Housing Market Update: What’s Lurking in the Shadow Market? | Before It's News

Housing Market Update: What’s Lurking in the Shadow Market? | Before It's News

Supply and demand in the housing market remain seriously out of whack. The Commerce Department reports housing vacancies remain near record levels. And a staggering 21% of housing units built since 2000 sit empty. Thats a whole lot of cheap drywall and expensive countertops.

But its likely to be only half the story. “People focusing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data for an accurate picture of the current housing market are missing the bigger picture, writes the inimitable Dr. Housing Bubble. This is like looking at Mercury and thinking you have a full picture of our solar system. This is the data that most in the public will be able to see without digging deeper into foreclosure and pre-foreclosure data, and this is what is now widely known as the shadow inventory.”

RPT-Plan to cut mortgage principal pitched to Congress

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - A group of influential mortgage investors is intensifying efforts to encourage a new phase to U.S. housing stability plans that would give homeowners ability and incentive to pay their loans.
Proposals from a coalition led by Fortress Investment Group address the problem of "underwater" loans, whose high balances relative to fallen home values have to many investors become the chief threat to U.S. housing stability.

Central to plans pitched this week to U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is a controversial way to deal with secondary loans that homeowners piled on during the housing boom. These home equity loans are a major hurdle in modifications, being attached to more than half the mortgages in private mortgage bonds, according to Amherst Securities.

The Mortgage Investors Coalition -- which represents holders of some $100 billion in mortgage bonds -- instead of demanding full write-downs on second liens are prepared to consider a principal reduction plan where losses are shared, said Micah Green, an attorney representing the group. This softened position on second liens could help break the impasse keeping big bank servicers from forgiving principal, he said.

"There is a growing sense of concern among policymakers that the lack of homeowner equity is really getting in the way of providing a solution to homeowners," said Green of Washington law firm Patton Boggs LLP. Read More

Four Seasons resort's foreclosure delayed

Lenders that provided $183 million in financing for Irving's Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas didn't move ahead with a foreclosure scheduled for Tuesday.

The owner of the 400-acre golf course and hotel, Los Angeles-based BentleyForbes, has been in negotiations with the debt holders since fall. In January, the property was posted for forced sale.
BentleyForbes "continues to work toward a positive outcome," the company said.

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

Several Ways to Find Cheap Foreclosures

February 1, 2010

by RealEstateRama

Los Angeles, CA - February 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) — Because of the collapse of the subprime market

and the growing number of unemployment, the real estate market is swamped with affordable foreclosures

. Foreclosure means disaster to some people but a gold mine for others. If you are one of those people who want to jump on the bandwagon of foreclosure investing, there are some ways to make sure that you are getting a better deal. But the first thing you need to remember is that though foreclosed homes are cheap, you can still get better properties at a very low price. All it takes is to know where to look for these good deals.

Pre-foreclosure homes:
Pre-foreclosure houses are owned by distressed homeowners who are in danger of going into foreclosure. Many of them would opt to sell their house at less than the fair market value to pay their mortgage and somehow, save their credit record. If you offer them a reasonable price, distressed homeowners would willingly sell their properties. Also, you get an opportunity to inspect the distressed property to know if you are getting a good deal.