Tag Archives: Agents & Brokers

If a new Senate bill becomes law, it could finally create a long-awaited covered bond market for the nation, effectively making mortgages easier to securitize and increasing their appeal for investors. Earlier Wednesday a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Kay Hagan and Bob Corker, introduced the United States Covered Bond Act of 2011 in order to kick-start what some regard as necessary for a full-fledged housing recovery. European nations have long benefited from a covered bond market, with legal bodies in place for bonds.

A Connecticut attorney, former police officer, and 25 people accused of reaping millions from mortgage fraud all made the mortgage fraud blotter for Wednesday. MReport sourced the stories from a number of news outlets that include the Associated Press, New London Patch, and The Sacramento Bee. The attorney and former police officer each pled guilty to their respective counts, while the ring of fraudsters, largely from a Russian-American community, pled not guilty.

More refinance loan applications inspired a 10.3-percent leap forward in mortgage applications last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA released a weekly survey responsible for tracking mortgage application volume. The surge in mortgage loan application volume follows a shortfall in contract interest rates on average for fixed-rate mortgages, with the 30-year loan seeing a drop from 4.31 percent the week before to 4.22 percent last week.

Existing-home prices sagged in most metropolitan areas over the third quarter, pointing to a soft spot in job security for people across the country as home affordability hovers around record highs. A quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors revealed that more than two-thirds of all metropolitan areas suffered plunges in home prices from last year. The NAR found state existing-home sales falling by 0.1 percent to crest at a seasonally adjusted 4.9 million over the third quarter. First-time buyers bought up 32 percent of homes.

A new strategic partnership between LoanSifter, Inc., and Google will give consumers access to online mortgage lending and real-time pricing. Through Google's comparison ads, LoanSifter will facilitate the comparison of loan products among multiple providers using its technology platforms.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain under scrutiny in the wake of large salaries and bonuses for their executives, as lawmakers from both major parties mount a rare joint effort to criticize the GSEs and their federal regulator. No less than 60 senators a total of 35 Republicans and 25 Democrats crossed the aisle to circulate a letter Friday that denounced the Federal Housing Finance Agency for signing off on $12.79 million in bonuses for ten executives with the GSEs. Furor over the bonuses follows a string of changes for Freddie Mac.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans will look for positions on housing from presidential candidates for the 2012 election cycle, according to a recent survey. Move, Inc. released the findings in a survey that it facilitated in phone interviews with respondents in early October. According to the survey, some seven in 10 Americans, or roughly 70 percent, expect candidates for the presidency to address housing concerns. Of these, nearly 71 percent identified themselves as Millennials. About 82 percent called housing "critical" to the recovery.

Giving homeowners more reason to refinance their loans, third-quarter results show that a majority of borrowers who exchanged their fixed rates for today├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós low rates on first-lien mortgages either saved big on principal or kept their current payments. Of the 82 percent of borrowers who refinanced their first-lien mortgages, 37 percent of homeowners substantially reduced their principal balance by paying in. The GSE said 44 percent maintained their original monthly loan amounts by refinancing.

New York developer Related Cos. has been served. The company received a subpoena from the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as part of its investigation into business transactions between the entity and Fannie Mae. In early 2011, Related entered into a joint venture with the GSE, and through the deal, Related gained an investment stake in multiple apartment properties that were in foreclosure via Fannie. Reports signal that the FHFA's legal pursuit is only after a portion of the transaction.

A new online initiative from RE/MAX turns the spotlight on global real estate markets from Brazil to New Zealand. The company just launched Global.Remax.Com, and the site will be the first web-based portal that gives consumers access to details on home listings in countries around the world.