Foreclosure
By Esther Cho | 05/24/2013
As institutional investor activity continues in California, PropertyRadar decided to more closely examine who these investors are and their purchase patterns. To rule out smaller and individual investors, PropertyRadar tracked transfers in qualities greater than 10 from an LLC or LP. The firm reported LLC and LP purchases represented only 5.1 percent of transfer activity in 2012 and 4.5 percent in 2013. However, upon closer examination, PropertyRadar found institutional investor activity was mainly concentrated in certain counties.
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By Esther Cho | 05/24/2013
In April, the share of sales involving foreclosures and short sales maintained their downward path, falling to the lowest level since 2009, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. Using a three-month moving average, the survey found distressed sales accounted for 33 percent of home purchases in April, a decrease from 35.6 percent in March and 43.6 percent in April 2012. As expected, investor activity also slowed during the same time period.
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By Andy Beth Miller | 05/24/2013
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland recently compiled a comprehensive report to aid the creation of a more effective environment for which Ohioans can navigate (and stabilize) their state's housing market successfully. There are five main policies that the Cleveland Fed presented, calling for careful consideration from Ohioans. The first policy attempts to address the age-old issue of foreclosures, vacancies, and low-value or abandoned properties.
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By Esther Cho | 05/22/2013
A federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and other defendants, MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced.
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By Esther Cho | 05/22/2013
As home values improve and servicers continue to ramp up efforts to reduce delinquent pipelines through short sales and loan modifications, the composition of RMBS loan pools outstanding should also improve, according to Moody's most recent ResiLandscape. According to analysts from Moody's, rising home prices motivate current borrowers to avoid default, and they increase the proportion of current loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios below 100, which are the loans that are the least likely to go incur losses.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 05/22/2013
Existing-home sales rose 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008. The inventory of homes for sale rose to 2.16 million--its highest level since last September. The supply of homes for sale rose to 5.2 months, the highest since October. Inventory has been a persistent concern to NAR, which says the low supply of homes for sale has reduced the number of transactions.
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By Esther Cho | 05/22/2013
Month-end mortgage performance data in April continued to point to a recovery as delinquency and foreclosure rates posted record improvements, Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) reported Wednesday. In April, the delinquency rate sunk below 6.5 percent for the first time since July 2008, according to the data provider. At 6.21 percent, the delinquency rate recorded a month-over-month decrease of 5.81 percent and a year-over-year decline of 9.61 percent. The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate, which stood at 3.17 percent in April, plunged 24.55 percent from a year ago.
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By Esther Cho | 05/21/2013
Last year, some analysts were speculating the large supply of REOs and shadow inventory would keep the market depressed, but instead, the market is dealing with a lack of inventory available for sale, ProTeck Valuation Services noted in its May Home Value Forecast (HVF). "[I]n reality the shortage of housing inventory has led buyers to bid more competitively against one another leading to significant home price increases and tighter housing conditions," said Tom O'Grady, CEO of Pro Teck.
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By Tory Barringer | 05/21/2013
The majority of metros covered in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports saw home values inch up from March to April, the company reported Tuesday. Zillow's Home Value Index increased 0.5 percent month-over-month and 5.2 percent year-over-year. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5 percent on a yearly basis. According to Zillow, the last time national home values were at this level was in June 2004.
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By Esther Cho | 05/21/2013
The five banks that took part in the national mortgage settlement are getting close to completing their consumer relief obligations a year after the landmark deal was reached. So far, the five banks--Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial--have provided $50.63 billion in consumer relief to over 621,700 borrowers, according to an update from the settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. The provided relief comes out to about $81,437 per borrower.
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