June 19th, 2009 Related Posts: Real Estate News

As I mentioned in my post  "The Rise of The Regionals ~ Filling The Funding Gap" some smaller more nimble lenders with true private mortgage banking offerings are providing the financing solutions needed to complete transactions in the luxury housing market. The feedback I have received from that original post has been very positive however many readers were not familiar with the solutions that are offered by portfolio lenders to facilitate transactions in the luxury market, solutions that the big...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

June 1st, 2009 Related Posts: Real Estate News

On may 19th I posted about how the original mortgagee letter which allowed the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit to be used towards the buyers down payment had been rescinded.  (read post here). On Friday May 29th HUD released a new mortgagee letter regarding the same issue which will allow the $8,000 tax credit to be "monetized" and accessed through several different methods for the purchase of a new home. However this mortgagee letter did not change is the fact...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

May 28th, 2009 Related Posts: Real Estate News

In one of the worst days the mortgage backed securities market has ever witnessed the price of the Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae 4.5% coupons dropped off a cliff pushing mortgage rates to their highest levels since November of 2008.  Many lenders issued 4 or 5 rates sheets during the course of the day with each subsequent rate sheet indicating higher rates.   This melt down may adversely effect the Fed's effort to stabilize the housing market by artificially keep mortgage...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

May 12th, 2009 Related Posts: Mortgage News, Real Estate News

If you are desperate for something to do you could read the entire Monthly Treasury Statement or you could just flip to page 27 for the juicy bits.  On page 27 you will note that the Treasury spent $11.5 Billion on Agency eligible mortgage backed securities in April.  Sounds impressive but in fact this is the least the Treasury has spent in any one month since November of 2008. Why does this matter and what does it mean for mortgage interest...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

April 24th, 2009 Related Posts: Mortgage News, Real Estate News

Larry Baer of Market Alert is in my opinion the most astute analyst when it comes to parsing global economic activity and it's effects on mortgage interest rates.  Below is an excerpt from his daily commentary which concisely explains why Chinese investment in Gold may move U.S. mortgage interest rates higher over the next two weeks. "I look for the upward pressure on mortgage interest rates to be a bit more intense during the coming week given this morning’s news of...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

April 21st, 2009 Related Posts: Buying Real Estate, Mortgage News, Real Estate News

Recently during several speaking engagements I mentioned the niche that some small to mid-sized banks are filling in the residential mortgage market for Miami and South Florida.  The "distressed market" policies of some of the major lenders and larger banks including that of my employer are creating an environment where down payment requirements and/or underwriting guidelines are preventing some buyers from moving forward with their home purchase.  This is particularly true in the area of jumbo mortgages used for the...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

April 2nd, 2009 Related Posts: Real Estate News

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Miami area here are some important headlines that will put you out ahead of the crowd and keep you among the well informed.   As we all know information is a valuable commodity but so is your time therefore this post contains just the facts with some links to relevant resources for those of you with a desire for a more in depth look at these topics.   (more...)Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

March 30th, 2009 Related Posts: Real Estate News

Leading real estate information provider Trulia has compiled some statistics which illustrate something that those of us in the profession are living everyday.  The Miami and Florida real estate markets have experienced a dramatic increase activity in the past 90 days as buyers from around the world recognize the tremendous values that many South Florida properties represent. read more....Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

March 25th, 2009 Related Posts: Mortgage News, Real Estate News

My objective in in this post is to dispel any rumors that 20% down jumbo financing is not available or the rumors that jumbo loans are almost impossible to qualify for.  While mortgage brokers and many smaller lenders for the most part no longer have access to jumbo loans many major lenders still offer a full jumbo product set with very favorable terms. The fact is that there currently exists very little appetite on the secondary market for non-conforming mortgage backed securities...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »

March 23rd, 2009 Related Posts: Mortgage News, Real Estate News

Without getting technical and boring you to death here is a synopsis of how the U.S. Treasury's plan to get "toxic assets" off the banks books will work. · The Treasury will provide $75- to $100-billion to seed capital for public-private investment funds. These investment funds will combine taxpayer money with private capital. The investment funds are to be formed specifically to buy distressed loans from banks. The seed money the government will inject into these investment vehicles will come from the...Continue Reading!

Authored by James R Venney | Print This Post | Please Leave A Comment » »