By KIMBERLEY HAAS State officials in New Jersey will use $10 million in federal funding to purchase mortgage notes of homes on the verge of foreclosure to stem the loss of single-family houses to rental property investment firms. When Governor Phil Murphy made the announcement, officials said his administration anticipates using the funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to purchase non-performing mortgage notes from the FHA prior to foreclosure proceedings. If the homeowner still lives at the property, efforts will be made to assist them. If the property has been abandoned, steps will be taken to obtain the title. The property will be rehabilitated and put back on the market, according to a press release. New Jersey’s…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Monthly asking rates for rentals increased an estimated 15.2% year-over-year in January, and some economists say this is accounting for a significant portion of recent inflation. Redfin is reporting that last month the average asking rent was $1,891, which is the largest annual jump since at least February of 2020. The national median monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers climbed by 25% year-over-year to $1,595. That is also the biggest increase in Redfin’s records. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather noted that rising mortgage rates are shrinking more Americans out of the for-sale market, which will likely put increasing pressure on rents this year. “Moving right now is expensive, whether you’re renting or buying,” Fairweather said. “One of the only…
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said the Fed could hike rates by half a percentage point in March, suggesting the move is necessary to fight inflation. Inflation is currently at a four-decade high, with the Consumer Price Index up 7.5% year-over-year in January 2022. “The nation is dealing with inflation at its highest level in decades, much of it driven by corporate greed and anticompetitive behavior, and the federal government must use every tool available to prevent price gouging and reduce prices for Americans,” Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice, asking it to take action against companies violating antitrust laws to hike prices for consumers. Bowman said Monday that inflation is “much too high” and suggested…
Mortgage applications for new home purchases fell 12.5% year-over-year in January 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS). However, applications rose by 10% from December 2021, as MBA estimates 66,000 new homes were sold in January compared to December’s 60,000. MBA estimated that new single-family sales were running at a rate of 821,000 units, down 7.4% from December’s 887,000 unit pace. “Purchase applications for new homes fell on an annual basis in January, but the 10% monthly gain is a positive sign to start the year. While homebuyer demand remains strong, purchase activity is being constrained by higher prices and building delays due to supply-chain pressures and building materials shortages,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate…
Active forbearance plans rose by 11,500 plans (1.5%) last week, following a “typical pattern of mid-month restart activity”, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. Forborne loans held by portfolios and PSLs increased by 7,600 (3.1%), while FHA/VA loans in forbearance rose by 4,900 (1.8%). In contrast, GSE plans actually fell by 1,000 (-0.4%). Plan volumes are down 38,100 (-4.7%) month-over-month. Black Knight notes that as many homeowners have already exited their plans, expiration activity is slowing. Moderating improvement is the result of this “gradually flattening slope.” Some 129,000 plans are up for review in early March, the next time Black Knight expects to see significant improvement. One-third should expire. ATTOM Data Solutions reported that foreclosure-related filings jumped 29% from December and…
Mortgage rates jumped to 3.92% from 3.69% this week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.96%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.81%. “Mortgage rates jumped again due to high inflation and stronger than expected consumer spending,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is nearing four percent, reaching highs we have not seen since May 2019. As rates and house prices rise, affordability has become a substantial hurdle for potential homebuyers, especially as inflation threatens to place a strain on consumer budgets.” Demand remains high despite rising rates. Rate locks for purchase loans increased 19.9% month-over-month in January. “The…
Good Morning! Today is Thursday, February 17. The Education Department will cancel loans for students defrauded by DeVry University. Ukraine accused Russian-backed separatists of shelling a Kindergarten, calling it “a big provocation.” Retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 3.8% in January. The Mortgage Note Reports Office Spaces Are Not A Thing Of The Past: Despite many employees working from home and companies adopting hybrid work models, investors are still attracted to the land of cubicles. “Stronger Than Ever”: Real estate investors bought a record 18.4% of all homes sold in Q4 2021, nearly three-quarters of which were all-cash purchases. Climate Damage: More than 14.5 million single- and multifamily homes were impacted by natural disasters in 2021, causing an estimated…
More than 14.5 million single- and multifamily homes were impacted by natural disasters in 2021, causing an estimated $56.92 billion in property damage, according to CoreLogic’s 2021 Climate Change Catastrophe report. The report analyzed thirteen “major hazard events” of 2021– including hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, and winter storms– and 120 million residential structures in the U.S. The findings show significant damage to residential properties and increased economic instability in impacted areas. For example, damage from Hurricane Ida in Houma, Louisiana, resulted in delinquency rates rising from 7.4% before the storm to 13.3% the following month. “By leveraging granular data for the increasing frequency and severity of catastrophes, we are able to see that more than 14.5 million homes were impacted to…
By DOUG OHLEMEIER Despite many employees working from home and companies adopting hybrid work models, investors are still attracted to the land of cubicles. While office suites aren’t as packed with workers as before the pandemic, the commercial market remains strong. “There is investor interest in office properties,” said Stephen Newbold, National Director in the U.S. office of research for Colliers International, a Toronto, Ontario-based global real estate services and investment management company. “We are at a stage where we can fairly confidently say that we’re not going back to those (2020) levels. It may fluctuate a little, but my overarching view is we are stabilizing on vacancies and space on the market.” Observers aren’t sure how the new work…
Real estate investors bought 80,293 properties in Q4 2021, a record 18.4% of homes sold. Redfin reported that investor purchases were up from 43.9% YOY, though they fell 9.1% from Q3’s peak, likely due to stock shortages that impacted regular homebuyers and investors alike. Seasonality also contributed to the quarter-to-quarter drop, as the housing market typically slows in the winter. More than three-quarters of homes bought by investors (75.3%) were all-cash purchases. Atlanta saw the most investor activity in Q4 at 32.7% of market share, followed by Charlotte (32.1%), Jacksonville (29.8%), Las Vegas (29.2%), and Phoenix (28.4%). These are all popular destinations for moving Americans and have seen high demand during the Great Migration. “While record-high home prices are problematic…
