Tag Archives: Investors

The economy shed as many employees as it brought on in August, leading to a startling net gain of zero jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. Housing sectors showed no immunity to fears of a recession and slowdown.

Publicly traded real estate companies, commonly known as Real Estate Investment Trusts, could see their industry fall under new rules and regulations if a new rule-making proposal sees approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The federal commission voted Wednesday to investigate whether these companies meet definitions under the Company Investment Act, a law from which publicly traded real estate companies have been exempt for nearly 50 years.

As of Thursday, appraisers and realtors must now use a new universal grading rubric when it comes to their assessments for properties with government-backed mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently revised their appraisal guidelines to streamline a sometimes unclear process, but some warn of the potential for fallout among appraisers, realtors, and homeowners unfamiliar with the new standards. Appraisers will need to weigh property values against new codes and abbreviations.

Lewisville, Texas, will gain 700 new employment opportunities courtesy of JPMorgan Chase & Co. The financial institution is set to open a major mortgage servicing center in the area, adding to 2,000 area workers.

Private holding company JGWPT, which recently announced the acquisition of J.G. Wentworth and Peachtree Financial Solutions, has made another advancement, with the launch of its reverse mortgage division. The newly formed reverse mortgage segment will operate as part of the Peachtree group of companies and will be based in Boynton Beach.

Home prices went up across the country in July, marking the fourth consecutive such month, according to a home price index released Wednesday by CoreLogic. While acknowledging the improvement as a net gain for the housing economy, the firm made predictions that home prices will slump on continuing news about an economic slowdown. CoreLogic found that home prices crawled forward by 0.8 percent month-over-month but fell year-over-year by 5.2 percent over July.

On the heels of attempts by investors to derail a mega settlement in the courts, Bank of America continued to shake up headlines Wednesday with multiple news outlets confirming that the mortgage giant plans to sell off its share of the correspondent mortgage market. With mortgage correspondents in the bank├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós unit set to soon receive their pink slips, multiple news outlets quoted suggested that some 3,500 could feel impact in their jobs. New job losses would follow recently reported second-quarter fallout.

With its recent participation in a major commercial mortgage loan securitization, Starwood Property Trust, Inc. is enhancing its debt-related funding. The transaction, led by Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., included four first mortgage loans contributed by Starwood, which when combined carried an aggregate principal balance of $154.

Fewer homebuyers filed for mortgage loans last week, with applications falling on average by 9.6 percent from the week before, according to a weekly survey released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

US Bancorp joined a field of investors taking issue with the $1.75-billion deal proposed by Bank of America, filing suit to recover losses over alleged falsifications, according to multiple news outlets. Following a filing in New York by the FDIC Monday, the suit emerges as the newest in a barrage of legal maneuvers to hit the bank over bad mortgage-backed securities. The litigation, which Bank of America continues to fend off as it seeks to finalize a $8.5-billion settlement, concerns loans allegedly misrepresented by Countrywide.