Although demand is still high for a good deal, like many short sales are, there is still not enough staff or good industry-standard policies in place to handle them efficiently.

Quoted: "There is a lot going on all at one time," said E. Robert Levy, the executive director of the New Jersey Mortgage Bankers Association. "It’s a very, very difficult problem no matter how you deal with it." Nationwide, the number of short sales increased by 22.4 percent to 30,766 in the third quarter of 2009, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

An artificial bolstering of the housing market via homebuyer credits, along with the very negative outlook of the options ARM mortgage market (the bulk of which will reset later this year and in 2011) are what make me most uncertain about a quick and smooth recovery.

Quoted: After an October surge in first-time homebuyers trying to finalize deals before the original deadline for the $8,000 tax credit, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) index of pending home sales dropped 16% in November.

Although the Fed is holding the rate low and steady, the mortage interest rate cannot stay low forever. It's going to continue a general trend of inching up, although it's still very, very low now and I think it will still be in the range of being low over the next 12+ months.

Quoted: The average fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage was 5.05% this week, up from 4.94% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The last time rates ...

Quoted: The problems started after mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae decided to take steps earlier this year to limit exposure in what it viewed as a risky lending segment that’s been loaded with foreclosures, Sachenbacher says.
As a result, the two biggest insurers of mortgage loans now require 70% of a condo property’s units to be sold, up from 51% less than a year ago, before it will insure or buy the loan, thereby allowing it to be sold on the secondary market.

FHA funding for condos is changing big time - times will be tough for condo buildings in a price range that appeals to first-time buyers using FHA financing

Quoted: The spot approval process will be eliminated for all case numbers on or after Feb. 1, 2010 under the new guidelines. The FHA created the process, allowing consumers to purchase a unit in a non-approved condominium project that has limited FHA involvement.

The FHA helps homebuyers who often cannot qualify for a loan otherwise. The problem is that there is usually a very good reason for why a potential buyer doesn't qualify for a conventional loan - poor/limited credit history is one, lack of funds is another. The result is that the FHA lends money to a pool of higher-risk borrowers (that is, a higher chance of default). It's no surprise, then, that as of this past summer, about 17% of FHA borrowers were behind on at least 1 payment.

I don't see anyway around a bailout of the FHA by taxpayers within the next few years.

Quoted: The Federal Housing Administration says its financial cushion has dipped to a dangerously low level but should remain above zero under "most economic scenarios." The agency, a major source of funds for first-time homebuyers, faces mounting concerns that it will eventually need a taxpayer bailout as losses grow from homeowners who lose their jobs and can't pay their mortgages.

CIT did a lot of lending during the heydey of the market, but their presence up here in the PNW was limited.

Tough news to swallow for a company that is over 100 years old.

Quoted: The bankruptcy of CIT is likely to hand the Treasury Department its biggest loss to date under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It invested $2.3 billion in CIT last December.