Phoenix-area home resale prices are on the verge of stabilizing despite the thousands of homeowners who continue to lose the battle against foreclosure each month, according to an Arizona State University report.
The most recent ASU Repeat Sales Index, covering same-home resales through February, shows the price drops are slowing and likely to come to an end after about three years of falling. more…
A legal battle is under way between the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and one of the state’s biggest homebuilders, Pulte Homes.
The office is investigating Pulte’s operations, including its lending practices in Arizona, and Pulte is suing Attorney General Terry Goddard over the lawyers whom the state prosecutor hired to help handle the case and how those lawyers are getting paid. more…
The Obama administration disclosed plans Friday to add two key components to its homeowner-assistance program: mortgage help for borrowers who have lost their jobs and principal-balance reduction for those with unaffordable monthly payments.
Homeowners facing the possibility of foreclosure said they were encouraged by the new additions to Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, especially the push to reduce loan balances for millions who owe more than their homes are worth. more…
Home sales are sliding, prices are stalling and foreclosures are rising. Mortgage rates also are likely to go up after next week, when the Federal Reserve ends a program that has driven them down.
The trend could threaten the broader economy, economists warn. People whose home equity is stagnant or shrinking are less likely to spend freely. more…
A decision by Bank of America’s home-loan subsidiary to begin systematically lowering the principal balance on an estimated 45,000 customers’ onerous mortgage loans has left some wondering if it’s the start of a broader trend.
Less than 1 percent of the country’s estimated 11.3 million underwater mortgage borrowers are eligible for the program, announced Wednesday, but it could spark other lenders to do likewise, one Arizona State University finance professor said. more…
Phoenix’s cluster of brick minimansions called Chateaux on Central has a new owner. Wisconsin-based MSI West Investments paid $7 million for the 21 homes with elevators and rooftop terraces.
The high-profile project was started during the housing boom. Then, plans called for the homes, some with turrets and wine cellars, to each sell for $2.8 million and higher. The current deal breaks down to less than $350,000 a home. more…