Building & Construction
August 4, 2011
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Category : Blog &Building & Construction &Mortgage &Real Estate Market
Featured Story
Holdings of Servicing Continuing Steady Fall
By Paul Muolo
In the “pre-crash” days of the mortgage industry two facts were unmovable: that the average nationwide home price would never fall and that servicing rights would never decline.
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| Federal Judge Dismisses Ore. Foreclosure In Another Challenge to MERS By Austin Kilgore In yet another borrower dispute of the use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, a U.S. District court vacated the nonjudicial foreclosure of an Oregon borrower |
| Mixed Bag for Stocks After Big Selloff By Brad Finkelstein It has been a mixed bag for mortgage-related stocks on Thursday morning, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid another 85 points, on top of a decline of 280 points on Wednesday. |
| Former FHLB President Blames Regulatory ‘Overreaction’ for Slowdown By Brian Collins One chief reason mortgage application volume is slowing and home prices have yet to recover is regulatory “overreaction” in the wake of the housing bust, according to former Federal Home Loan Bank president Alex Pollock. |
| Ranieri JV Buys New Penn Financial By Brad Finkelstein Shellpoint Partners LLC, a joint venture between company management and Ranieri Partners, has purchased New Penn Financial, an originator of FHA/VA and conforming loans, based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. |
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SpotlightMarking 30 Years
PCV Murcor is marking its 30th anniversary in the real estate valuations space. Chairman and CEO Keith Murray says the firm is a pioneer in the outsourcing of valuations. |
| New Chief for NeighborWorks By Brad Finkelstein NeighborWorks America has promoted Eileen M. Fitzgerald to the chief executive job, a post she has held on an interim basis since January. Prior to that, she has been the affordable housing organization’s chief operating officer since 2005. |
| Rate Drops for Seventh Week to Another Low for Year By Bonnie Sinnock The average 30-year mortgage rate’s seventh consecutive decline during the week ending June 2 brought it to new lows not seen in Freddie Mac’s survey since the week ending Dec. 2. |
| Weichert-Related Lender Fined for Using Unlicensed LOs By Brian Collins State regulators this week fined Mortgage Access Corp., an affiliate of realty giant Weichert, $3 million for using unlicensed mortgage originators. The settlement covers 10 states. |
| CoreLogic Offers a Glimmer of Good News on Housing By Brian Collins Home prices rose slightly in April for the first time since the federal home buyer tax credit expired last summer, according to the CoreLogic house price index, which includes distressed sales. |
| House GOP Demands Second Hearing with CFPB’s Warren By Kate Davidson The chairman of the House Oversight Committee is calling Elizabeth Warren back to the Hill for a second hearing following a dispute with a subcommittee chairman last week. |
| 163 Elected Officials Sign QRM/Risk Retention Letter By Brian Collins A letter signed by 163 congressmen urges federal regulators to loosen the definition of a “qualified residential mortgage,” allowing single-family loans with low downpayments and private mortgage insurance to be exempt from pending risk retention rules. |
HUD Charges MGIC Over Maternity Issue
By Brad Finkelstein
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is charging Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. with violating the Fair Housing Act because its underwriter required a woman return to her job from maternity leave as a condition for approving the application for mortgage insurance.
Category : Agents & Brokers &Building & Construction &Home Buying &Mortgage
By: Clark Raitz
Foreclosed and repossessed homes in Indianapolis, Indiana, continued to hinder home building activities in the metro area. Last year, permits issued for new houses increased when compared with 2009 levels, but remained way below the level of activities recorded during the early part of the decade.
With huge number of foreclosed homes in Indianapolis competing against new houses, most home builders have stopped building new dwellings and have either closed business or are waiting until the market improves. There was some good news from last year though, as the number of permits for new home construction improved from 2009. The metro area issued a total of 3,720 construction permits last year, up from the 3,625 issued in 2009.
However, the total is still way below the 10,000 average recorded in the earlier part of the decade. The huge amount of foreclosure listings in Indiana remains one of the primary factors hindering house construction in the region. December 2010 records did show a significant rise when compared with the same 2009 month, with the number of home building permits rising by 2.32%.
The lack of housing start activities in Indianapolis is mirrored in the national level, with foreclosed and repossessed homes all over the U.S. keeping housing construction at bay. At the country-wide level, home builders started 587,600 projects in 2010, slightly higher than the 2009 total of 554,000. The period of 2009-2010 was the worst ever recorded years for house building in the U.S. since 1959.
Although foreclosure houses for sale numbers continue to rise in various key markets of the U.S., some analysts are seeing a glimmer of hope for 2011, with building permits showing an increase during December 2010. According to them, these are good signs for the future of home construction. Permits issued increased by 16.7% last month, bringing the annual seasonally adjusted rate to 635,000, the highest rate recorded since March of 2010.
Analysts believe that foreclosed and repossessed homes will continue to take a big chunk out of new houses’ market share, but they are also optimistic that home buying will pick up in 2011 and home construction will rise along with it.
Author Resource:-> Original Post: http://www.foreclosuredatabank.com/foreclosures-blog/article/2568/foreclosed-and-repossessed-homes-keep-homebuilding-at-a-low-level on ForeclosureDataBank.com. Get a free foreclosure listings investment eBook with membership.
Article From Real Estate Pro Articles
Category : Blog &Building & Construction
By: M Shane
While many of us are far from experts in architecture, we do, at least, tend to know what we like. Our thoughts on what constitutes a perfect home from a design perspective, may not be perfectly honed but the majority of us feel comfortable enough in our tastes to recognize when something looks bad.
Of course, we’re not always ‘right’ and our own personal taste may differ hugely from that of the next person. Some people simply love old buildings. They feel that established properties are imbued with crafted elegance, and a comforting sense of history. Others go for brand new houses, preferring the sheer smartness of an immaculate, recently built structure, and the limited maintenance and high efficiency it provides.
But that doesn’t necessarily have much to do with the architectural aesthetics, per se. There are houses built in the 1930s that still look far more contemporary in their design than many stone-fronted family homes built today. For many years, houses were just places to live, raise a family and retire in, but the latter half of the 20th century saw a huge change in how we viewed property, and how we chose our homes. Moves toward simplicity and utility in the post war years saw sleek, uncluttered, spacious homes, with an eye on the coming space age.
The suburbs were born, and an ever growing reliance on cars meant that we could live increasingly further away from the workplace and the amenities we frequently relied upon. This allowed for a less utilitarian attitude toward domestic housing in many quarters, and a new era of architectural creativity was within reach of the average aspirational North American home buyer.
Despite this relative freedom, the nations’ home builders soon reverted back to the idea of more cost-effective ‘cookie-cutter’ housing developments, as the promise of the perfect nuclear lifestyle went through periods of significant challenge. Our idea of what was desirable changed, as it does constantly, and we are left with a legacy of visibly altering real estate styles. In some parts of the country, there is nothing more chic than a renovated classic 50s rancher, while elsewhere only the latest condo development will suffice.
Some of us adore the funky styles of architectural giants such as Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright, whereas others much prefer the more subtle approach employed by Arts and Crafts designers such as Charles and Henry Greene. Some Americans would adore an old Victorian heritage home, while others would prefer to call a custom-built, large and extravagant faux-Tudor mansion in a gated community, home.
And surely, it’s a good thing that we all have conflicting opinions about so many things in life. Imagine a world where all homes were identical, and our aspirations were evenly matched. One only has to take a look at the exciting and wildly varying styles of European, and early American, architecture to appreciate just how important change is to our ever-evolving environment. The current global economic situation will have a long lasting impact on so many areas of North American life in the coming years. Where will we be in 10, or 20 years, as far as urban and suburban communities are concerned? It will be interesting to see what developments occur in the housing industry, as our approaches to home ownership, and lifestyle choices, are molded to meet the coming challenges and conclusions.
Author Resource:-> View listings for Palm Beach waterfront homes at Waterfront-Properties.com. Our market specialists will show you the many Jupiter waterfront homes and answer any questions you may have about this popular oceanfront community.
Article From Real Estate Pro Articles
Category : Blog &Building & Construction
By: John Cutts
Three houses for sale at the Lanier Place in Montgomery, Alabama, have been started, following two years of development and planning. The houses will reportedly cost between $100,000 and $110,000 and are meant to jumpstart the city’s efforts of reversing neighborhood declines in the region.
The high number of foreclosed homes in Montgomery, AL, has resulted in community declines in most local regions, with the Lanier Place being only one of the very few subdivisions built in the area in the past decade. People behind the project have admitted that the effort comes with a number of risks since Montgomery has seen residential abandonment continuing to increase in the past two decades.
Most of the residential properties that have fallen into home foreclosures in Alabama have been left empty by their former owners, causing blight in neighborhoods and scaring off developers. Developers behind the recent project aim to finish the first three houses first and see whether they are going to be sold before the 55-house capacity subdivision is completed. Realtors working on the project were relived when the construction started earlier this month since the delay had already caused stir among observers who mostly predicted that the project will not push through.
However, supporters of the effort believe that the houses for sale will be purchased immediately by those employed in the vicinity and who understand that potential for growth of the West Fairview market. The houses will be built along the same lines as other residential properties found in the neighborhood.
According to builders, the aim is to make the houses look like they belong there. The success of the whole project, realtors have admitted, depends heavily on the outcome of the first three dwellings. The program is being financed by money provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under its nationwide effort of reviving neighborhoods suffering from huge supplies of foreclosure homes.
The houses for sale will also help revitalize the commercial property market of the region, realtors have stated. They claimed that improving the residential market will automatically help the commercial property industry, particularly at a time when only 12 home construction permits were issued within a 12-month period in the area.
Author Resource:-> Original Post: Lanier Place Houses for Sale Aimed at Revitalizing Community on ForeclosureConnections.com.
Article From Real Estate Pro Articles
Category : Blog &Building & Construction
