Property Investment News and Analysis from Dominic Farrell.
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View Article  US housing recovery is continuing

A key US housing index has risen to its highest level in almost three years, helped by first time buyers taking advantage of a popular tax break.

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.1% in September to 110.1, its eighth straight monthly rise.

Analysts ...   more »

View Article  US house prices rise for fourth month in August

US home prices rose for the fourth month running in August, extending the housing market’s rebound after a historic collapse, but labour market fears have darkened the moods of consumers.

House prices rose by 1.2 per cent from July to August, according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller index. The figures beat economists’ ...   more »

View Article  Mortgage modification schemes see ‘disappointing’ results

Borrowers face a mortgage affordability test from lenders amid plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to step up the regulation of home loans.

Self-certification mortgages will be banned under the proposals with lenders required to verify borrowers' incomes.....

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View Article  Federal Reserve turns focus on property exposure

The Federal Reserve is currently reviewing banks' exposure to property, the troubled investment sector whose slide could pose a risk to many financial institutions because of the wide distribution of loans and mortgage-backed securities.

In its regulatory role, the Fed will look into a cross-section of banks to build a picture of how resilient institutions are to the falling value of loans and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

A cross-disciplinary team will look at the range of commercial property assets on banks' balance sheets, encompassing loans and CMBS.......

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View Article  US property boost

Contrary to popular belief, property investors continue to enter the US property market in search of bargains.

The US property market has been among the hardest hit by the global economic downturn, with questions inevitably being raised over the validity of any potential investment in the country. As a result, ...   more »

View Article  US consumer confidence at low with record fall in house prices

American house prices fell by their fastest rate on record last month amid deep pessimism over the economy and the expectation of the worst Christmas shopping figures for 40 years.

The data reveal that the world's biggest economy shows no sign of recovery. This will increase pressure on Barack Obama, ...   more »

View Article  After the pain, America prepares to bounce back

We Americans can now fill the capacious tanks of our 4x4s at almost half the price that prevailed a few months ago. The interest rate on mortgages is lower than it has been in almost four decades, so applications are soaring to levels not seen in five years. The unemployment ...   more »

View Article  New York: go downtown in the downturn

The change promised by the new presidency cannot come too soon for the US housing market, which has been assailed by the sub-prime mortgage scandal and the bank failures and financial market storms that ensued from it. New York may not have suffered the same degree of catastrophic property falls ...   more »

View Article  Still no end in sight

THOSE looking for an end to America's housing bust will have to wait a little longer. Although sales of new homes rose slightly in September, prices are continuing to fall fast. On Tuesday October 28th the S&P/Case-Shiller index of house prices for ten cities showed a record decline of 17.7% ...   more »

View Article  Freddie Mac's September portfolio fell 37.9 percent

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac (FRE.P: Quote, Profile, Research), the second-largest U.S. home funding company, on Friday said its mortgage investment portfolio shrank by an annualized 37.9 percent rate in September.

The portfolio decreased to $736.9 billion, the McLean, Virginia-based company said in its monthly volume summary. ...   more »

View Article  A helping hand to homeowners

Some economists think the credit crisis needs to be fixed at its source—in America’s housing market

GOVERNMENTS across the rich world have taken drastic steps to save the banking system. As the fears of outright collapse recede, their focus has turned to improving the supply of credit to households and ...   more »

View Article  The buy-to-let battle is on

Should landlords tough it out or cut their losses as property prices fall and decent mortgage deals become more scarce?

It has been an uncomfortable fortnight for Britain's army of landlords. House prices are falling faster than at any point in the past 50 years and experienced lenders have been ...   more »

View Article  US mortgage rates weekly drop most in over 28 yrs

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell by 0.42 percentage point in the latest week, the biggest weekly drop in more than 28 years, according to a survey released on Thursday by home funding company Freddie Mac.

The drop, which drove 30-year fixed rates to an almost five-month low, ...   more »

View Article  Credit crisis halfway over "at best"
A year-long credit crisis may be only halfway over and defaults of prime mortgages and problems at U.S. bond insurers are expected to exert a drag on future bank earnings, Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday.

Defaults and late payments for mortgages known as Alt-A securities and prime mortgages are ...   more »

View Article  America's house prices are falling even faster than during the Great Depression

AS HOUSE prices in America continue their rapid descent, market-watchers are having to cast back ever further for gloomy comparisons. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller national house-price index, published this week, showed a slump of 14.1% in the year to the first quarter, the worst since the index began 20 years ago. ...   more »

View Article  House prices suffer record annual fall

The gloom enveloping the US housing market intensified yesterday as home prices dropped at the fastest annual rate since records began 20 years ago.

The S&P/Case Shiller national house price index fell 14.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier, ...   more »

View Article  US house prices in sharpest fall for 20 years

American house prices are collapsing almost five times as quickly as during the last US recession in 1991, with losses expected to double before any recovery begins, new data showed today.

Residential property values fell 14.4 per cent over the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same three months ...   more »

View Article  Odds of further rate cuts increase after Fed's latest moves

The odds of further interest rate cuts increased after the Federal Reserve's latest moves, and after policy setter said financial market stress, tight credit and housing weakness was likely to continue over the next few quarters.

July fed funds futures rose 0.05 points to 98.04, which implies a 16% chance ...   more »

View Article  Washington must do more to help housing market
The government must actively intervene in the domestic housing market to fix the subprime mortgage problems that interest rate cuts and tax rebates alone cannot, a Federal Housing Finance Board official said on Sunday.

Allan Mendelowitz, a member of the Board of Directors of the FHFB -- a regulatory agency ...   more »

View Article  Fed cuts key rate to 2% but urges caution over inflation

The US central bank cut interest rates last night for the seventh time since last summer as it sought to combat the impact of a collapsing housing market and the credit crunch on the world's biggest economy.

The Federal Reserve's open market committee voted unanimously for a quarter-point cut in ...   more »

View Article  US economy 'just keeps its head above water'

The US economy grew 0.6% in the first three months of the year as an increase in inventories compensated for weaker consumer spending and a deteriorating housing market.

Despite beating analysts expectations, the Commerce Department's report shows a widespread weakening that many analysts fear will lead to a recession. However, ...   more »

View Article  'No sign of a bottom' in US property prices

More worries over the credit crunch arrived today as 17 out of 20 US cities reported record annual declines in house prices, a survey release today showed.

Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller Index, which tracks 20 of the largest housing markets, said prices fell 2.6% to 175.94 in February from January, ...   more »

View Article  New US home sales hit 17-year low

New home sales plunged to a 17-year low in March as tighter credit conditions and weakening consumer confidence kept prospective buyers on the sidelines in spite of sharp price declines.

Single-family home sales slumped 8.5 per cent in March to a 526,000 annual rate, the lowest since October 1991, 36.6 ...   more »

View Article  U.S. existing home sales post surprise rise

Sales of U.S. existing homes rose in February for the first time since July as prices posted a record drop from their year-ago level, but economists said it was unlikely the market had reached a bottom.

The National Association of Realtors on Monday said sales of previously owned homes rose ...   more »

View Article  US housing market given $200bn lift with extra cash for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

About $200 billion (£99.6 billion) of extra mortgage financing is to be made available to would-be homeowners in the United States after a key regulator reduced the amount of capital that the two biggest housing financiers must hold in reserve.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has reduced the ...   more »

View Article  Bear Stearns crisis sparks UK recession fears

Millions of British households face soaring mortgage rates and tumbling house prices after the global financial crisis triggered the near-collapse of one of the world's biggest banks.

Experts warned that there is now an increased likelihood of a recession and a painful housing slump, after Bear Stearns - America's fifth ...   more »

View Article  US economy in slowdown says Fed

The US has seen an economic slowdown across all regions since January, a US Federal Reserve report says. The Central Bank's so-called Beige Book report said housing, manufacturing and retail activity had all cooled since the start of the year.

 

The report also cited rising materials and energy prices, ...   more »

View Article  GDP data confirms weak US growth

US economic growth fell sharply in the last three months of 2007 as the credit crunch took effect and spending on new housing slumped, revised figures show. Updated figures from the US Department of Commerce showed the economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.6% in the quarter, as ...   more »

View Article  Dollar falls to record euro low

The dollar has fallen to a record low against the euro as traders bet that further interest rate cuts will be needed to stem a US recession. The euro rose to $1.509 after buying $1.50 on Tuesday for the first time. Sterling climbed against the greenback too, reaching almost $2. ...   more »

View Article  More gloom for the US housing market

Prices of existing single-family homes in the US have slumped at the fastest rate in more than 20 years, while bank repossessions have almost doubled.

 

Home prices fell 8.9% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, the largest decline in the two-decade history of the S&P/Case-Schiller index of ...   more »

View Article  US Fed slashes growth forecasts

The US Federal Reserve has slashed its growth forecast for the US economy and raised its forecast for unemployment. The Fed cut its growth forecast for this year by half a percent to a new range of between 1.3% and 2%.

 

The US central bank also said the jobless ...   more »