McMansions Making Their Way Back Into the Market

mcmansion

From each quarter to the next in 2014, the median size of newly built homes in the U.S. dropped steadily.

But now, in the first quarter of 2015, that number is up significantly.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the median home size in 2015 Q1 shot up to 2,521 square feet, up 3 percent from 2014 Q4.

Steven Hilton, Meritage CEO, these numbers could suggest the return of the McMansion to the new homes market.

“We do see this as an expanding market,” he said. “We saw very strong demand in that segment in the last quarter and even more so over the last two months.”

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Ocwen Financial Corp. in Negotiations to Refinance Debt

dice

In an attempt to avoid a cash crisis, Ocwen Financial Corp. disclosed on Monday that it is currently negotiating with lenders to extend and refinance some of its debt.

If the company is unable to change some of its debt arrangements – particularly ones that are set to amortize this year – it could face a liquidity crunch.

“Due to the significant level of cash requirements related to servicing advances, we may not have sufficient levels of liquidity to fund the operations without our advance financing facilities,” Ocwen said in the filing.

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Portland Housing Market Driven by Water, Millennials

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Portland, Oregon, has recently become one of the hottest spots for millennials on the West Coast. But according to real estate experts, it has nothing to do with jobs and everything to do with water.

“We’re on the West Coast, and we have water,” said Brian Ramsay, a real estate agent with Hasson Company Realtors. “They’re moving here in preparation for lack of water.”

And, unlike California and Seattle, home prices still remain relatively low – which means the market in Portland is currently red hot.

“You’re lucky if you can be one of the first 15 offers in 24 hours,” Ramsay added. “That’s how hard it is for buyers to get a house now.”

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Existing Home Sales Expected to Hit Highest Level Since 2006

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The National Association of Realtors announced on Thursday that the total number of existing home sales in 2015 is expected to reach the highest level we’ve seen since 2006.

“There is a sizeable pent up demand,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.

According to Yun, we should expect to see approximately 5.3 million existing homes sold by the end of this year, which would be a significant jump from 4.9 million in 2014. Additionally, it would be the first time in nearly a decade that the number has surpassed 5.0 million.

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Foreclosure Numbers Dropping Drastically

foreclosure

Although foreclosure numbers continue to rise and fall each month, when looking at the data year-over-year, the numbers have made a significant downward shift.

According to the data released by CoreLogic on Tuesday, the number of properties in some state of foreclosure in March was down 25 percent from a year ago, while completed foreclosures were down 15.5 percent.

Additionally, completed foreclosures are now down a whopping 65.2 percent from the peak in September 2010.

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Home Prices Seeing Double-Digit Gains in Many Metro Areas

condos

Home prices are on the rise nationwide, an in many metropolitan areas, the median price jumped by 10 percent or more in the first quarter of 2015.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 51 of the 174 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by NAR saw price gains in the double digits.

“Sales activity to start the year was notably higher than a year ago, as steady hiring and low interest rates encouraged more buyers to enter the market,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, told Mortgage News Daily. “However, stronger demand without increasing supply led to faster price growth in many markets. Sales could soften slightly in some of these markets seeing sharp price appreciation unless housing supply markedly improves and tempers its unhealthy level of growth.”

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Home Construction Jobs on the Rise

construction

When Friday’s job market report was released, there was a clear bright spot in one particular sector: housing construction.

According to the Labor Department’s monthly findings, overall employment in construction – which includes residential, non-residential and civil projects – rose by 45,000 in April for the biggest advance since January 2006.

“The housing numbers in this report are checking off all the boxes,” Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC in New York, told Bloomberg Business. “None of these things would be happening if the housing market weren’t picking up.”

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Goldman Sachs Facing $120 Million Suit Over Mortgage Securities

Goldman Sachs

The New York Court of Appeals decided 5-2 on Thursday that a $120 million suit facing Goldman Sachs should move forward.

Goldman Sachs was hit with the suit by ACA Financial Guaranty Corp., which claims the financial corp “lied about a pool of securities backed by subprime mortgages during the period leading up to the financial crisis.”

According to Reuters, Goldman spokesperson Michael DuVally says the firm is disappointed with the decision but “confident that…these contrived claims will fall.”

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House Flippers Seeing Record Returns

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Good news for house flippers and anyone looking to get in on the action, as there are huge profits to be had from the undertaking.

According to CNBC, only four percent of home sales in the first quarter of this year were flips, but of the ones that did sell, their flippers made an average gross profit of $72,450. That number is up from $61,684 in the first quarter of 2014.

“The strong returns for home flippers in the first quarter demonstrates that there is still a need in this recovering real estate market for move-in ready homes rehabbed to more modern tastes,” Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, told the news site, “particularly given the dearth of new homes being built.”

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Los Angeles Suing Wells Fargo for Fraud

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The city of Los Angeles is suing Wells Fargo for allegedly committing fraud and taking advantage of its customers, CNBC is reporting.

According to the news site, the court papers filed by the LA city attorney suggest that the bank participated in “unlawful and fraudulent” conduct that was first uncovered by the Los Angeles Times in 2013. As the suit alleges, Wells Fargo employees would open unnecessary accounts and credit lines for unsuspecting customers without their consent – helping sales people to meet their monthly quotas.

“Wells Fargo’s culture is focused on the best interest of its customers and creating a supportive, caring and ethical environment for our team members,” the bank said in a statement. “That includes training, audits and processes that work together to support our Vision & Values and our commitment to customers receiving only the products and services they need and will benefit from.”

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