Why Canada’s Housing Market Didn’t Crash
They saw a housing boom, they saw a recession, and yet the Canadian housing market is still cooking with gas. Why? Fundamental differences in Canadian banking, borrowing and home buying.
Is Home Ownership an American Right?
Today we begin a series on CNBC called The Housing Fix. To be honest, it grew out of our need to look at the biggest elephant in the home today: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Home Tax Credit Closing Extension Dead
The proposal was simple and necessary: Extend the closing date for the home buyer tax credit from June 30th to September 30th — not the tax credit itself, which required buyers to sign a contract by April 30th, just the closing date.
Fannie Mae: Walk Away and You Will Pay
An announcement from government-owned mortgage giant Fannie Mae warns: “Defaulting borrowers who walk-away and had the capacity to pay or did not complete a workout alternative in good faith will be ineligible for a new Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan …
Redfin CEO and Others Pull Back on Housing
I had a chance today to sit down this morning with the CEO of online real estate brokerage Redfin, Glenn Kelman, who is one of the few people actually making money in the housing market these days.
Is Drop in Home Sales Good News?
Today’s report showed a drop of 2.2 percent in existing home sales, leading us to believe that this last government stimulus really didn’t do the trick.
Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard
Is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new “Monthly Housing Scorecard,” released this morning, really a true assessment of all the administration’s work this year, and the current grade level of the housing recovery?
New Hurdle to Housing: No Flood Insurance
Who knew you needed flood insurance in Bergen County, NJ – located on a 100 year flood plain – to get a mortgage? Andrea Mantia, a producer on CNBC’s Street Signs, knows it now all too well.
Oil and Real Estate: Fannie Mae to the Rescue
As I continue my week here on the Gulf Coast of Florida, I hear more and more real and anecdotal stories of contract cancellations for new home purchases and second homeowners walking away. There is no question that while oil has barely brushed the bea…
Oil May Be the Nail in Florida Housing’s Coffin
Forgive my silence on the blog for the past two days, but I’ve been in beastly hot Pensacola, Florida, preparing stories on mortgage mediation, and, of course, oil. President Obama dropped by the beach yesterday to talk to some local folks, while I spe…
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