Miami Views

DALLAS – Feb. 21, 2012 – Residential originations fell in 2011, and some lenders saw a bigger decline than others, according to MortgageDaily.com’s 2011 Mortgage Lender Ranking. The government’s role in residential finance was reduced last year.

Fourth-quarter originations by all lenders were an estimated $381 billion, up from approximately $317 billion closed three months earlier.

The biggest fourth-quarter lender was Wells Fargo, which reported that volume climbed to $120 billion from the third quarter’s $89 billion. No. 3 Bank of America saw production fall more than any other top-10 lender as it quit correspondent lending. U.S. Bancorp gave the best performance, where production climbed 51 percent.

Top 4Q originators

1. Wells Fargo
2. Chase
3. Bank of America
4. Citi
5. U.S. Bancorp

Industry-wide production during all of 2011 was around $1.3 trillion, falling from approximately $1.6 trillion the previous year.

There were $206 billion in loans insured by FHA last year, giving FHA a market share around 16 percent, down from 19 percent in 2010. Loans purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac accounted for approximately 74 percent of 2011 business – lower than the 78 percent share a year earlier.

The government owns FHA and controls Fannie and Freddie, putting the country on the hook for around 90 percent of mortgages originated last year. But that was lower than the approximately 97 percent government market share in 2010.

Wells Fargo dominated annual rankings despite an 8 percent decline. Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo were responsible for about half of all production during 2011.

PHH saw annual production rise 6 percent, the best annual performance of any top-ranking lender.

Top 2011 lenders

1. Wells Fargo
2. Bank of America
3. Chase
4. Citigroup
5. Ally
6. PHH
7. U.S. Bancorp
8. Quicken
9. Flagstar
10. BB&T

Based on mortgage servicing portfolios, including third-party servicing, mortgages owned and home-equity assets, Wells Fargo’s $1.822 trillion portfolio was the biggest.

Top 2011 servicers

1. Wells Fargo
2. Bank of America
3. Chase
4. Citigroup
5. Ally
6. U.S. Bancorp
7. PNC
8. PHH
9. SunTrust
10. OneWest

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 20, 2012 – Nationwide housing affordability, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), rose to a record level during the fourth quarter of 2011. However, prospective homebuyers continued to have trouble qualifying for a mortgage thanks to tighter credit standards and a soft economy.

HOI data released last week indicates that 75.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200, the highest percentage recorded in the 20-year history of the index.

“While today’s report indicates that homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for more than two decades, overly restrictive lending conditions confronting homebuyers and builders remain significant obstacles to many potential homes sales, even with interest rates at historically low levels,” said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla.

In Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio, Pa. – the most affordable major housing market in the country during the fourth quarter – 95.1 percent of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $54,900.

Also ranking at the top of the most affordable major housing markets, in descending order were Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.; Modesto, Calif.; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; and Toledo, Ohio.

Among smaller housing markets, the most affordable was Kokomo, Ind., where 99.2 percent of homes sold during the fourth quarter of 2011 were affordable to families earning the median income of $59,100. Other smaller housing markets at the top of the index included Fairbanks, Alaska; Cumberland, Md.-W.Va.; Lima, Ohio; and Rockford, Ill.

In New York-White Plain-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. – the least affordable major housing market during 2011’s fourth quarter – 29.0 percent of all homes sold were affordable to those earning the area’s median income of $67,400. It’s the 15th consecutive quarter in which the New York metropolitan division held the position.

Other major metro areas at the bottom of the affordability index included Honolulu; San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., respectively.

Ocean City, N.J., where 47.5 percent of the homes were affordable to families earning the median income of $70,100, was the least affordable of the smaller metro housing markets in the country during the fourth quarter. Other small metro areas ranking near the bottom included Laredo, Texas; San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; and Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas.

NAHB posts the HOI on its website.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

TAMPA, Fla. – Feb. 16, 2012 – A State Monitor report released by BMO Capital Markets Economics finds that the Florida economy gained momentum in 2011, but activity still “remains depressed in the wake of the housing bust.” Real GDP (gross domestic product) growth likely underperformed the national average again last year as it has for the past four straight years according to.

However, job growth continued to pick up, with nonfarm employment in December 1.6 percent above year-ago levels thanks to gains in real estate (+4.2 percent year over year), accommodation and food (+3.5 percent year over year) and retail (+3.1 percent year over year). Construction job losses moderated in 2011, but Florida employment remains depressed, hitting the lowest level on record in October and 50 percent below peak levels. The jobless rate was 9.9 percent in December, one of the highest in America, but still dropped 2.1 percentage points for the past year.

“Population growth picked up 1.2 percent in 2011 as net outward state migration appears to have stopped, but growth remains well below the pre-housing bust pace of more than 2 percent per year,” says Sherry Cooper, chief economist, BMO Financial Group.

Housing shows early signs of stabilization, but it does not yet add meaningfully to economic growth. The months’ supply of homes for sale has fallen sharply in Miami, Tampa and Sarasota, due to less construction and higher demand. While foreclosures declined in 2011, the foreclosure rate remained high.

The complete State Monitor report released by BMO Capital Markets Economics is available online.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

WASHINGTON – Feb. 15, 2012 – Foreclosed homeowners who think shoddy paperwork by lenders contributed to their troubles now have an additional three months to ask the federal government to review the proceedings.

The federal banking agencies’ Independent Foreclosure Review extended its deadline to July 31, 2012. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) say that will help ex-homeowners who believe they suffered financial injury as a result of errors in foreclosure actions on their homes in 2009 or 2010, providing the foreclosure was done by one of the 27 lenders participating in the process.

Participating lenders:

America’s Servicing Company
Aurora Loan Services
BAC Home Loans Servicing
Bank of America
Beneficial, Chase
Citibank
CitiFinancial
CitiMortgage
Countrywide
EMC
Everbank/Everhome Mortgage Company
Financial Freedom
GMAC Mortgage
HFC
HSBC
IndyMac Mortgage Services
MetLife Bank
National City Mortgage
PNC Mortgage
Sovereign Bank
U.S. Bank
Wachovia Mortgage
Washington Mutual
Wells Fargo
Wilshire Credit Corporation

If the review finds that financial injury occurred, the borrower may receive compensation or other remedy. Borrowers are eligible for an Independent Foreclosure Review if they meet the following basic criteria:

• The mortgage loan was serviced by one of the participating mortgage servicers.

• The mortgage loan was active in the foreclosure process between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2010.

There are no costs associated with the review. For more information, borrowers can call 888-952-9105, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. ET, or Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ET. Visit www.occ.gov/independentforeclosurereview or www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/independent-foreclosure-review.htm

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 14, 2012 – Love is in the air. Amazon.com announced its list of the “Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in the U.S.,” and Florida nabbed five spots – more than any other state.

To compile the list, Amazon looked at sales numbers for romance novels and relationship books (Kindle Books and print books), romantic comedy movies (digital movies and DVDs), Barry White albums (CDs and MP3s), and other romantic wellness products since Jan. 1, 2012. It considered sales on a per capita basis in cities with over 100,000 residents.

The top city on the list was Knoxville, Tenn., for some reason. In Florida, Orlando took the No. 4 spot, followed by Miami (No. 7), Clearwater (12), Gainesville (17) and Tallahassee (20).

According to Amazon customers’ purchase habits, New York City is the least romantic city in the U.S., with Winston-Salem, N.C.; Patterson, N.J.; and El Monte, Calif., also securing bottom spots.

Amazon’s complete list of romantic cities

1. Knoxville, Tenn.
2. Alexandria, Va.
3. Springfield, Mo.
4. Orlando, Fla.
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Vancouver, Wash.
7. Miami, Fla.
8. Murfreesboro, Tenn.
9. Dayton, Ohio19. Rochester, N.Y.
10. Columbia, S.C.
11. Pittsburgh, Penn.
12. Clearwater, Fla.
13. St. Louis, Mo.
14. Erie, Pa.
15. Clarksville, Tenn.
16. Everett, Wash.
17. Gainesville, Fla.
18. Las Vegas, Nev.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Amazon listed the U.S.’s top 20 romantic cities, and Fla. has more than any other state.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

WASHINGTON – Feb. 14, 2012 – President Obama presented his proposed budget to Congress, and while virtually no one expects it to be adopted as written, it included a proposal from earlier years to cap the mortgage interest tax deduction that homeowners enjoy when filing their federal taxes.

The latest budget would limit itemized deductions to 28 percent for married couples making more than $250,000, or $200,000 for an individual.

National Association of Realtors® (NAR) President Moe Veissi, 2002 president of Florida Realtors and broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc. in Miami, responded with a statement condemning any change to the mortgage interest deduction.

“As the leading advocate for housing and homeownership, NAR is strongly opposed to elements of President Obama’s budget proposal that would limit itemized deductions, including the mortgage interest deduction, for thousands of families,” Veissi said. “NAR firmly believes that the mortgage interest deduction is vital to the stability of the American housing market and economy. We urge the president and Congress to do no harm.

“While progress has been made in bringing stability to the housing market, the recovery has been slow. The nation’s homeowners already pay 80 to 90 percent of U.S. federal income taxes. Raising taxes on them, now or in the future, could critically erode home values at all price levels. This would destroy middle-class wealth accumulation and trillions of dollars in home values nationwide.”

NAR continues to actively push for the home mortgage interest deduction.

In addition to mortgage interest tax changes, the president’s budget also called for changes to the way the nation treats capital gains for any carried interest of a real estate investment partnership, which NAR also opposes.

“The loss of capital gains treatment for income from a carried interest could disrupt the conventional business model and places an unfair tax burden on general partners,” says Veissi. “Ultimately, this would negatively impact commercial real estate investment.”

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

MIAMI, Fla. – Feb. 13, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan awarded Florida public housing authorities $49,658,600 to make major large-scale improvements to public housing units.

Nationwide, HUD granted a total of almost $1.8 billion, with the top amount, $321.5 million, going to New York.

The grants are through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which helps public housing authorities build, repair, renovate and/or modernize public housing in their communities. The funding can be used to make large-scale improvements, such as new roofs, or to make energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.

“This funding will help housing authorities address long-standing capital improvements, but it only scratches the surface in addressing the deep backlog we’re seeing across the country,” says HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

In November 2011, Congress gave HUD approval to test a new oversight tool to preserve public housing and other HUD-assistant housing, the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). Public housing authorities need almost $26 billion to keep these homes safe and decent.

In FY 2012, HUD says RAD funds will help authorities and owners make standard life-cycle improvements to their inventory and modernize or replace obsolete units. The demonstration will bring more than 60,000 properties into a reliable, long term, project-based rental assistance contract – and allow public housing authorities to raise more than $6.1 billion in private financing to reduce the large backlog of capital repair needs.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

WASHINGTON – Feb. 10, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it awarded $7.5 million to state and local government agencies to enforce fair housing laws. In Florida, only two enforcement groups received funds: Jacksonville and Broward County received a total of almost $100,000.

In addition to enforcement, the money will be used to promote the HUD’s new Equal Access to Housing regulation, which ensures that HUD housing and programs are open to all families, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.

“With these funds, state and local government agencies on the front line of the fight will be able to continue their efforts to take on today’s many fair housing challenges,” said John Trasvina, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

The funds, provided through HUD’s Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), were allocated based on requests from state and local governments that partnered with community organizations.

In Florida, $21,500 goes to the Broward County Office of Intergovernmental & Professional Standards, Human Rights Section (BCHRS) in Fort Lauderdale; the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission (JHRC) will receive $76,069.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Feb. 10, 2012 – Florida homeowners and foreclosure victims will receive almost one-third of the $8.4 billion mortgage settlement announced yesterday. The settlement amount is second only to California.

“This settlement will provide substantial relief to struggling Florida homeowners, and ensures that our state gets its fair share of the relief being provided nationally,” says Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

According to Bondi, most of the money will go to current homeowners who are underwater – who owe more on a mortgage than their home’s current worth – in the form of principal reductions and/or converting their mortgage interest rate to lower levels. About $170 million will go to homeowners who lost their home in foreclosure.

The settlement applies to clients or past clients of five of the nation’s biggest banks: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial. Other banks may also sign on, though they have not been named.

Negotiations are ongoing. The settlement does not apply to loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Settlement details

Relief won’t be immediate. While the agreement calls for immediate principal reductions for first and second liens, it will take up to two months for negotiators to select an administrator to handle the logistics, up to nine months to identify eligible homeowners and contact them by mail, and up to three years to complete the process.

Underwater homeowners get relief. The agreement calls for Floridians to receive $7.6 billion from banks to pay for refinancing relief, including principal reductions; borrowers with higher interest rates will also be able to refinance at 5.25 percent. While banks will handle the disbursements, state Attorneys General will oversee the process.

Foreclosed owners get cash. Ex-homeowners who lost a home within the past three years will receive about $2,000 each even if their foreclosure did not involve allegations of robo-signing. Critics, however, say that amount is far too low to compensate for their suffering.

Foreclosures could increase. “The immediate results are not going to be all that pleasant,” predicts Mark Vitner, an economist with Wells Fargo. “The amount of foreclosures will actually increase and there will be some additional downward pressure on home prices.” Some homeowners have lived in a home over two years as the foreclosure process crawls through Florida’s legal system. Analysts, such as Vitner, believe the just-announced settlement brings clarity to the process and banks will proceed more quickly to take back homes.

Florida oversight grows stronger. The state will collect $350 million from the settlement to pay for foreclosure prevention programs and to protect consumers.

A new website includes settlement documents, a set of frequently asked questions, breaking information, and addresses for the banks involved in the settlement. It also includes links to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so homeowners can find out if their mortgage is included in the settlement. For more information, go to NationalMortageSettlement.com.

© 2012 Florida Realtors®

Realtor University Approved for Master of Real Estate degree program

CHICAGO – Feb. 9, 2012 – Realtor® University now offers a Master of Real Estate degree for real estate professionals interested in expanding their education, advancing their career and improving their business.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) established Realtor University, and the Illinois Board of Higher Education recently granted it operating and degree authority.

“The Master of Real Estate Degree program will go a long way toward raising professionalism in real estate and creating the highest standard of competency in the industry,” says Realtor University President and NAR Chief Executive Officer Dale Stinton.

Realtor University will deliver programs globally through its online campus. Courses include a business and real estate core curriculum with five areas of concentration: Real Estate Association Management; Asset and Property Management; Sales, Marketing and Management; Appraisal and Valuation Services; and Commercial Investment and Analysis.

The first Master of Real Estate courses start Feb. 27. Individual courses last eight weeks, are offered six times annually, and taught by Ph.D.-level academic/practitioners. Realtor University has the largest real estate library in the world, and its research center releases data and analysis about industry trends and policy issues.

“Realtor University is a groundbreaking initiative that will have a major impact not just for Realtors, but also for the entire real estate industry,” says Chairman of the University Board of Regents, Richard Rosenthal.

Realtor University also includes the School of Professional Development and Continuing Education, with over 400 hours of online education that leads to several designations and certifications, including continuing education credit-approved courses available in most states.

Realtor University is an Illinois 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation established by NAR, organized and operated exclusively for educational, research and related purposes. The affairs of the University are under the direction of its Board of Regents.

For more information on Realtor University, visit www.realtoru.com or call 855-786-6546 (855-RUONLINE).

© 2012 Florida Realtors®