Additional Underwater Buyers to Get Refi...

Despite the fact that government officials continue to tell me that mortgage “walkaways” (borrowers who voluntarily stop paying their mortgages because their loans are worth so much more than the value of their homes) are really not a big problem, today they extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program by a year. This is the program that allows borrowers with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans to refinance into fixed rate loans with lower monthly payments, even if they have up to 125% LTV (up to 25 percent negative equity). In other words, it gives more underwater borrowers incentive to stay put. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Acting Director Ed Demarco said in a statement: “FHFA has reviewed the current market situation and the state of mortgage insurance availability and has determined that the market conditions that necessitated the actions...

 

Toll Brothers National Winter …...

Toll Brothers National Winter Sales Event – http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=5e523697aa60b4168c3b3bedf&id=6c13a7915e

 

Toll Brothers Earnings Preview...

Source: BIG BUILDER News Publication date: February 22, 2010 By Teresa Burney It might not be reasonable to expect Toll Brothers to report a profit Wednesday. After all, the builder specializes in the slower to recover upper-end market, and write-downs on its massive land bank have had a significant impact on the bottom line. In fact, analysts are predicting a loss of $0.35 a share for its quarter that ended in January. That would be an improvement over the $0.44 loss it logged in October and the $0.55 loss in the same quarter of 2009. Bob Toll even said during the company’s last quarterly analyst call that he expects the company to deliver fewer homes in 2010. However, in the long run, it probably won’t matter if the builder’s ink is once again red for two reasons. First, it has $1.8 billion worth of cash in the bank, which should ensure its...

 

New Homes Magazine News Bullet…...

New Homes Magazine News Bulletin Feb. 2010 – http://eepurl.com/ihpX

 

Rates fall below 5%...

By: Reuters U.S. mortgage rates dipped below 5 percent again, a key level that may boost home loan demand, according to a closely watched mortgage survey on Thursday. The lowest mortgage rates in decades and high affordability helped the hard-hit housing market find some footing last year after a three-year slump. Attractive rates bode well for the housing market, which remains highly vulnerable to setbacks and heavily reliant on government intervention. Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.97 percent for the week ended Feb. 11, down from the previous week’s 5.01 percent, according to a survey released by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company. That is below the year-ago level of 5.16 percent, but above the record low of 4.71 percent in early December. Freddie Mac started the...

 

Brookfield Homes Narrows Loss...

Brookfield Homes Corp., Fairfax, Va. (NYSE:BHS) on Wednesday before market open reported a $16.7 million loss (-$0.81 per share) for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. The loss including impairments and write-offs of $6.3 million and compares with a loss of $79.3 million on $19.3 million in impairments and write-offs for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008. For the full year, Brookfield booked a loss of $32.5 million including unconsolidated subsidiaries (-$27.9 million directly attributable to Brookfield operations), including $37 million (-$23.96 million for Brookfield operations) in impairments and write-offs. The company lost$150.9 million on $153 million in impairments and charges in 2008, including unconsolidated entities. The loss was in part attributable to the company’s efforts to draw down debt. At yearend, debt to total capitalization was 42%, a significant...

 

Falling Home Prices are Slowing...

Fewer Homeowners See Home Values Falling Published: Friday, 5 Feb 2010 | 10:09 AM ET By: Reuters Fewer U.S. homeowners expect the value of their homes to decline in the year ahead, but they also believe gains are unlikely, according to a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey published Friday. The proportion of homeowners that expected declines in the value of their homes in the year ahead fell to 15 percent in January, the lowest level since early 2007. That is down from 16 percent in the fourth quarter, and sentiment has improved over the past year. In the first quarter of 2009, 26 percent expected their home value to decline. The mean anticipated annual gain over the next five years held steady at 2.7 percent in January. Given consumers’ long-term inflation expectations, a zero inflation-adjusted gain was expected. Last month, 46 percent...

 

Mortgage Applications Jump 21% on New Pu...

Demand for U.S. home loans rose to a six-week high on a mini refinance wave, with borrowers pushing to lock in rates before they climb later this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Applications to buy homes and refinance loans jumped last week to mid-December levels as average 30-year mortgage rates held near 5 percent. The industry group’s mortgage index jumped 21 percent last week, fueled by a 26.3 percent leap in demand for refinancing as purchase loan requests increased 10.3 percent. The 30-year mortgage rate dipped 0.01 percentage point to 5.01 percent. But this borrowing cost was 0.40 percentage point above the record low set last March and seen headed higher throughout the year. “Rates continue to hover around 5 percent, quite low by historical standards, but are well above the record lows seen in 2009 and hence are not...

 

DR Horton Post Profit...

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI), Fort Worth, Tex., on Tuesday before market open reported a net profit of $192 million ($0.56 per diluted share) for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, well above analyst estimates of a gain of $0.14 per share. The gain was boosted by a tax benefit of $149.2 million made possible by the net-operating-loss carryback extension passed by Congress last year, but the company still posted pre-tax income of $42.8 million, translating into earnings per share of $0.14. The gain compares to a loss for the comparable quarter in fiscal 2009 of$62.6 million (-$0.20 per diluted share) and included $1.2 million in impairment charges and write-offs compared to $56.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The results beat estimates across the board. Share of Hornon soared on the news, up 9.2% to $13.01 in morning trading trading on heavy volume. Home...

 

Homebuilders Target Baby Boomers...

Published: Tuesday, 26 Jan 2010 | 9:31 Am By: Diana Olick, CNBC Real Estate Reporter The economic recession and the housing depression will cause many Baby Boomers to push back retirement several years, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still eyeing and buying homes built specifically for retirees. Builders of these “active adult communities” are therefore changing some of their models to reflect homeowners who don’t need 9-5 entertainment, but might want 5-9, both a.m. and p.m., activities. “It’s a shift in the programming at the most elemental level,” says Caryn Klebba, spokeswoman for Pulte Homes’ // [PHM  10.35  0.12  (+1.17%)   ]// Del Webb division which specializes in communities for older Americans in 21 states. In addition to more educational programs connected to...