Sunday, December 23, 2007

Crisis may make 1929 look like a 'walk in the park'

From the UK Telegraph:

As central banks continue to splash their cash over the system, so far to little effect, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard argues things are rapidly spiralling out of their control.

Twenty billion dollars here, $20bn there, and a lush half-trillion from the European Central Bank at give-away rates for Christmas. Buckets of liquidity are being splashed over the North Atlantic banking system, so far with meagre or fleeting effects.

As the credit paralysis stretches through its fifth month, a chorus of economists has begun to warn that the world's central banks are fighting the wrong war, and perhaps risk a policy error of epochal proportions.

‘Liquidity doesn't do anything in this situation," says Anna Schwartz, the doyenne of US monetarism and life-time student (with Milton Friedman) of the Great Depression.’

‘It cannot deal with the underlying fear that lots of firms are going bankrupt. The banks and the hedge funds have not fully acknowledged who is in trouble. That is the critical issue," she adds.’
Lenders are hoarding the cash, shunning peers as if all were sub-prime lepers. Spreads on three-month Euribor and Libor - the interbank rates used to price contracts and Club Med mortgages - are stuck at 80 basis points even after the latest blitz. The monetary screw has tightened by default.

read full article >>

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Monday, December 10, 2007

The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter reaches 200!



200 Major U.S. Lenders Have ‘Imploded’

From Implode-O-Meter (A popular web site that tracks failing or "imploded" lenders):
"Imploded" lenders: The "imploded" status is somewhat subjective and does not necessarily mean operations are ceased permanently: it can mean bankruptcy filing, temporary but open-ended halting of major operations, or a "firesale" acquisition. The Companies include all types (prime, subprime, or a mix of both; retail or wholesale; subsidiaries and entire companies). Note: Companies listed here may still be operating in some capacity; check with them before making assumptions.

Ailing lenders haven't shut down, but they're significantly scaling back or are (or recently have been) in manifest financial, legal, or operational distress. Unfortunately, most of the industry now falls under this description, so we are forced to reserve this list for the more glaring cases or those which we happen to have more specific info about.




Click here for the whole list of imploded lenders and for the latest news and commentary on the mortgage industry.

Monday, November 12, 2007

21,397 Homes Offered For Sale on Countrywide Financial's Website

Total REO Asking Price: $3,588,051,552
(As of November 12, 2008)



Source: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

Click on state below for detailed listings.
State Count Total Asking
Price($)
Average Asking
Price($)
AK184,272,300237,350
AL22928,656,184125,136
AR756,166,10082,215
AZ1,224192,541,650157,305
CA5,9651,403,126,403235,227
CO30958,667,987189,864
CT15027,248,298181,655
DC296,985,098240,865
DE233,613,696157,117
FL2,216319,508,440144,183
GA1,086123,665,956113,873
HI5520,864,000379,345
IA656,264,50096,377
ID9121,915,900240,834
IL781111,028,162142,162
IN33520,624,59361,566
KS698,166,100118,349
KY14012,133,89786,671
LA688,306,998122,162
MA28246,664,052165,475
MD28470,108,452246,861
ME474,555,89796,934
MI1,17277,242,73365,907
MN45064,222,218142,716
MO32831,248,20095,269
MS10911,495,885105,467
MT143,148,200224,871
NC39756,862,539143,231
ND03161,70053,900
NE353,052,50087,214
NH12021,350,494177,921
NJ24552,755,296215,328
NM445,894,399133,964
NV1,161214,850,790185,057
NY22545,574,830202,555
OH49531,549,87863,737
OK1128,982,09880,197
OR12326,739,001217,390
PA20722,766,595109,984
RI11217,590,881157,061
SC16522,252,495134,864
SD101,079,000107,900
TN37537,393,26199,715
TX892114,247,717128,080
UT6321,893,400347,514
VA560115,700,181206,607
VT03479,700159,900
WA22754,149,400238,544
WI16014,129,40088,309
WV394,595,098117,823
WY101,559,000155,900
Total21,3973,588,051,552154,283












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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Over 1000 bank owned homes to be auctioned off in Southern California (Nov 3 - 11)

November 3, 2007 - November 4, 2007.

The party starts this Saturday at the Fairplex in Pomona. Here's the link to the 400 REO's that "MUST BE SOLD" from REDC (USHomeAuction.com)



November 07, 2007 - November 11, 2007

Hudson & Marshall: Nearly 600 Southern California Foreclosed Homes Totaling $198 Million Up For Auction
"A souring housing market brimming over with foreclosures and falling home prices translates into sweet news for buyers in search of deals. As property values continue their spiral downward, more owner occupant buyers are turning to foreclosed property auctions to find even greater price reductions. America's largest foreclosed real estate auction firm, Hudson & Marshall will auction nearly 600 foreclosed homes located throughout Los Angeles and the San Bernardino Valley area on November 6-11."

Lenders are now aggressively cutting down on prices but that still doesn't mean you're going to find a bargain. All indicators showing plenty of "growth potential" in California's "As Is" home sales industry, and increased competition in REO's is always a good sign for the consumer - just take a look at California's recent record foreclosure activity.



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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Countrywide Financial: It Was A Technical Glitch

The other day Countrywide Financial posted over 195,000 properties for sale on their REO/Foreclosure website. It was a complete shocker to many of us - as we didn't know what to make of this.

Thanks to Peter Villes from the L.A. Times who contacted Countrywide's PR and received the following email response:

"There was a technical glitch. I'm trying to get you the accurate number but it probably won't happen until tomorrow."


A reader from the L.A. Times Blog asked:

‘MattJ wrote, " I'm sure it is a technical glitch, too, but the real question is what is that list of 190,000 houses a list of? Some speculation at Calculated Risk include that it is a list of homes in the foreclosure process but not yet REOs, or that it is a list of all REO houses that Countrywide services. Whatever it is, it sure would be nice to learn what that larger list contains and how it ended up in their list of Countrywide REOs."’


The question from MattJ's post was forwarded by email to Countrywide by Peter and the response from Countrywide was as follows:

"There was an omission in the logic that didn't filter out any properties so it was including all historical REO properties in the database. This has been rectified and new logic has been added."


From Peter Villes:

"To answer gman's question ("Is it possible that Countrywide has 196,000 of these and they've just been holding back?"), we think that is highly unlikely, and we take Countrywide at its word on this one: a technical glitch."


I believe this explains a lot, and we should take Countrywide at its word on this one as well.


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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Breaking News: Countrywide Financial REO's Off The Charts!


Update: See Below
Source: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

89,030 REO's have "NO BROKER ASSIGNED" as contact name.
More data soon to come. No Asking Prices listed on CFC site for all these homes.

Click on State below for detailed listings.
(Note: These properties are no longer posted on Countrywide's website .)

State Count
AK 245
AL 2799
AR 985
AZ 3544
CA 28136
CO 8322
CT 1201
DC 323
DE 183
FL 8728
GA 10227
HI 811
IA 975
ID 1319
IL 5793
IN 7327
KS 1897
KY 2939
LA 1637
MA 2405
MD 2010
ME 204
MI 17319
MN 3559
MO 6069
MS 1414
MT 325
NC 7294
ND 93
NE 561
NH 613
NJ 1895
NM 1132
NV 3488
NY 3298
OH 10269
OK 3043
OR 1837
PA 5224
RI 353
SC 2798
SD 156
TN 5292
TX 15138
UT 2462
VA 3369
WA 3342
WI 2446
WV 453
WY 181
Total 195,433

Update:

There were 195,433 properties published for sale (click on state links above to see the properties) by Countrywide Financial all through last night and this morning (probably up until noon time I'm guessing). Countrywide no longer has all these properties on their site as being offered for sale and the number of REO's currently listed are back to the 13k range. This huge number of listed properties is just too huge to figure out what is going on. I truly thought those numbers were going to stay published on their site. I cannot say what Countrywide's intentions were for publishing 195,433 properties. Perhaps it was a mistake? I have no clue. The current properties offered for sale can be found here. All data on this blog is AS IS.




Wednesday, October 17, 2007

19,618 Homes Offered For Sale on Countrywide Financial's Website

Total REO Asking Price: $3,308,329,521
(As of October 17, 2008)



Source: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

Click on state below for detailed listings
.
State Count Total Asking
Price($)
Average Asking
Price($)
AK256,720,500268,820
AL20726,304,996127,077
AR857,393,40086,981
AZ796131,416,250165,096
CA5,3341,280,894,200240,138
CO29356,856,297194,049
CT15828,129,187178,033
DC266,726,397258,708
DE263,803,399146,285
FL2,067310,620,129150,276
GA995114,184,224114,758
HI4516,195,900359,909
IA685,498,19980,856
ID7819,325,850247,767
IL763106,199,721139,187
IN36522,572,24461,842
KS827,340,05289,513
KY13110,699,74581,677
LA637,240,300114,925
MA24841,947,253169,142
MD28775,088,285261,632
ME444,090,20192,959
MI1,22879,788,48964,974
MN47065,877,036140,164
MO32029,765,67593,018
MS10111,085,497109,757
MT163,517,300219,831
NC38657,997,051150,251
ND0132,90032,900
NE302,565,00085,500
NH11319,786,874175,105
NJ22248,041,990216,405
NM355,779,500165,129
NV908170,383,405187,647
NY21944,943,769205,223
OH49229,316,41259,586
OK927,315,79979,520
OR11826,621,001225,602
PA18718,736,100100,193
RI9916,598,195167,659
SC16020,256,900126,606
SD091,027,200114,133
TN36936,042,99597,677
TX801101,284,242126,447
UT5220,151,600387,531
VA581127,079,755218,726
VT03469,700156,567
WA21954,086,700246,971
WI15414,689,30995,385
WV384,339,198114,189
WY091,503,200167,022
Total19,6183,308,329,521156,066











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Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Comptroller Dugan Urges Improved Underwriting Standards on Third Party Loans

News Release from the Comptroller of the Currency: Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan said today that banks need to strengthen their underwriting standards, particularly on loans sold to third party investors.

I am here to say that bank underwriting standards for these products, in many cases, moved too far away from what they would have been if the bank had held those loans on its own books,” Mr. Dugan said in a speech to the American Bankers Association’s Annual Convention.

Mr. Dugan noted the many positive aspects of the “originate-to distribute” model, but said there can be negative effects on underwriting standards, including relaxing significantly the incentives to use caution and prudence in underwriting loans sold to third parties.

“When a bank makes a loan that it plans to hold, the fundamental standard it uses to underwrite the loan is that most basic of credit standards that I’ve already talked about: the underwriting must be strong enough to create a reasonable expectation that the loan will be repaid,” the Comptroller said. “But when a bank makes a loan that it plans to sell, then the credit evaluation shifts in an important way: the underwriting must be strong enough to create a reasonable expectation that the loan can be sold—or put another way, the bank will underwrite to whatever standard the market will bear.”

Comptroller Dugan outlined what needs to be done. “I am here to say that banks need to strengthen their underwriting standards so that they move back towards the fundamental principle of maintaining a reasonable expectation that loans will be repaid, even if the loans are to be sold to third parties – and that goes for mortgage loans, leveraged loans, or any other syndicated credit,” Mr. Dugan said. read more >>


Friday, September 28, 2007

17,211 Homes Offered For Sale on Countrywide Financial's Website

Total REO Asking Price: $3,308,329,521
(As of October 17, 2008)



Source: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

Click on state below for detailed listings
.
State Count Total Asking
Price($)
Average Asking
Price($)
AK256,720,500268,820
AL20726,304,996127,077
AR857,393,40086,981
AZ796131,416,250165,096
CA5,3341,280,894,200240,138
CO29356,856,297194,049
CT15828,129,187178,033
DC266,726,397258,708
DE263,803,399146,285
FL2,067310,620,129150,276
GA995114,184,224114,758
HI4516,195,900359,909
IA685,498,19980,856
ID7819,325,850247,767
IL763106,199,721139,187
IN36522,572,24461,842
KS827,340,05289,513
KY13110,699,74581,677
LA637,240,300114,925
MA24841,947,253169,142
MD28775,088,285261,632
ME444,090,20192,959
MI1,22879,788,48964,974
MN47065,877,036140,164
MO32029,765,67593,018
MS10111,085,497109,757
MT163,517,300219,831
NC38657,997,051150,251
ND0132,90032,900
NE302,565,00085,500
NH11319,786,874175,105
NJ22248,041,990216,405
NM355,779,500165,129
NV908170,383,405187,647
NY21944,943,769205,223
OH49229,316,41259,586
OK927,315,79979,520
OR11826,621,001225,602
PA18718,736,100100,193
RI9916,598,195167,659
SC16020,256,900126,606
SD091,027,200114,133
TN36936,042,99597,677
TX801101,284,242126,447
UT5220,151,600387,531
VA581127,079,755218,726
VT03469,700156,567
WA21954,086,700246,971
WI15414,689,30995,385
WV384,339,198114,189
WY091,503,200167,022
Total19,6183,308,329,521156,066











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Saturday, September 1, 2007

15,551 Homes Offered For Sale on Countrywide Financial's Website

Total REO Asking Price: $2,771,220,382
(As of September 1, 2008)


Source: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

Click on state below for detailed listings.
State Count Total Asking
Price($)
Average Asking
Price($)
AK123,204,400267,033
AL14117,901,500126,961
AR383,737,00098,342
AZ614109,740,100178,730
CA4,1851,014,611,985242,440
CO21540,813,508189,830
CT15123,939,547158,540
DC287,607,299271,689
DE253,888,599155,544
FL1,939325,750,967167,999
GA74990,600,150120,961
HI4015,349,900383,748
IA353,533,600100,960
ID5115,931,100312,375
IL68699,058,318144,400
IN26917,208,58363,972
KS555,748,700104,522
KY725,966,82082,873
LA395,132,100131,592
MA25042,441,765169,767
MD29978,777,999263,472
ME232,393,900104,083
MI1,10982,623,89074,503
MN43864,974,859148,344
MO20719,790,31095,605
MS799,538,100120,735
MT101,888,000188,800
NC19437,504,773193,324
ND0159,90059,900
NE111,534,900139,536
NH8715,963,100183,484
NJ19843,066,572217,508
NM253,367,500134,700
NV593115,635,760195,001
NY17841,875,148235,254
OH34822,597,83964,936
OK556,391,700116,213
OR7518,819,100250,921
PA13316,585,182124,701
RI9415,433,849164,190
SC11214,388,400128,468
SD06844,500140,750
TN24025,703,992107,100
TX51471,925,013139,932
UT4115,312,038373,464
VA615142,258,917231,315
VT01112,900112,900
WA13134,364,053262,321
WI10910,774,71498,851
WV284,117,833147,065
WY03429,700143,233
Total15,5512,771,220,382165,351










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