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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: mortgage

mortgage stories: 153 news summaries

21 - 40 of 153 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 8 Next >>

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Housing Market Woes Hit Home for Geithner

Treasury secretary
can't sell, stuck renting
out his NY home

Jun 3, 09 9:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Housing market troubles are getting personal for Tim Geithner, the AP reports. The Treasury secretary bought his five-bedroom suburban New York Tudor for $1.6 million in 2004; after moving to Washington, he tried to sell it for $1.635 million. The price later dropped to $1.575 million, but... More »

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housing market • mortgage • home sales • rent • housing sales • Treasury secretary • financial crisis • Timothy Geithner

(Newser) - Pending sales of existing US homes soared in April, posting their largest jump since October 2001. Combined with a 3.2% jump in March, the 6.7% increase in April—far more than the forecast 0.5%—suggests a longer-term upward trend, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dipping prices, low... More »

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housing market • mortgage • home sales • mortgage rates • home prices • existing home sales • tax credit • existing-home sales

New Foreclosure Legislation May Not Be Enough

Congressional aid to homeowners may need overhaul, not 'patches'

May 22, 09 12:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Congress’ Hope for Homeowners plan was aimed at fighting the foreclosure epidemic, and it’s been a success for exactly one person. Now, lawmakers have put “patches” on the legislation—but some worry the fixes aren’t going to do the job, ProPublica reports. Instead, it needs “some... More »

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Congress • housing market • foreclosure • mortgage • homeowners • mortgage lender • Hope for Homeowners

Perspective

 Credit Crisis Traps 
 NYT Economics Scribe 


May 16, 09 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - New York Times economics reporter Edmund Andrews was smart enough to avoid a financial disaster like the mortgage crisis. But “I had two utterly compelling reasons for taking the plunge,” he writes: “The money was there and I was in love.” With a new fiancée—... More »

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New York Times • subprime mortgages • mortgage • mortgage defaults • mortgage delinquency • financial crisis

Foreclosure Crisis Wallops Minority Neighborhoods

Lenders accused of 'redlining' black neighborhoods for subprime loans

May 16, 09 6:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - The national foreclosure crisis is battering minority neighborhoods with disproportionate force, the New York Times reports. Few areas in the New York region have been untouched by the crisis, but 85% of the worst-hit neighborhoods have a majority of black and Latino homeowners. Experts blame the trend on subprime lenders'... More »

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African Americans • housing market • subprime mortgages • foreclosure • mortgage • minorities • subprime crisis

 1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater 

Negative equity spikes to 21.9% as prices keep dropping

May 6, 09 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - More than one in five American homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to a new study. The increase in negative equity has been accompanied by new signs that first-time buyers are taking advantage of lower prices in the housing market. But as prices continue... More »

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housing market • mortgage • housing • negative equity • underwater • upside-down mortgages

(Newser) - The country’s top lenders are slowly implementing the Obama administration’s plan to help otherwise ineligible borrowers to refinance their mortgages at the current bargain-basement rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The program is open to those with mortgages owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae who are... More »

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housing market • mortgage • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • refinanced mortgages • Obama administration

(Newser) - Executives at government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scheduled to receive six-figure retention bonuses, but Barney Frank wants the payments canceled, MarketWatch reports. “In this troubled economy, and in this job market, it is difficult to imagine that the companies would not be able to find... More »

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mortgage • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • bonuses • Barney Frank • bailout • financial crisis • financial meltdown

Analysis

 Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower 


Mar 20, 09 8:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The extraordinary measures the Fed has taken to reduce long-term mortgage rates may have hit their limits. Lenders are now quoting an average rate of 4.75% on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and that’s probably as cheap as it’s going to get, says James Hagerty of the Wall ... More »

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Federal Reserve • mortgage • mortgage rates

Dodd Weakened by Outcry Over AIG Bonuses

Confusion over Conn. senator's role adds to mounting woes

Mar 20, 09 7:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - The financial crisis has exacted a political toll on Sen. Chris Dodd few would have seen coming. The veteran senator, elected in 1980, now trails his challenger by 1%, reports the Hill. Resentment of VIP mortgages he received was already hurting him. Dodd’s fumbled explanations of his role in... More »

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Senate • mortgage • Connecticut • Chris Dodd • AIG • bonuses

Plummeting Mortgage Rates Near Record Low

Rate for 30-year mortgage again below 5%

Mar 19, 09 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages decreased this week, with the rate for a 30-year mortgage falling 0.05% to an average 4.98%, near January’s record low of 4.96%, MarketWatch reports. Thirty- and 15-year mortgage rates are down nearly a full percentage point from a year ago. The... More »

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housing market • Federal Reserve • mortgage • interest rate • 30-year mortgage • interest rates

Playgrounds of Rich and Famous Hit the Skids

What would Jay Gatsby say?

Mar 17, 09 9:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Even crème de la crème communities are curdling in the current crisis, reports the Telegraph. Take the Hamptons, where nearly as many homes were being foreclosed last week as the number of places sold. Residents in the super-affluent towns on Long Island's east end are struggling to meet... More »

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real estate • New York real estate • New York • foreclosure • mortgage • Long Island • Hamptons • fiscal crisis

(AP) - Freddie Mac said today it will ask the government for nearly $31 billion in additional aid after posting a gargantuan loss of more than $50 billion last year as the US housing market worsened. The mortgage finance company posted a loss of $23.9 billion, or $7.37 per share,... More »

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mortgage • Fannie Mae • credit crisis • housing crisis

Borrowers Now Flocking to the Feds to Default on Loans

Same cause of subprime mess blamed for new threats to taxpayers

Mar 8, 09 1:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - History is repeating itself, and taxpayers will be footing the bill for it: Flawed lending practices are enabling borrowers to receive mortgage loans they can’t repay—but this time, Washington’s involved, the Washington Post reports. Many of the loans provided by the Federal Housing Administration default after just... More »

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mortgage • Federal Housing Administration • borrowers • Federal government • taxpayers • predatory lenders

 House Homeowner Bill 
 Lets Judges Reset Mortgages 

Measure would allow bankruptcy judges to ease mortgage terms

Mar 6, 09 3:07 AM CST
(Newser) - The House has passed a homeowner rescue bill over the strenuous objections of the financial industry that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages, the Washington Post reports. Judges could cut the principal on mortgages, extend terms and reduce interest rates under terms of the "cramdown"... More »

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Congress • bankruptcy • foreclosure • mortgage • House of Representatives • homeowners • cramdown

(Newser) - The White House today kicked off its $75 billion plan to curb mortgage foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The federal dollars will both push lenders to lower monthly payments and help homeowners keep paying. “Today, we are providing servicers with the details they need to begin helping eligible... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • Treasury Department • mortgage lender • negative equity • payments • Obama administration • President Obama • Timothy Geithner

 1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater 


Mar 4, 09 10:17 AM CST
(Newser) - More than 20% of Americans with home mortgages owe more to their lenders than their homes are worth, a 2% rise since September, the Washington Post reports. The hardest-hit state was Nevada, where 55% of homeowners with mortgages have negative equity. These 8.3 million homeowners nationwide are much... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • homeowners • negative equity • payments • economic downturn

Citi Offers Jobless Lower Mortgage Payments

Recently unemployed can drop payments to average of $500

Mar 3, 09 7:25 AM CST
(Newser) - Citigroup is announcing a new program easing mortgage payments to an average of $500 a month for homeowners who have lost their jobs and fallen behind on their debts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Borrowers will be allowed to make the lower payments for 3 months and will pay no... More »

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Citigroup • mortgage • mortgage loans • housing crisis • mortgage delinquency

(Newser) - Legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the principal on mortgages of homes in danger of foreclosure will not come up for its scheduled House vote today because Democratic infighting has broken out, endangering its passage, CQ Politics reports. The “cramdown” provision was a red flag for fiscal... More »

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Nancy Pelosi • foreclosure • mortgage • House of Representatives • financial crisis • cramdown

Gap Narrows Between Mortgage Payments, Rents

Housing slump prompts shift

Feb 25, 09 8:22 AM CST
(Newser) - During the housing boom, mortgage payments held steady, consistently topping rent levels; now, with the market cratering, they’re returning to historical levels, the Wall Street Journal reports. After-tax mortgage payments averaged about 26% more than rent over the past 18 years; during the boom that figure surged to 66%.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • mortgage • rent • home prices • housing crisis • financial crisis

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