While the real estate market appears to be struggling to make a comeback, and some lenders are predicting that the next two to three years could see some significant improvement in lending frequencies and home prices, JP Morgan Chase is not feeling quite so optimistic. During a morning conference call yesterday discussing the bank’s earnings and stocks’ performance, a group Read full article »
JP Morgan Predicts $3 Billion in Write-Downs for Commercial Real Estate Loans
category: Real Estate News
Wells Fargo Could be Embroiled in Robo-Signer Debacle as Well
While Wells Fargo has managed to remain clear of the robo-signer-induced chaos in the banking industry over the past few weeks, it looks like the lender, like the other members of “big banking” in the country, could have a rubber-stamping robo-signer hiding in the closet. The lender, which has steadfastly maintained that it has always reviewed all of its foreclosure Read full article »
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
Northeastern Ohio Commercial Market Looking Up
For northeastern Ohio, 2011 will be the beginning of the “era of less” when it comes to commercial real estate investing, and that is a good thing, say experts. While the commercial real estate market in the area has suffered over the past few years, the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers have released a report indicating that while 2011’s commercial Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
Attorneys General from All 50 States Launch a Coordinated Investigation of Mortgage Servicing Industry
The attorneys general from every state have gotten together and formed the Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group (MFMG) to “examine the practices of so-called ‘robo-signing’ among mortgage servicers”. The group is led by Iowa AG, Tom Miller, and includes a number of banking and mortgage regulators in addition to the state AGs. The MFMG has already begun reviewing affidavits from servicers Read full article »
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
ForeclosureGate: The Definitive Guide To Foreclosure Moratoria And What It Means For You
(Please consider forwarding the link to this page to your friends and colleagues. Thank you!) National news has been dominated by myriad foreclosure freezes, rumors of moratoria and general uncertainty about what the possibility of indefinite holds on foreclosures around the country means for real estate investors, homeowners, the economy and the country as a whole. We decided that it was Read full article »
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
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.
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:
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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.