Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (3-11-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 6, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 723.4, an increase of 11.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 649.7 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 11.6 percent compared with the previous week and 5.7 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

The Wall Street Journal - "Housing Plan Creates Opening for Scammers" (3-11-09)

"President Barack Obama's foreclosure-prevention plan, announced last week, is designed to give several million troubled borrowers another chance to lower their mortgage payments. But government officials and counseling agencies warn that it also presents a golden opportunity for firms to fleece unsuspecting borrowers."

The Wall Street Journal - "State Housing Agencies Get Caught in Credit Crunch" (3-11-09)

"The credit crunch has claimed another group of victims: housing-finance agencies operated by state governments that cater to first-time homeowners. All states have housing-finance agencies, which either originate mortgage loans to state residents or guarantee loans made by lenders. In 2007, state housing agencies issued $17 billion in bonds that funded 126,611 mortgages. In 2008, some agencies were on track to exceed 2007's levels, until September when the credit markets froze."

Bloomberg - "Fed’s Rate Policy Didn’t Cause Housing Bubble, Greenspan Says" (3-11-09)

"The U.S. Federal Reserve’s 'easy money' policies during the first part of this decade didn’t cause the housing bubble, former Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote in the Wall Street Journal."

Bloomberg - "Hovnanian February Sales Hit 6-Month High, Chief Says" (3-11-09)

"Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., New Jersey’s largest homebuilder, rose as much as 27 percent after Chief Executive Officer Ara Hovnanian said the company contracted to sell 506 houses last month, the most in six months."

Orange County Register - "More O.C. borrowers ignore credit-card bill" (3-11-09)

"TransUnion reports the 90-day delinquency ratio for credit card holders in Orange County increased to 1.23 percent at end of 2008 from 1.03 percent in September and 1.16 percent a year earlier."

Orange County Register - "The other shoe dropping on banks" (3-11-09)

"as these loans are old-fashioned and concentrated in smaller banks, their fate is particularly interesting as it indicates that issues with the banking system go far deeper than the so-called 'toxic assets' belonging to the largest lenders that have thus far gotten most of the attention and government aid."

No comments: