In response to an article run by the Washington Post indicating that the Obama administration might opt to maintain an active role in the financial markets via oversight of government-controlled GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, U.S. deputy secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin has declared publicly that “the private sector…should be the dominant provider of mortgage credit.” He went Read full article »
Archives for Editorial
U.S. Treasury Promises GSEs Will be Privatized, Maybe
The Federal Debt Ceiling – Why It Matters To The Real Estate Business
On May 16, 2011, the United States ran up against its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. While May 17th may not have felt much different to you than the 16th, this event has the potential to wreak serious havoc on the country as a whole, the economy and even our way of life if the issue is not addressed. Sounds serious, Read full article »
Washington DC: Still The Exclusive Consistent Benefactor Of Obama Policy
As always, Washington DC is the place that's never affected by economic turmoil, until there is no country left. More on that in a minute. Standard & Poors released some information about the real estate market this morning . I will spare you the boring details, but here's the overview: Both of their composite indexes (one with 20 cities and one with Read full article »
Homeowners and Mortgage Payments: Shifting Priorities
There once was a time in the not too distant past when a homeowner's mortgage would be paid even if every other payment was made late or not at all. A current mortgage, after all, meant that there would always be a place to live. Things have changed, and changed in a big way. Transunion reports that back in the first quarter Read full article »
Market Psychology: What Really Matters?
The stock market and the real estate market operate very differently. Today, I hope we can draw an important lesson from stock market investors for use in the real estate market. -- Bryan Ellis I read an interesting (and somewhat disturbing) article on CNBC.com which indicates that for money managers in the stock market, the primary focus is to avoid Read full article »
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.
