| Increase in Foreclosed Homes Suggest Strong Buyer's Market
With interest rates rising on adjustable rate mortgages, an increasing number of homes are being foreclosed. GuideToRealty.com reports that delinquency rates on certain loans have risen above 3 percent, creating an ideal market for both real estate investors and potential homebuyers (http://www.guidetorealty.com/calculators/index.jsp). San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 17, 2006 -- A feature article on GuideToRealty.com suggests that the foreclosed homes sector of the realty market is now a strong market due to the increase in delinquency rates (greater than 3 percent) on high risk home loans (http://www.guidetorealty.com/calculators/foreclosedhomes.jsp). This is partially attributable to interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) having risen over three full percentage points since the historic low of 3.25 percent in June 2004.
Homeowners scurrying to refinance
Paige O'Mahoney spent the past several months watching interest rates as she considered whether to refinance her mortgage to save money. She hit the jackpot last week when a drop in rates allowed her to refinance sooner than her family had expected. O'Mahoney is among a growing number of consumers who are taking advantage of fixed-rate loan offers that have sunk to their lowest levels since 2004. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.48 percent yesterday, down from 5.69 percent the week before, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Declining rates are further evidence of weakness in the housing market and follow this week's emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, in a statement yesterday.
More competition is needed in banking
He has called for a Treasury report on the banking sector, and will discuss with industry leaders reforms to make the market more competitive. He has set his sights on stopping banks using fees to discourage existing customers from shopping around for a better deal elsewhere. If Mr Swan needs any further encouragement to keep the pressure on the banks to do the right thing by borrowers, he can find it in yesterday's Credit Suisse First Boston report headed Oligopoly re-prices mortgages. The report concludes that investors should keep buying bank stocks. It said the latest round of interest rate rises had cut the impact of the global liquidity crisis on bank cash earnings from 3 to 5 per cent to between zero and 2 per cent. Put simply, the additional costs flowing from poor lending decisions overseas had been passed on to Australian mortgage borrowers in full.
Strongco Reports Third Quarter Results
Revenues of $100.5 million essentially consistent with the third quarter of 2006. Equipment distribution revenues declined slightly by 1.5% while revenues in the Engineered Systems segment increased 12%. The slight decline in Equipment Distribution revenues was largely the result of competitive pressures and the impact of the strengthening Canadian dollar as unit sales volumes actually increased on a comparative quarter basis.
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