Mortgage rates are the lowest on record. But by a key historical measure, they should be even lower. For months, a key interest rate on mortgage-backed securities, known as the current coupon yield, has tumbled faster than average U.S. 30-year mortgage rates. In recent weeks, the difference between the two has flirted with levels seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Some say the wide spread shows the large banks that dominate the mortgage market are flexing their muscle by keeping prices relatively high. Others argue the gap reflects increased regulatory costs, risks and new realities of mortgage making.

Wall Street Journal  February 22, 2012

The main impact of the settlement on the housing market will come from the new guidelines clarifying best practices for servicing delinquent loans.  This should mean the foreclosure process should start to speed up again.  We look for prices to fall 7% from 3Q11.  We forecast that the real recovery will start in 2014, and the bounce, when it comes, could be strong.

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch  Morning Market Memo  February 16, 2012

Thursday’s $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure  abuses may result in a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term  pain on delinquent borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely.  Lenders slowed the pace of foreclosures as they negotiated with attorneys general in all 50 states for more than a year over allegations of faulty and fraudulent paperwork used to repossess homes.  Banks are likely to resume property seizures after the settlement, which will direct $17 billion to writing down debt to buffer about 1 million homeowners  from foreclosure through mortgage forgiveness, forbearance or loan modification programs.

Bloomberg News  February 10, 2012

Although momentum is building in the New Jersey housing market below $400,000, median prices continued to drop in the fourth quarter of 2011.  According to Jeffrey Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group, Ocean County saw the largest percentage median price decrease in the fourth quarter, down 13.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010.  Monmouth County’s median home price fell 8 percent.

Asbury Park Press   February 10, 2012

As older parents approach death, they often leave lengthy to-do lists for their children.  Here is how to deal with your parents’ stuff while preserving family
harmony and finances.

Wall Street Journal  February 5, 2012

Home prices in the U.S. may continue to fall, according Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale University and co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index.  Despite “mildly positive signs” in the housing market, “we may continue to see home price declines,” Shiller said today in a radio interview.  “It is an ‘‘incredibly bad situation in the housing market.  The construction industry is still in a depression,’’ he added.

Bloomberg Surveillance with Ken Prewitt and Tom Keene.  January 26, 2012

A recent University of Michigan survey shows that negative views of the housing market are still widespread.  The survey shows that if the market is improving, the message has not gotten through to the average American.  Only 6% of respondents say “yes” when asked if it is a good time to buy because housing is a “good investment” or because “prices are going higher.”  The sum of these two answers is bouncing along its record low.

Merrill Lynch – Morning Market Tidbits  January 24, 2012

In a sign of recovery in the housing market, cost-conscious buyers have returned to the market for lower-priced properties across the New York area in recent months, leading analysts to speculate that the worst of the housing slump may be over.  In New Jersey sales have picked up due to buyers of properties priced less than $400,000.  Sales of homes priced over $400,00, however, have continued to decline.  Jeffrey G. Otteau, an appraiser and housing analyst in New Jersey, said that New Jersey’s market had “bottomed out.”

Wall Street Journal  January 17, 2012

Banks may seize more than 1 million U.S. homes this year after legal scrutiny of their foreclosure practices slowed actions against delinquent property owners in 2011, RealtyTrac Inc. said.  About 1.89 million properties received notices of default, auction or repossession last year, down 34 percent from 2010 and the lowest number since 2007, the Irvine, California-based data seller said Thursday in a statement.  One in 69 U.S. households received a filing.  The number of home repossessions is likely to rise about 25 percent from the more than 804,000 properties seized last year as lenders resume foreclosure actions, a spokesman for RealtyTrac said.

New Jersey Lawyer January 17, 2012