by jbermanDenver home prices show decline – Despite the negative headline, the numbers show Denver is holding up better than some metropolitan areas. Denver didn’t participate in the rapid price inflation the past few years. This seems to be supporting a slower erosion in prices in this soft market.
Colorado House kills credit-scoring bill – Last year I testified before the state House on pending mortgage legislation. Representative Bucher held a firm bias against small business men and women. It seemed to me that there was a lack of understanding about the realities of our current credit environment and disturbingly an unwillingness to listen. This tidbit in the DBJ reveals the depth of Rep. Butcher’s understanding around issues of credit.
House Bill 1143 was sponsored by Rep. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo, who said the practice of “credit scoring” is unfair because there’s no correlation between credit and risks.
As I see it, credit and risk are absolutely correlated. This is why an unwillingness to listen, to communicate, and to truly understand is so disappointing when exhibited by our elected officials.
Fed: Mortgages are harder to get – Credit guidelines have tightened. It typically takes 6-9 months for changes in the real estate market to show up in economic measurement statistics. I expect these types of articles to proliferate throughout the year. The secondary market is in tatters right now. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, & FHA are the only folks buying mortgages.
Special thanks to Leigh Baran for the forward on this piece.