Fitch sees more drastic cuts in new-home sales, starts

Excess supply, buyer psychology and tightened underwriting standards in subprime and Alt-A mortgage lending have analysts at Fitch Ratings more pessimistic about the prospects for new-home construction and sales in 2007.

In their latest "Chalk Line" quarterly report on new-home construction and the home-building industry, Fitch analysts forecast new-home sales in 2007 will fall 15 percent, to 902,000. Fitch had previously forecast an 11.5 percent decrease.  more...

GE to unload WMC Mortgage

General Electric Co. plans to sell its subprime lending unit, WMC Mortgage, and has already unloaded $3.7 billion in WMC loans in the second quarter, the company announced Friday.

Based in Burbank, Calif., WMC Mortgage was reportedly once the fifth-largest subprime lender, funding $33 billion in loans in 2006.  more...

Washington state fines title insurers $35,000

After letting title insurers who were allegedly using illegal incentives and inducements to win business off with a warning last year, Washington state regulators have fined two companies accused of continuing the practice $35,000.

Most of the fines levied against Ticor Title Insurance Co. and First American Title by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler were suspended on condition that there are no further violations of a state law that limits the use of rebates and incentives to $25 per person per year.  more...

Real estate rates flat overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates were unchanged Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 5.13 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average stayed at 6.3 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 6.01 percent. The 1-year adjustable froze at 5.54 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up at 5.22 percent.

Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Ratings services downgrade billions in subprime MBS

Following up on a July 10 warning, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Thursday it had downgraded $6.39 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by subprime loans.

The ratings agency said the downgrades involve 562 classes of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), including the majority of the 612 classes placed on "CreditWatch" Tuesday for possible downgrade.  more...

NAACP suit claims blacks steered into higher-cost loans

The NAACP, or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen lenders seeking class-action status to represent African Americans who were allegedly steered into higher-cost subprime loans because of their race.

The suit did not name individuals who had been harmed, but cited studies based on mortgage loan data collected by the Federal Reserve that show minorities are more likely to take out higher-cost loans than whites.  more...

HomeGain on InmanTV

HomeGain General Manager Louis Cammarosano discusses where the company is evolving in the face of growing competition from newer Web 2.0 companies. Cammarosano also touches on the value of online automated home valuations and value ranges.  more...