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Back in 2015, The J.G. Wentworth Company, which rose to fame with the “It’s my money and I want it now” advertising campaign, surprised many in the mortgage business by becoming a mortgage company itself. J.G. Wentworth accomplished this transition by acquiring WestStar Mortgage. Now, the former owner of WestStar Mortgage is claiming that J.G. Wentworth misrepresented the state of the company’s financials and pushed for an accelerated closing, which was finalized just before J.G. Wentworth’s stock crashed. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

By Susanne Dwyer

Mortgage rates again sunk this week after topping out at the end of 2016, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.12 percent with an average 0.5 point, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The trend, now in its second week, marks a new normal for rates, which rose above 4 percent in a nine-week streak following the election.

“After absorbing a mixed December jobs report, the 10-year Treasury yield fell eight basis points,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved in tandem with Treasury yields falling eight basis points to 4.12 percent, the second decline since the presidential election. The December jobs report showed 156,000 jobs added, barely meeting many experts’ expectations, while wage growth was at the high end of expectations at 0.4 percent. If strong wage gains persist, they may push inflation and interest rates higher.”

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is averaging 3.37 percent with an average 0.5 point, also down, while the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage is averaging 3.23 percent with an average 0.5 point, according to the Survey.

For more information, please visit www.freddiemac.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post The New Normal? Mortgage Rates Sink Again appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Mortgage rates again sunk this week after topping out at the end of 2016, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.12 percent with an average 0.5 point, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The trend, now in its second week, marks a new normal for rates, which rose above 4 percent in a nine-week streak following the election.

“After absorbing a mixed December jobs report, the 10-year Treasury yield fell eight basis points,” says Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac chief economist. “The 30-year mortgage rate moved in tandem with Treasury yields falling eight basis points to 4.12 percent, the second decline since the presidential election. The December jobs report showed 156,000 jobs added, barely meeting many experts’ expectations, while wage growth was at the high end of expectations at 0.4 percent. If strong wage gains persist, they may push inflation and interest rates higher.”

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is averaging 3.37 percent with an average 0.5 point, also down, while the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage is averaging 3.23 percent with an average 0.5 point, according to the Survey.

For more information, please visit www.freddiemac.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post The New Normal? Mortgage Rates Sink Again appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

While many of us were all too pleased to say buh-bye to 2016, one positive thing the year gifted us was the lowest foreclosure rate in 10 years.

According to recently released data from ATTOM Data Solutions, 2016 foreclosure filings were reported on 933,045 U.S. properties, down 14 percent from 2015 to the lowest level since 2006.

For an even bigger boon, the Year-End 2016 Foreclosure Market report shows that 0.70 percent of U.S. housing units had at least one foreclosure filing in 2016, the lowest annual foreclosure rate nationwide since 2006, when 0.58 percent of housing units had at least one foreclosure filing.

Location, Location, Location
So where are the foreclosures still happening? The District of Columbia had the highest share of legacy foreclosures with 76 percent, followed by Hawaii (66 percent), New Jersey (64 percent), Nevada (63 percent), Delaware (61 percent), and Massachusetts (61 percent). In terms of total number of legacy foreclosures, New Jersey led the way with 32,279, followed by New York (31,838), Florida (29,411), California (17,208), and Illinois (12,244).

Some Still Rise
Counter to the national trend, 15 states and the District of Columbia posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts in 2016, including Delaware (up 37 percent); Connecticut (up 35 percent); Maine (up 30 percent); Rhode Island (up 26 percent); Arizona (up 15 percent); and Massachusetts (up 12 percent).

Bank repossessions also showed conflicting trends. Despite dropping to a 10-year low, down 16 percent from 2015 and down 64 percent from 2010, bank repossessions rose in a whopping 21 states. Repossessions in Massachusetts rose 61 percent, Alabama moved up 32 percent, New York rose 21 percent, Virginia rose 9 percent, and New Jersey inched up 4 percent.

“The national foreclosure rate stayed within an historically normal range for the third consecutive year in 2016, even as banks continued to clear out legacy foreclosures from the last housing bubble, particularly in the final quarter of the year,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions, the new parent company of RealtyTrac. “Foreclosures completed in the fourth quarter had been in the foreclosure process 803 days on average, a substantial jump from the third quarter and indicating that banks pushed through significant numbers of legacy foreclosures during the quarter. Despite that push, we still show that more than half of all active foreclosures nationwide are on loans originated between 2004 and 2008, with a much higher share of legacy foreclosures in some markets.”

For the full report, click here.

Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com.

This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Visit the blog daily for housing and real estate tips and trends. Like Housecall on Facebook and follow @HousecallBlog on Twitter.

The post 2016 Brings 10-Year Drop in Foreclosures appeared first on RISMedia.

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From:: Finance and Economy