by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2010 02:00:00 PM

From the April 27-28, 2010 FOMC meeting.

On Greece:

[P]articipants saw the escalation of fiscal strains in Greece and spreading concerns about other peripheral European countries as weighing on financial conditions and confidence in the euro area. If other European countries responded by intensifying their fiscal consolidation efforts, the result would likely be slower growth in Europe and potentially a weaker global economic recovery. Some participants expressed concern that a crisis in Greece or in some other peripheral European countries could have an adverse effect on U.S. financial markets, which could also slow the recovery in this country.

On Housing:

[T]he recovery in the housing market appeared to have stalled in recent months despite various forms of government support. Although residential real estate values seemed to be stabilizing and in some areas had reportedly moved higher, housing sales and starts had leveled off in recent months at depressed levels. Some participants saw the possibility of elevated foreclosures adding to the already very large inventory of vacant homes as posing a downside risk to home prices, thereby limiting the extent of the pickup in residential investment for a while.

The FOMC is forecasting moderate growth however they expect the unemployment rate to remain elevated for some time:

In their discussion of the economic situation and outlook, meeting participants agreed that the incoming data and information received from business contacts indicated that economic activity continued to strengthen and the labor market was beginning to improve. Although some of the recent data on economic activity had been better than anticipated, most participants saw the incoming information as broadly in line with their earlier projections for moderate growth; accordingly, their views on the economic outlook had not changed appreciably. Participants expected the economic recovery to continue, but, consistent with experience following previous financial crises, most anticipated that the pickup in output would be rather slow relative to past recoveries from deep recessions. A moderate pace of expansion, in turn, would imply only a modest improvement in the labor market this year, with the unemployment rate declining gradually.

by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2010 12:31:00 PM

From LoanPerformance: CoreLogic Home Price Index Shows Second Consecutive Annual Increase

National home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 1.7 percent in March 2010 compared to March 2009, according to CoreLogic and its Home Price Index (HPI). This was an improvement over February’s year-over-year price increase of 0.8 percent.* Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices increased in March by 1.9 percent; an improvement over the February non-distressed HPI which fell by 0.2 percent year-over-year.

On a month-over-month basis, the national average home price index fell by 0.3 percent in March 2010 compared to February 2010, which was more moderate than the previous one month decline of 1.7 percent from January to February.
...
“March’s year-over-year increase in the HPI shows that the housing market is continuing to exhibit signs of stability,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The differences between trends, including and excluding distressed sales, indicate the strong influence of distressed activity remains, but the surge in home sales in March is giving the market a boost this spring. As the influence of the tail end of the tax credit and spring buying season fade, price growth will fade with it as we go into summer.”

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the national LoanPerformance data since 1976. January 2000 = 100.

The index is up 1.7% over the last year, and off 30.5% from the peak.

House prices are off 4.8% from the recent peak in August 2009 (although some of the decline is seasonal). The index bottomed last March ... so the index is also up 1.7% from the recent low.

With all the distressed sales and government programs, it is hard to separate the seasonal factors from other distortions. However I expect that we will see lower prices on this index later this year.

Note: This is the house price index the Fed now uses for the Flow of Funds report.

by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2010 11:06:00 AM

On the MBA conference call concerning the "Q1 2010 National Delinquency Survey", MBA Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann said this morning:

These are "extraordinary times" and the seasonal adjustment may be incorrect. The 90+ day delinquency bucket is very high and might not be seasonal. If that is backed out, delinquencies are "flat".

FHA foreclosure starts up sharply.

"Shadow inventory" of 4.3 million loans that need to worked through (90 day delinquent or in foreclosure) - or they will become REOs or distressed sales.

Prime fixed rate is now the key problem!

"Sand states" will not be as dominant as the problem moves to prime fixed rate.

Still expect some improvement this year for delinquencies, although a little less optimistic than last quarter.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the delinquency and foreclosure rates for all prime loans.

This is a new record rate of prime loans in delinquency and foreclosure.

Prime loans account for over 75% of all loans.

"We're all subprime now!"

NOTE: Tanta first wrote this saying in 2007 in response to the 'contained to subprime' statements.

I'll have more later today ...

by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2010 10:00:00 AM

The MBA reports a record 14.69 percent of mortgage loans were either one payment delinquent or in the foreclosure process in Q1 2010 (seasonally adjusted).

From the MBA: Delinquencies, Foreclosure Starts Fall in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit
residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.06 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 59 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2009, and up 94 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate decreased 106 basis points from 10.44 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 9.38 percent this quarter.

The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started during the first quarter was 1.23 percent, up three basis points from last quarter but down 14 basis points from one year ago.

The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the first quarter was 4.63 percent, an increase of five basis points from the fourth quarter of 2009 and 78 basis points from one year ago. This represents another record high.

The combined percentage of loans in foreclosure or at least one payment past due was 14.01 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, a decline from 15.02 percent last quarter.

The serious delinquency rate, the percentage of loans that are 90 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure, was 9.54 percent, a decrease of 13 basis points from last quarter, but an increase of 230 basis points from the first quarter of last year.

Although this is a new record, Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist added a caution on the seasonal adjustment (see press release).

I'll have notes from the conference call and graphs soon.

by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2010 08:30:00 AM

From the BLS report on the Consumer Price Index this morning:

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent in April...

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in April, as it was in March. The shelter index and its major components of rent and owners' equivalent rent were all unchanged in April.

Owners' equivalent rent (OER) is now down slightly year-over-year.

The disinflationary trend continues - and with all the slack in the system (especially the 9.9% unemployment rate), it is hard to see inflation picking up any time soon. The high unemployment rate and low measured inflation suggest the Fed will hold the Fed funds rate at the current level for some time.

by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2010 07:31:00 AM

The MBA reports: Mortgage Purchase Applications Plummet While Refinance Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier....

The Refinance Index increased 14.5 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 27.1 percent from one week earlier. This is the lowest Purchase Index observed in the survey since May of 1997. ...

“Purchase applications plummeted 27 percent last week and have declined almost 20 percent over the past month, despite relatively low interest rates. The data continue to suggest that the tax credit pulled sales into April at the expense of the remainder of the spring buying season. In fact, this drop occurred even as rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages continued to fall, and at 4.83 percent are at their lowest level since November 2009,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. “However, refinance borrowers did react to these lower rates, with refi applications up almost 15 percent, hitting their highest level in nine weeks.”

... The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.83 percent from 4.96 percent, with points increasing to 1.08 from 0.91 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the MBA Purchase Index and four week moving average since 1990.

There was a spike in purchase applications in April, followed by a decline to a 13 year low last week. As Fratantoni noted: "The data continue to suggest that the tax credit pulled sales into April at the expense of the remainder of the spring buying season."

by Calculated Risk on 5/18/2010 11:59:00 PM

Note: This index is a leading indicator for Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investment.

Reuters reports that the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Billings Index increased to 48.5 in April from 46.1 in March. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction.

This suggests the slump for commercial real estate design might be nearing a bottom. However, according to the AIA, there is an "approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending" on non-residential construction. So there will probably be further declines in CRE investment through all of 2010, and probably into 2011.

The ABI press release is not online yet.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the Architecture Billings Index since 1996. The index has remained below 50, indicating falling demand, since January 2008.

Note: Nonresidential construction includes commercial and industrial facilities like hotels and office buildings, as well as schools, hospitals and other institutions.

by Calculated Risk on 5/18/2010 07:53:00 PM

From The Times: German shocks to the market push euro down again

The euro ... slid even further to $1.212, its lowest level against the greenback since April 17, 2006, after Germany instituted a ban from midnight last night on the naked short sale of shares in the country’s top financial institutions and the bonds of eurozone countries.

Germany also prohibited the purchase of credit default swaps (CDS) on eurozone government bonds, other than for hedging purposes.

That calls for an updated graph ...

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

The Euro has only been around since Jan 1999. The graph shows the number of dollars per euro since Jan 1, 1999.

The dashed line is the current exchange rate. This is the lowest level for the euro against the dollar since April 2006.

Just a little further (below 1.1667 dollars per euro), and we will be discussing the lowest level since 2003.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data shows the S&P 500 off about 9 points or just under 1%. Dow futures are off about 70 points. The European markets will be interesting ...

by Calculated Risk on 5/18/2010 04:02:00 PM

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph is from Doug Short of dshort.com (financial planner): "Four Bad Bears".

Note that the Great Depression crash is based on the DOW; the three others are for the S&P 500.

The Euro is at 1.22 dollars. Other sources for exchange rates and NetDania.

From the WSJ: Euro Falls on German Tax Plan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday in Berlin that Germany would support a tax on the sector to contribute to the costs of the euro-zone sovereign-debt rescue plan.
...
Germany's ruling center-right parties agree that the financial-market sector must contribute to the costs of the euro-zone debt crisis if the lower house of Parliament is to approve Germany's share of the huge euro-zone rescue plan. They demanded the introduction of a financial-transaction tax or financial-activities tax.

And Germany bans naked short selling on eurobonds and some banks ... from CNBC: Germany Planning Sharp Curbs On Some Kinds of Short Selling

by Calculated Risk on 5/18/2010 02:53:00 PM

Note: ignore the median price - it is distorted by the changing mix.

From DataQuick: Southern California home sales dip

Southern California’s housing market leveled off last month as sales activity migrated ever-so-slightly from inland bargain areas toward entry- and mid-market neighborhoods closer to the coast. ...

Sales of new and resale homes totaled 20,299 in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 0.9 percent from 20,476 in March, and down 1.0 percent from 20,514 for April 2009, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

It’s possible that a significant number of sales that would otherwise have closed escrow in April were delayed until May as buyers tried to take advantage of new state tax credits effective May 1. In addition, those who rushed to sign a sales contract last month before the April 30 deadline for a federal home buyer tax credit would likely close escrow in May or June.

... The Southland’s 1.0 percent decline in overall sales was the first year-over-year drop in almost two years.
...
Foreclosure resales accounted for 36.4 percent of the resale market last month, down from a revised 38.3 percent in March, and down from 53.5 percent a year ago. The all-time high was February 2009 at 56.7 percent.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 38.5 percent of all mortgages used to purchase homes in April.

... Buyers who appeared to have paid all cash – meaning there was no indication that a corresponding purchase loan was recorded – accounted for 27.7 percent of April sales, paying a median $200,000.

... Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but is lower than peak levels reached over the last two years.

As DataQuick noted, many California buyers might have signed a contract in April (to get the Federal tax credit), but are planning on closing in May (to get the state tax credit). That could have reduced sales in April - we need to wait a few months to let this sort out. Also DataQuick tracks foreclosures, but not short sales - and the total percentage of distressed sales is probably still over half the market.