HOPE NOW Reports 70K Mods in April, 59K Foreclosure Sales

Nearly 70,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications in April, while foreclosure sales stood at 59,000 for the month, according to data from ""HOPE NOW"":http://www.hopenow.com/, an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and nonprofit counselors.

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Of the 70,000 modifications, about 58,000 were proprietary, or private, loan modifications, while about 12,000 were through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), HOPE NOW reported. In March, servicers provided over 88,000 modifications for homeowners.

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Since 2007, a total of 6.39 million homeowners have received permanent modifications.

Completed short sales reached 27,000 in April--a slight adjustment from 28,000 in March. This brings the industry total for short sales since 2009 to 1.26 million.

When combining loan modifications and short sales, HOPE NOW reported over 7.6 million foreclosure prevention solutions have been applied since 2007.

Meanwhile, foreclosure sales showed an increase from March to April, rising 14 percent to 59,000.
Foreclosure starts were little changed at 115,000 in April compared to 116,000 in March.

""HOPE NOW is proud of the efforts its members have made on behalf of the nation's homeowners. While there is still work to be done in the housing market, significant progress has been made via loan modifications, short sales and other solutions,"" said Eric Selk, executive director of HOPE NOW, in a statement.

HOPE NOW also announced upcoming face-to-face ""events"":http://www.hopenow.com/upcoming-events.php it will be hosting this summer in Columbia, South Carolina; Birmingham Alabama; San Antonio, Texas; and San Bernardino, California.