier, DataQuick said. Last month's sales count was the lowest for an August since 1992, when 6,688 homes changed owners."


Los Angeles Times - "Selling a home without an agent comes with risks, rewards" (9-14-07)

"On a lark last spring, Ronald Grant decided to "list" his South Pasadena house for sale on the popular real estate valuation website Zillow.com. Zillow estimated his home's worth at $1.4 million. But Grant, who was planning to sell his home when he retired in two years, decided to have some fun. So he posted a notice on the site saying he would gladly hand over the keys to anyone willing to pay him $1.6 million for his 4,500-square-foot abode."

Real Estate Journal - "Home-Loan Report Portends More Mortgage Pain" (9-14-07)

"An analysis of federal data on nearly 14 million U.S. home loans made last year portends more misery for subprime borrowers, lenders and investors, as existing loans are pressured by falling home prices and lenders put tougher underwriting standards in place. The study by the Federal Reserve, based on data collected each year under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, found that the percentage of U.S. mortgages carrying high interest rates (generally, subprime loans) climbed to about 29% last year from 26% in 2005."

No comments: