KCM Blog

From the category archives:

Foreclosures

Can Option ARMs Bear the Weight of Interest Rates?

March 11, 2010

In a previous post, we talked about our concerns regarding the number of families in 2010 that were going to have their Option ARM mortgages resetting or recasting. The term ‘reset’ deals with the change of interest rate. The term ‘recast’ deals with the actual change in the mortgage amount. In either case their mortgage payment could be affected. [...]

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Puzzled Banks Now Buying Time

March 3, 2010

Often I get asked why banks are not foreclosing on borrowers even after they do not make mortgage payments for many months. Actually, the answer is quite logical. To fully appreciate the banks position we must understand that the current housing market is like a Rubik’s cube. Every action the bank takes creates a challenge [...]

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I’m Fine, It’s My House That’s Drowning.

March 1, 2010

First American Core Logic just released their Fourth Quarter 2009 Negative Equity Data Report last week. Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down,” means that borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. The reason this report is so important is that studies have shown that there is a direct [...]

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Foreclosure and Delinquency Rates by State

February 26, 2010

There has been much talk recently about the number of foreclosures currently held by the banks and when they may be released to the market. The number has been estimated at approximately 1.7 million properties. I believe that the banks will be forced to bring them to market in the near future.
Why will banks release [...]

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Today’s Real Estate Headlines – True or False?

February 23, 2010

Almost every day, as I do my research, I come across a headline that grabs my attention. Many times it leads me to believe that there is a contrarian view to one that I currently hold on an issue in real estate. I immediately read the article only to find out that the headline and [...]

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Shadow Inventory: It’s Impact in 2010

February 19, 2010

We have often talked about a ’shadow inventory’ of homes about to come to market. The two big questions are:

What does this ’shadow inventory’ actually consist of?
How will it impact home values in 2010?

Standard and Poors has just come out with a paper which sheds some light on these questions. Let’s look at the report.
First, let’s define shadow [...]

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Crazy Foreclosure Alternatives?

February 17, 2010

Homeowners can’t pay their mortgages and are being forced from their homes. Others can pay but decide to just ‘walk away’ instead. Both scenarios have created a flood of foreclosures that neither the government nor the banking industry can handle.
The modification programs, though genuine in their effort, have failed. The banks can’t handle what they [...]

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The Domino Effect of Delinquencies

February 16, 2010

Yesterday, I posted a blog on foreclosures. In that post I said:
We still have a very serious foreclosure problem in the vast majority of neighborhoods in this country. It will become even a bigger challenge as 2010 moves forward.
Some of our readers contacted me and asked why I felt so strongly on this issue. Banks [...]

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Another Foreclosure Headline Debunked

February 15, 2010

It amazes me how many times media will report on a press release and assume they know what the release is saying by just reading the headline and perhaps the first paragraph. This week was no exception.
Several newspapers repeated a headline on Realty Trac’s press release claiming
U.S. Foreclosure Activity Decreases 10% in January
And many papers repeated the first paragraph:
RealtyTrac®,  the leading [...]

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Upper End Foreclosures Stacking Up

February 12, 2010

Last month I posted Are Foreclosures Coming to the Luxury Market? Well apparently they are.
In an article from Housing Wire, Fitch Ratings reported on jumbo mortgages (where the initial principal amount is above the $417,000 conventional loan limit set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In higher-priced markets the limit is $729,750):
The new year has [...]

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