A report from the Mortgage Reports. “A new study indicates that first-time home buyers are having more mortgage delinquency problems than they have since 2010. Black Knight’s most recent Mortgage Monitor report had some alarming findings: Nearly 1% of mortgage loan originations in the first quarter of 2019 were delinquent six months after origination. That’s a 60% increase over the past two years and the highest since 2010.”
“The rise in early-stage purchase loan delinquencies was higher for first-time buyer loans than repeat buyer loans. So why are first-time home buyers struggling to make mortgage payments? According to Black Knight, it’s largely because credit scores are down, homes are more expensive, and debt-to-income ratios are rising as a result. ‘Many first-time buyers feel pressure to compete and try and win an offer on a home. This can cause issues later when finally having to deal with new debt and repayment liability,’ notes Andy Harris, president of Vantage Mortgage Group.”
From Market Watch. “The Federal Reserve has dramatically picked up the pace of its mortgage bond purchases in recent months. Portfolio managers at bond giant Pacific Investment Management Company argued that the Fed might want to consider changing its policy and reinvesting more incoming cash into mortgage bonds.”
“They also underscored that while the Fed has helped tame the funding market for Treasury debt, that financing costs for government-backed bonds recently had shot up to nearly 60 basis points above one-month Libor, or rates only seen in ‘the financial crisis.’”
“‘If the Fed reinvested in the mortgage market, it would go a long way toward alleviating the stress in MBS markets, and reduce rates to homeowners and would-be homeowners alike,’ the Pimco team wrote, using the shorthand for mortgage-backed securities.”
From News Channel 5 in Tennessee. “Even in a city with a hot housing market, a new study found a growing number of millennials say they would rather rent forever than buy a home. Realtor Elyse Wiser at Scout Realty in Nashville said results of the Apartment List study weren’t surprising. However, Wiser said she advises people that buying a home is a smart long-term investment, and young homebuyers may have more financial flexibility than they think.”
“‘The common myth is you need 20 percent of the purchase price for a down payment,’ said Wiser. ‘You can put down as little as 3 percent. Some of my clients qualify for down payment assistance programs and they can put down even less.’”
From Canyon News. “There have been a lot of articles published regarding the US real estate market and that brings about the question, which bubble is going to burst next? Experts seem to think that it could be Miami. Housing prices have plateaued for quite some time and they have also dropped 20 percent in South Beach. Some reporters are saying that it could be as much as 35 percent, with even higher figures in the Brickell area. Another concern is non-traditional loans, which could certainly have a huge part to play.”
From Curbed New York. “In a surprise to no one, New York state remains the east coast’s crown jewel of real estate with 18 of the country’s most exclusive zip codes, according to PropertyShark. But this year marked the abrupt rise and fall of serially pricey neighborhoods. Covering parts of Greenwich Village, SoHo, and Nolita, 10012 saw its median sale price dive 31 percent year-over-year. With a $1.643 million median sales price, the zip code slipped from its spot as the country’s 26 most expensive to its current post as the 69th priciest.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican. “Santa Fe native Tom Ford has lowered the price of the 20,662-acre Cerro Pelon Ranch in Santa Fe County that he has had on the market since 2016 to $48 million. The ranch, just south of Galisteo and west of N.M. 41, was originally listed at $75 million. Kevin Bobolsky, the agent representing the property, ‘could not comment,’ he said.”
The Maui News in Hawaii. “After reaching a historic high of $825,250 in August, median prices for single-family homes in Maui County have cooled somewhat, dipping in September and October to prices lower than they were at the same time last year. The median price for a single-family home was $732,000 in October, a 5.5 percent decrease from October 2018, according to a Realtors Association of Maui report. Meanwhile, the median price in September was $719,718, a 4.6 percent decrease from September 2018.”
The Los Angeles Times in California. “The price keeps plummeting for David Madden’s Bel-Air abode. The former AMC exec, who stepped down as the network’s programming chief over the summer, has relisted his stylish contemporary home for $6.5 million. That’s the ninth price cut since the property hit the market two years ago for $9.95 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service.”