Archive for the ‘Foreclosures’ tag
Foreclosures Spike by 121% from Previous Year, Says Report from RealtyTrac
U.S. home foreclosures soared by 121% in second-
quarter year-over-year results, according to a report issued by
RealtyTrac.
There were 739,714 foreclosure filings in the second quarter of 2008,
a 14% quarterly increase. According to RealtyTrac, 48 of 50 states and 95
of 100 of the largest metropolitan areas experienced year-over-year
increases in foreclosure activity in the second quarter.
No End in Sight for Housing Market
“The U.S. housing market continues to be very weak, and with the
inventory of unsold homes continuing to rise we are
unlikely to see any meaningful turnaround in the sector in the near
term,” said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities.
The NAR said foreclosures represent one-third to 40%
of all sales and cause a downward distortion to the price data.
Fed is Moving into Consumer Protection Role on Mortgages
Speaking at the Federal Reserve open meeting on mortgage
rules, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the new rules
will be aimed at protecting consumers from deceptive practices.
Bernanke said that the new rules would apply to all mortgage lenders,
as delinquencies and foreclosures continue to grow rapidly. Bernanke
pointed to deceptive practices as the key reason for the inappropriately
high cost of loans.
The new rules ban prepayment penalties on mortgage
loans whose…