Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Mortgage Bankers Association“Purchase Applications Hold Steady, Refinance Applications Fall in Latest MBA Weekly Surve” (7-29-09)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 24, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 495.4, a decrease of 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 528.9 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 6.0 percent compared with the previous week and increased 16.1 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.”

Los Angeles Times“Lenders lack incentive to halt some foreclosures” (7-29-09)

“Government initiatives to stem the country's mounting foreclosures are hampered because banks and other lenders in many cases have more financial incentive to let borrowers lose their homes than to work out settlements, some economists have concluded. Policymakers often say it's a good deal for lenders to cut borrowers a break on mortgage payments to keep them in their homes. But, according to researchers and industry experts, foreclosing can be more profitable.”

CBS “IRS Warns: Don’t Take $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit If You’re Not Eligible” (7-29-09)

“The Internal Revenue Service announced this morning its first successful prosecution related to fraud involving the first-time homebuyer credit and warned taxpayers to beware of this type of scheme. According to the IRS statement, last Thursday, a Jacksonville, Fla.-tax preparer, James Otto Price III, pled guilty to falsely claiming the first-time homebuyer credit on a client’s federal tax return. Price faces the possibility of up to three years in jail, a fine of as much as $250,000, or both.”

Bloomberg “Bernanke May Have to Sacrifice Lending Powers or Independence (7-29-09)

“The financial-overhaul plan before Congress leaves the Federal Reserve in the business of lending to everyone from General Electric Co. to investors in student loans. That makes it harder for Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to keep Congress from second-guessing what he does. Bernanke is trying to deflect a bill, co-sponsored by 276 members of the House of Representatives, that would require audits of central bank operations, including monetary policy decisions, by the Government Accountability Office.”

Bloomberg “Property Bond Sales May Resume With $3 Billion” (7-29-09)

“Commercial property companies may sell about $3 billion of mortgage-backed bonds starting in September as part of the U.S. program to revive lending for shopping malls, skyscrapers and hotels.”

Bloomberg U.S. Properties Worth $2.2 Trillion at Default Risk” (7-29-09)

“About $2.2 trillion of U.S. commercial properties bought or refinanced since 2004 are now worth less than the original price, raising the threat of more foreclosures, Real Capital Analytics said. Prices have fallen so far that about $1.3 trillion of properties have either lost their owners’ down payment or are close to it, Robert White, president of the New York-based research firm, said in a report.”

Bloomberg “Countrywide Alumni Seek Profits From Housing Collapse” (7-29-09)

“PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, which plans to raise $400 million in a stock offering today, is betting that the people who helped create the housing crisis will know how to profit from the cleanup. Chief Executive Officer Stanford L. Kurland, 57, was president and chief operating officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., the loan originator whose co-founder, Angelo Mozilo, was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ten other senior officials also worked at Countrywide, whose subprime loans have suffered from a 39 percent delinquency rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. PennyMac hopes to make money buying mortgages from failed banks and redoing the terms.”

Orange County Register“14 months of O.C. million-dollar homes for sale” (7-29-09)

“Demand (new pending sales over the past month) was 3,306 (down 2% in 2 weeks) vs. 2,743 homes a year ago. Supply (active inventory) was 8,895 (1% drop in 2 weeks) vs. 14,746 homes a year ago.”

Orange County Register“Home foreclosures drop in 61 O.C. ZIPs” (7-29-09)

“Foreclosures plummeted in roughly 70% of ZIPs in Orange County in the second quarter vs. a year ago, reports DataQuick. Jack Kyser, founding economist of The Kyser Center for Economic Research in Los Angeles, said one reason foreclosures dropped in spring was anticipation over President Barack Obama’s foreclosure rescue plan”

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