Unfortunately, some observers suspected that the conference — currently underway — might be biased against homeowners and advocates for affordable housing. As a bit of background, remember that in addition to the ongoing foreclosure and real estate valuation crisis, homebuilder confidence is sinking and mortgage backed bonds are slumping. The latter means that there are [...]
President Obama is scheduled to arrive in Vegas tomorrow night. It is unclear whether he plans to meet with local officials, or apologize for his most recent round of Vegas-bashing. It’s probably a good bet he’ll say what a swell guy Senator Reid is. I wonder if anyone is taking odds on that. Since the [...]
Two little news bits for you. First, the Senate has attached an extension of the $8000 first time buyers tax credit to a bill extending unemployment aid and passed it unanimously (some restrictions apply, of course). The House of Representatives still has to vote on such a proposal, but a compromise is already in the [...]
Yesterday, the Obama Administration announced that the mortgage rescue program would now allow homeowners to refinance up to 125% of property value, up from 105%. This is a welcome change, even though it won’t help everyone. Nothing has been done to address the slow pace at which banks are processing applications. This is an important [...]
There’s been much said today about the Treasury’s “plan” to force mortgage rates down. Since no government agency actually has the authority to “control” mortgage rates directly — not even the Federal Reserve! — it would have to be done indirectly through the purchase of mortgage backed securities. A whole lot of mortgage backed securities. That [...]
Every once in a while, somebody will ask me “Who is to blame for the current housing and foreclosure mess?” Usually they want a short, snappy answer. The truth is that there is a giant pie of blame, and there’s plenty to go around. In no particular order, here are some of the culprits. This [...]
UPDATE: Many thanks to the House of Representatives for making almost everything below obsolete by defeating the bill. Since some reincarnation of it is almost certain to ensue, it’s still a good idea to let your Congresscritters know what you think. Here’s some ideas about what the bill should say. It is worth noting that [...]
Details of the foreclosure rescue bill passed by Congress and awaiting President Bush’s signature are coming out. Before we take a closer look, keep in mind we have 2.2 million vacant homes on the market, sales of new homes are plunging, and the trend of increasing foreclosure rates shows no sign of stopping. Back to [...]
It must be nice to be a Congressman. They’re already out for the Independence Day holiday. Of course they left a few little things undone. Like, say, that bill that might have helped homeowners and mortgage companies prevent some foreclosures. Don’t get me wrong, the ideas on the table were far from perfect, but they [...]
Although we made our decision about potential Presidential candidates with a caucus, Nevada does have a primary election for other positions coming up in a couple of weeks. Here’s a little more about who we will be voting for/against. The intersection of real estate and politics is right here, in this item from the IHT [...]
