Real Estate Investing News

Evidences suggest that the recent pace of new commercial mortgage-backed securities issuances may be faster than initially believed.

Banks have stepped up efforts to bundle together loans in multi-loan CMBS issues in recent weeks. Since borrowers of maturing loans have few options for refinancing, the efforts would be a plus for a market in which hundreds of defaults are still possible. However, many commercial properties are saddled with too much debt or are too short on revenue to qualify.

Members of the U.S. military, Foreign Service and intelligence communities have another year to purchase a home and claim the home buyer tax credit.

Any service member who is or has been on extended duty for 90 days or more between Jan. 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010, has until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract. The member has until June 30, 2011, to close on the property. Both the $8,000 first-time and the $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credits are included in the extension.

Moreover for qualified service members, the rule that requires buyers to repay the credit if they move out of their home within three years has also been waived. This is sanctioned only if they receive government orders to move.

It is good news for struggling borrowers. Arizona, Florida, and Michigan have been offering helping hands for them as they have proposed using federal funds to pay down loan balances and to subsidize mortgage payments for those who remain out of work.

The plans are in response to a foreclosure-prevention effort championed by the White House. The plan has allocated $1.5 billion for Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada. The proposals would be finalized next month after the Treasury Department.

The U.S. Commerce Department had announced Friday that the Sales of new homes rose 27 percent in March compared to February. It was the largest monthly increase since April 1963, when sales jumped 31.2 percent. Besides the National Association of REALTORS® reported last week that sales of previously owned homes rose 6.8 percent.

The buyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of this month, say the economists. Michael D. Larson, a real estate and interest rate analyst at Weiss Research, wrote in a research note that in simple terms, housing is a bargain again, and buyers are responding. “That is unambiguously good news for the market going forward”, he added.

For home buyers it is a good time to push for lower closing costs which includes lending charges, local tax and transfer fees, and expenses for such things as title insurance, appraisal costs, and other third-party services. The rule of thumb used to be about 3 percent of the cost of the property.

According to Guy Cecala, publisher of industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance, Fees that buyers shouldn’t have much trouble negotiating away include wire-transfer fees, loan application-processing fees, and high FedEx charges. Today, most buyers should be able to do better than that, added Guy Cecala.

Cary Pearce, production manager at Provident Bank Mortgage in Riverside, Calif says that it all boils down to what a lender will work for.

It is a returning phase for New York’s big-buck buyers as they retreat to Long Island’s seashore getaway.

According to a report released by Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate the first-quarter home sales in the Hamptons were up 173 percent over the first quarter of 2009 and median sales prices rose 35 percent to $908,500 compared to the same time period last year. The report was released on Thursday.

Prudential Douglas Elliman said prices were higher closer to the Atlantic, rising 86 percent for homes south of Montauk Highway. This would run east west a few blocks from the shoreline.

According to a top administrator of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the recent changes to the program could lead to increased fraud. In a quarterly report issued on Tuesday the program’s Inspector General Neil Barofsky says that frequent changes to the programs provide opportunities for experienced criminal elements to prey on desperate homeowners.

The program has already spawned several scams in which borrowers are fraudulently persuaded to pay upfront fees for nonexistent modifications, added Barkofsky. He complained that the Treasury Department isn’t requiring appraisals in advance of principle reductions, making it easier for lenders to fraudulently qualify for incentive payments.

The report concluded that No program of this type and scale can be considered well designed without robust protections of taxpayer funds against the predation of criminals.

According to LPS Applied Analytics, the number of delinquent mortgages declined 8.6 percent in March. The Analytics which tracks the performance of loans for investors reports that the totals also declined in February.

The loans more than 30 days past due showed the biggest decline. Such loans are now at about the same level as they were in spring 2008.

LPS Applied Analytics President Ted Jadlos says that this is the first time they have seen improvement across all stages of mortgage delinquency. “We’re not out of the woods, but this appears to be a turning point”, Ted Jadlos added.

According to the Commerce Department the housing starts rose 1.6 percent in March to an annualized rate of 626,000. The department revealed the findings on Friday.

Compared to March 2008, the building permits were up 34 percent. The building permits are considered as a leading indicator. In addition permits for single-family homes also rose 5.6 percent compared to March 2009.

In March, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index rose to 19 from 15. Any number below 50 indicates that the majority of respondents are discouraged.