Information on the mortgages for homes purchases

Congress Demands Banks Do More on Mortgages
Executives for mortgage companies and government officials faced an angry congressional committee yesterday over some of the problems associated with the Obama administration's mortgage-aid program. The majority of complaints stemmed from the slow pace of converting trial mortgage modifications into permanent ones.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/08/real_estate/
mortgage_modifications/index.htm

Banks: Borrowers Don't Complete Paperwork
In response to a growing frustration over the seemingly slow pace of mortgage modifications, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. both said their failure to help more borrowers stemmed from the fact that many homeowners fail to complete mortgage-relief paperwork.
http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2009120803?OpenDocument

Mortgage Rates Reach All-Time Low
Mortgage rates fell again last week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages reaching the lowest level in at least 38 years, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey.
http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB10001424052748704007804574573794292740988.html

More Homeowners Fall Behind on Mortgages
About one in seven American households with mortgages is behind on payments or in foreclosure, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association--up from about one in 10 a year ago.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125865480793156003.html

Hiring Boom Seen in Mortgage Restructuring
Mortgage restructuring for strapped homeowners has emerged as a rare growth area in the economy as companies in the field keep hiring. Four of the largest mortgages servicers -- Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. -- have collectively hired almost 17,000 people this year, mostly to work with financially ailing homeowners. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125859271921354781.html

Housing Agency’s Cash Reserves Down Sharply
The Federal Housing Administration--the government agency whose loan-insurance programs have become a crucial source of support for the housing market--recently announced that its cash reserves had dwindled significantly in the last year as more borrowers defaulted on their mortgages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/business/economy/13fha.html?_r=1&ref=business

Over 50 Percent of Homebuyers Rely on Low Down-Payment Government Mortgages
The new home market is cooling down and government intervention has been a key driver to new home sales, according to a recent monthly survey of home builders. The survey reveals that 59 percent of this year’s sales have been dependent on FHA, VA or USDA financing programs.
http://tinyurl.com/ylpzbsg

Yet Another Housing Bailout on the Way
Just as federal officials seek to wind down many bailout programs, the Obama administration announced earlier this week another initiative to prop up the housing market.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/19/news/economy/
housing_finance_agency_bailout/index.htm?postversion=2009101918

FHA Expected to Tighten Credit Standards
The Federal Housing Administration, which insures lenders against losses on home mortgages, announced late last week that it would tighten credit requirements but said it has enough reserves to handle expected claims. The FHA has taken a much bigger role in the mortgage market during the past two years, as investors have shied away from home loans that lack government backing.
http://www.ncrealtors.org/news_display.cfm?nid=1070

Commercial Real Estate Lurks as Next Potential Mortgage Crisis
Federal Reserve and Treasury officials are presently scrambling to prevent the commercial-real-estate sector from delivering a punch to the U.S. economy just as it is showing signs of recovery. It’s estimated that as many as 65 percent of commercial mortgages maturing over the next few years are unlikely to qualify for refinancing because of the drop in values and new stricter underwriting standards.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125167422962070925.html

FHA on Track for Busiest Year as it Backs 23 Percent of Mortgages
Almost a year after the federal government launched its rescue of the housing market, nearly one in four new mortgages is insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Eighty percent of the FHA mortgages for purchasing homes went to first-time buyers drawn to the FHA's low-down payment requirements.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-09-01-fha-new-mortgages_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Study: Delinquency Rates Higher on Broker Originated Mortgages
A new paper provides a sobering look at problem loans originated by mortgage brokers during the height of the housing bubble. The Columbia University working paper, which studied some 700,000 loans made by a major national mortgage bank from 2004 to 2008, found that delinquency rates on loans originated by brokers were 50 percent more likely to be delinquent than loans originated by the bank.
http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/09/01/delinquency-rates-higher-on-broker-originated-mortgages/

Banks to Maintain Strict Lending Standards Until Mid-2010
Banks tightened standards for all types of loans in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported earlier this week. About 35 percent of senior loan officials said they tightened standards somewhat and none of the 51 responding banks said they loosened standards for prime mortgages.
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009081801?OpenDocument

Who’s Really Modifying Mortgages?
Washington has pushed hard for the nation’s bailed-out financial institutions to give troubled homeowners a break. But according to data released yesterday by the Treasury Department, some big banks are moving much faster than others to modify mortgages they service under the government’s Making Home Affordable program. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/big-banks-differ-sharply-on-easing-mortgages/?ref=business

Survey Shows Lenders Still Cautious
Nearly three out of four major U.S. banks tightened their underwriting standards for residential mortgage loans in the 12 months ending March 31, and one in five discontinued or planned to discontinue one or more retail mortgage products, according to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
http://www.ncrealtors.org/news_display.cfm?nid=1013

Report: N.C. Banks Outperforming Peers on Real Estate Loans
Banks based in North Carolina lead the Southeast with $720 billion in real estate loans, about 15.3 percent of the nation’s total, according to a recently released report. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/06/22/story16.html?b=1245643200^1847687

Pending Home Sales: Fourth Straight Monthly Gain
Pending home sales continued to increase in May, rising for the fourth consecutive month with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time homebuyer tax credit boosting activity.
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/
2009/07/record_fourth?LID=RONav0021

Treasury Makes Refinancing More Attractive
The Treasury Department expanded its foreclosure prevention plan last week, lifting the current 105 percent loan-to-value cap to refinance up to 125 percent of a home’s value. The move is likely to bring more borrowers to the table.
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009070202?OpenDocument