Despite having a bad wrap for being slow and problematic, short sales are quickly becoming a preferred method to dispose of distressed properties. One industry survey shows short sales accounted for a substantial 15.9 percent of home purchase transactions in January nationwide. This foreclosure alternative is becoming particularly attractive in some of the hardest-hit housing markets. Lawmakers in Arizona are considering a bill that would mandate real estate agents there take 15 hours of short sale classes to learn the process.
Prices of commercial properties in the United States rose 4.1 percent in December, Moody's Investors Service said Monday, further feeding the debate over whether the sector's unpredictable crash has passed or still lies in the cards. It was the largest month-to-month increase in the 10-year history of Moody's commercial index, and marked the second consecutive month of price gains reported by the credit ratings agency. On top of those positives, transaction volume rose more than 75 percent from the previous month.
Fannie Mae announced Monday the opening of a mortgage help center in Miami to help distressed borrowers in South Florida with loans owned by the GSE. The Miami facility is the first in a series of local centers that the mortgage financier plans to open across the country. Fannie Mae says the goal is to accelerate the response time for struggling homeowners and improve the company's resolution of problem loans.
Last week came and went without the typical news of several FDIC-assisted bank closures, but the reprieve was short-lived. This weekend, regulators shut down four institutions - one each in California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas. These latest bring the number of failures on the FDIC's list to 20 for the year, and nearly all of the crashes have been linked in some way to bad mortgages or construction and development lending.
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