Home Prices Fall As Five
Markets Show Biggest Drops
CHICAGO-Housing prices fell 1.2% in October after falling 0.7% in September, according to new figures just released by Standard & Poor's. In fact, said S&P, prices fell in 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the Case-Shiller house price index, with only Phoenix managing to post a month-over-month increase of 0.3% in October. The cities identified as demonstrating the greatest weaknesses in housing, said Standard & Poor's, are Atlanta (down 5%), Detroit (down 3.3%), Minneapolis (down 2.8%), Chicago (down 1.8%) and Cleveland (down 1%).
Nearly 40% Of Homes Being
Bought In All-Cash Deals
CHICAGO-Although mortgage rates are at their lowest point in 40 years, a new analysis has found that nearly four-in-10 homes sold during 2011 have been purchased for cash. Data complied by Housing Intelligence, a unit of Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, found that 38% of homes sold this year have not required a mortgage. That's up from 34% in 2010
SEFCU Donates $205,000 To
Help Charities In Region
ALBANY, N.Y.-SEFCU has made a $205,000 donation to a number of city/rescue missions throughout the Capital Region of New York. Credit union representatives spent last week hand-delivering checks to a variety of organizations. Many of the food pantries and missions in the credit union's market areas received checks ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. SEFCU provided similar community support in 2010.
NCUA Intro's Two Microsites On NGNs, Resolution Costs
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA has introduced two new websites, one dedicated to corporate credit union resolution costs, the other to its NCUA Guaranteed Notes program. The pages offer additional details on both issues, including background information, profiles of legacy assets and their performance, current loss projection ranges, and data on the ongoing performance of the NGNs. Both pages are available as links from www.ncua.gov.
Consumers Showing Less Anxiety...
SAN FRANCISCO-Consumers closed out 2011 with less anxiety about the economy than at any time since the recession officially began in December of 2007. MoneyAnxiety.com, which publishes a monthly Money Anxiety Index, said the level of consumer anxiety over their finances was 95.1 in its method of measurement, down from 99.5 at mid-year and part of a consistent improvement throughout 2011.
...And Increasing Confidence
NEW YORK-New data released by the Conference Board finds that for the second month in a row consumer confidence has improved. The research firm's overall confidence index, increased 9.3 points to 64.5, following the 14.3-point rise in November.
Two Nominated To The Fed
WASHINGTON-The Obama Administration said it intends to nominate Jerome H. Powell and Jeremy C. Stein to fill the two remaining vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board. Powell previously served as Treasury undersecretary for finance under President George H.W. Bush and as a partner at The Carlyle Group. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he focuses on federal and state fiscal issues.
DC Mulls Plan To Pull Deposits
WASHINGTON-The government for the District of Columbia has become the latest to consider moving its deposits out of Bank of America in favor of a smaller, locally based institution, but has yet to indicate if that might include credit unions. District Councilman Jack Evans has proposed a plan that would require the city's CFP to move some city deposits out of large banks and into community banks-as long as the recipients agree to lend out $2 for every $1 of city deposits they receive to local businesses. Evans said that keeping deposits in BofA has "no value" for the city.
NCUA Urged To Be More Timely
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA has released the 2010 audited financial statements for the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund, saying the statements received an unqualified or "clean" audit opinion from KPMG.
KPMG did issue one finding related to the timeliness of producing financial statements for the Stabilization Fund, and called on the agency to produce more timely reporting in the future.e_SClBAnti-Flipping Rules Suspended
WASHINGTON--The Federal Housing Administration has suspended its anti-flipping rules for another year to facilitate the financing and sales of newly renovated foreclosed properties. The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued the anti-flipping rule in 2003 to protect FHA borrowers from investors who were quickly flipping properties at inflated prices.
The anti-flipping rule prohibits lenders from using FHA financing in transactions where a single-family property is being resold within 90 days, according to National Mortgage News, an affiliate of Credit Union Journal.
Payroll Tax Deal Means Higher Costs
WASHINGTON-The deal Congress hammered out to extend a payroll tax for two more months will mean increased costs to borrowers for government-backed mortgages. The legislation (H.R. 3630) pays for the payroll measure by hiking guarantee fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans by 10 basis points. Lenders will pay the extra points but, more than likely, will past the cost onto borrowers, according to analysts.
H.R. 3630 also increases annual premiums on Federal Housing Administration single-family loans by 10 BPs. This corresponding hike is designed to ensure that FHA goes not gain a competitive advantage and increase its market share via the GSEs, reported National Mortgage News, an affiliate of Credit Union Journal.
After a bitter fight over the two-month extension, congressional leaders reached a deal late last week, and will return to Washington in January to hammer out a full-year extension. Mortgage industry leaders are hoping lawmakers will look elsewhere for revenues to fund the next extension, National Mortgage News reported.
