Homeowner headlines

Two cool graphics about first-time home buyers. The first comes from Southern California’s Nick "The Realtor" Nguyen (click to see the full-sized version on his site):

And the second comes from real estate "online workspace" Doorsteps (also click to see the full-sized version:

A bill being introduced in Congress by Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Stephen Fincher (R-TN), and Gary Miller (R-CA) is trying to fix what the legislators feel is an unintended consequence of new rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that cover "predatory" or "high-cost" loans.

Here’s the deal: Mobile or manufactured homes typically cost a lot less than a typical suburban property. Basic math means that the cost of originating and servicing loans for those properties might be the same in terms of dollars, but are much higher, percentage-wise, in a small loan.

Interesting story in the Financial Times about how immigrants to the U.S. have not only been key to the housing recovery, they will remain key to the market. It’s based in part on a report from Housing America and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Some key points:

Real estate investors have helped the market recover. But for the long-term health of the market, maybe they should stop now.

(To be clear: By “investors” I mean people and companies that buy single-family homes to turn them into rentals, not house-flippers.)

Here’s what’s worth watching: When all those foreclosures went on the market at deep discounts, investors began snapping them up. That was a good thing, because there was so much inventory out there that prices were staying low.

Once most of that distressed inventory was gone, though, conventional wisdom said that investors would ease off. Prices would go up and the great deals would be gone.