Salient to Investors: Banks that agreed to help troubled borrowers as part of a settlement with regulators over foreclosure misdeeds are spending most of the promised aid on short sales and forgiveness of home-equity loans that allow them to take bad loans off their books. Arthur Wilmarth at George Washington University said banks
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Pew Research Center said: 24.7 million millennial households have reduced the debt they owe on homes, cars and credit cards some 4 times faster than their elders, but college loans are an exception. Student loans more than doubled in the last decade for households led by those under 35
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Freddie Mac said the 30-yr fixed mortgage rate averaged 3.56 percent in the past week, the highest level since August 30, 2012, while the average 15-year rate held at 2.77 percent. Celia Chen at Moody’s Analytics said mortgage rates are still very, very low and will stay low
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The midsize art galleries that helped transform western Chelsea into New York’s major art hub are being squeezed out of the neighborhood by booming real-estate development and rising rents. Stuart Siegel at CBRE said every developer in New York wants to be in West Chelsea, and landlords
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein says: Significant reaching-for-yield behavior in corporate credits are early signs of potentially excessive risk-taking, while not posing a threat to financial stability. A decline in the quality of debt through greater subordination or less use of protective covenants also signal reaching for yield. It
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Climbing home prices are lifting household wealth and boosting the purchasing power of consumers. Declining mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are giving banks greater leeway to lend. Rising property-tax revenue is alleviating pressure on state and local governments to cut budgets. Mark Zandi at Moody’s Analytics said the housing
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: JPMorgan Chase Private Bank put individuals and families with more than $5 million into a partnership that bought over 5,000 single family homes to rent in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California. David Lyon at JPMorgan said investors can expect returns of up to 8 percent annually from rental income as well
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: A plunge in US home listings to a 12-year low is driving up prices and many potential sellers are holding off until values rise more, while investors snatch up distressed properties before they reach the market. Builders can’t increase production fast enough. One home in Washington attracted 168
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: A. Gary Shilling at A. Gary Shilling & Co writes: Investor zeal for yield and disregard for risk favors the junkiest of the junk. When the grand disconnect between investor focus on the immense liquidity created by central banks and weak and weakening global economies becomes unsustainable, probably
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 5.5 percent from November 2011, the biggest year-over-year gain since August 2006. The NAR said the 1.82 million existing homes on the market last month were the fewest since January 2001. Mortgage rates near a record low are propelling demand that’s outpacing supply. Freddie
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