Continuous declines in United States’ housing values after the mid-2000s caused an increasing number of borrowers to explore the loan modification process in an attempt to avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. Unfortunately, a large number of homeowners who sought to have their loans modified were thwarted by lengthy and impersonal negotiation processes imposed by [...]

Now that the majority of elected officials serving in Congress and the White House have publicly stated their resolute intent to spend United States Treasury funds to attempt to stimulate the nation’s economy, the ideological debate as to whether it is proper to use taxpayer dollars in support of this effort should now be set [...]

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999, repealed the portion of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that prohibited banks from consolidating with investment houses while the GLBA also expanded the influence of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 which requires banks to make loans to higher-risk borrowers. Although the lethal economic brew imposed by the GLBA [...]

It is widely accepted that rent amounts are a fundamental factor in determining the value of housing. If housing prices rise too far out of line with rents, a combination of declines in home values and increases in rent amounts will ultimately occur and enable these two averages to correct back toward each other. Although [...]

When seemingly endless statistical reports show steadily declining home values, it is essential to analyze geographic micro-markets to properly assess the value of residential properties. Although many media and data tracking sources will often cite national declines in median housing prices, a significant number of areas, or micro-markets, will simultaneously experience an increase in home [...]