Today’s News Synopsis:

Mortgage rates increased again to a new high with 30-year rates now at 4.13% and 15-year rates at 3.36%.  ATTOM Data Solutions reported a decrease in home flipping, putting the total at 45,718.  According to CoreLogic, there was a $726 billion increase in home equity in the third quarter.

In The News:

Freddie Mac – “Mortgage Rates Hit New 2016 High” (12-8-16)

“Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS^®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving higher for the sixth consecutive week”

Realty Trac – “U.S. Home Flipping Activity Decreases in Q3 2016 After Hitting Six-Year High in Previous Quarter” (12-8-16)

“ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s largest fused property database, today released its Q3 2016 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows a total of 45,718 single family home and condo sales were flips in the third quarter of 2016, representing 5.1 percent of all single family and condo sales during the quarter.”

Bloomberg – “Manhattan Apartment Landlords Prop Up Market With Incentives” (12-8-16)

“Manhattan apartment landlords are offering potential tenants more perks to avoid cutting rents further in a softening market.  Incentives, such as a month’s free rent or payment of broker fees, were given on 25 percent of new leases last month, up from 14 percent a year earlier, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.”

CNBC – “Don’t write off REITs, especially this unsexy sector” (12-8-16)

“They have been the lump of coal in the Trump rally’s equity gift bag: real estate investment trusts.  Investors, however, may be missing out on a good buy, especially in one fast-growing REIT sector: warehouses.”

Freddie Mac – “Freddie Mac Implements Common Securitization Platform for Single-Family Mortgage-Backed Securities” (12-8-16)

“Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) announced today that it has implemented the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) for certain single-family fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities (MBS).”

DS News – “New York Legislation May Expedite Foreclosure Proceedings” (12-8-16)

“The New York Department of Financial Services has published a Consumer Bill of Rights to assist New York homeowners facing foreclosure, according to an announcement from New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.”

Denver Post – “Rising real estate market makes foreclosure properties hot investments, but some never collect profits” (12-8-16)

“County foreclosure auctions have become the hottest investment opportunity in town, reaping tens of thousands of dollars in profits for the most unlikely people: the homeowner who lost the house.”

CoreLogic – “CoreLogic Reports Home Equity Increased $726 Billion in the Third Quarter Compared With a Year Ago” (12-8-16)

“CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released a new analysis showing that U.S. homeowners with mortgages (roughly 63 percent of all homeowners) saw their equity increase by a total of $227 billion in Q3 2016 compared with the previous quarter, an increase of 3.1 percent.”