Irish Nurse Has Home Loan Wiped Out as Debt Dominates DebateArticle from Bloomberg:Bank of Ireland Plc forgave a nurse’s 152,000 euro ($ 210,000) home loan, in the highest- profile case yet of a lender writing off debt amid the worst housing slump in the country’s history.
Laura White said she agreed to repay the Dublin bank 18,000 euros over six years as part of the accord agreed this week after she surrendered her house, she told state-broadcaster RTE today. She said she bought the house in North Dublin with a loan of 245,000 euros.
“There is great mercy that the [...] Continue Reading…
Hot Property: Celebrity home price chopsArticle from Los Angeles Times:
Suzanne Somers’ Palm Spring house is listed at $ 17.5 million. (David Blank / April 27, 2012)
By Lauren Beale
April 27, 2012, 12:48 p.m.
Like many mortals who have tried to get their listing price and timing in sync during the falling housing market, some celebrities continue to struggle with the timing-pricing formula.
Among them are:
Suzanne Somers– The actress gained fame for her role as the ditsy “Three’s Company” blond and sold a few ThighMasters in her time. But her Palm Springs estate has been on and off the market with Scott [...] Continue Reading…
China Helps First-Home Buyer While Curbing Speculator: MortgagesArticle from San Francisco Chronicle:April 26 (Bloomberg) — Kevin Xi had no trouble getting a mortgage to buy a 1.53 million yuan ($ 242,563) one-bedroom apartment in Beijing last month, even as China’s government tries to cool the housing market. He even got a 10 percent reduction on interest.
“I didn’t expect to get such a good rate,” said Xi, 27, an employee of a property company whose 960,000 yuan mortgage loan with Bank of China Ltd. was approved within five working days. “I thought only employees from government agencies or state-owned [...] Continue Reading…
Todays 15 and 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rates; Home Loan Interest Rates …Article from Learning and Finance:Posted on | April 27, 2012 | No Comments
Housing Sector Market Analysis Today’s Review:According to data stemming from the National Association of Realtors,pending home sales in March rose higher by approximately 4.1 percent. As more Americans get back to work, housing sector statistics are expected to improve. Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, reiterated this week that the U.S. economy is growing at a moderate pace and the central bank is poised to support the economy when needed. Investors, analysts, and potential home [...] Continue Reading…
Atlanta Home Price Index at 16-Year LowArticle from LoanSafe:(Source: Christopher Quinn and Katie Leslie The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (MCT) — Home prices fell much more sharply in metro Atlanta than in other U.S. cities in February, dragging the region’s average to 1996 levels, according to a widely watched survey.
Metro Atlanta prices dropped for the seventh straight month in the Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report, which tracks 20 metro areas. The average annual decline for all cities in February was 3.5 percent. For metro Atlanta it was 17.3 percent — double the decline in Las Vegas, the next worst city.
“Atlanta continued [...] Continue Reading…
Don’t Fear Home Loan Credit Check; Seminar Shows How Banks Try to HelpArticle from LoanSafe:DECATUR (Source: Nicole Harbour Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill. (MCT) — Sherry Cool and Malissa Munsterman, assistant vice presidents of mortgage loans at Hickory Point Bank and Trust, know looking at credit reports and applying for a home loan can be intimidating.
But the two hoped to make the process less scary Tuesday as they presented “Is Home Ownership in Your Future?”
The seminar, one of many free presentations held in honor of Macon County Money Smart Week, was designed to help attendees with budgeting and credit, [...] Continue Reading…
Home Buying Experts Say “Don’t Do What We Did” When You Buy Your HomeArticle from Sacramento Bee:AVONDALE, Ariz., April 23, 2012 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – A recent member poll conducted by the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA), the organization of real estate professionals who advocate for buyers, found that many members took significant risks or made bad real estate decisions before they became experts in the field.
According to 2011-2012 NAEBA President Ulrich Salzgeber, “Some of our people really went out on a limb when they purchased homes. In some cases they were ingenious ideas, but not ideas they would [...] Continue Reading…
D.R. Horton Quarterly Profit Beats Estimates as Home SaleArticle from Bloomberg:D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI), the largest U.S. homebuilder by volume, beat analysts’ earnings estimates as it increased sales in the second quarter.
Net income was $ 40.6 million, or 13 cents a share, for the three months through March 31, up from $ 27.8 million, or 9 cents, a year earlier, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said today in a statement. Analysts expected earnings of 3 cents a share, the average of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
The company had a profit for a fifth straight quarter as [...] Continue Reading…
SBI holds home loan ratesArticle from Hindustan Times:SBI, surprisingly did not pass on any benefit from its deposit rate cut to home loan seekers. The bank currently charges 10.75% interest on its home loans for amounts up to Rs. 30 lakh, while for amounts between Rs. 30 lakh and Rs. 75 lakh it charges 11%. For loan amounts exceeding Rs. 75 lakh,
SBI charges an interest of 11.25%.
“By cutting deposit rates, SBI wants its cost of funds to come down first,” said Kajal Gandhi, banking analyst, ICICI Direct.
“We expect it to cut base rate within a month because of the [...] Continue Reading…
Local real estate market shows signs of warming up as average home sale prices …Article from AnnArbor.com:Takashi Gould and Haley Gire pose with their dog Rookie in front of their new home on Maple Street in Ann Arbor. Gire purchased the home as a foreclosure.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Related: Reinhart’s record-setting quarter shows resiliency after recession
Haley Gire knew she’d buy a house in Ann Arbor since 2011, when she started researching the market and figuring out what she’d get for her $ 125,000 budget.
By the end of last month her trek had ended when she became a homebuyer, making [...] Continue Reading…