Current Housing Indicators |
| CURRENT | PREVIOUS | ||
| Existing Home Sales | 4.49m | ▼ | 4.74m |
| New Home Sales | 309,000 | ▼ | 344,000 |
| Housing Starts | 583,000 | ▲ | 477,000 |
| Building Permits | 547,000 | ▲ | 531,000 |
| HMI | 9 | UNCH | 9 |
| Existing Home Prices | $170,300 | ▼ (annually) | $199,800 |
| New Home Prices | $201,100 | ▼ (annually) | $232,400 |
More Videos
- Commercial Real Estate: 'Ticking Time Bomb'
- Bank-owned Inventory: Move it!
- Realities of the New Obama Refis
- A Bigger Housing Bailout for Obama
- Home Prices: Are We There Yet?
- Treasury: Jingle Mail A Myth
- How Bad Is The Housing Market? One Man's Tale
- Appraisal Code Sparks Huge Response
- New Rules on Home Appraisals End Up Thwarting Many Sales
- Mortgage Bankers Slash 2009 Forecasts
|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- Preparing for Retirement
- Warren Buffett's Complete Sun Valley CNBC Interview - Transcript and Video
- Software Giants Rush to Cash In on Carbon Counting
- Warren Buffett Tells CNBC Consumer Sales Remain "Very, Very Soft"
- WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell on the Ad Recession
- Investing in Tech Now
- The View From Newark
- Microsoft Plays a Game of Bing Pong
- China Demands Currency Reform, France Backs Debate
- Schmidt on Cloud Computing
- Global Stimulus: Boosting Water Stocks
- Warren Buffett's Top Three Investment Rules for the Average American
- Schork Oil Outlook: It’s Now or Never for the Bulls
- Social Networking's 'Naked' Truth
- Farrell: Let's Enjoy the Numbers for a Moment
- Call Of Shame - Vote Now
- Schmidt on Social Media, Ads and Hulu
- 15 Stocks to Consider
- Maximum Bob Goes Full Throttle For GM
- GM CEO Vows Leaner and Better Company To Emerge
- Geithner Seeks Clampdown on Derivatives Dealers
- Less Demand for Fed's Emergency Backstops
- Social Networking's 'Naked' Truth
- Claims Total Over 15,400 in Fraud by Madoff
- Farrell: Let's Enjoy the Numbers for a Moment
- JPMorgan Asks Treasury to Auction Warrants
- UBS Can't Comply with US Request: Internal Memo
- Cisco Cutting up to 2,000 Jobs, Analyst Says
RSS FEED
Text Size 
 |
Here’s the difference: Countrywide [CFC
Loading...
()
] was the everyman lender, out on the street, dealing with brokers, correspondents, promising everyone and their sister a loan with the kinds of products that are now coming back to bite them.
Bank of America [BAC
Loading...
()
] was far more conservative in its lending--trying to steer clear of risky loans and questionable borrowers. So now Countrywide falls under the BofA model.
What about jumbo loans, since the credit crunch has curtailed Countrywide's ability to do them? Well, some of my mortgage gurus are telling me this may open up the jumbo market for Countrywide, given that it now has all that BofA cash behind it. Bigger loans, better borrowers.
What happens to modifications? Countrywide has been really aggressive in helping troubled borrowers get out of loans they can’t afford. Does that change? Consensus seems to be no. BofA will restructure the loans that have to be reworked--maybe even better than Countrywide, some analysts say--and take their losses.
So what does this all really mean for the mortgage market? The 800 pound gorilla just got bigger and stronger. “No one is better positioned for tomorrow’s market than Countrywide with its deep penetration and hard core mortgage know how. When the market does stabilize, BofA/CFC will be poised to dominate,” says mortgage consultant Howard Glaser.
This deal won’t have any effect on mortgage rates on the street, and it’s not going to loosen up any of the tightened standards of the last six months, but it will provide more opportunity for loans in the future. Folks, we still have a ways to go.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes