ANOTHER DIRTY LOAN SERVICER , AMERICAM HOME MORTGAGE SERVICING GONE BAD?
I actually can relate to these evil , and unscrupulous home loan servicers as i have tried to get several rental home loans , modified. Always its the same run around, from always someone new to the file , that cannot find any of the 7 complete loan packages we have sent in,its all about jacking you around. The word on the street is , keep fu#$%54# with them until they think you are going to modify the loan, while we actually foreclose on the poor bas#$%$#s. Seller financing in phoenix arizona is a result of bad faith from loan servicers.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. is using illegal debt collection practices and misleading struggling homeowners, resulting in foreclosure for some borrowers.

Abbott brought formal charges against the company on Monday. According to a statement from the attorney general’s office, state investigators allege that American Home’s collections agents used “aggressive and unlawful tactics” to collect payments from Texas homeowners who had difficulty meeting their mortgage obligations, and then failed to credit homeowners who properly submitted their payments on time.

Investigators allege that in other cases, the servicer’s agents falsely claimed that homeowners did not make payments so they could justify late fees or escrow accounts, and then failed to properly credit homeowners even after withdrawing funds directly from borrowers’ checking accounts.

“Because of the defendant’s unlawful conduct, homeowners defaulted on their loans, leading to foreclosure proceedings,” according to the attorney general’s office.

Abbott also says that although American Home Mortgage claims to have a “Home Retention Team” to assist distressed homeowners, many customers found that the company could not qualify borrowers for assistance to halt the foreclosure process.

The attorney general says some homeowners who actually obtained loan modifications found that their monthly payments increased rather than decreased, which worsened their problem with foreclosure. Industry studies show, however, that this is not an uncommon outcome among more servicers than just American Home Mortgage.

The attorney general is charging American Home Mortgage with multiple violations of the Texas Debt Collection Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). The state is seeking civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation.

American Home Mortgage did not respond to requests for comment regarding Abbott’s allegations and the pending lawsuit.

American Home Mortgage Servicing is headquartered in Coppell, Texas, and also has offices in Irvine, California, and Jacksonville, Florida.

The company is considered to be the nation’s largest independent subprime mortgage servicer, and is owned and funded by the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., named for its founder and chairman, investment sage Wilbur Ross. They are the rerason so many of my clients are going to need seller financing in phoenix arizona

I think it would help the state , each city , and everyone in the entire home building, home buying , an home selling industry . 1st , it will create some new buzz , and create some job growth.Phoenix has been a war torn area for 3-4 years now , and every positive approach will help.

After a worse than expected falloff in home sales during the month of July, buzz about a possible revival of the federal homebuyer tax credit has begun to surface.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported last week that sales of previously owned homes plummeted 27 percent in July, hitting their lowest mark in 15 years. New home sales also took a dive, dropping nearly 13 percent from June to July.

Both reports were clear indications of the frailty of the housing market post-stimulus. Although, the steep declines were actually considered a by-product of the tax credits themselves, which expired on April 30 – payback for the incentives that pulled sales forward into the spring months.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program this weekend, “The July numbers were worse than we expected, worse than the general market expected, and we are concerned. That’s why we are taking additional steps to move forward.”

Donovan said it was too early to say for sure, after only one month’s numbers, whether the administration would revive its popular homebuyer tax credits to give the housing markets another much-needed boost, but he didn’t wholly rule it out as an option.

“All I can tell you is that we are watching very carefully,” Donovan told CNN. “We’re going to be focused like a laser on where the housing market is moving going forward, and we are going to go everywhere we can to make sure this market stabilizes and recovers.”

Two U.S. Senate candidates from Florida, one of the hardest hit states by the housing downturn, spoke out in favor of bringing back the federal tax credits for homebuyers on the CNN program.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running as an independent for a Florida Senate seat, said a reinstatement of the homebuyer tax break “would be a great lift” and “would stimulate the economy…[and] increase home sales in Florida.”

“People are hurting, and they’re looking for answers. And that would be a good one. I would absolutely encourage the president to support [another homebuyer tax credit],” Crist told CNN.

When asked if he was also onboard with renewing the homebuyer tax credit incentive, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat running against Crist for the Senate seat, replied “Absolutely.”

Can you imagine how quick the homebuying engines will rev up, with another round of credits? Phoenix will not fall into the seller carry homes in phoenizx arizona capital of the world .

Posted by robert highsmith on 08/31/2010 09:18 AM Comments (0) phoenix seller carry, scottsdale arizona owner financing, creative financing Edit Delete

0 Comments on WILL another tax credit for phoenix arizona homebuyers help the state ?

Notify me of new comments:

Leave a response…
Comment:

robert highsmith

Phoenix, AZ

More about me…

west usa realty

Address: 7047 e greenway parkway #180 , scottsdale , az, 85254

Office Phone: (480) 250-8020

Email Me

Tags activerain (1) active raincamp (1) applications (1) appraisers and mortgage loan originators take down phoenix arizona housing market (1) arizona (18) arizona flunks out on home sales (2) arizona seller financing (1) az (1) buy homes in phoenix (1) call centers (1) condo (1) creative financing (3) dana point (1) downsize (1) falling prices (1) fha fannie mae (1) foreclosure (11) foreclosure homes for sale phoenix (1) foreclosures (4) foreclosure scottsdale (1) foreclosures in phoenix (1) foreclosure under water scottsdalehomes for sale (1) forsclosure (1) glendale (5) golf course homes in scottsdale (1) hard to believe (1) homebuyers (1) home buyers (1) homes for sale in glendale (1) homes for sale inscottsdale (1) homes for sale phoenix (2) homes for sale phoenix (1) illegal aliens (1) job losses (1) loan modification (3) loan modification loan originators (1) loan modifications (3) loan servicers (1) loss mitigation (1) mediation (1) mesa (4) mesa arizona (1) modification (1) new home sale (1) non loan modification (1) opps realtor walks in on couple making love while showing homes (1) owner carry (1) owner carry homes in phoenix (1) owner carry homes in phoenix (1) owner carry homes in phoenix arizona (1) owner carry phoenix arizona (1) owner carry phoenix arizona (1) owner financing (1) owner financing scottsdale (1) owner will carry (1) phoenix (7) phoenix homes for sale (2) phoenix homes for sale (1) phoenix seller carry (2) racial profiling (1) reductions in mortgages (1) resale home (1) san clemente (1) scottsdale (10) scottsdale arizona (2) scottsdale arizona owner financing (1) scottsdale arizona owner financing (1) scottsdale homes for sale (2) scottsdale phoenix glendale mesa arizona first time buyer tax credit homebuying (1) scottsdale seller financing (1) seller carry (1) seller carryback (1) seller carry back default (1) seller carry homes in phoenix arizona (2) seller carry owner carryback no qualifying homes in phoenix (1) seller carry owner carryback no qualifying homes in phoenix (2) seller carry owner carryback no qualifying homes in phoenix scottsdale glendale mesa arizona (1) seller finacing in phoenix (2) seller financing (4) seller financing homes in phoenix (1) seller financing homes in scottsdale arizona (1) seller financing in phoenix (3) seller financing phoenix (1) seller financing phoenix arizona (6) seller financing phoenix arizona raincamp (1) shadow inventory debt (1) short sale (1) short sale downpayment (1) short sale health care (1) short sale jokers again (1) short sales (1) short sales owner carry seller financing (1) short sales scottsdale home sales (1) sorry i am only the 911 realtor messenger (1) underwater (1) will the owner carry creative financing seller carry backs come back into the karkets (1) will the owner carry creative financing seller carry backs come back into the markets (1) wordpress (1) workout package (1) workout plan (1)
Links [add/remove]
——————————————————————————–

•blogger.com
••hellotxt.com
•twitter.com
•linkedin.com
•wordpress
•facebook
•creativeazfinancing

Archives
——————————————————————————–

•August 2010 (14)
•July 2010 (1)

The answer is yes it will.How? When a realtor like me offers a seller a ready , willing and semi able buyer to a higher priced home , say $500,000 and up, we can create a seller financing , owner carry , loan that will allow the buyer to put a down payment into escrow and allow the seller to wrap or contract to sell, the home. The buyer gets the home, the tax write offs , and the enjoyment of the home , while the seller gets , the debt serviced , thru regular payments , thru the title co servicing dept. That allows a contract to be offered , accepted , and finished , using seller financing in scottsdale arizona .Who needs this type of seller financing ? Lots of families now , due to credit hicups, downsizing , short sales , foereclosures , divorces , job losses , employment NON verification , and most all lenders now , do not offer JUMBO LOANS TO SELL MCMANSIONS. How can i do these contract s ? easy , i am certified , and have a great website to show my skills www.creativeazfinancing.com PRIVATE , DISCREET , CONFIDENTIAL . Seller financing in scottsdale arizona is alive and well, and the new tool for high end home purchaes in the future .

Phoenix arizona seller financing will help if you walk away from mortgage is here to help homeowners who have credit blemishes.
I see it coming down the road already, homeowners who have decided to walk away form one house , that may be so underwater , and purchase another one. However if there credit is already blemished, seller financing in phoenix arizona, may be the only way homebuyers can get another home in the phoenix scottsdale mesa glendale areas .When i am doing open house now,i hear the majority of prospects telling me they cannot buy on a traditional mortgage any longer due to several problems in there financial history.

Some homeowners underwater on their home loan — meaning they owe more on the mortgage than the home’s current value — are turning to “strategic defaults” in which they simply walk away from mortgage debt.

But financial experts warn that the cost of skipping out on mortgage debt can be high.

The American Bankers Association recently warned homeowners about the consequences of strategic default, including the possibility of the bank obtaining a judgment to pursue the homeowner’s assets, such as bank accounts, cars and investments.

A foreclosure — regardless of whether it is because of a strategic default or other circumstances — also has a negative impact on a consumer’s credit score.

“A foreclosure is one of the stronger predictors of future credit risk,” says Craig Watts, public affairs director of FICO.

Foreclosures remain on a credit report for seven years, with the impact gradually lessening over time.

“For someone who has a foreclosure on (his or) her credit report, (his or) her FICO score can generally begin to recover after a couple of years, assuming the consumer stays current with (his or) her payments on all (his or) her other credit accounts,” Watts says.

Watts says the impact of a foreclosure on a credit score depends on other factors in the borrower’s credit history. The ABA says a foreclosure drops a FICO score by 100 to 400 points.

In addition, a voluntary foreclosure can impact a homeowner’s ability to qualify for a new mortgage for years to come.

Peter Fredman, a Berkeley, Calif., consumer attorney, says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not approve a mortgage within four years after foreclosure, while the ABA says it can take three to seven years to qualify for a new mortgage.

In addition, mortgage giant Fannie Mae recently announced a tough new sanction on people who deliberately default on their mortgages. Such borrowers will be ineligible for a new Fannie-backed mortgage for seven years after the date of foreclosure.

Tax liability is another potential danger of defaulting. Although the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 (extended through 2012) offers widespread protection from federal taxes following a foreclosure, state taxes still may be due on unpaid debt.

A lender can also pursue the remaining debt from an unpaid loan by obtaining a deficiency judgment against the delinquent borrower, or may work with a collection agency to recoup losses.

And, of course, ethical questions surround strategic defaults. A survey by Trulia.com and RealtyTrac found that 59 percent of homeowners would not consider defaulting no matter how much their mortgage was underwater, although another 41 percent of homeowners said they would consider a default.

Despite the potential negative consequences of a strategic default, the move is less risky in some states than others.

“The first question for anyone considering a strategic default is whether the homeowners will be liable for the debt anyway,” says Fredman. “Each state has different rules.”

Non-recourse laws protect homeowners in some states. When a borrower defaults in one of these states, the lender can take the home through a foreclosure but has no right to any other borrower assets. (Home equity loans are not eligible for this protection unless they were used as part of the home purchase.)

According to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 11 states are “non-recourse” states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.

“In California, we have some of the best anti-deficiency rules around, so banks can foreclose on the home but cannot get any other judgment to claim additional assets,” Fredman says.

In some areas, lenders are so overwhelmed with defaulting customers that homeowners can live in their homes for free for months or even a year or more before the foreclosure is complete.

The average length of time from default to eviction is 400 days in California, Fredman says.

The potential consequences of strategic default cannot deter some homeowners from taking the plunge, says Frank Pallotta, executive vice president and managing director of the Loan Value Group in Rumson, N.J.

“While everyone understands the credit-score impact of a strategic default, most borrowers don’t seem to care,” Pallotta says. “They think a 200-point hit on their credit score cannot offset the benefit of living for as long as 18 months rent- and mortgage-free. They see strategic default as a form of financial freedom, especially if they live in a non-recourse state and know someone who has done this.”

Fredman — who developed the “Should I Pay or Should I Go” Web calculator to help consumers evaluate the wisdom of a strategic default — says homeowners considering a strategic default should research state regulations about loan defaults and tax laws. Even non-recourse states have various laws that can impact defaulting borrowers, he says.

“I also think everyone should consult an attorney and probably an accountant, too, because the relative cost of these professionals is not nearly as high as the potential cost of making a mistake,” he says. THE bottom line is when your out looking at homes these days , phoenix arizona seller financing may be the only way to go ,for many families .

I am happy to say  that yes, i am getting 2-3 calls a day  while i am driving all over   phoenix, arizona. How  you may ask? I gave up  my  pride and am in a  desperate real estate  market, that needs     thinking outside the box for  advertising. I KNOW MANY OF YOU  ARE  saying , i would never  put my  picture and  my real esate sign , and 2 sign riders  on the back of  my  car, and drive around to the store ,  to the bank, to the office , and least   of all, drive around  my city , say  100 miles a day , with that . ITS   getting me calls,  today   ,OFF MY   PROFESSIONAL  sign ?   Well,  its working ,   i mean i specialize in  seller carry , lease options, wraps and any creative  financing   i need to do  ,to get business.     www.creativeazfinancing.com   ,  and  the quality of  leads calling  in , while i am driving  is strange , as in ,  hey i am  next to you in the fast  lane , and i am so  FU#$% upside down in my home  , and what can you  tell me about any solutions  to  my  headache ,BINGO , i just hit  another  lead , , so check out my website   www.creativeazfinancing.com  , and see  wht the REALTORS , WILL WORK FOR FOOd  ,  IDEAS ARE .  I suggest we all take alook at what  effective marketing  plan to try  , good luck  robert highsmith west usa realty scottsdale ,az

I would if i  could , but  with family  ,friends and business  here in  phoenix,arizona, i cannot.  But the  info suggest we  should?  I f you could  buy a nice home in the  beach communities,  like  orange county california,   who wouldn;t want to  pick up and  get a great tan  while  working your laptop from the beach?Foreclosure activity in California is beginning to trend downward. The locally-based tracking firm ForeclosureRadar says its statistics dropped last month for every stage of the foreclosure process – with new defaults falling more than 17 percent.I See that It’s the second straight month that the company has recorded across-the-board declines. Filings at each step of foreclosure – default, sale, repossession – also posted sharp drops from year-ago levels. While the numbers appear to paint a clear picture of improvement, ForeclosureRadar remains cautious in its analysis.

“Given the staggering number of delinquent home loans, foreclosure activity should be rising not falling as we found again this month” said Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.

O’Toole explained, “We have recently witnessed a number of cancellations where the owners have vacated the

property and are clearly not working to modify their loan or complete a short sale. The most telling statistic that we present today may be that it takes lenders two months longer to foreclose then it did a year ago.”

The only significant increases from the prior year in ForeclosureRadar’s report were cancellations, up 141.3 percent, and time-to-foreclose, up 30.5 percent from May 2009. The company says it now takes lenders 235 days to complete a foreclosure in the Golden State, from the filing of the default notice to the auctioning of the property.

While extended foreclosure timelines may be skewing resolution numbers, it should be noted that newly initiated foreclosures declined significantly last month in California.

Notices of default filed against delinquent homeowners – the first step in the foreclosure process – fell 17.25 percent from April to May, according to ForeclosureRadar’s market data. They were down 43.34 percent compared to May 2009. While here in phoenix ,scottsdale arizona  , the home  biz is still a radical   up and down   cleaning out,  its  nice to know  that  california dreaming  , is still   out there  .   www. creativeazfinancing.com

Notice of trustee sale filings, which serve as the homeowner’s final notice before the home is auctioned, dropped 11.88 percent on a month-to-month basis in May, and were 35.78 percent below year-ago levels.

ForeclosureRadar reports that banks took back 13,775 properties in May, 5.75 percent fewer than they did in April.

The company puts California’s total REO inventory at 87,964, dowm 18 percent from last yerars total, so if you want to  lay around the beach, getting tan, and  working from your laptop, california dreaming  , works  for some .

Semi qualified homebuyers will rule the markets in the  next  homebuying arena. Why  , do you ask  , as  5-20  million good   families have lost a home,   taken a hit  on there credit ,    lost a job, had a few  late payments on the credit cards, and many, a late or 2  on the car payment , it will all effect the   gestapo  techniques of the  fico  credit scoring   procedures.  DO you  know   friends , families,  or clients that fall into this catagory ? What if the few   mortgage brokers still in existance , only  had   semi  qualified  buyers , and the banks,  shylocks,  and  other  hard money lenders,  could not fit them   in there credit scoring worthiness    boxes? I  see   trouble ahead for  the real homebuying process    in our industry , do you ?  What can you do to help them  buy a home in the present , and the future ? L EARN TO BE creative   ,  at all the tools of   creative financing.   www.creativeazfinancing.com  if you have anyone  who wants to  live  in the  greater   phoenix, arizona  market, i will help them  get a home , not a apt, or condo,  but a home ,  even us dinosuars , have to change today , to be in business  , tomarrow.

I see it coming  in the  years to come , banks,  lenders, and private money lenders will all  have to relax there   tight a$%$   requirements to  get some loans thru. Although  many     families will  continue to have  high fico  credit score ratings,  millions ,  have been  touched  , and ravaged   by this current depression  we are going thru . Good , hard working    families   that need a second  chance, and while  credit requirements remain   very  ackward, as thae  new   bank  guidelines, are  crunching  all   but the   780 fico  home  buyers at this moment, there will be a rash of  semi qualified buyers.

A new wave of foreclosures could be coming in the second half of the year, especially if the unemployment rate remains high, mortgage-assistance programs fail, and the economy doesn’t improve fast enough to lift home sales.

“It’s not anything like a recovery yet,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing service.

RealtyTrac reported Thursday that nearly 323,000 households, or one in every 400 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in May. That was up 0.5 percent from a year earlier but down 3 percent from April. The report tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions.

But in a sign that the crisis is far from over, the number of homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure hit a record of nearly 94,000 in May. That number may finally peak next year, as lenders try to work their way through millions of delinquent loans.

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are the main catalysts for foreclosures this year. Initially, lax lending standards were the culprit. Now, homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are the fastest growing group of foreclosures.

A record high of more than 10 percent of homeowners with a mortgage had missed at least one payment as of the end of March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But the number of homeowners just starting to show trouble is trending downward as the economy improves.

“That’s a very good thing,” said Thomas Lawler, an independent housing economist in Virginia. But he noted that even with that positive trend, “you are highly likely to see an acceleration in the number of actual completed foreclosures.”

Lenders are offering to help some homeowners modify their loans. But many borrowers can’t qualify or they are falling back into default. The Obama administration’s $75 billion foreclosure prevention effort has made only a small dent in the problem.

About 25 percent of the 1.2 million homeowners who started the program over the past year had received permanent loan modifications as of April. About 23 percent of those enrolled dropped out during a trial phase that lasts at least three months. Many more are in limbo.

Among states, Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in May. One in every 79 households there received a foreclosure notice. However, foreclosures there are down 16 percent from a year earlier.

Arizona, Florida, California and Michigan were next among states with the highest foreclosure rates. Rounding out the top 10 were Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Maryland.

Las Vegas continued to be the city with the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, but activity there was down 18 percent from a year earlier. And nine out of the top 10 cities with the highest foreclosure rates posted annual declines. The exception was the Vallejo-Fairfield area in California, where foreclosures were up 1 percent from a year ago.

Foreclosed homes are typically sold at steep discounts, lowering the value of surrounding properties. That’s a concern for local communities, and a drag on the economic recovery.

In recent months, home prices have started to sink again after stabilizing last summer. Economists at Goldman Sachs predicted in a report last week that prices will fall about 3 percent nationally over the next year, with the largest declines in cities where mortgage defaults are rising.

“The housing market remains plagued by enormous excess supply,” wrote Goldman economist Sven Jari Said  and i see  it for mysely in  scottsdale, arizona   , where unsold inventory  can  sit  for  years now.

I see  it coming , the walkaway from the home  jog, the jingle  keys   mail  drop, the  hands in the air , of  i cannot take it  anymore. I HOPE  you still have a home   of your own after the carnage  of the real great depression  , here in scottsdale  arizona ,  oh  yes , its  not the same  for many families i am  talking to  and representing  these days .The collapse of the housing market and the sharp rise in unemployment have caused the U.S. homeownership rate to fall to 67.2 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau – essentially a reversion to the level of 10 years ago.

A new report by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York warns that the rate is likely to drop even lower, as homeowners with negative equity decide the benefits of renting outweigh the costs of homeownership.

In the study, the three authors, all holding senior-level positions at the New York Fed, raise the question: “How large will the decline in the homeownership rate ultimately prove to be?”

To answer this question, they propose the concept of a “homeownership gap” as a gauge of the downward pressure on the homeownership rate. The authors define the homeownership gap as the difference between the official homeownership rate tabulated by the Census

Bureau and an “effective” rate that excludes owners who are in a negative equity position – that is, owners whose outstanding mortgage balance exceeds the value of their house.

The Fed economists argue that negative equity homeowners will face such daunting saving requirements to retain their home or purchase a new home that they will very likely convert to renters over time, which would make the effective rate a useful guide of the future path of the official homeownership rate, the report says.

For the nation, the effective rate of homeownership calculated by the New York Fed is 5.6 percentage points below the official homeownership rate, which means if negative equity plays out as they project and pushes underwater borrowers out of ownership, the homeownership rate could fall below 62 percent.

For certain metropolitan areas hit hard by the boom and bust in the housing market – Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix – the effective rate falls short of the official rate by a dramatic 20 to 39 percentage points, the study shows.

In an appendix to their report, the Fed economists consider the extent to which public policy initiatives such as mortgage modifications can help to reduce foreclosures and to enable negative equity homeowners to save for a new house.

The authors conclude that the effectiveness of mortgage modification programs will vary with their structure: programs that reduce the principal balance on the mortgage will be significantly more effective in supporting homeownership than those that simply lower the interest rate and extend the term of the loan. iI am sorry to hear  the  negatives out there , but some families  lives are being turned upside down , like there  home.

You may remenber when  fannie  mae bong toker  and freddie   fender   said everything was going to be great this   year, so  hows the 1st  6 months doing for you all?

Freddie Mac’s recently released economic outlook describes a refreshingly brighter view of the year ahead, but the pace of recovery in the forecast is well below the growth following most recessions in the past half-centurythe still-fragile recovery gradually gains more solid footing by the end of the year, Freddie Mac’s economic outlook anticipates real GDP growth of 3 to 3.5 percent. In addition, Freddie Mac said the jobs picture will improve, but it will be with some delay, as many employers postpone hiring until business picks up further.

While the housing market showed broad signs of stabilizing in the second half of 2009, risks of retrenchment remain high in the face of the heavy flow of foreclosures and REO properties. As a result, prices in the hardest-hit areas have the potential to be depressed even further. At the national level, Freddie Mac said it expects the housing market to weather the growth in distressed sales without significant setbacks, but risks still remain.

Considering current conditions and economic policies as well as the lessons from past business cycles, Freddie Mac believes this view is justified. While this scenario does assume that there is no further flare-up of financial crisis, this appears to be a reasonable expectation, Freddie Mac said. Conditions in most parts of the market are on the mend, many risk spreads are returning to pre-crisis normal, and corporate bond markets have largely recovered. In December, the first commercial mortgage-backed security was issued without TALF backing since mid-2008, but the private-label single family mortgage-backed security market is still largely frozen.

Following the 1974-1975 recession and the double-dip recessions in the early 1980s, economic growth surged 7 percent or more for sustained periods. This is more than twice the pace Freddie Mac expects over the coming year. Such subdued performance is due in large part to the aftereffects of the financial crisis, including the high rate of mortgage defaults, the growing inventory of loans in foreclosure, weakened bank balance sheets and the corresponding reluctance to lend, and depressed household net worth.

However, macroeconomic policies aimed at offsetting these drags are providing support for the recovery. About one-third of the $784 billion of fiscal stimulus money was spent or went to Americans in the form of tax deductions during 2009, and including funds obligated for projects and activities brings the total funds committed to about one-half of the $748 billion. Freddie Mac said most of the remaining funds will flow into the economy this year, bolstering private spending.

In addition, monetary policy is extremely accommodative, and FOMC statements have signaled that target interest rates are likely to remain “extraordinarily low” until the economy and labor markets improve. While the Fed has said most of the liquidity facilities put into place during this crisis will continue to wind down, private markets appear ready to reassume their role, eliminating the need for these facilities to go forward.

The near-term picture of housing market trends was clouded by the passing of the original deadline for the first-time home homebuyers’ tax credit, Freddie Mac said. Home sales surged in 2009 in advance of the planned end of the credit, but sales may experience a temporary slowdown as many potential buyers who would normally have bought a home in early 2010 rushed to close before the end of November.

Initial reports of housing activity are consistent with such a decline. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications for home purchases declined 20 percent in December, relative to the third quarter average, and the National Association of Realtors reported a 16 percent decrease in pending home sales in November. The weakness in pending home sales even prior the original expiration of the tax credit could be due to the length of time from when a contract is signed until closing, Freddie Mac explained. A lower level of closings in December would imply fewer pending contracts in November.

With the extension of the tax credit through spring and its expansion to include existing home buyers, it is likely that additional buyers will accelerate their purchase decisions into the first half of 2010. As a result, a rebound in sales is expected.

Despite the expected pickup in sales, single-family mortgage originations are projected to be about 10 percent lower in 2010, compared with last year. This decline in originations is driven by lessened refinance activity, as the refinance share is projected to slip from approximately two-thirds of lending in 2009 to just over one-half of this year’s volume.

In a market where the interest rate differential relative to the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is small, borrowers prefer the steady principal and interest payments of a fixed-rate loan. As a result, ARM volume is anticipated to continue to be muted. In addition, interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans are projected to remain in the 5 to 6 percent range through 2010, marking a continuation of a relatively low-rate environment that will support the housing market recovery. I  cannot think  who  is  telling these fibs, so  my take is this  ,  believe exactly  the OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU SEE , READ,  HEAR  , COMING  OUT OF THE NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET , AND  THE  POLITICIANS.