Posted by GOLDGIRL/CA on 2/17/13 4:58pm
Msg #456288

The future

The following AP story is kinda JP; but also if the bill doesn't pass, it means far fewer refis for us. Also, does anybody know what this bill is about as opposed to HARP 2? An extension? Also, an EO told me last week that HARP 3 was starting in March, allowing underwater investors to refi. However, I know nothing for sure ...



WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Congress isn't likely to jump at President Barack Obama's challenge for quick passage of a mortgage refinancing bill that supporters say could help millions of homeowners save big each year and boost the economy.
Obama praised the legislation in his State of the Union speech last week, saying the proposal would help more homeowners with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac take advantage of low interest rates and refinance their loans.
Even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, Obama said, too many families that have never missed a payment and want to refinance are being turned down.
"That's holding our entire economy back, and we need to fix it," the president said. "Right now, there's a bill in this Congress that would give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today's rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported it before."
The economy's slow recovery from the recession gives the idea urgency, Obama said. "Send me that bill," he told members of Congress listening to his speech in the House chamber.
The proposal is part of a push by Democrats and the White House to help homeowners take advantage of low interest rates as a way to help the housing market recover and to give the economy a shot in the arm.
While the bill could gain traction in the Democratic-controlled Senate, it faces a rough road in the GOP-run House, where many Republicans favor scaling back the government's role in the housing market as a way of aiding the economy. Similar versions of the measure died in the House and Senate's lame duck sessions last year.
"At the moment, it's an uphill battle," said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who plans to file the House version of the bill.
Welch said he will reach out to Republicans this year in hopes of building more support, but the bill's association with the government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal housing agencies partly blamed for the collapse of the housing market, hurts its support base among GOP lawmakers.
"The American taxpayers have already sunk $190 billion dollars into the operations of Fannie and Freddie," said Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, a member of the House Financial Services Committee. "It's time that we wind their operations down instead of using them as a piggy bank for failed programs that further delay the housing recovery. "
In the Senate, Democrats Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Barbara Boxer of California have legislation to aid borrowers who are current on their loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but who are not able to refinance because their home values have declined too much.
Nearly 12 million homeowners have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans and stand to benefit refinancing, the two senators said. Many can't refinance at a lower rate because of red tape and high fees. The red tape has reduced competition among banks, so borrowers pay higher interest rates than they would if they were able to shop around more, according to the senators.
The bill also would reduce up-front fees that borrowers pay on refinances and eliminate appraisal costs for all borrowers. The measure seeks to expand the Obama administration's Home Affordable Refinancing Program, which saves an average homeowner about $2,500 per year, they said.
"Homeowners will have more money in their pockets, Fannie and Freddie will see fewer foreclosures, and the housing market and economy will continue building momentum," Boxer said.
Among the bill's supporters are the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders.

"It is another tool that can be out there to help stabilize the housing market and kick start the economy if consumers can, in fact, put another $100 bucks in their pockets every month," said John Hudson, government affairs chairman of the Association of Mortgage Professionals.

Similar proposals by Boxer and Menendez last year got bogged down in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Republican attempts to add amendments on other housing issues beyond refinancing led to a stalemate.

Twenty Senate Democrats are co-sponsors of this year's bill, but no Republicans have signed on.

"I support finding ways to smartly streamline the refinance process, but I'm not sure that eliminating all documentation requirements makes sense," said GOP Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, a committee member. "I also think we need to quickly move beyond short-term stimulus and start focusing on the structural issues in our housing finance system."

Sen. Mike Crapo, the committee's top Republican, declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the bill.

Welch's House bill also died during the last Congress. Welch accused Republicans of not wanting to give Obama an election-year boost by passing the mortgage refinance measure.

"Last year was even tougher because it was an election year," said Welch. "The Republican leadership wanted Obama to fail."

Reply by 101livescan on 2/18/13 10:48am
Msg #456349

This sector of our economy is the only one with hope. The job market is still stalled not matter what they say about the numbers. Big companies are still closing their doors and chains are shrinking.

There will be more purchases than refinances going forward. Get ready for another wave of foreclosures in the near future.

Freddie Mac: Housing Activity Remains Near Historic Lows


Fri, 2013-02-15 11:32 — NationalMortgag...


For Sale Sign in the Snow

Freddie Mac has released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for February showing that while the housing sector is recovering, the level of housing activity is still near historic lows. And in many markets, especially those hardest hit, there is room for sustainable growth because of record high homebuyer affordability; a factor of relatively low house prices, mortgage rates and modestly rising income. For the first year since 2005, residential fixed investment (RFI) made positive contributions to GDP growth, adding 0.4 percent to growth in the fourth quarter and 0.3 percent for the year. Expect RFI to contribute upwards of 0.5 percent for 2013 as a whole.

"Across the nation, most local housing markets have room for sustainable growth, particularly in home construction and sales," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "As the broader economy heals, expect to see more good news with house prices continuing their recent upward trend, and home sales and housing starts continuing to post strong growth rates. The macroeconomic recovery though 2011 helped to forestall further erosion in the depressed housing market. In return, housing is now 'showing some love' by contributing to economic growth, perhaps by adding close to 0.5 percentage points to 2013 GDP growth."

Projecting housing starts in 2013 will increase to 950,000 units or about 22 percent higher than 2012 levels. While most metro areas saw substantial run-ups in prices during the boom, well above income growth, the subsequent market correction was in many cases more severe. The level of affordability in most markets suggests a continued improvement in home prices, and strong growth in sales and construction.

Existing home sales are expected to pick-up as the house price recovery allows homeowners who have been forced on the sidelines by negative equity to get back into the market.

Reply by 101livescan on 2/18/13 11:13am
Msg #456350

While foreclosures are way down from last year at the same time especially in CA, the folks who got 7-year ARMS are coming up for their margin increase this year and if they are not able to refinance into a fixed, since they have no equity, they too will become part of the foreclosure carnage. I still hear of a lot of people right here on the Central Coast who haven't made a mortgage payment in two years who are still in their homes, and they are not in the foreclosure mode yet, in day, however. They are only 121 days from being on the street.

Here's the latest on RealtyTrac's statistics last week.

RealtyTrac: Foreclosure Activity Lowest Since Mid-2006
press release
2/14/2013


RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estate data, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for January 2013, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 150,864 U.S. properties in January, a decrease of 7 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from January 2012. The report also shows one in every 869 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.

“The U.S. foreclosure landscape in January was profoundly altered by the effects of new legislation that took effect in California on the first of the year,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Dubbed the Homeowners Bill of Rights, this legislation extends many of the principles in the national mortgage settlement — including a prohibition on so-called dual tracking and requiring a single point of contact for borrowers facing foreclosure — to all mortgage servicers operating in California. In addition the new law imposes fines of up to $7,500 per loan for filing of multiple unverified foreclosure documents. As a result, the downward foreclosure trend in California accelerated into hyper speed in January, decisively shifting the balance of power when it comes to the nation’s foreclosure activity.

“For the first time since January 2007 California did not have the most properties with foreclosure filings of any state. Instead that dubious distinction went to Florida, where January foreclosure activity increased on an annual basis for the 11th time in the last 13 months.”

High-level findings from the report:
U.S. foreclosure starts were down 11 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since June 2006 — a 79-month low.

U.S. bank repossessions (REO) decreased 5 percent from the previous month and were down 24 percent from January 2012 to the lowest level since February 2008.
The national decrease in foreclosure starts was caused in large part by a sharp drop in California notices of default (NOD) in January, down 62 percent from December and down 75 percent from January 2012 to the lowest level since October 2005.

Scheduled foreclosure auctions increased from the previous month in 26 states and the District of Columbia, hitting 12-month or more highs in several key judicial foreclosure states, including Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, although foreclosure starts were down on a year-over-year basis in Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Some of the biggest year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts came in non-judicial foreclosure states where legislation or court rulings stalled foreclosure actions last year: Arkansas (539 percent increase), Washington (179 percent increase), and Nevada (87 percent increase).

Florida posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the fifth month in a row in January, and also had the highest number of properties with foreclosure filings for the month, marking the first month since January 2007 that California has not had the highest number of properties with foreclosure filings.

Florida, Nevada, Illinois post highest state foreclosure rates
The Florida foreclosure rate ranked highest among the states for the fifth month in a row. One in every 300 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing in January — more than twice the national average. A total of 29,800 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing during the month, up 12 percent from the previous month and up 20 percent from January 2012.

With one in every 344 housing units with a foreclosure filing in January, Nevada posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate for the fourth consecutive month. Overall Nevada foreclosure activity decreased 43 percent from a year ago, but foreclosure starts (NODs) increased 19 percent from the previous month and were up 87 percent from January 2012 to a 16-month high.

A 32 percent month-over-month jump in scheduled foreclosure auctions helped the Illinois foreclosure rate rise to third highest among the states in January. One in every 375 Illinois housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Arizona (one in 501 housing units with a foreclosure filing), Georgia (one in 513 housing units), Ohio (one in 612 housing units), Washington (one in 674 housing units), California (one in 753 housing units), Indiana (one in 784 housing units), and Michigan (one in every 837 housing units).

Florida cities account for six of top 10 metro foreclosure rates
With one in every 223 housing units with a foreclosure filing in January, the Ocala, Fla., metro area posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate in January among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more.

Five other Florida metro areas documented foreclosure rates in the top 10: Miami at No. 2 (one in 228 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Orlando at No. 3 (one in 241 housing units); Jacksonville at No. 8 (one in 301 housing units); Tampa at No. 9 (one in 307 housing units); and Lakeland at No. 10 (one in 332 housing units).

Other cities with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Rockford, Ill., at No. 4 (one in every 265 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Stockton, Calif., at No. 5 (one in every 277 housing units); Las Vegas at No. 6 (one in 283 housing units); and Chicago at No. 7 (one in 293 housing units).

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month — broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the month may have been recorded in previous months. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee’s Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). The report does not count a property again if it receives the same type of foreclosure filing multiple times within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located.

Reply by Malbrough_LA on 2/18/13 4:45pm
Msg #456407

The following AP story is kinda JP.

I'd go further than "kinda JP". I take anything AP or Fox News says with a huge grain of salt. In so far as what it means, I'll delve into it if I have a chance since Google doesn't have an "Orange Search Button." If you all find anything out before me, feel free to share.

Not sure I buy into the logic of: If it is false that (x) occurs, we as notaries shall have less of [y]. Could it be true, yes. Could it be false, yes. Show me the data to back the statement up.

Reply by Bear900/CA on 2/18/13 8:26pm
Msg #456454

<<does anybody know what this bill is about as opposed to HARP 2? An extension? Also, an EO told me last week that HARP 3 was starting in March, allowing underwater investors to refi. However, I know nothing for sure ...>>

Stranger things have happened. Our mortgage association is meeting with a wholesale lender panel this Thursday and I will ask if they have any information.

I would not count on March.

Can we even identify the bill? http://www.bills.com/harp-3-mortgage-refinance/

There’s Senate bill 3085, introduced by Senators Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer

http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/policy-legislation/congress/expanding-streamlining-mortgage-refinances.pdf

http://www.menendez.senate.gov/issues/helping-responsible-homeowners-refinance

There are at least a couple of versions going around. One is the Obama Refinance Plan, which may be the same?

http://www.bills.com/obama-refinance-plan/

President Obama's #MyRefi - A HARP 3 Campaign will need:

• Gaining enough political support for more government involvement in the housing and mortgage market.
• Working out the technicalities relating to purchasing the loans. Who will fund the money? Who will guarantee the loans?
• Working out the underwriting criteria and eligibility requirements.

The “Rebuilding American Homeownership”, a proposal by senator Merkley of OR has received a slight nod:

The Treasury approved a pilot program forMultnomah County, OR last week.

http://www.merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=75421fb1-40e9-421b-85cd-7129e28c4792
“But with high start-up costs, the ultimately self-supporting program for Multnomah County will only reach about 50 mortgage holders.”

Contents of the program:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=rebuilding%20american%20homeownership&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CEkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merkley.senate.gov%2Fdownload%2F%3Fid%3D8605ab4d-47d9-44ae-8415-6ab18e9d3773&ei=McoiUcHKBoWuiQLB3IDYBA&usg=AFQjCNGWpAA_WblJU3kd0W8Z3Lc1wPaNMw&bvm=bv.42661473,d.cGE

or YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_A33ATlYYs