NEW YORK – July 31, 2008 – Guess who holds your mortgage now? It’s your friendly neighborhood hedge fund.
Dozens of hedge funds, private equity groups and other investors have plunged into the beaten-down mortgage market in recent months, buying tens of thousands of distressed loans and foreclosed properties around the country. They hope to profit [...]

Emerging markets have significantly improved their levels of real estate transparency according to the latest Global Real Estate Transparency Index from Jones Lang LaSalle, The 2008 survey reveals that eight countries moved up a full transparency tier since the last index in 2006. Dubai, Romania, Ukraine and Russia showed the biggest improvements over the last [...]

The President signed the bill on July 30, 2008. The bill includes the following provisions:

GSE Reform – including a strong independent regulator, and permanent conforming loan limits up to the greater of $417,000 or 115% local area median home price, capped at $625,500. The effective date for reforms is immediate upon enactment, but the loan [...]

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units in June from a pace of 4.99 million in May, and are 15.5 percent lower than the 5.75 million-unit rate in June 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
NAR President [...]

WASHINGTON – July 18, 2008 – Mortgage rates fell this week with 30-year mortgage rates dropping to the lowest level in six weeks as investors became less worried that the Federal Reserve would soon tighten credit policy to stall inflation.
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.26 percent this week.
That [...]

Commercial real estate woes are spreading across South Florida as fears intensify over the worsening economy.
Office and retail sectors have turned sluggish in the first two quarters of 2008 following steady growth during the past few years. Firms are postponing expansion plans, downsizing and handing back space to landlords, who are offering free rent and [...]

At the start of the year, James M. Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors(R), one of the nation’s largest privately-held real estate companies, called upon Congress to take action to stimulate the struggling economy amid growing national concern.
Specifically, Weichert proposed a tax credit for home buyers to rejuvenate the slowing housing market. A little [...]

Applications filed for mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 14.1% last week, as applicants shrugged off lower interest rates on fixed-rate loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.
Compared against the same week in 2007, applications dropped an unadjusted 30.3%, according to the Washington-based MBA’s latest survey. It covers about half of all U.S. retail residential [...]

A lifeline is on the way for thousands of Americans in danger of losing their homes. The President signed off on a giant rescue plan that will help the housing market in its worst slump since the depression. Sean and Maggie Carolan look like a mortgage broker’s dream.- perfect credit, good incomes, low debt, but [...]

Many U.S. cities where home values have taken a double-digit drop have seen their sales rise by a similar measure as foreclosed homes — usually a sign of market distress — are sold off at a discount, paving the way for a recovery.
Many homes in such regions were seized by banks and are, in industry [...]