News

According to a report released Tuesday by credit reporting agency TransUnion LLC, the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due on their mortgages increased for the eighth straight quarter, hitting a national average high of 4.

The deteriorating economy is evident in recent consumer credit woes as bankruptcies, past-due credit card payments, and delinquent mortgages are beginning to pile up according to a new report by Equifax Inc.

From foreclosure moratoriums to targeted community outreach programs, lenders across the country are stepping up their home retention efforts to tackle the foreclosure epidemic that has strangled the U.

Single-family home prices in Rhode Island during the month of January fell to the lowest level in about seven years, according to a report released today from The Warren Group. The Warren Group, which provides real estate research for the New England region, said the median selling price for single-family homes in Rhode Island in January fell 23.

According to AmeriDream, a non-profit organization based in Maryland that provides housing-related programs to low and moderate income Americans, last week’s report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showing yet another decline in January home sales is strong evidence that Congress must provide proven incentives like downpayment assistance (DPA) in order to stabilize the housing market.

Freddie Mac today announced that its CEO, David Moffett, has resigned from his position of chief executive and as a member of the organization’s board, effective March 13, 2009. The GSE’s board of directors is working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to appoint a successor to Moffett, and said it plans to name an interim CEO before March 13 to assume chief responsibilities once Moffett leaves.

According to government officials, the economy contracted at an alarming 6.2 percent during the last quarter of 2008 — the worst showing in 26 years. The Commerce Department released the revised gross domestic product (GDP) number on Friday, showing that the national economy deteriorated much faster than the 3.

Eight banking groups led by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) are calling for the government to throw out the new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), claiming that changes to the regulation are needed to ensure mortgage disclosures truly benefit borrowers.

Sales of single-family homes and condominiums in Connecticut plummeted more than 35 percent in January from a year earlier, according to a report released this week by The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record and a provider of real estate data throughout the New England area.

The Treasury Department reached a deal late Thursday to increase its stake in Citigroup to an estimated 36 percent as part of a third bailout for the struggling bank. Already, the U.S. government holds an 8 percent ownership in the New York institution.