Washington, U.S.A. — Housing market confidence among Americans continues to trend in a positive direction despite stalling optimism about the economy and personal finances, according to results from Fannie Mae’s June 2012 National Housing Survey. Results indicate flattening economic trends may be contributing to waning consumer expectations about their personal financial situation. Nevertheless, Americans’ continued positive sentiment about housing appears to remain buoyed by low house prices and interest rates at historically low levels.

“While consumers remain cautious about the general economy, their attitudes toward the housing market continue to improve,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae. “Although this positive trend may be short-lived if the general economy falters, one might ask whether consumers are increasingly seeing the current environment as a unique opportunity to buy a home while home prices remain depressed, rental costs are increasing, and interest rates are near historic lows.”

Respondents expect home prices to increase 2 percent in the next year, on average, and 35 percent of Americans say that home prices will go up in the next twelve months (also the highest level recorded since the survey began in June 2010). In turn, the share of consumers who say they would buy if they were going to move increased by 6 percentage points this month (the highest level seen in the survey’s two-year history).

At the same time, 36 percent of Americans think the economy is on the right track (down 2 percentage points since May) and 57 percent think the economy is on the wrong track (up 1 percentage point). The percentage of respondents who expect their financial situation to remain the same over the next year dropped by 4 percentage points from last month to 42 percent, while only 18 percent say their household income has improved (also down 4 percentage points).

Survey highlights

Homeownership and Renting:

• Average home price expectation hit 2.0 percent this month, a 0.6 percent increase from May and the highest value recorded since the survey began in June 2010.
• Thirty-five percent of respondents say that home prices will go up in the next 12 months, the highest level recorded since the survey’s inception.
• Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed think mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months, a 4 percentage point decrease from last month.
• The percentage who say it is a good time to buy increased slightly to 73 percent, matching the highest level recorded since the survey began two years ago, while the percentage who think it is a good time to sell remained at 15 percent.
• On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.0 percent over the next 12 months, generally steady since May.
• Forty-eight percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up in the next 12 months, while 5 percent think they will go down.
• Sixty-nine percent of respondents said that they would buy if they were going to move, a 6 percentage point increase from last month and the highest level recorded since the survey’s inception.
• The percentage of respondents who would rent decreased from 32 percent to 27 percent, the lowest number to date.

The Economy and Household Finances:

• The upward trend of confidence that the economy is on the right track stalled this month, leveling at 36 percent.
• The percentage of respondents who expect their personal financial situation to stay the same over the next 12 months decreased by 4 percentage points to 42 percent, while those who expect their situation to get better steadied at 43 percent.
• Eighteen percent of respondents say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago, a 4 percentage point decrease and the lowest value seen since November 2011.
• Household expenses remained stable this month, with 55 percent reporting that their expenses stayed about the same as they were 12 months ago.

The most detailed consumer attitudinal survey of its kind, the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey polled 1,001 Americans via live telephone interview to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, mortgage rates, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer confidence.

Homeowners and renters are asked more than 100 questions used to track attitudinal shifts (findings are compared to the same survey conducted monthly beginning June 2010). Fannie Mae conducts this survey and shares monthly and quarterly results so that we may help industry partners and market participants target our collective efforts to stabilize the housing market in the near-term, and provide support in the future.

The Fannie Mae Monthly National Housing Survey site has detailed findings from the June 2012 survey, as well as a podcast providing an audio synopsis of the survey results and technical notes on survey methodology and questions asked of respondents associated with each monthly indicator. Also available on the site are quarterly survey results, which provide a detailed assessment of combined data results from three monthly studies.

The June 2012 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey was conducted between June 4, 2012 and June 21, 2012. Interviews were conducted by Penn Schoen Berland, in coordination with Fannie Mae.

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Washington, U.S.A. – Despite a downward revision to economic growth in the first quarter, moderate growth is expected to continue for the remainder of 2012, according to Fannie Mae’s (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) Economic & Strategic Research Group. However, risks to the economic outlook have tilted to the downside. Factors such as a decelerating trend in hiring, potential contagion in the euro zone from fiscal issues in Greece, and the potential of a massive fiscal drag in the U.S. indicate that the balance between upside and downside risks has diminished.

For all of 2012, growth is projected to come in at 2.2 percent. Consumers remain key to the overall outlook, as attitudes appear to be reaching a plateau after a few months of improvement early in the year. Loss of momentum in labor market conditions, sluggish income growth, and decreasing saving rates suggest that consumers may need to moderate spending unless income picks up.

“For the third year in a row we are experiencing a spring lull in economic activity,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan.”Our view is that the underlying resilience of the economy and of consumers in particular that has been demonstrated during the past couple of years will persist. However, the magnitude of the uncertainties surrounding the European debt crisis and our fiscal condition here in the U.S. implies that the risks to the outlook are clearly tilted to the downside.”

The housing market has performed relatively well in the current environment supported by record affordability and very low interest rates, with home sales up 8 percent year over year, but from very depressed levels in numeric terms compared to 2011. In turn, cautious optimism remains in place for continued gradual healing of the housing market, albeit in the face of various headwinds, including weak employment growth, rising student loans, and a continuing stream of foreclosed households.

Main measures of home prices have firmed in recent months, as the share of distressed sales has declined in a strong seasonal period. Despite this recent encouraging trend, the Group continues to expect that home prices on a national basis will show a slight additional decline before bottoming in the beginning of next year.

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Last week, ProPublica and NPR raised questions about a risky investment strategy at Freddie Mac that would pay off if homeowners stayed trapped in expensive mortgages. It’s just the latest example of how government-owned Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have frustrated many by not putting homeowners first.

Fannie and Freddie are required to help homeowners while earning profits so they can pay back the taxpayers who bailed them out. Here is our guide to the little-known federal regulator, Edward DeMarco, ultimately in charge of the two companies. You may have never heard of him, but as The Washington Post put it, he’s “the most powerful man in housing policy.”

The basics

In the summer of 2008, as part of a larger economic stimulus bill amid the subprime mortgage crisis, President George W. Bush created the Federal Housing Finance Agency, combining several agencies overseeing housing policy, and increasing regulation of government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie and Freddie. When the government bailed out Fannie and Freddie a few months later, the FHFA took charge of them.

DeMarco, a lifelong regulator, was named the acting head of the FHFA roughly a year after the bailout when his Bush-appointed predecessor stepped down. Obama nominated a consumer-friendly replacement for DeMarco in October 2010, but Republicans blocked him. (Republican opposition to Obama’s nominee for DeMarco’s successor stemmed in part from concerns that he would push banks and others too far to help homeowners, unfairly rewarding reckless borrowers.)

As head of the FHFA, DeMarco has a three-part mission: to promote the soundness of Fannie and Freddie, and to support affordable housing and a stable and liquid mortgage market (in other words, to expand access to home ownership loans and make it easier to buy and sell mortgages).

The last two goals, though, can clash with the fact that under the bailout, DeMarco is the “conservator” of Freddie and Fannie, meaning he has to protect their finances for the benefit of their shareholders. (And the majority shareholder is now the federal government.) According to The Washington Post’s Brad Plumer and Ezra Klein, there is “a conflict tucked deep into DeMarco’s job description: The head of the FHFA is stuck between the narrow needs of Fannie and Freddie and the broader needs of the housing market.”

DeMarco has focused almost solely on that first goal, telling Congress many times that “as conservator, FHFA has a statutory responsibility to preserve and conserve the enterprises’ assets.” In plainer terms, he told NPR last week that his role is to “make sure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac undertake activities that don’t cause further losses for the American taxpayers.”

DeMarco has strongly asserted his independence, insisting that he is promoting needed fiscal discipline. (He did not respond to our latest requests for comment on his role with the FHFA).

Clashes with Congress and Obama

Democrats and Obama administration officials have been frustrated with DeMarco, saying the FHFA’s narrow focus on Fannie and Freddie’s health has hurt the housing market.

The Obama administration has repeatedly tried to push principal reduction 2014 reducing the size of a borrower’s mortgage 2014 as a way to help homeowners, especially those with homes worth less than their mortgages. But as ProPublica and others have reported, time and again, Fannie and Freddie wouldn’t participate: a crippling problem, since the two companies own or guarantee about half of the country’s mortgages.

Last month, the administration unveiled yet another plan to encourage principal reduction, but a former administration adviser called DeMarco “the boulder” in the way of making it happen.

DeMarco says principal reduction could cost taxpayers $100 billion. Some economists counter that while principal reductions might lead to a short-term hit for Fannie and Freddie, it would ultimately result in fewer underwater mortgages, fewer foreclosures and a healthier housing market 2014 all good for Fannie and Freddie’s bottom line.

On another administration plan, to allow more borrowers to refinance at lower rates, DeMarco shifted somewhat toward the White House’s position. He agreed to lift some fees on refinancing and make it easier to qualify. Freddie Mac told ProPublica in a statement that it has helped more than 830,000 families refinance, but as we noted, critics say that the refinancing effort could be helping millions more.

As DeMarco told Politico, he’s been no “particular friend” of banks. He brought a massive lawsuit against 17 banks, alleging fraud over $200 billion in toxic mortgages sold to Fannie and Freddie. The case is ongoing.

DeMarco is also charged with helping Fannie and Freddie go gently into the night. As part of their bailout, the two companies are supposed to wind down their operations. And just as DeMarco has resisted Democratic calls for more aggressive help for homeowners, he’s also pushed back against Republican calls to spin off the companies more quickly. He’s also rejected GOP plans to cap executive pay at Fannie and Freddie.

Why he’s still there

Last week, DeMarco described his job as a “balancing act.” It’s certainly thankless. While Democrats have called for DeMarco’s head, the FHFA is an independent agency, meaning the Obama administration can’t just get rid of him over policy disputes such as his stance on refinancing or principal reduction.

He could also be replaced if Obama decides to offer another nominee and the Senate confirms the choice. Barring that, DeMarco will likely remain where he is for some time, walking his own line on Fannie and Freddie’s contradictory mission.

by Cora Currier ProPublica, Feb. 6, 2012, 4:14 p.m.

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When it comes to political discourse and social protests, social media has changed the landscape.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and Youtube have provided outlets for the average person to vent, pontificate, and act as pseudo-journalists on all subjects.

Very often, a video or posting on Twitter and Facebook goes viral as people that agree or disagree forward and re-post the the original posting.  Such was the case after President Obama’s State of the Union speech. In the wake of the president’s speech, a list of his accomplishments went viral on Facebook.

Similar to a popular website that details real and imagined accomplishments of our current president, the list gives a rosy picture of the current state of the Obama administration.   The problem with the new tools of social media, however, is that the authors often have conclusions based more on emotion and ideology rather than facts, and readers often do not check the facts.

Below is a list of things that went viral on Facebook the night of the speech.  In response is a second list that offers an alternative view with links to real factual data.

My President: A Liberal View

1. Osama Bin Laden… check
2. Unemployment rate 8.5 percent… check.
3. 1.6 million jobs created with no GOP help… check
.
4. 22 months of job and economic growth with no help… check.
5. Ended war in Iraq… check.
6. DADT repeal… check.
7. Not one tax hike in 3 years… check.
8. Brought out racism in the GOP… check.
9. Still carries 80 percent of the black vote… check.
10. Same wife for 15 years with no extramarital affairs… check.
11. Can flat out sing… check.
12. Saved auto industry and 1.5 million jobs… check.
13. Assisted in ousting Ghaddafi… check.
14. Only active president to receive Nobel Peace Prize while in office… check.
15. Mortgage modification to prevent homeowners from losing their homes… check.
16. STILL fighting for middle class families… check.
17. Reform affordable healthcare… check.

Rosy, indeed. I decided to put together a more comprehensive and fact-based list.

My President: A Realistic View

1. Killed Osama Bin Laden… check.
2. Net loss of two million jobs… check.
3. Unemployment rate of 15 percent for his biggest fans, African-Americans… check.
4. Had the House and Senate majorities and still could not get his own people (Democrats) to back all his ideas. Seeks blame elsewhere… check.
5. Campaigned against $500 billion deficit created by President Bush, but increased deficit to 1.4 trillion in under two years… check.
6. Spent more money in two years than all of the previous presidents combined… check.
7. Increased debt to $15 trillion… check.
8. Has left my goddaughter and all newborn Americans a debt load of $50,000 per person before they even get out of diapers… check.
9. Uncovered the left and African-Americans’ obsession with racism as a shield against his own failures… check.
10. Race relations worse than in 50 years… check.
11. Still carries 80 percent of the black vote, proving African-Americans will support anyone that is black and has a “D” after their name… check.
12. Proves that African-Americans no longer care about the content of one’s character, but the color of one’s skin and political party… check.
13. Still protects Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the causes of the financial collapse… check.
14. Received Nobel Prize before taking office. Sends 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, violates Pakistan’s borders to kill Bin Laden, and increases drone strikes. I do not have a problem with any of that, but I am not sure that is what the Nobel “PEACE” panel had in mind… check.
15. Mortgage modification plan to help homeowners, who bought houses they should not have, keep their homes.  Plan has not worked… check.
16. Fighting with unions to stop jobs in South Carolina. Fighting against unions to stop jobs with Keystone oil project. Still not helping middle class, but talks a good game… check.
17. Unconstitutional power grab to force me to buy health insurance that is more expensive… check.
18. Second worse president after Jimmy Carter… double check.

Which list is correct? The truth lies not with the information in the lists itself, but in how you wish to view the president. The first is one that ignores a lot because of a liking for President Obama. The second is not personal, but uncovers a deep truth about what has transpired in the last three years.

At the end of the day, the primary questions that remain is if America is better off today than it was three years ago, and will what has transpired be financially viable in the future. It does not take a dislike of the president to answer that question. It takes a $10 calculator and a dose of common sense, which leaves a very unpalatable taste in your mouth, especially if you voted for President Obama the first time.

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Obama Administration unveiled a revamped home loan refinancing program, Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), that aims to help “underwater borrowers” whose home values have been declined. The program was first introduced in 2009.

HARP 1.0 was supposed to be the simpler part of the complex plan to revitalize the nation’s housing market when launched two years back. It was intended to help borrowers whose mortgages were owned or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This time HARP 2.0 aims to do more – to lower the mortgage payments as a way to free up cash for other spending that could potentially insulates faster economic recovery.

“If you met certain requirements, you will have a chance of refinance at lower rates, which could save you hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars a year in a mortgage payment” President Barack Obama said in Las Vegas as he unveiled the plan there.

Also, this time around Fannie and Freddie removed or eliminated certain upfront fees charged for weaker credits, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Said. The big four banks combined to write $175.4 Billion in new Mortgages during the three months ended September 30.that is 24% lower than what these lenders wrote last year.

A quick check at the top five mortgage lenders in a 2011 quarterly report shows that Wells Fargo and Company tops the list with $65,662 in lending, followed by Bank of America with $41,425 million, Chase’s lending volume being $35,985 million, and finally CitiMortgage Inc. with $12,211 million of lending volume.

HARP never took off or performed as expected. Many believe numerous factors were responsible for its lukewarm performance over the last two years. Reportedly, the biggest threat was posed by falling home prices acting as a major obstacle to refinance. It helped just 800,000 homeowners, well below the 4 million plus mark originally targeted.

The changes announced on Monday by the FHSA, which regulates Fannie and Freddie, lift a cap that had limited the HARP 1.0  program borrowers whose homes had lost no more than 25 percent of their value relative to their outstanding mortgage. Luckily This limit has been changed.

The FHSA also said that Fannie and Freddie will eliminate certain fees borrowers who refinance into shorter-term-duration. In the big picture, rejuvenating how we oversee the housing marketing plays a pivotal role in repairing to damages we’ve experiences in this sector., Fixing and modifying working of refinance system might provide cushion to consumer spending in the days to come.

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