Hurricane Season is Here — Again. What Can We Expect?
Newsletter - June 2019 The 2019 hurricane season is upon us, and many homeowners are still recovering from the catastrophic storms of 2018. Last year, the United States experienced 11 natural disasters that each caused more than $1 billion in damage, according to data from CoreLogic. This includes the Category 4…
Read MoreA Majority of Mortgages Now Originated by Non-Bank Lenders
Newsletter - May 2019 Consumers spent more than $517 billion online with U.S. merchants last year, according to Commerce Department figures. It’s no surprise: Online shopping is convenient! The internet never closes, and you don’t even have to leave the house to shop there. You can get almost anything online,…
Read MoreIncrease in Negative Equity: is it a Fluke or a Trend?
Newsletter - April 2019 Twelve years after the financial crisis of 2007, 2.2 million homes are seriously underwater, meaning the owners owe more on their mortgages than the homes are worth. In its recently released Home Equity Report, housing data company CoreLogic reported that from the third quarter of 2018…
Read MoreMortgage Delinquencies at Their Lowest in Nearly Two Decades
Newsletter - March 2019 Mortgage delinquencies across the United States hit a 19-year low in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The delinquency rate for all single-family mortgage loans dropped 41 basis points from the third quarter and 111 basis points from a year ago,…
Read MoreTwo Ways Technology is Changing the Mortgage Industry
Newsletter - February 2019 In today’s world, consumers can order a mattress online and have it delivered next-day, or pay for their groceries by just holding their smartphone near a sensor. Why shouldn’t buying a home be just as simple? “There’s a vision in the mortgage lending industry that in…
Read MoreAre We Headed for Another Financial Crisis in 2019?
Newsletter - January 2019 Every January, finance and real estate experts offer their predictions for the upcoming year. What does 2019 have in store for the housing market? Some see "bubble trouble" ahead. In the San Francisco Bay area, where last year home prices surged near record highs, the median…
Read MoreLenders Offer Mortgage Assistance to Victims of California Wildfires
Newsletter - December 2018 Thousands of people lost their homes -- and dozens lost their lives -- in record-setting wildfires in California last month. The “Camp Fire” in Butte County has been declared deadliest fire in California’s history, with 85 confirmed fatalities. At least 3 more people died in the…
Read More1,600 Mortgages in Jeopardy after Hurricane Michael
Newsletter - November 2018 When Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida panhandle on October 10, the mortgage industry was prepared. Before the storm even made landfall, the FDIC issued a statement reminding lenders that they were expected to work with affected mortgage holders. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae reassured homeowners…
Read MoreMortgage Delinquencies Hit 11-Year Low, but Not in Disaster-Affected Areas
Newsletter - October 2018 The serious mortgage delinquency rate in the United States hit 1.7% in June 2018, down from 1.9% June 2017 — a low not seen since August 2007. “Serious” delinquencies are mortgages that are more than 90 days past due, but 4.3% of home mortgages were in…
Read MoreHome Ownership Out of Reach for Many in Q2
Newsletter - September 2018 In our last issue, we talked about the likelihood of a housing market correction, as homes - especially in prime coastal areas - are so expensive that many families making the median salary can't afford to buy one. The disparity between income and real estate prices…
Read MoreA housing marketing correction is inevitable – the question is when?
Newsletter - August 2018 Back in May, Zillow released a report predicting the next U.S. recession would begin by the end of 2020. It also forecasted that the uptrend in home values — which have been climbing at a steady clip for the last 6 years — would slow significantly…
Read MoreLenders, Consumers, and Artificial Intelligence
Newsletter - July 2018 "Artificial intelligence" is quite the buzzword these days, and while it sounds like something out of science fiction or a far-off possibility, it is already a reality - both for consumers and businesses. So, what is it? According to TechEmergence, a research firm studying the effects…
Read MoreAre Subprime Loans Making a Comeback?
Newsletter - June 2018 As rents continue to increase, more Americans are considering home ownership. But for many, poor credit stands in the way: One-fifth of U.S. consumers have “very low” credit scores that could disqualify them from obtaining a mortgage. People who went through foreclosures or took other hits…
Read MoreCould Blockchain Technology Transform the Mortgage Industry?
Newsletter - May 2018 By now, you have almost certainly heard the words blockchain, bitcoin, or cryptocurrency. But unless you're deeply entrenched in the world of emerging technology, you might not know much about it. It could transform the mortgage industry as we know it. Since the financial crisis of…
Read MoreThe Incredible Shrinking Mortgage Industry
Newsletter - April 2018 It seems that there are fewer banks, mortgage servicing companies, and title insurance companies today than ever before. The consolidation of the mortgage industry has been going on for years now, but a series of recent mergers and acquisitions has us wondering what the industry will…
Read MoreHome Prices, Housing Starts, Interest Rates Up – Delinquencies Down
Newsletter - March 2018 In January, we talked about some predictions for the 2018 housing market. While it's only March, one of those predictions has already proven to be accurate: The uptick in new home construction. "My biggest prediction for housing in 2018 is that inventory will remain low and…
Read MoreHope for Homebuyers and Community Banks on the Horizon?
Newsletter - February 2018 A bill headed for the Senate floor would significantly loosen rules imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act, making it easier for homebuyers to get approved for a mortgage and offering much-needed relief to community banks and credit unions. And unlike last year's sweeping House bill (the Financial…
Read MoreHousing Market Predictions for 2018: More Inventory, More Sales, Fewer Mortgage Delinquencies
Newsletter - January 2018 Happy New Year from Blue Streak Docs! What will 2018 bring for buyers, sellers, investors, and real estate professionals? Let's see what the experts are predicting: Home prices will continue to rise, but at a slower pace. Realtor.com projects home prices to slow to 3.2% growth…
Read MoreHow We Beat Irma
Newsletter - October 2017 As you probably know, we had a very unwelcome visitor by the name of Irma blow through our town last month. Though she lost a lot of her punch by the time she got to Clearwater, she was still pretty tough. Our county (Pinellas) was the…
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