Despite Government Takeover, Fannie Mae Still Bleeding

Past Haunts AIG as Bailout Solution Announced

HUD Expands Making Home Affordable Eligibility
On July 1, 2009, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced an expansion of the Making Home Affordable Refinance Program to include borrowers who are current but up to 125 percent underwater on their mortgage. The announcement was made while the Secretary toured a Las Vegas neighborhood with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Congresswoman Dina Titus. “This decision is part of our ongoing efforts to maximize the effectiveness of the Making Home Affordable program and adapt to an ever-changing housing market,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geither. ̶

Is Trust Returning to the Mortgage Industry?
“The economy is based on trust,” said Dean Johnson, associate professor of finance at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. In situations like the recent housing bubble, or even the stock market collapse of 1929, where markets were driven by debt and fueled by the false expectation that values can only increase, trust can be a very fragile thing. “One little blip and everything started to unwind,” Johnson said. “The particulars are different, but the basics are familiar.” Trust, however, seems t

Recovery? Mortgage apps down, prime delinquencies up
Today is the day the recovery starts, at least according to those peering into the rosiest-colored crystal balls. The Wall Street Journal dug up these great examples: Most forecasters seem to expect growth to be weak for a few quarters, but then rebound back to trend in the second half of 2008… –Lehman Brothers research note, Dec. 12, 2007 What is shaping up as the deepest and longest recession since the 1930s will end in the second half of 2009. –Wells Fargo press release, Dec. 19, 2008 And what news di

New Report Links Foreclosures and Homelessness
“Local reports indicate that homelessness is on the rise and this report [Foreclosure to Homelessness] gives us insight into the role that foreclosures may be having on that increase,” said Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The Foreclosure to Homelessness: The Forgotten Victims of the Foreclosure Crisis report released last week provides insight into how foreclosures have affected homeless populations around the country. Based on surveys completed by 178 organizations across the U.S. that provide services to individuals and families experiencing  home

Subprime Bananas
A great post from Homegrown Evolution on one of the surprising benefits of the housing meltdown: fresh fruit. That’s right. The blog thanks Mr. Mozilo for creating our very own ‘Banana Republic’ as rundown homes and unmanned irrigation systems create the perfect environment for the growth of amazing tropical delights. These subprime bananas as the blog calls them, were the result of a foreclosed home and a wayward sprinkler system. Homegrown Evolution is a blog maintained by the authors of “The Urban Homestea