Bankers shift from foreclosures to short sales

By John W. Schoen, NBC News

 The pace of completed home foreclosures slowed a bit in August nationwide, as banks increasingly turned to so-called short sales to avoid the lengthy process of seizing, maintaining and selling properties.

The pace of home seizures still varies widely on a state-by-state basis. Illinois had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last month at  roughly one out of every 300 homes in some stage of the process, with both foreclosure starts and completions rising. Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada were also among the top five states with the highest foreclosure rates in August, according to the latest figures from RealtyTrac, a research firm that tracks foreclosures.

As the pace of home seizures eased, foreclosure starts across the country edged up 1 percent from July, to about 99,000. But that pace is still 13 percent lower than August last year, according to RealtyTrac. The wide variation reflects both the regional nature of the housing bust and differing state laws governing the foreclosure process. Some states have passed laws that have slowed the process.

The foreclosure process slowed sharply in many states that require courts to review home seizures after a barrage of legal challenges to the process lenders use to seize homes. As those backlogged cases work their way through the system, in states like Florida and New York, the pace has picked up again. In many so-called non-judicial states, like California and Arizona, where there have been fewer cases backlogged, the number of foreclosure starts has declined.

Mortgage rates unchanged, still near record lows

By MARCY GORDON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady this week, staying slightly above the lowest level on record. Low mortgage rates have aided a modest housing recovery.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.55 percent. In July, the rate fell to 3.49 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.85 percent, down from 2.86 percent last week. That's above the record low of 2.80 percent.

Cheap mortgages have helped lift the housing market. Sales of new and previously occupied homesare well above last year's levels. Low rates have also allowed people to refinance, which lowers monthly mortgage payments and helps boosts consumer spending.

Home prices are increasing more consistently this year, largely because the supply of homes has shrunk while sales have risen. And the number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined in the second quarter.

Still, the housing market has a long way back. Home sales are below healthy levels. And many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.

Mortgage rates are low because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. A weaker U.S. economy and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.

To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.

The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.6 point, down from 0.7 point last week. The fee for 15-year loans was changed at 0.6.

The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages was steady at 2.61 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans also was unchanged, at 0.4 point.

The average rate on five-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to 2.72 percent from 2.75 percent. The fee declined to 0.6 point from 0.7. 

Celebrity Real Estate: Johnny Depp buys home for ex

By Staff, Zillow

Celebrities don't always play by traditional rules when it comes to real estate. Johnny Depp bought a home for his ex and star couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have listed a townhomefor sale they never lived in.

Johnny Depp bought this gorgeous Spanish-style home for his ex Vanessa Paradis.

When it comes to breakups and sharing the treasure, Johnny Depp is no pirate.

According to the New York Daily News, the 49-year-old Depp has made real good on his good-guy image by purchasing a Hollywood Hills home for his former partner, Vanessa Paradis.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star has netted more than $300 million for his box-office-smashing film work, according toCurbed, so the $4.4 million sale price won’t put a dent in Depp’s stash. Still, the gesture goes a long way to preserving the peace between Depp and Paradis, 39, the mother of his two children, 13-year-old Lily-Rose and 9-year-old Jack.

The 5,800-square-foot home is nestled on a wooded lot of the Hollywood A-lister retreat off Mulholland Drive. Along with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, the Mediterranean spread earns its “wow” factor from the exposed wood beams, the masterful tile work and swimmer’s pool and spa.

Paradis and Depp were never married, and their relationship officially came to an end after they moved from France to Los Angeles last year. The couple previously lived in a home in suburban Paris, on an estate in the south of France and on Depp’s own island in the Bahamas.

Cities with the most homes in foreclosure

By Samuel Weigley, Alexander E.M. Hess & Michael Sauter, 24/7 Wall St.

In the second quarter of 2012, there were 986,355 completed home sales across the United States, according to RealtyTrac. Of those, 22.8 percent were “foreclosure sales,” which means that homes were either actively in default and in the foreclosure process, or the home already had been foreclosed and belonged to the bank at the time of the sale. While the average price of a nonforeclosure sale was $249,090, the average price of a foreclosure sale was $170,040, a 31.8 percent discount.

States with the most homes underwater

No state has been hit harder by the housing downturn than Nevada. Between the end of 2006 and the end of 2011, home values have tanked nearly 60 percent, higher than any other state by 7.2 percentage points.

By Samuel Weigley & Michael Sauter, 24/7 Wall St.

      The housing market is projected to improve in the coming years -- albeit slowly. While we are a long way to full recovery, the signs are there. Indeed, according to a CoreLogic report released this month, the number of underwater mortgages has declined from 12.1 million, or 25.2 percent of all mortgages, at the end of 2011 to 11.4 million, or 23.7 percent of all mortgages, at the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Bahria Town’s Plea Reject For The Fourth Time

Lahore High Court has rejected Bahria Town’s plea against anti corruption court trail for the fourth time. Malik Riaz, the property tycoon and his son are facing land fraud case in anti corruption court. Bahria Town’s lawyer, Abdul Basit tried to convince the court on Tuesday 24th July, 2012 that Bahria Town’s land fraud case was transferred by anti corruption court to NAB on the orders of chairman NAB in November 2012.  According to Basit, the NAB’s order was challenged by the anti corruption establishment in Lahore High Court, which is not lawful as NAB is a federal body and anti corruption establishment is operated on a provincial level. Basit believes that dispute between the federal and provincial anti corruption bodies are to be addressed by the Supreme Court not the provincial Lahore High Court.  However, Sadaqat Ali Khan, the prosecutor general Punjab representing anti corruption establishment, said that Malik Riaz and his son are escapees and therefore they cannot approach the court. Khan further added that Bahria Town lawyers have filed same petitions under different sections of Civil Procedure Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Constitution of Pakistan.  Khan clarified that chairman NAB issued the transfer order of fraud case after the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed Malik Riaz to appear before the court. He believes that Malik Riaz wants the land fraud case to be transferred to NAB because his nexus with higher officials in NAB will get him acquitted.  After listening to the arguments of both sides, the Rawalpindi Bench of LHC rejected Bahria Town’s plea to forward the land fraud case to NAB for the fourth time.

Planning & Development Department Is Directed To Recheck The Development Schemes

he Peshawar High Court has directed Planning & Development Department to reassess the development schemes and address the grievances of the concerned MPA.  In the hearing of a petition filed by an MPA from Tank, Ghulam Qadir Khan, against the property schemes approved under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) on the recommendation of a losing candidate, Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Irshad Qaiser has disposed of the writ.  The two-member bench directed P&D to compare both schemes approved by the government and the schemes proposed by the petitioner and approve the one that is in the best public interest.  According to The Chief Justice, the court has noticed that most of the parliamentarians have been mostly focusing on developmental schemes and forget to focus on enhancing their capabilities to legislate. If P&D will fail to redress the grievances of the petitioner, he can come back to the high court.  Advocate Sardar Ali Raza represented the petitioner and said that petitioner got elected as MPA from PK-69, Tank and the chairman of the district development advisory committee. Provincial Government had allocated Rs 20 million for starting developments programmes in several districts including Tank. Instead of obliging the schemes proposed by the petitioner, the government has approved schemes proposed by Mr. Kundi.  He further added that it is injustice that government has launched schemes recommended by a losing candidate and elected representative is ignored.  Naveed Akhtar, an additional advocate general, claimed that petitioner has not submitted any real estate scheme to the government and when he did not timely submit his schemes, he cannot be accommodated at