Headlines...

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
My take.

This agreement is being defined and implemented by the largest mortgage investors, not for the sake of the borrowers, of whom it will actually "help" very few, but rather for the sake of the largest mortgage investors and the politicians.

Just my cynical view.
 
Where are they going to get the clerks to check that people are actually living in the houses and that they can't afford the payments if they are reset?

These servicers don't have enough help as it stands now. Who is going to pay for this?

I guess the govt is not actually abrogating contracts, if the holders agree.

But---let the lawsuits begin!

And the stock mkt? Is everybody but me and thee at the IHB crazy???
 
lawyerliz,

If Hilary could have her way, she would "consider legislation that enables lenders to convert unworkable mortgages into stable, affordable loans without the permission of investors. Protection from lawsuits will remove the obstacle that keeps lenders, servicers and others from turning mortgages that were designed to fail into mortgages families can afford."
 
Pardon me while I barf.

Isn't there something in the constitution about not abrogating contracts?

USA == Biggest Banana Republic, where the rule of law no longer holds sway.
 
Really interesting take on the subprime bailout by an Australian news source, and why it wouldn't work there. Depressing if you ask me...

"Only those borrowers who are currently up to date but who cannot afford the higher repayments once their mortgage has been reset will qualify.

Apart from creating a whole new generation of fraudsters - borrowers willing to try on any rort in order to be judged too poor to pay - what is there to say about this plan?

One standout is that Hope Now would have little hope of getting up in Australia because it discriminates against that most prized of Down Under political commodities - the young first-home buyer.

The effect of propping up sub-prime borrowers, so they can stay living in homes they couldn't afford when they bought them, is to keep property prices artificially high.

This will force first-home owners into an unrealistic market, one where they may have to wait several years for any gain on their investment.

In the US, the political costs are limited by the fact young people and renters don't generally vote. In Australia, where they do vote, a bailout like this would be political suicide."
 
Consumer bankruptcies on the rise

Filings last month increase 28 percent over last November - a sign of the economic impact of the nation's mortgage woes.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/05/news/economy/bankruptcies/index.htm?postversion=2007120514
 
Surge in Auto-Loan Delinquencies Is Latest Trouble for the Economy

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119690536188815285.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
 
Can someone please explain what a hedge is to the NY Times?

Chartporn to go with it.

1206-biz-HEDGEweb.full.jpg


Now, before anyone gets too excited and starts to calculate the percentages in dollars, what is underwritten and what is on the books may be a different number. I could be wrong, but the NY Times is not very clear as to what the percentages mean. To me, stating percentage of loans in default, means what the current balance of these loans are, and not what they were originally underwritten for. I could be wrong, then those numbers look really ugly.
 
Graphix, your charts are truly inspiring. Take for example the decline in plans to carpet. Is carpet to the 90's what vinyl and formica were to the '70s?

Also, the "plan to buy a house in the next 6 months" category totally caught me off guard. You mean more people planned to buy a house in '99 than at any point during this entire housing bubble? I hate to say it, but it almost sounds like people didn't "plan" to buy at all, they just did (or maybe already had).

I have always hated polls, but perhaps they serve as a valuable aid in measuring desire or intent. That is, a certain number of people wanted to buy, but couldn't. Of course you can't tell from this particular poll. They would have had to ask, "do you think you could buy in the next 6 months". In any case, those charts were fascinating in many ways. Keep 'em coming.
 
'Super Fund' for SIVs, Hoped for $100 Billion, May Be Half the Size

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119690966259515416.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
 
Bill coming due on sinking home equity

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8TBFRPG0.htm

But that small decline masks a much larger plunge in the amount of equity homeowners hold. This figure, equal to the percentage of a home's market value minus mortgage-related debt, fell to an average of 51.7 percent at the end of the second quarter, down from 62 percent at the end of 1990, the Federal Reserve reported, even as the average home value surged 139 percent during that period.

Some economists believe the home equity number will drop below 50 percent by the end of next year, marking the first time homeowners will owe more than they own since the Fed started recording the data in 1945

...

"Although homes increased hugely in value, homeowners were borrowing against them as fast if not faster than the appreciation," said Dean Baker, co-director for the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "And when people were buying new homes, they were getting them with as a little as 5 percent, 2 percent down, even nothing at all."

Eleven percent of first mortgages originated in 2005 and 2006 had down payments of less than 10 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Another 1 percent of the mortgages surpassed the value of the property.
 
Rumors from http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=3832#comments

Comment by crispy&colehttp://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=3832#comment-1084532

2007-12-06 11:01:40

Mass CW layoffs today - confirmed with my sources

Reply to this comment

briansthreadedcomments.php
Comment by Vermonterhttp://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=3832#comment-1084621

2007-12-06 11:53:40

Merry Christmas!
icon_sad.gif


Reply to this comment

briansthreadedcomments.php
Comment by Tomhttp://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=3832#comment-1084627

2007-12-06 11:56:50

Mine confirmed the same thing. I guess Mozillo has to get ready for another “planned” stock sale coming up.

Reply to this comment

briansthreadedcomments.php
Comment by CAsellerCOrenterhttp://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=3832#comment-1084820

2007-12-06 13:39:30

When may one expect the news to go public?

Reply to this comment

briansthreadedcomments.php
Comment by edgewaterjohnhttp://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=3832#comment-1084736

2007-12-06 12:49:49

Did they let them keep their CFC wristbands?

Reply to this comment
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top