James B. Lockhart III, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, told Five Star Conference attendees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have nearly 100,000 real estate-owned properties, and that number is rising. James B. Lockhart III, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, made the comments as a featured speaker at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo in Ft. Worth, Texas. He cited data that showed 35,000 REO assets on the books at Freddie and nearly twice that number - 68,000 - at Fannie. Moody's Investors Service denied optimists their dream of a V-shaped recovery to the housing market, insisting that home prices would continue to decline through 2010 and take at least another 10 years to reach their pre-recession peaks. For many reasons, the rebound will be disproportionately small compared to the decline, the company's analysts said this week in its regular analysis of the residential market. Existing home sales faltered in August after a red-hot four-month stretch of gains, a leading trade group said Thursday. According to the regular report by the National Association of Realtors, sales of prior-owned homes fell 2.7 percent since July, after a 15.2 percent climb since April. As analysts debate whether an economic recovery is in effect, home prices and sales have been two factors that seemed to support the idea that the downturn is over. The most recent numbers, however, cast new doubt on the housing industry's stability and the broader economy's soundness. Mortgage servicers who participate in the federal government's loan-modification programs should soon expect to be ranked with their peers on a number of quality factors, a Treasury department official told U.S. senators Wednesday.
| |
Comments
Post a Comment