Implode-Explode Heavy Industries news feed

Co-op set to unveil 'bail in' plan to plug £1.5bn hole (UK)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:24:52 GMT

Under such a rescue deal, it is unlikely that taxpayer money will be required or that savers will be affected, but it could affect up to 5,000 smaller investors.
Concerns about the bank's capital arose after a deal with Lloyds collapsed.

In April, the Co-op cancelled a plan to buy 631 bank branches from Lloyds Banking Group.
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Most of Co-op Bank's problems stem from bad loans associated with its takeover of Britannia Building Society in 2009.

Builders say housing is back

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:17:49 GMT

``The National Association of Home Builders' index hit 52 in June, marking the first time it has been above 50 in seven years. A reading above 50 indicates that more builders say sales conditions are good rather than poor. The index has been posting gains for the last year, but those moves only indicated that builders thought the market was less bad than it had been. '' -- What would be hilarious would be if this is right before everything tanks again, because, you know, the talk is about ending QE, four years after it's just starting to have a discernible effect on the housing market.

Foreclosures Jump as Banks Bet on Rising U.S. Home Prices

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:38:54 GMT

Home repossessions in the U.S. jumped 11 percent in May after declining for the previous five months as rising prices and limited inventory for sale across the country spurred banks to complete foreclosures.
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Banks are more willing to move to the final stage of foreclosure because there is sufficient demand and prices are improving, said Eric Workman of Tinley Park, Illinois-based Mack Cos., which aggregates single-family rental homes and resells them to individuals and institutional investors. U.S. home prices advanced almost 11 percent in the year through March, the biggest 12-month gain since April 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of values in 20 cities.

Southern California Home Prices Soar

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:00:43 GMT

`` Word came yesterday that Southern California home prices (where we lived for many years, up until 2007) are on a tear, up 25 percent from a year ago according to this report from Dataquick.'' -- Surely this is sustainable! Our guess is when anyone is questioned about how they could buy in the face of inflation like this, less than a decade after a prior home bubble burst, the answer will reference to some version of a "Bernanke PUT"...

Sales, jobs data "show underlying economic strength"

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:56:16 GMT

``"The economy is showing more evidence of the positive feedback loop, particularly through the housing channel, but we still have this push and pull of monetary policy and fiscal policy," said Robert Dye, chief economist at Comerica in Dallas.'' -- Seems like a new definition of "positive feedback loop" to us. Unless the Fed's QE can be considered part of a "closed loop"...

Rising home prices "rescue" underwater homeowners

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:53:53 GMT

``Demonstrating the power of rising home prices, the number of underwater homeowners has dropped below 10 million for the first time in more than at least three years... [but] If prices continue to rise, more borrowers will likely list homes for sale. That will moderate price gains in many of the fast-appreciating markets, says Mark Fleming, CoreLogic chief economist.'' -- This also doesn't matter much if people cannot borrow against the "rising value" in their homes, which by all indications suggests they cannot (at least not nearly to the degree as before 2008).

I'm Not a Total Idiot, You Know.

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 02:51:25 GMT

``It's nothing short of astonishing, but this country is positively awash in positive economic news... it's like it's oozing from every pore of our national being. And what's so amazing about the whole thing is that everything is better every day... even without anything measurable actually improving. It's like a magic economy in which we're told that everything is getting happier by the moment, while no one knows anyone who's happier and everyone continues their own personal downward slide towards the poverty line.''

Meet the New Landlord Behind the Housing Recovery

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:29:33 GMT

``As it turns out, the surge was not mainly the result of first-time buyers or growing families or job relocators. Rather, as Nathaniel Popper reported in The Times, Wall Street investors -- including the Blackstone Group and other private equity firms -- have been big buyers in the troubled areas where prices have been rising the fastest. Those gains, in turn, have propelled rising home prices nationwide, in part by reducing supply and in part by fostering a shift in perceptions about the housing market that has drawn some potential home buyers off the sidelines. ''

Credit Access For Less Secure Borrowers Central to Housing Finance Reform?

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:39:38 GMT

Some interesting data and arguments in here, but we wonder if the fact that it would take 20+ years for the "average" family to save for a 10% downpayment (and closing costs) says more about inflated home prices than anything else.

Demolishing Detroit: A rebirth

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:51:08 GMT

``...mass demolition is an emerging strategy in American cities plagued with blight: The only way to rebuild is to destroy first. And no city is doing it like Detroit. Motown, where blight is a feature characteristic, is obliterating large swaths of its once-great city. Ironically, the drive is being led by Bill Pulte, whose grandfather, William Pulte, founded the largest home building company in the U.S., PulteGroup Inc. in Bloomfield Hills. He built his first house in Detroit in 1950. It's still standing.''

Mortgage Refinance Applications Are Crumbling

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:23:41 GMT

``This morning's MBA purchase applications showed that refinance index was down 15% for the May 31st week. The refinancing index is down four straight weeks, and was down 12% the previous week. Refinance applications tends to be more sensitive to a rise in mortgage rates.''

Jeff Gundlach June Webcast Presentation

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:40:33 GMT

``Gundlach believes rates will stay low thanks to a "put" by the Federal Reserve. Should rates rise, Gundlach believes the Fed would actually expand quantitative easing. This is because high interest rates would put too much pressure on the economy, and it would cause Federal interest expenses to become too onerous... All of Gundlach's theses are based on the fact that the global economy remains weak, GDP growth forecasts continue to come down, and unemployment remains high and lop-sided. He communicates all of this in his eye-opening, hand-picked collection of charts on growth, employment, inflation, stocks, bonds, and other critical global macro indicators.''

The REAL Reason Housing Prices Have Skyrocketed

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:48:48 GMT

Mortgage applications by real people who want to live in a home are no higher than they were in 2010 when home sales were 33% lower than today. Mortgage applications are lower than they were in 1997 when 4 million existing homes were sold versus the 5 million pace today. The housing recovery is just another Wall Street scam designed to bilk the American middle class of what remains of their net worth.
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In other words, the giant financial service companies are attempting to privatize public resources, socialize losses, scam people out of their homes and other private property ... and then rent back to us what we used to own for a hefty price.

The (New) Housing Bubble Goes Mainstream

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:06:04 GMT

``Mr. Cusumano said he wondered if faraway investors would properly maintain the homes they buy. He said that Invitation Homes had been willing to put money into the properties, but he was not so sure about the other players. He also worries what will happen when these investors start selling, as they inevitably will.

"The thing that scares me is the values going up so quickly," said Mr. Cusumano. "That's what happened before and that's what's scaring me. Is this going to happen again?"''
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he following comment from Mark Hanson should pour cold water on anyone who still harbors any delusion that there is a "housing recovery" or that any transitory, cheap-credit driven price hikes, will persist.
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This morning I was made aware that three large private mortgage bankers I follow closely for trends in mortgage finance ALL had mass layoffs last Friday and yesterday to the tune of 25% to 50% of their operations staff (intake, processing, underwriting, document drawing, funding, post-closing). This obviously means that my reports of refi apps being down 65% to 90% in the past 3 weeks are far more accurate than the lagging MBA index, which is likely on its' way to print multi-year lows in the next month.

Apartment property trust MAA to buy Colonial Properties for $2.17 billion

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:28:29 GMT

``The acquisition will give MAA an asset base of about 85,000 multifamily units in 285 properties across in the Sunbelt, the company said on Monday. After the deal, MAA's 10 largest markets will be Dallas/Fort Worth, Atlanta, Austin, Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Houston.''

REO Could Become A Serious Problem For HUD/GSEs: FHFA Rep.

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 09:19:19 GMT

``As the housing crisis unrolled the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Freddie Mae and Fannie Mae came into possession of more and more properties thorugh foreclosure. As of September 30, 2012, HUD held 37,445 foreclosed properties (REO) while the GSEs held 158,138. In addition, the "shadow inventory"-residential loans at least 90 days delinquent-totaled 1,708,033 properties, roughly 8.7 times the size of the HUD and GSE REO inventories combined. Even a fraction of the shadow inventory falling into foreclosure could considerably swell HUD and GSE inventories of REO properties.''

As Foreclosures Fade, Ham-Handed HAMP Keeps Going

Thu, 30 May 2013 18:43:36 GMT

If at first you don't succeed, get a two-year extension. That's the approach the Obama administration is taking as it bravely stretches until December 2015 its deeply troubled program, launched in 2009, to modify millions of mortgages, help homeowners, and start healing the housing sector.
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Part of the problem, according to the study, is that the government relied on mortgage servicers to administer the program, and those same banks have had a hard enough time keeping up with mortgages that don't need tinkering with.

Foreclosure Deals Drop 22% as Rising Prices Delay Sales

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:57:56 GMT

``Foreclosure-related U.S. home sales fell 22 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as rising prices reduced the incentive to sell for owners who owe more than their properties are worth, RealtyTrac said. A total of 190,121 homes in some stage of foreclosure or taken by banks were sold this year through March 31, down 18 percent from the previous three months, the data seller said today. ''

Meanwhile, Big Investors Quietly Slip Out The Back Door On Housing As "Stupid Money" Jumps In

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:10:12 GMT

``Colony American Homes Inc., a division of Thomas Barrack Jr.'s Colony Capital LLC, has found tenants for only 51 percent of the 9,931 homes it bought for $1.4 billion, according to a filing yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ''

Why inflation matters: How the Fed is creating real estate inflation and hiding behind inflation data

Wed, 29 May 2013 17:16:06 GMT

``According to the latest data the annual change in inflation is only moving at 1 percent. But if housing is the biggest line item for Americans and just went up by 10 percent, why is this not reflected in the CPI? Once again we run into the problem of the CPI using the owners' equivalent of rent (OER) measure. This measure missed the last housing bubble and is going to miss it once again.''