Today’s News Synopsis:

Aaron Norris of the Norris Group gives this week’s Norris Group real estate headline roundup.  ATTOM DATA Solutions reported foreclosures for Q1 are now below pre-recession.  Mortgage rates at their lowest level this year with 30-year rates at 4.08% and 15-year at 3.34%.  Redfin says this could be the fastest market on record.

In The News:

Realty Trac – “Q1 2017 Foreclosure Activity Below Pre-Recession Levels Nationwide and In 47 Percent of U.S. Markets” (4-13-2017)

“ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s largest fused property database, today released its Q1 and March 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows first quarter foreclosure activity was below pre-recession levels nationwide and in 102 out of 216 metropolitan statistical areas (47 percent) analyzed in the report.”

Redfin – “Redfin: Home Prices and Sales Posted Strongest Gains as Supply Shortage Continued Into March” (4-13-2017)

“U.S. home prices rose 7.5 percent to a median sale price of $273,000 in March as home sales made a strong showing, up 8.9 percent over last year, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage.”

Freddie Mac – “Mortgage Rates Hit Lowest Mark of 2017” (4-13-2017)

“Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS^®), showing the 30-year mortgage rate dropping for the fourth consecutive week and hitting a new low for 2017.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “March New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Increased 6.7 Percent Year over Year” (4-13-2017)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for March 2017 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 6.7 percent compared to March 2016.”

CNBC – “Beijing bans real estate ads promoting high returns and good feng shui in latest bid to cool property market” (4-13-2017)

“Property websites in Beijing have become the latest targets of China’s continued efforts to clamp down on ballooning property prices under new restrictions which ban portals from promoting real estate investments.”

Fannie Mae – “Fannie Mae Announces Results of its Second Reperforming Loan Sale Transaction” (4-13-2017)

“Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) today announced the results of its second reperforming loan sale transaction.  The deal, which was announced on March 14, 2017, included the sale of approximately 7,500 loans totaling $1.62 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB), divided into four pools.”

Bloomberg – “Shale, Not Stock, Fuels the Wealthiest U.S. County” (4-13-2017)

“There are three good guesses for which U.S. county has the the highest adjusted gross incomes (AGI): New York County, otherwise known as Manhattan; Connecticut’s Fairfield County, where those rich Manhattanites land when they want a lawn; and Wyoming’s Teton County, home of Jackson Hole, where the richest of the rich go to play and sometimes stay.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Production Volume and Profits Up in 2016 for Independent Mortgage Bankers” (4-13-2017)

“Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks made an average profit of $1,346 on each loan they originated in 2016, up from $1,189 per loan in 2015, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today in its Annual Mortgage Bankers Performance Report.”