© WSJ 2009 The biggest threat to the outlook for commercial real estate in the U.K and U.S. is excess debt, with some $247 billion of distressed real estate debt globally, ING Real Estate Investment Management said Monday.  "We expect a significant amount of distressed property to come to the market on a foreclosure basis but it will be orderly," said ING REIM's head of research and strategy, Timothy Bellman. He said distressed property won't all come to the market at once, with lenders taking three to four years to work it all out.  ING REIM, a real estate lender, developer and investor, said in a presentation in London that 60% of distressed debt is lo ...
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© Washington Post 2009   House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said Friday that the government needs to borrow at least $1.8 trillion more next year to avoid defaulting on its debts.   Such an increase in the nation's debt ceiling is much larger than Democrats had contemplated earlier this year. Hoyer's comment came as senior White House officials and House and Senate leaders planned to resume negotiations over the debt limit, with the three camps at odds over how to chart a course toward fiscal solvency.  Read more. ...
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© Bloomberg News 2009 The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a mortgage “cram-down” amendment that would have given federal judges the power to lengthen mortgage terms, cut interest rates and reduce loan balances for homeowners in bankruptcy court.  Lawmakers voted 241-188 today to strip the amendment from a broader package of proposed laws to rein in excess on Wall Street. All but four of the Republicans who voted opposed the amendment, pulling with them support from 71 Democrats to defeat the measure.  The cram-down provision was identical to legislation that passed the House in March and then failed in the Senate amid opposition from the banking industr ...
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On November 30, 2009, the Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is component of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). NAR has been urging the Obama Administration to take action to address the many problems with short sales. HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure of a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. HAFA applies to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which will issue their own versions in the coming weeks. Program features include: pre-approving sales terms before list ...
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© Washington Post 2009  While confusion reigned on Capitol Hill on Wednesday over the prospects and details of a Senate deal to replace a government-run insurance plan with other measures, it is not too soon to ask what the proposal would mean for regular people.  The short answer -- subject to Senate revisions -- is that those without employer-provided insurance would have more options for buying coverage, but if they are younger than 55, their money would go to a private insurer, no matter what. Rates would be more competitive than what they are offered now, but possibly less so than under a "public option." And if they are between 55 and 64, they might be abl ...
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© The New York Times 2009  The “broad agreement” that Senator Harry Reid announced Tuesday night on the proposed overhaul of the health care system was less a comprehensive accord among Democrats than an effort by the party’s leaders to keep the process moving ahead, even as Republicans attempt to prolong a seemingly endless floor fight.  The deal did not entirely resolve the biggest dispute: whether the legislation should include a “public option,” a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers. Read more.  ...
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© Dayton Business Journal 2009 Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner notified Congress Wednesday that he is extending the Troubled Asset Relief Program through Oct. 3, 2010.“This extension is necessary to assist American families and stabilize financial markets because it will, among other things, enable us to continue to implement programs that address housing markets and the needs of small businesses, and to maintain the capacity to respond to unforeseen threats,” Geithner wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.More >>

©Rueters 2009  U.S. Treasury prices rose on Tuesday, heartened by the realization that despite last week's improved jobs report for November, the Federal Reserve would not be in a hurry to raise interest rates.  On Friday, bond prices fell because news of shrinking job losses in November argued the case for economic recovery and raised the prospect of less monetary accommodation next year. Read more.  ...
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© WSJ 2009  Four years after the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble, flipping homes is back in fashion.Jon Mirmelli, a Phoenix real-estate investor, learned late in the morning of Sept. 28 that a never-occupied custom house on the northern fringes of this Phoenix suburb was going up for auction around noon the same day. The six-bedroom home, built on a three-acre desert plot, has a kitchen with two dishwashers, four ovens, "antibacterial" copper sinks, and a master "spa" bathroom with space for a flat-screen TV visible from the tub.  The minimum bid, as set by a unit of Citigroup Inc., which had a $1.3 million mortgage on the home, was $379,900. ...
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On November 30, The U.S. Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA), which is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).  HAFA will provide incentive in connection with a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program.  HAFA applies only to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as they will be issuing their own version of this program in a few weeks.  NAR staff has reviewed the aspects of the program and prepared a brief on the intricacies in hopes to make it more understandable.  To ...
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