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Tag Archives: Home Prices

Hispanics Projected to be Mega-Consumer in Housing Market

With Hispanics as the largest minority group in the U.S., mortgage industry professionals should also expect Latinos to be key players when it comes to America's home buying future, according to the 2011 State of Hispanic Homeownership report released by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. According to the report, 34 percent of Hispanics said they are likely to buy a home in the next three years, compared to 24 percent of all Americans.

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Fitch: Home Prices to Fall Another 9.1% Before Reaching Sustainability

Home prices across much of the country are still overvalued, but the gap is narrowing, according to Fitch Ratings. The agency has revised its Sustainable Home Price (SHP) model, and the results show that residential property values are now on track to fall an additional 9.1 percent nationally before arriving at a level that is supported by market fundamentals. Though home prices are falling nationally, Fitch notes that price movement in some regional markets is still quite volatile due to the volume and pace of distressed sales being processed.

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Home Affordability Index Reaches Record-High Level

Home affordability has reached the highest peak ever since 1970, which is when the data was first recorded, according to National Association of Realtor's (NAR) housing affordability index. The index rose to a record high of 206.1 in January. While projections about future mortgage rates and home prices have been mixed, NAR expects little change and anticipates affordability levels will stay high through 2012.

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Housing Market on Long Road to Recovery, Capital Economics Says

The housing market is healing, a Capital Economics report stated, but the road to recovery will be a long and gradual one. The research firm expects to see home sales and homebuilding continue with increases, while house prices are expected to finally stop falling later this year. While certain areas of the housing market appear to be moving in a positive direction, Capital Economics still points out that with the growth come constraints, such as Eurozone issues and tightened lending standards.

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When Excluding Distressed Sales, Home Prices Show Monthly Gain

While home prices declined on a year-over-year basis in January 2012, a month-over-month gain was seen when excluding distressed sales, according to CoreLogic's January Home Price Index (HPI). Prices declined 3.1 percent in January 2012 compared to a year ago in January 2011. But, when excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.9 percent, and a month-over-month gain of 0.7 percent was seen for January. Distressed sales include short sales and REO transactions.

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As Home Values Sink, CredAbility Counsels More Borrowers

With more homeowners finding themselves underwater alongside the availability of programs offering potential relief, CredAbility reported that it recently counseled the highest number of homeowners since June 2011. CredaAbility, a national nonprofit organization that offers free counseling to homeowners, provided guidance and advice to 6,433 homeowners in February, a 16 percent increase compared to January.

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Price Declines Slow, But REOs on the Rise

Last month, year-over-year home price declines were at their lowest level since April 2011, but REO saturation levels rose in three of four regions, according to Clear Capital's latest Home Data Index. Whether this REO increase is an anomaly or the beginning of a new wave of REOs as banks pick up the pace now that they've reached a settlement with the state attorneys general is yet to be determined. Nationally, home prices fell 1.9 percent year-over-year, according to Clear Capital. The West and Midwest experienced the greatest declines, 3.2 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

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Fitch Expects Residential Loans to Continue Causing Losses for Banks

Despite recent reports of modest improvement in the health of the housing economy, Fitch expects the real estate sector to continue to depress the performance of banks, according to Fitch Ratings. Residential real estate is the largest exposure for banks since they make up $2.5 trillion, or roughly one-third of total loans, according to the agency. Home equity represents about 30 percent of this amount, with 1-4 family first lien mortgages making up the balance.

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Foreclosure-Related Sales in 2011 = 907,138

Pre-foreclosure short sales and sales of foreclosed REOs totaled 907,138 in 2011, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. These foreclosure-related transactions made up 23 percent of all residential sales in the U.S. last year, with short sales accounting for 9 percent and REOs accounting for 14 percent. Short sales increased more than 40 percent on a year-over-year basis in several states, including Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona. RealtyTrac expects short sales to continue to gain momentum in 2012 as lenders become more aggressive disposing of distressed assets.

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Beige Book Sees Continued Modest Improvement in Economy

Overall economic activity continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace in January and early February, the Federal Reserve said in its periodic Beige Book, an anecdotal report of conditions in each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts. The report showed economic improvement varying across the country -- economic activity rose at a somewhat faster pace in the Philadelphia and Atlanta districts but growth was slower in New York. Minneapolis characterized the pace of growth as firm.

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