Category Archives: The Bubble

Freddie Mac Will Stop Buying NY Subprime Loans

From Bloomberg
Freddie won’t buy loans dated on or after Sept. 1 that meet the state’s subprime definition, the McLean, Virginia-based company said today in a lender bulletin on its Web site. New York Governor David Paterson last week signed new foreclosure and lending laws that tighten legal protections for borrowers.
The legislation holds mortgage buyers like [...]

Ghost Town USA

I got this from The Consumerist. In Stockton, California, the mortgage crisis has resulted in waves of foreclosures, creating a virtual ghost town of empty homes in a former real estate boom area. Houses that once sold for $700,000 have trouble fetching even $200,000 and many houses stand empty without a prospective buyer in [...]

Loving The REOs

Over at the New Jersey Real Estate Report, James Bednar writes in the comment section about his preference for REOs (bank owned properties).
1) Properties are often distressed. Owners trashed the place when they left. Damage from a lack of maintenance. Landscaping dead, lawn overgrown. Properties as-is. Lots of buyers will get turned off, even [...]

A Wholly Rational Panic

From Paul Krugman today

What’s going on in the markets isn’t an irrational panic. It’s a wholly rational panic, because there’s a lot of bad debt out there, and you don’t know how much of that bad debt is held by the guy who wants to borrow your money.
How will it all end? Markets won’t start [...]

Now playing on YouTube: Avoid foreclosure fraud

From Newsday , Freddie Mac has produced a short video about how con artists can prey on delinquent borrowers.

A Concise Explanation Of The Sub-Prime Crisis


And So It Begins

U.S. Home Prices Fell by Record in Second Quarter - Bloomberg
Home prices in the U.S. fell by a record in the second quarter as sales dropped and mortgage lenders made it tougher to get a loan.
Home prices down 3.2% nationally in past year - Marketwatch
U.S. home prices fell 3.2% in the [...]

The Top Ten Foreclosing Banks

Courtesy of State Senator Jeff Klein, 34th district. Linked from a commenter on New Jersey Real Estate Report.

Here are the top 10 foreclosing banks for the last 13 months and the number of foreclosure filings they have made in NYC, Westchester and Nassau. Please note that this list only reflects the final bank to [...]

The Coming Storm


Slump will continue

From the Long Island Business News

Pearl Kamer of the LIA said Long Island’s housing fortunes would continue to sag into 2009, as part of a drawn-out market correction.
“We still have to liquidate a excess inventory of homes,” Kamer said. “And as of Sept. 1, lending practices will tighten, so fewer buyers will qualify for [...]