Tuesday, May 19, 2009

NAHB - "Single-Family Starts And Permits Edge Higher In April" (5-19-09)

"Production of single-family homes edged upward in April as builders responded to improving conditions for new-home buyers, according to newly released figures by the U.S. Commerce Department. While overall starts fell 12.8 percent to a record-low seasonally adjusted annual pace of 458,000 units, the decline was entirely confined to the multifamily sector, where production fell 46 percent to a 90,000-unit pace for the month, while single-family starts posted a 2.8 percent gain to 368,000 units."


DQNews - "Southland home sales hot inland, cool on coast; median price dips" (5-19-09)

"A total of 20,514 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the six-county Southland last month. That was up 5.2 percent from 19,506 in March and up 31.4 percent from 15,615 a year ago, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a real estate information service."

Bloomberg - "House Passes Mortgage Bill, Expands FDIC Credit Line" (5-19-09)

"
The measure passed 367-54 today will more than triple the FDIC’s borrowing authority from Treasury to $100 billion with a $500 billion line of credit through 2010, according to a Democratic summary. The bill includes a so-called safe-harbor provision to help homeowners refinance by shielding loan- servicing companies from lawsuits if they modify a loan at risk of default. The Senate must pass the bill before it becomes law."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Economy: April Housing Starts Drop on Apartments" (5-19-09)

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Housing starts unexpectedly slid 13 percent to an annual rate of 458,000, led by a 46 percent tumble in multifamily starts, which tend to be more volatile, Commerce Department figures showed in Washington. Building permits, a sign of future construction, fell 3.3 percent to a record low of 494,000."

Bloomberg - "Fed to Add Older CMBS to TALF Lending Program in July" (5-19-09)

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The Federal Reserve will include legacy assets for the first time in a $1 trillion program to revive credit markets, expanding the effort to commercial real estate securities issued before the start of this year."

Orange County Register - "Banks seize fewest houses in 17 months" (5-19-09)

"Banks in April took 482 houses and condos in Orange County away from delinquent borrowers, the lowest total in 17 months and down 46 percent from a year ago. And lenders filed 2,947 notices of default, which initiate the foreclosure process, down 15 percent from March, but up 13 percent from a year ago."

Realty Times - "Washington Report: $8,000 Tax Credit" (5-19-09)

"Home builders and Realtors cheered in Washington last week when HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that FHA will allow lenders and government agencies to 'monetize' the $8,000 federal homebuyer tax credit, providing purchasers with downpayment cash upfront, available at closing, rather than waiting for the IRS to mail them a tax credit check."

Realty Times - "Teaching Homeowners the Importance of DTI Ratios" (5-19-09)

"Homeowners need to know that their debt-to-income (DTI) ratios are crucial to determining an affordable house payment. President Obama’s foreclosure prevention plan, for example, defines an affordable house payment as one that is no higher than 31 percent of the homeowner's front-end DTI. In other words, the house payment or PITIA (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any association fees) on the first mortgage cannot exceed 31 percent of the household's gross monthly income."

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