According to a study by economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stricter regulation of lending by non-bank mortgage originators could have prevented the housing bust. The authors of the study, Jihad Dagher and Ning Fu, both analysts for the fund, say that their studies show that “independent, non-bank lending increased in nearly all counties across the United States during Read full article »
Tag archives for housing crisis
IMF Economists: Stricter Regulation on Lending Could Have Prevented the Housing Crisis
tags: BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, Draft, Housing Boom, Housing Bubble, housing bust, housing crash, housing crisis, Housing Market, housing market news, Imf, international monetary fund, jihad dagher, lending, lending news, lending regulation, Mortgage, Mortgage News, Mortgages, ning fu, non bank lenders, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate Market, real estate market news, Real Estate News, Unemployment
Department of Justice’s Fair Lending Unit Could Create a New Housing Mess
The U.S. Treasury Department is stepping in where the current housing crisis left off with a new “fair lending unit” that demands that once again, banks make loans not based on credit scores or worthiness, but based on race and ethnicity. “The foreclosure crisis…disproportionately touches communities of color,” explains Thomas Perez, head of the department’s civil rights division. He explains Read full article »
tags: BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, Credit Score, Down Payment, Draft, fair lending unit, fairness in lending, housing crash, housing crisis, Housing Market, housing market news, lending, lending discrimination, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News, red lining, thomas perez, Treasury Department, unfair lending practices, us treasury department
Is the Housing Market Making Unemployment Worse?
If you cannot get out of your house, it makes it pretty hard to relocate for work. As a result, homeowners who are underwater on their homes are finding their options may be limited when it comes to looking for jobs. In the past, “mobility has been the hallmark of the U.S. work force,” says CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming, Read full article »
tags: BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, census data, Corelogic, Draft, Foreclosure, homeowners, housing crisis, Housing Market, job hunters, Lease Option, leasing, Mark Fleming, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate News, rental market, Rental Property, rental real estate, Renting, underwater homeowners, Unemployment
HUD Affordable Housing Program Under Fire
An affordable housing program (HOME) run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is facing serious scrutiny after a bipartisan group in Congress has alleged that the program is simply squandering the $2 billion it receives in yearly aid to help “build and renovate affordable homes across the country”. According to a recent investigation by the Washington Post, Read full article »
tags: Affordable Housing, BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, building initiatives, carole vansickle, Draft, home developments, HOME program, Housing And Urban Development, housing construction, housing crisis, Hud, hud developments, HUD HOME, hud houses, hud washington post, New Construction, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate News, taxpayer money, Washington Post
All About Perspective: 20-Year REI Veteran Says “Now is the Time”
Greg Rand, CEO of OwnAmerica and a 20-year real estate investor, says that the current market is a “once-in-a-generation crisis” that is also a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”. He believes that “a little optimism can go a long way toward spurring real estate back to life,” and encourages real estate investors to fight the “irrational pessimism that is the cause of much Read full article »
category: Main Content, Real Estate News
tags: BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, Draft, fixed rate loan, Great Depression, greg rand, housing crisis, Housing Market, housing market 2011, Housing Recovery, irrational pessimism, Nar, National Association Of Realtors, ownamerica, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News, real estate recovery, rental market, rob phipps
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.