Morning Report: Washington eyes contract for deed transactions

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Brent Nyitray

Vital Statistics:

Last Change
S&P Futures 2393.0 4.3
Eurostoxx Index 395.1 -0.5
Oil (WTI) 49.5 1.7
US dollar index 89.8 -0.3
10 Year Govt Bond Yield 2.33%
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA 102.625
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA 103.938
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage 4.09

Stocks are up this morning with oil. Bonds and MBS are down.

Russia and Saudi Arabia made a joint statement saying they intend to keep production down through Q118. This is providing a boost. Separately, China said it intends to import more oil and natural gas from the US.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey contracted in May after a torrid start to the year. Expectations remain strong however.

Several politicians are urging the FHFA to no longer sell foreclosed homes to firms that intend to follow “rent to own” or contract for deed transactions. The objection to these transactions is that the properties are sold as-is and the onus is on the renter to fix any issues like lead paint. This allows the landlord / lender to skirt property maintenance laws. Ultimately, this could be good for the market in that it brings some much-needed supply to the starter home space (and perhaps demand for 203k loans).

Speaking of first time homebuyers, here are the best cities for them. Needless to say, the big coastal cities are generally not the best places as home prices are elevated there. There is more in the Midwest and the South. There is an interactive map that gives good info on the state of individual markets. Wonder how much size 300k gets you? Depends on the state – on one extreme is Indiana, which gets you almost 3500 square feet. The worst? DC, which gets you 600. Note that 300k is just a hair over the median price in the US.

Homebuilder sentiment rose in April, according to the NAHB. The sentiment index rose to 70, higher than expectations. Note we will get housing starts tomorrow.

Filed under: Economy, Morning Report |

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14 Responses

  1. ScottC, on May 15, 2017 at 12:19 pm said:

    No additional commentary necessary:

    http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/05/05/Austrias-Green-Party-to-teach-women-how-to-urinate-standing-up/5701494016577/?spt=slh&or=1

    A local wing of Austria’s Green Party announced it is holding a special meeting to teach women how to urinate standing up in unclean public bathrooms.

    The Green Party in Perchtoldsdorf, Lower Austria, which periodically holds “women’s breakfasts” to discuss social and political issues, announced that the theme of the coming Saturday’s meeting will be “everything that concerns the pelvic base.”

    The party said the discussion will include instructions on how to urinate from a standing position at music festivals, sporting events, and other locations where unclean restrooms are likely to be found.

    Like

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  2. markinaustin, on May 15, 2017 at 2:38 pm said:

    Contracts for deed have been both opportunities for folks without down payments and problems when the sellers were unloading turkeys. Sometimes, concurrently.

    But tell me again why this is a federal problem? Many years ago a committee of the real estate section of the Texas Bar and of the Texas Realtors’ Association addressed the management of contracts for deed in Texas and I think limited the potential for abuse while permitting the potential for buyers with limited savings.

    Seems one of those rushes to federalize without thinking.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. jnc4p, on May 15, 2017 at 4:26 pm said:

    How to use a newspaper to advance one’s own agenda via selective leaking.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html

    Taibbi has been a rare voice of reason here:

    “A lot of our civil liberties protections and rules of press ethics are designed to prevent exactly this situation, in which a person lingers for extended periods of time under public suspicion without being aware of the exact nature, or origin, of the accusations.

    It’s why liberal thinkers have traditionally abhorred secret courts, secret surveillance and secret evidence, and in the past would have reflexively discouraged the news media from printing the unverified or unverifiable charges emanating from such secret sources. But because it’s Donald Trump, no one seems to care.

    We should care. The uncertainty has led to widespread public terror, mass media hysteria and excess, and possibly even panic in the White House itself, where, who knows, Trump may even have risked military confrontation with Russia in an effort to shake the collusion accusations. All of this is exacerbated by the constant stream of leaks and hints at mother lodes of evidence that are just around the corner. It’s quite literally driving the country crazy.

    The public deserves to know what’s going on. It deserved to know before the election, it deserved to know before the inauguration, and it deserves to know now.”

    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/taibbi-how-did-russiagate-start-w482262

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  4. Let the mutherfuker burn!, on May 15, 2017 at 6:30 pm said:

    I’ve said it before but it bears repeating,

    I am so fucking woke.

    Like

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  5. markinaustin, on May 15, 2017 at 11:34 pm said:

    One ally is said to be concerned about the open mouth:

    Israeli officials were reported to be concerned that his administration could not be trusted with sensitive material. According to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, they feared “the exposure of classified information to their American counterparts under a Trump administration could lead to their being leaked to Russia and onward to Iran.”

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