From Ryan Grim at the HuffPost: Cramdown Is Back: Banks Against Homeowners, Round 2 (ht Atrios ) House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) tells the Huffington Post he plans to revive the effort to give bankruptcy judges the authority to renegotiate home mortgages -- by maki ... Read more

For buyers in the most expensive housing markets, the rules concerning “conforming” mortgages have been confusing in the last year or so. Conforming mortgages are eligible to be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-run companies that together own or guarantee most ... ... Read more

An article from Realty Times, examines what we can expect in terms of housing and mortgage-related moves with a new president and Congress running Washington. At the top of the list is foreclosure relief. Barney Frank, the House Financial Services committee chairman, expects Congress and President O ... Read more

From the Capital One conference call, on Closed End Unsecured Loans (hat tip Brian): Analyst: When you look at the closed in loans that are clearly under performing at this stage, what is it about either the underwriting or the characteristics of that group of loans which makes that different than s ... Read more

From MarketWatch: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 37-year low The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tumbled to a national average 5.17% this week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began its weekly rate survey in 1971. ... "Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates fell for the ... Read more