Market Studies

Servicers provided nearly 74,000 modifications for distressed homeowners in May, up from 70,000 in April, according to data from HOPE NOW, an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and nonprofit counselors. This raises the total for modifications to 6.47 million since 2007, which is when HOPE NOW began keeping track. Short sales also ticked up in May, rising slightly to 28,000, up from 27,000 in April. Since 2009, the industry has provided about 1.29 million short sales to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The new home market in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex continued to see rapid growth in the second quarter, according to a report from Metrostudy, a Hanley Wood company.

If it wasn't for cash sales during the housing downturn, sales today would look much weaker, and the dramatic price declines over the past few years would have been even steeper, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. From 2000 to 2005, cash sales remained steady, representing around 25 percent of all sales. When the real estate market crashed in 2007 and 2008, the share of cash sales, driven by the rise in REO sales, jumped and eventually peaked above 40 percent two years ago. For 19 straight months now, cash sales have been declining.

After surging in June, the Housing Market Index, a measure of builder confidence, shot up again in July, climbing six points to 57, its highest reading since January 2006, the National Association of Home Builders reported Tuesday. The two month 13-point gain was the strongest two-month increase since January-February 1992 when the index improved 14 points.

Citigroup reported a net income of $4.2 billion in Q2. The bank's earnings represent a 42 percent increase over Q2 2012's estimated $2.9 billion. According to Citi's quarterly earnings filing, the increase was driven by the higher revenues and lower net credit losses, which were partially offset by higher legal and related costs, a lower loan loss reserve release and a higher effective tax rate.

If two tweaks were made to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), refinancing activity could increase substantially, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. One change would be to remove the cutoff date that limits eligibility to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans that were obtained by June 1, 2009. The second change would be to allow borrowers to refinance under the program more than once.

In June, an increase in the sale of REO properties drove down the CMBS delinquency rate, bringing it to a three-year low, Fitch Ratings reported. At 7.18 percent, the CMBS delinquency rate fell 19 basis points (bps) from the month before in May and is at its lowest level since March 2010. ""The CMBS delinquency rate is likely to improve further in the coming months as other large REO properties are sold, including a slew from ORIX's portfolio,"" said Scott Pritchard, director at Fitch.

Driven by stronger auto sales and rising gasoline prices, total retail sales increased 0.4 percent in June, down from May’s increase, the Census Bureau reported Monday. Economists had expected sales to increase 0.8 percent. May retail sales were revised to show an increase of percent, up from the originally reported 0.5 percent. The report suggested continuing struggles for the consumer sector, which represents 70 percent of the economy.

The Index of Consumer Sentiment, published by the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters twice each month (one preliminary reading and one final reading), dropped to 83.9 from June's final value of 84.1. The median forecast among economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 84.7.

Ben Bernanke was up at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to celebrate the Federal Reserve's 100th birthday. Despite being chairman of the Fed, instead of receiving a birthday gift, he gave a birthday gift--and Wall Street partied. Bernanke was generous in comments to the beleaguered housing sector when he listed his reasons for optimism about the economy. But Bernanke saved his biggest boost for stock investors when he made clear the Federal Reserve has no intention of abruptly raising interest rates or cutting back on its $85 billion a month bond purchase program.