Home builder confidence drops
The housing recovery might stall in coming months.
Nah. Globe says it's getting better all the time:
"Foreclosures in state fall 25%; Analysts say figures are encouraging but warn crisis isn’t over" by Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff | January 22, 2010
But the state’s foreclosure crisis is far from over, many economists and housing advocates agree. Nearly 28,000 homeowners last year were slammed with foreclosure petitions, the first step in the process, representing a 28.1 percent jump from the year before, Warren Group said. That means more people had trouble making their mortgage payments. In addition, a small but increasing number of foreclosed homes in affluent communities, including Concord, Winchester, and Weston, reflects how even some of the state’s highest-paid residents are becoming financially crippled because of the recession. Indeed, the costly island of Nantucket experienced the steepest percent increase in foreclosure deeds in Massachusetts - a 733 percent rise - from three in 2008 to 25 in 2009, according to Warren Group.
Yeah, the poor richers! Pffft!
“The good news is that not as many homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure in 2009 as they did the prior year,’’ said Timothy M. Warren Jr., chief executive of Warren Group. “The bad news is that more people faced foreclosure, as they struggled with unemployment and other economic hardships.’’
Foreclosure data for December largely mirrored year-end statistics. The number of foreclosure petitions swelled to 2,060 during the month, a 26.8 percent increase from the same period in 2008. But the number of homes taken back by lenders in December - 857 - represented an 8.4 percent drop from the same month in 2008. The decrease in foreclosure deeds, the final step in the process, is partly because of a Massachusetts Land Court decision last year that has prompted lenders to slow the process so they can clean up faulty paperwork. Others say lenders are increasingly helping distressed homeowners modify their loans to more affordable payments, even if it only postpones a foreclosure.
But banks made billions in profits after trillions in bailouts.
There are mixed opinions on what 2010 will bring for the region’s housing market. Paul Willen, senior economist and policy adviser for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said many of the most vulnerable homeowners already have lost their homes and the market appears to be stabilizing. But he worries about high unemployment rates and homeowners who are “underwater,’’ living in properties that are worth less than what they owe on their mortgages.
Burn it down.
Others see opportunity coming out of the foreclosure crisis, which is depressing home values across the state. Annette Norton, a broker/owner of RE/MAX Best Choice in Framingham, said foreclosures in more affluent neighborhoods could help buyers who were once priced out of the high-end market now get into more expensive homes. “I’m just starting to see properties in foreclosure in the $800,000 to $1,000,000 range,’’ Norton said. “We haven’t really seen high-end foreclosures in Massachusetts in the past.’’
Look, I have no love for the rich; however, THIS GIRL is NUTS because THAT is NOT a GOOD THING either!!!
Here is an opportunity I wish more bankers would take:
"Despondent man may have killed wife, self; Spouse had cancer, home foreclosed" by Gerard F. Russell and Craig S. Semon, Telegram & Gazette Staff | January 15, 2010
SPENCER - Police believe that a man facing a foreclosure auction took his own life yesterday after shooting his sick wife and their horse, setting fire to their home, and torching his pickup.
Michael S. Khoury, 69, and his wife, Joyce M., 66, owned the house at 19 Woodchuck Lane, which was scheduled to be auctioned at 10 a.m.... A horse found in a barn on the property had been shot several times. It was taken to Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton. Tom Keppeler, a Tufts spokesman, said the horse was able to walk into the hospital, escorted by Spencer Animal Control. The horse, a 22-year-old male, was in “stable, yet guarded, condition’’ late yesterday, Mr. Keppeler said.
They care more about the horse than the people!
According to the Worcester County Registry of Deeds, the North Brookfield Savings Bank had foreclosed on the property. An auction was to be held yesterday for the house and its 25 acres.
In addition, the couple owed the town money. Treasurer-Collector Mary C. Barrell said the property was in tax title because of unpaid property taxes. The Khourys owed about $11,000 from 2007 to 2009, she said.
And yet BANKS GOT BILLIONS they DIDN'T EVEN NEED and turned them into PROFITS and BONUSES!
A former employer said yesterday that he that had talked to Michael Khoury Monday and that he told him he was facing the imminent loss of his house and his wife. Vincent P. Iuliano, owner of American Reclamation Corp. of Charlton, said Joyce Khoury had terminal cancer.
According to Iuliano, Michael Khoury had tried to negotiate with the bank. “He tried, but they would not accept the deal and that was last week, so he gave up,’’ Iuliano said.
Nice bank, huh?
Donna L. Boulanger, president and chief executive officer of North Brookfield Savings Bank, did not return a telephone call from a reporter seeking comment yesterday.
Yeah, but newspapers are better than bloggers because officials have to respond to them. Of course, not when they only have to wait out a one-day wonder, but.....
According to Iuliano, Michael Khoury’s two previous wives also died of cancer, and, about a year ago, a small commercial building on Route 20 in Charlton that Mr. Khoury owned was foreclosed on.
Maybe someone should CHECK the PROPERTY for CONTAMINATION, huh?
Asked if Khoury gave him any hint that he would do something drastic, Iuliano said, “Not even the slightest. I know he was despondent about his wife and especially when he found out the foreclosure was coming close, and he did not want to end up being homeless.’’
Who does?
--more--"
So the FORECLOSURE CRISIS is FATAL, readers, because that was NOT the FIRST TIME someone has done something like that!
WASHINGTON - Sales of previously occupied homes rose in 2009 for the first time in four years, despite a December slump.
Still, prices plunged more than 12 percent last year - the sharpest fall since the Great Depression.... Some analysts question whether the housing market can remain stable without the hundreds of billions in government spending now propping it up....
I'm sick of the newspapers, readers.
That’s why some expect the Fed to either extend or expand the program after March, concluding that the housing market remains too fragile. Still, some real estate agents say they feel encouraged.... The poor December results reported yesterday by the National Association of Realtors was the largest monthly drop in 40 years of record-keeping.
But DON'T WORRY, be happy!
--more--"
Love the LIES, readers!
More evidence that the state’s housing market may be climbing back from its steep fall.
How come I NO LONGER BELIEVE my Boston Globe s***-slingers, readers?
But.... Even with the boost from the federal government, Massachusetts’ housing recovery is so far modest at best....
But.... Adding to challenges facing the fragile housing market is the shortage of available homes for sale.... fewer choices....
Just wondering HOW THAT CAN BE with the RECORD FORECLOSURES!!
--more--"
WASHINGTON - Consumer advocates and even some on Wall Street have been calling on the government to help the roughly one in three homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth....
That used to be what we called a LEMON!
But hey, the Globe tells me the housing market is great!
If more lenders follow Bank of America it could clear the way for more mortgage companies to cut borrowers’ principal balances on their primary loans.
What is taking them so long? They got bailout dough by the weekend!
But administration officials appear wary of subsidizing such reductions with taxpayer money.
Oh, NOW they are worried about TAXPAYER MONEY when it comes to YOU!
That could spark a backlash from critics who claim it’s unfair to people who are still paying their mortgages on time and a bailout for banks that made reckless loans.
Yeah, PIT US AGAINST EACH OTHER, MSM!
Besides, the BANKS ALREADY GOT THEIR BAILOUTS! They turned it into profits and bonuses!
With foreclosures still at record-high levels, the Obama administration’s program to aid homeowners has been a disappointment....
Just like EVERYTHING ELSE he has done (or not done)!
--more--"
Updates:
WASHINGTON - New home sales posted an unexpected drop in December, capping the industry’s worst year on record and fueling concern that the housing market turnaround could falter.
Translation: Your s***-shoveling MSM ha been LYING TO YOU AGAIN!!!
Last month’s results were the weakest since March and were only 4 percent above the bottom last January. The data showed the housing recovery remains limp....
Just like my enthusiasm for the papers or politics.
Oh, yeah, and that "help" you were counting on, 'murkn?
Just another excuse to crawl up your ass!
"Loan modification paperwork to ease" by Alan Zibel, Associated Press | January 28, 2010
WASHINGTON - Lenders will now be required to collect two pay stubs at the start of the process, and borrowers will have to give the Internal Revenue Service permission to provide their most recent tax returns at the same time, according to the people who declined to be identified because the details were not yet final....
How come YOU are getting SCREWED when it was the BANKS who FUCKED YOU, 'murka?
Treasury officials are also working on a plan to give unemployed borrowers a break on payments - possibly for six months - but those details were not expected today. A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment....
Why not just PAY OFF the WHOLE DAMN THING for them, huh?
It would COST LESS than the BAILOUTS!!!!
