Inventory, Interest Rates, And Opportunities In The Market

Barry Habib, chairman of Mortgage Success Source, says the rush to take advantage of the tax credit has inflated recent housing data but believes low rates provide ongoing opportunities in real estate for buyers looking to stay in a home long-term.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Federal Programs, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Interest Rates, Inventory, Real-Estate, Tax Credit, Video, Views

Fannie, Freddie, and The Housing Forecast

With 25 percent of mortgages underwater and high levels of delinquencies, James Lockhart, former director of The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, says the housing market will need another year or more before it shows signs of recovery.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Delinquencies, Fannie Mae, Foreclosures, Freddie Mac, Housing Market, Real-Estate, Second-Lien Modification, Video, Views

Shadow Inventory and The Housing Recovery

The housing market’s current mix of ups and downs has experts and industry insiders forecasting a variety of possible outcomes over the next few months and beyond. The shadow inventory looms large among many factors influencing whether the recent stretch of stability continues or the market takes a downturn. Estimates of the number of homes that are ready to sell but haven’t been put on the market vary. A recent report from Barclays Capital says the shadow inventory will peak this summer and begin falling as the market stabilizes. But with an estimated 4.5 million homes potentially hitting the market over the next few years, an orderly pace is required to prevent flooding the market and driving prices down again. More here, here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Delinquencies, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Inventory, News, Prices, Real-Estate

Foreclosures, Gov’t Action, And The Recovery

Economist Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says federal programs have led to an artificial stabilization in the market. In order to deal with the glut of distressed properties, he feels people facing foreclosure should be allowed to stay in their homes as renters until they can renegotiate their mortgage.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Federal Programs, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Prices, Sales, Tax Credit, Video, Views

Total Foreclosure Filings Fall, Repossessions Rise

Foreclosures fell year-over-year for the first time since RealtyTrac began measuring them in January 2006. The total number of foreclosure filings, which include notices of default, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, dropped 2 percent from a year ago and 9 percent from March. James Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO, said the numbers suggest foreclosure activity has begun to plateau but will not drop off anytime soon. Saccacio believes the overall numbers will stay high and repossessions will hit record levels as lenders work through the backlog of distressed properties. In April, 92,432 homes were repossessed, a 45 percent increase over the same month last year. More here, here, and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, News, Real-Estate, Repossessions, Trends

Second Mortgages And The Threat Of Foreclosure

Laurie Goodman, senior managing director at Amherst Securities Group, says, because more than 50 percent of distressed borrowers have second mortgages, the government needs to come up with an operational second-lien modification program in order to avoid a spike in foreclosures.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Second-Lien Modification, Video, Views

Homes For Sale, Price Cuts Rise In April

The number of homes for sale in 27 major metropolitan areas was up 2.6 percent in April from a month earlier, according to ZipRealty. The figures, which cover all single-family homes, condominiums, and town houses listed for sale, showed April’s inventory down 9.6 percent from a year ago but doesn’t take into account the supply of potential foreclosures that may hit the market this year. Zillow.com reports the percentage of available homes that cut their asking price also rose. According to the website, nearly one in four homes dropped their asking price in April, though the median price cut was down to 6.3 percent from 6.5 percent in March. More here and here. Inventory data here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Inventory, News, Prices, Real-Estate, Trends

Summer Sales, Foreclosures, And The End Of The Tax Credit

Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy, says the housing market is six-to-twelve months from real recovery and predicts weaker home sales this summer and another slight dip in prices as foreclosures hit the market.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Prices, Sales, Tax Credit, Video, Views

Foreclosure Rates Fall In Hardest Hit Cities

Foreclosure activity fell on a year-over-year basis in 14 of the 20 cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the country, according to RealtyTrac’s Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report. Still, 159 of the 206 metro areas tracked in the report posted increases, and foreclosure activity nationwide is up 16 percent from the first quarter of 2009. James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said the drop in activity in some of the nation’s foreclosure hot spots is largely the result of government intervention and other non-market influences. The report, which measures foreclosure activity in metropolitan areas with populations of at least 200,000, shows cities in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona accounted for all of the top 20 foreclosure rates in the country. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, News, Real-Estate, Trends

Foreclosure Activity Jumps In First Quarter

According to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of 2010, foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, increased 7 percent from the previous quarter and 16 percent from the first quarter of 2009. There were foreclosures reported on 932, 234 properties during the first three months of 2010. Rich Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, said the most likely scenario is that the market will be working through the log jam of distressed properties well into 2013. More than 3 million households are expected to receive a foreclosure notice this year. More here and here.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Foreclosures, Housing Market, News, Real-Estate