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S&P/Case-Shiller: No Sign of Home Price Turnaround
Tweet Share on Facebook January 31, 2012 CommentSome economists say the housing market is showing early signs of stabilization, but sinking home prices continued to take the teeth out of a more vigorous recovery in November, according to a new report.
Nineteen of the 20 metro areas tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices slumped lower in November, with just Washington, D.C. and Detroit reporting modest upticks in year-over-year price data. Overall prices fell almost 4 percent, and are now on par with prices seen back in mid-2003, the report noted.
"The only positive for the month was Phoenix, one of the hardest hit in recent years," David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a release. "The trend is down and there are few, if any, signs in the numbers that a turning point is close at hand."
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Can You Buy Protection Against Another Housing Bubble?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2012 CommentFreefalling home prices have been the hallmark of the housing market over the past several years, but thanks to a twist on home financing, consumers don't have to lose any more sleep over evaporating home equity.
"Home Price Protection," offered by Colorado-based EquityLock Solutions, is kind of like a warranty for current homeowners and prospective home buyers. "We pay homeowners if the local market index declines, even if the homeowner ends up selling their own home for a profit," says Ted Rusinoff, president of EquityLock Solutions.
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Romney Batters Newt on Freddie Mac Connection
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2012 Comment (3)Newt Gingrich's campaign flotilla is taking on some serious water in Florida at the hands of Mitt Romney, who has mercilessly railed on the former speaker for his connection to the much-maligned government mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Riding his latest surge in the polls—Romney now leads Gingrich 43 percent to 29 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll—Romney brought up Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac at three separate campaign events in Florida Sunday.
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Poll: Americans Want More Help for the Housing Market
Tweet Share on Facebook January 27, 2012 Comment (4)The remaining GOP candidates don't agree on much, but they have found common ground on one thing: less government involvement in the housing market.
But according to a new poll, that stance is out of touch with what most Americans want to see from the federal government when it comes to the housing crisis. The majority of Americans—58 percent, according to Gallup—support the government taking further steps to prevent foreclosures. Only 34 percent prefer to let the problem resolve itself.
It has a lot to do with tanking home prices.
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Obama Takes Aim at Mortgage Refinancing Bottleneck
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2012 Comment (5)No more games when it comes to refinancing options for responsible homeowners, President Obama said in his third State of the Union address Tuesday night, pledging to send Congress a plan that would give millions of homeowners the chance to refinance their mortgages at today's historically low rates.
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Severe Home Value Declines In Battleground States
Tweet Share on Facebook January 24, 2012 Comment (1)Monday night's GOP debate included a brief mention of Florida's housing market struggles, but debate stars Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich seemed to spend more time trading personal attacks than addressing the enormous loss of wealth and financial instability the housing crisis has caused in Florida.
But while the nation's housing crisis has largely taken a backseat to other issues in the 2012 campaign cycle, experts say candidates would be wise to start paying a little more attention to the impact the housing market meltdown has had on "battleground" states where primary showdowns loom.
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Protesters Gear Up as Foreclosure Settlement Nears
Tweet Share on Facebook January 23, 2012 Comment (2)As state and federal officials hammer out the details of a settlement designed to address fraudulent foreclosure practices, some homeowners and activists are saying it's just not enough.
Protests flared up in Chicago Monday where officials were meeting, with activists demanding the government launch a more thorough investigation into the foreclosure actions taken by big banks. Activists chanted "banks got bailed out, we got sold out," according to Reuters, while others held signs that said "Make Wall Street Pay" and "President Obama investigate banks now."
There seems to be some hope for the prospect of a deeper investigation. Rumor has it President Obama will address the ongoing negotiations in his State of the Union Tuesday.
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Is Housing Headed Out of the Deep Freeze?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2012 CommentThe housing market seems to be taking its cues from the unseasonably warm winter, posting sales numbers that look more like a budding spring season than the barren chill of winter.
Existing home sales jumped 5 percent in December, according to the National Association of Realtors, the second highest pace of the year and the third month in a row sales have increased. Existing-home sales increased almost 2 percent overall in 2011, the report said.
Is the housing market finally ready to thaw out after being in a long, deep freeze?
The picture remains murky, primarily because contract cancellations due to declined mortgage applications and appraisal values coming in lower than the negotiated sale price continue to keep the lid on actual closings. A third of NAR members reported contract failures, up from 9 percent a year ago.
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Is Foreclosure Processing Deal in its Final Act?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 19, 2012 CommentThe final curtain could soon be coming down on the robo-signing saga, ending a months-long investigation into U.S. banks' foreclosure-processing practices.
State attorneys general and federal officials are "very close" to a settlement with banks involved in the robo-signing scandal, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, which would benefit about one million homeowners by reducing the amount they owe on their mortgages.
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Has Housing Found New Life in New Construction?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 19, 2012 CommentThings might be looking up for home builders, according to a slew of recent reports, but that optimism probably won't make it downstream to consumers this year, experts say.
New construction was up almost 25 percent last year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, buoying builder confidence, which rose to its highest level since mid-2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
But the housing market is in for a flood of foreclosures this year, which will likely keep the lid on any gains in home values and prolong the wait for a solid housing recovery.
[Read: Home Refinancing Heats Up.]
