April 28, 2007

Freddie Mac boss: Housing worst isn’t here yet

According to Richard Syron, chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac “The mortgages written in 2006 in the subprime market are probably the most troublesome. They haven’t hit the reset point yet on interest rates.”
Syon went on to say "These steps are focused on helping individual people, and it will help the market. But once you get one of these market dynamics going, you don’t reverse them without it taking some time .... They’ve got to play themselves out.”

MSNBC


S&P housing index shows steepest decline in U.S. home prices in nearly 15 year

"U.S. home prices fell 1.5 percent in February from a year ago, the steepest decline in nearly 15 years, according to a housing index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's."

"San Francisco and Boston have recorded negative returns on a month-over-month basis since last May. Seattle and Portland, Oregon, meanwhile, have consistently resisted the downturn."


International Herald Tribune

Real Estate weekly

According to a Yahoo Real Estate survey conducted by Harris Interactive, one in five homeowners is concerned about the possibility of foreclosure.
Twenty-six percent who expressed concern said it was because the rate on their adjustable-rate mortgage increased, according to the survey. Fifty-nine percent said they were concerned about their ability to make their mortgage payments due to unexpected expenses.

MarketWatch

Senate Moves To Assist Homeowners On Two Fronts

"Senator Schumer released a congressional study about the current problems in the subprime lending industry. The report by the Joint Economic Committee said that foreclosures in the subprime sector are expected to rise over the next two years as nearly 2 million hybrid adjustable rate mortgages hit their reset dates."

"Schumer said that he and others would be proposing that "hundreds of millions of dollars" of federal funds would be directed to helping community-based groups work with borrowers to avert foreclosures. The report also urged that underwriting rules be strengthened on the federal level and that standards for the education and licensing of mortgage lenders be established."