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Crunch time for Fannie and Freddie?

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will reportedly get an injection of taxpayer capital and be subjected to a shakeout in senior management under a plan being finalized by the Treasury Department today, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson were meeting today with top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the companies' new regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Journal said.  more...

California, Florida drive record foreclosures

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

The percentage of homes in the foreclosure process hit a new record in the second quarter and homes continued to enter the foreclosure process at a record rate, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

In looking at the nation as a whole, a majority of states saw little change, but increases in foreclosures in California and Florida outweighed improvements in states like Texas, Massachusetts and Maryland, said MBA chief economist Jay Brinkmann.  more...

FDIC expects more bank failures Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Friday, September 5, 2008.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Sheila Bair warned bankers to brace for higher insurance premiums as banks continue to fail and the the FDIC looks for ways to boost reserves to required minimums.

Addressing the Florida Bankers Association Thursday, Bair said 98 percent banks that hold 99 percent of total bank assets are "well capitalized." But 10 FDIC-insured banks have failed this year, and more will.  more...

Is the Fed out of options?

By Lou Barnes, Friday, September 5, 2008.

A big run to Treasurys has pulled mortgage rates down to 6.25 percent, but the spread to the 3.58 percent 10-year T-note remains immense.

Three forces have knocked all Treasury yields down a quarter percent in four days. First, money scrambling to get out of commodities and the euro has to go somewhere, and the first preference of the foreign investor is Treasurys.  more...

The Canadians are coming

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

An article in the Wall Street Journal details the trend in Canadians buying homes south of their border, capitalizing on the value of the Canadian dollar vs. the U.S. dollar and the housing slump in the United States. The article notes that some U.S. real estate agents are taking note of the influx and catering to Canadian buyers. Mark Carvalho launched a Web site called Canadians2Arizona.com, for example, and another agent, Mark Dziedzic, launched ArizonaforCanadians.com.  more...

Video: California needs Fannie, Freddie

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

The California Association of Realtors this week released a new video, "Fannie and Freddie: Why They Matter to You," in which C.A.R. Executive Vice President Joel Singer explains the often confusing but critical role the government-sponsored entities play in the housing market.  more...

First-time buyers want larger homes, not fixer-uppers

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

First-time home buyers are primarily concerned with affordability when choosing a new home, but their expectations may be too high relative to their current financial buying power, according to a recent Coldwell Banker survey conducted among its brokers. While nearly half of the Coldwell Banker broker respondents reported that affordability was the number one concern for this group, 81 percent said today's first-time home buyers consider move-in conditions to be very important when searching for homes.  more...

NAR blogs through conventions

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

As America's largest trade organization, it isn't surprising that the National Association of Realtors had representatives present at both the Democratic National Convention last week and the Republican National Convention this week. What may surprise some, however, is that NAR is posting content from both conventions on its "Speaking of Real Estate" blog. There is information on real estate-related political issues, and even some videos from the conventions.  more...

Rating system enables abuse

By Inman News, Friday, September 5, 2008.

Editor's note: The following is a reader comment in response to the Aug. 25 Inman News story, "Finding 'best value' in local markets."  more...