Refinance Home Mortgages » government intervention

When Will The Fed Sell Off Mortgage-Backed Securities?

Luke Ford — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:49:49 +0000

To prop up the housing market, the Federal Reserve has bought $1.25 trillion worth of mortgage-backed securities over the past year.

The housing market has stabilized. Now there's a call for the Fed to start selling off these securities and get back to more normal sized holdings.

Housing Market, Economy Appear Frail

Luke Ford — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:56:47 +0000

Housing figures bounce up and down, but overall the past six months, the housing market has appeared steady.

That's largely because of massive government intervention to prop up home prices and reduce foreclosures.

Homebuyer Tax Credit Wide Open To Fraud

Luke Ford — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:56:49 +0000

Gee, that's a surprise. Another government program open to fraud?

Who would've thought it?

Many of the claimants for the tax credit are thought to be illegal aliens.

Many seeking the tax credit are under the age of 18.

Who Is To Blame For The Mortgage Meltdown

Luke Ford — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:53:23 +0000

Howard Marks is chairman of Oaktree Capital Management. He writes in the New York Times that everybody is to blame.

He writes that we put too much trust in the free market. That we did not adequately regulate derivatives, which got so big they over-arched the real economy.

Obama's Making Home Affordable Program

Luke Ford — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:52:09 +0000

There's only so much that government intervention can accomplish if people don't have the income to support monthly mortgage payments.

Home values have fallen so dramatically that fewer homeowners than expected can be helped by Obama's program.

The Blood Bankers

Luke Ford — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:40:21 +0000

Economist writes:

This certainly changes the nature of US capitalism. It is not the the end of it, but it is the beginning for a new more carefully regulated financial and housing sector and I thnk with much more government oversight.

The UK's Mortgage Squeeze

Luke Ford — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:54:17 +0000

From the Times of London:

As Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister, strode along Downing Street this week, she put on show private Cabinet papers that predicted a property price fall of 5 to 10 per cent this year.

Read more on The UK's Mortgage Squeeze…

Refinance Crisis: San Jose Mercury News Urges Government Intervention

Luke Ford — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:05:21 +0000

Who knows what the right price for a home is?

Why do these people feel the government should intervene to shore up real estate prices?

Yes, the economy has problems, but how do we know that government intervention will make things better?

Refinance Bill – Little Cost, Little Help

Luke Ford — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:03:48 +0000

CNNMoney estimates that only 325,000 home owners would be helped by Barney Frank's bill.

The CBO estimates the price tag at less than $2 billion.

Senator Dodd is working on a similar bill.

Refinance Solutions – Expand The FHA

Luke Ford — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:10:24 +0000

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the FHA should have a bigger role. It backs Barney Frank's new legislation passed by the House.

About 1.5 million homes were foreclosed on last year and there should be at least 2 million this year.

President Bush Threatens To Veto Mortgage Bill

Luke Ford — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:58:43 +0000

Why are those who are prudent with their financiers being asked to bail out those who gambled and lost?

This makes no economic sense to me.

Yeah, but it seems so compassionate.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Pushes Government Intervention

Luke Ford — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:31:41 +0000

I didn't expect this.

Bernanke does not want to let the free market do its thing.

He wants lenders to think about cutting the principal of many loans to stop foreclosure.

U.S. Federal Government Investigates Mortgage Industry

Luke Ford — Mon, 05 May 2008 04:59:15 +0000

The FBI and the IRS are looking into whether mortgages made loans without any effort into inquiring whether borrowers can repay their loans.

What's wrong with letting the free market deal with this stuff?

The Big Federal Bail-Out

Luke Ford — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:16:27 +0000

Not big enough?

Not enough government intervention? Not enough subsidizing of bad decisions?

This New York Times article says only about 2,000 homeowners near foreclosure have been helped by President Bush's plan arranged last August.

Read more on The Big Federal Bail-Out…

Everybody's Got A Mortgage Plan

Luke Ford — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:52:59 +0000

Many of the plans are going in different directions.

One thing most of the politicians agree on is that some government intervention is needed.

How did we get here?

Real estate prices dropped so many people found themselves owing more money to the bank than their home was worth.

America's Home Ownership Rate Plummets

Luke Ford — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:48:55 +0000

This Washington Times editorial has no love for the Republicans, which is a surprise.

It seems to call for government intervention. That politicians should deal with this problem more directly than it has with the Social Security mess.

Senator John Kerry Seeks A $10 Billion Bail-Out For Troubled Homeowners

Luke Ford — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:19:57 +0000

The Boston Globe reports that Kerry has proposed $10 billion in special tax-exempt bonds to help troubled families refinance subprime loans.

Democrats are generally seeking more government intervention to solve this credit mess.

Mandating Counseling Before Getting A Subprime Loan

Luke Ford — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:45:22 +0000

People aren't smart enough to make their own decisions. They have to have counseling, says this legislator.

The Washington Post reports:

The House of Delegates began debate yesterday on a bill to require people seeking subprime mortgages to meet with consumer counselors before signing on to risky loans.

Democrats Call For Aggressive Goverment Intervention Into Housing Market

Luke Ford — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:21:40 +0000

When real estate prices kept going up, there were calls for government intervention and affordable housing.

Now prices are plunging and folks on the Left want different government intervention.

The AP reports:

Are things as bad as the Great Recession?

Luke Ford — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:53:51 +0000

From the way people on the Left talk, you'd think so. You'd think we were all going to hell.

Well, we're not in a recession yet. The economy is doing OK. Do we need massive government intervention? The leftists say so.

Hillary Wants To Throw $30 Billion At Mortgage Crisis

Luke Ford — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:30:06 +0000

The New York Times notes that Hillary Clinton has offered more specifics than any other presidential candidate about the credit mess.

In a speech at the University of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Clinton proposed several other moves to deal with foreclosures, like tapping two former chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan and Paul A. Volcker, and former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, to lead a “high-level emergency working group” to recommend ways to restructure at-risk mortgages to help avert more foreclosures.

What Can We Learn From The 1930s?

Luke Ford — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:01:39 +0000

Alex J. Pollock writes for the Washington Post about plans for government intervention into the mortgage mess.

He says the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) was one such successful temporary intervention; its help in the 1930s mortgage crisis holds lessons that are still relevant.