California is #1 again, but not in a good way. According to the newly released Q1 2010 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report out last week from RealtyTrac, California metros accounted for 10 of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates. Those metropolitan areas include: Modesto Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Stockton Merced Vallejo-Fairfield Bakersfield Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville Visalia-Porterville Fresno 10. Salinas According… CONTINUE
The New Gold Rush?
If California homebuyers didn’t get in on the federal tax credit that expired last Friday, they can still get a $10,000 credit that kicked in on Saturday, May 1 thanks to California lawmakers. And that has touched off a “feeding frenzy”, according to an article late last week in the Los Angeles Times: “I am… CONTINUE
Freddie Mac: Seller Beware
If you’ve attended any of our Short Sales presentations, you know this, because we talk about it a lot…but just in case you missed it, Freddie Mac is now making it clear that they are aware of and are taking steps to prevent Short Sales fraud. From an April 12 press release on their website:… CONTINUE
Real Estate Power
BusinessWeek came out recently with a feature on The 50 Most Powerful People in U.S. Real Estate. The list is a blend of economists, policymakers, industry organizations, homebuilders, bankers, brokers, insurers, developers, investors and property owners, and is not ranked. There are only two women on the list: NAR president Vicki Cox Golder and Bank… CONTINUE
You Say Potato
HUD announced this week that it is changing how it defines foreclosed and abandoned properties. At HUD, foreclosed used to apply only to properties that had completed the foreclosure process. Now, foreclosed at HUD also encompasses properties in default. The agency used abandoned to define property that had been foreclosed on and had been vacant… CONTINUE
Big Brother is Watching
The FHA warned lenders this week that it is keeping a close eye on how mortgage companies are following the agency’s standards. And to put teeth into the warning, the FHA announced that it has permanently pulled its approval from two mortgage lenders: RSA Financial, Inc., Atlanta and 1st Alliance Mortgage LLC of Houston. From… CONTINUE
Harsh Reality
The foreclosure crisis has hit reality TV! No, not a new show…although “Pimp My Short Sale” might be popular….but the fact that many of the homes featured on the highly rated reality TV show Extreme Makeover are facing foreclosure. If you’re not a fan of the show, the premise is simple: hardship-stricken homeowners are sent… CONTINUE
Fear Driving Prices Down
A forecast out last week from the University Financial Associates of Ann Arbor says that most metro areas in the country will see prices fall below the lowest levels of the past two decades, due in large part to fear. From the Real Estate Economy Watch website: “It is often stated that prices decline faster… CONTINUE
Why CA Housing Prices Depressed
There are five key financial indicators that show exactly what is keeping the housing market – and the rest of us – depressed. An informative post on drhousingbubble.com recently provided an in-depth look at these trends, which include: Increase in MLS Inventory Falling Prices Competition for Jobs Rise in FHA Defaults Mortgage Delinquency What this… CONTINUE
New Credit Card Scam
As the economy continues to flounder, crooks seem to get more inventive with ways to scam regular folks out of their hard-earned cash. This one showed up in my Inbox recently and appears to be a fairly easy one to fall for: It works like this: Person calling says, “This is (any name) and I’m… CONTINUE
Top 10 List No One Wants to Be On
U.S. News & World Report released its Top 10 list of America’s Most Underwater Housing Markets last week: 1. Las Vegas, NV 2. Merced, CA 3. Phoenix, AZ 4. Orlando, FL 5. Greeley, CO 6. Bend, OR 7. Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN 8. Memphis, TN 9. Cleveland, OH 10. Grand Rapids, MI And closer to home, MONEY… CONTINUE
RSVP: Yes, Please
Last week Bank of America said that it would forgive some mortgage debt to help keep distressed borrowers from losing their homes. The by-invitation-only program announcement came the same week as the news that BoA had settled a suit brought by the state of Massachusetts for predatory lending. From the BoA press release announcing its… CONTINUE