Let’s compare our mortgage malaises, shall we?
Posted on November 20, 2009 at 9:19 amFrom the BERC’s latest Housing Brief:
Oh, by the way: The national numbers have gotten quite a bit worse in a rather short time.
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The housing market question with no easy answer
Posted on November 16, 2009 at 7:26 amBarry Ritholtz asks it:
If stabilization comes only through government subsidies and artificially propped up home prices, is it truly stabilization?
You could ask similar questions of the auto industry and a few other sectors of today’s economy. The folks who months ago said we ought to bite the bullet in housing and banking in order to more quickly begin an authentic recovery — albeit from a slightly deeper hole — are looking wiser with every passing day.
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At the FHA, it’s a case of ‘On the one hand…’
Posted on November 13, 2009 at 7:18 amThe bad news: The reserves at the Federal Housing Administration, which insures lenders against mortgage losses, are running below their mandated levels.
The encouraging news: More recent mortgages under the FHA umbrella are showing dramatically lower delinquency rates.
FHA’s recent books-of-business continue to experience elevated levels of stress due to house price declines, income loss and climbing unemployment, according to HUD’s report. For example, the ‘08 year of single-family insurance — representing 15.7% of total insurance — saw a 12.13% seriously delinquent rate as of the latest actuarial study. But the ‘07 year of insurance — representing only 5.7% of total insurance — saw an 18.53% serious delinquency rate.
The ‘09 year of insurance performed relatively well as of the most recent data, experiencing only 1.6% serious delinquencies although the loans insured in fiscal year 2009 account for more than 31% of all loans insured by FHA.
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Mortgage market rises closer to the surface
Posted on November 10, 2009 at 10:19 amMarket watcher Zillow says slightly fewer mortgages were underwater last quarter and that home values in the 150-plus cities it tracks stabilized. The tax credit will help get housing through the winter, Zillow’s economist says, but the question is whether the thaw will show us a market that finally is ready again to stand on its own.
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Home builder agrees to EPA settlement
Posted on at 8:36 amAfter being charged with Clean Water Act violations, John Wieland Homes will pay $350,000 and implement a far-reaching stormwater management plan at its construction sites. The EPA says its deal with John Wieland will keep 37 million pounds of sediment per year out of various waterways.
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Williamson County: Where the tax credit draws in lower-priced homebuyers
Posted on at 7:44 am
The first question that came to my mind after seeing the positive Nashville-area home sales headline number yesterday was, “OK, but how much did prices drop?” Turns out they fell by a smaller amount than they have for most of the year.
At least on the MSA level. Data from the Williamson County Association of Realtors shows a sharp drop in the pricier county’s median home price since the spring. In the first half of this year, that number was at $357,500 or above all but one month. In the past three months, it has averaged $307,000.
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Rising, but it could be worse
Posted on November 9, 2009 at 11:25 am
First American CoreLogic has the latest set of regional delinquency and foreclosure numbers, which are still worsening — but at a slower pace than the state and national data sets. Click at left to see foreclosures by local ZIP codes and then check here to compare the September chart’s color to March’s.
SEE ALSO: Plenty more info from the CoreLogic crowd.
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GNAR on tax credit extension
Posted on at 9:40 amHmm, the Realtors like it. Says Mike Nichols:
For homebuyers, it creates the opportunity to seriously consider purchasing a home based on the fact that this significant help is available. It is even better news that the program is now being made available at the reduced rate of $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their home for 5 years.
For the economy, it is especially meaningful. Much has been said about the housing market helping lead the way out of the current economic recession. Clearly, when people purchase homes, they often purchase other items to help furnish, equip and decorate their homes, so the impact is felt well beyond those directly involved in the actual home purchase transaction.
This is also very good news for Tennessee, as it was noted recently that this state is among the top users of the tax credit to date.
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Double-digit days for LP, O’Charley’s
Posted on November 5, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Shares of Louisiana-Pacific (Ticker: LPX) are basking in the afterglow of analyst praise and have extended the strong run that was cut short yesterday. Heading into the close, they’re up more than 17 percent.
Why O’Charley’s is up about the same amount is more of a puzzle. Yes, many industry players are having good days, but this Dow Jones chart shows Nashville-based O’Charley’s (Ticker: CHUX) is outpacting them by a factor of two to one.
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Analysts impressed with LP
Posted on at 7:43 am
Although they rolled over late in the day like the broader market, shares of Louisiana-Pacific (Ticker: LPX) had a nice Wednesday after several analysts praised Rick Frost’s crew for their steady hand during a “sloppy” economy. D.A. Davidson analyst Steven Chercover raised his rating on the company to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral.’
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Clarcor’s retail push has to settle for a single
Posted on November 2, 2009 at 7:33 amThe Franklin-based manufacturer’s pilot program to sell high-end HVAC filters under its Puralotor brand has unexpectedly ended, but CEO Norm Johnson is ready to move forward.
“Our team did a terrific job in all aspects of this project, and nothing we learned over the past four months changes our view that we have a winning combination of product, packaging and price. We are as excited about the retail marketplace as ever. Although we would have loved to hit a home run out of the box, the fact is that we are just beginning our retail efforts.”
Shares of Clarcor (Ticker: CLC) fell 3 percent Friday, pushing their 2009 losses to 11 percent.
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This is how the housing inventory will be whittled down
Posted on October 30, 2009 at 9:14 am
Numbers from MTSU’s BERC show the value of Nashville-area building permits the past three months was only about a third of the volume from the boom years. Check out the raw numbers and other regional stats here.
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The housing crisis will peak in 2011
Posted on October 28, 2009 at 11:59 am
Now that the subprime mortgage default wave has played itself out, it’s time to prepare for the damage that will be inflicted by souring option ARMs. The rates on many of those loans will start resetting next spring.
Something, anything
Posted on at 10:28 am
Crosland takes a drastic step in an attempt to start shipping condos at its Terrazzo tower. It will hold an auction the weekend before Thanksgiving with minimum bids starting below $200 per square foot.
The condominium homes offered in the sales event include a broad array of floorplans, and minimum offering bids are approximately 40-50% of the list price. One-bedroom and one-bedroom den residences available at the sales event range from 891 to 1,150 square feet with minimum offering bids of $159,000 - $225,000. Two-bedroom, two-bath and two-bedroom plus den residences available at the sales event range from 1,320 to 1,617 square feet with minimum offering bids of $250,000 - $310,000. Three-bedroom, three-bath residences available at the sales event have 2,090 square feet with minimum offering bids of $399,000. The minimum bid prices include one parking space in the access-controlled, underground garage.
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The types of homes that are actually selling
Posted on at 8:06 amBarry Ritholtz passes on some numbers about just where the rise in home sales is coming from this fall. Which raises the question of whether the housing market really is ready to stand on its two feet again. Those commenting here are of a pretty firm opinion that it isn’t.
Let’s think for a moment…70% of September sales $250,00 and under. Well of course! The $8,000 credit almost covers the down payment in this range (FHA 3.5%.) Now with a $15,000 credit we can start to move some of those @ $500,000.
Give me a break…
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