The House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 12 completed its markup of the Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007. Introduced by Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), the measure would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the value of a home loan, extend the terms of the loan, lower the int...
-
Last night, WCI Communities got another reprieve from its lenders, which agreed to amend the terms of its senior secured revolving credit line and term loan. This was the fourth time in as many months that its banks have extended their loans after the Bonita Springs, Fla.-based builder and developer...
-
Bank of America will become the country's largest mortgage lender and servicer if its agreement to purchase the beleaguered Countrywide Financial is approved by both companies' shareholders and regulatory agencies. Late yesterday, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America revealed that it had agreed to ...
As the new year drawns, A blood-red sun rises on the horizon, warning of even bigger troubles for home builders than they experienced during a disastrous 2007.
-
THE SUBPRIME-INDUCED TIGHTENING OF credit conditions in home mortgage markets now is being joined by tightening in credit markets where builders and developers raise funds—the markets for land acquisition, land development, and construction loans (AD&C). Some tightening in AD&C markets has been inev...
-
When 800 registered voters were asked last fall about what would motivate them to either purchase a new green home or “green” their existing home, 64 percent said that reduced energy costs would be the biggest reason. With energy prices on the rise, now's the time to improve the energy efficiency of...
-
- Fannie Mae announced plan to impose an “Adverse Market Delivery Charge."
- Home-price appreciation rates among resale homes vary significantly among the nation's top markets, according to the latest monthly S&P/Case-Shiller home-price statistics.
- The NAHB and NAHB Research Center to conduct 4...
The rift between HUD and Congress over modernizing the FHA deepened in recent weeks as HUD moved forward with plans to charge riskier borrowers a higher premium, starting as soon as Jan. 2, 2008.
-
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) forecasts a steady housing market for the next few months with a gradual rise in new- and existing-home sales later on this year and well into 2009. However, the trade group says the opposing forces of pent-up demand from 4 million jobs added to the economy...
-
Government continues to react to the turmoil in the mortgage market. The latest to take action is the Federal Reserve, which voted unanimously to endorse a new set of regulations aimed at protecting homeowners from abusive lending practices. The new guidelines range from a ban on low-documentation l...
-
The NAHB's top executive blasted mortgage lender Fannie Mae for the government-sponsored group's plan to impose a 25-basis-point surcharge on all new mortgages that it backs or purchases after March 1, 2008. Jerry Howard, the NAHB's president and CEO, called the new surcharge a "broad tax on homeown...
-
The U.S. Senate arrived late to the party but they got there. On the heels of response to the turmoil in the mortgage market from the White House, the Fed, and the House of Representatives, the Senate passed legislation that would overhaul how the Federal Housing Administration operates.
-
Dec. 16, 2007: The Fed chips in; HOPE NOW hotline operators are kept busy; Centex battles SE Florida sales slump; and the NAHB says no to Fannie Mae.
-
The NAHB's top executive blasted mortgage lender Fannie Mae for the government-sponsored group's plan to impose a 25-basis-point surcharge on all new mortgages that it backs or purchases after March 1, 2008. Jerry Howard, the NAHB's president and CEO, called the new surcharge a "broad tax on homeown...
-
Last week, the Bush administration unveiled initiatives designed to battle the worsening mortgage crisis, including a voluntary interest rate freeze for subprime mortgages. In the days immediately following the administration's announcement, the HOPE Hotline (888-995-HOPE), which was established to ...
-
In a move to stave off a recession that some economists are giving a 60 percent chance to occur in the coming months, the Federal Reserve Board today announced a 25-basis point cut to the Fed Funds Rate. At Tuesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the group's final meeting for 2007, the Fed ...
-
A subprime relief plan that will freeze interest rates for subprime borrowers who meet certain requirements was announced on Thursday by the Bush administration. Under the plan, mortgage servicers would agree to the five-year rate freeze voluntarily. The plan will apply to subprime adjustable mortga...
-
Confronting one of the greatest challenges our industry has seen in decades, at its Fall Board Meeting in Seattle the NAHB directors resolved to pursue a prompt response on several fronts to limit the damage of the mortgage credit crunch and restore confidence in the housing market.
DICK KOVACEVICH, CHAIRMAN OF Wells Fargo, told the audience at the 37th Annual Bank of America Investor Conference in San Francisco that while the current credit environment may reek of “war, pestilence, and famine,” all hope is not lost for the nonconforming, or jumbo, loan market.
Builders were dealt a blow in October when the U.S. Supreme Court opted not to hear a case in which Medford, N.J.–based builder MiPro Homes claimed the township of Mt. Laurel, N.J., unlawfully seized a 16-acre parcel that was under site development and had been legally zoned and approved for constru...