Posts about Mortgage Market Report as of August 25, 2009

August 25 2009 Dear Brian , I am writing to you in response to your recent letter asking for comments and observations from Fine Gael on the draft NAMA Bill in order to facilitate a discussion at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service on August 31.Fine Gael Concerns about NAMAAs you are aware, Enda announced last Friday that Fine Gael does not support the Government’s approach to resolving the banking crisis.

has strong business growth and is run by passable management. When compared to its closest peer, MCAN Mortgage Corporation, Home Capital Group Inc. shows greater undervaluation and is equally likely to outperform the market. The complete 8-page report

    To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends, Ichiro Suzuki holds the All-Time record for most hits in a season, and of all active players, he’s number two in batting average, just barely behind the amazing Albert Pujols, at .332.  If we look behind the stats, however, we find that of the almost 2,000 hits he’s had while at Seattle , a remarkable 81% have only been singles.

Two stories out today explain why foreclosures are still expected to keep climbing, even as the recession appears to be winding down. The first one is by David Greising, a Chicago Tribune columnist and business contributor to WBEZ’s Eight Forty-Eight . He explains how people behave when their homes drop in value below the mortgage amount. And he writes that about one in three home mortgages in Chicago are “upside down” – also known as being underwater. That matches the national average, he writes.

Citigroup today unveiled data on its efforts to help people avoid foreclosure. Bloomberg reports the company’s mortgage business has hired 1,400 employees this year to help modify delinquent loans. Earlier this month federal officials released a report on how loan servicers have been performing under the Obama administration’s mortgage modification plan, and Citi ranked in the upper middle, with 15% of its eligible 60-day late payers starting a loan mod.

Mortgage rates recovered yesterday afternoon from the increase they took on Friday thanks to the Fed.  The Fed engaged in open market operations yesterday afternoon by absorbing much of the mortgage-backed bond (MBS) supply that hit the market. Stocks are trading modestly higher this morning on a couple bits of news. * President Obama reappointed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to another 4-year term .  His reappointment is being viewed favorably on Wall Street.

(RTTNews) – UK mortgage approvals hit the highest since February 2008 amid dynamic housing market activity, a report from the British Bankers’ Association showed Tuesday. Reflecting an improvement in demand from borrowers and loan availability … View original story…

(RTTNews) – UK mortgage approvals hit the highest since February 2008 amid dynamic housing market activity, a report from the British Bankers’ Association showed Tuesday. Reflecting an improvement in demand from borrowers and loan availability … View original story…

The housing market continues to surprise everyone. Today, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Report came out much better than expected, showing that the U.S. National Home Price Index improved second quarter over first quarter and prices rose for the second month in a row. This news, along with the Existing Home Sales Largest Monthly Gain Record  report, is showing us that ample supplies, low mortgage rates and tax credits are spurring home sales in a lot of U.S. markets.

HOEPA was enacted in 1994 in response to Congressional concerns over “reverse redlining.” [PDF] According to the Senate Banking Committee report accompanying the legislation, “reverse redlining” is the practice of targeting residents of specific disadvantaged communities for credit on unfair terms, and in particular by second mortgage lenders, home improvement contractors, and finance companies.

Taking a look back at a series of posts from last year, and how things have changed for home buyers I have been in the situation lately where I have been speaking to some first time home buyers about their experiences. I have also dealt with some situations where a loan was being held up due to lack of information. There have been changes to rules and methods for many firms doing business in the real estate industry, and if you are thinking about buying a home, you may want to be aware of what is happening.

Helicopter Ben gets second term. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be renominated for a second four-year term. Obama will make the announcement this morning and the nomination must then be approved by the Senate. Bernanke’s current four-year term ends January 31, 2010. Fed must release lending records. The Federal Reserve lost a key court battle and must release private records of its emergency lending to financial firms.

Government’s latest effort to stem rising tide is mired in problemsBy John W. Schoen, Senior producermsnbc.comAug. 20, 2009 – After months of dead ends, rejections and runarounds from bank representatives, Dan Binder is still in loan modification limbo.When Binder lost his job as a media researcher, he and his wife left their southern California home in July 2008 and relocated to North Carolina where he found a new job in the media business.Since then, he’s never missed a payment on the three-bedroom home in Riverside County, Calif., he said, though it’s lost about half its value since he bought it in 2005 for $418,000.

Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen, a popular soothsayer during the bull market of the 1990s, appeared on television earlier this month. She proclaimed that her analysis of improving labor markets, spending on business equipment and other indicators led to one inescapable conclusion: The stock market’s lengthy slump has ended at last.“We do think that the new bull market has begun,” she said.Money manager Henry Weingarten vigorously disagrees. He examines the same economic data as Ms.

(Editor’s note: Mr. Vialoux is scheduled to appear on BNN television today at approximately 2:50 PM EDT for a brief comment on equity markets in the month of September)Technical Action YesterdayTechnical action by S&P 500 stocks was quietly bullish. Seven stocks broke resistance (Aon, Assurant, Disney, Heinz, Lorillard, Mastercard and Questar) and one stock broke support (Hudson City Bancorp). The Up/Down ratio inched up to (393/47=) 8.36 from 8.17.Technical action by TSX Composite stocks was quiet and mixed yesterday.

The mortgage market in Saudi Arabia continues to be limited due to the delay in passing of the new mortgage law, said a report. “Finance options are still largely unavailable due to a price sensitive population. There has been significant economic … View original story…

Dear Daily Reckoning Reader, Although the financial media would have you believe otherwise, the US economy has not magically recovered. In fact, according to one expert, even a partial market recovery is unlikely in 2009 or 2010…or even longer. But you don’t have to sit, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for the downturn to subside…you can take actions to protect yourself – and even get rich during the turbulent months ahead.

Shares of bailed-out mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soared Monday, as investors try to piggyback on a rally in shares of government-backed financial companies. Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) shares rose nearly 50% in afternoon trading, while Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) jumped almost 30%. The mortgage giants’ Monday rally was sparked in large part by a jump in the shares of companies like AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), said Paul Miller, analyst at FBR Capital Markets and Co.

What is a cure rate? It’s the percentage of loans where people who have fallen behind in their payments manage to make up the difference and get back up to date and in good standing. From the Fitch press release : While the number of U.S. prime RMBS loans rolling into a delinquency status has recently slowed, this improvement is being overwhelmed by the dramatic decrease in delinquency cure rates that has occurred since 2006, according to Fitch Ratings.

The aim of the credit mortgage refinance is to help the borrowers of the loan for their home to solve two very different problems. As we know many people nowadays are facing various financial problems. Due to that they are in search of the ways out. People do not have to live in constant fear of foreclosure as financial institutions are trying to give the helping hand and to make the burden of loan easier for homeowners who are facing serious financial hardships.

The biweekly property Orange County housing inventory report by Steve Thomas at Altera Real Estate in Aliso Viejo says this of the number of O.C. distressed properties (homes listed by agents in the MLS system as foreclosures or short sales) … As a percent of all listed homes for sale, distressed properties were 30.0% of the market last week.

Swap spreads are mixed today. Two year spreads are 1 3/4 basis points narrower at 41 1/2. Five year spreads are 1/4 basis points narrower at 41 3/4. Ten year spreads are 1/4 basis points wider at 26. Thirty year spreads are 3/4 basis point wider at NEGATIVE 9 1/2. Volatility is melting as the three month/ten year ATM swaption is 565. late last week it was trading in the 590s. Mortgages are about a tick wider to swaps. My interlocutors in the swap market and mortgage market report very light volume.

I had a medical doctor appointment and was away from Across the Curve Global Headquarters for several hours. So since the Treasury market has rallied significantly in that period I will begin my closing process with that sector today. The 10 year Treasury traded at 3.60 percent this morning and is now south of 3.50 percent. What factors account for the turnaround in the Treasury market? I think the key factor is thin and illiquid markets.

MM Recap for August 24 Stocks tanked last Monday following big losses in the Asian and European markets over concerns about an economic recovery.  This fostered a surge in safe-haven buying, sending Treasury prices up and yields, which move inversely to price, down.  The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, to which fixed mortgage rates are pegged, hit its lowest level in a month. Ironically, the NY Empire State manufacturing index for August rose to 12.1 from -0.6 — its first positive reading since April 2008 and its highest level since November 2007.

Mortgage markets finished the week unchanged last week but don’t let that make you think the markets were flat.  It was a bumpy five days and rates were volatile.  Friday was the worst day of the week by far. An all-day deterioration, sparked by better-than-expected housing data, caused mortgage rates to tack on a quarter-percent by the noon hour and markets never recovered. Rates closed out at their worst levels of the week and the unfavorable momentum figures to carry into this week’s trading, too.