Home Prices: When Will They Recover? - Bill Conerly - … So when will housing prices recover? That’s a somewhat different story. Once we get into supply-demand balance, prices should stop falling. But that does not mean they recover. That peak in prices was unsustainable, due to speculative excess. Going forward, look for something like growth at three percent or so. That implies 10 to 15 years before home prices regain their boom-time peak. … - Businomics Blog

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New Overlays Are Hurting Loan Brokers - The dynamics of the relationships between mortgage broker and wholesaler have been changed as a result of the housing crisis. And for many on the mortgage broker side of the equation, those changes have not been for the better. Among the issues have been lender overlays, which are adding additional requirements to loan programs beyond what the secondary market investor demands. That was one of the topics discussed by members of the board of directors of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers at the group’s recent NAMB/West conference in Las Vegas. - National Morgage News

Who Says Wholesale Is Dead? - By Paul Muolo - National Mortgage News

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(slide show) A Frightening Satellite Tour Of America’s Foreclosure Wastelands - Gus Lubin - … For a frightening way to visualize the foreclosure crisis, we’re borrowing a Google maps technique described by Barry Ritholtz. - Money Game at Business Insider

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Fannie, Freddie Got $20.9 Billion From Loan Buybacks, FCIC Says - By Lorraine Woellert - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received about two-thirds of the $34.8 billion they’ve demanded from lenders for mortgages that failed to meet quality standards, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported. - Bloomberg

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For Housing, A Quick Fix Or Less Risk - By FLOYD NORRIS - … But it needs to learn how to do so. It is not just a matter of ideology to say that the country needs a privately financed system of home finance. There are clearly roles for the government to play, as regulator and perhaps as backup financier for those deemed worthy of special treatment, such as veterans or disadvantaged workers who need a helping hand. There can and should be debates on how large that role should be, but just now it is clearly too large. … The best proposal I have heard is a remarkably simple one put forth by John Hempton of Bronte Capital, a hedge fund based in Australia. He says Frannie should simply raise the fee for its guarantee — now about 20 basis points, or one-fifth of a percentage point — every six months by five basis points … - (refers to 2 other ideas) - NY Times

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States May Require Redocumenting Loans in Foreclosure - by bcoester - By Brian Collins –American Banker - reprint at Appriasal Newscast

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Daniel Pennell: Mortgage Shenanigans in Virginia (The Wall Street – Washington – Richmond Axes) - By Daniel Pennell, a systems expert who has testified before the Virginia House of Representatives on MERS - …. This cabal managed to kill off a bill (HB-1506) proposed by Delegate Bob Marshall, a bill designed to protect the integrity of the county property records and preserve the integrity of home owner’s title to their property. Simultaneously they attempted to alter the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) with HB-1718, … In other words a spreadsheet from a bank would be good enough to take someone’s home or report someone to a credit bureau. This was in direct response to a Supreme Judicial Court decision in Massachusetts, Ibanez, … - Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism

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Wells Fargo Is Ready to Roll - By Dakin Campbell - Careful mortgage lending practices helped the San Francisco bank avoid the problems plaguing large rivals such as Bank of America and Citigroup … Consider this odd tribute to the relative quality of Wells Fargo’s underwriting: … - Businessweek

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QE2 and Mortgage Rates: Measuring the Fed’s Strategy - Doug Short - … How will we know if the current round of quantitative easing is a success? A key sign will be that a variety of rates will fall — at least until the economy reaches liftoff, which probably means sustained (two or more quarters) real GDP north of 3.3% (the long-term GDP average). … - dShort.com