Wednesday, September 09, 2009

This is the last week this blog will be active on Blogger.com. We are moving this blog to http://www.thenorrisgroup.com/blog/

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Lower Rates Spur Mortgage Applications in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (9-9-09)

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 4, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 17.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 15.8 percent compared with the previous week and 64.5 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Mortggage Bankers Association - "
MBA Report Shows Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Rates Continue to Climb in Second Quarter 2009" (9-9-09)

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Between the first and second quarters, the 30+ day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) rose 2.04 percentage points to 3.89 percent. The 60+ day delinquency rate on loans held in life company portfolios rose 0.03 percentage points to 0.15 percent. The 60+ day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held or insured by Fannie Mae rose 0.17 percentage points to 0.51 percent. The 90+ day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held or insured by Freddie Mac rose 0.02 percentage points to 0.11 percent. The 90+day delinquency rate on loans held by FDIC-insured banks and thrifts rose 0.64 percentage points to 2.92 percent."

The Washington Post - "
Another Wave of Foreclosures Looms" (9-9-09)

"The housing market faces the prospect of a new round of foreclosures as hundreds of thousands of risky home loans known as option adjustable-rate mortgages reset to significantly higher payments that could force borrowers to fall behind, according to a report released Tuesday by Fitch Ratings. About 70 percent of the $189 billion in outstanding option ARMs will reset by 2011, the report said, which would be another setback to a teetering housing market still struggling to recover from the mortgage meltdown that precipitated the financial crisis."


Bloomberg - "Banks Step Up Loan Modifications Under Obama Program" (9-9-09)

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Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., among the worst performers of banks in the U.S. government’s main foreclosure prevention plan, stepped up their pace of mortgage modifications by at least 60 percent in August. Bank of America more than doubled its number of modifications started through the Making Home Affordable Program to 59,891 in August from July, while Wells Fargo improved by 64 percent to 33,172, the U.S. Treasury said in a report today from Washington. Overall, 47 banks have begun 360,165 modifications through the program, up from about 235,247 in July."

Bloomberg - "Wealthy Families Face Bankruptcy on Real Estate Crash" (9-9-09)

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Wealthy individuals’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings jumped 73 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center, a research firm in Burlingame, California. More individuals or families with at least $1,010,650 in secured debt and $336,900 unsecured are using Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code typically associated with business reorganizations. Falling U.S. home prices leave them unable to refinance or sell properties when they drop below the value of the mortgage, said Joseph Baldi, a Chicago bankruptcy attorney."

Bloomberg - "Fannie Mae’s Williams Still Cautious About Housing Recovery" (9-9-09)

"The U.S. housing market still has a 'long road ahead' to recovery and investors and borrowers should remain cautious as the economy regains its footing, Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Michael Williams said."


Bloomberg - "Buffett’s Berkshire Adds Coverage for Risky Homes" (9-9-09)

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Warren Buffett’sBerkshire Hathaway Inc. is adding sales of insurance coverage on foreclosed homes and properties occupied by distressed borrowers to make money from banks burned by the mortgage-market collapse. Berkshire follows Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, and Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Ltd. in targeting one of the few expanding U.S. insurance markets. The policies are riskier than typical home coverage because the properties are more prone to neglect or vandalism."

Wall Street Journal - "CIC Looks to Pile Cash Into U.S. Real Estate" (9-9-09)

"China's $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund is eyeing big investments in distressed U.S. real estate, according to people familiar with the matter. To finance some of the deals, China may rely on an old trading partner: the U.S. government."

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