Home / Tag Archives: Negative Equity (page 10)

Tag Archives: Negative Equity

Prices See First Yearly Gain Since 2007, Foreclosures Wane: Zillow

For the first time since 2007, home values saw a year-over-year gain in the second quarter of 2012, according to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI). The index showed homes increased in value by 0.2 percent to $149,300 from last year's second quarter. Adding to the gain in value, foreclosures decreased again in June, with 5.8 out of every 10,000 homes counted as a foreclosure. Foreclosures have been on the decline since January, when 7.9 out of every 10,000 homes were foreclosed on.

Read More »

HARP Accounts for 20% of May Refinances: FHFA

With the help of record-low mortgage rates, HARP refinances surged in May, accounting for 20 percent of all loans refinanced by the GSEs, FHFA announced Monday. The one in five ratio of loans refinanced through HARP is the largest increase since the program's 2009 inception. The number of underwater borrowers who found relief through HARP also saw a significant increase. Year-to-date through May, 78,273 refinances were completed for underwater borrowers compared to 59,991 refinances for the entire year of 2011.

Read More »

Risks of Eminent Domain in California: Fitch

In a commentary, Fitch stated the proposed uses of eminent domain in California could negatively affect private label RMBS performance. Recently, the board of supervisors of San Bernardino County voted to form a joint powers authority with California cities Fontana and Ontario to look into the option of using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. Fitch said one proposal, which is of particular concern, indicates that only current and delinquent mortgages, not those in foreclosure, would be eligible. Thus, borrowers who would have stayed current on their payments could have their mortgage seized by the local, state, or county government. If eminent domain was to be used in such a way, then holders of the seized homes could experience losses, Fitch said.

Read More »

CoreLogic: 23.7% of Mortgages are Underwater, Down from 25.2%

While negative equity still continues to hinder the housing market's recovery, CoreLogic reported Thursday that the share of underwater mortgages declined. In the first quarter of 2012, the total number of underwater homes was 11.4 million, accounting for 23.7 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage. In the fourth quarter of 2011, 12.1 million properties, or 25.2 percent, were underwater. In addition, more than 700,000 households saw their equity move into the positive territory in the first quarter of this year.

Read More »

Low Inventory Boosting Prices, Says HousingPulse

Home price purchases were mixed month-over-month in May, with non-distressed prices up and short sales down, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. From April to May, transactions reported by HousingPulse survey respondents revealed the average price for non-distressed properties rose 1.7 percent, while the average price for short sales fell 0.7 percent. For damaged REOs, the average price went up 1.8 percent and for move-in ready REOs, the average price dropped 1.5 percent.

Read More »

Delinquent Homeowners More Negative than Underwater Group: Survey

Delinquent borrowers who responded to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey for the first quarter of 2012 expressed more negative viewpoints toward homeownership and paying their mortgage compared to underwater borrowers and those who have seen their home values decline. The data was collected to learn more about the attitudes of the delinquent borrower population that is oftentimes difficult to reach.

Read More »

Positives of Negative Equity on Home Prices: CoreLogic

Declines in the share of REO properties and in the months' supply of unsold inventory are all leading to a revival in home prices, and these drops are being driven, in part, by negative equity, CoreLogic concluded in a report. Prices rose by 1.1 percent in April compared to the year before and 2.2 percent from the month before in March. One factor helping boost prices is the decreasing months' supply of homes. While a lower supply during a time of increasing demand is a positive for home prices, Sam Khater, chief economist for CoreLogic and author of the report, explained negative equity is the main reason behind the low supply, not an increase in sales. Negative equity not only makes consumers more reluctant to buy, but it can also discourage homeowners from selling, leading to a smaller number of homes listed on the market.

Read More »

FHFA: Q1 2012 HARP Refinances Double from Q4 2011

The number of loans refinanced through HARP in the first quarter of 2012 was nearly double the number of refinances in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) March 2012 Refinance Report. The report showed that 180,185 loans were refinanced through HARP during the year's first quarter, nearly twice the 93,190 refinances in the previous quarter. The month of March alone saw 79,470 loans refinanced with HARP, and nearly one in seven loan refinances in the quarter were done through program. The FHFA attributed most of this increase to the launch of HARP 2.0, an enhanced version of the program that eliminated loan-to-value (LTV) ceilings for borrowers.

Read More »

Radar Logic: Prices Will Fall Further, Strengths Due to Temporary Forces

Even though Radar Logic reported a monthly increase in home prices for March, the analytics company expects prices to fall and gave credit to temporary market forces for recent strengths seen in the housing market. According to Radar Logic, the RPX Composite price, which tracks home prices in 25 major metropolitan areas, showed a 1.8 percent increase on a monthly basis, but decreased by 0.87 percent year-over-year in March. With distressed homes remaining a significant portion of home sales transactions, Radar Logic dismissed the monthly increase and said significant discounts for distressed properties in relation to non-distressed means a further fall in prices.

Read More »

Three Refinancing Bills Propose Cutting Red Tape to Expand Eligibility

At a time when mortgage rates have hit record-low numbers, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan stressed urgency in getting housing refinance bills on President Barack Obama's to-do list for Congress passed. During a teleconference Friday, which preceded Obama's stop into Reno, Nevada, to boost support for the housing proposals, Donovan outlined three bills that were introduced to Congress that week. Donovan says the bills would save homeowners an average of $2,500 to $3,000 a year.

Read More »