Merrill Lynch Lost $39.1 Billion In Six Quarters – Wall Street Journal

The Politics of Real Estate

Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.

Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.

• Recent Articles:

  • Cold, Hard Numbers: 1.56
  • HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
  • D.C. Housing Inventory Lowest Since 2005
  • Investors Wonder If Profits Can Continue Rising in Face of Slow Economic Growth
  • Cold, Hard Numbers: 20
  • Training & Education: Housing Planning and Retirement
  • Training & Education: 3 Tips for Taking Good Pictures for Listings
  • Market News: Stock Market Indicates December Jobs Report “Not Good Enough”
  • Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
  • Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
  • Cold, Hard Numbers: 0
  • BEREL Travel Diaries: Aquatic Adventures in Vegas
  • What You Said: January 2-7, 2012
  • Training & Education: Low-Maintenance Landscaping
  • Market News: S&P Analyst Says Stock Market Will Indicate Election Outcome

Mortgage Industry News

Few things change more rapidly than the mortgage market, and with the increasing dominance of GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage business, it's more important than ever to keep up. Here are a few recent mortgage news updates:

• Mortgage News

  • HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
  • Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
  • Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
  • President Bypasses Congress, Appoints Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau
  • Federal Reserve Recommends Expanding GSEs to Turn Housing Market Around
  • Mortgage Rates Likely to Remain Low for a While Longer
  • Top Former FDIC, Wells Fargo Execs Say Fannie and Freddie Must Go
  • FHA Continues to Extend Anti-Flipping Waiver
  • More Homeowners Using Delaying Tactics to Slow Down Foreclosures
  • Now that It’s Passed: The True Cost of the Payroll Tax Cut

About Bryan Ellis

Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.

Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.

Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.