Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
Last month, mortgage bond investors moved one step closer to ending their five-year wait for their money from an $8.5 billion settlement involving Bank of America, mortgages originated by its Countrywide unit, and the Bank of New York Mellon. At the time, a report suggested that the aggrieved bondholders would receive their money in June, and according to a new report from Fitch Ratings, that’s exactly what happened. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
In addition to driving new business to a 10-month high, delinquency at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. was the lowest since 2008.
There were 17 percent more in total purchases and issuances during the month of May at the secondary lender than in the previous month.
The McLean, Virginia-based government-sponsored enterprise reported the operational data in its Monthly Volume Summary: May 2016.
From:: Financing
In the wake of the United Kingdom’s shocking decision to leave the European Union, experts throughout the U.S. housing industry weighed in on the potential impact of the Brexit. The general consensus among those experts is that mortgage interest rates are going down, but just how low?
Well, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings, mortgage rates could hit all-time lows as the Brexit dust settles. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Dave Cote, Honeywell International Inc.’s long-serving chairman and chief executive, will step down as CEO on March 31 but remain as executive chairman until April 2018, Honeywell said in a statement Tuesday. Cote has signed a five-year consulting and non-competition agreement with the company that will take effect after he retires as chairman. Chief Operating Officer Darius Adamczyk has been named to succeed Cote as CEO. Honeywell shares were mostly flat in after-hours trading.
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From:: Stock Market News
Oil futures climbed in electronic trading Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude supplies fell by 3.9 million barrels for the week ended June 24, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a fall of 2.4 million barrels for crude inventories. The closely watched Energy Information Administration report will be released Wednesday. August crude was at $48.07 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the contract’s settlement of $47.85 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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From:: Stock Market News
Baby Boomers are planning to move, many even before 2020, however this time many don’t plan on buying a home, but renting it. Most of them say next time they move they will pay the same or less than what they pay now. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Nordstrom Inc. said Tuesday that it is closing the Chicago Trunk Club fulfillment center by August 2017. Trunk Club is a retail shopping service that pairs shoppers with a personal stylist both online and through five nationwide locations. Nordstrom acquired the business in 2014. The Chicago fulfillment center, located in Goose Island, employs 250 full-time and part-time workers. Nordstrom said it will try to find other positions for affected workers within the Trunk Club Chicago location or at nearby Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores. Trunk Club operations at the facility will be integrated into the company’s nationwide network of fulfillment and distribution centers. Nordstrom shares closed Tuesday up 2.5%, but the stock is down 51.3% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 3.1% for the last 12 months.
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From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Nike Inc. skidded in Tuesday’s extended session after the world’s largest sportswear maker by sales posted flat quarterly earnings. Nike reported its fourth-quarter earnings fell 2% to $846 million from $865 million a year earlier due to a higher tax rate, gross margin decline, and an increase in expenses. On a per-share basis, earnings were unchanged at 49 cents a share. Revenue rose 6% to $8.24 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast the company to earn 48 cents a share on revenue of $8.28 billion. Nike shares dropped 6% after hours.
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From:: Stock Market News
The dip in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index below their respective 200-day moving averages lasted just one day, as the broad stock market barometers bounced sharply back above them on Tuesday. The Dow closed up 269 points at 17,410 and the S&P 500 rose 1.8% to 2,036; meanwhile, the Dow’s 200-day MA came in at 17,244 while the S&P 500’s was at 2,021. Many chart watchers use the 200-day MA as a dividing line between longer-term uptrends and downtrends. Prior to Tuesday’s close below the 200-day MA, the Dow had last closed below it on March 10 and the S&P 500 had closed below it on March 15. The last time the S&P 500 closed below its 200-day MA for just one day, after spending at least the three prior months above it, was on Aug. 3, 2007; the index didn’t close back below it for a week, but hit a short-term bottom about two weeks later. For the Dow, the last time was May 10, 2004; it was back below it within three sessions, and hit a short-term bottom about a week later.
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From:: Stock Market News
The surprise victory in Britain of the campaign to leave the European Union may be spurring panic across the Continent (and among some regretful British voters), but “Brexit” has left U.S. home buyers with a very definable windfall: mortgage rates that are now the lowest they’ve been in more than three years.
The average 30-year conforming rate on Monday was 3.46 percent, very near the lowest average rates recorded in late 2012.
Lower rates produce lower monthly payments and greater buying power—those who are well qualified can afford a home that’s 8 percent more expensive than at the beginning of the year. That’s more than enough to offset the rise in prices during that time.
And that’s why Brexit has just increased the opportunity to lock in a low associated mortgage rate for a new home. And maybe added a bit of urgency to the proceedings.
Low mortgage rates were already driving a strong real estate market this year—right up there with pent-up demand from first-time buyers, move-up buyers, and retirement buyers. And more and more real estate players these days are individual investors. Those investors—mainly wealthier and older households—are looking at single-family rentals as a reliable alternative to more traditional financial investments that, frankly, are flat-out lousy right now.
Those low rates have a downside, though: They motivate lenders to be tougher on credit restrictions. As mortgage rates declined this year, we’ve seen that credit access has gone down, too. That’s because lenders have become more risk-averse as their profit margins have been whittled down by the double whammy of lower rates and higher origination and servicing costs. On the whole, lenders prefer refinances, which present less risk and will likely surge again to capitalize on the low rates.
The tighter credit environment limits the first-time buyer pool and favors those who can avoid financing altogether. Or those who have grade-A credit. Or maybe those who can afford to shell out 20 percent or more on a down payment. So all this gives individual investors an advantage over younger buyers.
But both types of buyers tend to look at similar, more affordable properties.
And while some are chattering about whether the international economic tumult might push the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next meeting, remember this: It doesn’t really matter what the Fed does.
What matters is the global movement of money. Got that? Bottom line: U.S. investment vehicles are becoming even more attractive to foreign investors. So as foreigners line up to buy the popular U.S. Treasury bonds, their prices go up but their yield (interest rate) goes down. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond correlates with mortgage rates. Mortgage-backed securities are another investment whose popularity also pushes mortgage rates down.
But before we all put up banners, hire marching bands, and hold parades to celebrate the United Kingdom’s bold move, let’s take a big pause. Brexit is not likely to be a boon to all parts of the residential real estate market.
The U.S. economy will now …read more
From:: Finance and Economy