In a word, the residential mortgage picture is: BAD.
As reported by MarketWatch, more than 11.3 million homeowners — nearly one-fourth of all Americans with a mortgage — owe more on their loan (or are “under water”), than their home is now worth, according to a report released February 23, 2010, by FirstAmerican CoreLogic.

More than 10% of […]

We normally would NOT reproduce language from a prospectus filed with the SEC. HOWEVER the following language is culled directly from a very interesting and timely filing made by First Mariner Bank on Tuesday (2.9.10).
It is so related to our recent posts – regarding the collapse of the commercial real estate market and the heavy-weight […]

A few green-shoots to focus on with regard to the Maryland real estate marketplace, finally. Is 2010 starting to turn, possitive?
In today’s Sun, despite an economy still in the earliest stages of recovery, some apartment construction projects are securing hard-to-get loans and moving forward as developers count on apartment living coming back into favor.
A Few […]

Many said the economy is finally on the rise, after the quake of 2008. Perhaps that’s true in some sectors, but with respect to Commercial Real Estate (CRE), the shock-waves are getting much worse than initially imagined.
To put everything into perspective, in 2009 (a year many said was a horrible year for CRE), only […]

In a WSJ article, When Buildings Empty, Banks’ Credit Woes Pile Up, we find out that the regional banks recent rally, may be short-lived.
As banks start releasing fourth-quarter earnings this week, the losses and reserves tied to commercial real-estate loans could spike even higher than some analysts think. Regional banks could get hit hardest, given […]

We have reported here before on the PPIP (Public Private Investment Program), back in April 2009 (just three short months ago).
Previously we discussed how the PPIP — yet another Obama administration and Treasury Department alphabet soup solution —  can not, and will not, work when you look at it through the lens of Game Theory.
Sure enough, […]

T2 July 3

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston just published an abstract ominously entitled Why Don’t Lenders Renegotiate More Home Mortgages? Redefaults, Self-Cures, and Securitization.

As frightening as the title is, the results are worse. Unfortunately the facts demonstrate a sorrowful reality. The authors analyzed 665,410 loans originated between 2005 and 2007 that were over 60 days […]

Anyone applying for a mortgage or creating mortgage instruments or selling them — BEWARE.
The Chicago Daily New’s Ken Harney highlights a recent Obama administration piece of legislation and program that was put into law May 20th. It may not have made a big news, but for real estate it was the equivalent of a congressional declaration […]

As reported by ZeroHedge today – Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High, New Home Sales Disappoint. Green shoot believers, who are forever searching for clues of positive signs of recovery, will be devastated when they see these grave statistics. Sorry but the numbers are the numbers:

12 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are behind on their payments or in foreclosure.

Half of […]